What have you done to your P5 today?

I see. I think I was getting the KYBs mixed up with Monroe. I will take a look at the Monroes. I do hope that the Monroes hold up as well as the OEM struts have. I'm pretty hard on my car and the OEM struts are still good at 180k (unless someone replaced them with new OEM ones, which seems unlikely to me). I'm just fighting with a clunking/creaking noise up front which I'd like to eliminate.


If your front stuts are still OK, and you are just trying to get rid of a clunk, you could just replace your strut bearings.

I found this on Mazdaparts online.


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And it looks like the mounts at Rockauto are offset to allow for caster/camber adjustment.

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And this one includes the bearing,..


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There was only one guy that mentioned about his struts being centered and non adjustable, but he bought complete struts, and I think they were no-name struts off ebay?
 
I'm not really planning to lower the car at all, so I'd rather not *have* to do camber bolts. But are they just one of those things that is always better to have than not? They don't seem terribly expensive. I may pick some up just to have them, and if I need to install, I will do so.


The camber bolts aren't necessary if you aren't lowering your car.
They are used to keep your wheels flat on the ground after you lower your car.
They can be unreliable too because they can spin around in the bolt holes and throw off the camber.
 
I'm only seeing Monroe QuickStruts for the rear, and I'm doing the front's. Am I just blind or do they not make QuickStruts for the front's? The only Monroe branded ones are the "Roadmatic."


I don't know much about brand names, by Quick Struts I just meant complete struts.
The Quick Struts may be sold out or no longer available??

I personally like the AC Delco front struts. They are an OEM supplier for GM.

You may want to replace your front struts with complete struts.

Your struts probably lost a lot of their damping ability and the springs have probably sagged quite a bit as well.

Complete new struts would really tighten up the front end of your car, and you may be able to eliminate that clunk.


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I really don't think that these struts, or any struts sold by Rockauto would be non-adjustable.

It's part of our alignment so they should all be adjustable.

The guy that had the non-adjustable strut probably had a cheap Chinese knock-off strut.
 
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Okay. All very good information, thank you PCB.

I will go ahead and pick up a set of strut assemblies for the front - I don't mind spending the extra money since they probably need to be replaced anyways, and I gosh darn hope that clunk goes away. I'll grab some camber bolts as well, but probably just to have for the future if I need them, since they are relatively cheap.
 
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They also have camber plates and camber wedge.
The camber plates look like the camber bolts to me?

And there's the "front" and "rear" bolts.
Looks like some you can use on the front or rear, and some can only be used on the rear.
I dunno ??


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I don't know much about it, or how many bolts you would need?
Try searching this forum for information on them before you buy something.
 
All of this talk of front struts is reminding me that I need to replace mine.

Anybody know what happened to the KYB QuickStruts (I think that's what they were called) on RockAuto? I can only find the base struts without springs or mounts. I don't mind putting everything together myself if I have to though. But if I'm having to buy springs anyways, I'd love to drop the car a tad bit. Man, if I only I could get my hands on some MSP springs...that would be sweet.
I really have hated KYB struts for about 35yrs. We called them pogo sticks. They'd last maybe a year. Best shock to buy for a car you are selling and don't have to drive ever again.

Not all aftermarket springs are created equal, but something from H&R will be dead reliable. Now the bad news - you can't use lowering springs on stock length struts or you will blow them out in about 6mos. You need struts that are designed for a lowered car because the pistons will be shorter.
 
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I really have hated KYB struts for about 35yrs. We called them pogo sticks. They'd last maybe a year. Best shock to buy for a car you are selling and don't have to drive ever again.
Thats odd, I haven't heard much other than good about KYBs. Regardless, I grabbed a set of ACDelco quickstruts.

Not all aftermarket springs are created equal, but something from H&R will be dead reliable. Now the bad news - you can't use lowering springs on stock length struts or you will blow them out in about 6mos. You need struts that are designed for a lowered car because the pistons will be shorter.
I couldn't imagine having reliability issues with springs. I would guess that the failure mode for them is all or nothing. Just going off intuition though, I could (and very well may) be very wrong.

I've heard people say the same thing about lowering springs with stock length struts; it seems to be a polarizing topic. While I understand that it is "proper" to run an appropriate strut length, I have also seen many reports of people running stock length struts with lowering springs without issue (even amongst my own friends). To be fair, I can't speak to any experience of my own.

Not that it matters a ton in my situation - the quickstruts are already ordered and I'm not going to mess with the ride height this time. But if I was to, what options for performance struts do I even have at this point? I've looked into it and haven't found a single thing.
 
I've been meaning to reply to this thread earlier, but this whole strut/clunk thing has been confusing me. Mainly because I don't know for sure where the clunks are coming from, but also due to the relative lack of good options for our cars, at least in terms of complete strut assemblies.

Benji, since you mentioned your confusing KYB and Monroe's offerings:
Quick-Strut and RoadMatic are both Monroe brands. Strut-Plus is KYB's brand, and ReadyStrut is ACDelco's.

KYB doesn't offer Strut-Plus for our cars and based on DD's comment and others I've read about their stiffening over time, I might not buy KYB struts/assemblies again anyway.

Monroe offers their better-quality Quick-Struts *only* for our rear wheels. They offer the RoadMatic (used to be called "Econo-Matic") for all four corners. I'm looking for a solid middle-of-the-line product for all four corners, so Monroe is out, at least for my fronts.

Benji can let us know how ACDelco rides after he's driven a few thousand miles on them. :)

If the destroyed rear bump stop shown in my photo above indicate that the strut is bad, then a good option for me may be buying OEM struts, at least for the rear. I've found OEM rears for around $80 each online (plus shipping) which is pretty good compared to prices for decent quality struts on Rock Auto. But then Rock Auto has Sachs struts for all four corners, and that may be my best option, along with new strut mounts.

As I mentioned in a previous post, the KYB strut mount that was qualified by Rock Auto to work on the Protege sedan (but not on the P5) actually did work fine on the P5. The same may hold true for complete strut assemblies, which include strut mounts. For example, Rock Auto will recommend their rear Gabriel Ultra ReadyMounts for the sedan (and not the P5), but from looking at them, I am pretty sure they will work on the P5.

I think it just means that you were using your bump stops A LOT and you just wore them out.
It's not just bumps in the road that compress your struts, hard cornering REALLY squashes them hard.

If your car isn't bouncing then maybe your struts are ok, but they may have lost some damping ability.



That's a good idea.
IIRC, you can also lube/grease them too?
That's not something that I dealt with personally.
Yeah, if my drive to/from the grocery store this evening is any indication, I do corner aggressively, at least by the standards of an economy car. I had also been carrying around about 30 pounds of gear in the hatch (toolbox, oil, water, jumper cables, antifreeze, badminton rackets, fire extinguisher, gas can, etc.) in case of emergency. I've now removed those to aid in locating noises and because outside of the jumper cables and gas can, I've barely ever used them. (I carried that new, empty gas can around for over *ten years* waiting for someone to need it, and just in the last few months a woman with three kids ran out of gas right in front of me. :p )
All of this talk of front struts is reminding me that I need to replace mine.

Anybody know what happened to the KYB QuickStruts (I think that's what they were called) on RockAuto? I can only find the base struts without springs or mounts. I don't mind putting everything together myself if I have to though. But if I'm having to buy springs anyways, I'd love to drop the car a tad bit. Man, if I only I could get my hands on some MSP springs...that would be sweet.

Having seen the recent conversations about strut mounts, I'm a little hesitant to replace with aftermarket ones though. I would really hate to mess up my ability to align properly. Thoughts?
Racing Beat or the H&R springs DD mentions below can be had for around $250, and Tokico and Tein struts have been mentioned a lot on this forum. I know you already bought a set of struts/coils/mounts but thought I'd mention those examples.
I really have hated KYB struts for about 35yrs. We called them pogo sticks. They'd last maybe a year. Best shock to buy for a car you are selling and don't have to drive ever again.

Not all aftermarket springs are created equal, but something from H&R will be dead reliable. Now the bad news - you can't use lowering springs on stock length struts or you will blow them out in about 6mos. You need struts that are designed for a lowered car because the pistons will be shorter.
Any thoughts on Sachs struts, @Diamond_Dave ? I hear they're meant to be good.
 
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Benji can let us know how ACDelco rides after he's driven a few thousand miles on them. :)
Will do.
Racing Beat or the H&R springs DD mentions below can be had for around $250
The ones I've considered most are the Tein H-Tech Protege5's. You can still find them for ~$230 on https://www.ebay.com (commissions earned)and they have a pretty mild drop and (comparatively) a mild spring rate, if the numbers are to be believed.

1669185759621.png


Tokico and Tein struts have been mentioned a lot on this forum
Yes, those are the ones that come to mind. But I wouldn't consider them feasible options though if you can't buy them new anywhere (which as far as I know, you can't). But please correct me if I'm wrong.

I say this not to prove that I'm right about the topic, but more so to say that lowering springs essentially must be used with stock-style struts, or not at all, unless you can find used struts.
 
Will do.

The ones I've considered most are the Tein H-Tech Protege5's. You can still find them for ~$230 on https://www.ebay.com (commissions earned)and they have a pretty mild drop and (comparatively) a mild spring rate, if the numbers are to be believed.

View attachment 314308


Yes, those are the ones that come to mind. But I wouldn't consider them feasible options though if you can't buy them new anywhere (which as far as I know, you can't). But please correct me if I'm wrong.

I say this not to prove that I'm right about the topic, but more so to say that lowering springs essentially must be used with stock-style struts, or not at all, unless you can find used struts.
Yeah, in my limited searching I haven't come across any new struts that will work with lowering springs. I also searched for "protege monotube struts" and found nothing. I was mainly doing that for fun, since I'd be tickled to just get rid of my clunks and get the car back to factory ride quality. I would have considered a <1 inch drop if I could find the right struts as I follow the "OEM+" philosophy as well.
 
I just read that any Sachs struts you purchase are likely to be made in China if your vehicle didn't come with Sachs originally, or if they weren't offered as an option on your vehicle. I also read that KYB stands for "Keep Your Bilsteins," but unfortunately those aren't available for our cars. 🙃

I'm currently looking at Monroe Quick-Struts for the rears since my bump stops are also broken.
 
I've always wondered if we could find another car's strut insert to "rebuild" protege struts. surely another compact must have similar dimensions where it'll fit.

Something like this How To's - Installing Koni Inserts
I had no idea that was a thing. I'd heard of Koni inserts, but didn't know you literally hacked them in.

@BenjiHoggi Could you could buy struts for the Mazdaspeed Protege? If the MSP (or MP3) was factory lowered, their struts should work but would be spendy. I'm sure more than a couple people have done that by now.

I'm probably just going to buy stock Protege5 struts for the rears as they aren't too much more than decent KYB/Gabriel/Sachs.
 
@BenjiHoggi Could you could buy struts for the Mazdaspeed Protege? If the MSP (or MP3) was factory lowered, their struts should work but would be spendy. I'm sure more than a couple people have done that by now.
I checked RockAuto briefly and for front QuickStruts and individual struts, the part numbers for all that I saw looked the same between the MSP and P5. It's hard to find a definitively separated MP3 vehicle in RockAuto but for a 2001 Sedan, it's the same too. Kind of disappointing if you have an MSP and want to refresh your suspension.

Doesn't matter anyway for me, as my ACDelco strut assemblies are already sitting at my house waiting to be installed.
 
I checked RockAuto briefly and for front QuickStruts and individual struts, the part numbers for all that I saw looked the same between the MSP and P5. It's hard to find a definitively separated MP3 vehicle in RockAuto but for a 2001 Sedan, it's the same too. Kind of disappointing if you have an MSP and want to refresh your suspension.

Doesn't matter anyway for me, as my ACDelco strut assemblies are already sitting at my house waiting to be installed.
Yeah, you'd have to hit the Mazda parts catalog to find the MPS (Mazda Performance Series) parts and do a search for them, for example:
bn7h-28-700a (right rear)
bn7h-28-900a (left rear)

You won't ever find those parts on Rock Auto. This page shows a pretty blue Tokico (OEM) strut in all its glory as a Mazda part: 2001-2003 Mazda Strut - Driver's Side (LH) BN7H-28-900A | TascaParts.com . You'll see mention of both MP3 and Mazdaspeed further down on that page. If the Tokico parts have dried up, maybe one could still get hold of the same parts but with Mazda stickers on them (for $200+ apiece!).

Fun info:
 
Noticed my car having a bit of a white puff when starting. Come to realize I didn't close the engine oil cap completely when i topped it off a few weeks ago and now most of that oil has burned off

Idiot of the week right here.
 
I replaced the driver's side LCA in 108-degree (that's 42 C for folks with more sane units of measurement). Heat index was 114 and I had limited shade. That was a huge mistake, but I took breaks and drank six bottles of water. My shirt became so heavy with sweat that it was like some kind of weighted workout jacket. Oh, and to top it off, we had a brief downpour in that 108 degrees while still in full sun. It was surreal. By the time I went back out it was a literal wet sauna. Man, everything hurts today and I had all kinds of crazy dreams waking me up last night so I didn't get a good night's sleep. Don't do this. Don't be me.

The key to successful installation *for me* was jacking up that knuckle to get the LCA completely horizontal. That allowed me to start the front bushing and the rear bracket+bolts with ease. DD, I've checked my other, new LCA and the original, removed LCA and the bolt hole on that rear bushing (or whatever it is) is boringly perpendicular to the rest of the part. So I'm not surprised that it was easy to install in my case. Now, I don't have OEM replacement parts, but some (NOS?) Beck Arnley ones, and they may be different from other brands.

My biggest problem with elevating that knuckle (which was a *requirement* for me) was that the floor jack was occupying the space where the ball joint needed to be when I'd swing the LCA up to get it horizontal. I tried turning the wheel all the way to the left or right to try and make some space, but in one of those directions, the end link contacted another piece of the suspension when I elevated the knuckle so that was a no-go. 😳 I ended up returning the steering wheel to center and went another route: Moving the knuckle fore and aft. In the end, I moved the knuckle forward a little farther than I wanted to as shown below. Hopefully I didn't hurt anything. After hours in the sun and an immobilized vehicle in my apartment parking lot, I honestly didn't care as long as I could get it moving to take it to a shop if needed. The other challenge was my not wanting to remove the cap from the ball joint boot until the very last minute. There are a lot of sharp parts down there including the knife-like disc brake shield, and I didn't want to destroy the ball joint boot.

DD, this is where I would say that removing the brake assembly, hub, and shield might help. If it allows more jacking options or keeps that ball joint boot safe it is well worth the additional minutes and bungee cord required. I will definitely do that for the other side. Also, if you're filming it like the guy in the video, it's a lot better for the viewer. :) Speaking of the video, I think the guy got the torque for the pinch bolt wrong (too high), and I can see from the service manual how he could have done that. I'll confirm that and if so, drop him a note in his Comment section.

Pics:
Found out what was making the noise after I removed my wheel 😉 (yes, it was there, but it wasn't making the noises):
View attachment 311440

Knuckle shoved to the front of the car while jacked, hopefully not too far:
View attachment 311438

Knuckle elevated with plastic ball joint cover installed till the bitter end:
View attachment 311439

Captured the order of the three different bolts for that rear bracket (actual LCA bolt would go in the empty space among them):
View attachment 311441

Today, six months after replacing the left LCA, I replaced the right one :p and it seems this has gotten rid of a lot of my remaining clunks. In fact, replacing the *right*-front one almost seems to have further quieted noises from my hitting bumps with the *left*-front wheel, which already had its LCA replaced. (?!?) Is it possible that road impact to the left-front wheel is referred to the right-front wheel via stabilizer bar or body, whereupon it (previously) made a clunk?

Surprisingly, the ball joint pictured below wasn't that bad. Yes, I could move it with my hand, but it wasn't exactly sloppy. However, based on the cracked bushings at the other two corners of the LCA (and the improvement I feel in the ride now), it was past time to replace it.

The order of installation I took this time was different: 1) front bolt 2) ball joint 3) four rear bolts. I did one thing different this time that helped: I removed the two 17mm bolts holding the knuckle to the strut, which is not normally a requirement. This made it easier to both fasten the ball joint and jack up the knuckle in order to get the LCA horizontal and install the four rear bolts (no spring resistance with the strut detached). The only caution is that while jacking up the knuckle with those two 17mm bolts undone, the strut can collide with your CV boot and the stabilizer bar can contact the LCA. I made sure that I stopped jacking up the knuckle before that happened.
 
Didn't really take many photos when I was working on my own car, of course I have quite a few for a PT Cruiser I fixed up, but I needed to show the work I did so..

Anyways just picked this up, it needed a lot more work then I thought, I needed to install a new battery and couldn't get the bar off at the time and didn't want to strip the bolts so I went at it my own way lol

Also replaced the IAC (Not shown), spark plugs, cables, both coils..

Had transmission replaced at 130km :cry: new one has 139km I think took forever to find, new power steering pump, water pump & timing belt and cover, starter, new horn, wipers front and rear, antenna, ignition switch, rad fluid and oil change. Brakes all around and at least 2 rotors I can't recall.

Still runs like crap 😭


Next up, new tires and maybe rims and re-do calipers, weather stripping and P1569 and P0300 errors 😑 Has like no rust anywhere no accidents or damage other then a some paint damage on front bumper and curbing on rims so trying hard to save it!

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Yeah, that can't be good...
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My 2002 MP5 AT
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Yeah, that can't be good...
View attachment 315275
Funny that you posted this just now. After my P5's passing inspections easily for 20 years, it failed twice last week with both CAT and EVAP monitors showing Not Ready. I didn't know these monitors even existed. I had only ever dealt with actual trouble codes like your P0300 one. I had recently disconnected the battery, but after a week or two of driving, testing the battery, and swapping out the ECU with a spare, I just couldn't reset those two monitors. I then finally followed Mazda's prescribed drive cycle steps to reset the CAT readiness monitor (Google for that) and it totally worked. That left only the one bad EVAP monitor which was enough for me to pass inspection. I imagine the EVAP monitor will reset on its own over the course of the year, but if not I may follow the prescribed drive cycle steps for its monitor as well.

The guys at the inspection/oil change place didn't know about readiness monitors either, and that was a surprise. One of them even told me that I'd certainly fail a third time since I hadn't taken the car to a mechanic. :D Then again, they are all pretty young and don't have a lot of experience. I have to do some of my own inspection testing when I go there because none of them can drive a manual.
 
Funny that you posted this just now. After my P5's passing inspections easily for 20 years, it failed twice last week with both CAT and EVAP monitors showing Not Ready.


Don't forget your monitoring conditions.
Your fuel level needs to be between 35%-85% for the system to be monitored.

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