Mazda World Forum banner

2.3 dies in drive, idles fine in Neutral

4K views 12 replies 5 participants last post by  spoiled2.3 
#1 ·
My 2.3 Millenia idles great but when put in drive or reverse is starts running rough. Has plenty of power on the highway but it will suddenly completely die, like shut off, no sputtering just off. If I switch to neutral I can restart.

There is a hum coming from a idler pulley under the timing cover so I will be replacing timing belt, all idler pulleys, hyd tensioner, water pump, and crank position sensor.

Is there anything else I should replace while I'm in there?

And any idea what would cause the car to run rough in drive and suddenly shut off?

There is one code that comes up occasionally P0431 Warm up catalyst below threshold bank 2. Going to unplug the O2 sensor bank 2 and see if the problem goes away.
 
#2 ·
Is there a service port in the fuel line on the 2.3 to attach a fuel pressure gauge?
 
#4 · (Edited)
Excellent write up Mazda-fla, that is exactly the info I needed. Will post an update when I have results.

Update: I have replaced the fuel filter with no change. Going to unplug O2s and test fuel pressure as soon as I can, probly this weekend.
 
#5 ·
Just a little update. Unplugged all O2 sensors today and reset ECM. No change, still runs rough in drive. Will run fine in drive till I tap the gas, when rpm drops back down is when it starts cutting out. Thinking TPS should be checked as well.

Haven't checked fuel pressure, FP regulator, and vacuum yet cause I don't have the tools yet. Should be getting them in a couple days. There's a Harbor Freight not too far from here, will pick up the tools Mazda-fla used in his write up.
 
#8 · (Edited)
this is a test post

Looks like my account is able to post again today, could go black again any time. Been having problems posting for the last couple years and the admins are working on it.

If I don't post back for a long while then you know why.

Anyway, thanks for the advice. I've been putting off working on the Millenia for too long now. Finally have a warm garage to work in. I'm going to work on it today. Getting the Harmonic balancer bolt off wasn't easy, bought a compressor and many different impact wrenches but they just don't cut it. My new compressor dosen't have the air flow I need to run em. I ended up drilling a hole thru the fender well and threading a bolt thru it into the HB to hold it from turning. It worked great.
Going to try to get the new timing belt and everything else in today. Don't know how far I will get.

I will check the MAF sensor and tubing as you have reccommended.

EDIT: Update, Looks like there was no need to break the crank shaft bolt loose, can just remove the outer half of the harmonic balancer by removing the six bolts holding it on. Wish I would have tried that before all my trouble buying air compressor and Impact wrenches that didn't work anyway.
 
#9 · (Edited)
I got the timing covers off and found the casing of the upper left idler pulley was in pieces inside the cover. Although the hum from under the timing cover was coming from the right idler pulley. They will all be replaced.
The crank position sensor was heavily coated in oil. It will be replaced as well.

Heard getting the water pump off was twice as hard a job as the timing belt, I had no problem removing the water pump. I just used two nuts tightened together to remove the engine mount stud blocking the removal of the water pump, the stud came right out and the pump popped right out.


The pieces of the idler pulley were scattered all over inside the timing cover. There's a lot of oil buildup coating the timing covers from when the valve covers were leaking.



 
#10 ·
Sure looks like you have found your issue and also get to do a timing belt job with the works. Hope all goes well as this job on older cars can be a fight.
TomK
 
#11 ·
I finished the timing belt/waterpump repair today. Took me 3 days to complete but I wasn't rushing and took a lot of time to clean oil off of every part, was tedious job but fairly easy. Didn't have any trouble with anything other than the crank bolt which didn't need to come off. It took me 3 tries to get the timing marks lined up correctly. And a lot of raising and lowering the motor, as well as a lot of crawling under the car and then back up to under the hood , and then back under.
Looks very clean now and will be easier to spot a new oil leak if one occurs. The cam seals looked good and were not leaking.

Filled the coolant and test drove. Drives nice, no sputtering. Gonna drive it to work tomorrow. So happy to be able to drive my beautiful luxury sport sedan again!
 
#12 ·
Nice work, it sure is a good feeling when you get something done like that.
TomK
 
#13 ·
Thanks Tom.
I was worried the problem would still be present after the timing job but it's running good.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top