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For about the past year I have found it takes a long time to fuel up my car (NB8A) as the bowser nozzle keeps clicking off. I try different angles and nothing works. I just have to dribble the petrol in at very slow speed. At first I thought it must be poorly maintained nozzles but it happens at different service stations so it is definitely the car. I read up on it and the most common cause is a blocked up breather tube from the tank to the top of the filler pipe, though I don't know what it would be blocked up with. Sounds like it should be a simple job with the car on a hoist so I took the car to my local mechanic who couldn't dislodge the bottom of the breather tube and said it seems to go right into the tank without an external connection and may need a special tool from Mazda to get it out. What do you guys think? Is there a special tool? Would a Mazda dealer workshop have that tool? Is there another cause I'm missing?

Have a look at this thread http://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=476840

the breather tube is right next to the filler tube. look in the wheel well under the filler cap. if you are having a issue with air getting out as fuel is going in. then all you need to do is fit nozzle in fill hole, now pull out 20mm. the air will now pass the nozzle.

Thanks for your replies and advice guys.

In case someone has a similar problem in the future and pulls up this thread, here's what worked for me.

First I got a fairly thick length of garden line trimmer line and threaded it as far as it would go into both holes at the top of the filler. One is the breather, the other is an overflow. Yeah I know the overflow wasn't the issue but I had the line there and there was a slot to put it in, so who wouldn't?

Then I got the garden hose, NOT attached to a tap, cleaned the hose so as not to get muck into the tank, then pushed the hose as far as it would go down the filler pipe.

One of these things fixed the problem. I guess we'll never know which one, but oh the joy of filling the car afterwards with the bowser nozzle at full flow!

Quicksilver wrote:Then I got the garden hose, NOT attached to a tap, cleaned the hose so as not to get muck into the tank, then pushed the hose as far as it would go down the filler pipe.

Sounds like it worked ok, but for anybody else doing it be careful not to force it too hard.

Many tanks (not sure on MX5) have an anti syphon sock thingy to stop the tank being syphoned, if you jam something in too hard you can break it off and then it floats around in the tank until the day it gets sucked against the pump inlet and strangles the fuel flow.

now whatever was blocking the breather pipe is now heading for your fuel pump. fun times.