Source for cheap Mazda 3 Parts.

Through a friend of mine, I was able to get a car today for less than scrap money for my nephew's first car. It's a 2007 Mazda 3 S with a 5 speed. So for less than challenge budget, I'm trying to piece together a car that will get him through HS and maybe a little into college. So the reason it's so cheap is that the motor has a rod knock. I don't see any metal shavings in the oil or the filter so I'm hoping it maybe salvageable without a rebuild or another used motor. I'm going to drop the oil pan next weekend and find out for sure.

Given the worse case scenario, where is the best place to shop? In the quick looking I did, all of the motors seemed to be pretty expensive. Is there any swaps out there that are pretty cheap and easy to do? I'm not horribly worried about performance. I just want the kid to have a good car to drive.

Here is a picture of the youngin's new ride.

If it were me I'd say $200 engine day at the pick and pull is right up your alley.

RedGT wrote: If it were me I'd say $200 engine day at the pick and pull is right up your alley.

This.

Anyone know how easy a FOMOCO 2.3L crosses over? There are a lot more fusions and milan in the yards than 3's and 6's. If I can find a fusion with the 2.3L will it cross easy with the switch over of the electronics?

bmw88rider wrote: Anyone know how easy a FOMOCO 2.3L crosses over? There are a lot more fusions and milan in the yards than 3's and 6's. If I can find a fusion with the 2.3L will it cross easy with the switch over of the electronics?

I would think the fusion would be the ticket. The fusion is a straightforward swap to the mazda6, so I'd assume there would be some overlap to the 3 as well

Can anyone else see his picture? I can't.

I cannot see the pic either.

To the OP, since the car was picked up for pocket change why not just buy a good engine so the new driver will have one less thing to worry about?

Mazda vs Ford engine differences

It's doable but bear in mind that the MZR/Duratec engine has a few gotchas.

Do NOT loosen the crank damper bolt without cam and crank locking tools in place. There is no keyway on the crank.

ALL internal bolts are yield bolts. Besides the rod and main bolts, this includes the balance shaft assembly bolts. I've known people to re-use them by carefully torquing with a digital torque wrench and watching for the torque fall-off but this gives me the heebie-jeebies.

The rods are fractured-cap and the bearings do not have locator tangs. They aren't really needed but you do need to pay attention when assembling.

Personally, I'd pull the head and remove the pistons. Rod bearings don't "just fail", the rings are probably stuck in the pistons, causing oil consumption that led to a lack of oil in the pan event. Most likely the oil drainback holes in the oil ring groove are completely plugged, too. Berryman's is your friend, set the piston in there overnight (the rod can stick out, no need to disassemble) and the carbon will clean right up with rinsing rather than picking and scraping.

Junkyards will charge double or more for the same engine from a Mazda vs. a Focus because import parts get more money.

Because it is an 07 then the swap is not hard. Knurled is right on with his comments

We have an 07 Mazda3s that is now running a 2.5 from a 2012 Fusion and a 6 speed from a 2010 Mazda3s. Both were bolt in swaps. For the motor, you need to basically swap long blocks, using all accessories and manifolds, pan and pickup, and valve cover all from the original car not the donor motor. The only extra on a 2.5 swap is an adapter plate for the intake manifold. The bolts all line up but the ports in the head in the 2.5 are so huge that the 2.3 manifold does not seal well. The. 2.5s are cheaper in junkyards than the 2.3, and newer. We got one with 900 miles on it for $700, it was spotless inside. The 2.5 has considerably more torque than the 2.3, it is a nice punch. We used the 2.5 injectors and the 2.3 ECU figured out the fuel trim just fine. I would certainly recommend the swap over another 2.3.

Guys,

Thanks for the information. As always this place rocks. It makes it a lot easier to decide on what to do. I'm not even going to screw with it and just plan on getting a new motor for it. Just have to see if I go 2.3L or 2.5L depending on availability.

I would love to put the best of things in it for the kid but I just got hit with an $8k AC replacement bill and I wasn't expecting him to drive till next year as he is only 15. The School decided to cancel his bus that would take him home after Track and cross country practice so he is getting lucky and getting a school permit to drive to and from school at 15.

Rosenthal is an online source for very well priced OEM Mazda goods.

So I found a motor. 2013 Fusion 2.5L with 37K miles on it for $325. I wasn't planning on getting him a 2.5L but for that price it's almost like they are giving them away. I couldn't pass it up at that price.

So one question. Does anyone know who sells the intake manifold adapter?

I should be well under challenge budget for this by the time I'm done.

Car: $100 Engine: $325 Timing tools: $35 New Shocks/Struts: $312 New headlights: $140 New Antenna: $15

That gives me over a grand for anything else I see. This little car should last him a decent while.

There are no commercial sellers of the intake manifold adapter that I know of, and I looked pretty hard about a year and a half ago when we did the swap. I ended up buying one from a guy on a Mercury Milan forum who had a run of 5 made, for $50. It is a very easy piece for a machine shop to make, about 1/4" thick aluminum, using the bolt pattern and port size of the 2.3 manifold, but it has a larger mating surface so that it will seal well with the big ports on the 2.5 head.

You need to basically swap everything from the 2.3 onto the 2.5 except the injectors: manifolds, valve cover, wiring, coils, oil pan and pickup, accessory drive, crank pulley, mounts. It will then bolt in just like stock.

Look around for NC Miata 2.5 swap info, the procedures are the same except the intake manifold basically, lots of good tips there.

Dumb question, but why can't you just use the intake manifold off of a 2.5L if you are swapping everything anyway?

It's a sensor issue. From what I've seen, if you use the 2.5L you get CEL and it pulls timing from the engine. So it's the easy button vs having to rewire in the new engine harness and ECU.

Thanks Sonic. I finally found his e-mail address so I shot him a note. I'm limited on the availability of machinists that I trust here so hopefully that guy has one and can just hook me up.

In reply to bmw88rider:

Ahh... gotcha. Good to know!

Yup, there are some sensors in the 2.3 manifold that the ECU is looking for signals from that are not on the 2.5 manifold. It is a shame though, the 2.5 manifold would give more high RPM power.

You may want to check out Mazmart, as they have all kinds of used Mazda parts:

http://www.mazmart.com

Sonic wrote: ...from a guy on a Mercury Milan forum...

That's a thing?

Here is a good source of info on the swap: http://www.mazda3forums.com/61-powertrain-2004-2009-mazda3/692793-how-mazda-ford-2-5l-swap.html

Lots of other info on that forum as well. I just bought my step-daughter a 2004 Mazda 3 and have been reading up on the swap in case the engine grenades. Sounds pretty simple really.

I too have a 2004 Mazda 3 with the oil eating (quart every tank) 2.3L engine. I've been thinking of doing this swap for a bit, where did you find the $350.00 engine? Sounds like a no brainer.

4Msfam wrote: I too have a 2004 Mazda 3 with the oil eating (quart every tank) 2.3L engine.

Decarbonize the pistons. Easiest way to do this without engine disassembly would be to spray a can or two of the nastiest, highest-VOC carb cleaner into the engine with it running at high idle. Then pull the spark plugs and absolutely flood the cylinders, like half a can per hole. Let it sit for a few hours to a day, then crank it over with the plugs out in case there is still liquid in the cylinders, start it up (it will smoke. A lot.) and after clearing it out, change the oil. Substitute at least one quart of oil for ATF and leave it in there. If it still burns oil, replenish with ATF instead of motor oil.

I've fixed oilburning Duratecs (and Saturn 1.9s) with the Run-Rite process but what I've described is a decent DIY approximation. They don't burn oil because they're worn out or off spec, the rings stick in the pistons and the oil drainback holes are tiny and quickly plug with carbon.

I got it from the local LKQ yard. With all of the parts (gaskets, Timing tools, the intake adapter, and pilot bearing) I'll be in it for about $600. These engines are a dime a dozen. They had 4 of them at this yard alone.

How is this carbon buildup occurring? Infrequent oil changes, or just happens over time?