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I just purchased a 92 Mazda MX-3 GS that has a Ford 1.8L engine in it. K8101 and K81A1 are on the heads. I know the 93-97 Probes have the Mazda 2.5 engines in them, but what car did this K8 come out of?

Also, the car won't idle at all. Cuts off as soon as foot is remove from gas pedal. I have tried sitting idle, resetting TPS, changing TB, changing ECU's and VAF. Anyone have any idea what the problem could be?

Originally posted by Wrapper:
I just purchased a 92 Mazda MX-3 GS that has a Ford 1.8L engine in it. K8101 and K81A1 are on the heads. I know the 93-97 Probes have the Mazda 2.5 engines in them, but what car did this K8 come out of?

Also, the car won't idle at all. Cuts off as soon as foot is remove from gas pedal. I have tried sitting idle, resetting TPS, changing TB, changing ECU's and VAF. Anyone have any idea what the problem could be?

Thats a mazda motor, a k8 is a Mazda 1.8L that comes in mx-3 V6's. Its the same block as the 2.5L in a Probe GT/MX6 LS (which is also a mazda motor). There is also a 2.0L model of this motor as well as many variaions of the two.

So you're saying the engine in this car is a 2.5 and not a 1.8.

No, its a 1.8L MAzda motor.
If it says ford, its only the vavle cover.

the guy could have put a 2.5 probe valve cover on it and replaced the mazda one

Thanks for the help with my 1st question. Now for the 2nd question. When I purchased this car it had an erratic idle. It would jump back and forth between 900 and 2000 and somtimes higher. Sometimes it would idle so low it would stall. I checked for air leaks, including the intake hose. I reset TPS, adjusted the idle adjustment screw all while jumpered out. Finally I took TB off and cleaned it and ISC. While the TB was off I cleaned the front of the intake opening. The pencil shaped cylinder on the left side of opening was completely closed off.

After replacing TB car will not run without holding the gas pedal. Also it runs very rough. Any ideas to what I may have messed up.

What cars did the K8-ZE come in? I know there's a 2.0 KF-ZE that really is in Fords. Thought there might have been an overseas Ford that had the K8-ZE??

Originally posted by lakersfan1:
What cars did the K8-ZE come in? I know there's a 2.0 KF-ZE that really is in Fords. Thought there might have been an overseas Ford that had the K8-ZE??

JDM versions of the MX-3: I believe they are called Eunos Presso and Autozam AZ-3

I think JDM Ford Telstars came with the K8

That may be correct because I went back to the guy that sold me the car and ask him where did the engine in this car come from. He said he brought it from a company called Japan Direct. He said that he over heated his first engine and purchased another 1.8 to replace it. He said funny thing was when his engine arrived from Japan Direct it had a straight neck intake on it and he had to swap intakes with his old engine. He said he also had to change flywheels.

If this engine came out of a telstar will it work properly with a 1.8 ECU? I have tried all I know to try to get it to idle.

Originally posted by Vicious:
I think JDM Ford Telstars came with the K8

and KFZEs

Well, if it came from Japan Direct, then it's either a K8ZE or a KFZE probably. I don't believe either will work with the K8DE computer. You need to figure out what engine exactly it is and get the computer for that particular variation.

My guess would be it's a K8ZE since the heads have K8101 and K81A1. The serial number is K8 289020. If that's the case what ECU do I need?

I would almost completely guarentee that the previous owner screwed up the stock mazda cover somehow and sourced a ford probe valve cover (since they are about 5 times more abundant) and shoved it on there.

I don't see why anyone would swap a K8-ZE into a mx3, or any other car for that matter. And if your car was basically stock when you purchased it, i highly doubt it has a strange JDM motor swap like that.

Guy I brought car from swears the engine came to him from Japan Direct with Ford valve cover on it. His mechanic even questioned the company about engine and they said it was a K8 that would work if the straight neck intake was swapped for curved neck. He even showed me the intake that his mechanic removed from the engine he brought. Car has never run right since swap. He sold it to me because he was tired of messing with it. I brought it for a good price and trying to get it running.