Very strange thing happened today. Drove to work as normal no problems. At lunch stuck the keys in the ignition, fired her up and it sounded like a tank rattling and banging, has got oil in and cam belt seems to be ok, I think. I going to go try start her up a gain in a few minutes see what she does, but I dont think it gonna be good news.

Seems a bit like what happened to Darrens V6 at JAE and am skint

Any ideas very welcomed.

I think she buggered - my mates just had a listen thinks it could be cam followers or something similar definately sounds like a cam noise and belt seems fine.

...Say, do YOU wanna be the first to fit a 2.5 KF-ZE?!?! (I should stop banging on about that; .......it hurts too much! )

Well my car has been picked up and taken to the garage, with any luck I should have a diagnosis by end of tomorrow.

2.5 KF-ZE could be a possibility will have to speak to my local mechanic and see, depends what the diagnosis is really. by the way was it an auto box or a manual ?

Nooooo . Dan, really hope it's not too bad matey.


[color=red][b]Mark[/b][/color]

I think that the desirable Jap 200BHP engine should be mated to a manual; can't be 100% sure though......

I wonder if you can fit a UK speck 2.5 and then get it 'chipped to the same BHP?!?

The garage I took my car to seems to think it Piston problems he not sure tho, definately left hand bank of engine ... he doesnt want to work on it.. he checking to see how much it would cost to fit a new engine :S

Anybody know of a good garage near Andover / Basingstoke that woudl put an engine in cheap lol

t'would seem to be the season of engine problems.......

I know someone who had a new engine fitted to his Imported Lantis recently and he was in Thatcham, I'll send him a message to see if he's got the details of the garage.

that would be Darren i guess lol

Well i phoned around and have been quoted as follows :-

£50 per hour possibly 13 hours - vehicle is currently there - not Mazda Garage
Mazda Specialist - £500 ish

:O Newbury Mazda 10 - 12 hours @ wait for it ...... £37.50 per hour plus vat

So all in all I think if it does get done at the moment its looking like Newbury Mazda I think.

But the Garage just phoned me and said they may have made a mistake with the diagnosis and it now looks like it could be cam belt tensioner.. am awaiting further feedback and prices .. even if it is this I may still get replacement engine as there may be further injuries to be had when they open her up.

Sorry I going on but I have also found out the following :-

Mazda state do NOT put fully synthetic in engine - these V6's are prone to problems when you do. - stick to 10/40
Mazda V6 engine should be good for 300,000 miles

well there you go, will keep you posted as to what happens next, dont think it gonna be a 2.5l tho am afraid

Holding thumbs that it's not too serious ... If they're going to do the cam-belt, it might be worth looking at the water pump & oil pump while they're in there ???

uh-oh; when I last looked those pre-tensioners are VERY expensive!!

Time to change my oil methinks!!

well they gave me a price of £180 for the tensioner and 3 hours labour @ £50 per hour plus VAT and oil and filter....

made my mind up, got an engine on order and its getting fitted soon enough .. with any luck, thats if I can get my car there lol.

gogobroom where do you order your engines from?

Engine was ordered from Dewsbury Autosalvage...

But Guess what it arrived this morning and its not from a 323... so they cant fit it FFS how difficult is it these days to get something sorted.

So I have decided to let the garage - now a Mazda garage - investigate the problem further, am hoping that no further damage has been done and that its just the tensioner that requires replacing...

FFS I want my car back ... am currently driving a Renault Megane or however they spell it .... its ffing killing me ( its like driving a toy car

......HOW HARD CAN IT BE TO SOURCE A 2.0 V6?! there was only 1 made wasn't there?

If it didn't come from a 323F, where was it from? a 626?

You would have thought that, what with all the code numbers and chassis numbers, that it would be a simple thing, wouldn't you?

Sorry to hear that things are not going well......

Garage seems to think that it was possible from a Xedos 6 - tho he isnt too sure, the code on the head is the same as the code on the head on mine but the bottom half is different, he aint sure if it even a 2 litre. Cant fault him really he has been honest enough, if the codes cant be seen re bottom half then he up the creek lol, he said it wasnt even a manual from what he could tell .. and the V6 323F never came in a Auto box in the uk..

Ohh well still gonna have to phone Dewsbury Autos and sort it - will let you know how I get on -

Pmsl if its a 2.5l do you want it Wai lol

If it's an Auto then it is most probably a Xedos 6 engine as that used a 2L V6 mostly mated to an auto box.

....at least they spotted it before trying to stuff it in!!

an update ..... nothings happened lol its still at Mazda they are gonna look at her on Monday - I just want her back soon, this Renault is doing my head in.

Well it was a toss up at the weekend between a custom exhaust (to be fitted next year) or a Puppy - so guess what we got, a puppy lol a little staffy cross --- good thing is tho I will still be getting the exhaust next year, just got to wait till the misses forgets what we agreed :P I better start saving again once Mazda have cleared out the cobwebs.

i didn't know puppies increased performance, or is it a styling mod?

Arty

Nah; Aerodynamic aid!!


Did they manage to find a CORRECT engine for you then?

Its a styling mod .. and an anti theft device - put it this way he has a good bite on him lol

Still no engine - they are going to repair or try to the fault on mine, hopefully its just going to be the tensioner and nothing else, will know more Monday hopefully. Only reason I was going for new engine was that it had 32K on and mines done about 145k all in all it would have saved a lot of hassle for the future - ohh well am sure they will fix it and I will be back with her soon.

u best tell ur insurance compnay u got urself a thatcham CAT 1 dog fitted then, let us know how much u save.

Arty

Or a DOG 1!!!

[color=red][b]Mark[/b][/color]

Dog 1 sounds good to me

Well she is at the garage - car that is - and getting worked on today, so with any luck I should have her back home today or tomorrow, so long as they have pr-ordered the parts that probably needed fixing :P

Will advise on further progress when received

Wooohooooooooooooooooooooooooo :P:P:P

Guess what lol I got my car back - sounds great, drives great :D

Heres the breakdown of what it cost - NEWBURY MAZDA - take note !

tensioner £138.06
Timing Belt £42.55
V Belt £9.98
V Belt £9.21

3 hours labour at £37.50 = £112.50

Total cost including VAT £383.74

That included everything to sort her out including cam belt change - If you ask me I think that was a good price - still expensive but hey what the hell lol

Good to here she's alright! Sounds expensive but It could've been a lot worse!

Hey Hey Hey Congrats ! Glad to hear you happy again. It did cost you quite a bit, but she should be good for a few more miles now ...

where did you Gogo for the work?

Sounds an excellent price an I may be willing to travel to avoid £63 + VAT per hour to just look at the car and 'tut' !!

newbury Mazda - Ampere Road, London Road Ind Estate - Newbury Berks

They are a friendly bunch and helpful - they seem like they will only fix what is broken - I have taken cars there in the past and you can get a courtesy car if you book in advance.

The bloke on Service Desk is called Dave & I told he he may have a few more customers - the hourly rate was good.