CAR WON'T RUN!! HELP!

[Raivynn]

Okay! We just installed my PRM intake, and replaced my spark plugs/distributor cap/rotor. My car now doesn't start well, the idle flutters just about wildly, and my car dies after it runs for so long (no specific time). We've checked the vacuum lines, no problems there (pretty sure of it anyway). Anyone have ANY ideas? Please help! I have to have the car up and running correctly by Monday morning, so I can get to school and work, and also, my car is due in the shop Monday!!! (Timing belt and water pump service)<P>Any help would be...uh...very..........well........helpful.

[marshmallow15]

i'm thinking the problem is with the intake...there might be a leak. isn't it true if not all of your spark plug wires are connected properly, the engine won't start at all? if so, it should be the intake.

[Raivynn]

What would cause the intake to cause this? Is there a vacuum leak somewhere? If so, please tell me where to look.<P>By the way -- anyone else who's put a PRM intake on his/her car, has this happened to you? Were you completely satisfied with the product? I'm gonna b!tch at PRM, and most likely send the same nasty message to Cork Sport as well, since they sell the product.<BR> <BR>Thanks, Rai.

[Raivynn]

Well, the mechanic got back to me today about my car. <P>Y'all sittin', right? Mass airflow sensor is bad. I'm barely gonna be able to afford this. <P><BR>What a girl will go through to have a PRM intake.

[david103]

i had that problem when i installed my filter. my problem was that i forgot to plug the sensor back into the MAF... yeah, i know, duh.<P>dave

[Raivynn]

Okay. Got my car back. It's back in the shop. Found out the mechanic went shady on me and replaced a lot of stuff that he shouldn't have (illegally at that), and I ended up paying $854. My parents are mad at *me* because I ended up having to borrow $400 from them to pay the bill. When my car stalled out on me and left me stranded, I'll be honest -- I cried, I almost screamed obscenities. This PRM intake has been a nightmare for me. It's stolen time from everything from me. And now my parents are saying it can't stay on. Heh. If it can run it's staying on there. I'm wondering if it's the EGR instead of the MAF, or a vacuum leak somewhere along the line that someone hasn't found. This shouldn't be this hard.<P>It's been a rough week, so please...if someone can give definite answers -- tell me!<P>By the way -- what are the codes 3 and 8 on the Mazda MX-3? My mechanic said the engine spit out a Code 3 and Code 8. One he claimed was the MAF. Is he lying to me, and not telling me something he *wants* me to believe?<P>Also, he replaced belts (one of the things he replaced without my knowledge), and now it smells like one of them is burning (I remember the smell from my fiance's alternator belt when his alternator froze). Is this normal "new belt smell" or is something wrong?<P>Thanks for being patient with me, people.

[marshmallow15]

yea it should be the maf. i had the same problem today when putting in my intake. i accidentally disconnected my maf and my car did the same thing as you...but i put the stock airbox back on and it was fine. was there something wrong with your maf? i doubt it. i think your mechanic's just lying to you so you can pay him money. i suggest finding a different mechanic that you can get some good word on. <BR>oh. about that rx7 maf...does that really work? will it increase airflow...thus increasing hp?

[RanMan]

I tried to put a Weapon R filter on mine and it did the SAME damn thing. It HAULS a-- at wide open throttle, but it will not idle (dies if you don't give it gas). I asked my dad (ASE Master Certified Mechanic) and he said that the stock MAF is the problem. He said that the new intake is flowing more air than the MAF can handle, and thus "confuses" the MAF because it does not know how much air is actually passing by the sensor, so it in turns gives an incorrect reading to the ECU, which then in turn makes your car run like s---. It seems that the MAF on the V6 is different because the only people that have problems with this are the ones with the 4 cyl. As far as what MAF to use, I don't know. Perhaps the MAF from the RX-7 WOULD work, but I have not tried that. I just had to settle with the stock intake again.

[Raivynn]

The car doesn't even start with the stock air box. I don't know what's wrong. (Yet, my parents, who one says doesn't know anything about cars...keep blaming this on me and yelling and stuff because my car doesn't run.)<P><BR>No - the original MAF was fried. Could I have fried another one? The mechanic put another stock MAF on the car.<P> The camshaft positioning sensor (or whatever it's called - in the distributor) set off a code to the ecu. As long as the computer talks, I know it's okay. <P>Not sure if he checked the EGR valve, but wouldn't the computer catch that?<P>There was a leaking distributor seal in my engine, and oil leaked all over the distributor cap. Could the distributor cause these problems? How much would I be looking at for a "new"(junkyard) one?<P>It seems the only thing he hasn't checked for is the vacuum leak. Does the computer catch vacuum leaks? We've kept telling him to look for one, but I haven't heard him checking for it. I mean, this is getting pretty bad.<P>But, I may be driving a 300ZX, until my car can get fixed, since the mechanic isn't sure what's wrong with it. But one thing is for certain -- I'm not paying another mechanic to have it fixed. I'm not paying this mechanic any more $ to fix this car, no matter what. I don't care if he has to order parts out of his own pocket, because he sure as heck has burned a hole in my checkbook.

[marshmallow15]

try resetting your ecu...if not, the maf is the problem. i remember someone on this board told me this w/ my problem.

[marshmallow15]

hey 007sniper. can a unproperly connected maf cause my mx3 to spit out lots of smoke from the exhaust and cause smoke to come out of the fuel injection and cause it to run crappy...or do i need an oil change?