Since I last introduced my 626 a couple of years ago there has been some maintenance of things expected and some unexpected. So let’s take a look.
One thing that catches up to a car this old is the power windows. Not the motors as one has never failed. You know you have a problem when you come out one day and see a window has slid down. What happens is that a piece of the plastic anchor for the glass breaks from age and lets the window slide down. Quick fix is to get inside the door and brace it up with a piece of wood. In the past I went to junk yards to pull replacements out. However, those days are over and from the looks of it my 91 626 hatchback maybe one of the last in California. No problem though as I hit eBay and find someone selling two new complete OEM regulators. Below the left is unused for the other side while the right was the broken one I pulled out.
Now the main window control is also made of plastic and here one day a piece under the passenger side switch broke. That caused the window to spontaneously go down and up but more down. First thing I did was go into the door to disconnect main power. I then used some wire clips as a bypass and caused the window to go back up. Then I went hunting for a main switch. I had a bad feeling about this because I knew I had never seen any for sale before. The top color panel can be removed and moved from one to the other. However, I did find one and it turned out to be the most expensive part I have ever had to replace on the car. One needs working windows and one yearns for manual windows.
Next the upper panel where the switches for the sunroof had one of the lights not working for a long time. You push in the lens to turn it on and off but not with one side. Finally found a working panel to install and have everything working.
Next repair is my speed control. It simply stopped working one day and the switch no longer lit up. The Mazda manual has a very long dissertation on how to diagnose the problem with probes. Well my switch fails to light, when pressed, so maybe a new switch. Yeah, right, where will I find that. I already know almost all parts have been now discontinued for these cars so all I can do is eBay. One day a switch pops up for $40 from my favorite parts seller. I replace the switch and also put on a new vacuum speed control unit that I have in the garage.
So in order of repair here is one I wasn’t expecting. I’m driving home from the USS Hornet, Saturday late afternoon at 1730 hours. As I drive through the Posey Tube, a tunnel under the Oakland estuary, there is some stop and go traffic. While shifting I notice my clutch pedal is not completely coming back up and have to raise it with my foot. I get through the tube and then a steady pace on the access street to the freeway and smooth sailing. Smooth sailing for 20 miles where I exit the freeway, it opens up to four lanes with a light, before crossing the intersection. I take the far right lane and put the clutch in at the light. What clutch? I have no clutch!
Now I am dead in the water and have to flip on my emergency flashers. Here is where I got to observe interesting human behavior for the 50 minutes while I awaited AAA. The first car that was behind me with the flashing lights hit his horn several times before deciding to go around. That was one behavior as several came around the corner, some quite fast, and pulled right behind me followed by others. They always hit the horn, it is twilight now, and then realize they can’t back up because there are several cars right behind them. Behavior two were those who came around the bend and saw the flashers. They stopped a decent distance and at first I though good they will go round. No, I gave them too much credit as they then pulled up right behind and used their horn. Finally, the rare third type were those who actually pulled around to the two lanes left of me. Cognitive abilities were rare that evening. Anyway the AAA guy arrives and gets me home where upon he spends an hour noticing all my cars.
So fluid is mostly gone but where. Not the slave cylinder as that is a new one and it was dry. Above my foot there was dampness but not soaking wet. There was also a 10 mm wrench sitting on one of the nuts holding the master on. Someone left it there many years ago.
That night I go into the garage to go through my boxes as I know I must have one of these. Yes, I have both a master brake and master clutch cylinders.
Two bolts off and two bolts on then screw on the lines, fill, and done. It did take some pumping to finally clear the air and get pressure while bleeding through the slave.
Now for the last two months rather than the last year. See that green connector in the above picture sitting above the clutch cylinder? Well, when the car throws a code this is what you have to use. So while driving the last two months a check engine light would flash once in awhile on the dash. Sometimes it would stay on for the whole drive. Now it had been so long since I had to read a code on another 626 that I forgot and had to really search for the answer. My memory said connect a ground wire in the engine compartment and hook it to what? Well it is this single connector as you can see above.
Once connected you go into the car and put the ignition into run. The check engine light will then flash. It can be a long flash or a short flash or combinations of them like Morse code. So I got one long flash and seven short flashes for 17. My Mazda lists 17 as O2 sensor not updating.
Ok, so my sensor is done and I know I have two Densco sensors in the garage. Getting the sucker out, even with anti-seize used and the right socket was tough. The damage you see is due to the O2 sensor socket made for the job. In fact I used a 12 point closed end wrench and tapped it loose much easier. Simply replace with more anti-seize and you’re good to go. I did notice the quiet idle was much more quiet than before. Subtle but it was there.
The last long planned activity for the car was the replacement of the entire rear suspension. That means struts, six various control arms, and sway bar end links. I managed to collect everything over the years and now it is time. Doesn’t ride loose but is 31 years old now.
There are three control arms each side. Two are transverse on either side of the drum and one longitudinal anchored up under the rear door. They are very easy to remove and replace with the new arms seen below. Only one of the longitudinal arms is not Mazda NOS.
Getting at them was much easier than the ones on the Focus. On one you needed to disconnect the cross member and lower it to get the bolt past the floor pan and another was fiddley to get at on one side because of lines. All one needed to do was match up the new adjustable lateral arm to the old, exactly, since that one controls toe in and toe out for the rear wheels. With that done it was time to move onto the struts.
I actually pondered this for an hour going back and forth. The FSM says nothing about the removal of struts on a hatchback only the sedan. In the sedan, open the trunk, and you can see the three nuts holding the top plate of the struts. Not so in the hatchback and it was obvious where those nuts were and also obvious that panel is going nowhere.
So you need to remove the seat back bolster to get it out of the way and pry away the trunk lining to see the nuts. Slip in your 14 mm wrench and loosen nuts so you can spin off with your fingers.
I was given the car in 2010 and so I have no idea how old those rear struts are unlike the fronts which were replaced five years ago when I rebuilt the front.
Into the vise and compress the spring a bit to get the mounting plate bolt off. Good thing I have that electric impact wrench because that bolt was rusted on. How since it is inside the car I have no idea but it took about one minute for the impact to break it loose on both sides. After that it was simply remove and then replace with new plate and new rubber insulator. Obviously I took the spring out to wash it completely before putting back in the car. Just one of those quirks about me in that everything must go back in clean.
Strut back in along with new rear brake hoses I had in stock for the car. Once again the old ones might have been originals. Out on the road, the car was never unsteady with the old components but she is sure a nice smooth car to drive. Super reliable despite the work I have done since most of it was for expected wear parts. All this work spanned from early this year to last month.
These are my last major parts for the car from my favorite eBay seller. The clutch was $79 as was the Denso OEM compressor. The Mazda throttle body was $49. The throttle body maybe next and then the entire AC system that includes, drier, condenser, and hoses. I have my choice of R-12 or R-134. The clutch will be used when the engine gets pulled for rebuild in the farther future as three others are ahead in line. The 410 is coming out but that is another story.
Oh, and here is a strange update on my Focus. For about two months I noticed that the Focus was just a bit hard to start and it wasn’t the battery. Then there was a new tendency to stumble when accelerating quickly on the freeway. The idle was also a little bit lower and rough. I was suspecting a COP. So two weeks ago I got out to diagnose the issue. I pulled all the spark plug connectors, remove the four COPs and plugs to inspect. Nothing unusual. Get in the car and start. As the car is running and the fast idle settles down the check engine light pops on for the first time. Pull out my reader and see I have a code. Not one, not two, but six codes, P0300, P0301 pending, P0301, P0316, P0351, and P0352. Yep, I guess it is a COP and #1 is shot. So I order four (better safe than sorry) Denso OEM COPs and installed all four. Wow, what a difference in response. Last note that under the Denso sticker on the top of the COP was the Motorcraft number but at half the price.
Excellent write up, how many miles on the Mazda?
208,000 miles
I had an 83 626 5 door and there were some similar issues. At least it appears you didn’t have the electronically controlled struts. Wonderful system but expensive to replace them. Sorry I didn’t keep mine, but it sprung a teeny leak in a seal on top of the transmission. And the car was rotting away slowly from NY winters, so it had to go. They were great cars back in that era.
But do the oscillating air vents still work?
Yes, they do
All this wrenching is fascinating to me—I appreciate the time you take to do the writeups and take the photos, too. I guess the eventual reliance upon eBay for parts problem is unavoidable, but looks as though you’ve been salting away a good inventory for some time. Here’s hoping for many more years on the road!
Nice write up, nice car and thanks for the hint re Denso in Fords! That should come in handy .
Let’s face it. If we are on this site and read any articles, we are old car nuts or we have what I’ve heard called OCD (old car disease). Yes, I too have that and I love my 1988 Cadillac Cimarron.
But after reading this, I was reminded of why I love to always have a brand new car. My new one is a 2021 Chevrolet Malibu LT and I love it. A modest payment monthly sure goes a long way toward the frustrations and costs of repairs. haha.
For me I love working on things to make them function like new and look new. This isn’t a chore for me at all. Whether repairing a vintage camera, making new window frames from scratch for the USS Hornet, or working on my cars I get immense satisfaction when finished. The parts in this repair might have cost one monthly payment for your car and most were NOS Mazda parts from this one seller on eBay who is amazing. Now done it is time to move on to another project which started off only to replace one cracked in half exhaust manifold but we all know how that goes. Write up next year when this one is finally finished. A hint below piece by piece…
I hear you on that one! When I lived in Illinois out in the country, I had 5 acres and a 2 car garage on my house. I then had my “man cave” garage that was quite large, had a built in lift, in-floor heat and all the little things I could want like a wash basin, washer/dryer, stereo system and all the tools I needed. Now in southern California, I have nowhere to work on my old car/s and the fun has gone out. But even back then, I didn’t do the type of work you do! That’s impressive.
But I miss the “tinkering” and know the feeling you speak of. Good job.
Not just electric windows that fail, the manual door window on my VW Transporter T3 (Vanagon) would drop into the door regularly. I couldn’t get a genuine part and the pattern part didn’t last long. I got used to striping off the door trim and bodging it back together with cable ties.
I admire your preventative maintenance and skills. I never seem to get far enough ahead with repairs to replace anything that is still working.
This is the content that I come here for. Love the precision. Seems to me the impatience of drivers behind a car with flashers on might be more and more due to the prevalence of ride share and food delivery folks who think that a “flashers-on” parking job relieves them of the responsibility to park safely and considerately out of the roadway. With todays car more reliable than ever, it’s more likely to be a waiting Uber or doordasher taking up a lane than an authentic breakdown, and I guess todays drivers are programmed to react accordingly. I had a tan 1988 Mazda 929 with light tan leather interior that to this day ranks as one of my all time favorite cars (yes, with the power oscillating “swing” a/c vents as well). She was sleek and responsive and the day I sold her she smelled as much of supple leather inside as much as she did when she first arrived brand new at Crown Mazda back in the fall of 1987! Thanks for an excellent write up of your 626. It was a pleasure to read.
Great car! My family had two 1988 626 DX sedans at one point, both manual. We added the oscillating vents via parts from a junkyard; the wiring is there regardless of trim level, so it was plug and play.
Let me know if you ever decide to move on from this hatchback; I’ve always wanted one and would be interested in purchasing it!
You are going to have a long wait and then it will be up to my wife. She is a lot younger than me so when I leave the world she is going to have a bunch of cars to deal with. I will leave instructions, though.
I don’t blame you!
Pro-football player Alfred Morris also still owns a 1991 Mazda 626 nicknamed “Bentley”. Mazda provided a factory restoration for his 626.
https://insidemazda.mazdausa.com/drivers-life/my-mazda-my-story/alfred-morris-mazda-626/
I saw that story awhile back. As a matter of fact I already have a gallon of paint for this car along with a spare hood, unblemished front bumper, and two front fenders with not a ding so I can just paint and have less body work.
When I was a kid a friend’s dad had an early 1970 Ford Falcon. When the clutch linkage broke I was along for the ride when the dad drove it to the mechanic’s shop after ours. I was mesmerized watching him drive using all 3 gears and reverse – all without the ability to disengage the clutch. Is that not possible on modern cars rather than waiting for AAA? Or does the clutch switch in modern cars prevent using the starter to get underway in first? I remember trying clutchless shifting in a loaner VW Golf once, but I never tried getting underway in first by cranking the starter.
You must have the nicest one of these in the world.
And the carrier in the first photo is the USS…. ?
Hornet, CV-12. The author has done some posts on maintenance work he’s performed on the ship.
Like JP, I’m puzzled why you didn’t just stick it in first and turn the key when the clutch wouldn’t disengage. I’ve done that on a whole bunch of cars over the years. Upshifting is generally easy, downshifting somewhat less so, but doable.
Now I did have an instance with a failing, but intermittent alternator, read nearly dead battery, and clutch hydraulic failure one time and that got more complicated, but I still made it 100 miles home. OK, not much stop and go traffic, but an assortment of lights and octagon signs.
No, the clutch wouldn’t engage. I came off the freeway, rounded the corner, and came to a red light and disengaged the clutch like always to sit at idle. After that the pedal went to the floor and nothing. After that traffic light were another eight lights in less than a mile left to go.
Come for the cars, stayed for the Hornet. Thanks to you and all the crew that care for her.
I’ve been lucky/worked hard enough to visit twice.
Riding the deck elevator down with an A-4 is a treasured memory for me.
Ah, that was a living ship day. You were lucky to have been on back then before our insurance company got wind of that and said no more rides for visitors on L1.
I’m too old to know what an “COP” is, please elucidate .
I always enjoy your posts because like me you address the job carefully and logically .
I wish I had your skill set .
-Nate
Sorry, Nate, I assumed. It is short for coil on plug.
Not to worry ;
I didn’t twig to “Coil On Plug” but I _did_ wonder if it was somehow ignition related .
Always learning knowhutimean ? .
-Nate
Oh wow, a midsized hatchback!
I looked at one of these in 1986, when I did my most extensive search for another car that I’ve done..even looked at 2 seaters (Bertone X1/9 and Toyota MR2) and station wagons, which were still available pretty readily. Ended up buying an ’86 GTi, but I was already a VW owner since ’81. For me, the runner up was an ’86 Accord Hatch, don’t recall why I didn’t more strongly consider the 626 but think it just fell off the radar since I looked at so many different cars before buying. I do have regret that I never owned a midsized hatch like the 626 or Accord, didn’t realize they’d be such an endangered species, even the Camry offered a hatch in ’86.
My ’86 GTi didn’t have power windows nor locks (nor sunroof, which was crank) and that’s the main reason I didn’t buy the Accord..I wanted fuel injection, which I had on my ’78 Scirocco, but Honda only offered it on the top of the line LXi in ’86, which came with power windows/locks, since they offered trim groups instead of individual options, which VW still did in ’86. My current car. a ’00 Golf, came with them but I guess by then I was resigned to having them, and yes, they’re a known problem in the front, they drop inside the door due to plastic regulator degrading. Also have power lock problems, mostly cold solder joints, which I’ve been too chicken to fix (since you have to remove the windows to get to the lock circuit board inside the door.
Clutch problems? Well, I replaced the clutch on my ’86 due to oil fouling the friction service, it took me a month (really…I must have put it in and took it out 5 times, I had a conceptual problem that had me removing it when it was probably OK…plus I was sick in Mar ’97 when I did it, also changed out all the seals since one caused the problem, and put in synthetic gear oil). My current car hasn’t had a bad clutch (yet) but the shift cable mechanism broke such that I had to open the hood, put the selector shaft into 2nd, and nurse it home by slipping the clutch to do 2nd gear start. Also lost my power steering rack and ignition cylinder other times so I can’t claim it hasn’t stranded me. I had all new struts, and raising (rather than lowering) springs, plus strut bearings in 2011, which it turns out is half-way from where I am now timewise, so it is probably time to do it again.
My shock towers were pretty accessible on the ’86 rears, but on my current ’00, they’re covered by plastic, much like your ’91.
Not the same deal, but when my sister moved into my Mother’s home, they were going to share my Mom’s ’88 Tempo, and I got a bug to get all the little things that needed attention looked at, including small stuff like power locks working on 1 side and not the other, remote trunk unlock button not working, and a bunch of other trivial stuff, plus work on the alternator (which seemed to be a problem on hers) and even the clear cover on the headlight (one side went loose but I still had the part).
Great that you’re keeping yours on the road… There probably aren’t many left of these.