Kev's JDM 1997 Protege

[irishkev90]

Little update. The gasket works even though it's not the same as I remember using before. Except then I noticed the weld was leaking. Took it off, tried welding some more, still leaking, took it off again, welded the inside (the pipe was slipped inside the flange), then covered the entire welded area with JB Weld. No more leaks from there. But I also noticed a leak somewhere in the rear muffler pipe (over the rear subframe area), yay. Tomorrow I plan on getting the muffler section off and seeing what I can do to fix that up. It's a hobbled together mess back there, but we'll get it sealed one way or another.

[firelizard]

Wow, that difference in port size is pretty shocking. What are the odds you'd see performance (or potential, more likely) gains by porting the head? Probably not until big cams, huh.

[irishkev90]

Honestly, I wouldn't expect much out of this little thing. Remember, it's only the Z5 not BP. Also, can't fully match the ZM port anyway because it extends passed the machined portion of the head for the manifold into a negative space area (I can't find the words to explain it, but I hope you get what I mean). The header port would still have to be welded smaller no matter what.

I'm not getting any CEL yet with the O2 sensor shoved in the EGR port, but I did check my scanner and I'm getting 0.000 volts from it until I rev to around 3000rpm. Time will tell what happens, but it runs fine for now.

As for the transmission, tiny setback. One of the axle seals got pinched during reassembly. I tried cleaning it up and putting it back in, but there's still a slow leak. The new seal just arrived today and I'm waiting for another quart of fluid to get here (just in case) before I replace it.

Other than that, all the exhaust leaks are patched up. I was able to reposition/weld the muffler section so it doesn't bang against the rear subframe (that was annoying to listen to). New tires are on, though I forgot to fully tighten the axle nuts (whoopsie). Torqued them down and locked them in place, but the passenger side wheel still had some wiggle. After some searching I found the front LCA bolt wasn't tightened all the way so I got that tight and no more wiggle.

I thought the solid mounts would make shifting more difficult. Taking off from a stop would occasionally get a pretty back springing feeling. I thought it was from the springs in the clutch because the mounts were brand new when I did the transmission swap. Well, I was wrong. Zero springing feel when accelerating/shifting so it must have been the engine rocking back and forth with the OEM mounts.

[irishkev90]

New axle seal is finally in, no more leaks. Went for a short 5ish mile test drive yesterday and let it sit overnight with a rag under it and was still dry this morning. Took it to get lunch and inspection about ten miles down the road, but the shop was closed (Memorial Day) so inspection will have to wait until I get some time during the week.

My dad also offered to take it into the school to finish the body work and get it repainted this summer since they won't have any classes and he gets bored sitting around the house. Might take him up on that offer because I've kind of lost the energy to deal with body work right now.

[FE3-323]

thats a sweet deal!