[flkat]

So I've inherited this wagon from my dad when he passed away in April. I'm beginning to think the car wants to join him with only 139,000 miles on it. Two weeks after he passed the car broke down.

I replaced the broken serpentine belt, a cracked pulley and 2 bald tires for $650.00 at monroe as we were stranded at my sons doctors an hour away. Then she started to hesitate when I accelerated. A few weeks later I got an egr code and shortly after my tee adapter for the radiator lines snapped. During this time the hesitation gained a cough both while idling and driving.

I replaced the EGR valve, cleaned up the stem and replaced the tee using new clamps so that's good. I also added Lucas to my fuel to try to clear up and prevent further carbon buildup. But, the hesitation and cough are still there. My air filter is eh okay I did remove a couple leaves.

My step for today is to remove the MAS and clean it and clean out the throttle body.

I've priced various fixes for this model and most are not cheap at all. Other than my plan, what should I do next if I dont see an improvement after the cleaning? I'm a single mom with a special needs child that prevents me from being able to work so money is super tight but with his medical needs we need this car and it needs to be safe and reliable. I considered doing a tune up but that's a massive job for me with minimal auto mech experience and to take it somewhere is upwards of $500.00.

PLEASE HELP

Less pertinent: The Ac/Heater does not work. The controls have power going to them and I tested the blower motor and she spins fine. My meter confirms no issues with the plug or fuses. I swapped out the relays with ones that I know work and still nothing. Tomorrow I'll be putting in a new resistor and I hope that works but if not I dont know what next. ?

 

[DrFeelGood]

So I've inherited this wagon from my dad when he passed away in April. I'm beginning to think the car wants to join him with only 139,000 miles on it. Two weeks after he passed the car broke down.

I replaced the broken serpentine belt, a cracked pulley and 2 bald tires for $650.00 at monroe as we were stranded at my sons doctors an hour away. Then she started to hesitate when I accelerated. A few weeks later I got an egr code and shortly after my tee adapter for the radiator lines snapped. During this time the hesitation gained a cough both while idling and driving.

I replaced the EGR valve, cleaned up the stem and replaced the tee using new clamps so that's good. I also added Lucas to my fuel to try to clear up and prevent further carbon buildup. But, the hesitation and cough are still there. My air filter is eh okay I did remove a couple leaves.

My step for today is to remove the MAS and clean it and clean out the throttle body.

I've priced various fixes for this model and most are not cheap at all. Other than my plan, what should I do next if I dont see an improvement after the cleaning? I'm a single mom with a special needs child that prevents me from being able to work so money is super tight but with his medical needs we need this car and it needs to be safe and reliable. I considered doing a tune up but that's a massive job for me with minimal auto mech experience and to take it somewhere is upwards of $500.00.

PLEASE HELP

Less pertinent: The Ac/Heater does not work. The controls have power going to them and I tested the blower motor and she spins fine. My meter confirms no issues with the plug or fuses. I swapped out the relays with ones that I know work and still nothing. Tomorrow I'll be putting in a new resistor and I hope that works but if not I dont know what next. ?

Sorry to hear about your problems. I love wagons and would be quite pleased it this one worked for you.
The early v6 engines are notorious for have hesitation issues. The problem usually lies with the ingition coils and spark plugs, with the coils being the real issue. If you have a check engine light on and it is saying either a P0431 or P0421 code then I would find a new car. It does not mean the end for this one just outside your budget as it will require new catalytic converters ($$$). If you do not have that code then you may be in time.

Here are the parts and price. If you are using multi testers and talking about adding resistors then this job should be straight forward for you.
Good Luck, they are wonderful cars when maintained.
Mazda 6 3.0 v6 plug replacement (13min)

 

[flkat]

Thank you for that information. I have luckily not had another check engine light since replacing the EGR valve. I am reluctant to do the tuneup because I do not want to make it worse if I screw up somewhere. Well that and the difficulty I had removing clamps & bolts during my last adventure.

If I decide to do this, any suggestions on what I can use in the plug gulleys to remove the debris before removing the plugs? I dont have an air compressor? And, should I spray the holes or the plugs with anti sieze before I put the new ones in? The guy at advanced suggested that. Any tips or tricks you could offer would be appreciated. I do have a video saved on YouTube which I can follow.

I will say I'm glad it's not my radiator. Lol

 

[flkat]

Oh and where did you find those prices? I'm only finding coils for $36.00 each. ?

 

[waughoo]

I had a hesitation that would not always throw a code to turn the CEL on. I would DEF change the plugs and coils as @DrFeelGood said. It can be a bit intimidating but it is more than likely what will solve your hesitation problem.

 

[DJ Raydiate]

Hi and Welcome! As these guys have said, the coils and plugs are prone for going out. I got a set of coils on Amazon for $35 and they are still working fine after a year. Sometimes money gets tight and we do what we can to get by lol.

You can use a shop vac to try and clean the valve cover off before removing the plugs. This worked great when I did it to my car the 1st time. You could also use a microfiber towel and a screwdriver to help get caked up grime out of there before using the vac.

The coils and plugs are not that hard to do. Just take pics and number what hose goes where.

Without trying to sound like a creep, where are you located? Maybe someone here on the forum is close by to you and may offer a hand with the job. Im in North FL and would be more than happy to help if you are somewhat close.

 

[DrFeelGood]

Oh and where did you find those prices? I'm only finding coils for $36.00 each. ?

rockauto.com is my go-to source for most of my stuff that is not dealer specific.
They have a near continuous 5%disount circulating so be sure to search that and enter the code in the "How did you hear of us" field
Rockauto Ignition parts for 2005 Mazda 6 v6.

 

[DrFeelGood]

Thank you for that information. I have luckily not had another check engine light since replacing the EGR valve. I am reluctant to do the tuneup because I do not want to make it worse if I screw up somewhere. Well that and the difficulty I had removing clamps & bolts during my last adventure.

If I decide to do this, any suggestions on what I can use in the plug gulleys to remove the debris before removing the plugs? I dont have an air compressor? And, should I spray the holes or the plugs with anti sieze before I put the new ones in? The guy at advanced suggested that. Any tips or tricks you could offer would be appreciated. I do have a video saved on YouTube which I can follow.

I will say I'm glad it's not my radiator. Lol

I have used a can of computer air in the spark plug well before I had a compressor.
The big points are be sure to cover the intake ports when you remove the big plastic intake.

Some use painters tape others lay a folded towel across. Don't skip this step.

The above shows tightening sequence. To loosen you just go backwards.

Last point I would have is when tightening the new plugs in the manifold be sure to not over-torque them. They are steel going into aluminum. If you use a basic 3/8" socket driver you should be fine.

Spark plug tightening torque 79-177 in-lbf

 

[flkat]

Wow all this great info. Thank you all so much. I know it's a scary job for me but once Dorian goes away I'll get on it. I'm in lakeland and hunkered down for the next few days so I haven't done much but boarding up windows and strapping things down. But, when all is said and done I have lots of helpful info here I can refer to.

 

[RHCUDA426]

So I've inherited this wagon from my dad when he passed away in April. I'm beginning to think the car wants to join him with only 139,000 miles on it. Two weeks after he passed the car broke down.

I replaced the broken serpentine belt, a cracked pulley and 2 bald tires for $650.00 at monroe as we were stranded at my sons doctors an hour away. Then she started to hesitate when I accelerated. A few weeks later I got an egr code and shortly after my tee adapter for the radiator lines snapped. During this time the hesitation gained a cough both while idling and driving.

I replaced the EGR valve, cleaned up the stem and replaced the tee using new clamps so that's good. I also added Lucas to my fuel to try to clear up and prevent further carbon buildup. But, the hesitation and cough are still there. My air filter is eh okay I did remove a couple leaves.

My step for today is to remove the MAS and clean it and clean out the throttle body.

I've priced various fixes for this model and most are not cheap at all. Other than my plan, what should I do next if I dont see an improvement after the cleaning? I'm a single mom with a special needs child that prevents me from being able to work so money is super tight but with his medical needs we need this car and it needs to be safe and reliable. I considered doing a tune up but that's a massive job for me with minimal auto mech experience and to take it somewhere is upwards of $500.00.

PLEASE HELP

Less pertinent: The Ac/Heater does not work. The controls have power going to them and I tested the blower motor and she spins fine. My meter confirms no issues with the plug or fuses. I swapped out the relays with ones that I know work and still nothing. Tomorrow I'll be putting in a new resistor and I hope that works but if not I dont know what next. ?

HATE TO SAY THIS,,, BEEN DOING PARTS FOR 42 YEARS AND MAZDA'S DON'T DO TO WELL WITH AFTERMARKET PARTS, NGK PLUGS AND MAZDA COILS ARE BETTER. AND I KNOW $$ WILL BE AN ISSUE. GOD BLESS, GOOD LUCK

 

[jman]

I also had a hesitation that did not throw a code. Fixed it by replacing the plugs and coils as suggested.
Not the easiest job but also not impossible, just a little intimidating if you haven't removed a plenum before. Took me about 5 hours to do (including beer breaks).
My 6 is my third car and it is rarely driven. so to save money, I replaced only the 3 rear (hard to reach) coils and replaced all 6 plugs. I thought that if any of the front ones went bad they are pretty accessible and can be easily replaced later. Got the Denso from Rockauto.
I also had to replace the catalytic converter (not the pre's) when the flex pipe broke, got it on Amazon for about $130, not that expensive.

Puzzled to read that both the AC and heater don't work, let us know is changing the resistor does the trick.