PCB's Unbuild Thread

pcb

The Diagram Dude
:
2002 MP5
After almost 8 years on this forum, I've decided to start a build thread of sorts.

I have no interest in mods and have very little knowledge of them.

I'm going to focus on regular maintenance stuff including my ongoing battle against rust.

I also have a parts car that I want to take apart.
I want to try to remove a piston or two.
It was a real oil burner so I want to inspect the oil rings. (the PO even wrote "Check The Oil" on the gas cap)
I have no intention of rebuilding the engine or even putting it back together so it should be easy to pull it apart.

I just like knowing what makes things tick.

I just got a new wiper stalk to install so I'll post a few pics of that.

The weather's getting nice now so it's car season again.
I might even wash my car !!
 
I want everyone to feel free to post anything they want. All comments (including dumb ass ones), questions, criticisms or requests are welcome.
 
I managed to get my stalk installed.
I had a bit of a hard time finding the screw heads in the column cover. I had to crawl under on my back to look up with a light and screwdriver.

I forgot about using my JIS screwdriver bits until I got the cover off but used it on the little screws inside.
You can feel how much better it fits the screws.





The same JIS bit fit all these screws. It looks way too big for the little screws but it fit perfect.
The yellow screwdriver has a regular small Phillips in it.






New stalk installed.



I decided to skip the first step.



I think Mazda got a little carried away with that instruction and my car idles like crap after I disconnect the battery.

While testing the stalk I realized my wiper was shot.



I decided to install new blades in the wiper frame (because I'm a cheap ass. 2 refills for $10)
I had to bend the clips open a bit so the new refill would slide in.



I cut off the excess and I'm good to go.

 
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Now it's time to wash the car.



It's just about time for it's yearly undercoating.
You can see how the oil dripped out the drain holes at the bottom of the door and creeped/seeped up the outside. That's a good thing.

This isn't a good thing.



I think I'm just gonna leave it be.

I might try to clean the dirt off a bit then some touch up paint and clear coat.

It's crumbly to the touch but at least it's still red. Sort of.
 
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Woohoo, this should be interesting!

I'm sure you attention to detail is going to come in handy here :)
 
It was another nice day so I decided to tackle my passenger side door seal that was ripped off when it was frozen to the door sill.

I managed to hook it back on but it's just dangling there.





These are the little clips that attach to the seal.



Here's another pic of it after I turned it.



This is how the clips ripped out of the hole.



I have to go charge my cellphone.
 
I wiped off the seal and the bottom of the door then wiped it down with alcohol.

Everything was going smoothly until I ran into this.




I was going to use contact cement.
It's cheaper if you buy the big can but not if half the can turns into Jello.

Then my brush started to fall apart so I crimped the brush tighter and decided to use silicone instead.





The seal had swelled and one end would pop off while I was attaching the other end so I decided to cut it.





The ends weren't lining up so I put some tape on it to hold it together while the silicone dries.





After it dried I took the tape off.



Not too bad, I'm calling it fixed.

I do have a door seal I could transplant from my parts car but that involves taking the door panels apart and that seemed like more work.
I can always install it later if my fix fails.
 
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I just bought one of these.



Does anyone know if I've got a seized bolt, am I better off using it or is it better to use my breaker bar to break it free without snapping the head off the bolt ?
 
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Every time I've had a seized bolt, and just used sheer force to get it out, I ended up breaking the head offer whether it was a breaker bar or impact. What "improved the odds of success" was using pb blaster (or some sort of penetrating oil) and taps with a hammer. I'd alternate that every 15-20min and tried using a normal wrench/socket. I say improved the odds because that didn't always work either.
 
OK Thanks.

I've got pb blaster and I try to let it soak in for a couple of days.

I use a propane torch too but that makes me a bit nervous because the penetrating oil catches fire and if there's any bushings/seals nearby they can start to burn too.
 
This is a quote from Riot_Polizei's thread.

"I do have one but it's a 35 year old worn out piece of crap. And I don't know where it is."

I found my old one !!
(note the spiders nest in it. lol)



I remember why it sucks. The Chuck only fits the bits that came with it.

Regular bits are 1/4" (I think) and these bits are bigger.



You can't use it on a socket without some sort of adapter.
And the bits are huge, I couldn't use them on my little gas cover screws.

The new one has a 1/2" square drive and I've got adaptors for it to fit a regular sized bit.

I'm thinking I should have gotten the 3/8" drive version now because I'm probably going to use it on smaller stuff.
 
Awesome!!

Good stuff..

Woohoo, this should be interesting!

I'm sure you attention to detail is going to come in handy here :)

Now Im getting excited!

Most build threads are builds. pcb build thread will be knowledge and how to's. lmao

Thanks guys !!

I've never had an engine apart before.
I've never really seen a piston before except in auto class in 1981. lol

Luckily I don't have to be careful with anything because I won't be needing any engine parts for my daily driver.

I'm gonna be careful with wiring, sensors, connectors, and anything that I might need for my DD.
 
This is going to be cool!

Can't wait to see what those pistons will look like on that car you're taking apart. Wonder if they're all clogged up and trashed around the rings, which makes all of our cars smoke so badly.
 
This was my first mod on my parts car.

It's a custom built sport steering wheel !!



It's a really easy mod !!
All you need is a cutoff saw,.. It takes 2 minutes !!
lol.
 
I've never had a car apart at all. Only internals I've seen have been at work. But will be grabbing a head prolly Easter weekend if the local PNP gets a Protege.
 
I reposted this here because it seemed easier to do.

As much as I've been called an "Internet wizard" (and a witch doctor ??), I really don't know what I'm doing.

I hate the Google.
They say "Google is your friend" but if it is, it's one of those annoying friends that's always pissing you off !!

OK, I removed a camshaft.

The big 1/2" socket didn't fit in so had to switch to 1/4".

I needed to pry the "cap" (or whatever it's called) off with a pry bar.







They are 10 mm Allen.
That's the biggest socket in my set.

 
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