What have you done to your Mazda5 today?

[Rockin03mp5]

the clips for the headlights suck.

and booooo on the tires... unless they were the original toyos... then the road did you a favor.

 

[mpvue]

the clips for the headlights suck.

and booooo on the tires... unless they were the original toyos... then the road did you a favor.

nope, it was my year old Continental DWS's

 

[Rockin03mp5]

oh... suck.

know what else sucks... my wife just informed me the drivers side headlight is out in the 5 again.

this 5 is getting to be worse than my p5 was for eating headlights. time to get hids here pretty soon.

i would just put my old hids from the p5 in... but a ballast went out on them. at least i would have 2 spare bulbs though.

 

[BPboiler3]

you might as well just get HID's...DDM kits are just about as much if not cheaper than a set of silverstars

 

[Rockin03mp5]

yeah.

i got a spare cheapo h7 lying around for now.

i wonder if ddm has gotten back up to speed. they were backed up for a while.

 

[mpvue]

good news, I had just 5 days left on my road hazard warranty (1yr, 12K miles). I was over on miles, but they hooked me up w/ a new DWS for $17!

 

[ljmattox]

@silentnoise 713, who asked for hood strut photos:

I'm a bit behind on my forum reading, yes, I'll post photos. The struts lie just off the fender mounting points, brackets are quite small. A purist might have spent 5 mins on a grinding wheel to round off the corners, then hit them with some body color spray paint and they'd blend right in. Photos next.

 

[ljmattox]

Installed my JBR rear sway bar, no issues, good instructions. Apparently I wasn't manly enough to compress/move the link on one side to get the opposite side link stud into the swaybar's attachment hole on the other, however just loosening one link's top mounting nut some gave me enough "play" to get it into place.

Definitely a transforming mod, oh my does it corner flat! Cloverleaf on-ramps are a blast, and the new mounting brackets/bushings have a grease zerk. With some faithful maintenance (remember to hit these with the grease gun at tire rotations) that should keep the customary rear swaybar squeaking at bay.

Highly recommended!

 

[ljmattox]

Installed hood strut photos

Posted that I'd installed a set of ebay-sourced hood struts a coupla weeks ago. Finally got some images.

Driver's side strut (has one small strut on each side)
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/pp-0FgFPnVGfrvUc4DlwEg?feat=directlink

Lower bracket
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/sWoYC5UXGtARmGxg8sDKlA?feat=directlink

Upper bracket
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/R0Tj3eqYzrzGu16EZMaIYw?feat=directlink

Easy install...nice to have, and be able to poke around the engine bay without the prop rod in the way.

 

[Rockin03mp5]

So yesterday... started the 5 and noticed the drivers side headlight out again.... the one i just replaced.

Son of a b****... i thought.

Popped the hood, unplugged the light, fiddled with the bulb a bit, then plugged it back in and voila! It turned back on.

Not sure what that was about.

 

[Silentnoise713]

Check the Wire and Harness

So yesterday... started the 5 and noticed the drivers side headlight out again.... the one i just replaced.

Son of a b****... i thought.

Popped the hood, unplugged the light, fiddled with the bulb a bit, then plugged it back in and voila! It turned back on.

Not sure what that was about.

Did you previously run high wattage bulbs? I've had issues with this as some OE wiring/harness cannot handle the high wattage and will degrade over time.

It could just be build-up on the connector harness or a connection point in the harness is loose. Disconnect battery and clean the connector a bit. Best case, perhaps you did not connect it tightly last time.?.


@ ljmattox -thanks for the pics.

 

[Rockin03mp5]

only oem replacements. i would never run higher wattage bulbs. dont like electrical fires.

 

[JovaBear]

I brought the 5 to the dealer to do 30k service, transmission flush (it was dirty), and new front brakes.

 

[X-Tanker]

Had engine and transmission oil changed and 4-wheel alignment.

 

[jimp]

washed and waxed the 5 a couple days after I changed the headlight bulbs, then put some mudflaps on the front as the wife thinks the Mz5 is an off road vehicle and slings crap galore on the sides, and also manages to hit every single bit of road kill she sees as well. Oh well, married life is great.

 

[skyhawk]

One hour of 'claybar' and waxing.. and I've only done half of the car. The claybar job is the toughest.. I noticed some tiny brown spots ( I think Its been discussed before here) that's tough to remove with claybar. But they do come out. Anyway the goal is to claybar and wax the car before the white stuff (snow) arrives. This time last year we already had them.

I read somewhere in this forum before to apply the wax by hand/fingers. This way the heat helps in melting the wax, and any remaining 'stuck' dirt in the paint can be felt and easily and removed. As compared to using a foam applicator.

 

[skyhawk]

Today I Changed to winter tires.

I'm getting too old for this.

1. label the alloy wheels for next rotation

2. smear grease on hub and steelies contact areas

3. mount winter tires

4. torgue the lugs to 85-90 ft-lbs.

5. Check tire pressure.

 

[mpvue]

dropped off the 5 for state inspection and alignment, it's been pulling to the right. hope they can get it sorted out, the tire place couldn't get it right so I'm hoping my regular mechanic can do it.

 

[Rockin03mp5]

skyhawk: love your videos... but you have some time on your hands.

i need to get winters on my 5 as well.

 

[skyhawk]

skyhawk: love your videos... but you have some time on your hands.

i need to get winters on my 5 as well.

Thanks Rockin03mp5. I may have installed the winters one-week too early.