Thanks fellas for your replies. I have always valued your input to this forum and others and have learnt much from you. I am sure I am not alone in saying thanks for your selflessness in helping others.
Andrew I am with you. Throw me a grey any day and I can generally work most issues out. Wouldnt even know where to start with this even though I have done a little online research and have a few suspicions.
Dr Terry you are so so right about getting the right person for the job hence why I posted here. Before we left I had our local mechanic service the car but I am not sure what this actually means these days. For a long time we had it serviced at our local Mazda dealership where we purchased but was not entirely sure we were getting value for money. About 18 months ago we had the engine light come on and all they did was clear the fault. Before going to them I read the error code myself and told them what it was.
These as I said started past Albury. By this stage we would have travelled approximately 4 hours with a break about half way into the journey. What happened was I lost all power going up a hill as if it was starved of fuel. I was able to pull over which can be hairy on the Hume and was right to go again. The motor never stalled. I had to do this a number of times. My initial thought was crook fuel as we had filled up as you do prior to leaving (I think the tank was low at the time). We got to Holbrook and I topped the fuel up (only about a 1/4 of a tank) and put in a bottle of injector cleaner. Had a break at Gundagai before heading off again. We got going and all was good for an hour to an hour and a half and it presented itself again. I found that I was able to manage the drive most of the time if I took cruise off and kept the revs up to 3000 to 3200. When we arrived in Canberra I felt if i tried to push the accelerator the same would have happened a lower speeds. The car sat idle in Canberra for a couple of days but I tested it before leaving. The issue wasnt there.
We got to Goulburn no worries, coincidently about an hours drive. Once again about an hour or so afterwards the issue presented itself again. I perservered having to stop a number of times on the side of the highway until we go to Penrith. Had another stop and issue reappeared on the outskirts of the Blue Mountains. On the way back to Sydney after a couple of days in the Bule Mountains I made sure we stopped at Penrith for a break (less than an hour). We got to the airport without issue.
It seems ok for an hour to an hour and a half until I am sure everything is well and truly heated up(eletrical?
). On thing I think I have noticed is when I have had to stop that there maybe a humming noise coming from back of the car. Fuel pump?
I dont think I am hearing things.
I have had a look online and it seems it could be a number of issues- MAF and EGR sensor, spark plugs / coils right through to a crook CAT. Interestingly while in Canberra I noticed around the MAF sensor that it was / is oily-greasy. In addition the two screws were loose and as a result the sensor was able to move in the airtake housing slightly. I did tighten the screws up but this made no difference. I read online about cleaning these sensors which seemed an easy job but didnt do so.
Sorry for being so long winded. This is why I didn't want to post the symptoms initially as I knew I would write an essay. If you are able to give me any leads on someone who maybe able to source the cause of this problem, preferablly on the airport side of town I would be so thankful. If I need to see someone on the other side of town so be it.
Once again, many thanks.
Rod
