Mazdaspeed Protege FAQ
Engine Problem Troubleshooting & Solutions

1. Car hesitates, sluggish around 3000 RPM untill 5200 RPM
   A: Factory tuned rich fuel map, even with TSB PCM recalibration this is still going to be evident. We recommend an aftermarket tuning solution to retune the poorly calibrated factory fuel map. see Haltech
   
2. P0171 code, irratic idling, poor performance, and/or fuel economy
   A: Vacuum leak, possible bad internal wastegate actuator, cracked vacuum lines, cracked plastic intercooler pipe, loose clamps, loose manifold bolts on turbo manifold, cracked turbo manifold, leak from intake manifold, worn oxygen sensor, short in spark plug wires, timing set incorrectly, purge solenoid vacuum source faulty, MAF sensor fault
   
3. Car is in gear but does not move
   A: Limited-slip differential has cracked in half, will require replacement, also a good time to replace the clutch. replacement here
   
4. Whistling noise from engine bay at idle
   A: Faulty internal wastegate actuator, replacement here
   
5. Car cuts out under boost, during morning or cold days, jerks, stumbles when in boost, or when boost pressure is increased
   A: This is fuel cut, factory computer built in safety mechanism against overboost. Will require properly tuned engine management. See Haltech
   
6. Pops out of gear, clunking, popping noise under acceleration, hard to shift into gears under hard acceleration
   A; Broken, worn motor mounts, replacement here
   
7. Car stalls or dies in neutral or immediately
   A: intercooler pipe disconnected, unplugged sensors, faulty electrical charge
   
8. Car won't start, battery tested fully charged
   A: Alarm anti-theft has engaged, push override button behind driver dash and try starting again, or disconnect battery, reconnect close all doors and arm and disarm.
   
9. While in boost, car engine sounds like rocks in a can
   A: This is detonation, bad gas, too low of octane, boost pressure set to high, air/fuel mixture too lean, ignition timing set too advanced. Let off immediately or a blown engine will be the result
   
10. Overboosting, turbo pressure spiking and going higher than preset value
    A: Faulty internal wastegate actuator, replacement here
    
11. Whining turbo noise or grinding
    A: Turbo ball bearing worn check shaft end play, replacement here
    
12. Grinds into 3rd or any other gear
    A: Selector hubs and synchros need replacement, replacement here
    
13. Squeaking, clunking over bumps or dips at suspension rear or front
    A: swaybar bushings worn or need greasing, endlinks worn, blown struts, broken strut mounts, replacement here

What should I do to my car to enhance the performance?

For a full bolt on stock motor car we recommend these mods:

• Boost gauge, wideband gauge
• Intake
• Exhaust
• Unichip custom tuned or Haltech
• Electronic boost controller
• Crossover Auto FMIC (we do not sell these as kits, only the parts to build your own)
• AWR Motor mounts - must have for performance oriented driving, cabin vibration will be higher with the rear mount
• Silicone Vacuum hoses
• NGK Spark plugs
• Clutch
• Upgrade the brakes with any of these options

These modifications will improve your driving experience and enhance the performance the most for the money. Driving your car will be a night and day difference. These will satisfy most enthusiasts need for increased performance without having to go into major engine work. A do-it-yourselfer can install most, if not all these parts without too much trouble.

But I want more power!

Not a problem we have a hardcore package as well.

• Must Use Haltech Sprint 500 or Platinum1000 ECU
• Forged connecting rods/pistons to increase the boost pressure reliably
• Larger fuel injectors
• Larger turbocharger
  Ceramic coating highly recommended for manifold, turbine housing, compressor housing and downpipe
  Coating services available upon request
• Turn boost up to 15-20 psi
• For added power, tune on race gas or add methanol injection available here

• Overbore the pistons slightly for slight bump in displacement
• Port/ polish cylinder head
• Competition multi angle valve job
• Supertech valves, retainers, springs
• Port/ polish intake manifold, exhaust manifold
• Custom profile cam grinds

*Warning*
Prepare to spend a lot of money replacing transmissions once you exceed the 300 hp mark. The limited slip differential is weak along with the gears and transmission case. It will need reinforcement at high power levels to keep from grenading the gears.

Q1: What engines can I use for a direct swap/replacement?
A1:

• Any FS 2.0L from a 2001-03 Protege or Protege5, manual or automatic does not matter, you're swapping the engine not the transmisson, the flywheel and clutch will bolt up to the crank of the donor engine, just keep all your manual parts and pieces to swap over
• 1993-1997 MX6/Probe and 2.0L FS engines are available but not recommended because the cranks are not forged, and you will have to take it apart to transfer parts over, and high mileage on these engines.
• 1993-2002 626 also have 2.0L FS engines but only the 2000-2002 blocks should be used, some 99s depending on the production date. The difference is the crank was reported to be forged in the later year models

• Main cap support plate, specific to MSP it has the turbo oil drain machined into it and is right above the oil pan.
• Rear oil cooler, lines, oil filter stud
• Intake manifold, valve cover, thermostat cover, heater bypass pipes, the coolant junction block, and the bracket around the side of the head above the junction block
• Rest of your current Protege accessories and manifolds
• If you use a non Protege cylinder head you MUST transfer the Protege cams, cam gears, valve cover over, crank pulley, ignition. You MUST use a non-distributor cylinder head.
• 98-99 626 FS have smaller intake ports and have different cams.
• 2000-2002 626 uses the same cams as Protege
• Any other brackets or parts that broke as a result of the engine failure
• Maintenance related parts and hardware. ex. clutch, timing belt, spark plugs, hoses, seals, gaskets, pumps, etc.
• Good time to do the rear engine mount if yours is torn
• Your existing transmission and drivetrain parts.

These are the available transaxles that can be used as bolt-in replacements.
G25MR - 1993-1997 Ford Probe, 1993-1997 Mazda MX6, 1993-2002 Mazda 626
G15MR - 2001-2003 Mazda Protege, Protege 5, MP3, MSP
The 2003 G15MR will have the most recent shift fork and selector hub revisions compared to previous versions, so this is the best one out of them.

• Use API GL-4/GL-5 75W90 gear oil. 80W90 (use only above 10°C/50°F) or it will be too thick and will shift roughly in colder climates.
• Only the MSP has the weak LSD option.
• MSP trans has a stronger clutch throwout bearing release fork and larger fork pivot ball
• MSP trans has a different slave cylinder with a 1 way valve
• Some transaxles will have the speedometer gear which are not needed on the MSP, you can leave them in if you wish. The MSP uses the ABS sensors to determine speed.
• Quaife LSD is the best and only alternative option. Don't even bother using a Phantom Grip on converting open differentials.
• The Quaife fits the MSP and regular Protege axles, thus any Protege M/T axle will interchange as well.
• GTX gears have been fitted to work, but still have failed. The real strong gears are PAR gears, however the problem still lies in the weak transfer case in which high rpm and high power loads cause the case to flex and the clearances for the main and counter gears to shift and grenade the gears. PAR makes bearing cup reinforcements which will help alleviate some of this problem, but not many except for some dedicated drag cars have tested this solution.
• PAR also has a full gearset available for those with unlimited budgets. The strongest setup will be the PAR straight cut dog engagement gearset.
• If you have grinding issues shifting into gear, you will have to replace the gear selector hub and synchros together.
• Be weary of using high pressure clutches, they will put undue stress and wear on the hydraulic assembly, clutch release fork, throwout bearing, and the crankshaft thrust washers. The pressure on the Exedy's are slightly higher than the factory MSP which is already stiffer than a regular NA Protege.