need help..missing hose?

[valkyire]

hey guys, i just bought a mx3 and the only problem the car seems to have so far is whenever i drive on the highway as soon as i take my car over 70mph, the engine light comes on. the car doesnt lose power or anything, the light just comes on...also, when i checked the oil i noticed a hissing noise coming from the engine..so i felt around a little and there is something that's apparently supposed to have a hose of some sort connected to it. When i covered it up with my finger, the engine quieted down and the idle decreased. so what i'm thinking is that this missing hose is causing my engine light to come on for some reason. My question is if i just go to auto zone and buy a little rubber cap to plug where that hose goes, will it be okay, or should i take it to mazda & have them do a diagnostic to see what the trouble is? thanks for your help and sorry about the long post.<p>[ May 24, 2002: Message edited by: valkyire ]

[pelado]

I'm going to tell you to do the obvious, look for a hose that isn't connected and connect it to the vacuum leak you found.<P>Look on mx-3.com and you'll find an online shop manual listed in the LH column. Somewhere in the F2 section is a vacuum hose diagram, it may be of some assistance if you wish to delve into this further.

[valkyire]

yeah, i already looked for a hose that wasnt connected to anything. there is no hose that isnt connected to something. thanks for the shop manual info

[pelado]

Hey, how big is the connection without the hose? There's one of medium size toward the rear passenger side that's been capped from the factory.

[valkyire]

it's about the diameter of a pencil, but its not on the passenger side. its on the drivers, if it helps, i have a 92 gs 5 spd<BR>it doesnt start making the hissing noise until i've been driving for about 10 minutes or so

[pelado]

Do you have a digital camera (or a Polaroid and a scanner)?

[mattster]

i love to help pinpoint the problem but youre going to have to give me some more info on where this missing connection is. so far all i know is that its on the drivers side and the size of a pencil. heres a pic of the GS engine... try and describe where the hole is a little bit better.<P>

[pelado]

Mattster, "X" marks the spot of your photos.

[valkyire]

it's between my intake valve and my battery. when i trace the hose as far as i can, it connects to what i think is some kind of egr sensor? i capped the spot where the hose is supposed to be and after about ten minutes of driving noticed that the car was making a strange noise, so i took the cap out and it was stating to melt. i think that the missing hose has somethng to do with pulling in air to cool the engine. with the cap on , the engine started running hot. also, if you go to the online shop manual, go to f2, then pg 7, look at where the pcr solenoid valve is, then look directly down at the u shaped hose. if you follow that hose up until it reaches a little connection,it leads to the egr solenoid valve valve, then to the egr vaccum. the hose is supposed to be there somewhere. hope this helps some. ill take a pic of the connection where the hose is supposed to go and, i'll get my brother to let me use his scanner to put it on for you guys. again sorry for the long post..thanks in advance

[mattster]

Well you did a really good job of expaining where the missing hose is. You are going to have to tell me one more thing though. If you are looking into the engine bay from the drivers side fender at the problem area is the inlet in the place where there are two inlets right next to eachother (if so is it the right or the left) -or- is it underneath the two next to eachother facing toward the front of the vehicle? If I have completely the wrong spot just tell me .<P>My guess is that it is the inlet on the right that is missing its vacuum hose... if it is, the hose that should be there kinda loops around the back of the EGR vacuum valve and connects. Now I'd almost put money on the fact that if you look around behind the EGR vacuum valve there is a loose tube about 6" (maybe less) long just dying to get reconnected to the inlet you first spotted . But I could be completely wrong though so just take a look and tell me what happens!<P>[ May 26, 2002: Message edited by: mattster ]<p>[ May 26, 2002: Message edited by: mattster ]

[valkyire]

thanks for all the info guys. it really helped. I fixed the problem and it was a sensor and a missing hose. i had it replaced and the cars fine now