*UPDATE* Went to the dealership yesterday they FINALLY have some Mazda techs. Anyways that sifting noise was coming from the right bank on the intake. Turns out I didn't tighten a bolt all the way down so came home and checked all of them and noise is gone ! :wiggle: Just a squealing sound now guessin its the belt or somethin.

thanks to this thread i was able to figure out what was wrong with my car, turns out its the ssv solenoid so i swapped it with the air solenoid..

one question remains though...
where the heck do i get a replacement solenoid/whats the part number!?

The part number is KL0118741.
You can order it at OnlineMazdaParts.com (search by the part number).

But before you purchase a new one, sometimes the electrical connection to the solenoid gets tarnished due to the elements.
I would spray the contacts with Contact/Electrical Cleaner (on the solenoid and wire harness) and try the original valve again.

Well good news ! Talked to dealership today and the Mazda mechanic said they found a vacuum hose cracked possibly from the CHRYSLER mechanic putting in the motor. So at first they were gonna just order a new one but got a call today and they are just gonna replace the whole intake. Now my question is, is it just the upper and lower intake black pieces that are being replaced or what all is included in a new assembly?

Something you really need to ask them...
BTW, the lower intake manifold isn't part of the "black pieces".

I took the car into the dealer for an new engine, i notice the SSV valve was sticky before i took it in, when it came back out, the valve was STUCK tight. the dealership supposable "cleaned" it by spraying zoom zoom cleaner into the 2 nipples on the left side of the lower intake manifold. Which i believe dislodge some carbon into the SSV valve and stuck it, i would be careful of ever allowing them to touch your SSV valves, and applying the fix. i am going to try and fix the ssv valve after i move and settle in. any reason why i shouldn't be driving with the valve stuck open?

xsnipersgox- hopefully you didn't actually pay these guys!
Reason I say this is because when you spray into the maintenance ports, you're only spraying into the primary runners... the SSV is part of the secondary runners.
There is VERY little chance that ANY fluid actually reached the valve... and definitely not enough to be affective.

Also... its more likely the valve is stuck closed (even though the code might indicate open).
You can experience power loss above 3250rpm and I've even seen it cause the engine to just die when you press in the clutch pedal and the RPMs drop all the way to 0.

me and the head mexican mechanic took a look at it, and it looks like stuck 1/2 way open lawl...

Jon is right... the SSV sits above the maintence ports... so there is no way the de carbon got to it.

To answer your question... with the valve stuck halfway open, at higher rpm, you'll notice a lack of power because the ssv can't open and the proper amount of air into the engine... so in essence, it'll run lean on air, (not fuel as running lean typically means)

Also... you may notice a rough idle... the SSV opens at idle, because its not open all the way you will have the same issue with the engine starving to breath.

Someone with more technical knowledge can have more insight. However, I drove on mine with the SSV stuck closed for about 3 weeks until we figured it out. It didn't appear to do any harm as that was close to 35k miles ago.

However, I would make this a priority to get fixed in the very near future.

man, now i finally got the car back, i tried to move it with this thing i have to have strength, and it won't budge... i think the dealership really pulled a fast one on me, bent it during engine installation and trying to peg it on me since i went in with a sticky valve.

Question:

I have been thinking about this. I am on my third engine so my SSV has been removed and reinstalled twice. I have checked it and it moves freely after 110,000 miles but I am thinking of removing it and cleaning it anyway. What do you think?

If you're comfortable with doing it, I think its a good preventative maintenance measure to perform.
Also, if you've replaced a thermostat and water pump, this will be easy for you because its basically the same steps with a couple additional ones.

Soo I took out and cleaned my ssv, I put the car all back together... and now it wont start.
I checked over every thing I did and I cant figer out what the problem is.

In the video we were spraying the inside of the housing to clean up the carbon, but as I noted in the 1st post, this can cause starting issues because all the gunk now ran into the engine.
We were able to start it... it was just a little difficult, so this could be your problem.
It was suggested later in this thread to place a shop rag at the bottom so the build-up doesn't run down the runners.
I really need to go back and update the 1st post with the latest findings/ideas.

Also check around the air pump.
There are a couple components that need to be connected in order for the car to start (I've run into that before also).

Thanks Jon I will check the air pump tomorrow.
It sounds like its not getting spark when i try to start it
thinking that it could be the plugs.

If that build-up managed to make its way into the chambers... then yes, it could be the plugs.

I will tackle this as a preventative measure when I get back from vacation. Thanks.

Compiled everything from this thread into the 1st post so people don't have to skim through the various pages in order to find items.

saved me big money thanks for the dedication to the tread :worship:

thankyou Jon and the informative thread :worship::worship::worship:

u guys are great :)

YEP Jon...is a FANTASTIC MEMBER...he is worth his weight in cocky poo!!...lol..

He has fixed more RX-8's that Mazda Dealers have.

. . . thanks . . . I guess :scratchhe:lol2:

OH sorry, I really meant worth your weight in Gold...is that better???? :wiggle:

Gold is more valuable than "cocky poo" :)

Since you're removing the thermostat housings, do you need to have new gasket(s) on hand before reassembly?