Tried searching for procedure to fix this problem but would really appreciate some help locating a guide on how to sort this out.
I have noticed the tapping sound from the inlet manifold area, and suspect that it may be the VTCS/VICS issue. When I disconnect the plug from the vacuum pump on the left side of the inlet manifold the tapping noise stops straight away.Therefore this leads me to believe that I have the dreaded VTCS problem.
Are UK Mazda dealers doing anything about this or do I need to fix this myself ?
If I need to do this myself I really need a guide to follow as I have no idea where to start.
The car is an 03 plate 2.0 sport BJ .
A link to a walk thro guide would be great.
I am very concerned about this so any help at this stage would be much appreciated.

My manifold already has them removed, It will be coming out the car shortly if you are interested ?

So the car went to Mazda on Monday for them to have a look.
Inlet manifold stripped, and lo and behold 4 screws and two butterflies rattling around inside.
Luckily all accounted for, thank god!!
Updated manifold is on its way, along with gaskets etc.

You not fancy asking them to not repair it? Keep the butterfly connecting rod in place and leave out the butterfly's. It makes a hell of a difference within the power range. - just an idea for you

Hence the reason I asked if he was interested in mine

Already done

I am retaining the old manifold so I can polish it inside for flow, and outside for appearance and remove all of the butterflies, and in the meantime the car is up and running.
I work at a stainless steel and aluminium specialists, so polishing isn't a problem as we do it regularly.
Thanks for the offer though stuz.

No worries fella, Thought you may be interested in a spare, I started polishing mine and stopped, I realised you can't see much when the cover is on

I could be interested

I'd like to swap them over so I don't have the car off the road...

What type of manifold do you intend to replace the stock one with stuz ?

I'm doing a V6 conversion to my Sport Check the link in my signature......

hmmm unfortunately i get this when I click your link matey,

Forbidden
You don't have permission to access /_stuz_ on this server.

Additionally, a 403 Forbidden error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.

Ahhhhhhh that will be because the .com domain is down

When order has been restored to the forum you will be able to see it.

You can see it here actually Clicky linky

Stu

Looks great Stu.
Have you got any recent photos of the engine or up to date progress report?
I'm guessing the engine is going in soon, as you mentioned the removal of parts from the 2.0.
How much jiggery pokery will the mounts need and rather you than me when it comes to the loom. Bloomin hate wiring!!
So many questions spring to mind, looking forward to seeing more about your project, keep us posted.

mo progress at the moment, unfortunately i have had to prioritise other things this year

engine mounts are exactly the same as the fs in the sport

ask all the questions you need to, i can answer most of them

Engine mounts are the same!! Well I never. That makes things a bit easier.
Well, be sure to post when things start happening. Will be keen to see how you get on.

So I got my sport back from Mazda today after they replaced the inlet manifold, and gaskets.
They agreed to replace it under warranty/recall ,I was absolutely gobsmacked when they told me they would, but my chasis number was in the listed range and hadn't been done back when the recall campaign was active, so they agreed with no hassle whatsoever.
I dread to think how much it would have cost me if I had to pay for it.
No more rattling!!
Engine sounds really sweet now, so quiet, I am really made up.

Stu / Neil...

which butterflies have you removed, the VTCS or the VICS...or both?

When you split the manifold in to two pieces there is lots of screws and butterfly flaps, It's all of them that need removing.

Like we discussed earlier, Mine will very out very soon, P.M me if you need to, I also have all the gaskets in stock now.

removing VICS will result in loss of low rpm torque/power... will it hurt anything? no... but it will affect low speed driveability
there is no VTCS in any of the non-US cars... nothing to worry about