94 MX-3 issues

Tunes67 · Post by **Tunes67** » January 31st, 2005, 5:13 pm

Hey guys.. just bought a 94 MX-3 last week.. DOHC 1.6L with AT and only 120k miles on it. Seems like a decent ride and I am glad to see that there are a lot of people that are into these cars. I do have a couple of questions.. and yes I spent the past 4 days reading through your posts trying to find the answers on my own but to no avail.

1) As so many other cars in here.. I have the dreaded rough idle issue. I plan to take it in and put on a analyzer next week, but have eliminated the Flex hose from the MAF to Throttle body (its clean & no cracks) I have gone through the ignition system, plugs, plug wires, cap & rotor. Put in a K&N airfilter & changed the oil, etc... Any other checks that you guys can recommend before I shell out $$$ to have it analyzed?

2) I found that a couple of the interior pieces are damaged on this car, specifically the Center Column box and the rear hatch cover piece. Anyone know a reseasonably priced place (local or online, I am in the Seattle area) where I can replace these parts without scavenging at a junkyard or getting raped at the mazda dealer?

3) Anyone know what kind of gas mileage this car can average assuming I keep my foot out of it and its properly tuned and running clean?

4) As I saw in another post.. Drivers door window on this car has issues rolling up.. rolls down fine but seems to jam when it gets about 3/4 of the way up.

Thanks in advance for any and all help and a big Thanks to the people that organized this forum

Tunes67

Typhoonk · Post by **Typhoonk** » January 31st, 2005, 10:52 pm

My drivers window does that. after a rain it works like there is nothing wrong, then when it dries out it starts to stick. So I think a little greasy greasy is in order here....summer time though.

Rough idle checks:
1. intake tube (u already checked that)
2. Idle air control valve. Test or clean it (check hanes manual)
3. Electrical loss.
A. Check ground terminal and clean and secure
B. Check all grounds on engine and everywhere else
C. Check alternator and belts
4. Burnt valves. Get a head job. anybody know the price on this? I wanna do one seeing as all the successes people are having.

Tunes67 · Post by **Tunes67** » February 1st, 2005, 1:44 pm

I am hoping to avoid the head job

But if neccessary I am one of those lucky chaps that has a uncle who has been the foreman of his machine shop for the past 35 years.. so if neccessary.. I can get that done..

Thanks for the reply though. I think it might be a plug wire issue.. still investigating.. but #3 cylinder isnt getting spark at idle for some reason. Cap & rotor looked good, but I think I will replace them next since the plug wires didnt seem to take care of the issue. Time to break out the volt/ohm meter and check wire resistance.. any one know what ohm reading I should be getting from any given plug wire? I know that the longest should have the most obviously.. just wondering if there was a known standard. Thanks again guys.

Tunes67

stepchyld · Post by **stepchyld** » February 13th, 2005, 2:41 pm

1) you may want to closely inspect the cap and rotor for carbon tracing. If present they look like little silver streaks on the plastic. Check for the resistance specs of the plug wires in a manual, or online, I can't think of it now.
2) call junkyards. they can tell you if they have an mx3, and you could save some money on run around. Or post a wtb in the sale/trade forum.
3) my 5 spd 94 rs got 31 highway, 24-27 city. I'd say you should get 29-32 hwy, 21-26 city, just rough estimates though...
4) graphite lubricant, in the window rails. it's a fine powder in a tube. spray a little in and work the window, and viola! it should do the trick.
I was very pleased when I finally tried it, and for two weeks, no problem at all.