Work just gave me a $2500 bonus

[FuNwaGoN]

Sorry had to share because I am still in shock. Alot of things have been going on within our company and like many others we have laid many people off. Well I get back from lunch and my boss calls me in to his office. I am thinking I am in trouble or something because this never happens. I go in and he asks me to close the door. I was starting to get scared that I was the next casualty of the recession. Well he pulls out a letter and hands it to me and it says that I will be receiving a bonus. The thing is that I am a contractor and as such do not get any benefits from the company that I work for. No health no nothing So getting a bonus is a pretty big deal. Well just had to share with you guys because I am not allowed to tell anyone else here. Gotta love corporate policies. This bonus on top of my tax return should make for a good start to the new year. Still waiting to see if my car is ok after the last service before I start modding but once that is settled I be ready to go. Wheels, intake, exhaust, springs, maybe even a system. Well maybe not gotta spend a little money on my house. Oh well thanks for letting me share.

 

[mypfizzle]

yay*

i wish i could get a bonus.. blah.. oh well.. so hows the wagon goin i havent heard from u in a while.. ya kno. if it makes u feel better.. after i got the few lil bugs worked otuah this thing.. its more reliable than my frends brand new lexus is300. -=)
oh yeah.. congrats on tha bonus..
(2thumbs)
-John

 

[FuNwaGoN]

Wassup fizzle, just been busting my hump around here. They had kind of hinted about bonuses at the end of last year and so I have really been putting the effort in. Now if they would just hire me on fulltime and take me off of contractor status then it would be all good. Well as far as the ole wagon goes it is actually doing ok. I mean I am still not totally happy with it because of everything I have been through and I feel that it is running rougher now than when I test drove it or than when I first got it. But on a better note I started going to Montgomery Mazda instead of Harrelson and have been getting great service. We will have to see how it goes though. I told them I would put about 500 miles on the car after this last repair and see how it is running at that time. Glad to hear your car is doing good and thanks for the congrats.

 

[mypfizzle]

i wanan drive the lightning -=) HeH I just saw u had that -=)

 

[FuNwaGoN]

yeah still trying to decide what to do with her. I mean most of the time she just sits under a cover in the driveway and I start to think about selling her but then undoubtedly one of my friends or my mom needs something moved and so I drive her and it is love all over again. I just love how fast that damn truck is but boy does she drink alot.

 

[1sty]

So what was wrong with it or is that still unknown!

 

[FuNwaGoN]

Hey 1st, I have been kinda holding off on posting about my car until the 500 miles was up because I am tired of telling everybody that it is fixed and then it screws up again. anyway they told me that there was a switch in the clutch mechanism that senses pressure on the clutch pedal. Well because 90% of my driving is done in traffic and is stop and go my foot is almost always on the clutch even if it is just resting there. Well the computer was recognizing this as the clutch being engaged and as a result was searching for the idle. The fix was they put a stopper in the clutch mechanism that makes it so the clutch has to be fully engaged for the computer to register it. Not sure if I beleive that a $5 rubber stopper thing is going to solve all of my problems but we will have to see. Since they cleared the memory on my car it has to learn how I drive all over again. From past experience this comes after about 500 miles. So far it hasn't flucuated or dropped almost to stalling but it is a little rougher than I remember. I mean you can sit there and feel it idle. Not sure if that is normal or not. Anyway wasn't trying to keep anything from the boards I just didn't want to give anybody false hopes. How is you car doing BTW.

 

[1sty]

There are currently about 15 thread on this exact topic out there, its getting nuts.

This sounds possible and since I am having my clutch swapped I will have the shop look into it.

If you were going 70 and push and hold the clutch what did, does the idle do, mine crashes to 0 then recovers.

 

[1sty]

Heres a few more threads for you to fallow.

http://www.msprotege.com/vbb225/showthread.php?s=&postid=128139#post128139

and

http://www.protegeclub.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=20551

 

[FuNwaGoN]

Well Before this last service my car would do the same as yours when going 70 and pushing in the clutch. The rpms would fall to 0 and then it would recover. I haven't tried that since. Will have to tonight. Also important to note that before the service when driving at night on the highway cruising 70-75(i don't think the speed matters but that is the avg I was going ) you could feel a 1-3 second stutter in the car and you would see a corresponding dimming of the headlights. Now keep in mind this was just under normal running and would happen 1-2 times every couple of minutes, more if it was really cold. This hasn't happened since the service either. I will keep you updated as to what happens tonight on my drive home. I hear you on the trading the car in and losing money just to be done with it. I am almost there myself.

 

[1sty]

Yeah this is definitly pissing me off. Plus I have the turbo so getting decent help isn't easy.

I just had a lovely conversation with a Mazda customer Servicer Rep. Actauly i think its the same nice women that I initialy talked to to get the ball rolling on the rear sway bar bushing swap for the MP3. Any way she definitly revamp my try again spirit but there isn't much of that left.

Where exactly did they put this rubber stopper?

but

 

[FuNwaGoN]

Well hate to say that I don't know but I don't. I asked both the service advisor and the manager and they both just said it went in the clutch mechanism. I asked 3 seperate times and got different answers each time though. That is how stupid they are at that dealership. I am going to call Jim Bready the tech that did the install and see if he can tell me. Will let you know what I find out.

 

[1sty]

Cool, when you talk to him ask if drilling a small hole in the throttle plate, old trick, would have any negative effects.