Kev's '98 Protege Thread

[irishkev90]

Haha, thanks. It's the thought that counts My dad can weld up stuff if I need it, but I didn't have the time so clamping it was the next best thing. Works fine, no rattles or anything anymore.

[irishkev90]

Well I was going to do something productive today, like start fixing my smashed headlight, but my girlfriend pissed me off. So Now I'm going to get my anger out by killing people (in video games, of course).

[irishkev90]

Small update:

Changed my oil today, 300 miles overdue. Mobil1 Full Synthetic and Mobil1 oil filter. Made a mess when draining the oil from the engine and had a hell of a time trying to get the filter off. Jiffy Lube changed it last time and I'm pretty sure they over tighten EVERYTHING they touch. So add together how tight it was, barely room to work and the fact that I had trouble reaching the filter equals a bitch of a time changing the oil and oil all over the garage floor. Still want to do a small tune-up, but no monies left after the oil.

[FE3-323]

how many miles were on your oil?

[irishkev90]

About 6,100 miles. Jiffy Lube used oil and filter good for 6,000 miles. Can't remember what brand, Kendall? And a Mobil1 oil filter.

[97protoLX]

Kendall is actually really good oil. I used it a lot when I worked for firestone...seems to hold up pretty well.

[FE3-323]

its reccomended to change the oil filter twice during the lifetime of synthetic oil use
replace the filter midway through its lifespan.
its not the oil persay you need to worry about with syn. its the debris. so filter it up!

[irishkev90]

Hmm, never knew that. No one at Jiffy ever said anything so I doubt they know either. Thanks for the tip.

[irishkev90]

Oh, and it was 6,300 miles on the oil. I was 300 overdue.

[97protoLX]

Not to highjack the thread, But I'm replacing my Oil pan gasket, Silicone or not? I want a good seal...

[irishkev90]

No idea, haven't done that on my car, haha.

[irishkev90]

Well, solved an annoying squealing noise coming from the left-front wheel. The brake dust shield was slightly bent at the very bottom and rubbing on the brake rotor. So I bent it back away from the rotor an voila, noise gone. I checked the brakes while I was down there and they'll need to be replaced soon. Almost lost one of the brake pins too, so it's a good thing I checked.

Also plugged in some recent gas purchases and came up with 40 mpg. I definitely missed something somewhere, I wish my car got 40 mpg, hahaha.

[irishkev90]

This is how I put my headlight back together after softening the sealant





So, I finally fixed fixed my busted headlight housing. I also removed the LED strips I put in there almost two years ago because they didn't have the effect I was looking for. After clamping the passenger headlight together and waiting for it to cool I started straightening out my smashed fender and structure underneath. A slide hammer and some pliers got it most of the way out. I don't need any tape to hold the turn signal in anymore and the third headlight bolt is useful again. Still need to adjust the aim of the lights, but I think I have them low enough to not blind other drivers. The corner of the hood is still bent. Might need to just find a junkyard replacement and maybe a new fender, too, while I'm at it.

I think that's all the updates I have right now.

[irishkev90]

Made a little more progress on getting the car looking fresh again, sort of.

I removed the tape residue since the fender now holds the turn signal in place without tape.





I also polished up the headlights with some 3M Rubbing Compound, a microfiber cloth and some good, old, muscle effort. Not too bad for about an hour out in the cold.







One thing that's been bothering me lately is the front suspension. I took a sharp, downhill, right-hand turn yesterday and everything was fine, but then it felt like the suspension settled and the car started turning slightly sharper with no change of how I was holding the wheel. It doesn't happen on every turn, but when it does, it's fairly predictable so I can easily make up for it. But it is a little worrying. Time for some bushing replacements, I reckon.

[irishkev90]

Working on getting my front passenger door replacement fixed up and ready to go on the car. Wouldn't have much to do if people stopped touching and moving it. I had it resting on a blanket so the bottom of the door wouldn't scratched up on the concrete floor, but of course someone moves it without putting the blanket down and now I have to redo the bottom. It was also leaning up against my brother Integra and the top part of the door just below the window gets beat up so I have to redo that, as well. Can't wait until I have my own place.