Well, it's about time that I write something else. This is for the vehicle-minded of us. For those of us with Mazda trucks (1993 and prior), we know how reliable they are (err.. can be) given the right owner. What these vehicles lack in terms of modernity they more than make up for in simplicity and ease of maintenance. I rode mine across the southwestern US with one small stop (literally, I could not get it started again) in Jackson, MS to replace a faulty Ignition switch. Freeman Auto Repair did a wonderful job at a great price. If you're ever in Jackson and need some repair work, check them out. Wonderful people.
I want to take this opportunity to speak a bit about the EGR sensor system on these cars.. er.. trucks. It is annoying as fuck. That is right, I said it. It is annoying. But hey, that's okay. Beause it's easy as fuck to fix. If you do it right the first time.
The truck had been bucking and hesitating upon acceleration. I became convinced something was wrong with the exhaust (well, I was sort-of right) and drilled holes in the second catalytic converter to see if it made a difference. It made it louder and more annoying, but didn't fix it as I was hoping. Luckily I needed a new exhaust anyway so replaced from the front pipe back.
The problem would be worse once the truck warmed up. Terrible, terrible bucking. It was so bad it made me mad. And sad. I replaced the o2 sensor (You should always do this when putting a new exhaust on, generally), PCV valve, plugs, wires, did other odds and ends, and cleaned the EGR sensor. My dad and I rebuilt the carburetor on it. Nothing seemed to really help.
Immediately after replacing the carburetor I disconnected the MAP sensor and viola, the problem went away. The idle was rough, but it ran like a liberal from a fox news interview. So, I got a new-used MAP sensor off eBay for $30. That seemed to fix it for a couple minutes. But then oh no, the bucking and hesitation came back.
So, I did the only logical thing. I took off the hood to spray paint it in the back yard of my parents house. While it was drying, I took the EGR sensor off CORRECTLY AND COMPLETELY and gave it a bath/ritualistic drowning in a bucket of carburetor cleaner and then cleaned it some more. Then I put it back together. The diaphragm was fine, but the valve itself was sitting in a nice nest of carbon and was quite covered itself. It was probably either getting stuck open or not forming an adequate seal.
Anyway, it's back together now and seems to be running great. Really in this situation, buying a new EGR valve is the appropriate thing to do, but I am running a live simulation of Angola, so new EGR valve was not in the picture. Try cleaning it before replacing if you have nothing to lose. Be sure not to submerge the electrical portion of the valve. that's not good for it.
Light and love
foxy
Follow up: It fixed it for a very brief period of time. I have now disconnected the EGR position sensor and it is running acceptably with some bucking and hesitation. This has been one of the great mysteries of my life. The truck is still running fine as of July 2016, and is approaching 200k miles. I drive it quite hard since it is such an asshole.
Follow up 2: it still bucks and hesitates two years later, just took it to british columbia and back with a friend. I'm amazed it hasn't destroyed the truck. At 214k miles I put a new head on it. 3 of 4 cylinders cracked. No idea how long it ran like that. Now I think the front cat is stuffed up. Time to pull it off and "work" on it.. maybe when the weather is warmer.
Follow up 3: Sold it in fall 2019 after driving it across the country again; had 220,000 miles and burned oil like a son of a bitch. Now I live in Colorado and try to convince people to stop doing drugs (even though I want to party with them).
I want to take this opportunity to speak a bit about the EGR sensor system on these cars.. er.. trucks. It is annoying as fuck. That is right, I said it. It is annoying. But hey, that's okay. Beause it's easy as fuck to fix. If you do it right the first time.
The truck had been bucking and hesitating upon acceleration. I became convinced something was wrong with the exhaust (well, I was sort-of right) and drilled holes in the second catalytic converter to see if it made a difference. It made it louder and more annoying, but didn't fix it as I was hoping. Luckily I needed a new exhaust anyway so replaced from the front pipe back.
The problem would be worse once the truck warmed up. Terrible, terrible bucking. It was so bad it made me mad. And sad. I replaced the o2 sensor (You should always do this when putting a new exhaust on, generally), PCV valve, plugs, wires, did other odds and ends, and cleaned the EGR sensor. My dad and I rebuilt the carburetor on it. Nothing seemed to really help.
Immediately after replacing the carburetor I disconnected the MAP sensor and viola, the problem went away. The idle was rough, but it ran like a liberal from a fox news interview. So, I got a new-used MAP sensor off eBay for $30. That seemed to fix it for a couple minutes. But then oh no, the bucking and hesitation came back.
So, I did the only logical thing. I took off the hood to spray paint it in the back yard of my parents house. While it was drying, I took the EGR sensor off CORRECTLY AND COMPLETELY and gave it a bath/ritualistic drowning in a bucket of carburetor cleaner and then cleaned it some more. Then I put it back together. The diaphragm was fine, but the valve itself was sitting in a nice nest of carbon and was quite covered itself. It was probably either getting stuck open or not forming an adequate seal.
Anyway, it's back together now and seems to be running great. Really in this situation, buying a new EGR valve is the appropriate thing to do, but I am running a live simulation of Angola, so new EGR valve was not in the picture. Try cleaning it before replacing if you have nothing to lose. Be sure not to submerge the electrical portion of the valve. that's not good for it.
Light and love
foxy
Follow up: It fixed it for a very brief period of time. I have now disconnected the EGR position sensor and it is running acceptably with some bucking and hesitation. This has been one of the great mysteries of my life. The truck is still running fine as of July 2016, and is approaching 200k miles. I drive it quite hard since it is such an asshole.
Follow up 2: it still bucks and hesitates two years later, just took it to british columbia and back with a friend. I'm amazed it hasn't destroyed the truck. At 214k miles I put a new head on it. 3 of 4 cylinders cracked. No idea how long it ran like that. Now I think the front cat is stuffed up. Time to pull it off and "work" on it.. maybe when the weather is warmer.
Follow up 3: Sold it in fall 2019 after driving it across the country again; had 220,000 miles and burned oil like a son of a bitch. Now I live in Colorado and try to convince people to stop doing drugs (even though I want to party with them).
