20 Most Recent 1994 Mazda MX-3 - Page 4 Questions & Answers

aprox. 750 RPM @temp

You should be able to see what type of engine you have by looking at your emissions sticker under the hood. It will display the displacement, month/year it was built, timing info, etc.

I hope this helps! :)

A "Haynes Manual" on your car would help, but will not tell you compression values. A rule of thumb, is about 150 psi per cylinder...which doesn't really mean anything. What you need to do is remove all the spark plugs, have someone push the accelerator pedal all the way to the floor and spin the engine over four times. Record the first reading (the first turn-over) and the last. Do the rest of the cylinders the same way. THEN, squirt 20 ml of oil in each cylinder and re-do the test (this oil seals the piston rings), and the pressure will increase a bit. Then compare the readings and if two adjacent cylinders are low, then the problem will lay in that area. A very High Compression reading could mean a heavily carboned combustion area, but the exact compression reading varies, even in new cars coming off the factory line.

Good Luck,

~Stillin~

"Still living on the Right Side of Dirt..."

there should be a square divet one low and one high on the side of the transmission that you can unscrew and refill with the gear oil.

if you think iam calling stateside ??from spain---last one i changed for teh annual vehicle mechanical inspection was behind the front bumper(fender)

on the 1.3L 4 cyl 3.5 quarts 5W-30 1.8 L 6 cyl 3.5 quarts 5W-30

If it's the org. engine it will has over 160,000 miles on it.
It's normal to has valve stem seal/oil seal on the head to leak oil into the cyclinder on high mileage engine.
The smoke you see is the motor oil drop from the valve stem seals. The oil drops land on the top of the cyclinders and it create black smoke at start up.

The inexpensive fix is to start using high mileage oil with seal conditioner.
This will help soften the rubber seals and help reduce internal oil leak.


The correct fix is to wait until it's time for a head gasket replacement and let the professional CRC/service the head.

Complete head service is the only method to stop this internal oil drip problem.

They sell a spray in auto store or walmart car section that you can spray on the window and it automatically defrosts it.

http://www.mx-3.com/manuals/index.php?folder=/1992%20Workshop%20Manual/

may be the timing could also be the fuel pump or injectors

Maybe a blocked fuel filter.Check and replace anyway.It is the cheapest place to start

Fluid goes into the tube that the dipstick is in.You need a tube with a funnel on the end and pour it in slowly to the correct level

labor 150 used alternator 50 new alternator 120

check the fuel pump relay. it is located under the hood in the fuse box directly in front of the battery

check oil ?check your battery cables clean them.and the car ground cables.

gear box

check that with the belt off you can turn the pulley on the alternator by hand this may be a bit seized and cause the belt to break.
please leave feedback.
cheers

Sounds like the excuse is a load of BS to me. If that was the case, the oil would of been burnt off during the normal test drive after they completed the head. I'm assuming you had a blown head gasket?

Blue smoke is indeed oil and if it ONLY occurs at start up then clears itself after some driving, it's the valve stem seals or valve guides (but more likely the stem seals).

They were most likely not replaced during the overhaul.

The stem seals stop oil from the upper lubrication in the head travelling down the valves into the combustion chamber and burning with the fuel.

While the engine is running, there is enough movement in the valvetrain (all the bits that move the valves) so that oil cant make it down into the combustion chamber.

However, when the engine is stopped and left for a period (ie: overnight) oil can trickle down into the combustion chamber through the seals which is why when you first start it up the next day it blows blue smoke. All that gathered oil in the combustion chamber is burning off.

The reason why they probably haven't changed the seals is simple: they make more money.

As a mechanic doing a head you have 2 options: You can either get what's called a 'Headset' which is the head gasket with all the other gaskets involved and stem seals OR you can buy the head gasket by itself and reuse the old gaskets and not replace the stem seals.

The head gasket by itself is half the price of the Headset but you can still charge the customer for the full headset....see where im going? Trust me, this kind of practise is unfortunately very common and one of the reasons I got out of the industry.

Once a car overheats due to a head gasket or any other problem, the stem seals nornally always have to be replaced because they harden due to the heat and lose their sealing power.

The solution? The head has to come off again to replace the seals and these guys probably know it so they are going into BS mode to protect themselves.

You have to insist they fix the problem because it wont go away and don't back down!

Oh, and for future reference there are only 3 kinds of smoke you can get:

Blue = Oil burning
White = Water burning (pretty normal in the morning)
Black = Fuel burning (Mixture running too rich)

Hope this helps :)