Once the search is back up, you can check out what I mean. There are a couple of huge threads on this. Your 00 ES prob isnt ULEV compliant so its probably different from my p5. Im not a mechanic, my explenation is based on all of the reading Ive done here on the site and on experimentation Ive done on my own to get rid of my cold start rattle.

The vacuum hose that I disconnected has not affected my performance at full throttle. When I follow that vacuum line it leads to a vacuum actuator at the end of the intake manifold runners, almost right at the head. This actuator only opens when the engine is cold, when it warms up, the actuator closes. The actuator basically controls plates within the runner that get in the way of the airstream to make it more turbulent for better mixing at cold temps. Once its warm, the plates get out of the way. It just so happens that when you disconnect the vacuum hose to this actuator, the plates dont come up, and there is no cold engine rattle.

We probably have different solenoids on top of our intake manifolds. I just dont know if Whiteblur's car is ULEV. If it is, its probably the same setup as mine. If its not, then its weird that he has a cold engine rattle, since most of this rattle has been associated with the p5 and the pros with ULEV.

A quick way to tell if youre ULEV is to check if you have two catalytic converters. The first one is only inches from the head.

 

Carlos is on the money from everything I have read. The noise is the plates of the VTCS - it is not detonation, pinging, knocking, or any other potentially damaging thing. This sytem DOES reduce emisions during warm-up, which is typically when any engine emits the most pollutants.

Chdesign - I don't think your 00 ES has the VTCS we have. Even the MP3 does not have this - it IS a system that makes our P5s (and 2001/2002 2.0L sedans, other than the MP3) ULEV compliant, and I'm pretty sure that before 2001, all the 2.0L's were only LEV, not Ultra LEV, vehicles.

If it was the solenoid or system you speak of, the noise would not disappear once the car has reached operating temperature, which it does.

I'm sure you know much more about our engines than I do, however there is a Mazda service bulletin covering this issue, which DIRECTLY blames the VTCS - Variable Tumble Control System. The bulletin also recognizes that it is temperature related, and in fact states the temperature at which the system kicks off and the noise stops.

So take it easy on the guy, because it looks like you might be the misinformed one.

And I would stay away from bougha's advice about changing to such thin oil - NOT a good idea. And it will not solve the issue. It might make it shorter-lived each startup, becuase the engine willheat up quicker. But such thin viscosity oil is only recommended for very cold winter driving, and is not the way to solve this issue. Stick to 10w30.

The noise is a bit of a nuisance, and that is all. Your engine is suffering no damage as a result of it. "Shutting off" the system by blocking off the vacuum lines to the solenoid shouldn't cause any problems, but I have the rattle, and have learned to just live with it. It's not a big deal, and as long as I'm suffering no engine damage from it, I don't really care about it. Mazda is supposed to be working on a fix and will contact dealers when it is available. I would expect that they are trying to come up with the cheapest fix they can - since it is not an engine damage or safety issue, there is no rush to get it done. They may never come up with a solution, because I imagine it is a big deal to re-design and then replace these systems in the cars, and they don't want to just disable it and lose the ULEV status for them, or worse yet - issue a true recall for something that is just a nuisance.

Notifying your dealer that you have the rattle is the only thing you can really do now, other than just disconnecting the vacuum lines. When (and if) a fix comes out, you'll be notified. I'm thinking your dealer gave you the right info, but just substituted the word "Timing" for "Tumble". But from what you said, it seems they have read the service bulletin and are on top of the problem, which is good.

And yes - once the servers are fixed, do a search and you will find a TON of info about it.

~HH

 

has anyone tried running higher octane gasoline.?

 

Everyone read hihoslva's post, he's right on the money. This issue has been discussed many times, it's caused by the VTCS system which reduces cold start emisions. It ONLY affects 2001-2002 2.0L Protege's and Protege5's.

As hihoslva has said, Mazda has confirmed this is the problem and has issued a technical bulletin. Supposedly, they're working on a fix.

For a temporary fix, go here and scroll about half way down.

 

Sorry about that i thought that the solenoids were the same on the 1.8L and the 2.0L just one more reason i'm glad i have the 1.8L FP-DE motor and not the FS-DE....quicker revs, better gas milage, better rod ratio, lighter stock flywheel, flatter powerband and yet i can still use the FS cams and pistons to make my FP even faster than it is already fromt eh FS. Oh yeah and BTW I raced a new 2.0L and drove a 2.0L myself and my 1.8L can kick its butt!!! lol

 

Carlos and hihoslva are right-on-the-money

Once the search is up you will see how many posts there is on this subject.

I tried different gas etc.

I tried different sparkplugs.

The only solution was to disconnect the vaccuum line from the solenoid.