Kev's JDM 1997 Protege

[irishkev90]

Compared mounts today. The driver side mount can be reused. The rear mount will need some work if I use the Kia mount unless the Mazda mount works out somehow. The front mount looks completely different.

[irishkev90]

You guys, I started something...



Also, how easy/difficult is it to enlarge a couple holes in the cross member? Specifically the mount holes for the front and rear transmission mounts.

I'll be keeping a more detailed log of this swap in my thread from a couple years ago.

http://www.wihandyman.com/forum/showthread.php?51908-Kia-BP-transmission-in-Z5-Protege&highlight=Kia

[GavGav]

Awesome....

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

[irishkev90]

Just need to get the exhaust buttoned up and this thing will be ready for its first test drive.

[irishkev90]

Tried swapping my brake pedal arm for a manual pedal. What a pain in the ass that was to get out. Anyway, I think I was given a BG pedal arm because the pin sleeve is a tad bit too wide to fit in the pedal bracket. Everything else looks like it'll line up (brake light switch, master cylinder rod) so I'm just going to try grinding it down until it fits. Not looking forward to reinstalling, though.

Oh, and does anyone know where I can get a NEW/UNUSED accelerator pedal for this car? The previous owner had MOMO pedal covers that had to be drilled and bolted to the pedals. I could just use the pedal from my '98, but I'm hoping to find one with no wear on the face of the pedal since the rubber pads for the clutch and brake are brand new.

[irishkev90]

Why anyone would completely weld an exhaust system from front to back is beyond my understanding. How they snaked it in or welded it in the car is also a mystery to me. Whatever.

After taking a second look at the brake pedals, it doesn't look like everything lines up like I first thought it would. Since I can't get a new pedal arm, I'll probably just cut the foot plate so the new rubber pad fits.

Edit: I ended up cutting the plates off both pedals and welding the BG plate to the BH arm. Just need to get a new ring clip thing for the pivot pin and I can reinstall this whole mess into the car. Not looking forward to it. Also, the front portion of the exhaust is pretty much done, just need to reweld the hanger bracket. Then it's just a matter of figuring out the resonator mounting and it'll be done.

[irishkev90]

Got my exhaust in. The welds seem to be holding well, no leaks, even though I wasn't supposed to be able to weld it, according to my dad. It's a mix of mild and stainless steel pieces. Whatever. Even the clamp is tight enough not to leak, which I was kind of surprised about.

The new resonator is extremely close to the passenger side of the tunnel, maybe 1/8" if that. Can't move it over any farther because the muffler is almost hitting the spare tire well. Whatever.

Ran the car, sounds good. Ran it through first and second gear (while on stands, no more than 15mph) mostly just to get the fluid moving.

Just need to pick up a new clip for the brake pedal assembly and this thing will finally be able to go down the road. But not very far because I'm in desperate need of front tires and an alignment. Again, whatever.

Goodnight.

[FE3-323]

glad its one step closer. im anxious to hear some roadtime results

[irishkev90]

Well, she runs. She stops. She drives. But not all that great. The clutch is slipping terribly. If you try to accelerate like you're getting on the highway, the engine just spins and the car doesn't move. Very gentle acceleration was needed on the test drive. I'm going to adjust the clutch pedal rod because right now the engagement point is, quite literally, as soon as you step on or off the pedal. Horrific, really.

I also heard some clunking over a few bumps. Not sure what it would be since I made sure everything was tight after replacing bushings and mounts and all that. The tires are definitely on their last thread. They were squealing around the slowest, widest corners I came across.

And the exhaust is rattling like crazy on the passenger side of the tunnel. Not sure how I'm going to fix that right now.

[irishkev90]

Also, I'm going to go out on a limb here, but I'm guessing the clutch fork shouldn't be hot after sitting for at least an hour.

Edit: The slipping problem was an easy fix, just as I thought. Now I just need to find a happy balance with the clutch rod.

But, I found another problem. The clunking is coming from the front LCA bushing on the driver side. I have all four replacement bushings from a couple years ago that I never used. Hopefully I can get this car done before the snow starts falling.

[irishkev90]

Just one thing after another. Got the driver side LCA off and the ball joint boot is torn. Great. I replaced both sides when I got the car three years ago (along with outer tie rods, they look fine). The position of the tear looks like it might be due to the terrible camber the front wheels had after installing the coilovers, never got an alignment. The passenger side ball joint is fine, but I'll be replacing both anyway. I think once I'm done that all the front bushings/mounts will be new and/or upgraded.

Anyway, new ball joints will be here Friday. Tomorrow I need to modify one of the shift linkage bolts, the one connected to the transmission. I need to flatten one side of the bolt head so it will sit where it's supposed to instead of on top of that little stopper thing.

Edit: Also, I apparently need to wire the clutch switch the ecu myself. I thought since the connector was already there, that the harness was already wired up. Guess not. Runs fine, but throws the code for the clutch switch every time I start it.

[irishkev90]

New ball joints are in. Probably the quickest installation I've ever dealt with. Swapped the worn out front Sport Comp 2s for the front tires of the '98. Still major steering problems. Camber and toe issues. Doesn't really help that adjusting the camber with the Ksports also messes with the toe. Hoping to get it in early tomorrow morning for an alignment. Also hoping new tires come in soon.

Spent the last couple hours detailing the interior and some exterior. The paint on the spoiler is terrible. Clearcoat is peeling up like crazy. Need to respray that along with the replacement hood scoop. Might as well take care of the scratches on the doors and rear bumper, too. If I ever get to it.

[irishkev90]

Need to replace one of the fog light bulbs. Maybe I can get an actual connector for it instead of just taping the wires to the bulb like the previous owner.

[irishkev90]

Finally able to get this thing on a semi proper test drive. Right now I have the 14" steelies and all season tires from my '98 on this one so I could get an alignment done while waiting for a pair of Sport Comp 2s to show up. Still need to get a little used to the clutch, but it's pretty smooth engagement for a high performance setup. Or smoother than I expected anyway.

Got it out on some back roads (55mph) and fifth gear has a strange whine or whistle sound that's not present in any other gears and only when I'm pressing the gas while in fifth. Lifting off the gas to coast or pressing the clutch while in fifth doesn't make any noise, only when there's load on it. And it seems to be speed related because the faster I went, the higher pitched the sound. Runs smoothly, got it all the way up to 80mph on the highway with no fuss.

There's still some light clunking occasionally, so I'm going to go back under and make sure everything is nice and tight and try to see if there's any interference between parts.

Oh, and I think my fuel economy is worse with the manual than the auto. Started the day with half a tank and down to about a quarter tank now. And I didn't really drive that far. Time will tell.

[irishkev90]

Everything is nice and tight. I'm starting to think the noise is coming from the AWR endlinks. And I guess the bad fog light was just a loose connection. Cheap fix. Still need to wire the clutch switch, should probably do that soon.

Question: Is it normal for the rpms to dip really low when going from high speed/rpm to neutral? Let's say the engine is at about 3,000rpm when I hit the clutch and shift to neutral to stop for a traffic light. The rpms drop quite quickly and the engine almost stalls itself before bouncing back up and leveling off at around 750rpm. It did stall itself once, actually. I'm going to try raising the idle a little bit to see if that helps. I'm wondering if it has anything to do with the lightweight flywheel not having enough mass/inertia to keep the engine spinning when going down to idle speed. I don't know.