Recent content by lmdshepherd

Interesting to read through the various opinions, especially as a non-american. Can see the same themes (majority of people live close to where they grew up, high housing market cost, high living costs, people staying home longer into adulthood etc) occurring to other people (of similar age)...

Agree. Consuming 1 quart per 1000 miles represents (to me) a severe mechanical issue which is unlikely to be solved by switching to a higher viscosity oil. If your issue is stuck rings, hopefully running Valvoline R&P (or equivalent product) will help. If it doesn’t work…time for more invasive...

Works quite well on Mazda cars as well (including 2013 and later Mazda models where Mazda operated independently from Ford). EDIT: Posted too late!

What was the spill quantity? 3L? 4L? Or something else? I'm guessing spill quantity was close to 4L given you let the car sit overnight and (presumably) didn't start the car before you drained the transmission.

This will blow your mind:

For inner tie rods (as well as outer if you don't have the right sized spanner/wrench), I'd use a Stilson/pipe wrench. 250mm/10" or 300mm/12" works well.

Mazda 6 with the 5 speed FS5A-EL transmissionmission (from what I've read, this transmission is very similar to the Ford FNR5 transmissionmission found in the Ford Fusion, Ford Mercury etc). At 125,000km (when I first purchased the car), I completed a "drain and fill" using Mazda M-V...

Nah, not at all. Pretty easy to get down on 1 knee and measure pan temp using an IR temp gun. Coolant and transmission oil temp recorded using forscan (amended my previous post to include this info).

That doesn't surprise me. Mazda have done it for years. My car (Mazda 6 with the older 2.5L MZR engine) uses (from factory) a 82c thermostat. Whist (unfortunately) I don't have an oil temp sensor installed, I've recorded temp readings using an IR temp gun measuring oil pan temp (max was 95c)...

Nothing stopping you from performing your own bedding procedure (despite what Akebono tell you). Bedding pads is relatively quick and simple to perform. It may help, it may not...basically you've got nothing to lose by trying... For example, here is powerstop’s procedure...

Could it be creep groan? Sounds like it to me… OP, does the noise subside/disappear as you get heat into the pads (find an empty stretch of road, perform 5 medium to hard brake stops from 60km/h to 10km/h, then drive around and see if the noise is still present)? If the noise substantially...

Looking forward to seeing the results! Science, not speculation 😂

Ok great! Yeah, the noise itself is harmless. It's just annoying hearing the noise when the brakes are cold...but the noise (at least for me) disappears after you get some heat into the pads... For my car, the noise began after a pad switch (OEM semi-metallic to Ferodo semi-metallic pads...

Sounds like you've got "creep groan". Here is sample noise to confirm if you're suffering the same symptons... It's harmless (it typically disappears as you get heat into the pads)...it's moreso an annoying noise to hear when the brakes are cold. To fix, either machine your rotors, or...

Fixed it for you...