Got my own MX-3... with problems.

[jkbreazeale]

How is that done? Also, though the acceleration doesnt seem to lack, I do have a vaccum leak somewhere, and it is nowhere obvious either... that may have a hit on my fuel economy too... better than what I had though with my forenza.

[jkbreazeale]

any ideas on timing the ignition???

[Ryan]

Ugh, I've gone over this twice recently.

Put something NOT scratchy down cly #1 plug hole. With a big ratchet turn the crank untill the cyl is at the top: the tape covered screwdriver(or whatever) is pushed as far out as possible.

Make sure the marks are right on the cam and crank gears, with the respective arrows pointing at the right ticks.

This is physical timing, not disty. To ensure the timing belt is on correctly. Lots of guys manage to get it off a tooth or two because the cam(s) do have rest positions and the gear can slip when trying to work the belt over it.

superK has the disty timing procedure for you there.

[jkbreazeale]

Sorry, for making you go over it twice.

[Ryan]

Three times, but now you know and you can regurgitate it next time.

[jkbreazeale]

So... I'm gonna bring a post back from the dead.

The car is still leaking oil. It seems to lose about a quart a month. It is real moist on the oil pan but everything is tight. The drain plug is tight. All the plugs for the oil pan are tight. The oil filter is on tight with any old filter gasket material scraped off. The camshaft and crankshaft seals were replaced. Valve cover gasket has been replaced as well. Where else could it be? Mazda is kind of scratching it's head. I am thinking about cleaning it up real nice underneath and running alittle bit of uv dye so that I can trace the leak. I didn't notice how bad it was until I heard my lifters tapping today. Checked the dip stick and it seems that I am a quart low. Any ideas?

[SuperK]

Remove the timing belt covers and inspect your "replaced seals"

I replaced my camshaft seal, and it ended popping off!

Double-check they're dry and seated correctly.

Also replace the distributor o-ring. That is notorious for blowing oil through. Have you done that yet?

The seam between the tranny casing and the block, are there signs of leaking oil there? I have seen a couple B6-DE's leak oil right on the head/block seam, and you can see it on the tranny casing, next to the head/block seam.

Are there any "oil spots" wherever you park? Does it leak oil onto the driveway/whatever you park on? Keep an eye on that. I would assume it actually drips if it's an oil leak.

if it's not dripping, then I would be more prone to suggest that maybe you're burning the oil, not leaking the oil.
My car began burning oil, I had to do about a quart or so a month...
Worst case is, piston ring failure.
You might be headed down that road.

[SuperK]

Ryan, let me take a moment to correct you as well. You gave the man incorrect information on timing the ignition.

Sir, if you'd like to time your ignition, you have to purchase a timing light (timing gun) available at your auto parts store.

With a timing gun, place the pos. on pos. terminal on the battery, neg with neg, then with the magnetic clamp thing, place it on spark plug WIRE cylinder 1, the one closest to the camshaft gear, and place it closest to the spark plug hole.

Now, locate the black box labeled "Diagnostic" on the firewall, driver side, engine bay. Open it up.

The diagram should show what pins are what. You want to use a wire or similar to jump the "TEN" and "GRD" terminal.

Turn on your car and let it warm up to operating temperature.

Loosen the distributor so you can rotate it.

You want to locate your crankshaft pulley's "timing mark"
time the mark to the little timing plate, I believe it's 11 BTDC.

Move the mark by rotating the distributor.
Check with the timing gun until it's correct, then disconnect everything, tighten the disty and enjoy. that should give you better mileage as well.

[jkbreazeale]

SuperK, Thanks for all the help. I checked this morning while the car had time to sit and I noticed that it was really moist around where the oil pan goes into, I think the tranny. It only took about a half a quart but I guess that was low enough to start making the car tick like a timebomb. Where I found the leak would be left of the flexpipe. The horizontal piece that has a metal weave, not the flex pipe coming down from the manifold. (So what I called it is probably incorrect )I noticed it yesterday for the first time when I was having the exhaust work done on the car. Any ideas? I will re-look at my seals again. As far as my distributor seal leaking. A mazda tech said he though he saw it leak but the clutch was just replaced right before I acquired the car so I think that the bleeder vent that sticks up out of the transmission was spraying fluid from a possible overfill.

[SuperK]

You replaced the front crankshaft seal... the front main seal.
On the opposite side is the rear main seal, you have to remove the tranny to get to it iirc.
If there's oil leaking there, it's possible it's leaking through the rear main seal.

[jkbreazeale]

Revival Time!!!

Ok... so I replaced the oil pan gasket (two rubber end seals and silcone in the middle). About a month or so later, it seems to be leaking from the same spots. Is it even possible for an oil pan to become warped? I have taken it off three times, used hi-temp silcone each time, put it back on and it still leaks! I think it may be time to just swap a BP into the car, but I would like to figure out what else this could possibly be just for mental satisfaction. Also, is it possible for the valve cover bolts to back themselves out over time? I just had to tighten all mine back down today when I noticed that some oil was seeping out of the block...

[wytbishop]

Because the flange of the oil pan is fairly thin material, the area around each bolt tends to be "dimpled" by the torquing of the bolts. It's often necessary with a stamped cover like that to flatten the flange before reinstalling it. If you're certain that the leak is coming from the oil pan, that's the only thing I can think of.

[jkbreazeale]

Though it makes total sense it sucks that I have to tear it down... Again

[jkbreazeale]

Is there any way that it could be from the timing belt cover gasket? I'm just kind of in denial that after doing the seal three times that it is still leaking. The parts I used was the two brand new end seal gaskets, and from what I remember was the ultra gray rtv sealant.

[jkbreazeale]

Alright. So I went under the leaking beast of burden this morning and verified that it is still leaking from the end seals on both sides. I checked my PCV valve just to make sure that it wasn't clogged in the event that it was popping out my seals but it was in good working order. I like my wife's 95 alot better and my 93 is starting to look like a future parts car. Is it really worth swapping a motor into the 93 or should I look for a mx-3 with a k8 in it? The way I look at it is that I am going to probably end up spending just as much money finding a v6 mx-3 as I would end up paying somebody to swap a BP into my 93 (for I don't quite have the experience, shop, or proper tools to do so myself)