Another GS SE - #3 - Acquired 4/28/2013

[ganue]

Surgeonasst222 came by and hung out for a while tonight and saw the chaos going on at my house. #2 son must have been entertaining because I couldn't get my butt home in time and he still stayed for almost 2 hours. Got some garage space back and got a great little gift direct from one of the prominent Michigan beer manufacturers. Will hang it proudly!!

Quick progress update:

All parts that I am replacing are now in.

Next steps:
1) All new brake and fuel lines will be re-run. - DONE 5/23/2013 - need to do final connections in front.
2) New fuel tank with new straps will be installed - DONE 5/23/2013
3) Rear sub-frame/suspension will be bolted in - DONE 5/23/2013
4) Fresh brake fluid will be added and a solid bleed will take place - weekend - DONE
4) Drive, test, and debug.

And the kicker:



This was supposedly the LAST GS SE shift knob in the country. Bought it as sort of a present for my daughter so she can hopefully enjoy the car for years. The interior is so clean and nice that I felt like she and the car deserved it.

Side note - a 20,000 mile 2.3L Mazda3 engine arrived for the next project.

[kulluminati777]

a brand new shift knob!!! thats dope! I bet it feels real nice too. Great buy!

[wytbishop]

I was told that my leather shift knob was the last one in North America 3 years ago. My local dealer found it at a dealer down south. I think they say those things so that we'll be happy to pay so much for them.

[WhiteFinish]

Really cool !!

Do you think it's possible to still buy a weighted shift knob from a dealer?

[ganue]

Update!!!

No words needed except an updated status:



Gosh - rear suspension looks dirty already. I should clean it up!!!

Remaining:

1) Button up parking brake lines - DONE
2) Connect hard brake lines and fuel lines in front - DONE
3) Raise front powertrain back into proper bolted locations (we lowered entire front subframe/engine/trans assembly a few inches to get old lines out and new lines in) - DONE
4) Buy and mount new fuel filter - DONE
5) Reinstall master cylinder/booster - DONE
6) Bleed brakes - DONE
7) Add fuel - DONE
Start engine, check for leaks - DONE
7) DRIVE!!! - DONE, well, in process

[ganue]

Comparison shot:

[Savin]

New rear end is much much better!

[ganue]

Almost done. Today's update:

1) Button up parking brake lines - DONE 5/25/2013
2) Connect hard brake lines and fuel lines in front - DONE 5/25/2013
3) Raise front powertrain back into proper bolted locations (we lowered entire front subframe/engine/trans assembly a few inches to get old lines out and new lines in) - DONE 5/25/2013
4) Buy and mount new fuel filter - DONE 5/25/2013
5) Reinstall master cylinder/booster - DONE 5/25/2013
6) Bleed brakes - DONE 5/25/2013
7) Add fuel - DONE 5/25/2013
8 ) Start engine, check for leaks - DONE - we have a fuel leak from the supply side above the tank where the soft hose is tied to the hard line. Just need a better clamp there. Will tackle tomorrow. DONE 5/26/2013
7) DRIVE!!! - Not yet - but the car ran while up in the air!!! Debug level 1 complete. On to debug level 2 - see later posts.

And as she sits at the moment (high res for your viewing and commenting pleasure):

[DRAG323]

Nice job

[ganue]

Well,

We are almost done. Now time to work on the new things we see in the car. Fuel leak resolved 5/26/2013 - just needed a different clamp on the supply line on top of the fuel tank. No issues today. Need to fill up tomorrow to confirm no leaks. We drove the car and the brakes are good, the engine is strong, the trans shifts beautifully, and everything works. A/C needs a bit of R134a, but otherwise is functional.

Little things that need to be done at a more relaxed pace:

1) Engine mount on passenger side needs to be looked at to see if it is the source of some knocking at large torque changes in motor output - not an issue just a noise annoyance. DUH - tightened the nuts that ended up being loose when everything else was tightened up - DONE - 6/4/2013
2) Ball joints probably should be replaced. We'll do tie rod ends too just because we need a 4 wheel alignment anyway and its a good time to update them (and they are cheap). DONE - 5/29/2013 - DONE again on 6/4 (see below)
3) Seems to be an alarm of some sort on the car - THAT has to go. 12V battery was drained yesterday - expecting this to be the cause. Partially DONE 5/31/2013 - just need to clean up wiring that was tapped into for the alarm system. Completely DONE 6/4/2013 - removed a door lock motor that was associated with the alarm too - back to stock now
4) Mouse belt system needs some attention. The recall was done on this car so I don't have the ability to go back to a dealer to remedy anything but the "belt" light is on some times. DONE - see 6/15/2013 entry. Redone and now REALLY DONE - 10/5/2013 - see post. Replaced entire mouse belt motor and track assembly.
5) Check engine light comes on rarely. Need to grab codes and see if it matters or not. DONE - see 6/14 and 6/15/203 entry.
6) Still needs a deep exterior cleaning. Planned to be done on 6/5 including wax!! Can't wait for this - will post pics of the clean outside... DONE
7) Steering wheel is connecting to the turn signals and mechanically turns on the signals in the direction one is turning. Sounds like a feature? No. Need to figure out why the steering input impacts the signals. Weird. DONE 6/8/2013

And here she sits "airing" out:

[Surgeonasst222]

Sry I haven't been able to post...

This car is so dam pretty I wouldn't belive it unless I saw it with my own eyes...

The interior of the car is flawless... Even the OEM mx-3 mats look great! The outside looks great as well... A little right fender problem, but Garrett seems like he wants to take care of it with your money


Any way sorry I missed ya the other day... I had to get going and totally didn't go over with garrett on how to put this thing on or what anything... So I am sure I will be touch...

Keep me updated man and hope to see that bells sign up in the garage soon

[ganue]

Bell's sign SHOULD go up in the garage - #1 son brought his kegerator home with him and just put 5 gallons of home made Old Ale in there. Oh - the kegerator just happens to be in the garage.

[ganue]

So....ball joints. I got a good set of Moog ball joints for the car just to find out that the diameter of the ball joint stud is about 3mm less than what I have. Turns out that ball joints for car made after 3/93 seem to be different than the ones built before. So - back to the parts store, back to ordering others, and meanwhile the MX-3 #3 project is on hold.

Bother.

Tie rod ends are on the car, though, so some progress was made.

[ganue]

OK - good ball joints are now installed on the car AND it took 13 gallons of 89 octane with the new fuel tank. The low fuel light was dithering on and off when I filled up. I recall only stuffing 10 to 11 gallons in with the old car and the original fuel tank. Anyone getting 13 gallons in their tank on a refill? It would be great if I can get that all the time now with the aftermarket tank.

Anyway - no fuel leaks this time. So that is resolved.

With the "new" rear cradle, new tie rod ends, and new ball joints, it's now time for a REAL four wheel alignment. We'll get that done this weekend.

Next up:

1) Properly mount spare tire (don't seem to have a proper bolt for that - can someone post a pic of a properly mounted spare? I am missing something simple here.
2) Figure out why the blinkers are going on with a turn of the steering wheel (very annoying) - DONE
3) Replace a blown fuse for the passive restraint belts and get them working - DONE - see 10/5/2013 post
4) Diagnose a check engine light that has no impact on driveability (expect something minor) - DONE
5) - Nothing. I don't think.

Oh - and I guess I should register the car now.

[benyandthejets]

Great progress. I'm envious of that shift knob!