Mazda 323 V6

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
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Tue 7 May 2002 11:50
Mazda 323 V6 - stuart
I'm looking to buy a mazda 323 zxi v6,saw a very good car the other day,but as soon as you start the engine their is a very loud top end rattle,mazda uk inform me that a kit can be fitted to cure this is this true,would any damage have been done by this rattle.


stuart
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Tue 7 May 2002 11:59
Re: Mazda 323 V6 - Steve Boreham
One of my colleagues ran a 323 V6 from new until recently, and he noticed what he described as the same problem on starting the car one evening.
The next day, on his run to work, BANG!
Exit con rod through cylinder block.

Professional motor engineer's analysis on behalf of Mazda UK was that lack of oil, and hence lack of pressure, was the cause.

The car always burned some oil, and it would appear that his lax attention to this, and hence fogetting to top up, was the likely cause.

Other than that, he was always singing it's praises.


/Steve
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Tue 7 May 2002 12:53
Re: Mazda 323 V6 - Honestjohn
Remember that as well as being a timing belt engine, the 2.0 litre 323V6 has 24 valve stem seals. As a historical note, loossely connected to the next BTCC thread, the Mondeo touring cars used to run this 2.0 litre Mazda V6.

HJ
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Tue 7 May 2002 13:04
Re: Mazda 323 V6 - Jonathan
I run a v6 mazda (2.5).

I would suggest that you look at mx6.com as they are familiar with these engines and can point you to some good engineer sites.

These engines have hydraulic tappits, which do sound noisy until the oil has been pumped up fully.

Hope this helps.

Jonathan
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Tue 7 May 2002 14:07
Re: Mazda 323 V6 - Rob Govier
I consider them a fine-handling shapely car. I put about 50K on a 1.8 as a company car and thought it was lively. I would have loved use of the V6...

Be advised, however, that there are no "low coolant" or "over-temperature" warning lights. (unlike Peugeot plus others). The temp. gauge is not acknowledged to be very accurate, either.

There is also complete fresh air (no grill/gauze) between the radiator and the outside world quite low down (See how many have dented radiator fins.)

These two waeknesses meant I missed the rapid overtemperature situation after a stone seriously holed my radiator on the A55. The engine pinked a bit, lost a bit of power, then seized amid clouds of smoke, which I watched from a safe distance.. Hindsight makes this look like gross driver neglicence, but let me tell you that it was hard to detect and happened very quickly.

Rob
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Tue 7 May 2002 14:11
Re: Mazda 323 V6 - Ian Cook
Stuart

A friend where I used to work ran a Mazda Xedos V6, and it was a beautiful car. The one thing he was dreading, though, was having the timing belt replaced because (in the Xedos) the front wing has to be removed for access. I don't know whether the 323 will have the same access problem, but it's worth checking this out.

Ian
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