got the motor pulled, and was cleaning up the engine bay while i wait for my mounts and other parts. found this busted little part with a N326 on the backside of it. any idea what it is so i can replace it with a more intact version?

 

Are you talking about the boost sensor in the pic the little black box?

 

rich/lean mixture for idle

 

it was a bad cell phone pic, but the rich/lean would explain the R and L on it. so it's covered in some sort of sealant, which is why i though it was broken. so that is normal then?

 

If its a clear sealant its normal from factory. But should not be caked on there if so somone put it there

 

if your car has ever been to a mazda dealer in its life when they do a tune up or any motor work for that matter they will scrape out old silicone, tune screw, put in new silicone. looks like someone went a little crazy with the rtv but never the less its ok the way it is. i personally just cleaned mine out.

 

It's called the variable resistor, and the function has already been mentioned.

 

awesome, thanks for the quick responses guys!