engine idling

[alreadydefective]

ok, so im new to cars so im not 100% on everything. but first thing is when in first or second, and third if under 25, the car shakes if i dont keep the clutch in a little... i do believe that its the actual clutch doing it, and its a new clutch so im gonna have it checked out tomorrow (under warrenty).. but now that its cold, then idle in neutral is really low, below 500 i believe... and it occasionaly dies when sitting in neutral, and thats about the only time i have the problem... any suggestions as to whats causing this?

[gregair13]

i do not know if thats a big problem, but i do know how to make your idle higher.
Do you know where the throttle control is under the hood? There is a screw (if looking down on the engine) it is to the left and down a little bit right on top near the air. it is a pretty big screw (easy to see) and tightening/loosening this will make idle increase/decrease.

[alreadydefective]

when i get home tonight, ill try that, i think its just cause its cold, so ill try n get it a bit higher... if i can find it, but i should be able to... thanks

[alreadydefective]

would anyone have a picture of their engine they could open in bitmap and draw an arrow to the throttle control screw... i think i found it, but i dont know enough about cars to be completely sure :-/... i just wanna make sure that i dont mess with something without knowing what it is

[alreadydefective]

might help if i tell you that my enginen is a K8, lol, still learning

[Steve_SK]

It is not that easy to adjust idling on Mazda engine, you will adjust it by screw, but ECU will detect it and adjust it back to preset value. And in the end, you will have terribly adjusted idling, which will result in higher fuel consumption and poor acceleration, maybe engine trying to stop. It is neccessary to check if the problem is in this..

You should connect two pins in your Diagnosis box (0 and 10) and then you will see if your engine's indling is set properly. If engine dies, it is not, if not, the problem is somewhere else.

If it dies, then you can adjust idling speed with the screw. It should be somewhere around 670 +- 50 rpm for K8.

[alreadydefective]

thanks, ill try that, but this is really confusing... i took it in to get the clutch looked at (cause im a newb, and dont think i wanna mess with the clutch quite yet), and it wasnt the clutch... this is the problem... when i shift into 1st or 2nd, it shakes the car violently back and forth, and im thinkin (and this is still a newb to the innerparts of a car) that its the actual gears inside the tranny, but im not 100%, and the mechanic hasnt got it figured out yet (started lookin at it today)... anyone have any ideas?

[jschrauwen]

thanks, ill try that, but this is really confusing... i took it in to get the clutch looked at (cause im a newb, and dont think i wanna mess with the clutch quite yet), and it wasnt the clutch... this is the problem... when i shift into 1st or 2nd, it shakes the car violently back and forth, and im thinkin (and this is still a newb to the innerparts of a car) that its the actual gears inside the tranny, but im not 100%, and the mechanic hasnt got it figured out yet (started lookin at it today)... anyone have any ideas?

Steve is absolutely correct. Never adjust the Idle Air Screw without the car being placed in the "Diagnostic" mode. Take the time to go through the TPS Adjust FAQ that I made. In there you will capture that segment. Having said that, normally, I'll say that again, NORMALLY, an idle adjust should never be necessary unless there are other issues surrounding that necessity. That means that there are other issues at play here and with only adjusting the idle, you may be compensating for other problems. The online shop manual has great step by step fault finding block diagrams that make it much simpler to identify. If you haven't pulled any CEL (Check Engine Light) codes, learn how to do that procedure. It's a great stepping stone for future engine work and makes it very simple to get to the root of the problem.
Since this Forum deals with a car that has very few variations and has been out of production for quite some time, rest assured that your questions in the future have more than likely been already asked, 3 to 10 times over. So it's already here, already documented and at your SEARCH disposal. Once you've mastered the search engine here, your answers will easily unfold.
In brief, major considerations for poor idle;
Plugged Fuel filter,
Cracked, broken or missing vaccum lines,
Clogged air filter,
Cracked, split, broken ribbed rubber intake tube (biggest problem that is always over looked because people don't take the time to thoroughly inspect)
Defective IAC
Defective coolant thermosensor(s) depending on the year,
Low coolant level (yes this can cause erratic idle if the coolant thermosensor has encountered an air pocket and is not in contact with the coolant)
Worn TPS - detailed info in my TPS Adjust FAQ

I believe you have enough items at this point to verify. Don't do as so many do and take the easy way or short cut to rectifying your problems. It will eventually catch up with you and may cost you more money in the long run.
Do it right and do it once.
g/l

[alreadydefective]

i did the searching before doing anything (after getting it back from the mechanic who missed this one thing for a week strait) and i checked the air intake where it comes from the air filter / fuel pump? and goes into the engine... it has massive cracks and leaks like a mother trucker... so im getting a new one in the morning (well, pulled one), but its gotta be better than cracks inbetween every rib... (well, almost anyways)... but yeah, im happy that i got it after 10 mins and the mechanic missed it for a week... weird.. (dont think he's a very good one :-/)

[jschrauwen]

Unless one is fortunate enough to find a shop/mechanic that they can trust and rely on, it would be a safer bet that a Mazda shop would be the best default place to go. Although, even if you've found a shop they can trust, they may not have that unique ability that a Mazda familiar technician would have. If one chooses a shop based on their hourly rate which may be cheaper, they may eventually end up paying more in the long run. Why???, cause they would need the extra time to go through manuals and other generic shop books that a Mazda Familiar technician wouldn't need to too. The generic shop will also not know some of the special nuances and Mazda tricks that can be employed that are an acquired skill of a Mazda type mechanic. Having said all of that, I've had my experiances with some not so good Mazda shops as well.
Food for thought.

[alreadydefective]

ok, so i fixed the tube that goes from the air filter to the engine (and i presume thats where fuel is pushed in also), with duct tape... mostly cause i cant find another one... doesnt anyone know where i can get another air intake tube??? (dunno if thats the name, might be mass air intake or something like that... :-/) but yeah, i want to get a new one to bring with since i dont know exactly how long my fix will last... always good to have spares...

[tehbrookzorz]

Alreadydefective, what results did you get from fixing that tube? I refer to it as the air intake tube. The fuel is added at the fuel rails which are attached under the intake manifold. You could probably find a new intake at a junkyard, though they can be scarce, and are usually just as old as the one you already have, and likely just as broken. I'd consider a cold air intake of some sort; do a search if you're not familiar with the concept. Just don't forget to include the VAF between the filter and the TB.

[alreadydefective]

my engine's idling returned to normal, when putting it into gear, it feels normal instead of like a going clutch, and it doesnt die in neutral, which were all the problems i was facing at the time, and i tried the junk yard, there were mx-6's and probes, but i couldnt find a single one

[jschrauwen]

my engine's idling returned to normal, when putting it into gear, it feels normal instead of like a going clutch, and it doesnt die in neutral, which were all the problems i was facing at the time, and i tried the junk yard, there were mx-6's and probes, but i couldnt find a single one

The ribbed rubber intake tube can not be found on any other car except the MX3. Normally most MX's are probably on their second intake tube by now only because time, heat and depending on geographic locale, the original ones have finally fatigued which is to be expected from a 14+ year old car. Unless you can dig a good one up from the junkyard, you'll have to get a new one. Try the buy/sell forum for a replacement since there are numerous members who have done CAI mods and may have them just sitting around collecting dust somewhere.
Do NOT rely on the short fix duct tape to carry you through any lengthy period of time. Eventually, that will also fatigue and hopefully will not get sucked into the intake.

[alreadydefective]

ok, ill get on that once i have a little bit of money saved up... right now my biggest worry is this oil leak, its gotta get fixed, but after that im goin to go for the CAI, thanks for the heads up