Today I swapped out the transmission mount and drive shaft.  I pulled both of these from my other car.  The transmission mount is under 2 years old and the drive shaft has replacement u-joints.  Replacing the drive shaft is a fairly easy project.  I removed the 4 bolts at the rear end and slid the drive shaft out of the transmission.  I forgot to put a pan under the tail shaft and made a mess all over the driveway.  To replace the transmission mount, I started by putting a jack under the transmission and raising it just slightly.  I removed the catalytic converter mount and than removed the transmission crossmember. After that, I just needed to remove the old mount and bolt everything back together.

I picked up a pair of hatch lift supports for the car off Amazon.  They are StrongArm model number 4709 and I payed $24 each.  Because my car is a GSL-SE, it has the rear wiper. I was able to disassemble the original right strut and remove the wiring.  I than installed the wiring on the new strut and completed the look with shrink wrap tubing on the strut tube.  The final look is very close to the factory strut.

I installed a set of new front speakers today. The install when very easy.  I picked up a set of Alpine Type-S SPS-400 from amazon for $50.  The new speakers work great. The old speakers were completely blown and water stained.

I figured out the slight idle surging.  I went through the steps in the article previously posted problem #8.  I started by pulling the BAC valve (bypass air supply valve) and cleaning it out. Next I tested the air adjust screw with not much change. My problem did turn out to be the throttle stop screw not being adjusted correctly.  I’m guessing that the previous owner had trouble getting the car running so he started to adjust everything, even stuff that shouldn’t be adjusted.

I worked on the car on Saturday. I replaced the last coolant hose that needed replacing.

I’m very happy with Online Mazda Parts. They sent the wrong hose (it had the right parts number but was bagged wrong) so I called them to get it right. They sent a new one right away with a return slip for the old one, no questions asked.  I’ve been ordering all my OEM parts from them and I’ll continue to do so.

I also did some more cleaning under the hood. I pulled the battery tray and painted it. I cleaned a bunch more grease off the motor.

I got everything on the motor back together at about 6pm last night. I tried to start the car but was having trouble getting the fuel pump to prime so I decided to let it sit over night. It actually started right up this morning.

I replaced the spark plug wires and installed battery hold down this morning. I also got the muffler replaced. The muffler was a complete nightmare. The two bolts that attached the muffler to the mid-pipe were completely rusted on and I had to use a cutoff wheel on them.

I replaced the filters. I figured since I was replacing the injectors it would be a good time to replace the filters. I have one between the tank and the pump and the stock one after the pump.

I need to adjust the idle, mixture, and TPS a little but otherwise it seems to be doing good.

Motor with the upper intake off before everything was cleaned:

Current list of parts I have to install:

• lower intake gasket
• upper to lower intake gasket
• actuator gaskets
• actuator seals
• thermostat and gasket
• oil metering pump o-ring
• gas tank pickup seal
• gas tank sending unit seal
• cleaned and tested injectors with new seals (done by WitchHunter)
• K&N air filter
• Atkins Designed Six Port Actuator Valve Kit
• air control valve gasket and check valve
• battery bracket, bolt and nut
• exhaust pipe gaskets
• fuel filters
• fuel line
• vacuum line
• coolant hose

I also have a few used parts:

• steering wheel with horn button
• heater vent
• armrest pad
• sunroof crank
• ash tray

I did some more cleaning of the motor.  It is finally starting to look really good.