1988 Mazda B2200 2.2L from North America
Summary:
A fairly reliable mule
Faults:
The choke failed but cannot be replaced without replacing the whole carb.
Rear brake cylinders failed at 190K.
Engine rebuilt at 99K, under warranty luckily.
Plastic bench seat disintegrated at 150K from exposure to sun and cold!
Head gasket has to replaced every 20K due to oil leak of unknown origin.
Distributor failed at 175K.
General Comments:
Choke problem causes very poor mileage in cold conditions, but is not a problem in summer.
Lacks power in mountain driving- uphill in 3rd gear at 80 km/h is typical.
Engine has cooling problems in high stress driving situations, like going uphill in the mountains.
Oil consumption is only moderate, but is quite visible on startup.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 30th July, 2001
5th Oct 2004, 10:28
Hi!
I'm so eager to learn more about warped cylinder head and how to make remedy on it.
I owned a B2200 96 model GSX Mazda with an R2 Engine, Got it from a slightly used store. My problem is that after changing the cylinder head gasket and have it re-torqued several times, still I have some back pressure coming out from my radiator. First, I used asbestos type gasket and it last for about 6 mos only. Now I changed to steel type and at the start there was no problem until my engine heat up. so I tried to re-torqued it and it temporarily OK then back pressure still comes out.
I'm planning to add a "SPARCO" gasket sealant at my head gasket will that be OK? If not then any suggestions? Thanks a lot.
29th Jun 2002, 03:13
Your head gasket problems may be due to a warped head.
Ever had it checked for straightness?
All cylinder heads are made so that a slight amount can be shaved off, to correct a warped condition.
The warped condition may have been caused by excessive engine heat, as you state that overheating is one of the problems with your truck.
From what you wrote, my suggestion is to have the engine rebuilt.
It's got about 50K on it, since the last rebuild, which really isn't all that much.
I rebuilt mine at 120K, ONLY because all the gaskets had hardened up and were leaking, however, you seem to have a lot of problems with that engine that are often associated to a "worn-out mill".
One "designed in" oil leak, stems from the front cap for the camshaft, which is expose, since it doubles as the boss the distributor connects to.
This bearing cap has no provision for sealing oil, and even the factory manual recommends sealing it with some form of RTV, or Permatex (brand name) on the mating surfaces.
I did this when I rebuilt my engine and it worked for about 5000 miles, then the Permatex blew out and the oil leak started up again.
I even went as far as "surfacing" the cap on a lapping block, before reinstalling it on the engine.
Although I do have to state that the oil leak isn't as bad after I rebuilt the engine, as it was before.
I've resigned myself to live with it, and just keep a close eye on the oil level by checking the dipstick on a regular basis.
One cause for your overheating problem may be the radiator.
Remove it and have it professionally cleaned and see if that doesn't cure that problem.
I actually had mine replaced a few years ago, while trying to seal up a worn out water pump.
Replacing both the water pump and the radiator (since it was so clogged up with Stop-Leak) cured my problems, it may help you as well.
Dean