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It’ll more than likely bounce out while you’re driving. If you don’t have one, a good thing to own in my experience is a flexible magnetic pickup tool.
I did a small search, and it looks like your block might be iron and the heads and manifold might be aluminum. If your heads and manifold are aluminum, they may have become scratched by the wire wheel you were using. This would cause the poor sealing you’re having now. Someone more familiar with the E engine will know (Mazda has a lot of engines!)
IF the above is the problem, then your most appropriate solution is to have the mating surfaces resurfaced to the proper roughness. Something some people swear by is the copper spray that you put on your gaskets that can help it seal on rougher than spec surfaces.
First try to have your surfaces COMPLETELY clean (no gasket at all), check for squareness and make sure you have no gouges/major scrapes. Then make sure you torque everything to the correct value and in the right sequence.
I did a small search, and it looks like your block might be iron and the heads and manifold might be aluminum. If your heads and manifold are aluminum, they may have become scratched by the wire wheel you were using. This would cause the poor sealing you’re having now. Someone more familiar with the E engine will know (Mazda has a lot of engines!)
IF the above is the problem, then your most appropriate solution is to have the mating surfaces resurfaced to the proper roughness. Something some people swear by is the copper spray that you put on your gaskets that can help it seal on rougher than spec surfaces.
First try to have your surfaces COMPLETELY clean (no gasket at all), check for squareness and make sure you have no gouges/major scrapes. Then make sure you torque everything to the correct value and in the right sequence.
🙁 We do understand your aggravation. On the bright side, you’ll be able to tear down to the manifolds faster than most people!
I should have asked if your manifold surfaces are square. Has the car ever overheated though this will rarely ruin iron heads/manifolds, age can. It could be that the old gasket had deformed with the mating surfaces, while the new one doesn’t want to. I don’t think this is the problem, but one thing to add to your list. I don’t know if this uses the aluminum engine/manifold. I know some older Mazda’s did because of the weight. If it does use aluminum, then a wire wheel could have seriously messed up the sealing surface, and you’d need to get everything resurfaced.
Were you able to compare the old and new gaskets? Were they an exact match? Not that you want to spend more money, but what about trying a different brand of gasket (i.e. Fel-Pro vs Victor Reinz). While most gaskets are fine, sometimes one just works better than another.
Mostly, you need to make sure there is zero gasket material left behind, some sealing surfaces are highly sensitive to this. You can try lacquer thinner to help soften up your old gasket material. Also, don’t use any gasket sealing materials unless specifically called for by the FSM (this includes shellac and RTV).
🙁 We do understand your aggravation. On the bright side, you’ll be able to tear down to the manifolds faster than most people!
I should have asked if your manifold surfaces are square. Has the car ever overheated though this will rarely ruin iron heads/manifolds, age can. It could be that the old gasket had deformed with the mating surfaces, while the new one doesn’t want to. I don’t think this is the problem, but one thing to add to your list. I don’t know if this uses the aluminum engine/manifold. I know some older Mazda’s did because of the weight. If it does use aluminum, then a wire wheel could have seriously messed up the sealing surface, and you’d need to get everything resurfaced.
Were you able to compare the old and new gaskets? Were they an exact match? Not that you want to spend more money, but what about trying a different brand of gasket (i.e. Fel-Pro vs Victor Reinz). While most gaskets are fine, sometimes one just works better than another.
Mostly, you need to make sure there is zero gasket material left behind, some sealing surfaces are highly sensitive to this. You can try lacquer thinner to help soften up your old gasket material. Also, don’t use any gasket sealing materials unless specifically called for by the FSM (this includes shellac and RTV).
Now that you’ve check the level and the color its likely as Ace and Wysetech said, you’re tranny is giving you a little notice that it’s near done. Take advantage of the time to decide if you want to have it rebuilt, buy a used or rebuilt one, or replace your vehicle. As long as your converter is a stock/OE converter, I wouldn’t worry about stall speed. That really is only important for those that are towing/racing, not the daily driver.
Now that you’ve check the level and the color its likely as Ace and Wysetech said, you’re tranny is giving you a little notice that it’s near done. Take advantage of the time to decide if you want to have it rebuilt, buy a used or rebuilt one, or replace your vehicle. As long as your converter is a stock/OE converter, I wouldn’t worry about stall speed. That really is only important for those that are towing/racing, not the daily driver.
Being angry/upset is understandable…many of us have been there either because of friends or ourselves (or in auto shop owners case people getting in over their head). If you were to properly fix your heads, then yes you’d need to replace your gaskets.
Mixing up the rocker arms and pushrods shouldn’t really cause it to stall. It could cause it to run rough. Mostly, it will just wear out your camshaft much faster than it should. Also, if some debris fell into the lifters, this could cause tapping. There’s a lot of reasons an engine could be “tapping.” To determine which, you should use your stethoscope and try to diagnose where and be specific on the sound. Also, does the rate of tapping fluctuate with your RPMs.
For the stalling and running bad, first check for vacuum hoses that are not connected or cracked. Diagnose where/what your sounds are and let us know so we can better help.
Being angry/upset is understandable…many of us have been there either because of friends or ourselves (or in auto shop owners case people getting in over their head). If you were to properly fix your heads, then yes you’d need to replace your gaskets.
Mixing up the rocker arms and pushrods shouldn’t really cause it to stall. It could cause it to run rough. Mostly, it will just wear out your camshaft much faster than it should. Also, if some debris fell into the lifters, this could cause tapping. There’s a lot of reasons an engine could be “tapping.” To determine which, you should use your stethoscope and try to diagnose where and be specific on the sound. Also, does the rate of tapping fluctuate with your RPMs.
For the stalling and running bad, first check for vacuum hoses that are not connected or cracked. Diagnose where/what your sounds are and let us know so we can better help.
It is possible when you were dropping the manifold back in, the gasket slipped a little, maybe not even a millimeter, but that’s enough on some engines. The other things that could be were tiny bits of gasket left behind. Also, were you using an accurate torque wrench for these? If one side is too tight, while the other isn’t tight enough can cause this type of problem.
It is possible when you were dropping the manifold back in, the gasket slipped a little, maybe not even a millimeter, but that’s enough on some engines. The other things that could be were tiny bits of gasket left behind. Also, were you using an accurate torque wrench for these? If one side is too tight, while the other isn’t tight enough can cause this type of problem.
You are exactly correct that it depends on how it was taken care of. It also depends on the year of the vehicle. Pretty much any vehicle made in the past 15 years should easily hit 200K miles while following the service manual as far as the engine is concerned.
I had 195,000 miles on my 97 Villager (same as the Nissan Quest). IMO Nissan makes some pretty good engines, even if they are near impossible to work on.
Evidence coming from forums will be anecdotal for engines breaking down or lasting forever. If you’re buying a used car, buy one with as much paperwork available as possible and if you’re unsure, pay the small fee to have a local mechanic check it out.
You are exactly correct that it depends on how it was taken care of. It also depends on the year of the vehicle. Pretty much any vehicle made in the past 15 years should easily hit 200K miles while following the service manual as far as the engine is concerned.
I had 195,000 miles on my 97 Villager (same as the Nissan Quest). IMO Nissan makes some pretty good engines, even if they are near impossible to work on.
Evidence coming from forums will be anecdotal for engines breaking down or lasting forever. If you’re buying a used car, buy one with as much paperwork available as possible and if you’re unsure, pay the small fee to have a local mechanic check it out.
I am sure you checked most or all of these, but it will give you something to cross off the list. Is your harmonic balancer/crankshaft pulley properly installed/all the way on? Are your motor/tranny mounts and subframe all correctly torqued? Is your flexplate correctly torqued to the crankshaft and torque converter (that would suck if you have to drop the tranny again). Is your torque wrench properly calibrated?
I am sure you checked most or all of these, but it will give you something to cross off the list. Is your harmonic balancer/crankshaft pulley properly installed/all the way on? Are your motor/tranny mounts and subframe all correctly torqued? Is your flexplate correctly torqued to the crankshaft and torque converter (that would suck if you have to drop the tranny again). Is your torque wrench properly calibrated?