Kev's JDM 1997 Protege

[FE3-323]

hope that solves your issues!!

[irishkev90]

Same here, starting to get annoyed.

HTC Droid DNA

[irishkev90]

Thermostat and housing/outlet came in today. Rockauto didn't list the outlet as including the gasket, so another gasket should be here Friday along with the new cat. Hope the weekend weather is nice enough to do the work.

HTC Droid DNA

Edit: Cat and Felpro water outlet gasket came in yesterday. Hopefully I can get this all done tomorrow.

[irishkev90]

Replaced the thermostat and refilled with fresh, distilled water. Sitting in the garage the temp is staying between 200-210℉ with the fan kicking on at 210° and off at 200°.

Catalytic converter was wrong so I'll have to return that. Two of the studs on the bottom of the original broke off and the third screwed right out. I put the unbroken stud and nut back in and two bolt (which are too long and will be replaced with shorter) to keep things lined up for now.

The heat shield is currently off the manifold and intake air temp is up to 136℉. Hopefully my K&N filter will be here soon so I can redo the air box for the scoop so it'll stop sucking engine bay air.

Still need to go for a drive to check the cooling performance. And the temp info is from my OBDII scanner.

P.S. Does anyone know what the proper numbers for the upstream and downstream O2 sensors should be? I'd like compare against what my readings are.

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Update: Went for an hour long drive. It was around 67° out so pretty cool. The coolant stayed between 180°-210° and while driving the intake temp ranged from 88°-97° depending on traffic. I wasn't able to use the A/C before because the extra load caused the engine to overheat and I'd have to switch the temp from cold to hot, not fun. Had the A/C on tonight for half my drive and the only problem was the lack of power caused by the compressor kicking on. Still seems to be missing/stumbling at idle and it's worse in Drive than Neutral. I'll try cleaning the upper O2 sensor and if that doesn't fix it I'll replace that, too.

I've got a few road trips planned this summer and would would like to get everything running smoothly before I leave.

[irishkev90]

Just got a P0505 Idle Air Control code. Coolant stayed around 183℉ and idle was smoother than usual, but still not perfect. Idling with the A/C on caused a lot of stumbling, though.

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[Kitty]

To fix your 0420 code just run a spark plug non-fouler on the second O2.

For the IAC disconnect the bitch and see if your idle changes, then continuity checks. I don't recall if you should do gnd and 10 first for this one though.
Then vac leak checks, vac leak checks everywhere.

[irishkev90]

It seems to be idling "normal" again, and rougher with A/C on. Haven't gotten around to pulling the plug on the IAC yet, but I'll check that soon.

Still need to get the correct bolts for the cat as it's pretty much being held on with one stud at the moment. P0420 code hasn't come back, though.

HTC Droid DNA

Edit: K&N filter finally came in. Now I can get back to work on that airbox. I also have a deadline of June 17 to get this thing running smoothly.

[irishkev90]

Got some new bolts for the cat, no more leaks and I can return the other one. Disconnected the IAC and idle stayed steady at 1,000 rpm. Plugged it back in and started acting up again. It's worse in any drive gear, less so in park or neutral, and terrible in a drive gear with A/C on. I don't remember it doing this last year.

Took a drive and pushed it to around 5,500 rpm in hopes of blasting crap out of the system, but still no change.

[irishkev90]

Ordered a set of BFGoodrich g-Force Sport COMP-2 tires for the Miata wheels (195/55/15). The 17" wheels and tires are a bit harsh and I've got a few road trips planned in the next few weeks, so I wanted something more comfortable for my passengers. The taller tire should soak up road imperfections better, but being an UHP summer tire, I'll still be able to have some fun.

My (hopefully) first trip is set for June 18, so I had to opt for 2nd Day Air shipping ($144, ouch) to make sure they get here with enough time to get them mounted. The Firestone shop down the street is a recommended installer of Tire Rack, so I'll take them there to mount. Plus they offer metal valve stems versus rubber stems from other local shops.

[irishkev90]

Replaced the plastic cowl thing at the bottom of the windshield. It was faded as hell from the Texas sun, but my '98's looks almost brand new so I swapped them. Currently repainting the wiper arms since they were faded and crappy looking too. A couple coats of semi-flat black will have them looking new again.

One of the guys at the parts store was talking to himself. "Did someone really put a hood scoop on a car and not center it?" Told it was mine and explained why it's off-center. He said it just looked different, not bad, and my idea of the airbox was cool.

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Edit: Also ordered strut bearings in hopes they fix my steering issue.This is my exact problem (obviously not my car ) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khZ16AOztT4

[Kitty]

We had a tech in my old shop who could not assemble McPherson struts for ****. He would somehow always mis-align the top hats and the bearings would bind. Although it's much easier to that with the horrible wall mounted spring compressors than the hand ones. The binding is more likely that the entire bearing assembly going wrong, so just be extra thoughfull in your instillation. Also if your top and bottom spring isolators are ragged you'll get some noise from that during movement as well.

[irishkev90]

Noted. Thanks for the tips. The isolators look to be in pretty good condition, but I'll take a closer look to make sure.

HTC Droid DNA

[irishkev90]

Ordered the isolators/seats for both sides. The top looks fine, but the bottoms look compressed or stretched in some weird way. Like they weren't in the right place when everything was being put together.

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[irishkev90]

Tires arrived. Hopefully I can get them mounted in the next couple days.

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[irishkev90]

TIRES!





Should have these mounted by Monday and hopefully on the car next week if I'm not too lazy.