Tune - Up / Tips & Recomendations

[Maxx Mazda]

There IS a paper fuel filter. It's in the big plastic body that surrounds the fuel pump. I'm not sure what the recommended replacement frequency is(?) I did mine when the plastic failed and started leaking gas all over. The 8 screws holding this in can be a b**** tho. due to rust.

There isn't a replacement interval, because it's not supposed to be replaced. It's just a plastic screen on the fuel pump pickup, that's it. I suppose, take it off and clean it if you want, but if your fuel tank has never been opened since the factory it should require no service.

 

[tjvjr]

the most important thing when selecting gear oil is making sure it doesn't contain sulfur. most sold at autoparts stores do. the Pennzoil sycromesh doesn't contain sulfur so it is safe to use on most 90 up cars containing yellow metals in the trans.

 

[Taus-MP5]

^good point

 

[choinumni4]

Check the air intake tube for cracks. Remove it (it's the accordion looking tube attached to the filter box) and inspect it carefully. If there are little cracks replace it to save yourself from annoying headaches in the future (bad idle/stalling).

Yep this one happened to me and it was a simple fix after spending over a year wondering why this car lurched so bad in 1st gear while driving slow.

 

[Taus-MP5]

wow

 

[Brian_K]

not sure if anyone's mentioned this already, but do a quick check on all your motor mounts to make sure none of them are torn

 

[funkytuqe]

I just wanted to add that i did seafoam this weekend. I sucked 1/3 of the bottle through the brake booster vac line, then turned it off and let it sit while i did an oil change. Fired her back up, lots of sputtering and smoke from the exhaust, then it smoothed out and man it runs great now. I recomend it! I put some in my fuel tank too, and a bit in the crank case before the oil change while i was warming up the motor.

Just and FYI, I did end up with a CEL though after the seafoam, all the sputtering and what not tripped a P0303 (misfire), i cleared it and it's good to go.

 

[tjvjr]

i have rebuilt a couple of klde(s) recently , it is amazing how much build up there is in the intake. one engine had a littler over 100k and the other 200k. about every passage& port was nearly clocked over. i can see how the seafoam would help. the 1st was a 626 and it is still in the break in stage , the 2nd is in the M edition , God willing all is well with it i am considering adding a separator in the pvc system to help avoid it happening again .

 

[HKPRO5]

What I usually do is if I know im going to change my oil, the day before ill put the Seafoam in the crank case and let it get in there for the day. Then change it the next day.

 

[Maxx Mazda]

I don't know if there's an equivalent in the US, but up here we can get this stuff at Canadian Tire called "engine flush" and you add it to your oil right before an oil change, you CAN NOT run the car above idle, as it thins out the oil too much. Anyway, it's basically a really strong solvent and you wouldn't believe the gunk it eats of the inside of the engine. You just dump it in, and let the engine idle for about 5 minutes, then immediately change the oil. I saw solid chunks of stuff come out my drain hole, it was nasty.

 

[Taus-MP5]

Hmm u guys are really convinving..I might do the seafoam next oilchange. Although, I heard seafoam should not be left in for too long of a time.(HKPRO5) SO RUNNING IT FOR A DAY PROBABLY ISN'T SO GOOD

 

[n2stox]

I let my car idle for 5-10 mins with seafoam. However,

Hmm u guys are really convinving..I might do the seafoam next oilchange. Although, I heard seafoam should not be left in for too long of a time.(HKPRO5) SO RUNNING IT FOR A DAY PROBABLY ISN'T SO GOOD

you can drive it for less than 100 miles, depending on how dirty you think your engine is.

Seafoam basically re-liquifies any gunk in there, which exits the motor and then gets caught in the filter or stays in the oil, depending on the particulate.

The idea is that the oil filter and oil you remove will be much dirtier (theoretically). If you think your car is dirty, I'd put in 6-10 ounces of seafoam the day before you change your oil, and drive it for up to 70 miles. When you go to drain your oil the next day, you'll notice it will be thinner, thus more if it will drain out.

It's a good idea to do this at least once per year.

 

[HKPRO5]

Hmm u guys are really convinving..I might do the seafoam next oilchange. Although, I heard seafoam should not be left in for too long of a time.(HKPRO5) SO RUNNING IT FOR A DAY PROBABLY ISN'T SO GOOD

I usually put it in on my way home from work. So about a 15 min drive. nothing crazy. lol

 

[Taus-MP5]

alright, i just said that because i remembered reading Something about not leaving it in too long..

 

[Taus-MP5]

anyways, moving on..

What type of gear oil are you (5speed-ers) running these days?

 

[CheeseHelmet]

anyways, moving on..

What type of gear oil are you (5speed-ers) running these days?

I've been using pennzoil synchromesh, my tranny shifts much smoother than when I was using castrol syntec.

 

[Taus-MP5]

thats what i used in my mk3... and easier/cheaper to get than Redline

ANYWAYS HERES THE PICS IVE BEEN 2 LAZY TO PUT UP..FROM THE FINISHED VALVE COVER + RVT JOB

BEFORE :

DURING:

AFTER:

And no leaks !

 

[CheeseHelmet]

With that much RTV I don't think it'll ever leak, I think I used less on my oil pan XD

For the record, you don't need to put RTV all around, just in the few spots mentioned in the service manual. That's what I did and I haven't seen any leaks.

 

[Taus-MP5]

Yes, i know i dont need to rvt the whole thing but its alright.

 

[tjvjr]

i usually coat mine as well for insurance.