FAQ: 2.5L KL engine swap info

[David Coleman]

Engine Swap!
I've been saying it for over a year now: "I'm going to swap the engine, I'm going to swap the engine..."

So, now it's happening for real. As it happens, I'll update these pages with tons of pictures and text.

Step 1: Finding the right engine

Jan 22nd 1999 : I start the hunt for a 2.5L KL-ZE, the Japanese 195hp version of the V6 found in the 626 and MX-6 overseas. This motor is not easy to find. Infact, as of now I haven't pinned one down for sure yet. I've gotten a few leads that went sour, but I'm still looking....

Jan 25th 1999: Found what was supposed to be a KL-ZE for $1400cdn, ordered it into the shop and it turned out to be a regular 2.5L Probe GT engine. Big disappointment, here I thought the search was over. We sent it back...

Jan 27th 1999: Found the real thing, a true KL-ZE engine for $1200USD. Exactly what I was looking for. Only problem is that it's in southern USA, which would mean I have to import it and pay taxes & duties and all that stuff. I promised myself if I don't find a Canadian distributor by the 1st of the month, I'm ordering this engine regardless. Got another lead on a KL-ZE in Toronto, which is being looking into by a friend on the 29th. Here are some great pics of the KL-ZE from the USA:


Jan 29th 1999: It's a done deal. The KL-ZE from Toronto is the real McKoy. Steve ("Tekguy" from the MX-3 Mailing List) who lives in Toronto did me a huge favor and actually went down to physically inspect this engine and ensure that it was indeed what we were looking for. The problem had been that almost every engine importer I've talked to had been trying to pass off KF-ZE (the Mazda 2.0L V6) as a replacement for the north american 2.5L version. This is likely due to the cost difference between the two. Anyways, Steve checked it out, and they did indeed have a KL engine (/w id stamped into the block) with the telltale squared off intakes and the oddly positioned VRIS compared to the standard north american 2.5L V6 (the KL-03). There are (unfortunately) many different versions of this KL engine, even among japanese versions. I have now seen 3 different intake manifolds on the KL-ZE engine, and Steve noted that the one that I bought is not like any of the others we have seen. Closest to the one above, except that it has the final portion on the manifold right by the throttlebody aimed more towards the front of the car and not so much straight out and towards the drivers side like the photos above. So, I ordered it, and it should arrive here in Ottawa by about the 5th of February. Stay tuned for the next stage, the actual removal of the 1.8L and installation of the 2.5L.

Feb 5th 1999: More bad news. The engine from Toronto showed up, and had too much damage to the rear portion to risk installing. Damn it. It was the correct J-spec engine from the MS8, but the oil pan was crushed and there was no way of knowing if the internal components were safe or not. Engine mounts were also broken off. So, we're 0 for 2 on engines so far. Now I have to try to get my money back out of the Toronto shop. Learn from my mistakes, always pay with a Mastercard in case the engine supplier turns out to be less than reputable. I paid by certified cheque that was promptly cashed before the engine even arrived. I smelled a rat when they insisted that they couldn't take credit cards over the phone, but I was too horny for this engine to let my common sense prevail. Be warned. Always use plastic for major purchases from companies that you haven't dealt with before

Feb 8th, 1999: The unthinkable happened. Some lowlife ransacked my car. Gone is a whole bunch of stuff. I was quite pissed off. Anyways, not really related to the swap, but I thought I'd vent a little...

Feb 11th 1999: Remember the great looking engine in the above photos? Well, I decided to bite the bullet and order it regardless of import taxes and our weak dollar. Only problem is that in thinking that the other engine was ok, I informed the Ford Probe mailing list of the availability of the KL-ZE in North Carolina. Guess what? Within two days, one of the guys from that list that asked me about it bought it. Good for him, bad for me. However, Eric from Japan Direct (1-888-518-7341) who sent me the original photos above mentioned that he did have another one coming in from Japan, that is to arrive in mid-March. It's literally on the slow boat from China, and I didn't waste any time in giving him my credit card # to secure first crack at this engine when it arrives. So, the KL-ZE project is on hold for about a month until the motor hits north america. Stay tuned....

March 17th 1999: This has got to be the longest step 1 ever, eh? Well after more than a month of waiting, my engine finally arrived in North Carolina late last week. Here is a picture of the new engine. Yes, it's the right one again, with all the tell tale signs of the j-spec intake (straight before the throttlebody, squared off tubing, different VRIS placement, etc). It looks fantastic even if I do say so myself! It's going to be shipped out tomorrow, and is likely to arrive early next week when the real fun begins.

Oh, btw, I did get a full refund back from JK Auto parts (the engine importer in toronto with the damaged 2nd engine). An honorable orginization, couldn't get the engine I needed fast enough. I was quite concerned that I might not get my cash back, but they did come through.


March 27th 1999: Well, the engine swap project (yes, still step 1) got much more real today, since the engine actually showed up at the shop where we're going to be working on the swap. To be honest, it was almost laughable. After more than a year of trying to find a motor, rejecting other ones, and shipping things half way around the world, my initial reaction when I was shown the motor was "damn, it's kinda small". Maybe I just built it up in my mind over all this time, but yes, it's just a 250 pound hunk of metal when it gets right down to it...

So maybe the engine won't be in by the end of the month, but the old one will be out of the car as soon as tomorrow. However, we don't have a clutch yet, and the flywheel will have to be machined down to about 13-14 pounds, so the next steps might take a week or two while we wait for these things to happen

Enough rambling, here are the new pictures as the engine now sits on a skid on the garage floor (click on pics for larger images). Sorry about the bad resolution, my digital camera is the shits and it only does 320x240 or whatever...


Here it is as it currently sits on the shop floor.
Here I'm actually just pointing at the engine serial number. It's listed as KL ######, sorry don't remember the actual number...
The neck portion of the intake manifold looks like it is going to cause some minor/major problems. The neck, for lack of a better term, is perfectly straight out and parallel to the engine, unlike the 1.8L V6 which has a severe bend (maybe 60 degree) towards the front of the car, or even the 2.5L north american model which has maybe a 45 degree bend. This means that it's going to run right into the brake fluid resevoir, unless we relocate it somewhere else. Shouldn't be a big deal, just an unexpected problem
Bad picture, but this is a shot of the throttlebody open, and if you were standing there you'd be able to see how the intake is immediately split into two chambers, presumable one for the rear bank an one for the front bank. It's cut in half top to bottom, right behind the plate on the throttlebody. I'll measure the opening on the tb, but I believe it's the same diameter as the north american 2.5L which is 60mm if I remember corectly.
From an automatic equipped car....

April 3rd 1999: Not much new to report except there is now an ACT Stage II street disk, pressure plate, and throwout bearing paid for and in transit from California, and UR Underdrive pulleys are also arriving hopefully some time next week.

Step 2: Relocating the Battery

April 5th 1999: My mid to long range plans for the car are to make a straight line accelerator, not a track racing machine. Since the MX-3 is front wheel drive (duh), it would be idea to have the battery remain over the front wheels for more traction on takeoff. Drag racing cars want as much weight as possible over the drive wheels, while track racing cars want an even weight distribution so they usually relocate the battery to the rear passanger side to help balance the car out for more even handling (offsetting the weight of the driver). There was a pretty good article in the April 1999 edition of Sport Compact Car where they were working on a Subaru I believe.

However, due to the position of the intake on the new 2.5L, the rubber elbow from the throttlebody to the VAF would need to run right through where the battery now sits. So, the battery is getting a new home in the trunk, even though I'd love to keep it up front. Also, if I ever decide to go ahead and add a turbo (idea on backburner until next year at least) there will be room under the hood.

For the complete process on the battery, click here

Yes, we're still waiting for UPS to deliver the clutch. By the time this update hits the web it should be here and the actual engine removal will probably be under way.

Step 3: Still dragging our feet...

April 17th 1999:

The ACT Stage II arrived early this week, it's a full face street disk (good for up to 275lbs-ft) with a pressure plate with a clamping force of 1600lbs. Here are some pictures.

I have the good forture of having Vaughn Nishimura (MX-3 Mailing List Manager, 2.5L MX-3 Owner, & Mazda Guru) make the drive in to Ottawa from Montreal on Saturday night to give me a hand with double checking the ZE against my current stock 1.8L and his 2.5L. Most of the info on this update are pulled from the mental notes I tried to absorb while chatting with Vaughn for most of the night. If you're and MX-3 fanatic and you don't know who Vaughn is yet, you must live under a rock. Start here: http://tor-pw1.netcom.ca/~dragon64/index.html He's probably forgotten more about our cars that I'll ever know...

Anyways, the old engine was supported to come out today, but there were a few snags. I had a chance to take a really good look at the ZE parked right next to the K8 last night, and there looks to be what we could call a major problem. As expected, there are no hookups for the EGR sensors on the exhaust manifolds (doesn't matter we're using the 1.8L exhaust manifolds), and the distributor is completely different. It came with a KF distributor with external coil, we are planning to use KL distributor off the 1.8L. Again for those who love pictures, here is a few shots of the KF distributor that came off the ZE.

The other thing that we found out is that the front exhaust manifold is different than the one used in North America. Apparently, on the MX-3 the manifolds used are K8 on front and rear (makes sense) and on the 626/MX-6/PGT they used the K8 in front and a KL in the rear (K8 & KL). That's why if you notice on Vaughn's swap when he used both manifolds off of the 626 engine he had to modify the rear on to get it to lineup to the y-pipe, but when Luc St. Pierre did his 2.5L swap (see http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Down ... index.html) he used the manifold from the existing 1.8L (K8 & K8) and it bolted up no problems. To make a long story short, if I were to keep the exhaust manifolds that came on the ZE (KL & KL) I would have to re-weld both to get them to line up. So we're using both exhaust manifolds from the 1.8L and it should bolt up no problem with no welding required. Sorry if the above seems confusing, all I was really trying to say if the front manifold that shipped with the ZE (presumably from a MX-6 or Capella) is different from what we are used to seeing. Here are picts of the manifolds with heat shield removed front and back. Notice there is no EGR plumbing.

We have run into what we might call a major snag. The MX-6 style intake manifold shown above just won't fit. From the measurements I was able to do, it looks like the neck of the intake manifold more specifically the throttle body) is going to touch the master brake cylinder. On Luc's web page he mentions that there is only about 8 mm clearance for the KL-03, but the neck on the ZE is longer and straighter. So, now the question is what can be done about it (I'm assuming the cylinder can't be moved back further into the firewall, correct?).

The image the best solution would be to find one of those MS8 intake manifolds like the one Michel (PGT list) had on his page (http://members.aol.com/suprprobe/KLZE.html). That version has the nice curve in it, but sourcing one of those would probably be next to impossible (not to mention incredibly expensive). Another idea is cutting an inch of so off the actual manifold and re-welding it back together, but this would be quite ugly and god knows how it would affect the air flow and/or sensors that measure it. Other bad ideas include inserting an rubber 'elbow' before the tb (not after) to bend around the problem area.

April 18th 1999: For a temporary solution we will probably take the 1.8L intake manifold and throttlebody and use them on the 2.5L ZE. There is now a good chance I'll get my hands on a MS8 intake manifold and throttlebody in a straight swap for the MX-6 versions of both.

Since flywheel and new axles won't be available till monday anyway, the ZE won't be in the car until next week. Watch for another update Tuesday April 20th.

May 21st 1999: Sorry it took so long to get to this next part. Basically as I write this the ZE is installed and working great. Michel "SuperProbe" Fortier generously offered up his intake manifold from the MS8 in exchange for my MX-6 manifold that didn't fit. Once that piece of the puzzle came through, it was just a matter of dropping it in. Easy, right?

Here is the step-by-step to install an engine in your MX-3 V6. First step is GO BUY THE MANUAL. This is a relatively easy installation (from what I was told, it all seems like rocket science to a rookie like me) if you have the instructions it is no different from replacing a blown engine. Everything bolts up where it should, no cutting engine mounts or anything ugly like that. Just grab that wrench set and bolt on about 50% more horse power than stock.


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[David Coleman]

GO BUY THE MANUALS. They have all kinds of great drawings that expain the whole procedure step by step. No difference from 1.8L to 2.5L. A truly amazing swap...
1) First things first, find a place with enough room to work and jack up the car at the jack points. Be smart, use more than one set of jack, you don't want to die under your car. I'm paroid about this, and had double jack, a spare tire and a big log 'just in case' (see #6).

2) Disconnect your battery (pos first).

3) Next, drain all the fluids out of the engine. Oil, transmission fluid and rad coolant. Dispose of them properly (please don't just dump them down the drain).
3) Next yank out the rad/fan assembly. I also removed the overflow canister, but you don't really have to do this in order to get the engine out.
4) Remove the tubing to the rad at the block not at the rad and leave them attached to the rad to save yourself the trouble of putting them back on. They are on damn tight and aren't fun to work with.

5)Remove your battery if it's still under hood, and take out the brakets underneith. If you've still got the factory air box, you'll need to unbolt it first. If it's already gone, disconnect the VAF from the throttlebody and remove it too.
6) Now you've got a bit more room, and things should look something like these two pictures.
7) Unclip the throttle cable from the throttlebody and tiestrap it out of the way. You can't really see it from the pictures but it just pulls out of a little guide and then you unbolt it from the intake manifold
Unscrew the steering fluid resevoir and pull it out of the way. You can also now disconnect the vacuum hose from the intake manifold to the cruise control (shiney up-down cable on picture at right) and tuck it aside.
9) These pictures might be a little hard to see but there is a bracket holding the power steering pump hose to the block, you need to remove the bracket to remove the engine. It's sort of buried, you'll need an extension on your ratchet.

10) Since they were being replaced anyway due to the underdrive pulley in my case, I cut off all the accessory belts since I needed shorter ones. If you are not replacing your crank pulley it's probably a good time to replace these belts anyways.

11) If you've got A/C, unbolt it from the block and duct tape it to the frame. BE CAREFUL, you don't want to bend any of the piping here or damage the compressor, they are not cheap parts.
12) Pull your spark plug wires out so they don't get damaged.
13) Follow your wiring harness around the engine, label everything and then disconnect them one by one. Remember you have to be able to put everything back together at a later point. And no, you won't remember what goes where so keep detailed notes and use lots of ziplock bags and masking tape to label things.
14) There are two fuel lines you'll need to disconnect under the throttlebody. Have rags ready, it will spray. Leave you gas cap off to relieve pressure in the lines, or else it will continue to spill gas everywhere.
15) At the same time remove the two heater hoses from the block (same general area as the fuel lines) and disconnect the vacuum hose from the back of the block to the brake fluid resevoir.

16) Pull your wheels off (it would have help if you loosened the nuts before jacking the car up). Now here's where things got really ugly.
17) You need to separate the axles from the hub. Problem was one these things are torqued to hell and my passanger side nut was rusted on really good. Clive, my mechanic, isn't a small guy, and even with a 3 foot breaker bar and a few hundred pounds of clive bouncing his weight on it, not a thing budged. It had to be cut off with the dremel (see picture #2).

18) This took almost 3 hours, and it should have been 5 minutes. Once the nuts were off the axles separate from the transmission pretty easily. I replaced both axles as a precautionary measure, since the old ones were worn anyways. Remanufactured axles are about $60 each.

19) Disconnect the y-pipe from the exhaust manifolds. Unbolt the engine mount member AFTER properly supporing the engine with the engine hoist.
20) Remove your hood, you can't get the engine out otherwise. Great time to make hood scoops...

21) Unbolt the engine mount and start gently lifting the engine and transmisison out of the car. Careful to check for any remaining hoses, brackets or wiring that might still be attached. Slowly crank it up with the help of a friend.

22) Well, you did it. It's out. Basically now you just reverse the whole process to get it back in. You'll have to move over some things to the new engine like all the EGR plumbing, and crack the transmission from the engine to change you clutch, but that's basically it.

23)The only non-fitting pieces changing to the 2.5L were already well documented on Luc & Vaughn's pages. The vacuum hose from the cruise needs to be extended by a few feet since the connector on the 2.5L intake manifold is on the other side of the engine, and another foot or so is needed to attach the vacuum hose that goes to the block from the brake fluid resevoir. Those were the only difference I encountered as well.


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[David Coleman]

From Luc St. Pierre's Site:

quote:
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My engine swap
First of all, I owe many thanks to Vaughn Nishimura for proving me that the 1.8L to 2.5L was possible and even that it was almost "bolt-on". I had this engine swap on my mind since I got the car 4 years ago. At first I thought the performance of the 1.8L engine was great, but after a few months (and after a few Civics made a fool of me) I needed some serious steroids. Everyone told me it was impossible (Mazda mechanics, members of the Mazda-list and friends). Everybody was wrong.

Step 1: Find a healty engine

I was lucky enough to find a 1997 626 engine with only 6,000km. The thing was a real beauty; not even traces of corrosion on metal brackets/bolts. It still had the original oil filter and break-in oil. Of course it was a bit more expensive than other engines, but after doing a few calculations it was still a bargain. No timing belt to replace, no gaskets (oil pan, head) and oil seals (crank) to replace. Compression was the same on all 6 cylinders (no ring job).

Step 2: Buy the spare parts required

A smart move would be to buy the Mazda shop manual. Glad I did. Not that the swap is very complicated but It can be really helpfull to understand the vacuum system and for troubleshooting purposes. Here's my shoping list:

distributor O-ring (1)
Cotter pins for Tie rod ends (2)
Self-locking nuts for downpipe (6)
Downpipe Gaskets (2)
Exhaust manifold gaskets (2)
Drive shaft clip (1)
Vacuum tubing (a few ft)
Penetrating fluid! (my can did some overtime!)
Step 3: Let the fun begin!

Disconnect the battery, drain the engine coolant,... I basically followed the removal instructions of the shop manual. Once the transaxle seperated from the 1.8, we placed both engines side by side on the ground to check what's the same and what's different. The cylinder block castings share the same overall dimensions but are issued from different molds. Of course the intake manifold is quite different but who cares anyway?

Surprise! The water outlet pipe on my new engine has only one sensor (no fan thermosensor). Apparently 96 and 97 models have the fan thermosensor located in the radiator. So I had to remove the timing belt covers, tensioner, timing belt to gain access to the bolts holding it to the head. I used the water outlet pipe from my 1.8L. By the way, changing the timing belt on this engine is very easy (when the engine is on the floor). I now know why Mazda charges 4.5 hours to do it in the engine bay!

Surpise #2: Exhaust manifolds are longer on the 2.5L. Vaughn warned me that the flange of the right manifold wouldn't fit the downpipe's manifold (requiring some cutting and welding) but I wasn't prepared for this one. I decided to try the 1.8's manifold on the 2.5 and the were fitting wonderfully!

Surprise #3: EGR valve's connector does not mate to the wiring harness. I simply swapped wy 1.8's EGR valve on the 2.5. Then it was the time to figure out the vacuum system. The 2.5 has one manifold vacuum port more than the 1.8 so I decided to plug it. As indicated by Vaughn, the canister purge solenoid is mounted on the MX-3's firewall so I now have a spare solenoid mounted on the engine. The rest of the job was basic plumbing.

Now let's get serious! Talk electronics! (I'm an EE ) I was afraid to have to modify the wiring harness. To my great surprise, the only piece that needed to be stretched was the TPS connection. I had to add 2 inches to make it fit properly (the TB on the 2.5 is in the same axis to the engine instead of being after a 45deg bend on the 1.. Besides this one I only had to remove the electric tape on the section going to the VRIS solenoid to provide a greater displacement.

Drivetrain: The flywheel on the 1.8 weight only 16 pounds compared to 20 pounds for the 2.5. Overall dimensions are the same so it was an obvious decision to keep the 1.8's flywheel. I took a chance and kept my stock clutch. After 80,000km of (believe me) spirited driving it only had 0.010" of wear (the car already had close to 155-160hp) so I thought maybe it could hold the 2.5's torque. We'll see...

Step 4: Putting everything back in the car

Still followed the shop manual on this one. Clearance to the braking fluid reservoir was very tight when lowering the new engine in. The new setup only needed a few minor adjustments (throttle cable bracket, bracket that holds the harness in the fuel filter area, a few tie-wraps). We were already ready to turn the key! VRAAOUMMM!!! Thanks to EFI the thing started before the key had reached the end of the stroke. While warming up, we checked for leaks and filled the engine coolant. A quick timing adjustement and we were on the street...

Final surpise! VAF sensor

The car running fine, but after a few minutes of highway driving the check engine light went on. What's wrong? I checked the error code: left and right side feedback system. The troubleshooting procedure was telling to check the components that could cause a too lean or too rich mixture. After a bit of thinking it came clear that the 1.8's VAF (Vane Airflow Sensor) calibration was different from the 2.5's. So I had to buy a VAF from a junk yard and that fixed the problem. WARNING! This sensor is very expensive (1300CDN at Mazda). If you intend to do the engine swap, make sure you buy it with the engine; you'll have a much better price...

Conclusion

Of course this engine swap requires some skills and basic equipment but it wasn't really more difficult than replacing a blown engine. The 2.5 suits the MX-3 like a glove. Driveability has improved thanks to all the torque available (now starting on 2nd gear as it was the 1st). The thing is silky smooth as the original 1.8 when driving normally both turns the car in the MX-3 FROM HELL when flooring the gas pedal.


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[David Coleman]

And then, check the B2 chapter of the Online shop manual for Mazda's official procedure for removal and installation of the engine.

[David Coleman]

Jeff Abrams' http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mazdamx-3 ... sage/18164 back in Oct 99:
From: "Jeff Abrams"
Date: Tue Oct 19, 1999 5:16 pm
Subject: [Mazda mx-3] KL engine swap Blow by Blow. Part...Uh...I lost count.....

Yippie Kai Yay Mother F*cker!!!!!!!
Sorry. I'll calm down now.
This is a TOTALY different car!
This is what I have installed now:

KL-03 long block
K8 intake manifold with KL-03 injectors
K8 ECU
KL-03 VAF
MazdaSpeed motor mounts
ACT clutch set

I'm using all of the original accessories and stuff.
I drilled and tapped a hole near the coolant filler for the temp sensor and
swapped crank angle sensor #2 (the KL sensor had a cut in the insulation
that worried me).
The idle is pretty smooth, but the motor mounts translate a LOT more
vibration.
I think it is running rich, so I will play around with the combination of
components (VAF, ECU, injectors, etc.) until it feels right.
Replacing the clutch did NOT get rid of the groaning/grinding sound the
tranny makes when I decelerate in gear or go into reverse. The motor mounts
make it seem even louder. I am afraid there may be a tranny rebuild in my
near future. I probably wait until it fails, unless the noise gets
unbearable.
I must be leaking coolant somewhere, I can smell it, but I can't find it
anywhere. It isn't coming out the tailpipe (which is a good thing).
The rear downpipe gasket is leaking, too. I figured they would since I
wasn't able to get new gaskets in any reasonable amount of time. I'll order
a set this week. The noise from that isn't too noticeable. I suspect the EGR
pipe may be leaking too, I'll have too check.
My A/C won't switch on either, but I suspect I just unplugged it by
accident.
Well, back to work...

-- Jeff Abrams
1993 Brilliant Black GS

[ April 08, 2002: Message edited by: David Coleman ]

[David Coleman]

Originally posted by pelado:
I don't recall anyone mentioning this but my memory doesn't always work as well as I'd like it to.
I had to use the Crank Position Sensor (can't remember if this is #2 or #1) down by the crank pulley from the MX-3 vs. the one on the KLZE due to connector differences. I didn't realize this until AFTER the engine was in (both are gray on the outside, orange on the inside, who'da thunk it?) and then it was a PITA to swap this part due to the limited space on that end.

P.S.
Don't forget to locate the knock sensor connector to the passenger side of the intake, it's a lot of fun to move if you put on the other end.


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[David Coleman]

When I did the swap [about a month ago now] I used all K8 sensors except the Knock Sensor. I also transferred over the K8 thermostat housing and the coolant neck housing to the ZE. Best to do that while it's out of the car, with the manifold removed. Also, spend the extra money and do all the regular maintaince stuff while it's out of the car. Belts, water pump and gasket, valve cover gaskets, all new intake and exhaust gaskets, etc. It's just so much easier, and it will save you time and money in the long run. http://www.mx-3.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb. ... 5&t=001556 My swap post. Learn from my mistakes

[David Coleman]

How to tell a KLZE from a KLDE:
KLZE will have:
-KL31 xxx marked on the heads
-KL01 or KL31 stamped on the camshafts [KL01 for ZE's from Millenias, and KL31 for ZE's from MX-6's]
-Square runners, either curved neck [Millenia] or long straight neck [MX-6] manifold. NOTE: MX-3's can only use the Millenia curved neck manifold, as the MX-6 manifold puts the TB where the master cylinder is.
-No EGR port on the rear exhaust manifold is definately a ZE, though some ZE's have come with EGR.
KLDE will have:
-KL xxx marked on the heads.
-KL01 cams
-round runners, short necked manifold

Both can have Ford OR Mazda valve covers. I've also seen a few KLZE's with KLDE intake manifolds on them. The main thing is going to be the head code. That's going to tell you what's inside.

[David Coleman]

quote:
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Originally posted by curtklze: I have explained this like 3 or 4 times already. Why the moderators dont put it in the FAQ page is beyond me because no body here seems to know.
From 1991-1993 ALL K series V6 engines came with the same sensor connectors and the same sensor locations, from 1994-and up they changed the sensor connectors and changed the location of coolant sensor.

If you have a 93 MX-3 and you get a 91-93 KL-ZE everything will be the same, if you have a 94 MX-3 and you get a 94- and up KL-ZE everything will be the same. If you have a 93 MX-3 and you get a 94 and up KL-ZE then you will have to swap your sensors(crank, knock, coolant,) and tap a hole into the coolant pipe for the 1 sensor.

There are only a few exceptions, a few cars in 1994 may have come with the old engine(1991-1993) and the related connectors.(1994 was the change over year and mazda probably kept using the old setup untill they ran out of stock, then they switched over to the new setup)


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[Custommx3]

Updated the FAQ to make them readable.