Kev's '98 Protege Thread

[FE3-323]

hopefully you get the exhaust system. id help out if i was closer.

[irishkev90]

Thanks. The guy made a counter offer of $145 so I countered with $110. The compressor has been delivered so I'll be able to replace that and have the system charged soon.

HTC Droid DNA

[irishkev90]

Repatched two old exhaust leaks today. Apparently there was a two offer limit on that BP cat back on eBay. I'll wait until I find a cheaper one or just shell out the full price for that one.

Also:







HTC Droid DNA

[FE3-323]

jesus dude....... its time to retire that shell.....

[irishkev90]

Haha, agreed. Kind of hesitant since I bought a new quarter panel and rocker panel last year, just haven't had the time to get the work started. There is a blue '97 for sale near me I might snag, though. Less rust, but the roof is dented

HTC Droid DNA

[irishkev90]

Just changed the front brake pads. Driver's side was a pain in the ass while the passenger's side was a piece of cake. Feels good to be working on the car again, even if it is only maintenance stuff. Need to pick up the hardware for the rear brakes (already have shoes and drums), some oil, spark plugs and a new air filter.





And then I need to get in some overtime at work to pay for all of it, haha, ha.......

[irishkev90]

Picked up some oil, a KL oil filter and a pack of NGK Iridium spark plugs. What I did not find while at Advance was a new air filter, so I'll have to try Autozone tomorrow. Still need the rear drum hardware as well.

[FE3-323]

is the hardware shot in the back? & have you blown out the air filter??? you can get away without replacing parts most of the time. at least if they aren't crucial

[irishkev90]

I haven't opened up the drums in the four or five years I've had the car, so I have no idea how things look back there. But the hardware is cheap so might as well make everything new.

And my filter is washable/reusable, but the last time I got a peek at it (middle of last year) the screen was rusted and causing the filter to change from red to a rust color. I'm just getting a cheap replacement for that, as well.

And I'll be honest, the car has been a bit neglected, especially in winter. Just hate working on it in the cold and have been searching for a new car anyway.

HTC Droid DNA

[irishkev90]

Quick tune-up this morning. Mobil 1 Full Synthetic 10W-30 and Mobil 1 Extended Performance oil filter for a KL. New Spectre cone air filter, and NGK Iridium IX (BKR5EIX-11) spark plugs. I wanted to spray the MAF again, but I can't find the MAF cleaner anywhere.

Also, I think my valve cover gasket needs to be replaced. Reason:



Cylinder one is perfect fine, two has a little oil, three is soaked and four looks like two.

Oh, and Ryan, I don't think I could reuse this filter if I wanted to:

[irishkev90]

Left-front suspension is clunking like crazy. I'm going to check it out tomorrow and tighten anything up and maybe replace stuff if need be and if the garage is workable. My brother is supposed to be fixing some guy's Expedition. Can't wait to see what he screws up on that.

HTC Droid DNA

[irishkev90]

Well it turns out this little bastard was the cause of all my creaking, clunking and complaining from the front end:



It was not fun to take out and took longer than it should have. I tried to undo the sway bar end link, but that was seized up and I didn't feel like dealing with it. It didn't need to be replaced either, so I wasn't worried. A lot of hammering, prying and PB Blasting later, it finally fell out and I was able to get the new one in:



It's a Beck Arnley from Rockauto. Only problem was the nuts were out of round for some stupid reason, but the stock nuts threaded on the new bolts and stud just fine. So that's what I did to my car and this is what my car did to me:



Not very big, maybe a quarter inch long. This car fights me for everything.

[firelizard]

Good to see this is still kickin'.

It's a shame there are no aftermarket quarters and rockers (or are there?) for these cars. I'm most likely going to end up having to get a Familia because all the Proteges are rotten.

Are you going to attempt to install the 1/4 and rocker you bought? Replacing a roof skin would be a lot easier though.

[irishkev90]

If I can get the time I'd like to get them on. And the car with the warped roof is sold. I've been trying to get a hold of txmzdspd2gen because he's selling his BH, but so far no luck.

HTC Droid DNA

[irishkev90]

Contacted txmzdspd2gen about buying his car and Stateway Auto Transport about shipping it. After that I went out and cleaned the inside and outside of all windows, no streaks. Applied some Black Magic Protectant to all interior trim, weather stripping, outside mirrors and door trim. Not sure if I'm going to sell this or junk it if I end up getting 2gen's car. I'd take out the amp, radio (I love that headunit) and stutbar.