update on blown motor

[Turbo Matty P]

For those who still remember me or still care. I'm currently in legal action with MNOA about my MSP motor. With 3500miles the headgasket blew causing coolant to fill the combustion chambers, breaking 2 rods and bending 2 more. Mazda corporate has declined to cover this under warranty for very specific reasons. However, none of the reasons they've given me had anything to do with the headgasket failure. I was told my warranty was voided due to an aftermarket air filter (non-K&N), the removal of the sound resonator in the exhaust (all behind the emssions control system), and the uneven tire wear on my front tires which was supposed to indicate my "abuse" of the vehicle. I informed the regional rep that if they were denying my warranty due to my modifications he must prove to me that what I've done caused my head gasket failure. He informed me that ,"He didn't have to tell me a damn thing." That was just about all of my dealings with MNOA, now I have 3 attorneys who are taking depositions from experts and engineers. Do not take your vehicle into a dealership for ANY work with modifications of ANY kind. Mazda will record this on your file and should a problem arise later on they will deny you flat out. Also, dealerships will talk to each other, so don't try taking it to another local dealer. I say this from the vantage point of someone on the ropes. Mod the hell outta these cars, just don't count on your warranty. I would much rather drive this car with 270whp and no warranty than 148whp and a 50K mile buffer. Now for the good stuff.....

I'm building a new motor to replace my 2.0. I've gotten a 2.3L engine from an '03 Mazda 6i. We've pulled the internals and replaced them forged rods, pistons and crank running 8.5:1 compressions. This was a big jump from the 9.7:1 it came with stock. The ehxuast manifold is being hand made to accept the Garret T-25 from the MSP. The most difficult part we anticipate will be the electronics. the 6i uses a drive-by-wire system and the Protege doesn't. I'm trying to retain the good things about the 6i when incorporating it into the new body. I have a feeling you guys are going to be pretty impressed when I get it all together. The stock 6i made almost identical power numbers to our MSP's, so by adding the turbo and a healthy dose of boost (I'm guessing 16-19psi) I should be making some great times. The 6i cam with 166hp and 155lb/ft, thats only 4hp and 5lb/ft difference between the two. For you gearheads out there, you might appreciate my first project motor for this car was a 220Hp 3.0L Yamaha engine from a Taurus SHO. I used this motor to outrun Z-28's and Cobra's at my local track. My next idea that didn't make it past conception was converting to RWD. The suspensions just too nice to screw up with a heavy V6 or RWD set-up.

This is getting pretty long. Just wanted to give you guys something to flame about! Wish me luck with my project!

Turbo Matty P

 

[EVILSRT]

So they said no and you got ******? Are you going to make them pay then?

 

[1sty]

Good luck on the legal struggle. I can't tell you enough how AWSOME it will be to have legal precidence that Exhuast and intake modification can not effect engine longevity.

 

[Turbo Matty P]

They said, "No". So now we're going to court. Don't expect "legal precednt" to be made over me and my problems! I'm sure that this has been done to death before! They seem to think they know something that I don't. It'll be interesting to see what they try. However, I don't see this going to court. I see Mazda settling in the 4th round! Also, if anyone is interested I have the dyno charts and the wideband 02 readings showing our fuel problems. I will get these scanned and posted or I can fax copies of it.

 

[122 Vega]

Not "legal precidence" but "Non mutual colateral estoppel" means that if it is found in court that it is not the intake's (which it is likely not) fault, it can become highly probable evidence in other jurisdictions that do not already have precedence in thier own jurisdictions. Which could help us all in similar cases.

Good luck with this, remeber Mazda does not want to set precendence, because if they do, that will open the door for all of us to put intakes on without fear. They will settle out of court, stick to your guns get good experts and they will replace your engine. Only 2-3% of cases actually go to court, all others get settled out of court.

Britt (marry a lawyer, she'll always be on permanent retainer)

 

[Turbo Matty P]

I'm fairly sure it's going to settle. The only possible snag could be if Mazda has installed the "little black box" in these cars and not told anyone. I've seen those destroy more than a couple of cases!

 

[122 Vega]

Why worry about the box? How modded are you? If you have anythin to hide, then it shouldn't be warranty anyways. Keep 'em in court for a few years arguing the constitutionallity of retrieving black box info from your personal car...

Britt

 

[Turbo Matty P]

I was "modded", but nothing they can prove in court. I was under the impression that I was innocent until proven guilty. Mazda seems to think they're going to be able to justify my lack of warranty with ANY modifications made. From my understanding of the law thats not the case. They are only allowed to void the warranty on the part that was modified. So if my MAF meter were to short out they could conceivably void it because of my filter. Likewise, if my muffler was to blow off the car they would have grounds to deny me a new muffler due to the lack of resonator. However, by the same token, they cannot refuse warranty of my calipers sticking because I have an intake on the car. The big problem here is that I'm not trying to get a $25 muffler or a $15 caliper. I'm trying to get a $4200 motor. I bet they're going to fight this untill their legal expenses are higher than the cost of the motor!

 

[mp5]

I believe all obdII cars have the "little black box" that records the last 20 seconds of vehicle operation and it has something to do with the airbag system. Manufactors claimed that it was incorporated in new cars to help prevent litigation in air bag related injuries. So as long as you drive the car normally for more than 20 seconds before they have access to it, they wouldn't find anything.

 

[Turbo Matty P]

ever seen A motor sling some rods? Theres no running anything after that. Hell, it took 20seconds for the dust to settle! Still, My car was in the shop for a week before the regional rep ever got to lok at it. In the meantime I'm sure a mazda tech would've tried pulling any usefull info like that out. The truth is that Mazda sees me as a punk racer who got what I deserved and they got out of having to paying the dealers techs WHEN something goes wrong on it. We all know theres going to be plenty of problems with these cars. I used to work at Mitsubishi and I couldn't recall seeing so many turbo cars with everything leaking, stinking, shrieking. They're just trying to cut their loses early on.

 

[changedman]

yes, and you know whats next obdIII supposed to be in by '04- they SAY that the computer will be able to "talk" to the dealer or a big brother say, about an emissions problem. you'd have 30 days to fix it. THIS IS WAY TOO MUCH GOVERNMENTAL INTERFERENCE NOW!!! :mad:

 

[Turbo Matty P]

where did you hear that from??

 

[PaulMP3]

will the 2.3 mate to our trannies??

 

[Dr.Sound]

dood, all i can wish you is luck.......

luck with the case and the new swap

 

[ChopstickHero]

fight it to the end. you are repping "us" the little guys (and gals) against a corporate giant. they're trying to disprove the slogan "customer is always right". put them in their place and make sure you tell them that the "customer is always right".

 

[Turbo Matty P]

the 2.3L will bolt up to the tranny with an adapter plate I had to make. It was fairly easy but seeing as how our cars are limited production I didn't figure anyone else would want to do a swap. If anyone is interested I can get you the demensions for making the adapter.

 

[pluto316]

the 2.3L will bolt up to the tranny with an adapter plate I had to make. It was fairly easy but seeing as how our cars are limited production I didn't figure anyone else would want to do a swap. If anyone is interested I can get you the demensions for making the adapter.

s***? Really? Damn that sounds like a good swap for a P5.. Would that work? TELL ME MORE.

 

[Heathen23]

Not to be a jerk but didn't you up your boost w/o a boost gauge and then you tried to blame it on something else? I could be wrong and maybe I'm mistaking you for someone else but I wouldn't warentee your car either if that's the case. If I'm wrong and need to pull this post I will.

 

[igdrasil]

This swap is interesting, you should post a new thread and talk about it, show som pics and stuff.

 

[girth]

Not to be a jerk but didn't you up your boost w/o a boost gauge and then you tried to blame it on something else? I could be wrong and maybe I'm mistaking you for someone else but I wouldn't warentee your car either if that's the case. If I'm wrong and need to pull this post I will.

I'm not sure Heathen but I believe TurboMatty was the one who upped his boost and then did a dyno run and blew his engine on a boost spike. If I remember correctly, it was 1 day before JoeP was going to do his latest dyno run and it made Joe worry a little -- but eventually I think Joe even said Matt had nobody to blame but himself.

If I'm wrong on this, PLEASE disregard my post because I do NOT know for sure and I mean no disrespect to TurboMatty -- we need people like him to test the limits for us. However, if it's your fault it blew then you should take responsibility for it.