Car Diagnosis - Any suggestions?

[IzZzy]

Hi there,

I've had recurring problems with my car (Mazda Astina 1.8SE 1998) and now seek the collective wisdom of the forum. The problems I've had are:

1) Broken the front engine mountings 3 times - what causes this? The last engine mountings were reinforced;

2) Car is jerky in traffic - when pulling off and taking foot off the accelerator;

3) Oil is leaking out the fuel filler cap (possibly elsewhere but I cant tell as yet). I've replaced the fuel filler cap and have had a new head gasket fitted a while back so I doubt it could be that but who knows...

4) The front left wheel makes a clanking/ratchet sound when parking/reversing out of parking (possibly CV joint?);

5) There is a huge power discrepancy from 0 - 3000 revs (car has power) and after 3000 revs (car has all the power in the world);

6) Car makes a deep "Boh" (pronounced like "Boar" without the letters "ar" - took me 5minutes trying to figure how to replicate that sound here!) sound when parking, when I turn the steering wheel;

7) Now, the car is idling rough (sounds like a diesel at times);

8) When I reverse, sometimes if I don't give more than what should be enough power the revs drop to 0 quickly and come back up when I quickly give more power;

9) When I put the car in reverse in the morning (and it has been standing overnight), and when give a little power, the car jerks quite bad initially - it is like the gearbox "oil" (or grease???) has solidified and when I give power, the cogs break that solidified material hence the jerk.

Barring the above, the car runs okay on the freeway and doesn't overheat and is using fuel normally. Water is normal but on the last fill up I had to put a pint of oil in.

Any advice for any of the above? Your comments will be highly appreciated.

 

[PC Direct]

Sounds like you need a new car

 

[IzZzy]

Lmfao - not an option right now. Thing is - these are just irritating problems. Like I said, car was fine on the open road (i.e from Durban to Johannesburg) and is fine whilst driving...

 

[PC Direct]

Sell it, and get something more reliable. Really it's sounds like it's about to konk in any moment. Other than that, I don't think there are too many mechanics visiting this forum to give you legit advice

GL

 

[IzZzy]

Still need to pay it off (sad tale about buying the car you love.. but love it too much that you overlook its "problems").

I have a mechanic going to look at it Monday but I trust the advice of this forum - and could make the mechanic think I know what I'm talking about when I spurt what advice I receive here

Thanks for replying and wishing me luck - I need it

 

[PC Direct]

Cars are a nightmare, I understand your grievances.

May the force be with you Obiwan

 

[Freshy-ZN]

Almost sounds as if something is badly warped or out of balance. If it was a rear wheel drive I would say your prop shaft is banana shaped.

As for the oil escaping out the fuel filler cap?

 

[LCBXX]

Sell it. Astina parts are hard to source these days. Great car, but I'd get rid of anything that has so much hassles.

 

[SirFooK'nG]

Hi there,

I've had recurring problems with my car (Mazda Astina 1.8SE 1998) and now seek the collective wisdom of the forum. The problems I've had are:

1) Was the car in an accident (head on) before purchasing ? (tell tale sign is no chips on the bonnet or bumpers - for second hand car - been repainted)

2) Clutch still ok ???
3) Oil is leaking out the fuel filler cap U mean oil filler cap on engine ??

4) (possibly CV joint?); Put car into tight turn and listin for tik tik tik sound - thats a CV.

5) Have you serviced the car regularly - Petrol and air filter ???

6) Car makes a deep "Boh" Power steering pump?

7) Now, the car is idling rough... See No 5 + oil filter and oil + Timing belt

8) Vacuum pressure or airflow to Injectors/Carb faulty ??

9) Is this a Manual or Auto box ??

Eish .. bru . . . and mazda's are like so hard to break!!!

 

[pjjdp]

It's a Mazda, live with it.

 

[PC Direct]

aaaaai

 

[SirFooK'nG]

icbxx - location hmmmm Big river and mine dumps ??? Orkney Snorknie ?

 

[IzZzy]

Oh flip, yes I meant the oil filler cap - oops! Clutch is quite rough when changing gears. Yeah it does make that tik tik sound in a tight turn.

I think you're correct about the power steering pump - heard someone mention that before.

I presume that the car was in a side on collision as when I opened the door panel I found glass pieces (and then noticed the window does not have a serial number like the others and that it doesn't close flush).

I've certainly learnt my lesson regarding second hand cars (but I just loved the shape too much) but I'm a predicament and am forced to fix it.

Regarding how hard Astina parts are - yup took me ages to find a battery casing thingy for the battery to sit on. Didn't have one of those either! lol!

PS: It is a manual gearbox.

 

[Gnome]

Hi there,

I've had recurring problems with my car (Mazda Astina 1.8SE 1998) and now seek the collective wisdom of the forum. The problems I've had are:

1) Broken the front engine mountings 3 times - what causes this? The last engine mountings were reinforced;

Engine is moving around excessively or the mountings are not to manufacturers specifications, make sure all the mountings are still in good order, if 1 fails the other will take more stress, and can fatigue them. Car could also have been in a crash and the engine bay isn't exactly up to spec anymore (would have to be considerable tho).

2) Car is jerky in traffic - when pulling off and taking foot off the accelerator;

Can be a number of things...

3) Oil is leaking out the fuel filler cap (possibly elsewhere but I cant tell as yet). I've replaced the fuel filler cap and have had a new head gasket fitted a while back so I doubt it could be that but who knows...

If it's trothing it probably because of sump pressure, pressure is building in the sump and forcing oil out the top. The pressure is building because there is excessive blow-by from the piston (IE. gasses that are supposed to stay in the piston is blowing past the rings into the sump and generally causing sh#t).

It's usually caused by rings that are failing, is the car smoking? Let someone sit in the car and rev it and look for smoke, if it smokes consistently that's rings (AKA engine is due for overhaul), if it smokes when they lift off the pedal it's the valve stem seals which depending on the engine shouldn't be too hard to fix (very easy on a Opel for example).

Either if the car is using oil it's troubling.

4) The front left wheel makes a clanking/ratchet sound when parking/reversing out of parking (possibly CV joint?);

I'd have the CV checked, as well as check the condition of the shocks (is oil leaking from the shocks?), are the rubbers around the CV's and drive shafts still in good order or are they cracked with oil leaking all over the place?

5) There is a huge power discrepancy from 0 - 3000 revs (car has power) and after 3000 revs (car has all the power in the world);

Engine isn't running as it should, something is obviously wrong, but even the smallest engine problem can cause this to happen.

6) Car makes a deep "Boh" (pronounced like "Boar" without the letters "ar" - took me 5minutes trying to figure how to replicate that sound here!) sound when parking, when I turn the steering wheel;

What I said above about the cv's, I have no idea how that car's steering column works but could be related to steering also. The car must have been in a accident!

7) Now, the car is idling rough (sounds like a diesel at times);

Could be knock which would explain the loss of performance, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engine_knocking

8) When I reverse, sometimes if I don't give more than what should be enough power the revs drop to 0 quickly and come back up when I quickly give more power;

Either your ECU is not picking up the RPM signal properly, there are 3 different sensors that are used to pick up the engine position and speed and a entire discussion on it's own, but it could be faulty, OR the ECU is faulty OR the RPM gauge is faulty OR the engine is knocking on idle, you can easily identify knock on idle tho, if you open the bonnet you'll see sparks fly every time it happens from the spark plug as the spark is rejected, at that point the rpm will drop sharply.

Could also be fueling issue, injector problem (although these are usually way more consistent), spark problem (IE. The coil isn't so well anymore).

If the car is carb my no.1 suspect would be Spark, then Fuel.

Spark will also explain the loss of performance on lower RPM, a stronger spark is needed on lower RPM's so if it's degraded it will/can cause knocking, low performance etc. Usually tho on newer injected engines the spark is generated by a mosfet and coil, if it fails it fails properly, in other words one cylinder no longer sparks or more commonly the spark is shared among 2 cylinders (wasted spark configuration) so the car would have NO performance (pulling off would be very difficult).

9) When I put the car in reverse in the morning (and it has been standing overnight), and when give a little power, the car jerks quite bad initially - it is like the gearbox "oil" (or grease???) has solidified and when I give power, the cogs break that solidified material hence the jerk.

What exactly is the condition of the gearbox, is there oil in there? Are you sure the gearbox isn't leaking oil?? Best check that pronto.

 

[IzZzy]

Firstly, Gnome, you are my hero. Thanks for taking the time to dissect and analyse each problem!! I now have some knowledge to discuss this with the mechanic.

The car is fuel injected - I have no idea about the condition of the gearbox - there's no oil stains where my car is parked though...but I will have it checked asap.

I will need to check the smoking - I checked about 3 weeks ago and there was none - not even when my girlfriend lifted the pedal.

Thing is, what makes me peeved - before I came to JHB my head gasket went and I paid -alot- of money for a "complete engine overhaul" where they replaced a long list of things. I suspect this very much - I would love to challenge these Durban mechanics and get my money back - any way how?

Again, thanks to everyone whose helped me I owe you some beers

 

[Paul_S]

1) Broken the front engine mountings 3 times - what causes this? The last engine mountings were reinforced;

Do you drop the clutch a lot or do you pull away gently and smoothly?

2) Car is jerky in traffic - when pulling off and taking foot off the accelerator;

Not sure what kind of jerk it is but it could be caused by play in the drive train (gearbox and CVs).

3) Oil is leaking out the fuel filler cap (possibly elsewhere but I cant tell as yet). I've replaced the fuel filler cap and have had a new head gasket fitted a while back so I doubt it could be that but who knows...

Sounds like a lot of blow back (blow-by) caused by worn piston rings. The combustion gases are getting past the piston rings and pressurising the crank case causing oil to be blown out.

4) The front left wheel makes a clanking/ratchet sound when parking/reversing out of parking (possibly CV joint?);

CV joint is finished - replace.

5) There is a huge power discrepancy from 0 - 3000 revs (car has power) and after 3000 revs (car has all the power in the world);

Could be caused by a lot of things but it will be fuel or ignition related.
As far as I know the Astina never had an engine with variable valve timing so you can rule that possibility out.

6) Car makes a deep "Boh" (pronounced like "Boar" without the letters "ar" - took me 5minutes trying to figure how to replicate that sound here!) sound when parking, when I turn the steering wheel;

Power steering issue. Probably just the steering arm hitting the rubber stops.
Nothing to worry about.

7) Now, the car is idling rough (sounds like a diesel at times);

When was the last time you had the car serviced?
Plugs, ignition, fuel filter, air filter, check fuel injectors ...

8) When I reverse, sometimes if I don't give more than what should be enough power the revs drop to 0 quickly and come back up when I quickly give more power;

An engine that idles rough is not going to be happy about producing power at low revs.

9) When I put the car in reverse in the morning (and it has been standing overnight), and when give a little power, the car jerks quite bad initially - it is like the gearbox "oil" (or grease???) has solidified and when I give power, the cogs break that solidified material hence the jerk.

Does your car have drum brakes at the back?
I've driven cars that had drum brakes that bind a bit in the cold mornings after being parked over night. Nothing serious although changing the brake shoe compound may stop the problem.

Barring the above, the car runs okay on the freeway and doesn't overheat and is using fuel normally. Water is normal but on the last fill up I had to put a pint of oil in.

Oil is is typically one of three things:
1. Oil leak
2. Worn piston rings
3. Worn valve stem seals and/or valve stem guides

From your point 3 I'd guess it's worn piston rings.

Any advice for any of the above? Your comments will be highly appreciated.

Get your car fixed?

 

[Ou grote]

My gf's car packed up about 4 months after she moved from CT to JHB.
Her brother's car packed up after 5 months.

I'm not a mechanic, but apparantly when u move up there, you need to change the air/fuel mixture and a few other things because of the altitude.

 

[IzZzy]

To answer Paul_S:

I pull away gently.
Car was last serviced when I got to JHB - was concerned about the altitude issue.
Car has disc brakes all round.

I had the mechanic assess my car on the weekend - he's going to quote me a price to fix everything.


His comments were in line with what was posted here so thanks for providing your insight My biggest concern is the oil leak/possible worn piston rings.

If it is the piston rings - why would these have gone (again) as I had them replaced in Durban in July/Aug last year in the engine overhaul that I had done? If it is the rings, any validity in sending those mechanics my bill?

 

[Paul_S]

His comments were in line with what was posted here so thanks for providing your insight My biggest concern is the oil leak/possible worn piston rings.

If it is the piston rings - why would these have gone (again) as I had them replaced in Durban in July/Aug last year in the engine overhaul that I had done? If it is the rings, any validity in sending those mechanics my bill?

What exactly did they do when they did the engine overhaul?
The absolute minimum that they should have done if the piston rings were replaced:
1. Rebore all the cylinder barrels
2. Replace the pistons to match the new bore
3. Fit new rings to the new pistons

If the pistons or the cylinder barrels were worn and they just replaced the rings the rings won't last long.
Not sure if that is the problem but I really don't trust mechanics now days.
They fix 1 thing and break 3 others in the process and don't tell you about it.
Hope you come right.

 

[IzZzy]

I have the invoice at home but my understanding was that they merely kept the engine block but replaced all the insides. How true this was remains to be seen.

I don't trust mechanics either - I had to take my car back several times to them after they initially "fixed" it - at one point it filled an entire underground parking area with smoke - they had to replace the head gasket again. They also buggered up my starter and I had to replace that as well. Blah - I just want a reliable car.