Intake Manifold Solenoid Replacement
 

The other day my engine light came on. I took it to a friend here who works at Mazda. He said it was the Intake Manifold Solenoid that was setting the light off. I asked him if it was hard to install myself and he said that there's one screw in the back that's a pain to get off.

Has anyone here replaced this solenoid before? Or better yet, is there a DIY on this? I tried searching for it but couldn't find anything. I could've been searching for the wrong thing or using the words. If that's the case, then if some one could provide me the link I need I'll go ahead and delete this thread.

Thanks for your help!

Depends on the solenoid... is it one of the three located behind the UIM (SSV, VDI, AIR) or the purge solenoid that is on the front of the UIM?

My guess is its one of the rears since he is talking about a rear "PITA bolt"
If so, they are easier to reach with the UIM removed.
Follow this DIY:
https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...ighlight=upper

Thank you so much! I'll ask him which solenoid it was. Thanks again, I really appreciate it!

I just talked to my friend again. He couldn't remember the exact name of the solenoid, but he said its the shutter valve in the intake....

That is the SSV (Secondary Shutter Valve) and he is talking about one of the three solenoids behind the UIM (Upper Intake Manifold).
Once you follow the DIY I posted above to remove the UIM, you'll see three solenoids stacked vertically... the SSV solenoid is the one in the middle.

Anything SSV related can be troubleshot from this DIY including how to verify the solenoid itself:
https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-do-yourself-forum-73/diy-remove-ssv-beta-teaser-video-184663/
I've seen instances where the solenoid was fine, just the electrical connector had some tarnished pins and cleaning them took care of the problem (electrical contact cleaner works fine).

Purge Valve
 

Hello Jon316G,

First off, wanted to say thank you on your many efforts of DIY's on the website. Your information has been useful to me for several instances.

I have been reading this thread because I believe from a P0443 error that has occured on my RX8, that I need to replace the solenoid. I have been driving the car for a couple months now but tired of the doggy sick feeling that my RX8's vibe is giving me. In this thread you mentioned how to remove the UIM itself as a whole and also in Bamsterman's particular situation regarding the SSV.

So my question to you is (if you do not mind),

1. Do I need to remove the UIM completely to replace my purge solenoid?
2. And if I do not need to remove the UIM, is there anything I can go by in terms of removing the solenoid all by itself?

I have done extensive and specific searching via Google, RX8Club, and I have not seen anything in particular but a diagram. Any of your help would be useful.

Thank you kindly for your consideration.

Purge Solenoid? are you talking about the front one? in that case, no. since is in the front, u can just slip it out, but that one rarely fails.

you "could" remove any of the 3 soldnoid in the back without removing the UIM, but the catch is you gotta "break" that tab that's holding the solenoid in place. with the right tool and some luck, u can slip ur hand into the back and break it and slip the dead solenoid out, but I usually just take the whole UIM off

after taking I don't even know how many times of the UIM off, I can replace all 3 solenoid with airbox/UIM off in about an hour ish. and that's when I'm taking my sweet time. It's really not hard if you know what to look for

Nycgps,

Thank you very much for your prompt reply.

Yes, I am referring to the purge solenoid which is located directly in front of the UIM next to the oil fill neck. That is great news on not having to remove the UIM!

Your help has been greatly appreciated especially for someone who has done it many times.

Much Luck in Your Endeavors.

Best Regards

Purge Solenoid P0443
 

Hello again nycgps,

I hope this is not to ignorant of a question for you, but I would rather be safe than sorry. I just received the purge solenoid through the mail to replace my old one. Through tinkering with it last night, I noticed that the solenoid part has two nipple inlets, a connector piece, and then a threaded end (see image). I disconnected the connector and noticed with the threaded portion in the way its hard to just slip that out with the UIM installed.

Should I be super aggressive with it? And should I expect to break one of the nipples off if so? Is it easier to install than take off? The solenoid nipple parts are way up in the UIM and I did not know if you had to twist the valve to get it out or what because the UIM is completely intact and will not budge of course. I did not want any surprises just in case and thought you would be the guy to ask...

Thank you again for your time.

if you're afraid, take the Manifold off, really is not that diffcult.

dont be agressive with it, it's ok to break the old solenoid, but what you DON'T want to happen is breaking the manifold ... its rare, but it can happen. just be easy with plastic parts.

I found that using a zip-tie to tighten the connections between the solenoids and their connectors can eliminate the failures and CEL's. Worth a try for the price of a zip-tie.

More details here:

Repeated SSV Solenoid Failures