NEMOC Random BS Thread

Another successful Mazda climb!

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Nice looks cold, what was the temp up there?

Wasnt to bad considering, high 50s but the wind was gusting at 35 mph. This was the 7th year I think, and only the second time it was worth wandering around at the summit. Past years we have stopped on the dirt section to get photos because it was so cloudy at the summit.
 
So I did my first oil change on the 3. This is it's second oil change. I had a freebie done by the dealer. So I check on youtube to see how it's done, no biggie. So there are 2 clips that hold a flap in place and a bolt. So I go underneath and I find one of the plastic pins are missing.

I'm dying to see what the service dept will say.
 
I LIED!

not giving up on p5 yet. Got the old alternator out, somehow, so a new one is going in. Then to evaluate clutch hydraulics to see if they really are bad, or just need to be bled. Clutch doesnt slip, just hard to get car in gear sometimes unless ya pump the clutch pedal a bunch
 
not giving up on p5 yet. Got the old alternator out, somehow, so a new one is going in. Then to evaluate clutch hydraulics to see if they really are bad, or just need to be bled. Clutch doesnt slip, just hard to get car in gear sometimes unless ya pump the clutch pedal a bunch

You're going to need to bleed it again when you replace the hydraulics. The car's almost 20 years old, might as well replace the master slave cylinders then bleed it once.
IMO and all that :)
 
You're going to need to bleed it again when you replace the hydraulics. The car's almost 20 years old, might as well replace the master slave cylinders then bleed it once.
IMO and all that :)

plus master and slave is only $40. I can get behind that :).

I'm also shopping for its replacement now. Only one car on the list, Honda Element. Whenever I find one though I will still continue to drive the protege. That thing aint going nowhere obviously
 
Oh yeah, for $40 it's a no brainer. Do it all once and forget about it, vs doing the hard part twice lol
 
Im not looking forward to removing the master though, looks like slightly difficult to get to. Also found it a little weird that the clutch master uses same reservoir as the brake master, but maybe thats more common than not. Either way what I care about most is getting the alternator back in next week, then running through emissions so I dont get hit with the penalty for being late, then Ill work on the clutch hydraulics.

So tired of driving miata every day. Need this thing back on the road.
 
Test drove an element up in VT over the weekend. The price was looking very good but boy the rust on the bottom killed it! Oh well, just gotta keep searching.

New alternator going in p5 tonight though. It will live on!
 
I have a college friend with an Element. He had it stored for years and just recently got it back on the road again. I got to drive it when it was new. It was fun and the gear stick high on the dash was perfect for quick shifts and keeping two hands on the wheel in between.

Saturday is the day the motor goes back in the MR2. Came back from the machine shop a few weeks ago. The guy at the shop took care of cleaning up the cylinders, new crankshaft bearings, new piston rings, new crank seals, cleaned and reassembled the head with new gasket, valve seals etc. when I got it back, I gave it a fresh coat of gunmetal paint, and reassembled everything with new gaskets across the board. Alternator and A/C will go back on when its in the engine bay, as will the exhaust header. We finished off replacing coolant hoses up front and putting in a new brake master cylinder. The hubs, shocks, springs, brakes, etc from the old car have been swapped onto the new shell so shes basically ready to drive once we hoist up the motor, connect the remaining hoses and lines, and fill it with fluids.

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New brake master, the clutch master appears to have been replaced already, so didnt bother messing with it.
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New inner/outer tierods and steering rack bushings.
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Some crusty heater core hoses hidden under the front of the car.
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Yay for new hoses that no one will ever see.
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well I did it. Found it in Fall River, MA of all places. Completely rust free except for 2 little spots where windshield meets the roof. All underside is very clean. Only issue is a vibration at a few speeds which I believe to be a CV shaft since I swapped over protege wheels/tires and vibration was still there, plus an oil leak on back side of the block (likely the VTEC solenoid).

It has 240k, recent timing chain/head gasket job, new front calipers, new struts all around, feels like relatively new clutch, very healthy motor. Also its a 1 year production color which helps its value

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Wow, same color combo as my friends! Ill have to tell him hes got a collector car!

So with a little help from my friends, we have a running driving Mr2!

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Jacob stopped by to lend a hand, and the 3 of us got the motor under the car, and up into place in about an hour. We then worked for another 3 hours or so fiddling with hoses, wires, and vacuum lines. Didnt quite get to first-start that day. The next day we topped off the fluids, bled the cooling system, threw in the battery and tried setting the timing. It was way off, had to rotate the distributor several times before it was close enough to adjust. Next issue was fuel related. One of the fuel injector seals had a tear in it and sprayed fuel everywhere. Im pretty sure I lubed them during install but it must have snagged. I had some spares and made quick work of replacing them. After that she fired right up!

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Went for a test drive and came back with a new list of items to address.

One of the retainer clips for the shift linkage popped off and we lost 1st gear. Amanda panicked, I got it home in 3rd and ordered a new clip.

The windshield washer didnt work, turned out to be a busted pump, we snagged one from the parts car.

An output shaft seal on the transmission is leaking, Im working on that. Oreilly had a replacement but it has a metal retainer and wouldnt pop in without a seal driver. I put it in the freezer in hopes a second attempt will go smoother. That worked when I had trouble with the freeze plugs on the Rx7. If it doesnt work Ill get the OEM seal or rent a seal driver kit.

Car drives straight but I may get an alignment anyway when we get the inspection sticker. All the gauges are working, but the engine bay fan is stuck on. Not sure if its supposed to be. I know it is triggered by an engine bay temp sensor so Ill try swapping that from the parts car and see if it shuts off.

We had some issues with stalling but I think I just need to use a diagnostic jumper to lock the timing and set it again when the car is fully warmed up.

Lightweight flywheel and clutch will take some getting used to. We both stalled it a few times...but that may just have been because we were trying to start in 3rd.

Overall a successful weekend! Once I wrap up the seals on the transmission all thats left is an inspection sticker and decent detail job.


Ps, were going to try to make Japanese Car Day at Larz Anderson on October 6th and Radwood Boston at the same spot on the 12th. Both should be a ton of fun!
 
On second thought, I am going on the 6th, to Larz. I had the wrong date in my calendar! Cool, I will get to see all you and Amanda*s hard work!
 
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