Just Bought My 1st MX-3

[beefmobile]

Hi guys, new to the forum, but not the automotive world. I own a 2006 Fully Bolted Mustang GT, and am a very active member at http://www.moddedmustangs.com/forums/me ... obile.html

Today, i bought a 1993 MX-3 from one of my buddies. Got a couple of problems.

1. Oil is ALL OVER the front of the engine, starting from the valve cover; My diagnosis: Valve Cover gasket to be changed. Called Autozone and they have 1 in stock for about $17

2. The car will not move in a forward motion. My buddy says he thinks the clutch is out. the car runs ok. Obvious diagnosis. i just ordered a clutch from Gripforce on Ebay. Should probly be here by Wed.

3. Occasional rough idle, sometimes smoke out of the tail pipe; slight shade of blue, assuming small oil leak.

Also, the aftermarket parts that i know of on the car are as follows:

1. 'cold air intake'; basically there is a tube coming from the throttle body that moves perpendicular to the engine bay with an un-oiled filter cone
2. muffler, possibly more exhaust.
3. Wheels/Tires--Flat black
4. various cheap cosmetic attempts.


Again, i am happy to join the forum and any help regarding this new buy is appreciated. Thx,

-beef

[Redline322]

First off, congrats and welcome to the club. You were right about the valve cover gasket, they get bad with age. When you say the car wont move in a forward motion, will it move in reverse or not under it's power at all? I'm assuming it's a 5 speed and you've tried other gears than first as well? either way, you are probably looking at either a clutch kit or worse case a new trans, which are both pretty cheap and easy to swap out. The rough idle could just be old plugs and wires or maybe a leak somewhere in the cold air intake. The blue smoke are old valve stem seals, you can try some oil treatment stuff to see if it'll soften them up and smoke less, but if I were you and since you are used to power with the mustang, you should read up about a BP swap. There is alot of info about the swap or anything else you might need to know about the car on this site, but for 50hp for under $500 and solve all the old motor problems at once, you cant really go wrong.

[Evo_Spec]

pictures ^_^

[beefmobile]

First off, congrats and welcome to the club. You were right about the valve cover gasket, they get bad with age. When you say the car wont move in a forward motion, will it move in reverse or not under it's power at all? I'm assuming it's a 5 speed and you've tried other gears than first as well? either way, you are probably looking at either a clutch kit or worse case a new trans, which are both pretty cheap and easy to swap out. The rough idle could just be old plugs and wires or maybe a leak somewhere in the cold air intake. The blue smoke are old valve stem seals, you can try some oil treatment stuff to see if it'll soften them up and smoke less, but if I were you and since you are used to power with the mustang, you should read up about a BP swap. There is alot of info about the swap or anything else you might need to know about the car on this site, but for 50hp for under $500 and solve all the old motor problems at once, you cant really go wrong.

thx for the quick reply. about the trans, it's a 5 spd and, yes, i meant the car will not move under its own power whatsoever; forward reverse, in any gear. hopefully this clutch kit i ordered will fix my problems; if not, about how much does a trans run? and what's a BP? lol, im assuming its a factory motor from another car?
what's the install like for the clutch?

i'm not planning on modding this car or 'tricking' it out.....just yet lol. i think we all know how the 'mod bug' or 'mod fever' works lol. i'm just trying to get it fully working condition first.

[beefmobile]

ok so i stopped by autozone and picked up some stuff.

total parts and accessories on hand or in the mail:

GripForce OEM replacement clutch kit
Valve Cover Gasket
NGK Spark Plugs (the old ones were F**KED!!!)
Slick 50 High Mileage Engine Treatment
STP Oil Treatment
Carb/Intake Cleaner
LOTS and LOTS of degreasers
Aircraft remover (for the entire spray-painted engine bay)
K&N filter recharge kit (solvent & oil)
brake parts cleaner

since pulled the valve cover, im gonna coat it with engine enamel tonight. Still waiting on the clutch...

[Redline322]

A replacement trans you can pick up at a junk yard for under $300 pretty easilya u pull. The hardest thing will be pulling the old axles from it, sometimes they stick. The trans itself only weighs about 60-70lbs so it's not hard to move around on your own. A BP motor is a 1.8 dohc engine making approx. 130hp compared to the 1.6 sohc you have now that makes about 82hp. They are found in escort gt's, protege lx's and around 94 kia sephia's mainly. It's probably the easiest motor swap you can do, either swap the harness or wire in 2 wires, you can use the original trans and flywheel, and if you grab the passenger side motor mount, it bolts right into place. The only other things you'd need for the swap would be the ecu and vaf to go with it and you could have it done for under $500 in less than 10 hrs if you are relatively mechanically inclined.

[beefmobile]

I FOUND A PROBLEM!



ok, i noticed the car was running hot; very hot. then i noticed after about 2 minutes of idling, the temperature gauge was above the 'H'. so i started a coolant flush and FOUND A PROBLEM! there was water POURING out of the back of the motor!

it seems as tho there is either a hose missing or a HOLE in the back of the engine. first sign of trouble was when i unpluged the radiator drain plug, about 8 ounces came out....

then when i started running water thru it, it was almost immediately clear, which supports the possibility of there being a very very small amount of coolant to begin with.

so, is there a coolant hose at the back of the motor? if so, how hard is it to change? i could barely see where the water was pouring from, i just assumed a hose had come loose.

HELP PLEASE!!

[Inodoro Pereyra]

There's a bypass hose right under the intake manifold. If I remember correctly, it's a 3/4'' hose, but I'm not sure.

[beefmobile]

There's a bypass hose right under the intake manifold. If I remember correctly, it's a 3/4'' hose, but I'm not sure.

ya thats where it is!!!! thank you! lol i thought there was a hole in the back of my motor lol.

what's the easiest way to get to it? it looked as if that hose wasnt even there at all. as if it just like fell off haha. but like i said, i could barely see it.

would it be easiest to just take of the inake manifold?

[Inodoro Pereyra]

I had that problem a few years ago on a '92. At the time, I didn't even look for other options (I was pissed. That stupid leak had just ruined a fishing trip ) and just took the intake manifold off.
I don't know if there's an easier way, but taking the IM off I was done in less than half an hour.

[beefmobile]

I had that problem a few years ago on a '92. At the time, I didn't even look for other options (I was pissed. That stupid leak had just ruined a fishing trip ) and just took the intake manifold off.
I don't know if there's an easier way, but taking the IM off I was done in less than half an hour.

how involved is the manifold removal?

[Inodoro Pereyra]

I had that problem a few years ago on a '92. At the time, I didn't even look for other options (I was pissed. That stupid leak had just ruined a fishing trip ) and just took the intake manifold off.
I don't know if there's an easier way, but taking the IM off I was done in less than half an hour.

how involved is the manifold removal?

Depends on how pissed off you are...

Seriously, it's fairly easy. You can do it in your driveway in about 1/2 hr. Just remember to drain the coolant first.

[beefmobile]

I had that problem a few years ago on a '92. At the time, I didn't even look for other options (I was pissed. That stupid leak had just ruined a fishing trip ) and just took the intake manifold off.
I don't know if there's an easier way, but taking the IM off I was done in less than half an hour.

how involved is the manifold removal?

Depends on how pissed off you are...

Seriously, it's fairly easy. You can do it in your driveway in about 1/2 hr. Just remember to drain the coolant first.

ok, i've got most of it off. how many bolts are on the underside of the manifold? i've got the injectors/fuel rail off and these bolts are STUCK ON. lots of PB blaster and muscles.

how do you get to the underside bolts? i cant seem to get the one on the drivers side under the throttle body....ugh

[mitmaks]

welcome to the forum, hope you enjoy your stay

[beefmobile]

welcome to the forum, hope you enjoy your stay

thx man can you help me out at all?