What have you done to your Mazda5 today?

[dlarkin_dc]

Ha ha! Back on the road. Total loss write off my ass

 

[V4L0R]

Ha ha! Back on the road. Total loss write off my ass View attachment 334696

Looks great! How did you end up handling the damage and insurance?

 

[dlarkin_dc]

Looks great! How did you end up handling the damage and insurance?

The dialog with insurance went like this after their assesor was done...

Insurance: Our estimated repair cost is at our valuation (KBB) of the car. It's a total loss and were not directing the repairs be done. We will send you a check for our estimated value (KBB).
Me: Can I take the car back and have it repaired.
I: Yes.
Me: Would you then cover the repair costs, or am I out-of-pocket?
I: Yes, we wiil pay for the repairs, but only our repair estimate.
Me: Okay, I'll take it back.

Had it repaired for a lot less than they assesed and insurance sent a check for their estimate. Went from *total loss* to repaired and made a little profit. Again,

 

[theblooms]

Cleaned the throttle body. This is what 170,000 miles of carbon looks like.

 

[V4L0R]

She's in dire need of a wash, but it finally warmed up enough outside for me to put in some fogs I bought last year

 

[dlarkin_dc]

She's in dire need of a wash, but it finally warmed up enough outside for me to put in some fogs I bought last year

View attachment 335311

Wow, that's some camber on the rears! Is the red chin painted on? (To match the side sill fairings)

 

[V4L0R]

Wow, that's some camber on the rears! Is the red chin painted on? (To match the side sill fairings)

The red is actually just vinyl that's cut along the bottom and goes all the way around!. Here's a photo of it in the summer.

 

[mazzystar]

Replaced the driver side control arm after finding out the ball joint was toast only 100 miles into owning this 2012 Sport edition.

Did a transmission pan/gasket/fluid overhaul since it had never been serviced and the fluid was jet black.

Changed the air filter and swapping spark plugs out tomorrow. Hopefully getting around to a brake bleed by next week and changing out winter tires for some more fuel efficient, less road noise set for summer!

So far excited about this car, but might be running into some concerning electrical issues or a phantom drain. We'll see what it's looking tomorrow after I get the battery jump started. Fingers crossed nothing major as me and my 5 are just getting acquainted.

 

[theblooms]

Replaced the driver side control arm after finding out the ball joint was toast only 100 miles into owning this 2012 Sport edition.

Did a transmission pan/gasket/fluid overhaul since it had never been serviced and the fluid was jet black.

Changed the air filter and swapping spark plugs out tomorrow. Hopefully getting around to a brake bleed by next week and changing out winter tires for some more fuel efficient, less road noise set for summer!

So far excited about this car, but might be running into some concerning electrical issues or a phantom drain. We'll see what it's looking tomorrow after I get the battery jump started. Fingers crossed nothing major as me and my 5 are just getting acquainted.

Make sure you use NGK OE Laser Iridium and literally nothing else. Not even the NGK Iridium IX's are correct.

 

[zedebra]

Got the Exhaust Manifold replaced and new O2 Sensors for the Upstream cat. Not sure how I want to go about the downstream and secondary cat. At least the middle part of the exhaust will be a lot easier to do.

Also got my check from the insurance for $2600 so I will be getting the front fixed soon. Need to wait for another car of ours to get out of the shop then I can drop it off at the body shop with the bumper.

Summer is right around the corner and I may flush my radiator soon. Just curious on what radiator fluid yall recommend or use. When I installed this new radiator last year, I just used some fluid meant for Ford vehicles, since this is essentially a Ford engine.

 

[theblooms]

Just curious on what radiator fluid yall recommend or use. When I installed this new radiator last year, I just used some fluid meant for Ford vehicles, since this is essentially a Ford engine.

Peak OET Asian Green is FL22 compatible and very affordable at about $22 for a gallon of concentrated. Get 2 gallons and 2 gallons of distilled water from the grocery store (NOT HOUSE WATER!!!) and you've got enough radiator juice for a while!

Just know that FL22 is 55/45 instead of 50/50, so just mix it a bit strong and you're good to go.

 

[theblooms]

Well she's off to a new owner. Great, great van that we put a LOT of miles on.
A dear friend of mine has 2 kids and diapers and 2 busted cars, so our 5 is his now. It will treat him and his family well.
We replaced it with a 2021 CX-9, because there will ALWAYS be a Mazda in the fleet!

 

[dougsey]

@theblooms congrats on the new CX-9!! She's a beauty!

Thanks for all your contributions to this forum, you'll be missed!

Doug

 

[theblooms]

@theblooms congrats on the new CX-9!! She's a beauty!

Thanks for all your contributions to this forum, you'll be missed!

Doug

I ain't going nowhere! I still have a 2013 CX-5 and now a 2021 CX-9 in the fleet. And I still know a good bit about my old 04 Mazda3 and 12 Mazda5!

For what it's worth, my other cars were a 92 323SE, a 93 Protege LX, and a 93 Ranger which was an absolute twin of the B3000. The only difference was literally the grille.

 

[zedebra]

I ain't going nowhere! I still have a 2013 CX-5 and now a 2021 CX-9 in the fleet. And I still know a good bit about my old 04 Mazda3 and 12 Mazda5!

For what it's worth, my other cars were a 92 323SE, a 93 Protege LX, and a 93 Ranger which was an absolute twin of the B3000. The only difference was literally the grille.

and he rode off into the sunset to be never seen again in the Mazda 5 sub forum lol

Sad to see it go, but glad it is still on the road and being used.

 

[zedebra]

Valve cover gasket has been leaking since I got the car. Nothing major, but I noticed residue on the right side and some on the back towards the exhaust. Also was building up by the sensor on top. Funny thing I couldn't for the life of me find out what the name of the sensor is or what to even call this gasket. I had to do a lot of running around looking up pictures of Mazda 3, 5, 6 and Fords. Luckily I found some stuff to put me in the right direction. People were calling it a VVT Solenoid and others saying Oil Control Valve, but what ever it was it is Part# L362102D5A. Also the only way to install this gasket is removing the valve cover, since you have to press it in from the inside.

160K Miles and its not as filthy, but still dirty

Gasket was HARD, but it wasn't brittle, managed to all stay together when prying it out. Part of me wants to say it was OE, but whoever replaced this in the past had nearly stripped some of the 8mm studs. So I had to be extra careful not to make them any worse. Which meant using my deep socket was out of the question, so I had to use my tiny 8mm wrench and manually loosen and retighten them. My knuckles werent thrilled.

Back together, I have it mostly tighten down. I put some sealant by the timing chain and just gonna let that cure overnight.

Next up, I need to do both belts and idler pulley, check compressor oil before summer, and radiator flush.

 

[mazzystar]

Valve cover gasket has been leaking since I got the car. Nothing major, but I noticed residue on the right side and some on the back towards the exhaust. Also was building up by the sensor on top. Funny thing I couldn't for the life of me find out what the name of the sensor is or what to even call this gasket. I had to do a lot of running around looking up pictures of Mazda 3, 5, 6 and Fords. Luckily I found some stuff to put me in the right direction. People were calling it a VVT Solenoid and others saying Oil Control Valve, but what ever it was it is Part# L362102D5A. Also the only way to install this gasket is removing the valve cover, since you have to press it in from the inside.

I think I'm about to have to remove my own valve cover to replace a gasket. I just changed out spark plugs yesterday (they were completely toasted) and noticed an ungodly amount of oil around the base of the ignition coils and all over the spark plugs, upon pulling them out. No indication of a head gasket leak, just oil leaking past some seal. Not looking forward to it, but seems like an easy enough fix? Mine seems to run fine, I just like addressing all the issues a vehicle has as soon as I buy it so I know what I'm working with, so new gasket it is.

 

[theblooms]

I think I'm about to have to remove my own valve cover to replace a gasket. I just changed out spark plugs yesterday (they were completely toasted) and noticed an ungodly amount of oil around the base of the ignition coils and all over the spark plugs, upon pulling them out. No indication of a head gasket leak, just oil leaking past some seal. Not looking forward to it, but seems like an easy enough fix? Mine seems to run fine, I just like addressing all the issues a vehicle has as soon as I buy it so I know what I'm working with, so new gasket it is.

It's not a bad job at all. The one and only thing that SUCKS is those damned wire harness clips that go over the bolts. I do believe that Satan himself designed them.

I managed to figure out to get them off with a combination some hemostats and pocket screwdriver to release them.

When you get the valve cover off, you'll need to clean the surface of the head really well. On the end of the head nearest the timing chain, you'll have to put a TINY dab of rtv on that mating surface. You'll see it when you get in there. Personally I use Hondabond HT as I think that's the very best RTV on the market. Permatex also has some good stuff too. Smear on the smallest amount you can. Less is more here, trust me.

After that there's a specific torque sequence of the valve cover bolts, you can google that. But if you can't find it, just like a head, start with the innermost bolts, then work your way out in a spiral pattern and you'll be fine.

 

[zedebra]

I think I'm about to have to remove my own valve cover to replace a gasket. I just changed out spark plugs yesterday (they were completely toasted) and noticed an ungodly amount of oil around the base of the ignition coils and all over the spark plugs, upon pulling them out. No indication of a head gasket leak, just oil leaking past some seal. Not looking forward to it, but seems like an easy enough fix? Mine seems to run fine, I just like addressing all the issues a vehicle has as soon as I buy it so I know what I'm working with, so new gasket it is.

If you are getting oil inside on the coil packs where they connect to the spark plugs, it probably means the valve cover gaskets around the spark plug holes is going bad. Spark Plug #2 was the one for me, when I removed the coil packs the tip was covered in some oil.
Also as theblooms said, work your way out from the center into a spiral pattern. When putting the valve cover back on I usually get the valve cover barely snug since I want the RTV to cure a bit before fully tightening the valve cover back on. Once some time has passed I will go back and tighten everything down.
I think next time if I ever have to remove the valve cover, I am gonna probably look into a way for replacing the bolts. Due to 4 of the nuts on studs are nearly stripped.