What have you done to your P5 today?
- Thread starter Tg5
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CheeseHelmet
Member
Nice finds dtour.
Karen failed inspection for the second year in a row.Last year was thanks to motor mounts and smoked bumper lights. This year it's thanks to both lower ball joints. The DS was replaced almost two years ago at Firestone and has ~25K miles whereas the PS is OEM and has over 180K miles. I've been looking on Rockauto but not sure what brand to buy. I've read good and bad things about the Beck/Arnley but haven't seen much on the others. I'll add that Rockauto sells the Moog for $125 but Firestone quoted me over $400ea for the same with a lifetime warranty?!
Don't get the dorman or the beck/arnley LCAs. I put a new pair of dormans on last year and one of them bit the dust this summer, I couldn't believe how loose it was after such little use. As for B/A, I initially ordered a set of those (a long time ago) but returned them because they looked like they were welded together by a half-blind 5-year-old.
If you're buying from rockauto and don't want to go for moog, I'd say your best bet is Deeza. I have their tie rod ends and thus far their holding up great. I've been using them for over two years, and I beat the s*** out of them on the track this summer (I <3 kerbs). The real advantage to getting moog parts is that they're often made in Japan as opposed to China/Taiwan/etc. The Deeza parts are made all over eastern-Europe, but I don't really know if that says anything about their quality...
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- 2016 GT ST 47A
JT, you've got that nice oversized garage now and pulled her outside to take pics in the rain? *shakes head* haha....looking good as usual.
Duly noted Cheese. The B/A seem hit or miss....they are either good or bad. I'll take another look at the Deezas and see what type of warranty they have vs. the Moogs etc. and go from there.
Left work early so took advantage of the daylight to jack up the front end and spray the $hit out of the LCA bolts with some PB Blaster. After I did that I sprayed them down some more.
Duly noted Cheese. The B/A seem hit or miss....they are either good or bad. I'll take another look at the Deezas and see what type of warranty they have vs. the Moogs etc. and go from there.
Left work early so took advantage of the daylight to jack up the front end and spray the $hit out of the LCA bolts with some PB Blaster. After I did that I sprayed them down some more.
bikingpro5
Member
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- 03 Protege5
JT, you've got that nice oversized garage now and pulled her outside to take pics in the rain? *shakes head* haha....looking good as usual.
Duly noted Cheese. The B/A seem hit or miss....they are either good or bad. I'll take another look at the Deezas and see what type of warranty they have vs. the Moogs etc. and go from there.
Left work early so took advantage of the daylight to jack up the front end and spray the $hit out of the LCA bolts with some PB Blaster. After I did that I sprayed them down some more.
na i pulled her outside to give her the last bath of 2013 before i tuck her away in her nice new garage. Good luck with the LCAs not looking forward to doing mine this winter either.
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- 2016 GT ST 47A
I see....to me it looked like the entire driveway was wet. Thanks and same to you. BTW, are you ordering the ball joints from Rockauto? If so, which ones were you planning on buying? I still might go this route but wondering if the $30 ones were worth the premium.
bikingpro5
Member
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- 03 Protege5
I would have ordered them from rockauto but its more expensive than i could get them locally (Canada), they should show up early next week. I bought the RAYBESTOS Part # 5051144 which i think are on Rockauto as well just cause buying a $10 part that holds everything together up front scares me and i don't want to replace them every year.
Soundwave.
Autobots detected
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- 2002 Mazda Protege5
Still looking for an exhaust for the p5. everything i find on ebay is all 2 inch piping with a 4 or 5 inch tip. why is it so hard to find a 2 1/2 inch all the way through?
I usually think the MS6 wheels are way too large for the P5, but those match your setup great. Maybe because they are black? Either way, good looking car!
bikingpro5
Member
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- 03 Protege5
thanks, after using them for a few years they are being retired this winter for new wheels.
Racing Beat catback FTW
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- 2016 GT ST 47A
Gotcha and RA does sell them at $33ea.
Oh....care to tease us wiht any info. or is it a surprise? haha
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- 2002 Mazda Protege
Was messing around with a new exhaust idea lately. My current exhaust is a 3" straight pipe, to 2 2.5" polished tips. Under axle, all v band. I made it a while back, now the new exhaust will be the same for the most part, except over axle (scrape everywhere) and side exit through the bumper. So I can see the flames in my side view mirror :O
Which leaves the rear bumper open for a custom diffuser of course. So many ideas.....not enough money
Which leaves the rear bumper open for a custom diffuser of course. So many ideas.....not enough money
Soundwave.
Autobots detected
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- 2002 Mazda Protege5
bikingpro5
Member
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- 03 Protege5
Yeah i know circuit...but the money!
The misses already said no car parts for xmas
mine said none after we buy a new house, moved in 35 days ago have a new set of 17" wheels on the way as well as many other pieces. I agree with circuit about the RB exhaust,
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- 2003 Mazda Protege5
Tried installing my DDM HID's that came in the mail today. Found out that my screws on the fog lights are stripped to oblivion and that the passenger side low beam is harder to replace with a HID than it is with a regular H7 bulb, and the H7 caused many a foul word to be said.
Managed to get the drivers side in, however it comes loose the second I pull the rubber cover for the light off which worries me..
Managed to get the drivers side in, however it comes loose the second I pull the rubber cover for the light off which worries me..
ZoomZoom03
Member
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- 2003 Mazda Protege 5
Good luck with the HIDs - great once you have them in, but like you said getting them in will cause both physical and emotional pain. Couple of recommendations: make sure you study the housing and match up the HID bulb before you go to place it in, as they have to match exactly. Then I assume your kit came with a little black "hat" that you run the bulb wires through for each side, you have to position that perfectly as well so that the little tabs on the side have pressure on them when the "painful" clips are locked back in place. So happy that HIDs last for quite some time!! And P.S. yes the foglight screws may as well be butter!!
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CheeseHelmet
Member
After over a month of sitting in the driveway I actually worked on mine today. I stripped the threads on the captive nut that holds in the left-rear LCA bushing and didn't feel very safe on the track with it in that condition (it would make a horrible clunk every time the weight sifted from side to side).
After installing an M12x1.25 helicoil all is well, everything got torqued back up to 90 ft-lbs and as far as I can tell the clunk is gone!
After installing an M12x1.25 helicoil all is well, everything got torqued back up to 90 ft-lbs and as far as I can tell the clunk is gone!
The best way to get them in and get everything situated is to remove the housing completely and utilize a workbench or kitchen table. The rubber grommet can be a real PITA to get situated. Depending on the condition of the factory rubber boot on the back of the housing, you MIGHT have to make a small relief cut or two, but with enough finesse it should go right in. Good luck!
Last some time? You must be running/have run a 35W kit. I had the 55W DDM kit with 8000K bulbs and they lasted just about 6 months to the day before one finally burnt out. It started dimming after about 5 months. I switched to 6000k for the new bulbs and I made it about 5 months before switching back to halogen. Both bulbs were just starting to show signs of needing replaced too, so it was perfect.
ZoomZoom03
Member
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- 2003 Mazda Protege 5
If you have the time to remove the bumper to access the brackets that hold the headlights in place, then it definitely will be much easier to work with. Yeah I was using the 35W kit, I had a similar 55W kit with the same issues that you are describing.
