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Foofighter- KL swapped Protege

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    Foofighter- KL swapped Protege

    After I sold my 98 Protege about a year ago, I wanted another little project car. I decided I would throw in a KL-ZE in my 91 323. I did a little research about the swap, and was really hyped about it. I found an MX-3 with a KL swap about 2 hours away from me. The shell was a complete rust bucket, and the work on the engine was a little sketchy, but the engine ran strong, and the trans shifted smooth, so I went ahead and bought it.



    After some thought, I decided to keep the little 323 the way it is. It would have made for a good platform, but the 1.6 still has plenty of life, and it's has been such a good little beater for me. So I found a rust free Protege with a tired 1.8 SOHC.



    The idea was to swap all the good things on the MX-3 (engine and trans, coilovers, disc brakes, sub frame, some of the interior) and throw it on the Protege. I ended up having a local shop do the work, because:
    1. No room for the swap
    2. Not enough time
    3. I suck with cars ;(
    Last edited by Foofighter8008; 10-15-2017, 03:11 PM.

    #2
    I found a place local to me that were pretty familiar with swapping all kinds of imports. It took a little over a month, which most of that time was figuring out oddball stuff like a radiator solution and making the MX-3 exhaust work with the Protege. After the swap, I was having issues with the fuel being cut off. I noticed the same problem with the previous engine. It turns out someone put some unknown crud in the gas tank before I bought the car...





    After that, the distributor decided to crap out on me, then one of the radiator hoses tore open, pouring coolant on the wheels, nearly loosing control on the highway. After all that was fixed, it's finally running good. Here is how it looks now:









    I still have plenty of work to do. I gotta get the gauges to work properly, find a better cold air intake solution that doesn't leak, and most importantly figure out what caused the coolant gauge to stop registering. The original idea with this swap was to just throw the MX-3 stuff on it, and drive it as is, but now I have the itch to go all out with this thing. I'll update with more pics soon :D
    Last edited by Foofighter8008; 10-15-2017, 03:14 PM.

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      #3
      BTW, sorry for the crap pictures. I suck at taking pictures about as much as I suck working on cars

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        #4
        pretty common to have sediment in the gas tank by this age, however that does look questionable. good find/catch.
        ---Has ClubProtege helped you in someway? show your support by Contributing--- Click Here---

        1992- project FE3..... 313 WHP @ 9.3psi




        I pet my dash when I get into the car..."good car"
        he actually has a mazda tree, parts grow on it

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          #5
          I would be amazed if it was just sediment. It's hard to see in the photo, but there was about 2 gallons worth of crud in there. I ended up just replacing the tank and upgrading the fuel pump

          Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

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            #6
            no savin the OEM tank eh?? i would trust the OEM tank after a good cleaning moreso than any aftermarket(they have no added rust protection)
            ---Has ClubProtege helped you in someway? show your support by Contributing--- Click Here---

            1992- project FE3..... 313 WHP @ 9.3psi




            I pet my dash when I get into the car..."good car"
            he actually has a mazda tree, parts grow on it

            Comment


              #7
              Yeah, I noticed that when it arrived. It had a thin layer of paint over it, but that's it. The car will rarely see rain, so I'm not too worried about it. I was planning on redoing the undercoating on the car at some point in the future anyway, so I think it will be fine at the end.

              Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

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                #8
                Today, I'm trying to figure out why my coolant gauge isn't reading anything. It stopped working right after I replaced the gas tank. The fans are still coming on when they need to, and the gauge moves a little when I turn the ignition on, so I'm pretty sure the gauge is fine. I replaced the coolant temperature sender, but no change. Any ideas?

                Comment


                  #9
                  Are you sure your thermostate is ok
                  91 protege gt. dropzone mx3 springs, mx3 crossmember, ractive front and rear strut braces, rear lower mx3 brace, 4 wheel disc brakes, corksport ss brake and clutch lines,kvr front pads, ractive cai,ram air hood scoop, modified front bumper, shaved ant and rear trunk lock, fubu ant, short shifter, corksport bronzeoil shifter bushings,92 glass sunroof and tail lights, mx3 center console, autometer gauges (volt and oil pressure) cluster needles painted to match, sound system, 17 inch eagle alloy 193 with 205 40 17 rubber. klze is ALIVE BABY!! . http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2394656http://www.toprotege.com/forums/show...hlight=project[url]

                  Comment


                    #10
                    I'm pretty sure it's fine. The car will idle high til it warms up just as it did before, and the radiator fans come on only when they need to.

                    Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

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                      #11
                      I swapped the gauge cluster to one that I know works, and still no movement on the temp gauge. I'm pretty stumped. My only guess is it's the coolant sensor.

                      Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

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                        #12
                        since its a spade terminal.... did you accidently mistake that one for a ground?(easy enough to do)
                        ---Has ClubProtege helped you in someway? show your support by Contributing--- Click Here---

                        1992- project FE3..... 313 WHP @ 9.3psi




                        I pet my dash when I get into the car..."good car"
                        he actually has a mazda tree, parts grow on it

                        Comment


                          #13
                          ^ If that's the problem, that would be the shop's doing. Btw, this has been happening ever since the shop put in the new gas tank, so I think I'm going to do something I should have done at the beginning and give them a call tomorrow to see if they have any ideas

                          Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

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                            #14
                            what does a gas tank install have anything to do with a coolant gauge sensor..... thats where im lost now
                            ---Has ClubProtege helped you in someway? show your support by Contributing--- Click Here---

                            1992- project FE3..... 313 WHP @ 9.3psi




                            I pet my dash when I get into the car..."good car"
                            he actually has a mazda tree, parts grow on it

                            Comment


                              #15
                              That's a good question. It's probably just coincidence that the gauge stopped working after the tank install, but I'm running out of ideas

                              Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

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