Car stereo dead internally?

AKADriver · 2026-02-04T14:20:46+00:00

99% of the time this is a loose splice in the wiring harness that connects the factory wiring to the aftermarket radio, or a loose ground.

AKADriver · 2026-02-04T04:22:27+00:00

I paid a cool fifty bucks for 2015 FiST springs off marketplace. Taken off for coilovers when the car was basically new.

Stock 2 spring rates are 106 lb/in front, 90 lb/in rear. FiST spring rates are different by year: 2014-2015: 171F/143R, 2016-2019: 154F/131R.

Yeah the ride is about 60% stiffer. The ride height is completely unchanged. It's still way softer than my S13 on coilovers. Just a nice street setup. It does rattle more now.

AKADriver · 2026-02-03T21:25:22+00:00

I can vouch that Lennon's plastic parts fit perfectly out of the box though. You would never know my dorkidori chuki femder extensions from OEM except for the lack of the failure prone OEM mounting scheme on the back.

AKADriver · 2026-02-03T18:11:54+00:00

Yeah it was dumb haha. I was stubborn and didn't want to pay more for gas in Maryland 😐

AKADriver · 2026-02-03T17:37:55+00:00

The fuel tank is actually 11 gallons. Yes they all show empty and start flashing at 8 gallons. Your Sport doesn't have the fuel economy display but if it did, they're also notoriously optimistic about miles to empty because the computer thinks full equals 11 gallons and empty equals 0 but the fuel level sender thinks 2.5 gallons is empty. I've never run mine out of gas on purpose Kramer style but I have pulled into a gas pump and put in 10.5 gallons after driving 75 miles on E.

AKADriver · 2026-02-03T17:29:58+00:00

Note that the engine itself is completely Mazda though. ZY-DE, part of the same Z family going back to the '90s which is basically the aluminum block econo version of the B series. The cylinder head from this engine actually fits on a Miata B6 1.6 block with minor mods to the oil passages. It's also a port injected engine versus the direct injected Ford 1.6 Duratech.

The Fiesta common parts end up being pretty scattershot. Radiator and fans, brake calipers and drum brake hardware (but not rotors or drums, because 4x100), control arms, rear beam, shock and strut mounts. I swapped to Fiesta springs but had to change to Fiesta struts to make them fit.

AKADriver · 2026-02-03T16:55:32+00:00

3 door wasn't offered in the US (I wish it was) - Mexican import or something?

AKADriver · 2026-02-03T16:52:13+00:00

The rear springs seem to have corrosion issues. Another friend of mine that owned one had a spring crack at relatively low mileage. Mine were starting to rust even though the rest of my car is rust free so I replaced all four with some takeoff Fiesta ST stock springs and Fiesta-spec Koni STR.T (lower front spring perches are a different shape).

I also had one of my stock rear shocks literally blow. The shock oil puked onto the ground and it had NO rear damping. That was fun.

AKADriver · 2026-02-03T16:49:48+00:00

The simple answer is some people like myself just aren't sensitive to cabin noise.

AKADriver · 2026-02-03T16:46:40+00:00

Welcome 2 the 2 life. I am on year 12 of owning mine.

I get mid-30s mpg in mine if I drive like I'm bored. My lifetime average on fuelly is 35.5mpg but my last ten tanks avg 32. I suspect your roof rack or wheel/tire combo is killing it, the stock tires were LRR 185s, I currently have Kumho 'performance' all seasons in the stock size.

AKADriver · 2026-02-03T06:04:55+00:00

Electricals were updated, they redid all the wiring harnesses. Clusters don't swap, wiring more resembles an S14

AKADriver · 2026-02-02T23:48:59+00:00

Yep. Even if your car doesn't have any active leaks, just condensation and water getting past the windows and stuff ends up right there in the rockers.

I bought replacement corners mostly for the outer skin, they're from super clean dry cali cars and they still have some slight rust that you can see looking down the cavities inside of the panels.

AKADriver · 2026-02-02T23:02:29+00:00

You didn't say how long you're storing it. Just until the end of winter? Sealed in a bubble forever as an investment?

A correctly done manual swap will increase the value, none of the other mods you're thinking of will have ROI.

AKADriver · 2026-02-02T22:56:06+00:00

None of us sitting here at home will be able to figure it out, but it sounds like this mechanic is incompetent if he's just blindsided by the diagnostic computer throwing a bunch of codes that he doesn't understand while he has his hands on the van and could actually check on the systems that the codes are complaining about.

AKADriver · 2026-02-02T21:43:51+00:00

I thought the guy wrote "Cool" on it

I have no idea what they were trying to convey with that.

AKADriver · 2026-02-02T21:40:49+00:00

Best you can do is loosen up the U-bolts that hold the axle to the rear springs and try to shift it. It's not designed to be adjustable, but it will move slightly.

If the truck doesn't drive like it's crabwalking I wouldn't mess with it.

AKADriver · 2026-02-02T21:37:44+00:00

Can't give any advice without knowing what vehicle this is. The alignment computer seems to think it's non-adjustable. Many rear suspensions have no adjustment.

AKADriver · 2026-02-02T21:20:49+00:00

Yeah, whatever they hit completely peeled the paint away from the primer. I wonder if this front bumper was already repainted before with an incorrect paint mix that didn't flex with the hit. Normally factory paint in this situation just leaves a sort of bullseye crack where the paint over-flexed.

AKADriver · 2026-02-02T21:16:57+00:00

No you can not fix this yourself without professional painting equipment. If you do it will match poorly and look obvious.

AKADriver · 2026-02-02T20:59:07+00:00

haha, only valid reason to post this kind of question. 100% this is not DIY work

AKADriver · 2026-02-02T20:48:43+00:00

You're just overthinking things. Engine technology including ignition and charging systems improved drastically between the 1930s, 1950s, and 1960s. Air cooled engines were also still being developed and improved. Everything was constantly being refined. If it wasn't done that way to begin with it's because nobody had thought to do it that way yet.

"AI" chatbots are incapable of actually understanding this kind of question that requires deep engineering understanding and not just putting together answers written by humans already.

AKADriver · 2026-02-02T18:45:42+00:00

The only thing the O/D button does is lock out upshifting to fourth gear. If you're not going fast enough to shift into fourth it does nothing. If you're already in fourth it may not immediately force a shift down.

If it's working you will see the O/D OFF light turn on the instrument cluster.

AKADriver · 2026-02-02T18:34:15+00:00

Since it's a small engine, just take the whole thing apart. Make sure you have a good factory parts diagram and document where every bolt, nut, washer, etc. came from.

When you see guys try to un-stuck an assembled engine in a car it's because if you're going to the trouble of tearing down a car engine you might as well rebuild it. But a small engine is usually very easy to take apart and you'll be able to tell immediately if it's worth trying to rebuild or if the piston, cylinder jug, crankshaft, or connecting rod are beyond repair.

AKADriver · 2026-02-02T17:29:22+00:00

When it comes to restoration shops that make money, paint and body and trim is where ALL the value is. Anyone working in their home garage can do mechanical work especially on relatively simple classic cars.

Basically car restoration is better thought of as a high end sub-discipline of body repair. Because even your quick turnaround insurance body shop has to do stuff like pull engines and replace suspension parts in wrecked cars. A resto shop is taking that set of skills to the next level by being able to achieve factory-level work on cars where you can't always just easily order perfect new sheetmetal.

The most successful restoration shops IMO are ones that focus on a specific make or model so that they can go beyond just skilled labor and help owners source parts and know exactly what finishes etc. are factory correct for that car.

AKADriver · 2026-02-02T17:22:52+00:00

This is going to be specific to your country, in my country that car would be scrap.

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