What Did You Do To Your Car Today?

[Bridgecity]

Junior and I did an oil change and plugs on the Mazda 3 a couple nights ago.  Plugs were overdue according to maintenance schedule.  Oil changes are a breeze; no oil dripping on any components when pulling the plug or filter and nothing needs to be removed for access.  Plugs came out without issue.  All done within an hour.

Two of the plugs had oil on them.  Nothing major sitting in the plug holes, but the valve cover gasket obviously is leaking at the two plug openings.  We'll have to swap that out at some point. 

We'll also be doing to tranny oil at some point soon.  I'll likely drop the pan, change the screen, and clean the pan out.  I have the screen and pan gasket at home.  Mazda doesn't have a schedule for the tranny fluid, but I'm going to do it regardless.  I do have some angst pulling those tiny pan bolts with a car that has 170k and has lived in SK, but its not all that rusty under there.  Should be OK.

It was my first time under the car, and everything looks as it should.  No leaks, CVs look good, etc.

[RRocket]

Junior and I did an oil change and plugs on the Mazda 3 a couple nights ago.  Plugs were overdue according to maintenance schedule.  Oil changes are a breeze; no oil dripping on any components when pulling the plug or filter and nothing needs to be removed for access.  Plugs came out without issue.  All done within an hour.

Two of the plugs had oil on them.  Nothing major sitting in the plug holes, but the valve cover gasket obviously is leaking at the two plug openings.  We'll have to swap that out at some point. 

We'll also be doing to tranny oil at some point soon.  I'll likely drop the pan, change the screen, and clean the pan out.  I have the screen and pan gasket at home.  Mazda doesn't have a schedule for the tranny fluid, but I'm going to do it regardless.  I do have some angst pulling those tiny pan bolts with a car that has 170k and has lived in SK, but its not all that rusty under there.  Should be OK.

It was my first time under the car, and everything looks as it should.  No leaks, CVs look good, etc.

Nice work!

[Firm]

Yep, well done. Gotta love a simple 4 cylinder for ease of maintenance.

I've been dealing with an odd issue on the Green Firebird. It's done this as long as I've had it, so it's not new, but I've been using the car pretty regular and would like to address it....Maybe 50% of the time you'll go to crank it up and the starter will just click (one loud click), flick the key back and fourth 2-3 times and it'll fire up. The starter always sounds kinda labored when it does go too...

Previously I've load tested the battery and actually swapped in a new starter, no change. I thought maybe the battery cables were corroded inside increasing resistance, so today I swapped new cables in, which is kind of an annoying job due to the tight clearances in the LT1 engine bay, and cleaned all the main grounds. Still does the same thing 

I am kinda outta ideas so the only thing I can think of is that when this engine was 'built' by a previous owner they upped the compression...It clearly has a cam in it, but I don't know what else has been done. If it is higher compression, then it might need a higher torque starter to crank it over properly. That, or there's something going on with the timing map for the 'start' sequence. A problem for another time I guess, lol. 

[RRocket]

Yep, well done. Gotta love a simple 4 cylinder for ease of maintenance.

I've been dealing with an odd issue on the Green Firebird. It's done this as long as I've had it, so it's not new, but I've been using the car pretty regular and would like to address it....Maybe 50% of the time you'll go to crank it up and the starter will just click (one loud click), flick the key back and fourth 2-3 times and it'll fire up. The starter always sounds kinda labored when it does go too...

Previously I've load tested the battery and actually swapped in a new starter, no change. I thought maybe the battery cables were corroded inside increasing resistance, so today I swapped new cables in, which is kind of an annoying job due to the tight clearances in the LT1 engine bay, and cleaned all the main grounds. Still does the same thing 

I am kinda outta ideas so the only thing I can think of is that when this engine was 'built' by a previous owner they upped the compression...It clearly has a cam in it, but I don't know what else has been done. If it is higher compression, then it might need a higher torque starter to crank it over properly. That, or there's something going on with the timing map for the 'start' sequence. A problem for another time I guess, lol. 

It sure sounds like a grounding thing/battery. I presume selenoid is integral with starter so is new?

Could an issue with the key barrel cause the issue? Does it have a chip key proximity thing on these?

Hard to imagine there's that much more compression as to render the OEM starter obsolete. Cars with that much compression don't run well on pump fuel.

Pick a cylinder and do a compression test. Solve the mystery! LOL 😆

[Firm]

Yeah, solenoid is part of the starter. I don't think it's key/ignition related as the only security here is old GM VATS (little black chip in the key) and when VATS activates security it shuts off fuel, nothing to do with the starter circuit.

I am not sure how much compression would be needed to strain a starter like this...I guess I could run a compression test and see what it reads...Not a bad idea. Wish the spark plugs were easier to access, absolutely horrid access in this thing.

I may go out later and run another couple load tests on the battery, or maybe just swap batteries with the other Firebird to see if that changes anything.

[Firm]

Well, I did go out and play with it again. Swapped batteries, no change. Tried starting it with a jump pack hooked up to see if the extra amps would help, no change. Listening carefully to the engine turn over, I think it's timing related...It's too far advanced vs where it should be for 'start'. Maybe a bad CPS, or there's some aftermarket foolery screwing with the timing.

[RRocket]

Well, I did go out and play with it again. Swapped batteries, no change. Tried starting it with a jump pack hooked up to see if the extra amps would help, no change. Listening carefully to the engine turn over, I think it's timing related...It's too far advanced vs where it should be for 'start'. Maybe a bad CPS, or there's some aftermarket foolery screwing with the timing.

Was this the car that came with nitrous?

[Firm]

Correct. Haven't ever used it, but the system and tank is all there and complete. The old (abandoned) Memphis Speedway was purchased by IHRA back in the spring and is scheduled to re-open in the fall. It's only about 20 minutes from me, so it would be cool to get this car dialed in and go make a couple passes.