nearly 100,000 miles...

[jamesmx3]

so the other day my car rolled over to 99,000 miles and i started thinking...

A car with this amount of miles is going to be worth sweet FA, I don't want to sell it anyway, I want to keep it and I want to keep it in good condition and running sweetly. I have a motorbike now so wont need the car for work like I do now.

What I thought was to take the engine out, strip it, and rebuild it replacing all gaskets, seals, bearings, water pump, plugs leads ect and anything else I can afford or is worth while doing whilst the engine is out. (please add to this list anything you think might be worth it)

The car runs fine at the minute although has developed a small lack of power between 2-3000rpm, when it hits 3000 its like it hits the power band, but i think it might be misfiring?

Anyway my question is, is it a good idea to rip into an engine that appears to be running quite well? Will doing the work prolong the life of the engine at all?


Had thought about doing the same thing to a BP engine before swapping it in, but dont want the extra expense of having to buy the engine.

[Ryan]

Sir, the engine will be a small sum compared to what you could possibly spend.

If you keep the 1.6, it will never be as good as it was new. Thats a sad fact. cylinders become out of round, springs loose their springyness, valve seats get worn. Unless you're doing an entire rebuilt, you won't get any more power than it started with.

It really depends on how much money you have. If you don't have a lot, keep it till it breaks, since its not your main vehicle. Do you have space to work in?

I would highly suggest a BP swap, because it seems pointless to work on the stock 4cyls. N/A, at least. The BP has communities behind it like Club Protege and flyinmiata, who have so much knowledge and have tried, tested and true ways to upgrade the motor.

If you just want a project without an impressive outcome, refurb the b6. If you want to actually feel a difference in the end, spend the exta $400 and buy a BP. I think you'll be glad you did.

Guy gasket sets and oilpump/tbelt sets off of ebay... that kinda thing. Some guys will suggest for the imporant parts, get OEM mazda. Head gasket, for instance. Make sure you get a 1992 or newer BP.

[jamesmx3]

been looking at the prices of bp's over here, look to be around £500, might wait a bit before I decide. there seems to be a lot more parts available for the bp then the b6 though.

would there be any advantage in rebuilding the b6 from a reliability/longevity point of view rather than thinking about power gains?

[SuperK]

Take care of your current engine, look it over, tune everything up. It's only 100,000 miles, for goodness' sakes! You have at least another 100,000 miles left outta that motor if you take care of her...

and when she starts blowing oil and/or misfiring like crazy, that b6 has a tendency to run even when it's broken. Another 50k!

Heck, my roommate's b6 blows oil, ticks like a ticking time bomb, misfires, leaks, clunks, crunks... and he's put 10's of thousands on the sucker still.

[onlytrueromeo]

Ya mazda engines can certainly take a beating! Keep good oil/coolant in there and up to date on other maintenance and it should definitely last awhile...I'd say you prob. don't have much if anything to worry about on the engine. If you REALLY want to do a swap to get some more power, definitely look into a BP...but do it right! Find one that you really like, for a decent price. If your car is not having any problems, don't rush. Then, you can rebuild the BP if you really wanted, or just put it in as it is. A junkyard BP will have more miles than your car, so that would be good to rebuild, or you can look into getting one imported, but they're slightly harder to get that way because most of them are miata engines, which are slightly different BP's than proteges got (which are the ones we need).