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New here 2003 zx3 5 speed long intro :)

5K views 26 replies 7 participants last post by  gaspricessuc 
#1 · (Edited)
Name is Mark, 23, 20 month old daughter, been on car forums for years, 3 mitsubishi mirages, first one was all show no go, 2002 black autotragic, tints, system, black rims chrome lip, black halo headlights. 97 black 5 speed intake, exhaust, headers, 95 5 speed intake, most of the modded cars i have owned have been mirages. i am heavy into car audio, i love bass, i am a bass head. and i plan to put something in this car.

i come from mirageforums, dodge stratus forums, blazer forums, nissan versa forums for my parents, and a saab forum from my old saab and parents saab.

other then that i just finally got accepted to the air national guard after a year. drive my parents spare 2004 zx5 auto with 203k miles as you see in the pics. dead silent.


2003 ford focus zx3 hatch back 5 speed 104k. Work in progress, got it primered and lowered on lowering springs and blown stock struts, new Maf will be needed and cracked intake manifold. i traded a 98 5 speed golf with 113k that was a rot bucket, left rear door didn't open, power locks didn't work, needed ball joints in front, evap leak and 02 sensor for this focus.

this focus has a short shifter kit in it as well.














Here is my youtube for car audio people and wheeling people. most of my cars systems are on my page, i have a lot of videos
http://www.youtube.com/user/gaspircessuck?feature=results_main
 
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#6 ·
oh man that is awesome, I always love having way different cars then everyone else, hence my mirages and what not. I do plan to try to build this car a little bit after basic training and what not. I was told by my buddy not to turbo this motor because it and the tranny couldn't handle it, and would probably want to swap in the z-tec engine.

like in the mirages swapping in a 4g63 engine and that thing can make up to 800hp.
 
#7 ·
I had the same exact problem as a lot of people here, i traded a rotting out 98 vw golf for my 2003 zx3 and heard the hissing, my mechanic friend sprayed the intake manifold with cleaner and heard the change in idle and thought it was thought. my other friend and I took off the manifold and saw the cracked pcv hose, so we came on here, read this thread, bought the toyota hose, and will hopefully be putting it back together today.

this is a reply to that intake hose thread. here is my work so far



 
#10 ·
The Zetec platform is strong no doubt.. but Duratec responds sooo much better to mods.. As far as boost? it can handle it just fine dude.. IMO its all about the tuning.. any car can handle a turbo.. its the tuning that makes it last.. look around the boost section of the site and you'll see plenty different applications
 
#11 ·
Yeah that is what I was saying to him, you can boost any car, you just need the correct tune.

I deff will be looking around, I want to build this up a little bit before a turbo, after a turbo and the right tune/more mods, I want to make anywhere from 200-600 hp if that is possible on this engine.
 
#16 ·
So the problem continues with the car bucking and cutting off at 3200 rpm with the maf connected. Car just drops in power and bugs down. new maf sensor, new pcv hose.

Last night we tried disconnected every sensor and connector we could and nothing changed, even changed the fuse relays and what not and nothing. Seems like it is cutting out the fuel at 3200 rpm.
 
#17 ·
did you check the plugwires, coil pack and fuel pump? I have a similar issue but mine dies out at 4500 rpm, its at the paint shop so i havent been able to address it, but my gut tells me its wires and plugs..
 
#18 ·
they pulled out each plug and they were all fine, the plugs kinda under the fuel rail? i was texting so i saw out of the corner of my eye. fuel pump turns on when car is on you can hear it loud and clear.

like i said when the maf harness is connected to the maf sensor on the intake, it runs like shit, but when it is off, it runs fine, well obviously not fun but it doesn't try to buck/die

decided to take a pic of how low it is around the tire while i pulled over one time.

 
#22 ·
For correcting flow on the MAF- it's flat, looks like a credit card sort of. There are 2 holes that the air flows through. One is near the connector, and one is on the opposite corner. The one nearest the connector is where the air flows out, and the one furthest away from the connector is where air flows in.

If that's not the problem then you need to post a thread in General Technical Chat. This particular thread should be in Duratec Performance. Moving it to Tech chat won't do you any good. People who answer threads in there don't usually answer new threads with 3 pages. Once we get a problem, we latch on to it until it's resolved, then move on.

If you want, you can mess with your buddy. Ask him how he thinks you're supposed to change the timing belt since the valve cover doesn't have a timing belt inspection cover.

Moved to Duratec Performance.
 
#23 ·
Got rid of the elbow and blue connector and intake does sit between battery and headlight, and maf can not be turned around.

also a reply on focaljet

"There should be a place for an air straightener a white grid plastic peice that fits in the end of the MAF tube, that should face down toward the filter. I don't know if that's your problem but it's worth a try."
 
#24 ·
Well if it can't be turned around, then maybe that tube was put in backwards. Did you look at the holes in the MAF as I described to see if it was turned around the right way?

If it's pointed the right way, then it is not the problem unless the wiring is damaged somehow. From what you described, it could be the TPS, you'll have to get out your multi-meter and test it to see if the resistance is correct.
 
#25 ·
Yes sir the holes linded up when I put it in, that is the only way it was to be bolted.

I had a few codes before I Fixed the pcv line I shall post them now

p0171 system too lean
p0102 maf (fixed that)
p0113 intake air temp
p0452 evap system pressur sensor low input
p0453 same as 52
p2004 intake manfiold aka the pcv hose (fixed)
p2008 same as 04
p0068 throttle
 
#27 ·
Update, took it to my ford dealership, found a bad wire in a maf harness so they fixed that and replaced something else, only is throwing two more codes now, a intake runner code, there is a bad wire there, and a fuel pressure, they noticed the gas tank was dropped so they were thinking when the person put the tank up they crushed the harness.

already giving them $410 to fix the maf problem, also the maf elbow was backwards.

Here is the pic with the new hub cap on and new grey seat in -_-



 
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