Mazdaspeed Protege Build - Feels Good To Be Back
- Thread starter MP3Night
- Start date
MP3Night
MS3,Mazda3,MSP
A nice update and a super score at the junkyard.
I was honestly getting tired of the search for another transmission and started reconsidering just building the one I already have. Decided to check the local yards to see if maybe an MSP popped upā¦ and sure enough, there was one 15 minutes from me.
This time feels different. Much more intentional
I walked in ther like a kid in a candy store, lol
Somebody already grabbed the pedals and shift knob, door sills, amp, sub, one of the rims, the hard pipes, but clearly I was the only one willing to pull the trans. Thank goodness it was still there.
MSP transmission ā $162.
Lower ball joints fought me a good bit. CVs didnāt want to pop at first. Once everything was soaked in PB Blaster though, it all slid off like butter on a hot skillet. Felt like familiar ground wrenching on it again, made it way easier. Took me about 3 hours. Whole round trip and time invested about 4hrs.
I wanted to grab the axles too, but couldnāt get them free from the wheel bearing and the yard was about to close. I was running out of time. Also wanted the head
...but I was out of water and 80f weather, getting hungry. I was ready to go, lol
But hey, for a solid MSP transmission and got it on the low. Supreme snag. I feel like it was the best thing on the car to take.
Case looks solid.
No cracks around the diff.
Input shaft spins smooth.
For the price, Iām not complaining.
Still going to open it up and take a closer look.
Also, no mileage was written or listed anywhere on the vehicle like they normally do at yards, unfortunately.
This oneās getting stacked with the rest of the forged parts.
Also scooped this goodie for $25. A little rough, but looks solid.
I was honestly getting tired of the search for another transmission and started reconsidering just building the one I already have. Decided to check the local yards to see if maybe an MSP popped upā¦ and sure enough, there was one 15 minutes from me.
This time feels different. Much more intentional
I walked in ther like a kid in a candy store, lol
Somebody already grabbed the pedals and shift knob, door sills, amp, sub, one of the rims, the hard pipes, but clearly I was the only one willing to pull the trans. Thank goodness it was still there.
MSP transmission ā $162.
Lower ball joints fought me a good bit. CVs didnāt want to pop at first. Once everything was soaked in PB Blaster though, it all slid off like butter on a hot skillet. Felt like familiar ground wrenching on it again, made it way easier. Took me about 3 hours. Whole round trip and time invested about 4hrs.
I wanted to grab the axles too, but couldnāt get them free from the wheel bearing and the yard was about to close. I was running out of time. Also wanted the head
...but I was out of water and 80f weather, getting hungry. I was ready to go, lolBut hey, for a solid MSP transmission and got it on the low. Supreme snag. I feel like it was the best thing on the car to take.
Case looks solid.
No cracks around the diff.
Input shaft spins smooth.
For the price, Iām not complaining.
Still going to open it up and take a closer look.
Also, no mileage was written or listed anywhere on the vehicle like they normally do at yards, unfortunately.
This oneās getting stacked with the rest of the forged parts.
Also scooped this goodie for $25. A little rough, but looks solid.
Attachments
Last edited:
misnblu
2002 Mazda Protege DX
Nice finds and a gift for those willing to endure the hardships of tearing down a car for what you need for your project.A nice update and a super score at the junkyard.
I was honestly getting tired of the search for another transmission and started reconsidering just building the one I already have. Decided to check the local yards to see if maybe an MSP popped upā¦ and sure enough, there was one 15 minutes from me.
View attachment 381286
This time feels different. Much more intentional
I walked in ther like a kid in a candy store, lol
Somebody already grabbed the pedals and shift knob, door sills, amp, sub, one of the rims, the hard pipes, but clearly I was the only one willing to pull the trans. Thank goodness it was still there.
MSP transmission ā $162.
Lower ball joints fought me a good bit. CVs didnāt want to pop at first. Once everything was soaked in PB Blaster though, it all slid off like butter on a hot skillet. Felt like familiar ground wrenching on it again, made it way easier. Took me about 3 hours. Whole round trip and time invested about 4hrs.
I wanted to grab the axles too, but couldnāt get them free from the wheel bearing and the yard was about to close. I was running out of time. Also wanted the head
But hey, for a solid MSP transmission and got it on the low. Supreme snag. I feel like it was the best thing on the car to take.
Case looks solid.
No cracks around the diff.
Input shaft spins smooth.
For the price, Iām not complaining.
Still going to open it up and take a closer look.
Also, no mileage was written or listed anywhere on the vehicle like they normally do at yards, unfortunately.
View attachment 381268
This oneās getting stacked with the rest of the forged parts.
Also scooped this goodie for $25. A little rough, but looks solid.
View attachment 381270
U-Pullits are a blessing that keeps on giving.
Can you not go back for that head?
Having an extra head is mandatory and why I have 3 used heads and one fully rebuilt head ready to go.
The three used heads I have I plan on using to make one good used head to have ported and polished for my n/a build.
All in time.
Good luck and continued success at the JY.
MP3Night
MS3,Mazda3,MSP
Oh man, they really are a blessing lol. That was actually my first big junkyard pull.Nice finds and a gift for those willing to endure the hardships of tearing down a car for what you need for your project.
U-Pullits are a blessing that keeps on giving.
Can you not go back for that head?
Having an extra head is mandatory and why I have 3 used heads and one fully rebuilt head ready to go.
The three used heads I have I plan on using to make one good used head to have ported and polished for my n/a build.
All in time.
Good luck and continued success at the JY.
Unfortunately that was my only free day. If I can get back next weekend, Iām bringing a stronger impact and finishing the job. I definitely made it too easy for the next guy.
And youāre right, youāve gotta be your own parts store. Iāve already got a backup A/T for my DD.
Score!
I would go back and grab as many of the MSP specific parts you can get.
The steering wheel looks a little rough, but the airbag is intact.
The gauge cluster is an MSP specific piece.
The subwoofer might be missing, but the box is a nice custom piece. Add your own woofer and amp, and you'll have some nice bump.
If the exhaust manifold isn't cracked, would be a nice piece for someone doing a turbo install.
I would go back and grab as many of the MSP specific parts you can get.
The steering wheel looks a little rough, but the airbag is intact.
The gauge cluster is an MSP specific piece.
The subwoofer might be missing, but the box is a nice custom piece. Add your own woofer and amp, and you'll have some nice bump.
If the exhaust manifold isn't cracked, would be a nice piece for someone doing a turbo install.
MP3Night
MS3,Mazda3,MSP
I actually have most of the MSP-specific pieces already, so a lot of that stuff would just end up being duplicates for me.
I did scoop the sub box with the original MSP woofer and amp facebook find, so that part is already covered. I also already have better OEM seat covers and all of the interior pieces, which is why I left things like the steering wheel and airbag behind this time. The wheel was a little rough anyway, and Iām planning to rewrap the one I have.
I usually like having spare parts on hand ā I tend to be my own parts store, but I try not to grab things I already have unless theyāre in really exceptional condition.
Last edited:
MP3Night
MS3,Mazda3,MSP
Junkyard Update ā MSP Parts Run
Made another run to the yard today to see what I could pull off the Mazdaspeed ProtegƩ.
At this point I already have a large portion of the MSP-specific parts, so a lot of what was still on the car would have just been duplicates (Not saying that's a bad thing). I tend to like being my own parts store, so I normally grab spares when I can, but I also didnāt want to spend money on things I already have in good condition. This build is adding up lol
I did attempt to pull the axles, but they were completely fused into the wheel hubs from rust. I tried everything, penetrating oil, hammering them out, working them loose by removing a majority of the suspension hardware and slight loosening everything. Unfortunately they wouldnāt break free from the hubs. I thought about just taking the whole damn wheel assembly, lmao. But I knew it was going to cost me at the register and I'm controlling myself here. Definitely not my first time dealing with axels, but these were especially stubborn.
I will say I was super happy with the price of the cylinder head $152
Really can't beat it
There were a few other pieces I considered grabbing:
Steering wheel (a little rough and I already plan to rewrap mine)
Interior pieces like the sub box and covers
I already have the OEM MSP sub/amp setup, better OEM seat covers, and most of the interior parts, so I left those behind rather than buying extras I donāt really need.
What I was mainly hoping to grab today was the cylinder head, just to have a full setup, also completely forgot to grab the flywheel, which I did intend to take, although Iāll likely be running a new clutch and flywheel anyway or simply use the current one already on my MSP. Maybe I'll go back
Current status of the build parts:
MSP transmission
Fully machined short block (bored, honed, balanced, ready to go)
Most Mazdaspeed-specific parts
Interior pieces already collected
Still working on collecting a few remaining odds and ends, but overall the parts pile is coming together nicely.
Made another run to the yard today to see what I could pull off the Mazdaspeed ProtegƩ.
At this point I already have a large portion of the MSP-specific parts, so a lot of what was still on the car would have just been duplicates (Not saying that's a bad thing). I tend to like being my own parts store, so I normally grab spares when I can, but I also didnāt want to spend money on things I already have in good condition. This build is adding up lol
I did attempt to pull the axles, but they were completely fused into the wheel hubs from rust. I tried everything, penetrating oil, hammering them out, working them loose by removing a majority of the suspension hardware and slight loosening everything. Unfortunately they wouldnāt break free from the hubs. I thought about just taking the whole damn wheel assembly, lmao. But I knew it was going to cost me at the register and I'm controlling myself here. Definitely not my first time dealing with axels, but these were especially stubborn.
I will say I was super happy with the price of the cylinder head $152
Really can't beat it
There were a few other pieces I considered grabbing:
Steering wheel (a little rough and I already plan to rewrap mine)
Interior pieces like the sub box and covers
I already have the OEM MSP sub/amp setup, better OEM seat covers, and most of the interior parts, so I left those behind rather than buying extras I donāt really need.
What I was mainly hoping to grab today was the cylinder head, just to have a full setup, also completely forgot to grab the flywheel, which I did intend to take, although Iāll likely be running a new clutch and flywheel anyway or simply use the current one already on my MSP. Maybe I'll go back
Current status of the build parts:
MSP transmission
Fully machined short block (bored, honed, balanced, ready to go)
Most Mazdaspeed-specific parts
Interior pieces already collected
Still working on collecting a few remaining odds and ends, but overall the parts pile is coming together nicely.
Attachments
Last edited:
misnblu
2002 Mazda Protege DX
Nice finds.
Looks like my storage full of parts that I may never need but they're there for that just in case.
That swaybar looks aftermarket on the chassis.
Thought about that or are you already upgraded?
Same with the springs they look like lowering springs.
Great haul.
Looks like my storage full of parts that I may never need but they're there for that just in case.
That swaybar looks aftermarket on the chassis.
Thought about that or are you already upgraded?
Same with the springs they look like lowering springs.
Great haul.
MP3Night
MS3,Mazda3,MSP
Haha I know exactly what you mean ā the ājust in caseā parts pile gets real with these cars.Nice finds.
Looks like my storage full of parts that I may never need but they're there for that just in case.
That swaybar looks aftermarket on the chassis.
Thought about that or are you already upgraded?
Same with the springs they look like lowering springs.
Great haul.
Mineās already a Mazdaspeed ProtegĆ©, so it already has the MSP suspension. I did consider grabbing them just to have another MSP-specific parts on hand, but I was trying to keep the ticket low. I mostly stayed focused on the drivetrain stuff while I was there.
Those damn axels, lol. It wasn't ment to be.
Appreciate it.
