Ok, since I'm a poor college student, I've decided to take this job on myself. My LIM gasket has a 1" piece blown out of it, (diagnosed by Rick's Rotary) so I have a vacuum leak, the front rotor is running lean and my idle is going crazy. Since it seems a waste to remove everything that's in the way more than once, I just ordered a Hose Techniques kit to do the vacuum hose job also. In terms of parts needed, so far I know I need the FSM (is this available from a local Mazda dealer? I want a hard copy) and the LIM gasket itself. What other things would be a good idea to take care of or replace while I'm in there? I'm sure there are other gaskets that should be changed at the same time. Does the dealer sell the newer metal LIM gasket or just the crappy old one? I also heard something about an aftermarket manifold being available, don't know much about that though. I know the intake hoses, DP, turbos, and UIM need to be removed to get at it, is there anything else? Sorry about the long post, but this will only be my second project on this car after a downpipe installation.

 

I'd replace the fuel pulsation dampener, coolant hoses to the turbos, and the coolant hoses to under the LIM if they're all still stock. The new LIM gasket is metal and there is a TSB out there on how to properly install and torque the LIM on with a metal gasket.

 

I had this exact problem and paid to get mine done. Damn it was expensive!!! Lots of labour to get down there. I would have liked to do it myself but I'm daily driving my car so had no choice but to fork out, it would have taken me a long long time to do it.

A few things they picked up on while doing the job - the O2 sensor had a broken wire, I had some bolts missing from somewhere in the exhaust system. The car felt smooth as when I got it back. Funnily enough when I painted my stock catback the other night I noticed the ground wire that connects to the bolts between main cat and catback wasn't connected. If not connected it can cause issues with the O2 sensor readings. I reconnected it and my idle got even smoother

No other useful advice though, sorry! Have fun and why not do a write up while your at it?

 

Ray at Malloy sells a reman gasket kit that contains all the gaskets you probably need and a few others you don't. IIRC, the price of the kit was cheaper than the individual gaskets.

As for buying a FSM. Do a search for it or check the FAQ sticky.

Good luck.

 

CLR Motorsports has a copper gasket for the LIM and stock ports. Will never blow out and seals very well (it is dead soft). 305.970.1774. I know he was out of the country racing over the weekend but he may be back today.
Michel

 

I don't understand why you wouldn't just buy that gasket, Its cheap.. like $12. You also may be very unpleasantly-suprized at how difficult putting all that stuff back on is.. including all the new hoses.

 

Where can I find coolant hoses? Do I just use something generic, or go to Mazda, or is there an upgraded replacement?

 

Coolant hoses for the turbos are small and oddly bent. Get them from Mazda and save the headache! Reuse the hose clamps rather than going for screw type clamps in this area... they loosen with time (heat cycling). Also look on the mazdatrix website for all the hoses, but you will get better pricing from Ray at Malloy Mazda.

LIM gasket is one sucky job.. The turbos will need the two gaskets that seal the turbo housings to the exhaustr manifold, and two gaskets for the oil return lines. Don't forget to go looking for the oil send line to the turbos and make sure you decouple it before you pull them off, or it can bend or break that welded pipe.

When you do the hose job, when you go to remove a hose from a solenoid, use a quite sharp blade and shave the hose material away from the nipple so that the blade moves parallel to the nipple and hose body. Just splitting the hose is not enough, as placing the sidways load to spread the split and have it come off will break the brittle solenoids (~$90 a piece, last I recall...). You will be down to a point where it might make sense to replace the plug wires on the other side of the engine... be very gentle with the wiring to the solenoids, brittle as it gets... definately replace the fuel pulsation damper while you are in there,this is not easy as the screws that hold it on the fuel rail strip out easily, take care to look on this forum how others have tackled it and be prepared to pull the fuel rail if you need to, which means it might be a good idea to look into getting the necessary grommets... make SURE none of the silicone hoses has a sharp bend in it, as they will collapse over time if they have a sharp radius...

Have hun, take your time, think to yourself that you are making sure it's getting done right by doing it yourself, so don't rush the job and take breaks when you get frustrated, which you will, cause the folks that designed this car KNEW they were ******* with the future mechanics saddled with this thing, and the car seems to know it too...