What have you done to your P5 today?

Not what I did to, but eventually for.

Finally got the timing components together. Oil pan repainted gloss black as the original paint was flaking.


ad8e1568de60634e468f66091cd41b50.jpg
8443a240aaff8a0471a0da0fca5c91b9.jpg
90f626d959a2f2e9a74c99c9283e247d.jpg
 
Not only that, but look up the price for the set versus for the normal FS motor. I cried.

Filled oil pan with oil and it was weeping out of a pinhole. Mazda price: $165. RockAuto top dollar price is around $80...

I kind of dig the layout of the motor though. Not only does the cam gear setup make the heads a bit more compact, but timing it is no harder than timing a DOHC 4 cylinder cause there's just two gears to worry about. Time each set of cams in each head, then time the heads to the crank and voila!
5f8239e1f9664b6f8fbd674aa432b361.jpg
558b1bc6988ec66f092d47a51b7d26cd.jpg
 
Got a ton of work done on the P5 this weekend. Finally brought it home to my apartment, got the spare filled up, jack installed, rear trunk organizer/stock sub installed (car did not have organizer/sub, or a spare when I bought it), replaced the broken tail light and side marker light, installed LEDs in the side markers and license plate lights as well as the brake light bulbs, installed tribute washer nozzles and new front wipers, installed the front strut bar (was missing when purchased), installed Kenwood MSP speakers in the front doors, replaced broken passenger side mirror, removed AC controls/stereo to replace with screen and fix AC panel lights that are burned out (ordered on ebay), fan switch connector is totally burned up and melted, going to grab an ac panel from the JY this weekend from a yellow 03.5, cleaned license plate light housings, cleaned console, installed short antenna, replaced door weatherstrip on passenger and driver front doors (were torn up from locking keys in car I assume).

Still need to replace rear hatch plastics, two rear seatbelts, clean hatch carpet, condition leather seats, find passenger front seat cover, vacuum/detail interior and claybar/polish paint, get windows tinted, replace fogs, install MZ6 rear wiper, paint wiper arms, remove door guards, install MSP front lip and mirrors, adjust E-brake cable, bleed brakes and clutch, install springs from one of my MSPs and get some tires for my Racing Harts. Car is coming along nicely, and the AC is ice cold.

It is incredibly slow, it's been a while since I have owned an N/A protege, but I plan to turbo it in the near future to fix that. So much for having a reliable daily!
 
It is incredibly slow, it's been a while since I have owned an N/A protege, but I plan to turbo it in the near future to fix that. So much for having a reliable daily!

i think about this every time i drive the p5 lol. i can barely keep up with traffic
 
Checked on my girls in storage.

Loaded spare parts into newly leveled garage. Un boxed spicy flashed MP3 ecu.

Waiting for next weekend to bring them home :-(

Cant wait to start building. Have my winter planned for sure.
52ed4bdbf2bf2003d41c871041050ad9.jpg
afce87367616bba1a37d741848062a21.jpg
0406aa54f97b676a6e189333f933b6b6.jpg
998490f911d59c05e67e2c66ce9a110f.jpg
fd5b3c3303799bc77abcc42bea342aa8.jpg
 
Installed an MSP radio pocket in the P5 last night, put the newly cleaned console in, installed the 03 sparco MSP shift knob, put new rubber covers on the clutch and brake pedals, replaced a bulb in the AC controls with an old one I had that works, and tried cleaning some of the black crap off the headliner from the previous owner's cigarettes.

I also drove it to work today so I can get miles on it to get it inspected.

The fan switch is completely melted in the car and has been repalced/broken before so it is not secured to the HVAC setup. The HVAC/radio trim panel also has broken clips so it sticks out. Will swap those out soon once I find a new AC control setup. I pinched the connectors for the wires on the fan swtich and it works now somewhat in positions 1 and 2, when before it only worked on 3 and 4.

Does anyone have the spare tire sub in their car? I installed it in mine (car isn't pre-wired for the sub so I will be using it as a spacer for the floor/trunk organizer) and can't remember where the 3 foam blocks go. Any pics would be greatly appreciated, I cannot find any online.
 
I will say it is nice to drive a new car, even if it is old, dirty and very high mileage. I miss my old P5, it was so clean!
 
I thought the same when I got my 02 P5 (had an 03 at the same time)

It was just... different. It drove differently, shifted differently, smelled differently... It was cool. When I get into my Subaru and drive it for the winter, it feels different. Then come spring the P5 feels "new" again for a few weeks.

Are you referring to the 3 loose foam blocks? If so, I removed those from underneath my spare tire/sub and haven't had any issues. There are the three that go under the false floor and those sit at around 5,6, and 7 AFAIK. The three loose ones I put at 12, 4, and 8 so they were evenly spaced, but I got tired of pulling them in and out when I would autocross.

Let me know which ones and I can go snag a pic real quick.

Regarding the HVAC issues, I actually followed the tutorial on here (or somewhere) and wired in the resistors to get the A/C to work on 1 thru 4. Bought a multipack of each of the resistors, wired them up, and everything worked 100%. If the switch entirely burned up though, I guess new switch and the mod would work best of all.
 
Installed an MSP radio pocket in the P5 last night, put the newly cleaned console in, installed the 03 sparco MSP shift knob, put new rubber covers on the clutch and brake pedals, replaced a bulb in the AC controls with an old one I had that works, and tried cleaning some of the black crap off the headliner from the previous owner's cigarettes.

I also drove it to work today so I can get miles on it to get it inspected.

The fan switch is completely melted in the car and has been repalced/broken before so it is not secured to the HVAC setup. The HVAC/radio trim panel also has broken clips so it sticks out. Will swap those out soon once I find a new AC control setup. I pinched the connectors for the wires on the fan swtich and it works now somewhat in positions 1 and 2, when before it only worked on 3 and 4.

Does anyone have the spare tire sub in their car? I installed it in mine (car isn't pre-wired for the sub so I will be using it as a spacer for the floor/trunk organizer) and can't remember where the 3 foam blocks go. Any pics would be greatly appreciated, I cannot find any online.

They go under the spare with even spacing
 
Yeah if you can show pics that would be great. I just have three loose foam blocks I pulled from the 03.5 in the junkyard and can't remember where they go. They won't fit under the spare tire. For now I just have them sitting around the bottom towards the bumper.

The P5 passed inspection today! Got a CEL for the deleted EGR last week but it has stayed off long enough for the other monitors to set ready and not throw a CEL. Now I can get it registered and transfer the title.

Last night I swapped the wheel for my old 03.5 MSP steering wheel, it is worn in the silver part but looks better than what was in it. Also installed an intermittent wiper stalk and swapped out both front fog lights and bulbs with some unbroken ones. Drivers side was smashed and passenger side had a small chip on the edge.

Planning to fix the rear seatbelts later today, clean the interior and install the MSP door sills and floor mats. I checked the mileage on my MSP cluster and it shows 233k. P5 is currently at 219k so I have a ways to go before I swap it since I want the mileage to be correct.
 
Regarding the AC switch, I had the issue with my P5 years ago but neither of my MSPs ever had a problem. I may try to find another 03.5 MSP HVAC to swap in and hope that will fix it.
 
Jeez, when do you find the time to do all this stuff? I have 3 or 4 things waiting to be installed, and I can hardly find time to sleep, much less work on my P5
 
Just installed an OBX short shifter I got from one of you guys here. Puts a pep in her step. I feel like I come out of first much faster.
 
New tires wipers and did an oil change before the mountains I just picked up some royal purple for the tranny and brakes are next
 
I could use some help please. Never had this happen when changing my brakes before.
Seems the caliper is getting hung up on something. As you can see it slides up nice and smooth like it should, up to a certain point. Then it jams up. Never seen anything like it. The caliper wasn't stuck to begin with FYI. I tried to retract the piston but that didn't work.
What do you all think?


Thank you!
 
Last edited:
Does anyone have the spare tire sub in their car? I installed it in mine (car isn't pre-wired for the sub so I will be using it as a spacer for the floor/trunk organizer) and can't remember where the 3 foam blocks go. Any pics would be greatly appreciated, I cannot find any online.
I have the factory sub and can snap a few pics for ya after work..........lemme look at what I have on hand. May have one from rr stb install...........nah, does not show foam. Are you talking about under the spare or under the flooring?

gtspec_rr_stb01.JPG
 
Last edited:
Back