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Sgt Fox posted:In the interest of looking like a bone stock car, I picked up a set of 14" miata steel wheels with Mazda center caps for $40. Bravo. You're a wizard. I wish I had that kind of electronic knowledge.
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Aug 13, 2018 19:34
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I wish I had those kind of fancy chemical coatings that I could borrow from work. 
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Aug 14, 2018 05:45
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Seat Safety Switch posted:I wish I had those kind of fancy chemical coatings that I could borrow from work. Hey now, these cans were past their best before date. You must be able to get it on Amazon. Just remember to mask off any connectors or pots or the like. Edit: looks like you can... https://www.amazon.com/MG-Chemicals-422B-340G-Silicone-Conformal/dp/B008O9YGQI $15 Sgt Fox fucked around with this message at 06:49 on Aug 14, 2018 |
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Aug 14, 2018 06:46
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Sgt Fox posted:Hey now, these cans were past their best before date. You must be able to get it on Amazon. Just remember to mask off any connectors or pots or the like. I prefer urethane, available from the same MFR and on Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/MG-Chemicals-Premium-Polyurethane-Conformal/dp/B06XC3JBVJ
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Aug 14, 2018 20:08
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I would tend to lean towards silicone coating for the majority of automotive uses. Silicone can withstand far greater continuous temps, so it will survive living in the engine bay, whereas urethane usually is rated at just over 100C. Silicone is also more flexible, vibrational environments, such as a car can crack urethanes. Silicone also prevents moisture penetration better. Urethane is more resistant to solvents though. Not sure about oil.
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Aug 14, 2018 21:39
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Sgt Fox posted:I suspect that the voltage may not be high enough to drive the tach. You can see from the bottom trace that the TachMatch outputs a nice square 12V signal. The top trace is the stock tach signal, which has a high voltage inductive spike. This spike is required to drive the stock Mazda tach. Aha. This may be the reason (or one of them, I may have done more things wrong) the tach in my old Nissan D21 truck won't react to a plain 12V square signal. Formerly connected to the ignition coil, now just connected to the ECU after an engine swap. Had no idea before reading this, but sense is being made. Though as I'm too cheap to pay $40 for something I can build myself, I'm probably going to try and build a signal booster from parts found on the ground and only if&when that doesn't work, pay for one...
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Aug 17, 2018 20:45
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At this point, the engine is up and running and the cluster is reading everything correctly without any check engine lights. I had to do a bit of trickery for the EGR system. The KLZE engine does not have any EGR, but the North American ECU's expect it.  There are two vacuum solenoids which control the valve, along with a positional feedback from the valve itself. If the ECU does not see the valve move correctly, it will throw an error. The KLZE block has the mounting holes for the EGR valve, but no passages are drilled. I decided to mount the MX-3 K8 EGR valve to the block and just cap off the exhaust inlet. I also mounted the two vacuum solenoids and connected them up as they would normally be. This would allow the ECU to see the valve move, but not actually have any exhaust gasses pass. I was worried that a lack of exhaust pressure would affect how the valve moved, but it seems to have worked. With that taken care of, it was on to the next important part. During my refinishing of the intake manifold (who am I kidding, during it sitting for years in a field), the V6 logo was destroyed. This left a weird outline cast into the manifold.  Since I was not able to get a replacement, I had to make one. I cut out a new badge from some stainless steel sheet.  I then visited a friend with a laser etcher. We made a design and tested it on some tape first.  Then, after smearing the stainless with some etching compound we had this:   Some ultrathin high heat double sided tape and clearcoat and we were left with this:   Much better!
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Aug 27, 2018 23:38
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Great job man....So have you driven it yet?
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Aug 27, 2018 23:45
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I have, and it's glorious. This thread is about 3-4 months behind actual progress.
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Aug 28, 2018 00:15
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That is perfect execution. Well done.
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Aug 28, 2018 01:26
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I'm surprised you haven't dumped the ROM off the ECU, disassembled it, and hacked out the EGR control logic yet. Love the manifold label.
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Aug 28, 2018 02:04
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Sgt Fox posted:I have, and it's glorious. This thread is about 3-4 months behind actual progress. Oh man, so jealous. Hope you have a full report with video 
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Aug 28, 2018 05:11
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Sgt Fox posted:This would allow the ECU to see the valve move, but not actually have any exhaust gasses pass. I was worried that a lack of exhaust pressure would affect how the valve moved, but it seems to have worked. Won't that mess with the fuelling though? I mean, when there is exhaust gas passed to the intake, there's less air/oxygen and the ECU would believe it's supposed to have less fuel. Or will it just work anyway since there actually won't be less air going through the MAF?
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Aug 28, 2018 07:51
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ionn posted:Won't that mess with the fuelling though? I mean, when there is exhaust gas passed to the intake, there's less air/oxygen and the ECU would believe it's supposed to have less fuel. Or will it just work anyway since there actually won't be less air going through the MAF? Pretty sure such an old computer isn't doing any kind of work to factor in specific EGR flow, it's just going off a map of IF (condition == x) {egr = Y} and dutifully fuelling off the MAF signal like always. It depends on the manufacturer, but that ECU might not even be OBD2 compliant yet; older stuff, the error checking basically consisted of a continuity test through the appropriate device, maybe some rudimentary current monitoring if you're feeling fancy. Complicated feedback sensor loops ensuring various emissions controls were actually achieving their desired effect weren't around for at least a few more years.
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Aug 28, 2018 08:52
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ionn posted:Won't that mess with the fuelling though? I mean, when there is exhaust gas passed to the intake, there's less air/oxygen and the ECU would believe it's supposed to have less fuel. Or will it just work anyway since there actually won't be less air going through the MAF? Don't forget that I have the KLZE fuel/timing etc maps in this ECU. These maps do not expect there to be any exhaust gas from the EGR in the intake. The ECU just needs to see the EGR valve move to no throw a code. Whatever logic may still be running for the EGR doesn't really matter. To be honest, after driving it a while with a wideband, the car seems to be in closed loop mode nearly 99% of the time. If I step on it, it will go to whatever AFR is defined by the tables, but goes back into closed loop within a second. As such, I am also getting ~26mpg, even with hooning. I found an interesting SAE techpaper on the K series engines: https://www.tsentraal.ee/mx6/engine/SAE920677.htm
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Aug 28, 2018 15:26
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I do wonder what could be done to the suckers - I know they were around 300hp in touring car duty even with an 8500rpm mandated rev limit.
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Aug 28, 2018 15:49
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Seat Safety Switch posted:I'm surprised you haven't dumped the ROM off the ECU, disassembled it, and hacked out the EGR control logic yet.  ...eventually.
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Sep 13, 2018 05:33
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Assembly is fun!
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Sep 13, 2018 05:50
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I've been driving the car for a while and it's been performing really well. It's quickly becoming one of my favorite cars to drive. While the 335i is stupid fast, this car is quick. Acceleration comes right off the line, unlike the 335 which has to build. Steering is quick and responsive, like a go cart. The quicker ratio rack from the MX-3 GS means that occasionally I'll take a spirited turn and find myself turning much quicker than I expected. Almost like a forklift or something, it seems to pivot. I wonder if the MX-3 rear steer suspension also has something to do with that. The engine does like to be wound out, its got a good power band up into the 6k range. The VRIS comes into play around 4000 rpm, which ends up burying the needle past 6500 very quickly. There is enough torque that second gear starts are possible, though I feel it may be a little aggressive. You do find yourself running through the gears very quickly. Driving around town, 60 km/h is a bit over 3000 rpm, so I've been cruising around in fourth. On the highway, 90 km/h ends up in the 3200 rpm range, with 110 km/h at around 3600 rpm. This seemed a bit higher than I'd like, if only for fuel consumption. The tires from the 323 technically are ~3% smaller than an MX-3, so I could probably get a bit better gearing by changing tires. I've found that fourth gear seems to be nice to drive around town in, but that I run out of gears on the highway. I did some reading and learned that the fifth gear in a 87-92 Mazda 626 is a taller ratio. MX-3 K8 G5M-R 1st 3.307:1 2nd 1.833:1 3rd 1.310:1 4th 1.030:1 5th 0.795:1 Final Drive 4.388:1 With the 323's 185/60R14:  With the MX-3 205/55R15:  So, a bit better, but tires are not in the cards currently. 5th from the F series 626 (G25M-R) is 0.717:1. This should be a decent reduction in rpm. Ideally, I would also want to change the final drive ratio to that of a later KL-DE engined MX-6 or 626. They used a 4.105:1. Eventually, I would like to use the Mazdaspeed Protege LSD, which also has the 4.105:1 ratio. This would also probably significantly help with my traction issues. Did I mention I have traction issues? I have to be careful and try not to squeel the tires during spirited shifts. Yes, I can hold the smoke through into fifth gear  323 tires and F series fifth:  MX-3 tires and F series fifth:  MX-3 tires, F series fifth and LSD:  So, ultimately, I want to get to the end case, but that will be a bit later. Second gear on that transmission is a bit hard to select for the first couple shifts in the morning when the transmission is cold, so perhaps syncros are in need of attention. So, since there was no chance of finding an older 626 or MX-6 in the local yards, I called up Mazda. $150 later I had G613-17-308 and G560-17-611C. They were confused why I would be buying gears.  Luckily, I can swap the gears out, with the transmission in the car. It looks like the G5 transmission was originally designed as a four speed, but then they extended the shafts, slapped on a fifth gear and stamped out a cover for the whole works. The entire fifth gear lives under that black cover.   Cover off:   (Excuse the pinch weld bending. I bent it back after.) Gears removed:   The new gears:  I buttoned everything back up and topped up the transmission. I only lost a small amount of fluid, as I was able to stick a golf tee in the passage between the main case and the fifth gear cavity while I was working on it. Highway driving was much improved, now I cruise in the 2400 rpm range. Fuel economy is also better, though the car gets between 24 and 26 mpg.
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Oct 3, 2018 00:25
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The 2nd gear hard cold shift is normal for BG's, I put syncromesh in my last BG ( a '97 Kia lol) and that solved the problem, pretty sure it had the G series as well. Good poo poo man, wish I could take a ride in it! Seriously let me know if you ever want to sell it
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Oct 3, 2018 00:52
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Thanks! There is still more to come, anyone care to guess what the next rabbit hole will be? Which gear oil in particular did you use? Currently I have Motomaster extreme pressure synthetic in: http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/motomaster-synthetic-extreme-pressure-gear-oil-75w90-946-ml-0280263p.html#srp
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Oct 3, 2018 01:33
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That cut and cover to get a fifth gear on is really interesting and kind of janky.
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Oct 3, 2018 01:34
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Sgt Fox posted:Thanks! There is still more to come, anyone care to guess what the next rabbit hole will be? I used Penzoil sycromesh, but GM makes it as well and is supposedly the best but kind of expensive. The Penzoil stuff eliminated the 2nd gear issue and everything felt better overall. https://www.amazon.com/Synchromesh-...nsmission+fluid As far as the rabbit hole, let me guess......Brakes and/or suspension?
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Oct 3, 2018 15:52
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Brakes were already done. Suspension was changed to the MX-3 setup, which had some reasonably new shocks. It seems to handle quite nicely, so for now I'm just going to run with it. I'll give you guys a hint. At this point we are caught up in project timeline to the end of spring.
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Oct 3, 2018 19:09
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It can only be forced induction.  Only makes sense if you lower the gear ratios to add more power to compensate. 
Suburban Dad fucked around with this message at 19:39 on Oct 3, 2018 |
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Oct 3, 2018 19:37
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Suburban Dad posted:It can only be forced induction. I'm not saying he won't, or it can't be done, but as I recall, the K series V6 wasn't terribly suited for forced induction. Unlike the Mazda B series. It was good for a high revving NA applications though.
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Oct 4, 2018 11:15
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Sgt Fox posted:I'll give you guys a hint. At this point we are caught up in project timeline to the end of spring. Not a very good hint  If not FI, gonna have the V6 built?
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Oct 4, 2018 12:22
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No, no forced induction is planned. 10:1 compression makes that difficult. Let's be honest, I have too little traction for the amount of power already. My hint was that given summer was approaching, it was starting to get hot. Which meant driving around in a red glass greenhouse was pretty uncomfortable. In the past, I had used this more as a winter car, as it wasn't much fun in summer traffic jams. Time to change that. I'd always wanted A/C, but up in Canada, especially on the west coast, finding one with A/C is near impossible. I would also need to figure out some hybrid system, as I would need the compressor setup from a V6 to mate up to the body setup of a 323. The 323 systems were mostly all R12, and shared a lot of the same part numbers with the early MX-3 cars as well. I figured if I could find an MX-3 system, I might be able to swap it in. I'd been watching the local classified boards for a couple months, looking for someone selling a car with A/C. I figured I would rob the A/C system and then resell it, maybe taking a slight loss. Nothing ever came up. I branched out my search province wide and found someone trying to sell a 1995 MX-3 GS V6 for parts. Not running, had severe rust issues (push your finger through the strut towers) and someone had ripped the brakes off it (I later found them all in the trunk). Looking at the pictures, I could just make out the AC hardlines. Great! There was just one small problem. The car was four hours away, on the mainland. I was able to work out a deal, borrow my friends truck (the enabler) and go snag it, for $400. It was actually one of the better adventures I had, as we don't have very good junkyards on the island and not only did I get the car, but I was able to stuff it full of other parts from some wreckers over there.   Being a 1995 car, Mazda had switched over to R-134a at this point. The entire HVAC system was also electronic and was a shot in the dark as to how well it would transfer over. It did have the correct compressor mounts, as well as a bunch of no longer available hardlines. It would still be a mystery how well it would fit, as the MX-3 is about 6-8" longer in the front, and the hardlines reflect this. So, this will be the third MX-3 which will be sacrificed for this project. I'm starting to feel a bit bad. Sgt Fox fucked around with this message at 18:14 on Oct 4, 2018 |
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Oct 4, 2018 17:28
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A rabbit hole indeed. An old friend of mine that ran a Miata shop did it once and swore he'd never do it again  Those wheels look cool, you should put them on the 323.....Are they OEM mazda wheels? Don't think i've ever seen those before.
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Oct 4, 2018 17:54
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I put A/C into my FB Rx-7 years ago. It wasn't too bad, but it was a factory system going into the chassis it was designed for. This is very much not that. Different model and generational year. The wheels are the last generation factory sport (GS) wheels for an MX-3. I was planning on refinishing them and using them for summer wheels eventually. Here is a sneak peak of the wheels before any refinishing. I just wanted to see what they would look like: 
Sgt Fox fucked around with this message at 18:22 on Oct 4, 2018 |
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Oct 4, 2018 18:18
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I've never seen a flatbed that just lifts the whole truck up to dump the car off the back. 
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Oct 4, 2018 19:11
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You are a crazy person to buy a faraway parts car just to add a creature comfort, and I love it. 
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Oct 4, 2018 20:06
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Sgt Fox posted:a bunch of no longer available hardlines. A local hydraulics place here can make Car AC lines. Both soft and hard IIRC. If it turns out that a hard line is not useable, you could try that route. I'm sure theres a shop out there where you can get the same done.
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Oct 5, 2018 11:13
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So, with the new donor safely at home, it was time to start stripping it for parts. I genuinely felt bad starting this process, as the car didn't look too bad at first. I mean, how many of these poor MX-3 have to be sacrificed by my hands? I honestly thought about tossing the 1.6L B series motor I removed from the 323 into it, but it was too rusty. Before I could disassemble the car though, I had to unload it of all the spares I had acquired on the way to pick it up:   Some spare bumpers, lights and whatnot for the 323. Someone had repainted the bumpers on the car years ago and the paint was bubbling and peeling off. These would be easier to refinish. Surprisingly, the MX-3 was fairly complete. It came stuffed with a few spares as well, including a full set of new brake calipers.    Once I had the wheels off though, things took an ugly turn. I quickly realized why someone had bought all new brakes and never installed them.   I could push my finger through the strut towers. Luckily, I don't need any suspension off this thing. The engine bay was covered in this weird algae stuff. The AC parts I would be using were all aluminum, so they should polish up okay. You can see one in the picture here.   It was around this time that I started feeling a bit dumb for paying $400CAD for this heap. I had to keep telling myself that it would be worth it for the NLA hardlines, wiring, compressor brackets and HVAC boxes.
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Oct 25, 2018 21:37
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Yea that looks like tons of spare parts for the money.
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Oct 25, 2018 22:37
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It's a little rusty, yeah. If only we had some kind of pipeline to deliver rusty, mechanically-sound beaters to you for parts cars in exchange for mint 1990s economy cars.
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Oct 26, 2018 04:49
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The transmountain sockington pipeline.
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Oct 26, 2018 15:34
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I put a 01 V6 626 fifth gear in my B6T/G swapped BF wagon and dropped more than 500RPM, it originally was the Capri XR2 gear, so it makes it a lot nicer on the highway. My GTX gearbox has a weird fifth, I can't figure what it is and its not any of the options I found. I think it might actually be shorter, being around .8:1 Edit:is that a non-vacuum cruise control actuator? I need one of those, and the cruise computer that goes with it.
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Oct 30, 2018 19:59
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You won't be driving it during the winter will you? 
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Oct 31, 2018 12:49
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DJ Commie posted:Edit:is that a non-vacuum cruise control actuator? I need one of those, and the cruise computer that goes with it. I'm not sure, its now in a box somewhere. I'll take a look next time I find it. Applebees Appetizer posted:You won't be driving it during the winter will you? Yes, though we don't really get winter around here, mostly just rain. My biggest worry is traction on hills in the wet as it likes to break free under acceleration. A guy came by the other day to buy the old 323 radiator off me. That's a clean 323. Thanks. Have you done much to it? Mine has the 1.8L in it, its stupid fast. What do you have, the 1.6L or the 1.8L? (deadpan) Oh, its the 2.5L. What? 2.5L? Yeah, I put the 2.5L V6 into it. ??? I what? How? ??? (regains himself and picks up his jaw from the floor) Well, mine is still really torquey.After he left, I had a hard time to stop laughing. Sgt Fox fucked around with this message at 17:03 on Oct 31, 2018 |
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Oct 31, 2018 15:33
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