What did you do to your BJ?

[FE3-323]

quite honestly. that screw (allen key) adjustment is a far superior design then the newer style on the 6. screwing the caliper piston back in & tearing the rubber boots is a failure IMHO. not only that but you need alot more force & a special tool far more expensive then a standard allen key.

if you grind your stock rear calipers a small bit, use late model 626 brackets(or caliper & bracket combo[easiest]) you can keep your e-brake. the 6 calipers you lose that functionality unless you buy special cables.

[meGrimlock]

Mevotech front end links MK80258. build and features looks similar to the Moog Escape/Tribute end links. except these are the same length as the OEM protégé end links.



2 years ago with the help of a friend it took me 2, 8 hour days, to remove the old ones, and I think I didn't torque them correctly because they already went bad. the balljoint was loose in the socket and was causing a lot of noise and sloppy handling. this time around, a different friend took 1.5 hours for both sides using my hand tools (and not even bothering with the vice grips or nut splitters I had to deal with). blah.

a couple worries: I greased it with lucas xtra heavy duty. reading up on the xtra heavy duty, it looks like it has a polyurea thickener which many mfg say is incompatible with lithium greases (the most common kind) so i'm afraid some tech is going to see the fittings at my next visit and try to grease them with whatever grease is lying around.

second: does the car need to be on the ground before torqueing? it was up on jack stands when we installed them. im wondering if that's why they failed so soon last time.

[FE3-323]

tightening them ont he ground or in the air will make no difference. nice replacements tho!

[Exocet]

Put in a sizable RockAuto order today for the upcoming P5 "back to school" activities. Got a new radiator and upper/lower hoses, timing belt kit along with new accessory belts, door lock actuator, valve cover gasket, and spark plugs. I'll grab a pair of Duralast ignition coils from AutoZone, since they have a lifetime warranty.

Picking up the car Wed. All the parts should be here next week, but I'm out of town on business travel all week. So, I have one weekend to get it all done. This weekend will be focused on interior and exterior cleaning.

[FE3-323]

new coils/coil pack will make a nice change to the P5

[A_Grant]

Clean the headlights looks ten times better

[Exocet]

Clean the headlights looks ten times better

One of the first things I did. No more yellow lenses.

[Fhajad]

Replaced one of the ignition coils that was getting super seriously rusted out and causing me an idle problem.

[FE3-323]

any pictures of how it was rusted??? im wondering if mine is the same?

[Fhajad]

Here's what it looked like when on the engine. http://i.imgur.com/oI1iyxD.jpg

Here's it compared side by side with the new one. http://i.imgur.com/vSPR8lV.jpg?1

I figured to take care of it before it got too out of hand. My 93 Wrangler had a similar issue with its one coil and it ended up dying completely. Best to replace it now I thought instead of when I'm stranded somewhere.

[FE3-323]

oh good lord!! thats serious rust on a component like that

[Fhajad]

It's not the best that's for sure. Replace just it and magically my rough idle went away! I gotta get it over to the shop to replace a pulley I believe. It's so loud and screeching, need to get it swapped out.

P5 is a lot different than the 94 Protege I had when I signed up on this forum. I forgot all about it until I was googling for things.

[Kitty]

tightening them ont he ground or in the air will make no difference. nice replacements tho!

For stock end-links with a decent amount of play you can get away with doing them in the air, but I'd still recommend people do them with the suspension loaded.
It's one of the few reasons I find drive on lifts useable.

I've used mevotech droplinks before, I'd say they were as good as moog in the application I used them. Plus BLUE!

[goldstar]

Changed Engine Oil

As usual, I selected the Nectar of the Gods, Redline 5W-30 for my engine's lifeblood. It's certainly pricey and the cost seems to go up every year but after all it is a defined Group 5 Polyol ester base oil. I get it at my local speed shop and it cost $11.49 per quart + $3.32 state theft for a total of $49.18. I have switched from the Mazda filter to the Mobil 1 type which cost $14.99 + $1.05 state theft for a total of $16.04 at Pep boys (part# M1-110). I use the larger filter (same pressure relief setting and specs) from the Mazda 626 V6 engine for its slightly greater oil volume and increased filtration media in place of the smaller one for the Protégé. Not that I consider the OEM filter to be inadequate since Mazda wouldn't shortchange us on something so important but what the hell it's certainly useful if one wishes to experiment with extended oil changes made possible with synthetic oils, although I still change my oil at 5,000 mile intervals.

Given all the great information on our Forum, it was a cinch to change the oil and filter.

As would be expected, the oil meets ILSAC GF-5 specs and is API rated SN/SM/SL/SJ/ and CF. All this and Polyol ester, too, what more could one want?

http://www.wihandyman.com/forum/showthread.php?53208

Happy Motoring!

[FE3-323]

ran a can of seafoam through it.... had it laying around so figured wth why not.
Next up an oil change & to diagnose the front end clunking issue