Shinka/10AE

Have read through lots and lots of threads on here from searching. Alot of good information but not all in the same place. Just want to confirm my suspicions about what might be going on.

I have a 2005 MT with approximately 87K and it is bone stock. I have regularly had the oil changed at the dealer and the Cat was replaced at under 20K. The car has the original coils and the spark plugs are overdue for changing. I have only flooded it once since I have had it (7 years and counting). The upgraded motor mounts have never been installed and the car idles as it always has (mostly smooth but with a few shudders).

So with the background story out of the way here goes. I posted a while back that I had flooded the engine. I used the various deflooding DIYs on here to get the thing started again. It must have been flooded bad because it took forever to get the thing going. It seems to run fine and pulls as hard as ever but now the fuel economy has taken a hit. Although I am only about halfway through this last tank of gas, it does seem to be improving though. About 2 weeks after I got it deflooded, I was moving it from the street to my garage and it randomly stunk bad like sulfur. I suspected that it was the Cat but that has not happened since. I have looked under the car at the Cat mulitple times to see if it was glowing and it never is. The car smells and sounds like it always has. I've had no CEL and it goes happily to the redline as usual.

While reading through the posts about both flooding and the sulfur smell, I started to read about hard warm starting being a sign of low compression. Being the type of person that I am (think George Costanza), I started to worry that my engine was dying. The thing is, my car has always been a finicky starter when it was warm. I have never had a compression test done since the car has not had any noticeable difference in performance since I've had it. I have watched videos of the hard starting and the wierd thing is that sometimes it takes 2 to 3 seconds to start when it is warm, but other times it starts just like it does when its cold.

1) Could my inattention to changing the spark plugs (it's cold here in Illinois and it's expensive to have the dealer do it so I was waiting till it got a bit warmer to do it myself) and maybe the fact that I have 87K on the original coils contributed to my engine flooding?

2) Could the old coils and the now toasted spark plugs be the culprit regarding the decreased economy?

3) During the process of deflooding, could I have put more strain on an already compromised starter motor?

4) Could the fact that I don't think that I ever got the upgraded starter and that I have old coils be why my car has always been finicky when warm starting? I bought the Car in late 2006 but it only had 2300 miles on it and it is an 05.

4) Coud the random stink been burning off whatever fuel was built up when it was flooded? I hope that the Cat is not dead cause I am right at the end of the 8 year period from when the car was originally bought (I'm not sure when exactly, but the car is an 05).

I fear though that my engine is dying and that the car will be out of warranty when it does eventually need replacing.

I'm looking for honest objective answers, but wouldn't mind if someone could ease my anxiety just a bit. Thanks.

Carbon Fibr

Well Search MORE you fukin beep beep.

lol, just joking.

if I where in your position I would be ready to spend some money.

list of things i would do in order.
-do not drive it because you could be damaging it more.
-Purchase spark plugs, wires and coils.
-air filter.
-straight pipe to get rid of cat (thats if your OK for emissions test for a while)
-pick a decent warm day coming up since springs almost here to put that thing on jack stands and DIY!
-Than take it for a compression test (try to stay away from dealer on this one because your cats removed) if your engines bad put cat back on & rape your dealer for new engine before your deadline. (8 years from warranty start date) 100,000 miles.

to answer your questions.
1. yes your inattention to changing spark plugs could be flooding.
2. Yes your decreased economy lies within spark
3. Yes the process of deflooding put strain on your (old style starter) which i would upgrade.
Also strain on your engine internals.
4. warm starting will probably go away once you attend to your spark. But it might not.
5. random stink i have no clue. Id have to smell it and try and trace it.

& for your warranty u might still be good. email your dealer. Ask them to email you back a service history report which will show u when your warranty date started.

my 05 is up in September for example.

hope this helps.

Mr_Pieper

Original coils is the most obvious thing on your list. Replace them and then have a compression test done as this may have led to other failures.

Smell usually relates to the kitty.

Shinka/10AE

I wish that I had the option to not drive it but I don't. I just checked the carfax and the vehicle warranty started in June of 2005 so I at least have until then to get it fixed if need be. I am scared to death now that I am going to be denied warranty work cause the dealer recommended that I change the spark plugs the last 2 times that the I had the oil changed and I didnt want to give them the outrageous amount of money they wanted for the labor.

Carbon Fibr

make up a "makeshift" log book that you did the service at an earlier date.

tza0001

iTrader: (2)

You can just buy the parts yourself and let the dealer just install them...That would help with the cost.

04RX8man

I had the old starter on my 04. Started great until the engine went. Then was getting worse and worse. New engine fires with no problem. I would DEFINITELY do coils,plugs and wires to see if it goes away. If not a comp test won't hurt.

poppinparker

My 05 had issues over a year ago I had many of your symptoms I also didnt do anything until the flashing cel and limp mode happened. (which im suprised hasnt happened yet for you) I would follow all the suggestions youve heard unless you want to keep your cat and not go to the strait pipeing, then all the other suggestions are dead on. If you continue to drive on the faulty ignition system theres a good chance all the un burnt fuel will end up in the cat and burn there leaving you with a cool p-420 code. (faulty cat) yup you can cook it from your current issues. So I would take care of it and prevent that financial nightmare.

Bladecutter

You have been a member of the forum since 2006.
You have owned the car since 2006.

Why have you, by the sounds of it, completely neglected the car's electrical system since the day you brought it home, and have completely refused to do the simplest and cheapest of maintenance items by replacing the spark plugs?

You say that it's because its currently inconvenient for you to do them. Yet your dealer has told you at least two times in the past 6 months or so that they need to be done. Since you said two oil changes, I have to guess its been at least 6 months since they originally told you they needed to be done, which puts you into late summer/early fall.

And, your extended engine warranty is coming to a close soon, but you still don't want to take the time, order the spark plugs from Advance Auto Parts, or someplace similar, and pay a local mechanic to install them, for less than what the dealer would charge you?

I'm sorry, but you are going to wind up with a very dead engine, very soon, and you're going to have to shell out money for it. The dealer has it on record that they informed you that you will need to service the ignition system several times, and you ignored it, so they will be able to deny your coverage if they truly feel like it.

I would highly recommend that you buy the coils plugs, and wires from someone, soon, and pay a mechanic to install them if you aren't willing to spend an hour in the cold to install them yourself.

Drive the car for about a week with the new parts installed, and then take it in for a compression test.

That's what you should do.
It's entirely up to you if you want to spend under $200 now, or if you would rather wait until your engine completely dies, leaves you without a car, your dealer denies your warranty coverage due to lack of maintenance, and you have to shell out $3500 later.

BC.

Shinka/10AE

First and foremost, I have taken very good care of this car from the moment that I had it. For the reasons listed below I had about a 6 month stretch where life made my car take a back seat. Those reasons are as follows:

I neglected to change out the coils because I simply didn't know there was any issue with them. It is the same reason that I never changed out the starter. I have not had any issues with my car and have been very pleased. With a car that was not giving me any problems, I generally stayed away from the forum topics that involved the things that I just now have noticed.

The reason that I didn't change out the sparkplugs is two-fold. 1) It was cold and expensive (what I said before) and 2) My wife and I had our first child in November and that pretty much occupied every spare thought that I have had UNTIL the car flooded and started to act squirrely. I don't want to get into any more personal information so I will leave it at that.

I did change out the spark plugs Friday night and it made a world of difference. I also reset the ECU using the brake tapping trick and the car is driving better than ever. It drove so much better as a matter of fact that on my test drive I got too excited and got myself a speeding ticket.

Soon I will replace the coils and wires and then look into the 2kw starter. I also have been in contact with Mazda about having a compression test done. I am absolutely not trying to be confrontational, but just wanted to give an update while simultaneously answering your inquiries.

p.s. Whenever I can get my phone to upload some videos on youtube of the car starting before and after the new plugs, I will post them on here as well as a picture of the fried plugs that I took out on Friday.

Bladecutter

Okay, now that's funny.
Looks like you're back on track to getting your car where it should be.

Good luck to you and your young family.

BC.

Shinka/10AE

I appreciate that, thank you. Life is pretty awesome now as a matter of fact.

In all sincerity though, I really respect the expertise on this website (namely from you and others) and I am really trying to thoroughly search for things before posting questions. What I have not been able to find is an explanation or a video as to what the difference would be between an actual hot starting problem due to compression vs. a starting problem due to a worn out/pre-upgraded starter.

The reason I say this is that I am begining to suspect that I may not have a hot starting issue at all, but without any frame of reference it is difficult to say. With my warranty coming to an end in June, I am still going to have the compression test done on pricinciple alone. In the meantime though I am curious to know whether or not I show any signs of low compression. While I was driving this weekend, I turned the A/C on to see if the idle dipped at all and it was rock solid. Thanks again for your help and the information that you provided (even though now I am spooked that, even if my engine needed replacing, that I would get denied the warranty claim due to my failure to do what they said in a timely manner).

Bladecutter

Well, typically, hot start issues are a combination of issues, weak starter and weak compression.

If the compression was good, the engine would still fire up even with a weakened starter. When its freezing cold out, my RX-8 cranks over much slower than when its 75 degrees out, yet it still starts. When the car is fully warmed up, it starts quick and easy.

A strong starter can get a border line engine to fire up.
A weak starter might fire up, or it might flood frequently.

If your car were in my possession, coils, wires, and plugs, drive for a week, and then compression test. If it barely passes, I might switch back to the old coils wires and plugs, and put on a gutted convertor, and then drive the heck out of the car until it does die, then bring it back for a second compression test where it fails, and gets replaced under warranty.

Getting an engine to fail is pretty easy.
Getting a borderline one to improve, isn't.

BC.