Yeah, I have quite the track record of not draining oil from engines and transmissions I remove from vehicles. Whether that oil ends up dripping down your leg from a RX-8 transmission or creating an EPA-alerting spill on my driveway out of my 3 rotor, I deserve that bus you threw me under. - the brother
@@Shiznit304 Yeah the F-boxes don’t hold up well to boost compared to the G-box. My ‘94 is running stronger than ever, still on its original G-series, though I did destroy the diff once, about 10 years ago. Has a Mazdaspeed Protege LSD in it, all good.
As a master tech of 35 years, I've watched a lot of your videos about the engines that you tear down. It seems to me that the biggest common denominator is that people simply just don't check there oil level frequently enough or don't have there oil changed every 5k miles. We run a fleet of cars of various makes and models and some will use almost 5 qts of oil in 5k miles, some don't. That is the reason we dont do extended oil change intervals in our fleet. We have not ever had one blow up due to low oil level but close.
10:15 - Cranks without a keyway are complete madness. It's negligible added cost and manufacturing time, while negating the need for a special tool to do a very basic service. Even if you aren't messing with the engine's timing, harmonic balancers do fail and need replacement on occasion. A keyway would make that job very easy.
The cams too. But the oil pump!!! Yeah yeah yeah!!! we'll key that! Madness. I grew up in workshops. I ran a mechanical business for 12 years. One day I'll be in a pub and get to meet some bloke who designs engines. I can't wait for that day to come.
Don't forget to appreciate the bearing basket and the rod bearing concentrate.... A rack of Rod Bearing Concentrate bottles would be a talking point in the awaiting rooms at service centres everywhere....
Okay maybe I looked away and missed it but I didn't see the test! The ever popular test of the piston rod connection system. I don't know, I don't know...
First, thank you to Ryan for the engine donation. Second, thanks to Eric for making yet another quality, informative, and educational video to expand our knowledge. I am sure this takes volumes of time and money to plan, secure resources, and produce each video. That said, thank you and I look forward to the next one.
Ive seen alot of these 2.3's blown up so i cant deny their tendancys but I have a daily driver cx7 with the turbo 2.3. It has 200,000 miles and is still running strong. I drive it an hour everyday on the highway to work, but I also check the oil every 3 is days and change it every 5k miles. Fingers crossed it's lasts many miles yet. Awesome teardown video as always man!
I've got a 2.3L 09 Ranger. My biggest gripe with these in the trucks is they only hold 4 quarts of oil. Mines doesn't burn too much, maybe a quart over 1500-2000 miles. But that's still a lot of the capacity. Oil temp is probably on the moon too, even full. I like the simple little turd, but I did also use to own a built MZR in a speed6. As you said, I might be a bit of a glutton.
I just looked back, and it appears I have been viewing since summer 2020 and have loved every moment. Eric, please go to Harbor Freight and by a cheap small band saw for cutting stuff up. I am a cabinetmaker and have cutoff tips off 2 fingers, and I don't want to see you get hurt. Chop saws are not your friend.
Fantastic Lighting for the "Bearing Sauce" and the Wear/Damage of the Oil Pump, also very much appreciate the close-ups of the damage. Great Content, Thank You.
I remember the 1970's Ford Pinto engine used in a lot of European Fords and some American. It had a spray bar running over the top of the single cam that sprayed lubricant onto the lobes and when owners failed to service and change the oil regularly the spray bar would block up, fail to lubricate and drastically wear out the cam.
I've got 406,000 miles on my Duratec 25 in my 2012 Ford Escape - besides a few plastic parts breaking due to wear and tear such as the water coolant outlet, the ac condenser springing a leak, and a few fender benders - she's still a great daily. Here's a big thing about the 2.3 / 2.5L engines; The same bolt size that you use to remove the coil pack when you change your spark plugs, is exactly the same size as the valve cover bolts, not only that, they are literally less than an inch apart from each other. If a clueless person were loosen just one bolt on the valve cover and fails to retighten the bolt to spec with a torque wrench,, it will eventually cause oil to bypass the gasket at some point, and cause oil to be forced into the spark plug area, and thereby into the valve bleeder valve and back into the intake through the throttle body. This will cause insane idle problems (a gunked up throttle body can turn the escape into a demon), spontaneous shut downs, and total loss of control at the worst possible time. The simple remedy is to check all your head bolts and valve cover bolts with a torque wrench set to factory specs every time you change your spark plugs. If you've had a perpetual oil leak, this is potentially where it is found. If it is a severe enough leak, you will see oil pooling on top of the actual spark plugs. not good. If only the Duratec engineers considered changing the bolt pattern between the valve cover, and the coil packs... then again - cheap is big business.
Had one in an 07 Focus ZX4 ST. Original owner. 219k, started every time, never consumed or leaked one drop of oil. Bottom of that car was bone dry the day I sold it. Ran exactly the same for all 219k miles. Good low end torque for a 4 cyl, way different approach than anything Toyota or Honda were making at the time. Was nice to have power down at 3k RPM, and not have to be up against the red line into the VVT to get power out of it. Needed an alternator for $400 at 120k miles. Only unscheduled maintenance I ever did on it. Guess I got a good one. Was a good car. 219k on the original clutch, brakes (yes, brakes), everything. Only thing I ever replaced were tires, wiper blades, and that alternator. Averaged 31 mpg for its life. In some ways I wish I still had it.
Agreed. I have one in a '07 Mazda 3. Never replaced anything but consumables. Runs as good as the day i bought it new. Never burned a drop of oil. Lots of torque for a 2.3
I love these, and the 2.0 even more. I changed my oil religiously though so that's prob a contributing factor. My profile pictured 05 focus 2.0 had 470k before I sold it to a friend.
Same here, I'm actually surprised with his opinion of these engines. I've had 3 of these in my family, all had over 200,000 miles when sold and ran great! One of them actually DID nearly run out of oil a few times (pcv valve failure and bad maintenance)...it kept going though
I had my 08 Focus with the 2.0 liter go to 230k before I sold it. Still ran great and never had any major issues. Just a spark plug well seal leak. Changed oil every 7500 miles
@@conmanl4959 yeah the valve cover gaskets turning into plastic was very common. I never had to make any major repairs either other than an alternator and a starter.
@@conmanl4959 I sold it to my friend and he didn't even make it to 500K before he totally trashed it and it went to the junkyard. I was actually kind of upset that I didn't get to see that car make it to 500k.
I bought a 05 focus st with a 2.3, did an oil change right after I bought it. Drove it to work for about a month, next thing you know I hear this loud marble sound coming from the engine. Checked the oil and the dipstick literally didn’t have a drop on it. Now I’m putting about a quart every month just to limp it lol. I just found it crazy…. That’s the first car I’ve owned that burns THAT MUCH oil. I’ve heard doing the 2.5 block swap takes care of the burning oil.
The 2.3 in the mazdaspeeds and mps really need to be looked after well. This means regular oil changes (5000km) , injector services, egr delete, valve cleaning and some other stuff. It’s quite expensive to own them, but they’re a lot of fun. I’m running 380hp on my 2.3 mzr and it holds up pretty good. In the lower rpm you’ll need to baby them a bit cause the rods don’t like torque that low in rpm. Also the hpfp needs to be swapped with a better one, the stock one makes the car run lean in 4th,5th and 6th gear which will cause burned piston and eventually a rod through the block
My 2007 Ford Ranger had he 16 Valve 2.3 and it was great! never had any serious issues with it. I changed my oil every 3K miles and kept it clean. When I sold it, it had 270,000 miles and still ran great!
I had an 05 Mazda 3, got it one year old and kept it until 2016 with 150,000 miles and it was a great car in all aspects. Never used oil. Wish i had kept it.
Glad to hear confirmation on the 2.0 Duratec Ford being good. '09 Focus owner here. I am good with maintenance, though. The DMF makes a little noise, but all I've done engine wise other than maintenance is change the Valve cover gasket. Oil was seeping past it towards the exhaust manifold and had the oil burning smell.
I have a 2.3L Fusion, it works great! 260K miles on it, burns zero oil. I beat on it all the time, took it to track days, etc. Gotta keep up on oil changes, but that's about it.
Back in their day, the L3 was a glorious compromise between the lack of power on the LF and the NVH on the L5, all while getting the same or better economy as the LF.
2007 ford focus 2.0 5 speed owner here. 3k oil changes were done using the recommended Motorcraft semi-synthetic oil until the warranty ran out, then 5k changes using mobil1 since. Currently at 160k miles with no oil consumption between changes. The only issue I have is noisy IRMC plates in the plastic intake. I’ve got a replacement intake that I need to install to fix that. I was always curious about the differences between the 2.3 and 2.5 cousin engines to my 2.0 and had considered a swap to the 2.5 if my 2.0 died. After watching this it seems that I’d be better off sticking with the 2.0. Yes, it was stupid not to put keyways in for the cams and harmonic balancer. Once the front seal begins to leak on my 2.0 I’m not about to replace it due to losing timing, and will farm the repair out to Ford. The only repairs it’s needed are an alternator, an A/C compressor, and an idler pulley that started making noise.
I stumble across your channel about a month ago and I really enjoy watching you break down a lot of the new engines, it lets me know which brand to stay away from, I do have a 2018 Ford Fusion with the 2.5L that runs great with 125,000 miles on it and a 2015 Wrangler Rubicon Hard Rock with the 3.6 with 48,000 miles, Im trying to avoid the Pentestar tick by installing the Baxster oil filter adapter that uses a screw on filter with the anti Drain back valve. Keep up the good work. enjoy your humor.
2007 Mazda 6 with this 2.3na is my work car. 190k and runs fantastic. But yes, I do the oil every 3k. I’m praying to see 250k before I shake it off. That’s if the glass trans plays nice😁
It’d* be a real pita to film but it would be cool to see two or more competitors’ engines torn down side by side, like a 3.6 pentastar vs a 3.6 gm, and compare things 1 to 1.
Can't stress how important maintenance is for one of these MZR engines. I have a dead stock Gen 1 mazdaspeed3 with 181k miles on it. I bought from the 1st owner who maintained it meticulously and have put about 40k miles on it so far. The car's been serviced religiously with oil changes every 5k miles. Other MS3 owners tell me that 181k is "above average" for the original engine, but I'm also convinced a lot of MS3 owners mod their cars and don't change their oil regularly
I have a 2011 Mazda 3 i with the 2.0 currently. I probably overpayed for it but desperately needed the car at the time. When I was told "the second gen are the worst of them", I was rather disheartened. But even knowing it largely comes down to how it was maintained, hearing you say it's a good engine is a bit of a relief.
The camshafts not having a keyway is the primary reason I will never do any work on the family 2009 Mazda 3 Neo BL. I'll do oil, plugs and filters - but nothing else. As for run videos of failed engines. Watching one of the 105 series Landcrusier 1FZ-FE my friend bought with broken ringlands for $500 (pistons 1&6 - was turbo'd), ran and sounded like normal turbo 4 cylinder - but still with similar power to what it would have been stock.
I know someone that struggled for ages to save to buy a decent car, they bought a CX7 and the motor blew up within a month. Being sold privately they had no recourse and had to suck it up and went without a car for a very long time.
Gerotor oil pump. Thanks to your brother and I enjoyed this video. My son's early RX-8 (which he tracks and autocrosses) original rotary is till running well with over 100K miles on it so far - those daily Italian tune-ups probably help. I wonder how long my 2020 WRX will last considering I got over 216,000 miles on my '98 Neon Expresso - which I also autocrossed and ran road courses (plus one drag strip day) on the same engine with zero repairs. Guess we've been the Wednesday build owners! 😀
Hi. I’m in A town near Glasgow Scotland. I watch all of your videos with interest. It’s great to have content that doesn’t have the usual over produced crap in it. I think the tear downs are great I I like the stuff where you get a piece of crap running again, like the Miata (Mazda MX5 to us Brits)!!!. I find that I learn much more from those videos. All of your content is great. I love it all and see you on the next one. Thanks
I've been a Ford dealer tech for almost 30 years. I own three Focuses(2005ST, 2006 and a 2013). The 2.3 in my ST is bulletproof, as well as the 2.0s in the other models. I have seen the 2.5L variant in the Escape models crack blocks between number 2 and 3 cylinders, but I've never seen an Escape or Mariner 2.3 fail...
@@devenmellor Yeah, the dual clutch transmissions are an issue, but I can knock a DPS6 clutch out in around 4 hours, as I've done so many. The Duratec 3.0 is pretty much bulletproof too, but when they get up there in mileage, the timing chains and guides wear out and would need to be changed. They also tend to leak oil from the timing cover over time. Otherwise, they are reliable as hell. The early 6F35(it was called a 6F Mid by Ford at the time) were much better then the later models actually called a 6F35. I have rebuilt dozens of 6F35s over the years and have a good track record with them. You can flush the newer ones as much as you want, but once the torque converter has had enough, the trans need major work. It's cheaper for most people to just replace them, but under warranty we had to fix them. The 6F35 has been out of production for a few years now, so most of them are out of warranty and I haven't done one in a while.
How similar is this to the Ford 2.0l Ztec? I had a beater ford focus with that engine and it was unkillable! I beat that car like crazy and that engine just kept going with almost 300k on it. Eventually the front wheel rusted off, but that 2.0 was still going strong! 😂
I loved my 2.3 in my ford fusion. Was slow. But got good milage. Only burned like half a quart in 3500 miles oil change intervals. Ran great. Just really noisy on cold start-up. Escpecially in winter
I drive a 2006 ford escape with a 2.3 and it has been in the family since it was at 26k miles it has about 315k and it has been a great engine. Replaced the spark plugs one time, and a valve cover gasket. Other than that. She has ran strong. I’m religious on my oil so that’s probably why
An excellent educational video on the perils of not maintaining an automobile. Kudos to you and your brother for donating time, effort and expertise in making this information public. Cheers!
I love my 03 focus 2.3 but I'm meticulous on maintenance. I honestly wish I still had my zetec 2.0 though It seemed to be better balanced. The duratec vibrates a bit more than I like.
When you said speed 3 owners are gluttons for punishment... sir, I did not come here to be called out. But you're right. And yes, I carry a gallon jug of top up full synthetic with me everywhere. My 09 has 326000 km and as tired as it probably is, it's still going. I check the fluids every time I climb into it, and its treated me well for the time I've had it. For a C$2500 budget racecar with a long history, i know its going to give up eventually. I'm just gonna enjoy it while it lives
I had a 2006 ford fusion with this engine. Had 250k on it when we sold it. Never had a timing chain done and the water pump only started leaking at 240k. Had nothing but good luck with it. Never burned oil
I have over 200k miles on my 2005 Ford Focus, and those are mostly city miles, 2.0 can handle a beating as long as you use Good oil and good filter, check it once a month.
I do agree that non keyed crankshafts are stupid. It especially is a problem if you like making your car fast and they slip. For example modified s55s, n55s and n54s. However it does make timing the engine extremely easy.
You know Eric i really appreciate the hard work you do to have 2 engine tear downs per week. I hope your wife and baby are all well. I love your channel and your humour.
In the uk we had a lower cc engines in the mondeo/fusion and focus and various mazdas the worst one was the 1.8 duratec-he and from new they burnt oil or swallowed swirl flaps if they were hungry. It was down to gummed up oil rings, hardened stem seals or busted egr valve. Always happened even if you changed the oil every Wednesday.
interesting - thanks for the vid. I had a 2.3 MZR in a 2009 Mazda 3 5door - put a bunch of miles on it and sold it to another guy who still has it with no issues. I admit I do change oil regularly with decent product so maybe that's the difference? It did have one of the more difficult oil changes - cartridge filter with a stupid plastic under guard you had to take off every time you changed the oil, (maybe that's it? folks are lazy and just don't change the oil because its a little more difficult?)
In OZ we got them in the Mazda 3 "SP23"...Mostly manual gearbox and very prone to kicking a leg out....Mostly due to poor maintenance...Delamination of the Alloy bearings...Notice there is no "Locating Tang" on the main and rod bearings...I've rolled a set of bigends in one and saved it from a messy end...
I had an 06 Mazda 6 2.3. Engine had a knock and burned soo much oil lol. Made it to 230k miles before I got hit by someone running a red light. That engine was surprisingly tough but they are definitely junk lol.
That's the sort of damage you'd expect from any engine that was poorly maintained. What I've learned about this motor is that the 2.3 variant really doesn't like high revs as its crank is weak and often just snaps totalling the engine. Now that's a true design flaw.
I finished up with my Dads 41 Pontiac about 1963 it had been an Army vehicle (No Nickel) although Right hand drive, so Australian assembled. Then because it had a Commercial Vehicle plate attached we assumed it was used as a Taxi in Toowoomba, I think I watched it turn over to all zero's ie 100,000 miles most likely for the third time. My Dad had put a new timing chain in it but I found the timing chain very worn, not too many thousand miles later, but there were no guides. I should have made guides out of Iron Bark timber, (Google Australian hardwood) that would have lasted the rest of its life. Ted from down under.
*"Except Subaru!"* I just got done putting new rings in my '03 Forester. Got tired of 1000 or less on a qt of oil! The oil rings were glued to the piston. The little oil holes behind the oil rings were filled with carbon that was brown! I literally had to use a drill and a small bit to open them up! I have around 400 miles on it since the engine work. Don't know if I was successful putting it in a 12 step program or will it relapse? LoL 😂😆
this was very informative! i have a 2004 mazda 3 with 280k same motor she's burning oil and i'm torn on what to do. the car has been great to me 5 speed manual great on gas and bought it for 1500 4 years ago used for commuting daily driver only. not sure if i want to rebuild or dump and move on!
I have a rare 2008 Ford Escape XLS manual trans with 2.3L engine. Mine is only at 133k miles, so not so much. I just bought it recently. The engine is in phenomenal shape for its age and runs perfectly once I got the throttle body cleaned out a bit and swapped the EGR valve to get rid of the money light. I've had it long enough to change the oil and mine was down maybe a third of a quart after 5k miles. I do use oil additive to help with the efficacy. Maybe I'm one of the lucky ones, but I've had it checked thoroughly by a trusted mechanic and we can't find anything wrong so far. Runs smooth and has plenty of power. It's cool to see a teardown of this engine. Thanks for the vid!
my friend bought an 05 xls manual 4wd with 176k and little apparent previous maintenance. It now has 205k. he's pretty hard on it too, but he keeps oil in it, and that's enough to keep it running great. does yours have cruise control? his does not. Enjoy, they're pretty good cars for what they are
I own since new a 2009 Mazda 3 with this engine and it has 223,000 miles on it. I had a couple of emission related issues and that's about it for the engine. It doesn't burn a drop of oil between 5000 mile synthetic oil changes. This is by far the best engine I've ever owned.
That may explain it. There appear to be significant quality differences between Japanese/ European cars manufactured in USA/Mexico and those made in their "homelands". @@rhino6285
You can run 5k mile interval safely on that engine. I think 8k is also safe with good oil and even a little more if you have a lot of highway miles and you're doing more than 2 changes a year. I'm at 203K miles on my 2L skyactiv GDI and you really have to try to screw them up.
You finally got to the engine in my very well aged 2008 Escape Hybrid that’s still rocking along at 226,000 miles. (I’m assuming mine has different cams since its Atkinson cycle.) I had been warned about the timing chain wear, and oil tests from Blackstone Labs haven’t detected any abnormal wear. I’m testing every 10,000 miles on full synthetic oil change at 5,000 mile intervals. I’m hoping to make it to the end of this set of tires at about 260,000. It’s now the “dog car,” and has truly been the most reliable vehicle I have owned, so far. Hoping it will be my third vehicle to make 250,000 miles with no major engine woes on the full synthetic 5,000 mile oil change plan. I’m going to pull the valve cover at the next oil change for my first look inside. If it looks good, it will get an updated radio with CarPlay & Android Audio.
I had this in my cx7 turbo. Got it to 180 k. It took a second turbo and slot of oil. Didn't buen oil just leaked out from every where. Also did timing at 70k. Loved it but frustrating.
Note another commenter stated the PCV system woefully undersized.. so if the suck doesn't overcome the blow... pressure builds up in the engine and leaks are far more likely to result...
I remember those early 2.3's also had an issue with the oil pick up being too close to the bottom of the oil pan and starving them of oil. I believe Mazda had a TSB but not a full recall for them where they fixed it by either changing the pick up tube or the oil pan, i cant remember.
I love these engine teardowns because they give me background noise whether that’s for doing chores or sleeping. It’s been super awesome helping with that
Had a 06 Mazda 3s with the 2.3 and a 5 speed very fun car, until it started the same tap dance ~70k miles. On the first year 3's they also had oil pick up issues.
Got this engine in my 2007 Mazda 6 GY. 290k km (180k miles), runs as good as the day I've bought it @180k km (113k miles) little over 2 years ago. Preventive maintenance is the key. Oil change every 5k km (10k max) / (3 - 6k miles), check belts / rollers and so on. Only things I had to replace was AC compressor 1 year ago and starter motor last month.
I’ve owned 3 Ford Ranger’s with the 2.3 Duratec: 2004, 2009 and 2011. Sold the 2004 February of 2022. Still have the 2009 with 162,000 and 2011 with 196,000. From what I’ve read on the Ranger forums these engines are usually reliable and usually last to at least 200,000 miles and can last past 400,000 or even 500,000 miles. But in early 2022 I bought some snow tires from a guy who had his 2.3 Duratec Ranger die right at 200,000 miles. He said that he religiously changed the oil at 3,000 miles. A side note you might find interesting: I parked my 2009 Ranger March of 2021 after the clutch slave began leaking and I removed the battery. The truck had 147,000 miles. I put a battery in it June of 2022 and it stumbled to life. To my surprise I was looking at the odometer and it was reading 130,000 miles. Nobody did anything to the truck in the 15 months it sat.
Have one if these in our now beater CX-7. Change the oil every 4k mile religiously and only use premium fuel. 130k miles and never had an issue with it. Still doesn't burn a drop of oil either. That being said, if you neglect these AT ALL, they will not be kind to you. It's probably due for timing chain guides at this point, but the job would be more than the car is worth and that's not a job I'm willing to do in my garage on jack stands. So, it's going to be interesting to see how much further it goes.
10:28 This sort of setup is 125% just a giant upright middle finger aimed squarely at shadetree mechanics. I raise one right back at them and refuse to buy their anti-right-to-repair bullshit.
I loved my Mazdaspeed 6! That is, until I blew the engine on the track, probably due not to oil issues, but a lean condition in the high speed corners. Ended up replacing the engine, driving it for a few years more, and finally selling it once I started hearing bad noises coming from the rear diff. I got a good 10+ years and 120k miles out of that car, so not too disappointed. It was a rare, finicky, and fun car. I can see why it sold so poorly, and isn't remembered much, but back then, it was the oddball choice if you wanted STi power and AWD but didn't want to pay STi money.
Recently sold my 07 Mazda 3 2.3L hatchback. Last year I started looking at engine costs just in case, in part from watching this channel. Because of that Duratec legacy, the 2.5L Ford from the Fusion drops in with relatively minor part swapping and was far cheaper than a Mazda 2.3L.
Yeah, I have quite the track record of not draining oil from engines and transmissions I remove from vehicles. Whether that oil ends up dripping down your leg from a RX-8 transmission or creating an EPA-alerting spill on my driveway out of my 3 rotor, I deserve that bus you threw me under. - the brother
I like your old Protege BPT Videos. Been thinking of turboing my DX Protege but the tranny won't like it
I still run my '03 P5 wagon, all stock with the sport stick no less. It still runs fine at nearly 200K on it. Yes, the FSDE 2.0L 4.
@@Shiznit304 Yeah the F-boxes don’t hold up well to boost compared to the G-box. My ‘94 is running stronger than ever, still on its original G-series, though I did destroy the diff once, about 10 years ago. Has a Mazdaspeed Protege LSD in it, all good.
Thank you for the engine! And uhh... Not ALL families do that.... Just saying. So thank you for your generosity.
You must be the black sheep of the family
That Tribute lays down a pretty sick beat.
I was nodding my head to the beat
If my Mazda starts doing it it'll be much more sad 😂
Came here for that comment! Sounds like a steel drum band!
Lol I just put the same comment
Syncopated!
Sounds a bit like a skip-fire engine
You're spoiling us with this two-videos-a-week schedule.
Agreed but I am happy with the results. : )
Keep the new tradition👍🍸
It's nice, as long as he doesn't get burned out doing it.
As a master tech of 35 years, I've watched a lot of your videos about the engines that you tear down. It seems to me that the biggest common denominator is that people simply just don't check there oil level frequently enough or don't have there oil changed every 5k miles. We run a fleet of cars of various makes and models and some will use almost 5 qts of oil in 5k miles, some don't. That is the reason we dont do extended oil change intervals in our fleet. We have not ever had one blow up due to low oil level but close.
10:15 - Cranks without a keyway are complete madness. It's negligible added cost and manufacturing time, while negating the need for a special tool to do a very basic service. Even if you aren't messing with the engine's timing, harmonic balancers do fail and need replacement on occasion. A keyway would make that job very easy.
Yeah, stupid.
Bean counters at work... Probably eliminates 1 step during assembly.
@@volvo09more engine failures, more engines sold - some CEO
Well they have to make compromises somewhere for your precious government.
Some know nothing bureaucrat.
The cams too.
But the oil pump!!! Yeah yeah yeah!!! we'll key that!
Madness.
I grew up in workshops. I ran a mechanical business for 12 years.
One day I'll be in a pub and get to meet some bloke who designs engines. I can't wait for that day to come.
Some people think time really runs backwards and the ancients were the tech people and we lost that tech. Heading for extinction due to our stupidity.
I put 300k on two of these engines and was pretty trouble free....but I maintain my stuff.
Been following this channel since there were maybe 10 teardowns uploaded, and the fact that there’s a midweek video most weeks now is freakin awesome!
When I joined he had 67,000 subs. Now he's exploded to 308,000 and growing!
Between the Safety Tote, the cram craps, and the piston nuggets it's always a good time with Eric!
Don't forget to appreciate the bearing basket and the rod bearing concentrate....
A rack of Rod Bearing Concentrate bottles would be a talking point in the awaiting rooms at service centres everywhere....
Okay maybe I looked away and missed it but I didn't see the test! The ever popular test of the piston rod connection system. I don't know, I don't know...
Funny I wondered why he made a comment about that in his next video I watched before this one
Oh snap , your right.
That engine was trying out for the band.
That drum solo...
"Now it's time to pull the bearing basket" Bearing basket!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣
First, thank you to Ryan for the engine donation. Second, thanks to Eric for making yet another quality, informative, and educational video to expand our knowledge. I am sure this takes volumes of time and money to plan, secure resources, and produce each video. That said, thank you and I look forward to the next one.
Ive seen alot of these 2.3's blown up so i cant deny their tendancys but I have a daily driver cx7 with the turbo 2.3. It has 200,000 miles and is still running strong. I drive it an hour everyday on the highway to work, but I also check the oil every 3 is days and change it every 5k miles. Fingers crossed it's lasts many miles yet. Awesome teardown video as always man!
I have 05 focus st with the 2.3 duratec 234000mile
I was waiting for the "Uncle Rodney" reference as soon as I clicked, but the subtle Rodney Dangerfield reference was perfect.
I've got a 2.3L 09 Ranger. My biggest gripe with these in the trucks is they only hold 4 quarts of oil. Mines doesn't burn too much, maybe a quart over 1500-2000 miles. But that's still a lot of the capacity. Oil temp is probably on the moon too, even full. I like the simple little turd, but I did also use to own a built MZR in a speed6. As you said, I might be a bit of a glutton.
My 09 doesn't burn any oil
My 2.3L 11 Ranger burns no oil
I just looked back, and it appears I have been viewing since summer 2020 and have loved every moment. Eric, please go to Harbor Freight and by a cheap small band saw for cutting stuff up. I am a cabinetmaker and have cutoff tips off 2 fingers, and I don't want to see you get hurt. Chop saws are not your friend.
Fantastic Lighting for the "Bearing Sauce" and the Wear/Damage of the Oil Pump, also very much appreciate the close-ups of the damage.
Great Content, Thank You.
I remember the 1970's Ford Pinto engine used in a lot of European Fords and some American. It had a spray bar running over the top of the single cam that sprayed lubricant onto the lobes and when owners failed to service and change the oil regularly the spray bar would block up, fail to lubricate and drastically wear out the cam.
Can’t fix lazy owners
The pinto was almost unbreakable even for taxi drivers and builders😂
I've got 406,000 miles on my Duratec 25 in my 2012 Ford Escape - besides a few plastic parts breaking due to wear and tear such as the water coolant outlet, the ac condenser springing a leak, and a few fender benders - she's still a great daily.
Here's a big thing about the 2.3 / 2.5L engines; The same bolt size that you use to remove the coil pack when you change your spark plugs, is exactly the same size as the valve cover bolts, not only that, they are literally less than an inch apart from each other. If a clueless person were loosen just one bolt on the valve cover and fails to retighten the bolt to spec with a torque wrench,, it will eventually cause oil to bypass the gasket at some point, and cause oil to be forced into the spark plug area, and thereby into the valve bleeder valve and back into the intake through the throttle body.
This will cause insane idle problems (a gunked up throttle body can turn the escape into a demon), spontaneous shut downs, and total loss of control at the worst possible time.
The simple remedy is to check all your head bolts and valve cover bolts with a torque wrench set to factory specs every time you change your spark plugs.
If you've had a perpetual oil leak, this is potentially where it is found. If it is a severe enough leak, you will see oil pooling on top of the actual spark plugs. not good.
If only the Duratec engineers considered changing the bolt pattern between the valve cover, and the coil packs... then again - cheap is big business.
Had one in an 07 Focus ZX4 ST. Original owner. 219k, started every time, never consumed or leaked one drop of oil. Bottom of that car was bone dry the day I sold it. Ran exactly the same for all 219k miles. Good low end torque for a 4 cyl, way different approach than anything Toyota or Honda were making at the time. Was nice to have power down at 3k RPM, and not have to be up against the red line into the VVT to get power out of it. Needed an alternator for $400 at 120k miles. Only unscheduled maintenance I ever did on it. Guess I got a good one. Was a good car. 219k on the original clutch, brakes (yes, brakes), everything. Only thing I ever replaced were tires, wiper blades, and that alternator. Averaged 31 mpg for its life. In some ways I wish I still had it.
Agreed. I have one in a '07 Mazda 3. Never replaced anything but consumables. Runs as good as the day i bought it new. Never burned a drop of oil.
Lots of torque for a 2.3
I love these, and the 2.0 even more. I changed my oil religiously though so that's prob a contributing factor. My profile pictured 05 focus 2.0 had 470k before I sold it to a friend.
my father has a 2007 mondeo with a 2.0l engine and it's well over 300k km. all you need is regular oil changes
Same here, I'm actually surprised with his opinion of these engines. I've had 3 of these in my family, all had over 200,000 miles when sold and ran great! One of them actually DID nearly run out of oil a few times (pcv valve failure and bad maintenance)...it kept going though
I had my 08 Focus with the 2.0 liter go to 230k before I sold it. Still ran great and never had any major issues. Just a spark plug well seal leak. Changed oil every 7500 miles
@@conmanl4959 yeah the valve cover gaskets turning into plastic was very common. I never had to make any major repairs either other than an alternator and a starter.
@@conmanl4959 I sold it to my friend and he didn't even make it to 500K before he totally trashed it and it went to the junkyard. I was actually kind of upset that I didn't get to see that car make it to 500k.
I bought a 05 focus st with a 2.3, did an oil change right after I bought it. Drove it to work for about a month, next thing you know I hear this loud marble sound coming from the engine. Checked the oil and the dipstick literally didn’t have a drop on it. Now I’m putting about a quart every month just to limp it lol. I just found it crazy…. That’s the first car I’ve owned that burns THAT MUCH oil. I’ve heard doing the 2.5 block swap takes care of the burning oil.
The 2.3 in the mazdaspeeds and mps really need to be looked after well. This means regular oil changes (5000km) , injector services, egr delete, valve cleaning and some other stuff. It’s quite expensive to own them, but they’re a lot of fun. I’m running 380hp on my 2.3 mzr and it holds up pretty good. In the lower rpm you’ll need to baby them a bit cause the rods don’t like torque that low in rpm. Also the hpfp needs to be swapped with a better one, the stock one makes the car run lean in 4th,5th and 6th gear which will cause burned piston and eventually a rod through the block
You forgot Safety Tote with the chop saw, we almost lost you!
I have a 2008 Ford Ranger with a 2.3 L engine which I believe is a Mazda L engine. It has 380,000 km and is still in good shape, not burning any oil.
This video hits close to home. Owner of a 2007 Mazda 3 here. Original owner at 107k.
My 2007 Ford Ranger had he 16 Valve 2.3 and it was great! never had any serious issues with it. I changed my oil every 3K miles and kept it clean. When I sold it, it had 270,000 miles and still ran great!
I had an 05 Mazda 3, got it one year old and kept it until 2016 with 150,000 miles and it was a great car in all aspects. Never used oil. Wish i had kept it.
3:16 It’s a catchy beat, and you can dance to it.
Glad to hear confirmation on the 2.0 Duratec Ford being good. '09 Focus owner here. I am good with maintenance, though. The DMF makes a little noise, but all I've done engine wise other than maintenance is change the Valve cover gasket. Oil was seeping past it towards the exhaust manifold and had the oil burning smell.
I have a 2.3L Fusion, it works great! 260K miles on it, burns zero oil. I beat on it all the time, took it to track days, etc. Gotta keep up on oil changes, but that's about it.
Back in their day, the L3 was a glorious compromise between the lack of power on the LF and the NVH on the L5, all while getting the same or better economy as the LF.
WHERE WAS THE TEST? WHERE WAS SCIENCE?
Eric, you forgot!
It was a running engine.
2007 ford focus 2.0 5 speed owner here. 3k oil changes were done using the recommended Motorcraft semi-synthetic oil until the warranty ran out, then 5k changes using mobil1 since. Currently at 160k miles with no oil consumption between changes.
The only issue I have is noisy IRMC plates in the plastic intake. I’ve got a replacement intake that I need to install to fix that.
I was always curious about the differences between the 2.3 and 2.5 cousin engines to my 2.0 and had considered a swap to the 2.5 if my 2.0 died. After watching this it seems that I’d be better off sticking with the 2.0.
Yes, it was stupid not to put keyways in for the cams and harmonic balancer. Once the front seal begins to leak on my 2.0 I’m not about to replace it due to losing timing, and will farm the repair out to Ford.
The only repairs it’s needed are an alternator, an A/C compressor, and an idler pulley that started making noise.
I stumble across your channel about a month ago and I really enjoy watching you break down a lot of the new engines, it lets me know which brand to stay away from, I do have a 2018 Ford Fusion with the 2.5L that runs great with 125,000 miles on it and a 2015 Wrangler Rubicon Hard Rock with the 3.6 with 48,000 miles, Im trying to avoid the Pentestar tick by installing the Baxster oil filter adapter that uses a screw on filter with the anti Drain back valve. Keep up the good work. enjoy your humor.
This channel is something sane in an insane world. Thanks broski!👍
2007 Mazda 6 with this 2.3na is my work car. 190k and runs fantastic. But yes, I do the oil every 3k. I’m praying to see 250k before I shake it off. That’s if the glass trans plays nice😁
It’d* be a real pita to film but it would be cool to see two or more competitors’ engines torn down side by side, like a 3.6 pentastar vs a 3.6 gm, and compare things 1 to 1.
yes please. and so many 2.5L!
As well as 2gr and vq35 and j35
Can't stress how important maintenance is for one of these MZR engines. I have a dead stock Gen 1 mazdaspeed3 with 181k miles on it. I bought from the 1st owner who maintained it meticulously and have put about 40k miles on it so far. The car's been serviced religiously with oil changes every 5k miles. Other MS3 owners tell me that 181k is "above average" for the original engine, but I'm also convinced a lot of MS3 owners mod their cars and don't change their oil regularly
I have a 2011 Mazda 3 i with the 2.0 currently. I probably overpayed for it but desperately needed the car at the time. When I was told "the second gen are the worst of them", I was rather disheartened. But even knowing it largely comes down to how it was maintained, hearing you say it's a good engine is a bit of a relief.
The camshafts not having a keyway is the primary reason I will never do any work on the family 2009 Mazda 3 Neo BL. I'll do oil, plugs and filters - but nothing else.
As for run videos of failed engines. Watching one of the 105 series Landcrusier 1FZ-FE my friend bought with broken ringlands for $500 (pistons 1&6 - was turbo'd), ran and sounded like normal turbo 4 cylinder - but still with similar power to what it would have been stock.
I know someone that struggled for ages to save to buy a decent car, they bought a CX7 and the motor blew up within a month. Being sold privately they had no recourse and had to suck it up and went without a car for a very long time.
Gerotor oil pump. Thanks to your brother and I enjoyed this video. My son's early RX-8 (which he tracks and autocrosses) original rotary is till running well with over 100K miles on it so far - those daily Italian tune-ups probably help. I wonder how long my 2020 WRX will last considering I got over 216,000 miles on my '98 Neon Expresso - which I also autocrossed and ran road courses (plus one drag strip day) on the same engine with zero repairs. Guess we've been the Wednesday build owners! 😀
Hi. I’m in A town near Glasgow Scotland. I watch all of your videos with interest. It’s great to have content that doesn’t have the usual over produced crap in it. I think the tear downs are great I I like the stuff where you get a piece of crap running again, like the Miata (Mazda MX5 to us Brits)!!!. I find that I learn much more from those videos. All of your content is great. I love it all and see you on the next one. Thanks
did you watch the Bentley teardown?
I've been a Ford dealer tech for almost 30 years. I own three Focuses(2005ST, 2006 and a 2013). The 2.3 in my ST is bulletproof, as well as the 2.0s in the other models. I have seen the 2.5L variant in the Escape models crack blocks between number 2 and 3 cylinders, but I've never seen an Escape or Mariner 2.3 fail...
@@devenmellor Yeah, the dual clutch transmissions are an issue, but I can knock a DPS6 clutch out in around 4 hours, as I've done so many. The Duratec 3.0 is pretty much bulletproof too, but when they get up there in mileage, the timing chains and guides wear out and would need to be changed. They also tend to leak oil from the timing cover over time. Otherwise, they are reliable as hell. The early 6F35(it was called a 6F Mid by Ford at the time) were much better then the later models actually called a 6F35. I have rebuilt dozens of 6F35s over the years and have a good track record with them. You can flush the newer ones as much as you want, but once the torque converter has had enough, the trans need major work. It's cheaper for most people to just replace them, but under warranty we had to fix them. The 6F35 has been out of production for a few years now, so most of them are out of warranty and I haven't done one in a while.
How similar is this to the Ford 2.0l Ztec? I had a beater ford focus with that engine and it was unkillable! I beat that car like crazy and that engine just kept going with almost 300k on it. Eventually the front wheel rusted off, but that 2.0 was still going strong! 😂
I dont know - my mazda 3 2.3 has 313k miles and still rolling, however, i have maintained it since I bought it brand new.
Awesome tear down… I learn something new with each video you drop.
Thanks!
Keep up the great work!
I loved my 2.3 in my ford fusion. Was slow. But got good milage. Only burned like half a quart in 3500 miles oil change intervals. Ran great. Just really noisy on cold start-up. Escpecially in winter
Did you run too thick an oil so that cam chain tensioner couldn't move quickly to take up the slack and stop chain slap?
The mid-week tear downs make the week fly by. Thanks Eric and thanks to your brother.
Any engine you tear down, I love watching.
I drive a 2006 ford escape with a 2.3 and it has been in the family since it was at 26k miles it has about 315k and it has been a great engine. Replaced the spark plugs one time, and a valve cover gasket. Other than that. She has ran strong. I’m religious on my oil so that’s probably why
An excellent educational video on the perils of not maintaining an automobile. Kudos to you and your brother for donating time, effort and expertise in making this information public. Cheers!
I love my 03 focus 2.3 but I'm meticulous on maintenance. I honestly wish I still had my zetec 2.0 though It seemed to be better balanced. The duratec vibrates a bit more than I like.
When you said speed 3 owners are gluttons for punishment... sir, I did not come here to be called out.
But you're right. And yes, I carry a gallon jug of top up full synthetic with me everywhere. My 09 has 326000 km and as tired as it probably is, it's still going. I check the fluids every time I climb into it, and its treated me well for the time I've had it. For a C$2500 budget racecar with a long history, i know its going to give up eventually. I'm just gonna enjoy it while it lives
Thanks for the mid week teardown. That was nice of your brother to provide an engine 👍.
I have a Forester with 320,000 and it started puking oil this winter
Thanks for another mid-week video! They're great and make the wait till Saturday much easier! 😁
Love that engine run video clip. Tear down is going to be great.
I had a 2006 ford fusion with this engine. Had 250k on it when we sold it. Never had a timing chain done and the water pump only started leaking at 240k. Had nothing but good luck with it. Never burned oil
I have over 200k miles on my 2005 Ford Focus, and those are mostly city miles, 2.0 can handle a beating as long as you use Good oil and good filter, check it once a month.
I do agree that non keyed crankshafts are stupid. It especially is a problem if you like making your car fast and they slip. For example modified s55s, n55s and n54s. However it does make timing the engine extremely easy.
@18:28 - Of course I see a problem. There is no head. Horrible compression numbers I assume.
You know Eric i really appreciate the hard work you do to have 2 engine tear downs per week. I hope your wife and baby are all well. I love your channel and your humour.
Noo ! Engine knock ? Throw in some a synth , glow sticks , strobe lighting , and you've got a rave.
Bearing basket lol. That was liquid rod bearing it for fuel mileage. Gets changed when you change the oil. If you change the oil
In the uk we had a lower cc engines in the mondeo/fusion and focus and various mazdas the worst one was the 1.8 duratec-he and from new they burnt oil or swallowed swirl flaps if they were hungry. It was down to gummed up oil rings, hardened stem seals or busted egr valve. Always happened even if you changed the oil every Wednesday.
interesting - thanks for the vid. I had a 2.3 MZR in a 2009 Mazda 3 5door - put a bunch of miles on it and sold it to another guy who still has it with no issues. I admit I do change oil regularly with decent product so maybe that's the difference? It did have one of the more difficult oil changes - cartridge filter with a stupid plastic under guard you had to take off every time you changed the oil, (maybe that's it? folks are lazy and just don't change the oil because its a little more difficult?)
In OZ we got them in the Mazda 3 "SP23"...Mostly manual gearbox and very prone to kicking a leg out....Mostly due to poor maintenance...Delamination of the Alloy bearings...Notice there is no "Locating Tang" on the main and rod bearings...I've rolled a set of bigends in one and saved it from a messy end...
Thank you for a Thursday morning video (New Zealand time frame)....
You are a great person... Please keep it up....
Engine sounds like Prog Rock or Jazz Drummer! 😁👍
Mike in San Diego. 🌞🎸🚀🖖
I had an 06 Mazda 6 2.3. Engine had a knock and burned soo much oil lol. Made it to 230k miles before I got hit by someone running a red light. That engine was surprisingly tough but they are definitely junk lol.
That's the sort of damage you'd expect from any engine that was poorly maintained. What I've learned about this motor is that the 2.3 variant really doesn't like high revs as its crank is weak and often just snaps totalling the engine. Now that's a true design flaw.
I finished up with my Dads 41 Pontiac about 1963 it had been an Army vehicle (No Nickel) although Right hand drive, so Australian assembled. Then because it had a Commercial Vehicle plate attached we assumed it was used as a Taxi in Toowoomba, I think I watched it turn over to all zero's ie 100,000 miles most likely for the third time. My Dad had put a new timing chain in it but I found the timing chain very worn, not too many thousand miles later, but there were no guides. I should have made guides out of Iron Bark timber, (Google Australian hardwood) that would have lasted the rest of its life. Ted from down under.
Knocking on the 250K door with my Mazda 5 (2.3)! So far so good!
Don't forget to check your oil level frequently and you'll be fine!
Looking for a manual mazda5 now...many clean 2.3 versions out there but this video scares me. 2012 and later manuals seem harder to find!
The placement of the idler pulley is diabolical. Sadly they are the same on the 2.5L to.
*"Except Subaru!"*
I just got done putting new rings in my '03 Forester. Got tired of 1000 or less on a qt of oil!
The oil rings were glued to the piston. The little oil holes behind the oil rings were filled with carbon that was brown! I literally had to use a drill and a small bit to open them up! I have around 400 miles on it since the engine work. Don't know if I was successful putting it in a 12 step program or will it relapse? LoL 😂😆
this was very informative! i have a 2004 mazda 3 with 280k same motor she's burning oil and i'm torn on what to do. the car has been great to me 5 speed manual great on gas and bought it for 1500 4 years ago used for commuting daily driver only. not sure if i want to rebuild or dump and move on!
Maybe just keep driving and topping the oil off.. Cheaper than replacing the car
I have a rare 2008 Ford Escape XLS manual trans with 2.3L engine. Mine is only at 133k miles, so not so much. I just bought it recently. The engine is in phenomenal shape for its age and runs perfectly once I got the throttle body cleaned out a bit and swapped the EGR valve to get rid of the money light. I've had it long enough to change the oil and mine was down maybe a third of a quart after 5k miles. I do use oil additive to help with the efficacy. Maybe I'm one of the lucky ones, but I've had it checked thoroughly by a trusted mechanic and we can't find anything wrong so far. Runs smooth and has plenty of power. It's cool to see a teardown of this engine. Thanks for the vid!
my friend bought an 05 xls manual 4wd with 176k and little apparent previous maintenance. It now has 205k. he's pretty hard on it too, but he keeps oil in it, and that's enough to keep it running great. does yours have cruise control? his does not. Enjoy, they're pretty good cars for what they are
I own since new a 2009 Mazda 3 with this engine and it has 223,000 miles on it.
I had a couple of emission related issues and that's about it for the engine.
It doesn't burn a drop of oil between 5000 mile synthetic oil changes.
This is by far the best engine I've ever owned.
I have virtually the exact thing going on. 260000 miles,,never burns oil, drive it every day
So where was your engine built????
Window sticker says Japan@@JohnSmith-yv6eq
That may explain it.
There appear to be significant quality differences between Japanese/ European cars manufactured in USA/Mexico
and those made in their "homelands".
@@rhino6285
mine burning lot of oil but it was neglicted by previous owner, good engine though. I am going to rebuild it myself.
That run video has a pretty good drum beat to it.
My 2015 2.5 Skyactive GDI is clean and running great due to 3k OIC's since purchased. Now 89k miles.
You can run 5k mile interval safely on that engine. I think 8k is also safe with good oil and even a little more if you have a lot of highway miles and you're doing more than 2 changes a year. I'm at 203K miles on my 2L skyactiv GDI and you really have to try to screw them up.
My first video(s) a few years ago were the Mazdaspeed 3/6 MZR engine. Full circle.
You finally got to the engine in my very well aged 2008 Escape Hybrid that’s still rocking along at 226,000 miles. (I’m assuming mine has different cams since its Atkinson cycle.) I had been warned about the timing chain wear, and oil tests from Blackstone Labs haven’t detected any abnormal wear. I’m testing every 10,000 miles on full synthetic oil change at 5,000 mile intervals.
I’m hoping to make it to the end of this set of tires at about 260,000. It’s now the “dog car,” and has truly been the most reliable vehicle I have owned, so far. Hoping it will be my third vehicle to make 250,000 miles with no major engine woes on the full synthetic 5,000 mile oil change plan.
I’m going to pull the valve cover at the next oil change for my first look inside. If it looks good, it will get an updated radio with CarPlay & Android Audio.
I had this in my cx7 turbo. Got it to 180 k. It took a second turbo and slot of oil. Didn't buen oil just leaked out from every where. Also did timing at 70k. Loved it but frustrating.
Note another commenter stated the PCV system woefully undersized..
so if the suck doesn't overcome the blow...
pressure builds up in the engine and leaks are far more likely to result...
I remember those early 2.3's also had an issue with the oil pick up being too close to the bottom of the oil pan and starving them of oil. I believe Mazda had a TSB but not a full recall for them where they fixed it by either changing the pick up tube or the oil pan, i cant remember.
My 2008 Ranger with the 2.3L has 181K miles, uses no oil and runs great. I use Mobil 1 and i change the oil every 8-11K miles.
I love these engine teardowns because they give me background noise whether that’s for doing chores or sleeping. It’s been super awesome helping with that
Just wondering is there no swirl flaps on the intake manifold on the 2.3 as there is on my 2.0 in the UK thanks. Jeff
Had a 06 Mazda 3s with the 2.3 and a 5 speed very fun car, until it started the same tap dance ~70k miles. On the first year 3's they also had oil pick up issues.
Love all the videos. Midweek surprises are awesome!
I love my 2.0 08 Mazda 3! Great little motor. 130k. Never burns oils and I swear at 5k the oil always looks super clean.
Got this engine in my 2007 Mazda 6 GY. 290k km (180k miles), runs as good as the day I've bought it @180k km (113k miles) little over 2 years ago. Preventive maintenance is the key. Oil change every 5k km (10k max) / (3 - 6k miles), check belts / rollers and so on. Only things I had to replace was AC compressor 1 year ago and starter motor last month.
I’ve owned 3 Ford Ranger’s with the 2.3 Duratec: 2004, 2009 and 2011. Sold the 2004 February of 2022. Still have the 2009 with 162,000 and 2011 with 196,000. From what I’ve read on the Ranger forums these engines are usually reliable and usually last to at least 200,000 miles and can last past 400,000 or even 500,000 miles. But in early 2022 I bought some snow tires from a guy who had his 2.3 Duratec Ranger die right at 200,000 miles. He said that he religiously changed the oil at 3,000 miles.
A side note you might find interesting: I parked my 2009 Ranger March of 2021 after the clutch slave began leaking and I removed the battery. The truck had 147,000 miles. I put a battery in it June of 2022 and it stumbled to life. To my surprise I was looking at the odometer and it was reading 130,000 miles. Nobody did anything to the truck in the 15 months it sat.
Have one if these in our now beater CX-7. Change the oil every 4k mile religiously and only use premium fuel. 130k miles and never had an issue with it. Still doesn't burn a drop of oil either. That being said, if you neglect these AT ALL, they will not be kind to you. It's probably due for timing chain guides at this point, but the job would be more than the car is worth and that's not a job I'm willing to do in my garage on jack stands. So, it's going to be interesting to see how much further it goes.
10:28 This sort of setup is 125% just a giant upright middle finger aimed squarely at shadetree mechanics. I raise one right back at them and refuse to buy their anti-right-to-repair bullshit.
One of the reasons I like boxers. None of the prophylactic NHV/rigidity stuff.
I loved my Mazdaspeed 6! That is, until I blew the engine on the track, probably due not to oil issues, but a lean condition in the high speed corners. Ended up replacing the engine, driving it for a few years more, and finally selling it once I started hearing bad noises coming from the rear diff. I got a good 10+ years and 120k miles out of that car, so not too disappointed. It was a rare, finicky, and fun car. I can see why it sold so poorly, and isn't remembered much, but back then, it was the oddball choice if you wanted STi power and AWD but didn't want to pay STi money.
Recently sold my 07 Mazda 3 2.3L hatchback. Last year I started looking at engine costs just in case, in part from watching this channel. Because of that Duratec legacy, the 2.5L Ford from the Fusion drops in with relatively minor part swapping and was far cheaper than a Mazda 2.3L.
I hear that drummer on a street corner. The guy was playing some 5 gallon buckets, and probably made more than all of us tax free. Motor sounds great!