Demonic1's "Phoenix" 92 RS BP

[Demonic1]

So I figured I'm on my 3rd MX-3 and I've never started one of these things.
To start, glamour shots of "Angel" my MX-3...



Currently my daily driver is sitting in my driveway without an engine. I blew a headgasket and figured it'd be a good time to do a BP swap.
So I bought a 92 Protege LX after tonnes of hassle from the girl who owned it. When i finally get to see it the body is beat and battered to s#it. Under the hood is a 1990 BP with unknown miles on it. But a quick look under the valve cover and I could tell that it was in good condition. Offered the girl $300 for it and towed it home. The car had a bad tranny, but who cares? It was an automatic. Looking at the car a little closer when I got it home I really could tell that the car had been taken care of *before* the previous owner.

So I started the tear down on the Protege. Cut 90% of the wires, hoses, cables and ALL of the A/C crap. The AC didn't work anyway, and there was no coolant.
Everything came off pretty easy since it had been recently installed (within the past 2 years). The CV axles on it were like new and didn't want to come out. I tore one trying to get it out, and cut the other for good measure.

My MX-3 I took my time and carefully marked and disconnected everything.

Right now I'm at the point where I have both engines out and the tranny off the B6. I cleaned up the tranny a bit, a quick wipedown of the engine bay. Tomorrow I will clean the BP engine and strip the tranny off of it, swap the flywheels, mount the new clutch & tranny, and then start on pulling the ECU. Kill the AC, swap the mounts and maybe a paintjob to the valvecover.
*Edit* 9/29/09 --
Clean the BP *done*
Flush waterpump/system *done*
Take off the tranny *done*
Kill the A/C *done*
Cut that stubborn bolt off the exhaust header *done*
----
Find wiring diagram for auto BP
Find wiring diagram for manual B6
Run VICS wires
Rewire B6 wires to fit BP ECU
Screw that rewiring crap .. PM sent to Ryan for BP09 ECU
----Decided just to go buy the right ECU since I'm not sure if the rewire would work ----
Rebuild clutch slave cylinder *done*
Shave flywheel --decided against it for now... need car soon
Mount clutch/tranny *done*
Swap motor mounts *done*
Rebuild CV Axles *done*
Replace CV shaft seals *done*
Mount motor in body *done*
Having issues getting the CV shafts to mate back into tranny ... *done*
Gonna finish the mechanical connections *done*
Start electrical wiring on *done*
Vacuum hoses *done*
Oil/Water/everything else *done*
Found a local ECU for less ... Now to pick it up (still running the B6 ECU)

So as of 6:30 pm 09/30, the car is running on a B6 ECU, no VICS yet, and a small exhaust leak at the exhaust mani.
Tomorrow I take her out to really test her.

Next projects -
-- BP09 ECU
-- Fix exhaust leak
-- Wire VICS
-- Change Clutch Master Cylinder
-- Bleed hydraulic system
-- Locate mirror ...
-- sand/bondo/bodywork/paint

Bought all the tune up stuff. No local ECU as far as I can find. Also a new passenger mirror (blaze red) because a support beam fell and destroyed mine. Have to start thinking about the dents and bondo after this. If I paint it, I'm just going to keep it blaze red.

Now for some pictures
My engine bay all wiped out and tagged for reinstall.

BP engine right after I got it out.

BP backside *blush*

B6 waiting to be dropped back in the Protege before sending it to the scrapyard.



Also if anyone knows where I can find the wiring I need to do after all this (VICS and such) please point me that way.

[Demonic1]

So yesterday (10/01) was my first real day with her out on the road. I was out looking for a new clutch master cylinder and got a chance to hit a usually empty section of highway. I got her up to 115 before I saw another car (no casualities). Got off the highway and hit a stoplight. As I was taking off it felt like the tranny gave out on me, and I had to push it to the side of the road. Looking at the engine from the passenger side I could see the CV shaft sitting on the exhaust pipe. Jacked car up, took wheel off, slid under the body and on closer inspection I'd sheared the CV shaft off at the splines.
The engine is a touch powerful for the poor CVs ?
Today I'm going to go pick up a new CV shaft, but I seem to recall the last one having to stretch a bit to fit in. I was wondering if anyone had had any luck with putting an intermediate shaft into the BP swap?

Another thing to note, I didn't really want to mess with the wiring for the TPS, so I swapped my throttle assembly over from the B6. The air passageway was slightly smaller, but I figured until I could get the BP09 ECU it would work.

Still running the B6 ECU
Still no VICS (think I'm going to need a new solenoid for it too)
New CV coming soon.
Gotta fix the exhaust leak up front
Swap muffler off the Protege
Maybe punch a hole in the cat.

Renamed car since she was reborn (again) to Phoenix

More pics coming soon.

----edit---- 10/2/09
I was having some issues with bad gas mileage (90 miles = 1/2 tank) And after a few PMs with Ryan we'd tracked it down to the broken fuel pressure regulator solenoid, I stole the one off the B6 and wired it up, and all of it worked well. I filled the tank today after replacing the FPR and did ~50 miles in less than 1/8th of a tank.

I went to Schucks (Orielly auto) because one of the stores said they had the CV in stock at that store. Luckily I checked the box before I walked out with it... and it was the CV for the intermediate shaft assembly. I had told him the right year, make and model for the tranny. We tried the 93 RS CVs and it came up with the same part number... Did someone go back in time and make Mazda switch to intermediate sshafts early?
So I went to Carquest and had them look up the part, and they ordered it, It will be in tomorrow morning. If it's the wrong shaft I'll return it and head to the junkyard... All I really need of it is the section of shaft that mates to the tranny on the passenger side. The drivers side should be the same too, and all I'd have to do would be rebuild the CV with the new splined section.

Still running the B6 ECU, and B6 throttle body...
I was getting some CEL issues before I swapped the FPR solenoid, but if I put it in neutral and ran it to 6k RPMs it would clear the light. After switching the FPR my CEL will come on after a period and won't shut off until the car does.
I'm not too worried about it since I'm hunting a BP09 ECU right now.
I found one off a 97 Kia Sephia but I'm worried it might not match up perfectly.
Also have a possible match on a 93 Escort.

Will start hunting a new TB after the ECU is in and running.
I haven't noticed anything strange with the VICS not being wired, but I'll get it wired ASAP when I get the ECU.

Thanks Ryan!

-----edit 10/4/09-------
Got the CV shafts and am trying to get that installed today. I can't seem to get the lock nut off from the old one, so I'll be cutting that off in a while. Cutting them does not seem to work very well... I used a cheater bar and a craftsman wrench and ended up breaking the craftsman ... I'm not sure what to do now.

The gas mileage seems to have not gotten better. I think it may have been a fluke with the changes I made the other day. I'm about 120 miles into this tank and I've got less than a 1/4 tank left.

Hope the VICS and ECU will help those. Also I need to find the right throttle body soon too.

-----edit 10/5/09-------
Got the new CVs in today. Different brand then I had before. The guy at the parts store said this brand could hold up to the HP better. And I have a lifetime warranty on it too
I spent the better part of 2 days cutting at the locknut to get it loose. I finally cut all the way to the bottom and smacked it a few times with a hammer.
Over the course of doing so I did some damage: Snapped a screwdriver, bent a straight bar, destroyed a craftsman, and went through a dozen grinding wheels.

[Demonic1]

Finally got the BP09 ECU in place. Wasn't exactly a hard project, but it took about an hour. I started off with running the wire from the VICS thru my firewall. I took care when making the connections and soldered then applied shrink tubing to them. Got the wire run through the same plug as my amp power wire. Pulled the ECU, swapped the mounting brackets and then put her in place. Wired the VICS into the connector with the supplied plug (Thanks Ryan!) and plugged her up. Hooked the battery back up and gave her a few minutes (beer break). Came back and started her up, let her run for about 10 minutes (adjustment time?) and then took her on the road. There was a slight improvement in power but not the amount I'd expected. I got back under the dash and made sure the VICS was wired in there right and jammed it in to be sure...
I spent about a week or so driving on it, which has been nice since I got back up to ~25-28 mpg again. But there was a nagging feeling that there should be more power coming out of the engine. Today while I was driving I got a wild hair up my you-know-what and hopped back under the dash. the VICS connector hadn't budged since I installed it, but I tugged on it and it fell out. I pushed it back in one more time and it clicked! Damn thing wasn't fully engaged for over a week... I hopped back on the road and floored it and noticed an immediate difference.
There isn't a real difference in power or anything, but you can feel as it switches powerbands. There's just a touch more oomph on the top end.

Always check your wiring ... especially in those hard to reach spots where you know you'll have to climb again if you don't do it right the first time.

[Demonic1]

Well it was fun while it lasted...

So my swapped BP lasted all of 3 months... I was driving about a month ago down a lonely stretch of highway. I wasn't speeding since I had my daughter in the car with me that night. I was doing about 50 (5 over) and she shuddered and died. I pulled over, checked everything I could out and she started fine again. She ran long enough to get me back up to 50 mph ... then shuddered, clanked, banged, popped flash of fire from under the hood, then dead... followed with a cloud of smoke. I'd thrown a rod. Had her towed home that morning. She's sat in my driveway for the past month.

I found a 1991 Mercury Tracer LTS and got it for a steal. The water pump was gone on it, so I had to tow it home. I've got my MX-3 engine out in under 4 hours! I have pictures, I'll get them up later. My engine bay is still coated in oil...
I think I need to give this engine a once over before I really give it a go.

[fowljesse]

Sorry to read that

[Demonic1]

So Wednesday I got the Tracer. Thursday I pulled all the wiring, hoses, vac. lines, CVs and other assorted parts off my MX-3. Amazing what you can do when none of the bolts are rusted on.
Thursday by 4 pm I had the engine pulled but we had a big wind storm and I couldn't start on the Tracer.
Today (Friday) I got out there and started on the Tracer. I've got the entire wiring harness except the starter pulled. Disconnected the auto tranny from everything but the CVs. The air intake is gone and the battery is gone... Pretty good start.
I've got the radiator/heater hoses, the starter wires, fuel lines, CVs and motor mounts left. I'm planning on doing those Monday morning since I've got plans all weekend. Who would miss the Superbowl to finish an engine swap?
Tuesday will be my parts swapping session.
Waterpump
Tranny/Flywheel
ITB
Valve Cover/Gaskets
Oil/Filter
Belts/Hoses
Spark Plugs
Also cleaning the block up...

I plan on putting it back in on Wednesday. *crosses fingers*

Also of note; I figured out my poor mileage numbers. When pulling the dead BP, my O2 sensor wasn't fully engaged...
Thanks for your sympathy Jesse.

[Demonic1]

Just a quick picture update ...
The Tracer I bought.

The Engine in the Tracer.

And the damage to the last engine ...

[Demonic1]

Alright, current state of engine/parts listing.

92 RS parts
The transmission it the original F-series
Wiring harness
Passenger CV is new
Driver side is 2 years/40k old...
IAC

91 Tracer LTS
The block/head
Fuel injector #2
stock Dist. cables (Protege had NGKs, but one of them had rusted to s---?)
Distributor

90/92 Protege
Valve cover
The fuel rail
Fuel rail wiring
Fuel injectors #1, 3, & 4...
Throttle Body
Distributor Cap
VCIS solenoid
Fuel pressure regulator solenoid
Air intake
Water Pump


Also my CEL codes are CLEAR ! I've been through and reset the ECU a few times to be safe...
I currently have a timing issue (I think). When I swapped the water pump onto the block, I marked the belt, cranks, etc. but I think when I put the tensioner on I missed a tooth. I had to advance the timing (using distributor) to get the idle as smooth as it is. I think it's still a touch off. I'm tired of working on the car, but all the shops I've checked won't work on my Frankenstein car. I'm thinking I might be able to just tell them it's a 90 protege and call it good. The rough idle could be a vacuum leak, a fuel rail issue, or timing. The last shop I talked to, the guy wanted a complete list of mods before he'd even look under the hood.
Looks like I may have to do the timing myself.

[Demonic1]

I've had these lights installed in my car for a while now, but never thought about posting them. I was looking through the electrical section and figured I might as well post them. Put them behind a link because they're a little big.
http://www.pix8.net/pro/pic.php?u=2838Ipxto&i=1153442
http://www.pix8.net/pro/pic.php?u=2838Ipxto&i=1153443
http://www.pix8.net/pro/pic.php?u=2838Ipxto&i=1153444

The interior lights are blacklights, and my seatbelts glow with a red/orange tint. The dome lights are just ebay 5 SMD LEDs versions. The footboard ones are the pre-wired 12v 5mm LEDs that I stitched to sticky velcro and mounted on the panels. They're wired to the dome lights so they all come on when I open the door, and of course when I turn them on manually.
The light under the hood was mainly so that I could just see if I did get stuck on the side of the road. It's wired to a mercury switch under the hood, and a switch inside my car by the stereo... why? Because you can see the red lighting out the front grill. It's awesome. Seriously.
Also in the strange wiring projects I have a set of 3 40mm server fans zip-tied together and mounted underneath my head unit. During the summers my stereo has a hard time keeping cool and when it overheats I lose music (not cool). I have them wired to a switch so I can turn them on/off whenever I please. I wonder how hard it'd be to put a temp switch under there.

*edit* forgot to mention that I taped and chromed the inside of my dome light to put out more light.

[SteeleMX3]

any name/brand info for the hood light thing you've got? me like

[Demonic1]

any name/brand info for the hood light thing you've got? me like

I picked it up off ebay for ~3$ US w/ shipping. It's an SMD LED strip prewired for 12v. I added the mercury switch from the Mercury Tracer, and a toggle switch from RadioShack. The strip had double-sided 3M tape on the back of it already so I put it on a curved section under the hood so it points straight down when the hood is open.

Ebay search for "12v SMD LED strip" and you should come up with something. I'll PM you with a link for the style I bought. Just in case you're not checking this post.

[Demonic1]

So today I took my car in for diagnostics on the power seatbelt issue. They've ordered the parts for warranty replacement. I'm waiting on that for a week or so. They'll call when it's there.

I was driving after that, just doing the speed limit for once. Car died while going down the freeway. wouldn't start back up while rolling. I though maybe my timing issues had caught up to me (skipped tooth). I got it off to the side of the FREEWAY and amazingly two mechanics pulled over and diagnosed the snapped timing belt. They said they could do it for me, but not on the side of the road. I said "I can do it, but thanks". Called my cousin and he came and drove me to get a belt, then to the library to figure out the cam positions. Back to the car and I got it all apart and put back together with the few tools I had in my car. In under 3 hours including driving and library and such. My timing was real rough since I couldn't find the timing marks like they were on the manuals. I stopped at a mechanic and asked about a pricing... he quoted me 331 for parts and labor. The labor time was 4.2 hours. I laughed at him. I did it on the side of a freeway with almost no tools in under 3 hours.

I bought a timing light and looked over my chilton (which was at home of course) for the timing marks. I'll get out and do that tomorrow.

[SteeleMX3]

I bought a timing light and looked over my chilton (which was at home of course) for the timing marks. I'll get out and do that tomorrow.

I have the chilton as well, but I couldn't for the life of me find the friggen timing belt replacement section..which I was told is in there
Also, I didn't know you even could use a timing light anymore...

p.s. I dunno if you're aware of my timing belt handicap but I sure as h3ll could've used 1 pair of Demonic1 hands for my replacement

[Demonic1]

I'm just going to leave these here...

[Demonic1]

So in the long stagnant period in where I haven't posted much....

I bought a junkyard BP, listed at 69k miles. During the swap I found part of a sticker saying they replaced the timing belt at 100k 4 years prior. So I got took by a junk yard. Going over the engine it looked like it'd been worked on before sale. The head gasket looked good, the compressions was good, the water pump had been changed? (new gasket) timing belt was immaculate (but might have been the one from 4 years ago) the plugs/wires/dist cap were new... and on it goes. Straight swap in a day, since I was starting a new job and needed a car to get there.
She blew a head gasket in less than a week.

I bought a 94 Escort LX asap to keep my job.

A few months went by and I finally decided to get the MX-3 running again. I found a "running" 1.6 SOHC and put that in. I figured I could rebuild the BP and abuse the B6. The B6 blew smoke like it was a fog machine. So right now I'm letting the B6 sit, rebuilding the BP (slowly) and driving the 'scort.

The BP head has been removed, a full upper gasket set was purchased. I've gotten the valve seals replaced, soaked the HLAs in Seafoam and gotten the cams back in (with new bolts). I probably should have lapped the valves while I had it apart but the intake and exhaust sides looked to be good. The head has been surfaced along with the intake and exhaust sides. I removed the timing belt cover and I'll be painting the valve cover with high-temp today. Probably paint my fuel rail today too. I can't afford new fuel injectors so I covered them in seafoam yesterday and let them soak until I get home later. Got new fuel injector isolator rings/whatever they're called. Rockauto had them for like $3 a set. I'll be wrapping the exhaust manifold instead of using the shield. And of course ALL OF THE GASKETS.

Anyone know where I can find ARP head studs/bolts for less than $100? I'm cheap but I really want the head gasket to be less of a worry for me.