Monsterliner
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2004 Mazda Tribute

Truck/SUV item created by Flexin, Nov 1, 2014

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This thread is being watched by 4 users.
  1. Flexin

    Flexin Admin Staff Member Founding Member Top Event

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    Mazda 064 (Medium).jpg Mazda 066 (Medium).jpg Mazda 067 (Medium).jpg Mazda 068 (Medium).jpg Mazda 069 (Medium).jpg Mazda 071 (Medium).jpg Mazda072 (Medium).jpg Mazda073 (Medium).jpg Mazda 058 (Medium).jpg
    This is more a maintenance thread rather then a build thread since I don't have any plans to modify it at the moment.

    It is a 2004 Mazda Tribute that I have had for 4 years or so. Bought it with about 82000 kms on it and its sitting with just over 200000 kms now. It has been holding up pretty good. Had some parts go that I didn't expect but over all its pretty good. I would like to replace it with a 07-08 Range Rover but thats not going to happen today so I need to take care of this for now.

    One thing I want to do this summer is to clean up some of the rust that is forming under the suv. The winter salt is brutal on cars around here.

    I'm getting ready for a road trip so I checked the fluids and rotated the tires today. Then washed it. Nothing too big.

    James
     
  2. erkan orer

    erkan orer Member Founding Member

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    That must be a strong motor still holding on. Also that's a right problem round here as well it just corrodes all the car and if not treated just falls to bits :(
     
  3. Flexin

    Flexin Admin Staff Member Founding Member Top Event

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    Yeah the motor is doing pretty well. It does have an odd issue with not staying running every now and then. It can last for 20 minute or more then run fine. Its a pain but doesn't happen very often.

    Well I drove the Tribute earlier in the week and when slowing down I could hear a bit of grinding. It must be the pads in the back because the front seem fine. So my wife bought the parts and so guess what I have to do tonight? Brake job. Not feeling like it today but I need to get it done.

    [​IMG]

    Doing this this job myself will save us money. For one we got the parts on sale. Saving $20 on the pads, and $23 each on the rotors. So that is a savings of $66 on the parts and $178 for labor. That labor price is nuts. They should be able to do this job on a hoist in 20-30 minutes. I wouldn't want to pay more then a hour for this job.

    Well...time to get dirty.

    James
     
  4. Flexin

    Flexin Admin Staff Member Founding Member Top Event

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    Well the brakes are done as well as a oil change.

    Here are some pictures.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

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    [​IMG]

    James
     
  5. Flexin

    Flexin Admin Staff Member Founding Member Top Event

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    Wheel removed.

    [​IMG]

    Removing the caliper.

    [​IMG]

    The caliper has been removed.

    [​IMG]

    This tool was inexpensive but man it was a great buy. I used to use a c clamp to push in the caliper piston. That was a pain because it could slip off at times. This tool make it so easy and saved me lots of time. I bought it a year ago or so and I'm so glad I did.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    The caliper is hung from the spring to protect the brake line and get it out of the way so I can remove the rotor.

    [​IMG]

    New rotor vs old rotor.

    [​IMG]

    New rotor on the SUV.

    [​IMG]

    Old pads vs the new ones.

    [​IMG]

    The other side ready for the rotor.

    [​IMG]

    This is the rotor that was being damaged by the wore out pad. I looked in at the pads when I rotated the tires but you can't see the rear pad very well and the front looked good. The dents are from trying to beat it free.

    [​IMG]

    The pads from that side. The one on the left was in back.

    [​IMG]

    The rust from beating one rotor off. Speaking of that I have a mess to clean up in my garage later.:eek:

    [​IMG]


    James
     
  6. erkan orer

    erkan orer Member Founding Member

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    That is a ridiculous price to pay takes me 30-40 minutes to change brake discs + brake pads anyways very good job very interesting as well please keep me updated i love to read though on what people have repaired or done on there own car.
     
  7. Flexin

    Flexin Admin Staff Member Founding Member Top Event

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    Yeah its crazy. I don't mind paying at times but a fair price. And 1 to 1.5 hours is fair to me. Wanting 2.2 hours to do that job is unreal. The brakes work nice. We paid extra for a quite brake because squeaky brakes drive me nuts. We went for a drive today to see my wife's family which was over an hour away and they were great.

    If I didn't have to get them done so quick I would have painted the caliper and bracket. At some point I will get some paint on them.

    I will try to keep posting as I do anything. I love build theads and I hope others will make them as well. Its fun to watch people make improvements or just plan repairs. Its a great way to learn other tricks or just see the skill of some people.

    James
     
  8. erkan orer

    erkan orer Member Founding Member

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    Nice one always feels good when you have done something that needs doing and you did it on your own. I also like to look though on what people have done or are planning on doing next with there cars nice way to get some more knowledge because there is always something you will learn.
     
  9. Flexin

    Flexin Admin Staff Member Founding Member Top Event

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    Had a brake light out. Quick and easy repair in between doing work on the Acura TL this weekend.

    Two screws to remove the light assembly.


    car 058 (Medium).jpg

    Old bulb removed.

    car 059 (Medium).jpg

    My son holding the old and new bulbs.

    car 060 (Medium).jpg

    We now have light. :thumbsup: Quick 5 minute fix. The bulbs are sold in a two pack so the extra goes up on a hanger on the peg board in the garage for the next time it is needed.

    car 061 (Medium).jpg

    James
     
  10. jliehr

    jliehr Member

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    Pretty nice :). I don't like the different color (or plastic) fenders, skirts, and bumpers but it looks nice. That would be nice in black.

    Get me one of those window stickers!
     
  11. Flexin

    Flexin Admin Staff Member Founding Member Top Event

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    I would have been happy with one color as well. This has grown on me and I don't mind it all that much. I don't think about it much anymore. I bought it at a dealer auction so you only have so many to choice from.

    I need to get some more made up but if you want some I should be able to hook you up.

    James
     
  12. Flexin

    Flexin Admin Staff Member Founding Member Top Event

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    I replaced the spark plugs today. That was fun. The front three are easy to access but the rear are not. You have to remove more then a few things to get to them. Not hard but just takes some time. Saved about $240 doing it myself. Pictures to come later. The battery in my camera died as I started so I had to use my phone.

    James
     
  13. Flexin

    Flexin Admin Staff Member Founding Member Top Event

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    I'm in the process of uploading my pics from my phone so I can upload some of the spark plug pictures. I have also wired in a new headlight plugs because the old one was melted and corroded.

    James
     
  14. Flexin

    Flexin Admin Staff Member Founding Member Top Event

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    Here is my engine with the top cover (just a plastic cover to make things look "nice") I believe there was for bolts on this.
    Halifax-20121215-00093.jpg

    In this pic you can see the three front coil packs (they send the spark to each spark plug individually). At the top of the picture you can see all of the pieces of the air intake. All of this plastic, cable, wires and so on are blocking my other three spark plugs. The front plugs can be changed by removing 4 bolts to take off the engine cover, then you remove the wire harness to the coil pack, then the retaining bolt for the coil pack, gently pull out the coil pack then carefully remove the spark plug. The front three can be removed in about 20 minutes and replaced with new ones. The back ones are not that easy. I hear they charge 2.5 hours or so to do this job at a shop. I haven't checked myself but it wouldn't surprise me.

    For the rear three you need to remove the throttle body or at least the hose going to it, you vacuum lines, a few harness connectors (some easier to remove then others), a bracket or four, and more then a few bolts. I removed as little as possible and moved everything toward the front just enough to give me access. You have to be careful not to drop dirt into your air intake ports.

    Halifax-20121215-00094.jpg

    This shows one coil pack removed and the wire harness plug is there. The spark plug is deep inside that hole.

    Halifax-20121215-00095.jpg

    James
     
  15. Flexin

    Flexin Admin Staff Member Founding Member Top Event

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    Here are the rear coil packs. As you can see one is removed.

    Halifax-20121215-00099.jpg

    Here are two of my old spark plugs.

    Halifax-20121215-00096 (Medium).jpg

    Here is one of the new plugs next to the old ones.

    Halifax-20121215-00097 (Medium).jpg

    Here you can see the coil pack, a new spark plug, some of the tools needed as well as some of the bolts that were removed.

    Halifax-20121215-00101 (Medium).jpg


    James
     
  16. Flexin

    Flexin Admin Staff Member Founding Member Top Event

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    Here are the picture from fixing my headlight. The problem was that it wasn't always turning on. If you move the plug around with your hand you could get it to turn on. So you have a bad wire, contacts or something along those lines in cases like this.

    While doing the spark plugs my father in law noticed the melted connector. I bought a new one for about $5 and picked up some heat shrink tubing as well. I should have picked up a larger size but it wasn't that big of a deal.

    As you can see, this connector is bad. This plugs on to the headlight bulb. Yes that is a little snow on the truck. I did this out in the cold because the old car was in the way of the garage and I didn't have time to go to the in laws. My brother was flying in for Christmas and I was letting him use my truck. I wanted to make sure both lights worked for him so it was now or never.

    IMG-20121223-00116 (Medium).jpg


    IMG-20121223-00117 (Medium).jpg

    Here you can see the wires coming out of the plug. The replacement connectors are not color coded. So I cut one wire a time and wired it to the new one to make sure I didn't mix them up. You can see the grey connector and the tied up black wire to the right of the old one. I wanted to make sure the new one fit on before cutting.

    IMG-20121223-00118 (Medium).jpg


    IMG-20121223-00119 (Medium).jpg

    A closer look at the back of the connector.

    IMG-20121223-00120 (Medium).jpg

    The package of heat shrink tubing to protect the wires after they are connected.

    IMG-20121223-00121 (Medium).jpg

    First wire cut, connected and soldered.

    IMG-20121223-00122 (Medium).jpg

    My heat gun used to shrink the tubing. The heat gun gets really hot so if you use one, make sure you don't hold it on to long. You can heat the wire up too much and melt the coating on the wire which defeats the purpose.
    IMG-20121223-00123 (Medium).jpg

    Here is my father in laws soldering gun. Someone broke mine. His is a much better one then what I have. Mine is a pen style, you heat it up and its heated till you unplug it. This one you pull the trigger and it heats up pretty quick, even outside on that cold night. Its a nice unit. I need to buy one like it.

    IMG-20121223-00124 (Medium).jpg

    You can see the heat shrink on the ends of the wire. I shrunk it, then taped them together to add more protection and to give things a cleaner look. I need to take a finished picture of that.

    IMG-20121223-00125 (Medium).jpg

    James
     
  17. Flexin

    Flexin Admin Staff Member Founding Member Top Event

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    Its like Christmas in January. A package was waiting for me when I got home tonight.

    Halifax-20130108-00188 (Medium).jpg

    It was packed well.

    Halifax-20130108-00189 (Medium).jpg


    Halifax-20130108-00190 (Medium).jpg

    The box contains 6 new coil packs for the Mazda Tribute. I needed two but the 6 were cheaper then one locally. :thumbsup:

    Halifax-20130108-00191 (Medium).jpg

    Here is what should be causing my engine to idle rough at times. It also lit up the check engine light at times.

    Halifax-20130108-00192 (Medium).jpg

    Here is the engine cover. It is held down with 3 8mm nuts.

    Halifax-20130108-00197 (Medium).jpg

    Here is the old and new coil pack.

    Halifax-20130108-00198 (Medium).jpg


    Halifax-20130108-00199 (Medium).jpg


    Halifax-20130108-00200 (Medium).jpg

    James
     
  18. Flexin

    Flexin Admin Staff Member Founding Member Top Event

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    Here are the two new coil packs. To remove you the coil packs you just remove the wire clip (find the little tab by the wires, push it down and gently pull) and then remove the retaining bolt with a 8mm socket.

    Halifax-20130108-00202 (Medium).jpg

    This is how I found out what the problem was. I bought this on code reader on sale about two months ago. It told me I had a misfire on cyl 5. Later on it put up the same code for cyl 1. When doing the plugs I moved the coil pack from 1 to 4 so I wouldn't have to remove so much to replace it later. That way the two problem coil packs were front and center. Made a 1.5 hour job take only 20 minutes. More on the reader later in its own thread. It has been well worth the money. It paid for itself already as far as I'm concerned. I checked and cleared the codes on the Tribute a few times and checked and cleared one for my step father in his car. Its a great tool to have.

    IMG-20121115-00827.jpg

    James
     
  19. BigBigFan

    BigBigFan Fan of Life Founding Member

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    Wow, great bunch of pics! I knew you drove it in the snow because of the rust on the rotors etc. In California you don't even get that kind of surface rust, a fully steel frame on a 10 year old car won't have a single spec of rust on it. I like the web address on the back windshield too, where can I get mine done like that? :)
     
  20. Flexin

    Flexin Admin Staff Member Founding Member Top Event

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    Here we use a LOT of road salt. The problem, we get warm days like today that melt the snow then it will start to freeze around supper time (which caused the water on the side of the road to freeze, which I slipped on tonight when shoveling my driveway.) So they salt if it nice out, if it rains because the temp will go down, and when it snows. The only time they can ease up is when the temps stay low enough all day l0ng. So rust here is a major problem.

    The window decal I had made up. I need another one for the windshield and I new a set for my wifes new (to us) car. If there are people that are interested in putting some on their vehicle then I would look at sending some out. I need to get some more made up.

    James
     
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