Kev's '98 Protege Thread

[thymighty]

Sucks to hear that my man, but sometimes it just isn't worth fixing. I've had to scrap a few projects myself in the past; A '00 Dodge Neon a '95 Volvo 850 come to mind.

[3ni_tricksta]

parting out? don't do it!!! we're a dieing generation.
but if you really do decide to, i might be interested in a few stuff if the time and funds are right.

i keep forgetting but which corner light do you have that's still good?

[irishkev90]

Passenger side. Driver's is smashed. If I do tear it apart, I'll be keeping the stuff I put on it like the headlights and JDM tails and such for another Protege when I have the money. Some mechanical bits that are still good I'll keep in case anyone needs it, like the EGR valve.

That time is still a few months off, at least, and I'll be back in a Protege at some point.

[Mazda_Powered]

Oh the joys of owning a BHA, I really wish they held up to corrosion and rust a bit better, they're either 100% rust free, or the rear door is falling off...I ALMOST bought a BHA instead of buying my BG back, but every BP powered BHA I found was either rusty rusty rusty, or was autotragic.

I remember my 97 Z6 BHA...damn thing was a champ, barely any power but still got around, and stopped almost like it was new... she wasn't ready to throw in the towel, but when the rear subframe doesn't have any beef to it (jack went right through the center of it lol split it in 1/2!) , and the floor mats are acting as a hole cover...it's time to move on lol.

Any ideas what you're going to do man?

[irishkev90]

Well, I have some bills to pay off first, then maybe getting a loan for a few hundred dollars for a cheap car to get from A to B, preferably a manual to save even more money on gas. Not sure how long I'll keep that, but by this time next year I want to be looking at houses or maybe even have my own. It all depends on how well I can save up.

As for the Protege, it'll be here for a little while longer. I'll be taking the stereo stuff from the headunit to the amp and speakers, my JDM stuff will be kept, strutbar... that's about it for what I've changed or added. I'll also take some mechanical bits if it's in good working order in case anyone needs a replacement. I'll part it out (not selling the stuff I mentioned before) when the time comes if theres enough need, otherwise it'll get scrapped. Not really worth reselling, sadly, to be honest. Unless someone here that's nearby wants a real project to deal with.

[thymighty]

Oh the joys of owning a BHA, I really wish they held up to corrosion and rust a bit better, they're either 100% rust free, or the rear door is falling off...I ALMOST bought a BHA instead of buying my BG back, but every BP powered BHA I found was either rusty rusty rusty, or was autotragic.

I remember my 97 Z6 BHA...damn thing was a champ, barely any power but still got around, and stopped almost like it was new... she wasn't ready to throw in the towel, but when the rear subframe doesn't have any beef to it (jack went right through the center of it lol split it in 1/2!) , and the floor mats are acting as a hole cover...it's time to move on lol.

Any ideas what you're going to do man?

There are a couple of rust free BH's for sale near here. One of them has a non-running Z5 in it, same color as Kev's, and asking price is only $600. It would make a perfect swap candidate. I thought about buying it just to have some spare parts, but I really have no room to store another car.

[irishkev90]

That's a little too far for me. I'll be trolling through Craigslist for a while to see what come up around here and the neighboring states.

[irishkev90]

I actually found one just an hour and a half south from me. Doesn't look too bad in the pics, but the front bumper and driver's side fender need to be replaced. I can just use the new bumper on my car and I know a yard near me with a 1998 I can get the fender off of. Now I just have to convince the girlfriend to let me go see it soon. Oh, and it's only like $700, kind of iffy about it, but I'll have to see it in person.

[irishkev90]

Fixed the exhaust. Girlfriend is mad at me for leaving her home and wasting the day.

[FE3-323]

don't stress. theres only one way to please a woman

[irishkev90]

Well, my girlfriend is back in school. I guess I have time to get some maintenance stuff done to the Protege. Just washed all the windows, inside and out, because they've been fogging up terribly. It got so bad the other night while it was raining that I couldn't even see. And I can't turn the A/C on because, well, it doesn't work. I think part of the reason is because I have the fresh air vent open, the temp all the way up and the vents set on defrost. Problem with closing the fresh air vent? Yes. The car overheats if I close it and sometimes I even have to turn on the fan when going uphill or idling in traffic.

I've also got to tighten some exhaust clamps and try to pull the pipe higher up into the exhaust tunnel because it scrapes on the speed bumps going to my girlfriend's school.

The trunk has acted as a dumpster for the past few months, so I need to empty that.

Also, my front left turn signal is going bonkers. Sometimes it works fine, other times it blinks fast as if a bulb is out, but both front and rear light up fine. Sometimes when it blinks fast it causes my stereo headunit to blink between dim (as if the lights are on) and normal brightness just as fast as the turn signal blinks, even though the lights are off. If the lights are on, it stays dim, as it should.

There's also a squeaking/creaking noise coming from the right front. I know the strut used to make that noise last year, but it fixed itself. It does it while turning the wheel or driving over small bumps and dips. The left front makes a whining noise when I first start moving after the car cools down (overnight or sitting in the parking lot at work). I thought it might be a wheel bearing, but it's not constant. And it doesn't change with brake application. The car just passed inspection/emissions, so my brakes are fine. Maybe it's the replacement axle?

An oil change is less than 1,000 miles away. I'll probably do a quick tune-up as well with new spark plugs, clean the MAF and maybe clean the EGR.

Hope this thing will last at least another winter. But at least my heater works

[FE3-323]

sounds like she's kinda rough for wear/tear. update after a tuneup

[irishkev90]

Yeah, seen better days, I'd say. And will do, sir.

[irishkev90]

Well, a little update about the exhaust. Yet another hanger broke off. The bracket to pipe weld for the hanger right before the muffler broke. I guess that's where my rattling was coming from. I bought an after market hanger from Advance Auto, but it wouldn't fit right, so I hose clamped the original back in place. Pretty sturdy. I also taped up some leaks where we patched the pipe a few weeks ago. The pipe should be high enough now so it won't scrape speed bumps, but we'll see. Money is a bit tight (again), but I'll try to get a small tune-up done sometime before it gets too cold.

[FE3-323]

wish i was local. id weld it back up for ya- free!!!