4wdguy

This is a pretty strange one. I've got a '90 4wd with 173k miles. For the most part, the old girl runs like a top. About a month ago, I noticed that every time I make a left turn or curve, the car acts like it just ran out of gas. It actually happens a little after I've straightened the car out, maybe two seconds after the turn is complete. On long curves, it will die out about 4-5 seconds after starting the curve. The motor eventually clears up and runs fine afterward. One thing I've put together this week is that the lower the fuel level in the tank, the worse the problem gets.

Three things that may be totally unrelated, but I'll point out just in case:
1) As long as I've owned the car (since 150k), the fuel guage has never worked correctly. When I fill the tank up, the gauge goes to full. About 50 miles into the tank, the needle starts getting erratic, and by 80 miles shows completely empty. I can normally let the car run to about 300-350 miles and still have a couple of gallons in the tank (I get around 28 mpg).
2) If the car is warm, I've noticed a burning oil smell both inside and outside the car if it's sitting idling. I haven't tried to really track down the source of a leak yet, and only mention it because the smell started about the same time as the sputtering.
3) I pressure washed the engine around the same time also.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

topfile

These Mazdas don't like water on the ole engine. Found this out
the hard way. Don't know if this is your problem. Low fuel can
cause this problem I have read. Consider replacing the fuel cap.

Also, heard the very large hose between the air filter box and Throttle
body inlet could be cracked. A small crack opens momentarily in one
of the ribs during a turn and then closes back up after you straighten
out. Make sense? Look over this hose very carefully. Also make sure
each hose clamp is tight.

Best Regards

4wdguy

Thanks for the reply, I'll check on that hose. What is it about the fuel cap that could be wrong though?

Proto93

If the guage started going eratic around the same time, I'd put my bets on lose wires or ground in the fuel pump/guage assembly in the tank. Maybe not the answer you're looking for, but I don't think the tanks would be too bad to pull on these cars, though I've never pulled one yet. Come to think of it, you've got the 4wd model? How bad does it look under there? Drive shaft in the way?

topfile

Strange problems require strange solutions, i.e. gas cap.
I heard stall problems associated with gas caps before.

Found this quote and link for ya..... read complete thread.
http://www.automotiveforums.com/t87132.html

"The solution to left turn stall problem turned out to be a new
gas cap. My emissions test failed when my tank wasn't pressurizing
properly, and I was required to buy a new cap to fix the problem.
My Jeep has not stalled once since replacing the cap."

The gas cap should be inexpensive, if not the problem no big loss, hey?

Hope it is something easy for ya. Don't froget to check that hose though.

As proto93 suggested it could be a loose wire. They can be difficult to locate.

Best Regards

4wdguy

The gauge has always been that way (for 25k anyway), and the sputtering is recent, so my guess is that they're not related, but who knows.

I didn't find any leaks or cracks in that hose running from the airbox to the throttle body. But upon checking the fuel cap I did notice that the rubber gasket was a little dry rotted. I haven't replaced it yet, but I did put it on a lot tighter, and the problem seems to have gone away. Coincidence? I'll be convinced if the problem is gone once the weather turns cold again. It does seem that it was more pronounced in cold weather. I originally thought that maybe there was water in the tank and lines. But two bottles of Heet did no good.

Anyway, I'm crossing my fingers. Thanks for the advice!

Proto93

Sorry about that. I was thining you said they came into play about the same time. It still could be the case as things can happen in progression, but it doesn't stand out as much. Though I've never heard of it, if the gas cap has solved the problem in the past I agree it's the cheapest first step. And hopefully the only one needed. Wierd stuff! I have seen the gas cap not being on tight enough or making a tight enough seal cause the check engine light to come on, but never actually causing a stalling problem like this. you learn something new everyday!

THEGOLDPRO

ill have to look into this, but i heard something about the 4wd's stalling around corners, in the past, how hard are you taking them, and does it do it all the time???

4wdguy

Not very hard by my standards. When the problem occurs, it happens at every left turn or bend. Right now it's not doing it at all, now that I've started really cranking down the fuel cap. Could be a wild coincidence, but right now I think topfile is a genius

THEGOLDPRO

i highly doubt is your fuel cap, thats just silly, take some corners a bit harder, and see if it still does it.

THEGOLDPRO

ok guy, i looked it up, the 4wd has a big *** tank, with a tunnel down the middle, for the drive shaft, and the exhaust, their is 2 pumps, one on the left, and one on the right, since their is a tunnel, the fuel cant go over it, so one of the pumps, pumps fuel to the opposite side of the tank, then the second one pumps the fuel to supply the engine, this can cause a problem when cornering hard, or cornering at all for that matter, do you know if it does it when your low on fuel, or when you have a full tank, or what, if your low on fuel, it can cause this, because the gas a sloshing around, and the pumps have a hard tme with pick up.

Proto93

I'd buy that to an extent, but that can happen with any tank when the fuel gets low. That's why manufacturers built baffles into the tanks to prevent that much sloshing. If that was the case, you'd be hearing it from just about every 4wd Mazda owner out there. I've not heard of the cap causing problems associated with a specific corner like that, but I know an insufficient seal on the cap can cause running problems. It's not silly, it's fact. We had cars coming into the dealership all the time when I worked for Subaru with the check engine light on and all we had to do was "re-train" the owners to make sure the cap "snapped" at least three or four times when cranking it down. Now THAT felt silly.

The othr thought I had, if the cap doesn't cure it, would be something in the drivetrain. Is it all wheel drive or 4wd? Meaning can you shift it out of 4wd or is it full-time?

THEGOLDPRO

yeah im aware of the loose cap throwing a check engine light, but the chances of it making it stall and run shitty are slim to none. id rule out the gas cap theory because it is silly, id worry about maybe having low gas, or having a bad fuel pump.

and if i rember correctly its AWD, with selectable 4wd,

Proto93

Well I won't argue it could be the fuel pump. That was my first theory. Guess we'll see if 4wdguy has any more problems with it. Time will tell...