Mazda 2 1.25S - running report

[stripped fred]

Thanks Mr Cobblers and all others who've commented. This is a great site for practical, down to earth advice. I now feel a bit more qualified on this subject! Think i'm going to treat myself to a code reader.

[stripped fred]

I've bought one of these which I can use to check the fault code and hopefully will work on other cars too.

[stripped fred]

Well, nearly a week in and no engine light. She's very happy with it so a good result. Will still try connecting my new fault code reader though to see if it works.

[Jim Bell]

I think every second hand car in the world with a pre and post cat 02 sensor pops the EML. 02/cat stuff should have a seperate sedate coloured light imo. To stop people freaking out.

[wuvvum]

The C4 hasn't popped the P0420 code back up since I fitted the new silencer - I reckon it was just getting confused by the incorrect back pressure.  Fault codes don't always mean what they say,  That's the joy of modern cars.  Similarly, in an Audi A3 I once owned, replacing the fuse for the reversing lights brought the non-functioning speedo back to life.

[stripped fred]

I suppose warning lights have their place but on older 'modern' cars with so many sensors you can't always believe them.

[stripped fred]

Bit of an update on this. My step-mum has been using it regularly and it's been reliable and she likes it. There's no repeat of the engine light so that's good news. I'd already bought some cataclean so we put that in anyway. I fitted some Mazda wheel trims we got on eBay so it looks smarter. I also checked the engine oil and it's still on the maximum so more good news.

 

Less good is that it's leaking a bit of oil. I had a quick look last night and I think it's gear oil. Not loads but there are regular patches where she usually parks. She's going to get the garage to have a look. Is it easy to fix this type of problem or does it usually involve a strip down of the gearbox? Could it be a simple fix like a driveshaft seal? I suppose it could also be power steering fluid.

[stripped fred]

So, what are the likely fixes for a gearbox oil leak? Is it likely to involve a strip down?

[cobblers]

Going off "general gearbox knowledge" a leak generally won't mean a rebuild - the seals are on the input shaft and the driveshafts, You can usually change driveshaft oil seals in situ, just pull the shaft out, pry the old seal out and tap the new one in place.

They usually start to leak if the shaft has been removed and the seal not replaced.

[sierraman]

Where's it leaking? At the bellhousing?

 

Common place for engines to leak round that area is from the crank end seal, could go on for quite some time but by the time it's pissing out like that it could have contaminated the clutch. This involves taking the gearbox off, it's usually discovered during a clutch change.

 

If it is that I'd try some stop leak, takes quite a while to work but swells the seal and might put off the inevitable for a while yet.

 

If it's definitely gearbox oil, could be coming from speedo drive. Simple enough job that you might be able to 'cure' with some PTFE tape. Or as above from the driveshaft end seals which isn't a terrible job.

 

Where is it coming from on the gearbox?

[SiC]

Do these even have a Speedo drive? Surely they'd take it off a ABS wheel speed sensor?

[stripped fred]

I only had a quick glance in the dark using a torch. Seemed to be coming off the gearbox rather than the engine and looked like gear oil. She's got it booked in at her local garage for a quote on Monday so we'll see how it goes from there. Hopefully it will be no more than a few hundred as not worth spending too much although it does appear a good car overall. If the quote is too high I'll take it my my usual garage who are really decent and I trust them.

[sierraman]

Yeah but where on the box is it coming from?

[rainagain]

Are you sure it's gearbox oil? Collect some on a rag and smell it, gearbox oil is very distinctive. Otherwise it could be an engine oil leak dripping down onto the gearbox

[sierraman]

Or coolant.

[stripped fred]

An update on this. It was power steering fluid leaking. She took it to the local garage who told her it needed a new steering rack so she got it done. Cost her £450 which sounded a bit steep to me, more then the car cost! She's happy though as she didn't want it off the road for long and didn't want to drive it anywhere else to get more quotes as there aren't many other garages nearby. Fingers crossed it doesn't need much else doing for a bit. She said "well it's an old car, it's bound to need money spending on it" so she understands shite cars.

[SiC]

To be fair, you could spend £2500 on a car and still need to spend similar. If the work done gets it a year or a few more years out of it, it still will be a good value car.