JosueP5's '03 Protege5 Build Thread.

[PrinceValorum]

Is there anyway to measure my wheels' "acorn" pitch? I don't need to loose one, or all of my rims while driving down the road because the lugs didn't tighten all the way. LOL

I think Mazda is 1.5 thread pitch, but I'm not 100%. You'd want to check that, lol, iirc Toyota and Nissan are the odd ones with 1.25.

It was nice meeting you today, man. I'm honestly extremely jealous of the condition of your Protege. I hope you can keep it that way, I didn't know they still existed in that kind of condition.

 

[hat1018]

Sub! Don't know what I was thinking when I kept seeing this thread pop up! The lugs are 12mmx1.5 and 60 degree pitch iirc. It is funny how your thread and Evans are kinda mixed together. lol. Nice work so far.

 

[wildcard26]

I think Mazda is 1.5 thread pitch, but I'm not 100%. You'd want to check that, lol, iirc Toyota and Nissan are the odd ones with 1.25.

It was nice meeting you today, man. I'm honestly extremely jealous of the condition of your Protege. I hope you can keep it that way, I didn't know they still existed in that kind of condition.

Yup Mazda Thread Pitch is 1.5.

 

[Josue6WGN]

Just make sure that they are anodized... painted ones are no good.

Thanks for the tip! I think the one red set is anodized. It's the most expensive, but also has free shipping.

I think Mazda is 1.5 thread pitch, but I'm not 100%. You'd want to check that, lol, iirc Toyota and Nissan are the odd ones with 1.25.

It was nice meeting you today, man. I'm honestly extremely jealous of the condition of your Protege. I hope you can keep it that way, I didn't know they still existed in that kind of condition.

Nice meeting you and Pablo as well! And I hope it can stay clean too, lol. Once I get it going, I'm going to give it a super-mega cleaning, top to bottom, inside and out, then get it up on my lift at work and rustproof the ever loving s*** out of every nook and crannie! lol It'll be quite some time before it gets the the point of regular Ohio p5's, probably won't even have it by then. haha

Sub! Don't know what I was thinking when I kept seeing this thread pop up! The lugs are 12mmx1.5 and 60 degree pitch iirc. It is funny how your thread and Evans are kinda mixed together. lol. Nice work so far.

Yup Mazda Thread Pitch is 1.5.

Cool! The 60 degree part is what I was worried about the most, but these ARE aftermarket wheels on here, so I might need to check what's on the car first before ordering.

And yea, it's awesome how the timing has worked out that I get the clean, stock p5 I wanted, and he gets rid of his motor and gets the KL in! He and the guys have been a REAL big help on this project!

 

[Josue6WGN]

Motor's out! (nana)

I found a bolt out set at Sears that was cheaper than the ones I found online, $20, so that was a relief. Worked like a charm!!! It doesn't have Craftsman's lifetime warranty though, but again, this was probably the only time I'm going to use the set. lol They only had 1 set with the warranty, and it was $50.

Everything else went smooth as well. I only had to bust out my 1/2" impact on 1 motor mount bolt on the passanger side frame rail, everything else came out with my lil 3/8" impact no problem. Shifter linkage came right out, as well as the axles. I took the lower control arms loose to slide the knuckle out enough to get the axles free.

So clean!

Since it seems to be the norm on here for this shot...LOL

And lastly, what's the deal-e-o with this crank pulley? Looks aftermarket...

 

[Josue6WGN]

OOOooo...$150 new, cha-ching!

 

[Lewis7789]

Nice work today, brotha! It's like we're in a race. haha

And yet another good snag on the crank pulley. Mo money, yO!

So, um, let's talk motor mounts. Just the side mounts. Want to trade? I have stockers and you have AWR inserts. They will make the car vibrate but it's not bad. I would love AWR mounts all around (I've got front and back). Usually just the front and back will rip, which you will be keeping your AWR mounts. No pressure. But if you do want to trade, I think we'll pretty much call it even on the barter system. I feel like I'm beginning to rip you off...

 

[Josue6WGN]

Which mounts vibrate? The AWR's?

 

[03zoomzoom]

most aftermarket mounts are gonna vibrate. I've got 3 of the 4 mounts already upgraded and yeah....esp in cold...it'll shake your insides apart. Now, once i'm moving and the car's warmed up, it's not too bad at all.

 

[Josue6WGN]

Hmm...I'll have to wait and see how bad it's going to be.

 

[PrinceValorum]

When Kevin did his swap on his Protege, I think he had all replaced mounts and it felt like a back massage in the car. I liked it a lot, and didn't think it was over the top. I could see how it might vibrate interior panels, depending on if they're lose or just vibrate over time anyway.

At the same time, I don't find most 'un'-comfort mods objectionable. Some people complain about coilovers having a stiff or harsh ride. I much prefer it to stock. Just trying to make my "review" as unbiased as I can, lol.

 

[Josue6WGN]

The way the previous owner described them, they stiffened up the ride and really made it handle great. But, based on this lug key ordeal, I can't trust a word he said.

 

[CheeseHelmet]

Take Evan up on his offer; if he wants to suffer with the AWR mounts, let him

They make the car much louder inside and at idle you feel like you're sitting on the motor. They do make everything feel "tighter" but it's not worth it in my opinion.

 

[Josue6WGN]

I just don't see how motor mounts cause all those issues? And if they do, why would anyone want them for DD use?

 

[Lewis7789]

Well you've ridden in my car with 2/4 motor mounts replaced with aftermarket. I don't mind the vibrations since I think things like that are worth it for the performance aspect. But again, I'm not trying to pressure you or anything. Do some research and maybe take a ride in some upgraded Protege's (Kevins perhaps). Just saying if you want to trade, I would like to swap them out while the motor is out. It's just easier.

ps- I don't want you to feel like I'm trying to take advantage of you or anything. I kinda feel like that a lot lately since we're both swapping at the same time.

pss- don't sell your motor mounts regardless though. I needed mine for the swap, I totally forgot about that aspect. So you'll have to re-use yours or swap them for mine. Silly KL's being a different size and such.

 

[Josue6WGN]

I honestly don't remember what that ride was like, I wasn't really paying attention to all the "little" things like that. I was more or less just trying to get a feel for what it's like to simple DRIVE a p5, since that was only my 2nd time, and 1st time in a modded one. LOL If I could take a ride in one, and have the person say..."Ok, do you feel that little vibration there? Hear that rattle? Those are the mounts." then I'd know...

We really just need to sit down and figure all this bartering/swapping out. There's a ton of parts being flung around now, on top of the motor and body work deal that started it all, I'm getting lost! haha Once we get that figured out, I can see what we can do on the mounts. Off hand, swapping an aftermarket upgrade straight up for a stock part doesn't seem like a good deal for me, but if we can work it in with everything else, then it might be worth it.

 

[Lewis7789]

Yeah, man. That's what I'm saying too. I was telling Wes and Pablo that today. Like what good is it for you just swapping out aftermarket parts for stockers? Pffsht, kind of a bum deal for you.

Steph mentioned dinner sometime with my GF. We can talk shop and they can talk about chick stuff. I'll PM you a list of parts I've gotten from you already and parts you will get from me so we can keep things straight. And honestly, no pressure about the mounts. Just figured I'd ask since I'm a greedy sumbitch. I think we're just about even for the motor/header anyway. I can do side motor mounts for mine plus cash. And I'll just pay you straight up for the body work when we're both done with all this P5 switching around crap. haha

 

[Josue6WGN]

Well, you know me and what I'm trying to achieve with this car. If it's a part that I'm really not going to need for simple DD use, and it's something that you could use for you more serious build, then I'm more than happy to help ya out dawg!

I'll try and get a list together so we can compare and see if we missed anything. What time frame were you on to drop your motor in? If you were wanting to fix that rust in there, that'll take some time in itself.

 

[CheeseHelmet]

If you're not sensitive to extra noise and vibrations I'd say use the AWR mounts. But if you want a DD that won't vibrate your spine, go with the OEM mounts.

I had the AWR front and rear mounts plus the side inserts, the rear mount lasted a week before I removed it, the side inserts lasted a few months and the front mount a little longer than that. Those solid urethane mounts transfer tons of vibration to the cabin, with all 4 mounts I could barely hear the radio (stock head unit) unless I had the volume over the halfway point.

Mazda knew what they were doing when they chose the mounts for our cars, they're soft enough that you don't feel like you're inside a jackhammer yet hard enough that the engine doesn't flop around every time you change gear. The only downside to the OEM mounts is that they don't seem to last very long, if you drive aggressively you might be replacing some of them (front and passenger specifically) every 4-5 years.

If you do go the OEM route, you should probably buy new. Any original mount that's lasted this long is going to be super soft which will result in shittier shifting caused by drivetrain lash.

 

[Josue6WGN]

At least the side mounts are easily accessable, for the most part. lol I can just rock his until I get more money from this parts sale to buy new.