Feb. 23
Ridiculous!
The serpentine belt wouldn't stop squeaking and no amount of belt dressing was helping anymore, so I had to finally change it. What an absolute nightmare of a job! The A/C belt is a stretch to fit and the "special ...
2006 Mazda Mazda5
Started on Feb. 8 by Javelin
Behold! The Millenium Falcon!
My new daily driver. It's basically a Mazda3 with a better looking body on top. Super useful for car parts runs and running under the radar. She doesn't look like much, but she's got it where it counts. It's a 5-speed manual!
2006 Mazda5 Sport 2.3/M5 Toyo Proxes T1-R's Moonroof Roof Racks
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Latest updates
Feb. 23
Cabin air filters
I finally changed out the cabin air filters. The directions are not in the owner's manual (for shame Mazda!!) and the internet had me cowering in fear over this (disconnect battery, remove large and fragile electronic assembly...). Turns out that ...
Feb. 23
Engine surgery!
Then it happened, something broke! I changed the plugs because I was getting an ever-so-slight hesitation at start and I knew they were the originals (with 85K on them). When I did that, the #1 plug was coated in oil. ...
Feb. 23
Color is growing on me
The Titanium paint is starting to grow on me. It reflects really well, which makes for some cool shades at dawn/dusk and at night. It also hides dirt pretty well. But then I saw an inky blue 5 and nearly ...
Feb. 23
Snow rally!
The hills and mountains around here get snow every winter, and there's no need to interrupt going through my favorite roads because of it. The Hankook i-Pike's perform superbly and the 5's suspension provides for great handling. The only thing ...
Feb. 23
Paint booth!
What is one of the best reasons for a Mazda5 (or any other type of hatch/wagon/spacevan)? Because it's a portable paint booth! I spray painted a bunch of model parts in the back during lunch breaks at work. As a ...
April 23
Better than a pickup
We built teepees for the beans in the garden this weekend and to do so we needed 10 foot pieces of wood. A trip to the home store solved that and the 5's center section easily swallowed them. The load ...
April 08
All fixed (well, mostly fixed)
After being quoted some insane numbers to fix the 5's damage, I decided to fix it myself. I ordered a used bumper from LKQ in the same color and ripped my old one off. The physical bumper doesn't wrap around, ...
April 08
Dammit!!
The Falcon took some damage, and unfortunately it wasn't while doing something cool like fighting the Death Star. A kid in an uninsured fox Mustang backed into me in a parking lot then took off. Luckily the cops brought him ...
April 08
Quick oil changes!
The 5 came up for it's second oil change under my ownership and being familiar with it now I was able to knock it out in under 20 minutes start to finish. Nice! The cartridge filter makes an ungodly mess, ...
Jan. 29
Boy am I glad I did that!
Thankfully it was a SMART idea to get the snow tires on! We had a very mild winter last year, but this year has been pretty crazy. The 5 handles the snow great with the new tires (and e-brake slides ...
Jan. 29
Snow shoes
The winters here can amount to snow, sometimes even a lot of it. Since the Falcon came equipped with Toyo T1-R's, which are a very nice summer tire, and it was getting to be November, I switched them out for ...
Nov. 05
Used the roof rack
Had to go to the home improvement tore for supplies to build and hang a gutter on our shed. The roof rack made it super easy to bring home the 10 foot sections. It stopped raining as I finished the ...
Aug. 25
Cali Road Trip!
My little sister had her first baby last month so we needed to go visit her! They live in Garden Valley, CA, which is in the mountains between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe by Coloma (where gold was discovered) and Georgetown ...
Aug. 25
Silver connoisseur
This driveway shot is hilarious to me. All 3 of our currently-drivable cars are some sort of silver. The Mazda5 is Platinum Silver and is slightly darker than the silver color on the wheels; the Grand Prix GT is Galaxy ...
Aug. 25
Nice lines!
The Mazda5 was designed by the same guy that did the 05 Mustang and the original Mazda3. It has some very nice lines, especially at the front. The headlights in particular are very futuristic without the annoying squeezy-toy bulge so ...
Aug. 25
Road Trip #2: Ricahrdson's Rock Ranch!
For Mrs. Javelin's birthday we went on a surprise road trip to Richardson's Rock Ranch, just north of Madras, OR. It's about a 400 mile round trip to central Oregon over a mountain pass and into some frankly gorgeous scrub ...
June 25
Holiday road trip!
For the Memorial Day Weekend holiday we loaded up the Falcon with 2 mountain bikes, a tent, a metal awning, 2 coolers, 2 backpacks of clothes, a ton of food, firewood, a propane grill, toys, camping chairs, and hiking equipment ...
June 25
Kid tested, GRM Approved!
2 Adults + 2 car seats + 2 empty sets + stuff! The versatility and space available in this thing make it invaluable for parenting. Dare I say, the 5 should be part of the Trifecta?
April 25
Why I drive a minivan
Do you see that funny-looking pedal on the left? No, it's not a GM foot-activated parking brake, it's a clutch pedal! With the manual this wagon thing is actually a hoot to drive (it is, after all, just a tall ...
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