The Protege has more in common with the Focus's predecessor the Ford Escort. They were both built using the the Mazda B platform. The Focus used the Ford C platform, along with the Protege's replacement Mazda3 and the Volvo C30. The C platform was co-developed by all three companies at Ford's R&D plant in Cologne, Germany.
I had rust issues in the exact same spot. It didn't last as long as I would have expected for a Mazda but I also put some hard miles on it delivering pizzas.
These are great looking and handling cars. Unfortunately they are garbage. They rust VERY VERY BADLY, burn intense amounts of oil, and have constant problems with engine management (pinging, stalling, etc.)
Rust you are 100% correct about. The 2.0L 16 valve we have in Canada are usually very reliable and mine burned no oil, regular oil changes and good quality gas are key for these. Intake butterfly mechanism needs to be opened wide frequently to keep from seizing, make sure to get to 6k rom every few days to keep them in good working order.
@@midealautoclub I have an 02 p5 and I have this issue (I have a manual btw and I know some autos have a problem) but when I start, and it’s idling, it feels like it wants to stall and with the shitty Mazda engine mounts, it feels like the engine could fall out at any moment. Anyways I have to blip the gas when I come to stops so it doesn’t run too low. Like it won’t die, but it’s just not a comfortable feeling or sound
@@phoenixironchild1453 I would start by cleaning the throttle body, excess buildup can cause it to almost choke because of lack of air. Simple procedure just be careful not to have the gunk go down the intake.
