Oil and power leaks - major problem?

Phobea · Post by **Phobea** » February 18th, 2007, 6:16 pm

Hi guys,

Long time reader first time poster coming all the way from the sunny shores of southern England here.

To cut a long story short, my beloved '96 V6 had a fight with a tree one icy night and I loved her so much I can't get another quick enough.

Unfortunately though my insurance didn't cover it so I'm a little out of pocket. However, I've found somebody selling an immaculate '97 V6 with 80k on the clock as "Spares of repairs" simply stating "oil and power leaks" and apathy as the reason they've not sorted it. Is this usually a sign of major problems to come or is just your average fix? Apparently the rest of the car is in perfect working order and still starts and drives just fine, including electrics.

What are your thoughts? I'd be getting this baby at roughly a 3rd of the going price for a model this age and mileage.

ryan_Fuerte · Post by **ryan_Fuerte** » February 18th, 2007, 7:46 pm

hey welcome to mx-3.com. As for your oil leaks and power loss, If it is a higher mileage engine like +150 000km the engine is probably fubar. If you see no major external leaks on the car, the rings and valve compnents are gone internally in the engine. It is still a simple fix if you have mechancial knowledge and swap in a 2.5L or throw in some rings and get the heads done.

PATDIESEL · Post by **PATDIESEL** » February 18th, 2007, 10:03 pm

If your car runs well and the engine is in good shape then buy the other and use the two to make one good whole MX-3. Then after a few months of making sure the one you bought is running well, sell your wrecked one for parts or send it to the yard. my .02

hharb · Post by **hharb** » February 19th, 2007, 1:10 am

uhm, you say 97 with 80k, thats crazy man, i'd grab that one like there's no tomorrow. thats like crazy hard to find, anywyas with only 80 k on it i imagine the car is in near perfect condition, if the engine is dead (which i highly doubt) you can always swap in your engine from the old car or put in a 2.5L... it all depends on how much money you got and how much is the car selling for, and ofcourse if you can actually fix it on your own. if the price is right i wouldnt think twice about getting it. goodluck

Phobea · Post by **Phobea** » February 19th, 2007, 2:41 pm

Sorry guys I was misinformed about the other MX-3, it's actually a 1994 model, which I personally prefer anyway as it has the older style seats. The UK models never got the new shaped dash anyway, not even the newest models.

I should probably have explained a few things aswell, my old MX-3 was completely totalled, had to scrap it a few days later as I have nowhere to store it and there was barely anything worth salvaging, I was lucky to get out alive. I've been reluctantly driving a Peugeot 205 since as it was all I could afford.

Also, being English when I say 80k, that means 80,000 miles. My last one had 160,000 miles on the clock so I wouldn't be too worried about 80k, though I did have a lot of mechanical problems with my last one.

I am seriously considering the KL-ZE swap but they're pretty hard to get ahold of in the UK and this car would be my daily driver so I couldn't afford for it to be off the road for too long as I've a 2 hour commute each day to work and this Peugeot is nigh on unbearable.

If I found a worthy mechanic how much could I expect to pay and how long would a typical KL-ZE swap usually take? I live in an apartment so don't really have the facility or tools to do the swap myself, as much as I'd love to.

So you guys think I should only get it if I'm going to drop a KL-ZE in?

Phobea · Post by **Phobea** » February 25th, 2007, 12:23 pm

Ok guys I bit the bullet and bought it. Paid £250 in the end (equivalent of 500 USD) and she's apparently driveable so I'm picking her up next weekend and taking her straight to the shop to find out what's wrong.

I'm desperate for a ZE now though, and I just can't source one in the UK at all. Any of you guys know of any places that might be able to source a ZE for me in the South of England?

hharb · Post by **hharb** » February 26th, 2007, 1:02 am

i've been quoted around 3k CAD for a swap by a "worthy mechanic" including the engine and all, but the swap could cost under a grand or a little bit higher depending on what route you decide to take, i would say a reasonable budget should be around 2K CAD, so £1000 or so, i would have that much handy or a bit more incase you run into problems. goodluck and post pics of the ride and update us on the mechanical condition of it

Phobea · Post by **Phobea** » March 1st, 2007, 4:37 pm

I've got some pics from ebay but they're not too great so I'll post some better ones when I pick it up on Saturday.

In a gorgeous twist to what has already been a fantastic deal, I've just run a plate check on the car (seemed to good to be true) and it turns out that it's an SE. It's a '93/'94 plate so it's feasible.

"According to our records, M5***FP is a Mazda Mx-3 Se V6."

We'll see

Phobea · Post by **Phobea** » March 6th, 2007, 3:51 pm

Finally got around to positing some photos and a bit of an update on the car:

http://www.mx-3.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.ph ... 547#403547

hgallegos915 · Post by **hgallegos915** » March 6th, 2007, 3:55 pm

ooo then it is a high probability you have a kf mx3. Still get rid of it

lol that engine is very reliable tho. Klze, theres no comparission.. zemis awesome

Phobea · Post by **Phobea** » March 6th, 2007, 4:01 pm

I'm just ordering my ZE now

You're right about the reliability though. Even with the oil leaks and problems I managed to drive the MX-3 the full 3 hour journey back only stopping once to top up the oil. She only felt lumpy at one junction too, if the guy hadn't told me I wouldn't have thought there was much wrong based on that journey.