Kev's '98 Protege Thread

[Mazda_Powered]

that's true as well! You COULD always convert a ZE or DE over to the ODBII system though as they made them for a few years as well in all 3 chassis probe/626/mx6

[monoxidechild]

yea. ODBII doesnt have really anything to do with the motor. but the management strapped to it pretty much.

and the best route is a full hybrid. cause there is no all in all "best" kl. but the G4 is the best we got stock here in the states. but id rather keep my HLA heads and ZE cams then upgrade to the solid adjusters, with the weak G4 cams.

[DuRWooD]

I don't know about other places, but here, you can't put an engine in your car that's older than the car. You could convert whatever over to OBDII, and say it's from a newer car and probably get away with it.

[irishkev90]

I think that's rule in New York, but I also don't think were allowed to put an engine in your car that it wasn't meant to have. As in swapping a V6 into a I4 car. But my brother works where I get the car inspected (Jiffy Lube) so I can probably get away with it.

And what do you mean by "weak" G4 cams?

[irishkev90]

Just ordered a new resistor pack for the blower unit. I'm hoping that's all I need to get that thing working again.

[monoxidechild]

And what do you mean by "weak" G4 cams?

a much less aggressive cam profile. plus with the G4 heads, you dont have any aftermarket grinds available off the shelf. it would have to be custom to be ran on the solid lash adjusters.

[irishkev90]

Well, the new resistor pack for the blower motor didn't do anything to help the situation. So I tore into my dash and pulled out the control unit. That was a paint in the ass. Disconnect the three control wires for the temperature, vent mix, and recirc/fresh air. The first two weren't that bad, but the recirc/fresh air wire requires the airbag to be removed to unclip it from the flap. So I've got the glove box out, the airbag out, console trim piece off and the heater control hanging out. I tested the terminals for the fan control switch and, sure enough, there was only continuity between the terminals for Position 1. The other three had no continuity at all. Time to find a new control unit, sigh. That's $200 from a dealer, but there's one on eBay for $40.00. It'll have to wait until next week though since the windshield will almost wipe out my bank account

[FE3-323]

no way to fix the electrical portion yourself??

[irishkev90]

I think the electrical part might be replaceable, but I haven't found one on eBay, and it's a $50.00 part from the dealer.

I also just noticed my monthly CP payment was taken out of my bank account and now I'm $7 short for paying for my windshield. I wonder if they can do my card and then $7 in cash :/

[irishkev90]

Well, the windshield is replaced, no crack or scratches

The original cost was $319.83, but, due to the Club Protege subscription, I only had around $312 in my bank account, I told him it was due to my cell phone bill. The guy made a phone call or something in his office and came out with a final price of $287.74. Not sure what he did to get the price down, but I'm stinking glad he did it, I need gas money, haha.

[irishkev90]

The local Honda dealership has immediate openings for service department trainees. "No experience necessary...will train." Sounds good to me. Going to stop by soon and see if I can get my application in.

[irishkev90]

Turns out the Honda job is detailing/cleaning, not what I was expecting when the ad said service department, oh well.

Anyway, my suspension seems pretty trashed these days. The right rear strut is completely dead, causing the car to wiggle all over while turning on bumpy roads. There's also some bumps and clunks at times. I have a box full of new bushings, end links and other stuff as well as a front lower tie bar and rear sway bar to go on. I was thinking about getting some Ksport Kontrol Pro coilovers before doing any suspension work. Most places I've found are selling them for $942.50 with pictures of mostly black components that match what's on Ksport's site. I've also found a couple sites selling them for $909.00, but they have the older, mostly orange components pictures which makes me feel a bit sketchy. Dropping the extra $40 won't kill me, I guess. Any opinions from the peanut gallery?

[3ni_tricksta]

get the one's with the mostly black.

[irishkev90]

I figured. I was just thinking about it actually, and the mostly orange ones are probably last generation, aren't they? $942.50 it is. After a few paychecks I'll get them ordered.

[3ni_tricksta]

yeah, the all orange ones are an older models. prone to blowing after 1 winter.