whyteryce

I am experiencing an issue with the idle in my 1992 Protege. The idle drops down to the point of stalling and then will rise back up to a very steady 750 rpm's. This happens under warm, normal driving conditions when coming to a stop or at a stand still revving the motor up and letting off the gas. Otherwise, it runs great at all speeds/gears.

zenilder

I have the very same problem. Though, for me, it only happens here and there. I have noticed that, if I sit there and let the car warm up and the oil pressure build up, it doesn't happen as often. I believe it has to do with the lifters.

When was the last time you changed your oil?

whyteryce

Umm, well, I, ah...sheiot! I just bought the car...the person I got it from said they had just changed the oil, plugs, etc but, from what I can tell he didn't do ****. The oil is almost as black as coffee. I haven't inspected the plugs yet but, I am just going to change them, the wires, cap, rotor, etc. I don't think it matters but the car has 465,231 on it. Ok, I am kidding but, it does really have 195,000 on it. It runs awesome except that one problem...so, ya'll are right...oil and plugs is the place to start.

mazdaspeedwest

Jesse nailed it, commun symptons of bad plug wires. although by the sounds of it, a complete maintenance job would be needed.

filters (air, fuel, oil) plugs, wires, cap, rotor, oil change, coolant flush, fluids (bleed power steering, bleed brakes, tranny fluid change) check battery and alternator, clean all contacts. check all engine grounds and main battery ground. Check all hoses, vacum lines and belts.....thats all i can think of right now....

temrich

Hmm, my car does the same thing but I've replaced everything you mention and keep it in meticulous condition.

Any other suggestions???

tom

mazdaspeedwest

cracked, leaking hoses, maybe an intake leak?....

zenilder

Do your lifters make any noise when you first start your engine in the morning or even after it's been sitting for a few hours?

I think the reason why I have the problem is because of my lifters.

If I set there and let my engine warm up till the noise has subsided, I don't notice the idle dip upon letting off the accelerator. I'm planning on doing a bit of oil cleaning.
There was a thread I ran accross a day or two back (HLA info) where someone asked Jesse about HLAs. Either the info was on that link, or in the TSBs on that site. The info pertained to flushing the oil properly (a few times within 3000 miles, actually). If I still have idle problems, then I'll replace my wires/plugs/distributor&rotor.

x0panda0x

well, i've done all that maintenance and i do it every year (cap, rotor, plugs), i change my oil and clean my air filter regularly... i bought new wires last year. so the only things i can think it is are a vacuum leak, a crack in the intake pipe(which will get replaced with a nice aluminum pipe soon), lifters thing, or the fact that my car is on, from what i can tell, the originial timing belt at 120,000 miles.... so as soon as i get my tax return i'm getting my timing belt changed, timing set, and idle set. now, i'm hoping that fixes the problem for me...

mp4life

poor valve to valve seat contact or a failed cylinder head gasket? I pretty much dont have a clue, just throwin out some ideas for those who know more...

zenilder

Constant? Geez. You might want to replace them eventually. I heard you can round out your cams with collapsed lifters.

ozman88

umm...from what I know, it has to deal with the sensors on our cars. Apparently they are very prone to damage or malfunction. Have a Mazda dealer test all the sensors and run a diagnositic on them...make sure they are working properly. If they are and your car still has this problem, then I have no clue...I still haven't got my sensors checked out, but I hope that once they are checked and replaced, I won't have this problem again.

zenilder

Yeah, I know. They're a bit too high in price, which is why I want to properly maintain them to a degree by regularly changing my oil.
I looked at possibly replacing them a while back. When they told me how much they were, I was like "Oh. Okay. Uhm. No thanks."

Maz94Protege

Throttle body service? Idle Is set to low? sparkplugs, wires, Dist cap??

check em all out