check engine light 96 protege

[stamar]

thanks for that info

[stamar]

well i passed on the 96 a long time ago. it sat for several weeks and i thought about offering about 400 for it.

but i just didnt get the info on the engine light. if i had known it would turn off with the battery cable i would have at least gone back to check

it just had too much risk vs the reward, and it had a cracked windshield.


But, as strange as this story goes, weeks later i walked by a 95 protege asking $1000

this one only has 126k miles.

It has far few issues and is much nicer looking, although both look fine. they are both the same color, white. this 95 has a problem with the trunk where it has been rewelded on and seems to be misalgned in a way that will never be realigned correctly. other than that its rust free garaged and straignt body

One thing I noticed definitely is this 95 does not have the horsepower the 96 did. So far as I can tell these 2 are supposed to be identical so perhaps it is something like engine compression. that 96 took off like a race car it was bizzarre.

this 95 has a throttle response closer to what i expect 90 horsepower to be.

It runs evenly and great though. I have a deal to buy it for 850 on thursday so I will be a protege owner after all.

[GTQVR6]

Maybe is just a tune-up thing. Maybe the TPS is not well adjusted. Yes both have the same engine but remember is a DOHC engine, its better response is above 4k rpm, with just 126k miles this engine should be ok. Make a compression test even if they are low it could be a head (valve leaking or something there) problem not requiring an overhaul. Make this two simple tests. 1) Start the engine and remove the valve cover cap (the one where you pour fresh oil) engine should not change its idle speed nor spill a lot of oil, a little bit, but a bit, of spilling is reasonable. If this test fail (spilling a lot) you have a cilinder head problem. The idle changing is due to a leak in compression when you remove the cap and because of that the oil spills. 2) Take out the oil dipstick if it spill the oil maybe you have a piston ring problem. This test are not any warranty if you pass both of them but believe me they do help!!!!
Good luck.

[stamar]

Originally Posted by GTQVR6

Maybe is just a tune-up thing. Maybe the TPS is not well adjusted. Yes both have the same engine but remember is a DOHC engine, its better response is above 4k rpm, with just 126k miles this engine should be ok. Make a compression test even if they are low it could be a head (valve leaking or something there) problem not requiring an overhaul. Make this two simple tests. 1) Start the engine and remove the valve cover cap (the one where you pour fresh oil) engine should not change its idle speed nor spill a lot of oil, a little bit, but a bit, of spilling is reasonable. If this test fail (spilling a lot) you have a cilinder head problem. The idle changing is due to a leak in compression when you remove the cap and because of that the oil spills. 2) Take out the oil dipstick if it spill the oil maybe you have a piston ring problem. This test are not any warranty if you pass both of them but believe me they do help!!!!
Good luck.

thank you for this info.

I dont actually own the vehicle until thursday.

I looked for exhaust at startup and i saw literally none so it does not show my personal signs of gasket leak or ring wear.

what exactly is a tps?

A recent repair done was the spark plug wires were all replaced with very expensive orange ngk wires ( very nice looking) because it was running poorly misfiring.

What I suspect ok, is that the other protege I drove was chipped or altered, or may even have had a new engine. it had 160k miles. its performance suprised me a great deal considering this is 92 hp 2200 pounds.

the one im ending up buying seems to be running fine but I will do your diagnosis in time with it and any others you can come up with that i should look for in a new car.

[GTQVR6]

TPS is a sensor located in the throttle body, it has to be adjusted in order to have some specific electric resistance. This should be made by somebody with the tools and the experience to do it. It is an essential part of a complete tune-up. I don't think really that the other protege was chipped or modified. Even with a chip you cannot get more than 10 extra hp from that. Believe me that is not much to be felt in daily driving. I think that protege was an ES with the 1.8 DOHC it has 122 hp and 30 hp are felt everywhere.
Believe me I own a 1997 protege with the 1.5L engine an AUTOMATIC trans. It is really slow but on the highway it goes pretty nice, not to tell the fuel economy. So go for that car, it is really a good change froma geo metro is a lot more reliable an they are really nice with fuel.

[stamar]

oh ya both were 5 speeds.

well that is what is strange is that the first one had no markings on it, no proetege no mazda symbold nothing, just white.

it was a salvage title vehicle so it could have had like a strange frankenstein story lol it might not really be a 96 even.

the bodys and wheels of both are exactly the same, and the 95 is a lx. same powere everything air 5 speed. same color exterior and interior even, they are both lx apearance. I mean does es have steel wheels?. the 96 was entirely spotless in the engine compartment


I did a 0-sometihng test in both on the same road even in test drive. the 96 really took off it was at 60 while the 95 is like 45 on the same small stretch. still faster than my metro but actually these 2 cars have similar hp to weight.