Uhh, careful with that MAF!

All you need to do is unscrew 2 little screws to pull it out of the accordion, lift it out, turn it around holding it by the top where the screws were, and hose it down with the MAF cleaner. Touching anything else could damage it. It's incredibly sensitive to grease, grime, oil, dirt, being hit, etc...

the "won't come off" part you wrote scares me.....

 

Oh don't worry I was just spraying lots of the MAF cleaner on to the bulb but the black "coating" was not coming off..i then looked at a new MAF on the net and the bulbs are black..is this correct? Im going to attempt the EES next I think there is a DIY on here somewhere.

Do you know what tools are needed for removing the CAT?

 

Oh, yes. The MAF is all black anyway. It should be smooth, and grit should show up easily.

Cat is going to be a PITA, how big of one, is going to depend on how much salt your area sees. Cat is 5 bolts, 2 rear 3 front. They are likely heavily rusted in. My best recommendation is to go to a hardware store and buy a set of hardware to replace your existing nuts and bolts with, then take those and your car to any little mechanic's shop and pay them $20 or whatever to put your car on a lift, break the bolts free, pull them out, and put your hardware in. If UK law allows them to take the cat itself off, then that's an option for you, it isn't in the US as it's illegal for them to remove the cat without immediately replacing it with the same cat or a new one. If they can't, then just have them replace the hardware, you drive it home, let it cool off, and remove the cat easily.


If you tackle it yourself, be prepared to go through lots of pain and aggravation. The front cat bolts also won't move at all until the nuts are completely off, then you have to take a hammer to the threaded side and pound them straight out, like nails. They have splines to keep them from turning.

 

Sounds like it will be best for the local garage to do it. A new cat is quite expensive.. would it be better if I gutted out the CAT completely so it became a decat?

 

"best"? Not really. I don't know UK's emission's laws to know what you can get away with. But a gutten OEM cat is not pleasant on the ears, and could attract law enforcement. It works, it's doable, but I would recommend that if you are going the de-cat route, that you start working on getting a midpipe to install instead to keep the noise under control.

As for midpipe choice, I personally think BHR's is by far the best out there, as it doesn't fail, doesn't rasp, and doesn't drone. Every other midpipe does at least one of those 3, if not more than 1.

Entirely your call. You may also be able to find a cheap used OEM cat from another member to stay emissions compliant without alot of cash.

 

Hi..a sad update..

Got the cat gutted earlier now i gother engine light and power worse!!

 

Well, first question that comes to mind was the cat actually clogged, or did they just gut it out without checking to see if it needed to be gutted?

Now, you need to get a compression test done.

BC.

 

The mechanics showed me the inside.of the cat and you could see it was blocked. If its a faulty fuel pump will a compression test hide this?

 

Fuel pump has nothing to do with a compression test.
If you want to test the fuel pump, you need to have a fuel system pressure test performed.

BC.

 

I think from what i have searched i should clean the ess and the sock filter in the fuel pump and see if the problems continue...the power issue mainly happens when the car has warmed up. Why am i getting 10 mpg

 

Leadfootitis, most likely.

BC.

 

Okay an update on this

Went to Mazda Specialist other day.

Compressions come back around 530 on each rotor and said was not bad as brand new should be 800?

The car was stuck in LEAN mode which was the cause of lack of power , this was due to a messed up o2 sensor, they replaced this for £90 (which is cheap) no other problems came up.

HOWEVER

My MPG has now increased to 50-60 miles on £20 rather than 40-45 so this has improved however the car seems to kangaroo everywhere..you press little on throttle and it seems to struggle and bounces the car..hard to explain? Feels like you need to lower a gear even when in 2nd at 13mph?

I am wondering what could be causing this kangeroo movement?

Also the starting issue has not gone!? Still takes forever to start car which i think when im doing so is throwing loads of petrol out...SMELLS!

HELP

 

What do you think?

 

Okay so took the car for a spirited drive this morning. Stopped..went to start again and did not start for about 15 attempts!?

WHAT IS GOING ON

 

Took for a hard drive tonight and the car struggled past 6k and then loads of smoke came out of the back?

The car has a lumpy idle and when pulling away or slowing down the car jerks/jolts like its going to stall..struggles to pull then around 5k feels more free.

Having hard time starting the car cold or hot but after a spirited drive is almost impossible to start for 10 mins.

Okay so time to get a video up of the starting problems.



http://youtu.be/QW-lpIdk7pY

 

I have same issues, except power loss but im not sure since i have this car only for a month. Previous owner said that he changed a lot. Called dealership and they said all recalls were done. So now im looking into
1. seafoaming
2. changing starter/battery(or both depends on testing results)
3. spark plugs+wires+coils(not to sure about it)
4. straight pipe

Hopefully everything works out good for you

 

I found my issue - old weak starter
Funny guy who i bought it from said that he did all recalls, and i called dealership explaining the problem they also said that all recalls were done.
is it cover by any warranty or anything else?

 

Hi , its been a while but my car is up for sale now! :'(

I have had break down service out to me twice in the last 2 days! The car just wont start! and then eventually kills the battery!? The two mechanics say different things:

"Sounds like starter motor isnt spinning fast enough and is like not enough fuel in chamber to cause ignition."

"My battery tester says your battery is okay but, its not okay because it dies after a few attempts of starting car"

I dont know what to do...Do you think my fix is the starter motor or battery?

Car is up for £1600

 

New (rebuild) starter fixed my starting problems

 

Hey would anyone be able to tell me what information i need to find the uprated starter?

 

It is physically alot larger than the original one.

Even Mazda no longer provides a "new" factory starter. Only remanufactured ones are available. Take your's off and if the new one is bigger then it's the right one. It does make a great deal of difference in starting. They are not cheap.

 

Are there any particular codes for new and old? Because i have seen some going around on websites and ebay so id need to know what the right one is

 

there is different part numbers something like N3H1 or something like that, search for it and you'll find there are at least 3 different part numbers

 

N3H1-18-400R0A. I think this is the uprated part #

 

Update: Since i have got the "Right" Battery for the car the starting has improved so much so it will start first time 8/10 times.

However, if i still go for a race after 5 mins around 7k + LOADS of smoke comes out the exhaust like im seafoaming the car! What is going on is this engine clogged up? Petrol issues?

I have ran an OBDII scanner on it and it finds no faults.