What have you done to your P5 today?

I could prob check my spark plugs out,..


I remember that there is a hot plug and cold plug available, and some guys went with a slightly longer plug.

I forget the part numbers.
I think the long ones might be from the 1.6 liter engine, maybe the ZM ??

I just went with the OEM plugs.


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My car gets up to 30mpg on the highway in nice weather.

It drops to about 25mpg with short trips in the winter.
 
I got zero maintenance records on the lil thing.
,.. it would be nice to just do a stage zero and cover all the maintenance...


Here's the big list of things to check if you live in Chile.

They drive their cars up and down dirt roads in the mountains, so they have more things listed to look at and inspect.

A lot of the things are almost free to inspect, adjust, lubricate, or clean.


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Regular NGK copper sparkplugs are the best for our car.
They give the strongest most reliable spark, and they're dirt cheap.

$1.55 American each.

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I've never ran the copper ones, up till now mine have usually called for the more pricey 100k mile ones. except for my expedition, I pulled copper ones out of it and replaced them (only saw a misfire caused by that at around 125k, can't remember if it was iridium tipped ones or what, I'd have to check my orders) about how long do the copper ones go between changes?

It was platinum they called for and I upgraded to the platinum on the expedition when the copper ones I went back with only lasted 15k miles. since these are so easy to get at I will go with your recommendation for copper. and make a note of the replacement interval.
 
also, 60k miles on the timing belt? IIRC these engines are NON interference. I haven't even inspected this one yet. just got done doing two of those on a camry and spectra. not looking forward to a third :ROFLMAO:
 
I've never ran the copper ones,.. about how long do the copper ones go between changes?
... since these are so easy to get at I will go with your recommendation for copper. and make a note of the replacement interval.


Schedule 1 says every 2 years or every 30,000 miles...

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If you drive up and down dirt mountain roads in Chile, then every year and a half or every 18,000 miles...


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also, 60k miles on the timing belt? IIRC these engines are NON interference.

You have a 95% chance that your engine is a non-interference engine.

If you or the previous owners drove the living snot out of your car, including hard down shifting and engine braking, then your engine may have evolved into an interference engine.


There has only been a couple of guys that have bent a valve after snapping a T-belt 😳.

Most people simply just snap their belt and replace the belt.

One guy replaced his belt when he bought his car then snapped it twice more and simply replaced it,.. no engine damage.

I replaced mine because I thought that I had an interference engine, but I won't replace it again until it breaks.

I cut my T-belt on my parts car and put a drill on the Crankshaft...


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I locked the throttle on my drill and slowly rotated both camshafts around 360°...

No contact...


I haven't even inspected this one yet. just got done doing two of those on a camry and spectra. not looking forward to a third :ROFLMAO:


If you do it, or wait for it to snap, get the complete kit and do it right.
T-belt, water pump, idler pulley, tensioner pulley, and the all too important tensioner pulley spring..

Get the complete kit...

My old pulleys were as wobbly AF and needed to be replaced.


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Changed oil and rotated tires.

It was a convenient time to do the oil, but it was also very black at only 2859 miles. Not sure what to make of that, but an oil change is cheap so whatever.

I drive my car pretty hard, but most of my driving is highway miles. I'm a little perturbed to see that my tires are wearing quickly, with only 11k miles on them. Wear pattern is even at least. More chances to try new tires! Might consider switching to a dedicated summer/winter tire when these wear out because I am spending more time at higher/colder altitudes these days.

Wish I had more time and money to take care of this car, but alas it is seeing the life of a daily driver.

Did order some Redline MT-90 GL-4 transmission fluid to try out. Gearbox is starting to feel a bit clunky and notchy with the colder temps, and it's been 25k on the current oil. We'll see how the new fluid improves things (hopefully).

Couple of photos because I was feeling creative. I love this silly thing, quirks and all.
 

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Did order some Redline MT-90 GL-4 transmission fluid to try out. Gearbox is starting to feel a bit clunky and notchy with the colder temps, and it's been 25k on the current oil. We'll see how the new fluid improves things (hopefully).

Couple of photos because I was feeling creative. I love this silly thing, quirks and all.

I thought I recognized that sky color. Where in Oregon?

Definitely try expensive transaxle oil before getting too concerned about the trans. There aren't any specific quirks aside from age and poor 1-2 shifting habits. You should absolutely keep an eye out for an MSP trans with the LSD. I thought my P5 was fun to drive, but the LSD in my MSP is noticeably more awesome (well, the extra 45HP doesn't hurt either).
 
I thought I recognized that sky color. Where in Oregon?

Definitely try expensive transaxle oil before getting too concerned about the trans. There aren't any specific quirks aside from age and poor 1-2 shifting habits. You should absolutely keep an eye out for an MSP trans with the LSD. I thought my P5 was fun to drive, but the LSD in my MSP is noticeably more awesome (well, the extra 45HP doesn't hurt either).
The first photo is along the drive up to Crater lake and the second two are off highways 97 and 58 respectively.

I bought a gallon of Redline MT-90 GL4 75W-90 and I'm going to try it out at some point soon. The shift into 3rd is a little stiff sometimes (my mechanic noted it during a PPI and said it was not uncommon), and the 1-2 shift can also clunk pretty badly if I try to shift quickly. I'm starting to get into the habit of shifting more slowly and smoothly though, as I want to preserve my gearbox. My only other real concern is an occasional whine in the lower gears (1-3 if I recall).
 
Looks like it’s oil change time for my P5 and MSP. What oil filters are we liking lately?

I think this engine uses the same filter as my SR20 powered Miata.
 
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There are filters from the 929 and 626 of different years that fit our car.

They are longer and/or wider with more filter media.

They fit fine.
I use the Fram filter for the 626.


Post in thread 'Boring Daily Build' Boring Daily Build

 
took a crack at fixing the leaking thermostat outlet. The housing and outlet are pitted from a previous leak and the seal doesn't work, dripping coolant from below. I bought a sheet of gasket material and cut it to fit and installed it. there is now a slower leak from the top bolt but it holds pressure now. Likely that I will limp it along and finally order the housing and neck if I can find them both.
 
took a crack at fixing the leaking thermostat outlet. The housing and outlet are pitted from a previous leak and the seal doesn't work, dripping coolant from below. I bought a sheet of gasket material and cut it to fit and installed it. there is now a slower leak from the top bolt but it holds pressure now.

I've got a roll of gasket material too.

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I forget what I used it on.
I think it was my exhaust, along with a tube of high heat copper RTV silicone. Lol

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I do not envy y'all living in the rust belt. This is the first time I got the material. the last time I had to make a gasket for the same thing, I used cardboard paper and a very light coat of sealant (think it was gray in color from permatex) that one held until I sold the car. this one has the slightest seep from the top bolt now but it is slow enough that there is still full pressure after an hour drive and I don't see a daily coolant loss.
 
the first coil pack failed this morning as I left the driveway to head to work. dead on cyl 2. In the diag for that I found a lean code and stumbled across the leak at the same time. the no. 3 injector is leaking vacuum where it goes into the port. got the pack out and noticed some oil on the ceramic of the spark plug so there are a few things added to the to-do list. Merry Christmas y'all!
 
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