Have Many b2000 Questions, Still After Many Hours Studying

1987 mazda b2000 (please see my new member post for info on how I got it) 164,000 5spd Manual... So Much Researching And To Sum It All Up All The issues I have, sound like many other issues stated on here, with tons of possible troubleshooting.. Now I have A 24-7 Headache.. Have Many Questions, These Are The Ones Driving Me Crazy

1. Where The Hell is The Vacuum Leak... A Friend Found One Under Carb Somewhere, Hes Checked Every Few Days.. Still Good.. Any Owners Or Gurus Know Where It Most Likely Is? How To Find?

2. Why The Hell Does This Thing Sound Like Its Dying When Driving 1,2,3 gear and then 4th and 5th sounds like she blowup at any second.. Sounds Much better when tank is above half, friend whos a mechanic, and dumbass me who speaks highly of this site are in a never-ending argument... He Says Gas Weighs Truck Down More So its persona/experience results in Smoother Ride.. I argue that yes weight is a factor, but something much more is going on and weight helps hide..

3. on a 2.0 L engine, 5 spd manual, 1987 b2000- What makes and models of any vehicles match up effortlessly... interior and exterior..

I see a couple options for problem 1. I've never worked on a b2000 but this is general advice that might work for you.

a. Inspect all the vacuum hoses one by one for cracks. You may need to remove the hoses and flex them a bit back and forth so that the large cracks that may allow a leak open up a little and are easy to see. Don't flex it too much or you might actually tear open a leak, but to be honest if that's the condition your hoses are in they probably need to be replaced soon or you risk breaking down away from home. Another trick I've used is to remove a hose, plug one end with my hand and then blow into the other end to see if I could make it leak.

b. A mechanic could probably find your leak pretty quick. The guy I go to charges $70 min to diagnose a vehicle but you might find a better deal or a mechanic from craigslist who could come over and help you find it quickly. One advantage to going to a shop is they hopefully will diagnose all the things that are wrong for that one fee.

problem 2: I don't know a ton about the b2000 but if the problem changes based on the level of fuel in the tank I'd suspect a faulty fuel pump or clogged fuel filter. Half a tank of gas is under 60 pounds so "more weight smooths out your ride" is total BS in this case. Otherwise I'd just carpool with an obese person, stack a bunch of 5 gallon buckets of water in my truck bed and then forget about fixing any mechanical problems since I'd have the smoothest ride ever. Oh, one other thought, are you following the shift points in the user manual? I watch the tach and shift so that the engine stays between 2200 and 3000 rpm when possible and that pretty much lines up with the manual's recommendations (b2600i). Obviously in 5th gear at 80+ mph your engine speed will be quite high and it's going to be screaming but other than that if you're shifting properly and still having issues then it's not your shifting and I'd probably check the fuel system, read my service manual and then take it for diagnosis if none of that presented a clear solution.

3. no idea but some junkyards I've been calling lately have been able to look in their computers and tell me which other vehicles have parts that match what I need for my truck. The only "effortless" match is when you find a truck identical to yours. Sometimes other years will work but not always since designs change from year to year.

good luck!

Cosmic I Appreciate Your Wisdom!! Much Needed!! Now More Headache to my life..

i keep complaining to a friend of mine whos decent knowledge for cars that im hearing a grinding noise when accelerating.. hes drove it once, says im a fool and want a 87 to sound like a mazaratti and to deal with it, all fluids clean and full, i do have some sort of rattle when i accidentally early shift but was told thats some sort of heat plate?? and then theres the muffler nonsense but at my junkyards someones always already got to em before me and i love all the heads as i go over speed bumps, NOT......

the rook thinks maybe the tranny isnt full? (manual). i have (well, had until today) what you all have described as slop shift, very loose.. i read on here about bushings and what not for the shifter, scared to do mine, i did the ones at the yard, and between the three shifters i gutted i was able to get all the pieces.. coincidentally, today i keep thinking the grinding sound coming from the shifter tower is getting worse, louder, sounding like somethings scraping together, not the kind of "cant find em grind em" sound, but like a scraping noise while accelerating, consistent until coasting neutral, but still there very much just sounds like its trying to stop.. ive had the fluid checked they are getting annoyed with me at oil can haha, its dripping out every time they loosen, claiming it couldnt expand that much.. my fluid is mt-90 which is redline and high quality i hear.. redlines site recommended...

last night driving, hear a sound like some change rattling under my hood, ( i thought it was my junk in the back the truck.. made it home fine, this morning she ran fine, pretty much out and about all day, then at 10pm, big old noises, i turn the key off hella fast, and coast to my breakdown in parking lot of oreileys.. (fuck that place, i know they arent technicians but jesus even me and my martha stewart mechanics knows that a 2wd truck doesnt have a transfer case smh) so i rip the shifter tree out, install the bushings i got from yard and squirted some emergency 80-90 (i know, not the same but i knew it would work until home for drain and refill) in through the tree there, bout 10% of the quart and take off..

friend and i agreed driving she sounded a bit better or at least not worse then before pulling off into oreileys.. and the bushings def helped the slop, she seemed nice feeling but extremely tight, loud, and scratchy, scrapy due to whatever the hell the problem is..

by this time, im pissed, i have a mean temper, i just heard weird noises again clunk clank kind, pull over, rip the tree out real quick, squirt the rest the bottle of 80-90 down in there, and yelled at the truck "you wanna do something, go ahead and blow up at least i wont be stuck wondering anymore, junkyard will give me more for your remains than i did for you alive".... i turn the hazards on, and just gunned it across town to home, scrape scrape grind grind, but no clunks...






someone help me please.. is this the stupid throw out bearing i keep hearing about? did the morons i thought knew what they were doing install the clutch wrong (2,234 miles ago, firm pedal, seems nice, ?/) or was the tranny low, and my quart got me home, but shes still way low.. if you know this crap for certainty, please pm a good number to call or text teach this rookie whats up@!

As for what swaps easily, the years are a bit off depending on the country/continent, so it can be a bit tricky to make sure it is the correct part.

Mechanically, for '87 B2000, any '85- '87 2.0L. Some '87 - '93 2.2L parts will also swap, typically most anything not timing related. The driveshaft length and setup is dependent upon the type of cab and bed (extended cab, long bed, etc.) and there are both one- and two-piece setups, so be careful. When porting over options not originally meant for your vehicle, there may be some issues. For instance, I'm moving over the power steering from by '87 B2000 to my '87 B2200, and the cooling line bracing in the front will have to be customized because the mounting nuts are not there.

Interior, all of this style generation (4th) of the B Series, especially B2000 and B2200 should swap. Again, depending on your type of cab and options (radio, shifter/type of trans, etc.) some thing will be different like consoles, carpet, or seats (bench or bucket).

Exterior again depends on the trim level, but swapping is typically seamless. There are virtually no differences between the B2000 and B2200 (except the embossed tailgate on the B2000); however, there are some differences with the B2600. I personally have no experience with the B2600, so for details, others may be able chime in, such as Cusser, Dan, or Earl, to name a few.

It is easy to check the level of our manual transmissions.

There is a square bolt on the side of the tranny that is your fill hole. On a flat surface pull that bolt out and the level of fluid should be equal to the bottom of the hole. If you over filled it it will pour out until its at the correct level. If nothing comes out stick your finger in there and feel for fluid. If you cant feel fluid it then you are low.

I use Redline synthetic gear oil in my manual b2200 and it shifts way smoother than the factory recommended fluid but its expensive as all hell!

If you have internal problems with the gears or bearings in the tranny then replacing the fluid is pointless. You might try a drain and refill to see if you have excess metal shavings or chunks in the fluid.

Also check your carrier bearing and U-joints for the drive shaft if the shaft is a two piece, the carrier bearing might be bad.

Is the noise only when moving or at a stand still too?

Is the noise consistent when you push in the clutch? or noise only when Clutch in/out?

Good luck on your search.

got the transmission figured out and yeah the redline mt 90 is what i used in it before and now that i refilled....

the noise happens during acceleration, moving, and stops when moving in neutral, or standing in neutral.

Sounds like something is messed up in the tranny, that has to do with the input shaft. Either input bearing, gears on the input shaft, possibly poorly installed clutch and bearings.

On my dads car a shop that installed a new clutch and didn't torque all the bolts down well enough, one of the bolts for the clutch came out and was smashing around the bell housing. It was an interesting drive, they ended up having to replace the clutch and bell housing, after all the clunking grinding and smashing it blew a hole in the bell.

let me ask you this, i also have a different problem thats happening, my parking brake light is on all the time even though its not, been told a sensor could be going out, is it possible im just flippin drivin around with the brakes on all day? lol would explain the hard shifts, grinding noise i hear... when i push on my brakes though those seem fine in the sense that theres no squeeling grinding coming from the pedal, they react pretty quick.. parking brake on a diff system?

If u think the parking brake is on put the truck in neutral and try pushing it. That will answer your question right quick and in a hurry

I agree with mymmeryloss. Try to push the truck, see if it rolls freely or not. Or you can jack up the rear end and try to spin the tires (in neutral, Parking brake off) *make sure you block the front wheels if you jack it up.

Might also just be the light is shorting out. You should see two wires coming from the back of the hand brake, the contacts might be damaged and shorting out, or somewhere along that circuit, try a "wiggle test" on those wires with the parking brake off and see if the light flickers or changes at all.... also just check your brake fluid level, I don't think there is a fluid level sensor for it but it couldn't hurt to check.