KL Swappin' Protege5

That is honestly the plan at this point in the game.

Ran a leakdown test today, at 75# versus the target 100#. Results suggested cylinders 3, 4, & 5 aren't in great shape. From 1-6, I read:
30, 30, 40, 55, 45, 25. That's percentage leakdown.

Added oil to cylinder 4 and it dropped to 30% leakdown.

Now again, this is at 75# versus the 100# recommended, but the outlier coming down to the value the rest seemed to be at suggests that guy's not happy.

Honestly, I MAY (probably won't) put a few harnesses together in my spare time and put them up for sale as they're done. I need to reach a point where I can truly trust the stuff I out together, as I don't want to be putting kits together that the buyers would have issues with.

The only issue is interfacing with ABS as I don't have that so I deleted that entire portion from the harness. And AC is a desired item, but again, I don't have it and don't mind not having it.
 
Well, it happened...

I autocrossed it and,

It didn't break!

Much excite.

Day before the event I decided to switch the power steering suction hose from the heater hose material to a 3/4" I.D. fuel rated hose. I don't have absurdly high hopes that this hose won't begin to ooze over time, but as a stop-gap measure, it worked well enough to get the car to and from the event without fuss.

Overall I was impressed with the car. Going into the event, I was slightly put at ease due to my friend's parents' house being local to the venue. If anything super broke, I could at least limp it there and work on it as time permitted.

Running now four-year old RE71Rs put a small damper on things, as there could have been more grip, however they handled the added power rather well. One thing that stuck out to me is the different driving style that comes with having an LSD installed. I found myself getting more comfortable directing the car with the throttle as the day progressed, and fell back into my "lift off and let the car rotate that way" driving style when it suited me. There was a Chicago box that I couldn't really figure out, so that was a bit of a bummer.

Comparing this to my mate's NA 3.0L swapped SVT Contour, I would have to say on this course, he probably could have had me easily. The added torque the 3.0L has down low allows it to really pull out of corners. Nevermind the fact that he's on Hoosiers.

I think I'll finish out the rest of this season on the existing tires and reassess what I want to do come the winter time with regards to refresher projects. Throwing on a modified OE front strut tower is relatively high up on the list as I never did get around to putting that on. Other than that, I could go ahead and start taking weight out, but I really don't mind having an otherwise stock looking car both inside and out.

Anyways, TL;DR here's a video of my fastest run


And a picture before the event.
 

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Looks fun! Those appear to be some sticky ass tires! I've only ever ran all seasons and basic summer tires and also rarely been at track events. Do you ever plan on getting the KL swapped p5 dyno'd?
 
Looks fun! Those appear to be some sticky ass tires! I've only ever ran all seasons and basic summer tires and also rarely been at track events. Do you ever plan on getting the KL swapped p5 dyno'd?

They are stickier when newer lol. I try and budget in a good set of winter tires and a good set of summers as I tend to drive the car hard when it's nice out.

I want to, but would like to get the exhaust put on first. That way I have a decent baseline for if I decide to tune/build it up more.
 
Note to self:

When you think you should replace something "while you're in there," DO IT.

Took the old girl out for a drive after parking her in July after the autocross and noticed a few drops on the driveway when I let the car sit for a little while. Turns out the shift shaft seal has given up the ghost...

If I'd driven the car more often, I might not have run into this issue so soon, but I think it's a good reason to tear it apart to look at the differential bearings to make sure they aren't pitting as a result of the wrong amount of shims.

On the bright side, the car fired up right away which means
1) the battery is pretty resilient, and
2) there isn't a drain on the battery, something I was somewhat concerned about!

Planning the offseason mods in advanced, I'd like to

1) have the steering wheel reupholstered with a different material (the GTI is ruining me with how it feels)
2) grab a new seat, perhaps two, for the front of the car
3) think about and probably won't have the roof resprayed, as the car cover seems to have taken a liking to the clearcoat

We'll see what changes in the coming months!
 
Update on the "do it" seal:

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New replacement in hand. Of course, further inspection reveals that, indeed the transmission must come apart to correctly R&R the seal.

Older transmissions, by my observation, had provisions to remove the seal without taking the transmission apart. This however, is not the case here.

Hoping to get the transmission on a bench and apart this coming weekend. May put the 'box back in while I'm home, as that would shorten the to-do list whilst the weather is miserable out.
 
Fixes; tenatively. I'll put the lump in next weekend.

Note: a pickle fork and force applied in a shear motion will pop out the shift-shaft seal. Accurate application of force? No, probably not. But it worked, and didn't damage anything beyond repair!

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I managed to get my mate to omit installing the shift gate and dust boot for the shift shaft...

Hopefully next weekend I'll have the thing thrown back in the car, as it's supposed to be a balmy 65 where I'm at!
 
Note: a pickle fork and force applied in a shear motion will pop out the shift-shaft seal.


Pickle Forks are an awesome tool.

Every kitchen needs one... Lol

Regular forks don't work very well at all.

The pickles just bounce around in the jar.

You gotta stab one. Lol



 
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A rather frustrating update: transmission is in

BUT there's a noise, a new noise, that my mate reckons is the 5th gear rubbing on the case cap.

On our friend's road-race car, this is a chore to remove the cap due to the stiff motor mounts from AWR, but since I'm running a Rockauto replacement passenger side one, I reckon pulling the front mount and transmission mount should afford me the room I need to inspect that area.

That's a task for when it's warmer and I want to deal with it again. The warm snap is leaving in a few days, and working on cold metal isn't my idea of a fun time...

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An update to pull this thread out of the depths of hibernation!

I decided a month ago to dust the cobwebs off and start the Pro5 up after its winter slumber. It didn't like that one bit, and neither did I. Dead battery was to be expected (but hopefully whatever drain is on it is minimal). The cloud of smoke from the backside of the engine after removing the plastic piece holding the throttle open wasn't. The mist of smoke from the accessory belt side of the motor wasn't either. Nor, to round things off, was the pegged coolant temperature gauge, something I'd forgotten about after parking the car for the winter. That was a weekend in the wraps - nothing good could come of this.

Last weekend, however, was nicer out. I decided I'd go around with my OBD dongle and my voltmeter to assess the coolant temp and battery voltage while running. This allayed my fears that 1) the alternator was smoking as it was shot from the winter and b) that the coolant temps weren't getting HOT HOT HOT (everybody).

Having put those concerns to bed, and observing no more smoke, good oil levels/pressures, and no overly problematic leaks, I took it out for a good jaunt. Put 75 miles on the Pro5 over the Friday and Saturday, mostly stress testing the car as best I could. Nothing seemed wrong, but we all know where this is going...

The noise from the transmission has since gone away, luckily. I did check the fill level after around 50 miles and found it slightly low, so added more fluid. While down there, however, I was elated (read: dismayed) to find some fluid still leaking out of the transmission. Knowing I've got a new shift shaft seal, I wasn't inclined to believe it was that, so now I get to play "where's it actually coming from?!"

My immediate guess due to its proximity to the area is the speedometer sensor. I have a box of assorted size o-rings, and a spare sensor from my other transmission. So on the docket for next weekend I'm home is taking that sensor out and seeing if I can't once and for all seal the transmission up!!!

A video of the sound from in the cabin attached. I've got to align it, and then I might take it on longer trips provided I regain my confidence in the thing :)

 
Bad news, but news nonetheless.

I think that I may have cracked the transmission right in the area where the VSS plonks into. This may have all come about as a result of beating on the thing at the autocross almost a year ago, but I was chasing the issue thinking it was the shift shaft seal (it wasn't) and then moved on to the o-ring that seals the VSS into the transmission.

I would clean the backside of the bellhousing up, start it, leave it in neutral; no issues.

I then put it in gear and left it in gear for a few minutes and that's when it would start to weep. But it didn't weep in a "normal" sense out of the o-ring.

I mis-diagnosed it as the shift shaft seal because the fluid would run down the back side of the bellhousing next to the rear motor mount, and then it would run down and around the shift shaft seal.
Numerous times I'd re-sealed the VSS o-ring, with RTV, and it would still leak.

I looked in the bore after suggestion to do so by my mate and there's a diagonal score in the bore that continues into the transmission case further.

I'll take the transmission out and assess what to do from here. My own fault for not running a trans saver brace. I genuinely didn't think they'd do much, but I'm now discovering firsthand that they do. I'm not sure if others have suffered a similar fate on the MSP given relatively similar power outputs with the added torque being applied down low? I can't be the first person to experience this failure, but I've not seen this particular issue mentioned much.

In other news, I now own this...

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1998 SVT Contour. I think that it'll be a welcomed change from the Mazda. Maybe make me appreciate what I have with the Mazda as far as simplicity goes 😂😅 It needs some TLC mechanically, but the chassis itself is near immaculate. I plan to keep it stock in terms of the interior. Scored a 3L engine to go with it, so that will be the project for the summer while I keep an ear to the ground as to what the scoop is with the KL transmission. That motor needs some refreshing too.

Now I'm not on the road for work, this should be an easier feat, fixing things, and breaking them again!
 
Dang that's a nasty, weird leak! Good to hear you've narrowed down where it's possibly coming from.

Excuse the ignorance, where does the trans brace normally sit?

Never seen a Contour before! It's like a mixup of the Probe and a mk1 Mondeo front end, neat!
 
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Dang that's a nasty, weird leak! Good to hear you've narrowed down where it's possibly coming from.

Excuse the ignorance, where does the trans brace normally sit?

Never seen a Contour before! It's like a mixup of the Probe and a mk1 Mondeo front end, neat!
I know! I was seriously irked thinking it was the shift shaft seal. Realistically that may not have had to been replaced, but here we are!


I hope this is allowed; this is a seller who's got a photo of the brace. Looking at it, the brace sort of secures the differential housing a bit better from behind. Hope the pictures on the site help/show up!

Oh heck yeah! So the Contour is our Mondeo "sister." It was meant to be Ford's first global vehicle. I might try and put another thread together for it. Expect slow updates for that though - I'm going to take my time working on it :)
 
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I hope this is allowed; this is a seller who's got a photo of the brace.

I'm sure you're fine. I post all kinds of links and pictures. Lol

Looking at it, the brace sort of secures the differential housing a bit better from behind. Hope the pictures on the site help/show up!

Yup.
I see them...

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Holy Crap !! 96 bucks !!!??

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I'm sure that Lanki can fabricate his own brace for free.

So do those braces come with packages of glitter so that you can customize the artwork ?? Lol
 
... Looking at it, the brace sort of secures the differential housing a bit better from behind.

I'm not questioning the value of having the brace.

I'm questioning the value of having that particular brace.

It just looks like a $16 part with an $80 paint job...


I did just spend $113 last week to have my car undercoated again, so I guess it's sort of the same thing ??

I've spent more in the past two years undercoating my car than what the car is worth as scrap.
 
Thanks both, looks nice and easy to fab up!

Looking forward to the progress on the Contour, should be a fun project!
 
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I'm not questioning the value of having the brace.

I'm questioning the value of having that particular brace.

It just looks like a $16 part with an $80 paint job...


I did just spend $113 last week to have my car undercoated again, so I guess it's sort of the same thing ??

I've spent more in the past two years undercoating my car than what the car is worth as scrap.
I laughed at this. When I saw the price, my reaction was "Holy crap, only 96 bucks?"

I guess the aftermarket autoparts industry is used to making custom things and selling them at a huge profit, and I'm used to seeing that price as normal. Sometimes RockAuto looks like a scam until you realize that the other guys are the ones marking it up.

I can definitely see this part being easy for a machinist to do in a day for much cheaper than $96.
 
I laughed at this. When I saw the price, my reaction was "Holy crap, only 96 bucks?"

I guess the aftermarket autoparts industry is used to making custom things and selling them at a huge profit, and I'm used to seeing that price as normal. Sometimes RockAuto looks like a scam until you realize that the other guys are the ones marking it up.

I can definitely see this part being easy for a machinist to do in a day for much cheaper than $96.

Yeah, each one is custom made.

If all P5's had a transmission brace, they would be mass produced for cheap.

I'm no machinist, but I would try to make my own if I needed one.

I've got a drill press, a grinder, and a dremel tool. Lol
 
I actually have a half a mind to have the shop where I work laser out a brace out of 14ga ss material... I had a skid plate made back in 2012 that I never did install made of 14ga ss, and to say that thing could have survived a boulder impact would be an understatement. It's only got to add some stiffness. I could double them up if needed too...
 
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