The Electric Booger has been running great. Now that the weather turned cold...well...for around here, around freezing, I definitely notice the lack of performance (AKA voltage sag). But my range hasn't been affected much, or so it seems. Not that I ever exploit the full range of the car anyway.
A few weeks ago I started to get a squeaking noise coming from the right rear strut area. At first I thought it was a problem with the ex-rear seat, battery rack, hatch or even the body cracking because of the extra weight. Then the noise progressed to a clicking noise. Then on Thursday, as I rounded a corner and hit a bump, there was a large BANG, followed by a constant RATTLE CLUCK KNOCKIDY KNOCK KNOCK. I stopped for a quick visual and finding nothing obvious, I kept driving.
Up on the jack with some interior panels removed, I was startled to find that the right rear strut mount had rusted right through and broke. Here's a video:
It turns out that a guy at work used to have a Mazda Protege and an extra brand new strut mount, which also broke on him and also fits MX-3s. I gave him a few bucks for it, borrowed his spring compressor and made short work of making the repair.
Check out the rustiness:
And the knackered strut mount:
I should probably get another strut mount for the left side and replace it as well, just to be a little bit proactive, hey?