#1289 - A story of rebirth

[ZealoustheEnder]

You are on the right track. You can not get the lower timing belt cover off until you remove the harmonic balancer. Plus all the 10mm bolts that hold it on.

 

[OThree.5]

You are on the right track. You can not get the lower timing belt cover off until you remove the harmonic balancer. Plus all the 10mm bolts that hold it on.

Thanks.. I knew the lower one would be a b**** from the videos (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6lJ_3yw_Tc) and the DJDevon3 (mazda 626) series on youtube.

PMP video is specific to the MSP and does a better job of showing SETTING the timing from scratch, where the DJDevon series goes WAY more in depth about HOW to get to all the s*** you have to take off, ect.. but I don't like the way he breaks the crankshaft loose by filling piston chamber 1 with rope.. and then going at the crank bolt with a cheater bar. Yikes.

It might work.. but that's not how I will ever do it. If my wire / impact wrench method didn't work, I was going to fabricate a bracket to hold the crank pulley in one place, mounted in the motor mount holes, doing a 90*ish bend, ending flush with crank pulley.. with a hole in the middle big enough for the impact socket and two little holes to hold the pulley.. it would have been PIMP, but I didn't need even need to.. so the rope trick is SUPER ghetto if you ask me. (especially with our untrustworthy connecting rods)

I will take a pic of my wire method when I put it back together.. just for the record if someone else stumbles across this and doesn't like the rope in the cylinder trick either.(unamused)

 

[ZealoustheEnder]

I use the cheater bar on the ground method, just put the cheater bar on the ground and tap the starter.

 

[Maxx Mazda]

Use a GOOD impact (bad electric one won't do) to get the crank bolt off. Or use a pulley tool screwed into the two bolt holes there for that exact purpose.

 

[OThree.5]

I have an electric one, but its not the "bad" one.. it is the more expensive one that supposedly hits at 240lbs (doubtful but hard enough for almost anything)

So its confirmed the timing was WAY off. I got all the way down to the keyway tonight. TDC is at 12 o`clock.. the keyway position was at 4...

Once I got the timing belt off, I turned the crank with tape over the flat spot on the head with the plug holes. Apparently that orange painters tape is good enough to hold a bad seal. I wasn't expecting it, but when I turned the crank back to TDC, I could hear the air sneaking by the tape. I will do another real compression test later, when I am dry cranking, right before I plug the fuel pump relay in and fire.

I am starting to get excited about this car again.

Oh yeah.. did you guys know we have bright blue struts and a bright red sway bar? (joking.. mine were so dirty that you could barely tell)

 

[hornsfan10609]

FYI regular protege radiator holds less fluid and is less efficient than the stock dual-core rad, you should look into an aluminum full size radiator.

 

[ZealoustheEnder]

Plus an aluminum radiator from some companies comes with a lifetime warranty

 

[OThree.5]

is there any better (or rather, economical) solution than the $255.00 Mishimoto?

I think its worth noting that the MP3 radiator is wider.. and with a FMIC, you can use that extra space.. so there IS more surface area there.. just saying..

EDIT: I've kept my eyes on tracking numbers all day.. I have a tap and die set waiting for me and a new front wheel lug.. NO timing belt / water pump today.. so the jobs I can choose from at this point are either drilling that exhaust bolt and tapping the hole, headlight restore, or the wheel lug replacement. I don't wanna do the headlights until I hear it run, but it would make a big appearance difference with the least amount of work.. and its not HARD work.. could even do that job over an old towel, chillin inside watching TV.. (I need something like that right now lol)

 

[Valk]

corksport is selling theirs for $199 atm. get one while you can. and $255 is kinda fk all for performance auto parts i think?

 

[Maxx Mazda]

False. While the MP3/sedan radiator is wider, it has less surface area because it isn't nearly as thick as the MSP one. An aftermarket full thickness replacement solves this problem, but the MSP rad is actually a higher capacity than the standard one.

 

[OThree.5]

Well I guess I will take a look at the corksport then..

 

[hornsfan10609]

Honestly I don't recommend the corksport, I installed one in a friend's MSP and it didn't fit well AT ALL. The bottom locating pegs don't fit in their holes and the brackets on top don't fit either, you have to tighten them down to secure the rad and it still doesn't 'fit' like it's supposed to. My mishi fit perfect and they even replaced it no questions asked when the first one started leaking.

 

[Valk]

Getting new pegs attached isn't a big deal. Getting the big rad for cheap was the point. But that is the reason they were liquidating them. I guess the company they used to assemble them fked the dog. New holes for.mounting up top no big deal.
Od course for $255? $299? You don't have that problem at all.

 

[OThree.5]

I see.. Well that kind of sucks. (about the corksport) I have to fabricate enough, I would honestly rather pay the extra $56 for the mishimoto and have it fit properly. I had a similar issue when I changed radiators in the Tercel.. it was a pain in the ass to fabricate new brackets, and its still not perfect, because the whole radiator sits about 1.5" lower than the old, and now my radiator cap scrapes the radiator support bracket when I take it off / put it on, and I am too lazy to pull the whole thing again. lol

It sounds like Mishimoto has a monopoly on our radiator options

 

[Valk]

for the amount of cars that will ever use an upgraded rad, they prob aren't making a great amount off of us. just too small a market for msps. even modified p5s arent that common. i dont count rims and a loud intake/exhaust modified.

 

[31N007]

If you're looking for a pointer on how to install the rear motor mount/ insert, Corksport has installation manuals on their site. You will have to get a 1/4" ratchet with plenty of extensions and a pivot joint thing (universal joint?) to get to the two (10?)mm nuts that holds the plastic cover that holds the engine loom in place on the firewall. After that, there is one stud that you'll have to knock off (see CS's instructions) to get to the (14?)mm motor mount bolts. Once they're off, pull the bolt out of the middle of the bushing and pull the frontmost portion of the mount up and then pull it out of the top. I removed the battery and think I also took off the intake manifold tube too (I'm not 100% sure though).

It's not that it's hard, it's more that it was rather unconventional to get to what needed working on.

Good luck to you keeping the thing running. I'll concede that the MSP might not be the easiest or most reliable car out there, but when running, they're probably a blast to drive (if my P5 is anything to go by.) Sub 2800 lb car with a decent suspension setup makes for a fun ride. I have a few friends who own MS3s and they found the backseat in my P5 roomier than their cars (makes me feel a little better)

For the timing, check and check again. I ended up a tooth off on mine when I timed from scratch. No major worries, just a bit more hassle.

 

[hornsfan10609]

You just need a 10mm deep socket and 1/4 wrench to get the plastic loom off the firewall, and don't snap the stud off just bend it out of the way and bend it back when done. You will see when you get in there, also have to remove the battery and cold pipe. If you use extensions and get the nuts off from the top then the through bolt from the bottom it isn't that bad.

 

[OThree.5]

I didn't do jack diddly today. My shoulder feels like I've been throwing pitches, and I just couldn't wake up.. (I've been working on this thing every night after work)

On the main job (the timing belt) I am waiting on this fricken package. It seems like when you NEED something, its the last thing to show up... The only part of the disassembly job not done is the water pump. I suppose I could pull it now, but like I said.. not doing jack today.

I pulled the headlights and front bumper off, I am doing the headlight restore inside and I am keeping the front bumper off since the intercooler and pipes show up tomorrow.

I got the old lug out of the hub, but the one they sent me is not the same at all.. Its not going to fit. Too few teeth, and too big compared to the one that i pulled out. Maybe its for a 4 lug protege? I don't know, but its no good for me.

I didn't pull the radiator.. I haven't painted the calipers, and I haven't touched the transmission mount.

Its like a whole other full time job, this thing.. lol

 

[hornsfan10609]

The lug studs are about $2 at the parts store

 

[OThree.5]

My last trip to autozone, they didn't have one