MX-3.com

hey, I have a '93 MX-3 which im thinking about swapping the engine for a 2.5, but at the moment the car is totally useless.
while the car is cold it runs fine, as soon as it hits running temperature the rev's drop to idle (while driving) and even if you put your foot down the revs dont pick up at all, like the engine is off even when its on.
Also, after the idle problem pops up the engine dies totally, and when i try to restart the engine starts for a second, then stalls again.
oh and also once the temperature has warmed up there is oil all over the spark plugs.
i have totally run out of idea's, i tried the diagnostic box, but it didnt do anything so i am assuming it hasnt recorded and problems.
plllllleeeeeeeaaaaaaaasssssseeeeeee help me lol
Matt

yah you got oil in your plugs???? and you dont know why its not accelerating?

cracked head? gaskets? etc

First impressions = a valve job or ring job needed. If so, replacing the engine might be a timely fix since you're considering it anyway. Have you done compression testing (wet & dry) or had a leak down test done? If not, that would tell ya much much more. Also,

1) How many km's on the motor?

2) Did this condition happen over time or come on quickly

Maybe as simple as a valve cover gasket, in which case, it's a cheap fix and worth keeping your engine. If it's more severe than that, then do an engine swap.

compression test as well would also help

This similar thing happend with my mkII supra, it turned out to be a horribly clogged fuel filter. As the car sits the deposits settled to the bottom, which allowed for an opening until fuel started flowing...then it plugged up and starved the engine of fuel! The mx3 filter sits on it's side, so it may be doing the same thing.

As to why u have oil on the plugs would probably be from a gasket leak. I wouldn't think your rings would cause this, unless theres a rediculas amount of oil entering the camber. If thats the case u would be painting cars blue with the smoke behind you!

If you wanted to check for a cracked head gasket, other then seeing thick white smoke from your exhaust, is to take off the rad cap and start the engine *****MAKE SURE THE ENGINE AND COOLANT IS COLD**** after starting it look at the fuild in the rad for any bubbling. If you see it bubbling when the coolant is cold, this means mostly likely the gasket is cracked and allowing air into the cooling system.

hope some of this helps, good luck

wow you guys answer fast lol,

thanx for the help, i'll try all your suggestions and let you all know what happens,
Also while im here, where would the best place to get a 2.5V6 from, im in england and they are in short supply over here. also what kinda price would i be looking at for the engine and maybe fittitng, i have a friend who is going to help me fit it if it's too expensive for me to do in a garage.
Thanks again for the help.

I'll get back to you all soon

oh yeah and also the cars done about 120,000 miles and the problem just happened over night, I came back from a 1000 mile round trip and it was fine but about a week later it just happened.
its a 1993 mx-3 and it has ran fine since i bought it about a year ago until now.

if i was to get the 2.5 engine, what other parts would i need to buy to fit it? or is it just a straight swap with no extra parts needed?

thanks again

you would need the ECU and VAF if you went with the probe/mx-6 one or just hte ECU for the KL-ZE (the MX-3 uses the same VAF)

hey, thanks again for all the help guys,
another question for you! lol

my mechanic said he THINKS its the distributor that is causing the running problems, does this sound possible? and also cos over here in good old over priced England a distributor is about £400, can i put the probe v6 distributor on my mx-3 as its cheaper lol.

thankyou

Matt

Unfortunately not same engine means not same distributor in most cases.

I don't think the dist from the 2.5L v6 will work on a 4cyl or even the 1.8l.

But if it was the dist. you would be having general roughness issues and not just when you try to accellerate.

Originally posted by matt_fryatt:
hey, thanks again for all the help guys,
another question for you! lol

my mechanic said he THINKS its the distributor that is causing the running problems, does this sound possible? and also cos over here in good old over priced England a distributor is about £400, can i put the probe v6 distributor on my mx-3 as its cheaper lol.

Replacement engine in UK: http://www.japaneseengines.co.uk/Frontpage.html

Try a scrapyard for a distributor. Distributors are wired differently after 1995. Stay in your car's age group, or you can re-wire (search this site for instructions).