miracle cure?

Geeman · Post by **Geeman** » April 17th, 2006, 1:41 pm

Hi guys,
like alot of owners, i just suspected the rattle/tick/vibration on the rear bank as cam idler spring or whatever its supposed to be, it wasn't the high pitched tick tick of hla's or was it? anyway, it was time for an oil change this weekend, so i used the search function...and several hours later it threw up a couple of intersting posts about what oil is best, to flush or not to flush etc...anyhoo, i opted to flush, and go the 5w/30 fully synthetic route,only cause a friend had 5ltrs going begging! i had previously been using 10w/30 semi synthetic, after the change, all was as it has been for the last 6 oil changes, the rattle was there...then after i got to my girlfriends, some 50 miles of motorway driving later, i pulled up, went to turn the car off, and thought...that sounds different, i pulled the bonnet/hood, and listened, no rattle! after several minutes of gentle revving, all was still quiet! the engine seems a lot smoother, probably cause there is no more rattling! but the constant vibrating rattle has completely gone! the drive back earlier was great, nice and smooth, oil level ok, engine nice and quiet! so i guess the hla's were very rattly, and the flush unblocked them? i just love the sound of the engine now!

lakersfan1 · Post by **lakersfan1** » April 17th, 2006, 1:56 pm

Another satisfied customer of flush and synthetic.

Geeman · Post by **Geeman** » April 18th, 2006, 11:57 am

very satisfied!

and thats why i posted, i read alot of post from people asking about top end noise, rattle from the rear bank etc, and the way i read it was it was more than likely the idler gear, so its really a heads up to those with similar rattles, a quality flush and 5w/30 FULLY synthetic oil, seems to do the trick, (read it was a mazda suggestion to cure the rattle on hear somewhere) anyone else tried similar?

Hoodzy · Post by **Hoodzy** » April 18th, 2006, 1:15 pm

how do u do the flush

or do u just take it to a mechanic?

1992blazeredgs · Post by **1992blazeredgs** » April 18th, 2006, 2:32 pm

There are ways to flush your engine your self. If you hop onto probetalk in one of the v6 archives there is a step by step procedure laid out with good detail.

Nate

Bucking Bronco · Post by **Bucking Bronco** » April 18th, 2006, 3:37 pm

http://forums.probetalk.com/showthread.php?t=4052
Very interesting

bluemx3 · Post by **bluemx3** » April 18th, 2006, 9:05 pm

Just a word of caution. If you have a high mileage engine, you might want to reconsider the engine flush and maybe just add the synthetic oil only. I've read on my different car forums, that flushing a high mileage engine can cause more problems then it solves. Just a word of caution. My 93 MX3 has 97000 miles, so I used Seafoam in the oil for about 100 miles, instead of a flush and I did switch to semi-synthetic oil. The noise did quite down, but I do think I'll switch to fully synthetic in a couple of days. Let's see, that will be three oil and filter changes in less then 300 miles. Glad to hear you solved your noise problem.

lakersfan1 · Post by **lakersfan1** » April 18th, 2006, 11:54 pm

I haven't heard of a single person with a K-series Mazda engine geting leaks from doing a flush or changing to synthetic. I don't think it's a valid concern for our cars.

Geeman · Post by **Geeman** » April 19th, 2006, 8:23 am

i'm in the uk, we cant get seafoam over here, so i used a kerosene based flush, some people swear by it, some say dont use it, but it worked for me, and it is only in your engine for 15 minutes on fast idle.
my engine sounds great! this is a great website, and yes the search facility does make you give up the will to live, but it has answered all my questions so far, so thanks guys

jschrauwen · Post by **jschrauwen** » April 19th, 2006, 2:16 pm

Love hearing the successful results of a detailed search. There is a lot be hand from the pioneers of this BB. Also, there are things that just won't change about our cars.
FWIW, I just had the oil changed in my 02 Protege yesterday and while it was being done the Mazda tech advised me of a murky/dirty power steering fluid condition. It could have been just drained and filled but I opted for the flush and fill. Moments later I said....screw it, flush and fill the ATX and cooling system too. Tranny and coolant were just drained and filled 15 months ago. With the special air tight closed loop sysytems they have they flushed and filled almost all of those systems at once. During the flush/cleaning processs, one can actually see the returning used coolant, or trranny fluid or power steering fluid. I was quite amazed at how tainted the systems can get. This was the first flush n fill for the Protege engine ever ...... now at 145,000kms. Engine is running smoother, turning is even easier and I have a better feeling on the quality of cooling avavilable now. I had no idea that just simple drain and fill of an ATX did not remove all used / tainted tranny fluid. Residual areas within the tranny and the torque converter don't get completely purged on a generic drain. Being the first ATX I've ever owned..... I never new that. Food for thought though.

Oh ya, the product name used by Mazda for flushes for cooling, engines, injectors, power steering, and trannies is called Forte'. Not available off the shelf...... dealers only and it's made in Canada........ *waves flag*... cheers.

lakersfan1 · Post by **lakersfan1** » April 19th, 2006, 2:26 pm

jschrauwen wrote:Love hearing the successful results of a detailed search. There is a lot be hand from the pioneers of this BB. Also, there are things that just won't change about our cars.
FWIW, I just had the oil changed in my 02 Protege yesterday and while it was being done the Mazda tech advised me of a murky/dirty power steering fluid condition.

You took your car to a dealer? .....for an oil change? This is a DIY board. You don't belong here.

Juans_93_MX3 · Post by **Juans_93_MX3** » April 19th, 2006, 5:50 pm

I am going to have to bookmark this...

jschrauwen · Post by **jschrauwen** » April 20th, 2006, 1:04 pm

lakersfan1 wrote:
jschrauwen wrote:Love hearing the successful results of a detailed search. There is a lot be hand from the pioneers of this BB. Also, there are things that just won't change about our cars.
FWIW, I just had the oil changed in my 02 Protege yesterday and while it was being done the Mazda tech advised me of a murky/dirty power steering fluid condition.
You took your car to a dealer? .....for an oil change? This is a DIY board. You don't belong here.

No, not actually. Took it there to have snows and summer tire and rim swaps done. While it was on the hoist, I said frig it, do an oil change while it's up there. Hope your not offended that I was too busy/lazy and that I didn't have the proper vacuation equipment to do a thorough engine oil flush and fill as well as power steering flush and fill and tranny, flush and fill. DIY attempts, will not accomplish what some of these task specific pieces of eqipment can do. I may not be the most proficient mechanically wise, but then I think I'm amoungst the majority of the membership in that regard. Physical capability is not the bottom line qualifier of competance. Knowing and doing can sometimes be very far apart. Knowing my limitations will keep me from foolhardy attempts and more often than not, save me money in the long run when I don't have to get another mechanic to undo what I may have screwed up.
LF1, if you think I don't belong here, it may be best to pm the admins on your recommendation.
I hope this is an isolated situation.

rich-k · Post by **rich-k** » April 21st, 2006, 8:10 pm

let us know how it turns out

gsr-se · Post by **gsr-se** » April 24th, 2006, 2:55 am

If you've always changed your oil on regular basis, a flush wont be needed....
If you dont know the history of the engine however, and it looks mistreated, a flush could be the option...
Before changing to FULL SYNTHETIC, know your engine!! If you have no visible oil leaks or oil burning/consumption, Then synthetic it will be... ...many say you only need to change the oil ONCE when going to synthetic, but no! It takes about 3 or 4 complete oil changes to swap over to FULL SYNTHENTIC...FILTER AND ALL!(Let the oil drain x-tra amount to fully drain old oil out)....I run "Mobile One 10w/30w"
It is alot more $$$ to run FULL SYNTHETIC, and so far, well worth it!
As for high mileage synthetic swap overs, I wouldnt suggest it....If it aint broke, dont fix it kinda deal....Synthetic is different than petro-oil...If u had a leak b4, you'll have a worst one with synthetic, costing a fortune to "top-up" all the time....