clmantis21

Happened for the first time about a year ago...

then happened again about 2 weeks ago... then again last week, and again TODAY!

While coming home from school (about a 15 mile drive on highway) I started loosing power when trying to accelerate. The "traction" light was blinking and I felt absolutely no power... I had to downshift all the way to 2nd on the Interstate and slow down to about 25-30 mph to regain power.

As I exited... and shifted to neutral, the car shut off. It took about 3 mins for it to turn back on... idled really rough so I revved it for a min or two and then I was on my way again. Car ran fine all the way home.

I drove it to the store about 2 hours later, and on the way home... I had the "traction" light flash again but car didnt shut off. I just got home... but now I have no clue what the problem could be. I think I may just drop it off at the dealer tomorrow morning, but what should I expect to hear?

I know my intake filter needs replacing pretty soon, but could that be the problem? Plug, wires? Autozone coded the P2070 code, could this be the problem also? Should I ask them to check the compression (and will this cost me $$ to have checked)

Thanks guys!

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

coils ? plugs ?

clmantis21

how do I know if they are out?

I know the dealer replaced the plugs and wires I think when deflooding my 8 a while back ago. about 40k ago now that I think of it.

I'm going out of town, would it be a bad idea ($$ wise) if I drop the car off tomorrow morning and pick it up Thursday when I get back?

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

40 K ago? sheesh

change all plugs and coils. Now. oh, wires too.

get it from CRH/BHR or Mazmart. probably 85 bux for all plugs, wires about 60, coils maybe 27-28 bux each. u need 4.

sounds like you dont know how to install, have someone who knows these stuff do it for you. or do it at some garage, 1 hour max for everything.

No more question. case closed.

clmantis21

hah, thanks for the advice. How often do you have yours replaced? (just curious)

Also, while searching the net I found this post from a user with what sounds like the same problem.

any thoughts?

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

I do mine every 10-15K. I want my car to perform "at its best" all the time.

throttle body hardly fails.

and seriously, change the plugs before the tip breaks off and ruin your engine.

clmantis21

hey thanks for all the inside.

In your honest opinion... would it be a bad idea to take it into the dealer anyway? Or to have them change the plugs/wires/coils? I just have no time, going out of town and I dont want to drive the car around for another week if I order the parts and have to wait for them in the mail.

I'm not stupid, but Ive never done it before so I dont exactly know how to do it myself.

laythor

Changing the plugs and wires will take under an hour for someone who's never done it before. Just make sure you have a long extension with a wobble. I had never taken the plugs out before and was able to install the BHR coil kit with wires and plugs in 45 minutes.

teknics

with a p2070 code, im guessing thats more likely your problem. sticky ssv will cause motor havoc when it gets stuck badly. low rpms or dropping rpms at all results in occassional stalls, motor starts compensating for all kinds of factors. Plus it means your intake is gunked up, if not your engine. I'd do the full p2070 TSB and an engine decarb with fresh plugs and possibly coils (depending on age)

kevin.

clmantis21

so with the p2070 TSB I should be able to have the dealer service my car for this issue at no cost? If so... I plan on taking it in on Tuesday for this and also purchasing plugs & wires there and installing them myself.

nuke0907

iTrader: (2)

don't have the dealer change the coils. they will rape you. its easy to do in your driveway. just look on here for a DIY.

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

take the Bold part out.

Buy those stuff online and save.

If you're under warranty (basic bumper to bumper is da best), have them do it under warranty.

clmantis21

Ok, i'll purchase online. The main reason I was going to spend a little extra and just buy them at the dealer was to get them right away since they have them in stock. I'd hate to have to wait another week or so for them to come in.

Unfortunately I am no longer under bumper to bumper warranty, so will the dealer charge me to perform this TSB?

Razz1

Yes.

Send PM to Charles R Hill. He may have a set of coils for you that fixes the bad stock coils. Plus performance increase and should fix flooding issues due to hotter spark.

You still need to Seafoam the SSV and rev the **** out of it.

Once repaired you need to redline more often to prevent sticking valve.

Replacing the coils will not fix the valve, but is a good thing to do.

clmantis21

yea i'm definately going to be ordering plugs and wires very soon. I am hoping this will fix my issues.

I also plan on doing the seafoam procedure to fix my p2070 issue. Can anyone direct me to a DIY for this? I cant seem to find a good one with step by step instructions.

thanks again fellas

shazy

You should check the Neutral Shift

That could help your problem with not accelerating and making your car go in LIMP mode.

clmantis21

So I just placed the order from sparkplugs.com

NGK Racing plug 6700 RE7CL 2 $20.55 .........$41.10
NGK Racing plug 6701 RE9BT 2 $20.55 .........$41.10
NGK Premium wire set 4858 ZE81 1 $24.95 .......... .$24.95
K&N K&N Replacement Air Filter 33-2284 33-2284 1 $50.65...... $50.65

Came out to $157 for all 4 plugs, the wire set and I got an air filter as well since it needs it too. Opted for the 3 day shipping so I get em changed soon.

All I need now is for someone to help me out with the seafoam procedure or point me to a good DIY for it.

Thanks again guys!!!

clmantis21

So I finally was able to take a little bit of time yesterday afternoon to put the parts in. I installed new plugs and plug wires as well as a K&N air filter.

I Sea Foamed the car right before I checked the plugs out. I followed the steps in the DIY thread and it worked out fine. Car smoked quite a bit, smell wasn't as bad as I thought it would be... but the smoke blew away pretty rapidly so I'm sure someone smelled it!

I've only driving the car to and from school since... and it seems to run with a bit more power while accelerating. The CEL went away for a slight moment, but returned and is currently still on. How long should I expect it to stick around before going away? (P2070 code triggered it according to Autozone). Hope Sea Foaming it worked.

As far as the old plugs... they all looked pretty worn out. One of them had some oil on it as well.... so I'm glad I replaced those. I didnt replace the coils just yet but from what I can tell, looked pretty good still.

Thanks again

teknics

if the code is p2070 you still have to do the p2070 tsb, its not the same as just seafoaming or doing the regular engine decarb procedure.

you'll need to remove (and possibly replace) the SSV and internally clean it's chamber within the intake manifold. if you're still in warranty bring it in for the code, they will repair it for free. if you're not under warranty theyll charge you (its a TSB not a recall). You can do it yourself also if you choose.

kevin.

clmantis21

Oh, ok... thanks for clarifying. Just out of curiosity... what is the dealership charging for this TSB to be preformed? I would like to do it myself... but would hate to mess something up.

Thanks

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

ITs going to cost a lot.

Vyndictive

iTrader: (28)

When my SSV was stuck, the dealer wanted to replace everything through the intake and also said the it may have damaged my cat (which was nonsense because I was running catless)

But anyway, they wanted roughly 4k for the parts to clean out my intake, throttle body, and intake and SSV...

Do it yourself - see if you can rally some local 8 owners to help you out.

teknics

i dont know the price of the parts, but if you go to the dealer at the least you're going to be buying a new SSV valve which is probably a few hundred, some new gaskets, and maybe 3-4 hours of labor i'd guess.

or they'll try to convince you to buy a whole new manifold and charge 10+ hours of labor to replace it (at which point you advise them you know about the TSB)

kevin.

clmantis21

screw that... I'll do it myself! I'll search for the DIY on this TSB.

clmantis21

Ok... so is this the TSB I need to perform?

http://www.finishlineperformance.com...9-08-1929a.pdf

If so, after reading through this... I just dont think I am able to perform this myself. I just dont understand how Mazda wont cover this? I am out of warranty. I am at 79,000 miles.

After changing the spark plugs and wires my CEL went away for a few hours then returned, and just yesterday I had it stall on me... yet again. I usually wait about 15-20 minutes, then I am able to start the car again in 2nd gear.

I'm stumped as to what to do now?!? I have about $300-400 extra cash for this month but I'm guessing it'll cost more then that at the dealer?

What do I do??