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Many thanks to all who contributed to the discussion above, especially meGrimlock! My shifter quite suddenly got very sloppy, so I stopped into my friendly neighborhood Kia dealer and ordered six bushings and one bolt. Didn't need the nut, I have plenty 8mm nuts laying around. Very easy fix...

Nope. Mine pulls to the right!

My 2002 has pulled to the right since the day I bought it new. 88K miles, several sets of tires, 3 four-wheel alignments, one change of brake pads, and just recently four new struts. Nothing has made a whit of difference. I'm actually thinking of replacing the steering rack because, frankly...

My 2002 has been pulling to the right since I bought it, 88K miles and several sets of tires. It's been aligned three times, including once by the dealer when brand new to address the pull. I recently replaced all four struts. None of this has had the slightest effect on the pull, it's still...

For use at the front end of a Mazda Proteg5, the ProThane 6-1302 bump stops require two modifications. First, the hole in the base needs to be enlarged from 17mm to a snug fit on a 20mm shaft (as opposed to the loose fit needed at the rear). Second, a bevel must be cut on the outside corner of...

OK, I got the LF strut out this afternoon. It has no gas pressure, so a new pair of front struts are now on order. It also had a bit of slop to it, not a lot, but I'm not used to seeing any. Of interest: The rubber boot on the front struts is really rubber! As opposed to the plastic ones on...

Yeah, I saw those preassembled strut/spring combos. So, I coulda paid $260 or so and avoided having to borrow a spring compressor for free. My preference, though, was to pay only $54 for the PAIR of struts plus $13 for a pair of bump stops that'll still be on the job the next time I look at...

Smooth Ride at Suspension Bottom? Well, that's probably true. If the comfort of the ride when you're bottoming the suspension is important to you, the OEM bump stops are the way to go. I'd plan on replacing them every five years or so, though, based on the condition of my 15-year-old bump...

One of my rear struts was making racket, so I'm in the process of replacing it. When I slid the (fake) boot off the old strut, the bump stop came out in crumbs. The biggest piece was a half inch. My car is pampered, garaged, has only 85K miles; if my bump stops have crumbled, y'all's are...

My 2002.5 Proteg5 now has a nice ding that's gonna cost me over $400 to get fixed. It's always been garaged -- and it was the garage that attacked it! My garage door has tension springs. Many do, but others have torsion springs that are wrapped around a shaft; if yours is this latter type...

Y'all are gonna love this. In fact, you're gonna be mad at me for not posting it about 10 years ago when I did it to my own car. Step 1: Visit your friendly neighborhood arts & crafts store. You're looking for those decorative little plastic rhinestones you use to bedazzle pretty much...

Seized Brake Calipers -- 2002.5 Proteg5 The disc brakes in the Mazda Proteg5 are single-piston floating-caliper design. That means that there's only one piston and it's operating on the inner pad. The reaction slides the floating portion of the caliper the other direction, and it's this...

No question here, just a report. I replaced the brake pads on my 2002.5 Proteg5 the other day, and found to my surprise that one of the floating pins on the RR caliper was seized. For those not familiar with the way these floating calipers work, there is only one piston and it acts upon the...

I like leather, but the wife doesn't. We got the cloth seats. Then we went to Sam's Club and bought dark grey sheepskin seat covers dirt cheap, like $30 or some such. They're really nice, never feel hot or cold, always comfy. The only problem with them is you get zapped in dry weather when...

JDM Altezzas? I don't like the OEM taillights because I don't care for the "stacked circle" appearance -- primarily because they stacked the circles at an angle, giving a "vee" appearance to the rear of the car. I don't like Altezzas because they maintained that same stacked circle layout...

I'm the guy who wrote this up in the first place. I didn't even notice the "AUTO" light being on. The wiring diagram uses a symbol for a diode and a resistor in series, so this must be an LED. It must use a really tiny amount of current, could probably be on for years without killing the...

I hate the taillights on my 2002.5 Proteg5, and the various aftermarket lenses are no better -- still have that stupid multiple circle look to them. I would like to buy a set of the taillights used on the 323 Astina or the Familia S-Wagon, the lenses with a horizontal white stripe across the...