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Maintenance to date:

K&N Air Filter installed
Alternator replacement
Tranny filter replacement & fluid change
Throttlebody maintenance - cleaned IAC & readjusted TPS
Replaced fuel injectors (rebuilt spare set)
Cylinder Head rebuild - Including new exaust valves, springs, & valve seals. Valve Guides were in acceptable condition. Valve Grind on Valve seats. Intake valves reconditioned. Notes: Both Cams showed minimal wear and were in excellent condition.
Replacement of rear interior cargo panels
Replacement of drivers side rear tail light assembly (original was cracked)
Whiteline Front Strut Tower anti-roll bar installation
Replaced Front & Rear brake pads - Note: Drums acceptable, rotors to be replaced next scheduled maintenance.
Complete Brake Fluid purge & refill
New plug wires (NGK) and NGK Spark Plugs, Distributor Cap & Rotor
PCV Valve replaced
Installation Autometer Oil Pressure & Water Temp Gauges in custom panel with emergency fuel pump kill switch.
Custom upgraded ground wire kit installation
Installation Panasonic Head Unit & Kicker 6.5" replacement speakers (Stock speakers all blown or damaged)

I replaced all of my HLA's today. Most if not all of the originals were collapsed. Engine runs smoother and no ticking (YES!) Throttle response is also improved. This was unexpected, but most welcome. The engine seems to spin up much quicker in response to the pedal and seems to come down faster as well. I will be checking for vacuum leaks, but at the moment I think this is just a result of the valves opening to their proper amounts and as a result the engine is breathing as originally intended. Got lucky on this one and was able to replace the timing belt in the original position. Re-timing after completion not neccessary. Engine fired immediately and ran smooth as silk as anticipated. Idle seems a bit rough still.. but I think this is all in the lower motor mounts or even the tranny mounts since I only feel this minor vibration when the transmission is engaged in either reverse or the drive gears. I'll be sure to check the mounts to verify this when I do the 5 speed conversion.

I got the HLA's from http://www.deltacam.com In a full set for $12 each. Total cost $217 after tax. Not cheap but far less expensive than the dealership. http://www.rockauto.com has comparable prices.. but Deltacam is local to me and I was able to purchase the lifters in person. 1 Year warranty on them. Also of interesting note.. Deltacam can provide custom camshaft grinds. Prices vary upon application of course.. but useful information. My local mazda dealer recommeded Deltacam. I was told that a lot of mazda dealerships source their HLA's from Deltacam and then charge the OEM price for the replacement lifters. Which is a $400 difference in price. Glad my dealership was honest with me.

Replacement of primary fuel filter
Replacement of PCV hose
Replacement of Ventilation hose
Transmission fluid & filter change.

Just more general maintenance

Tunes67

Pics!

Finally time to get around to doing the front brakes properly.. New vented rotors and ceramic brake pads. Should be a quick hour job this saturday

Tunes67

Well this past Saturday the 17th.. The distributor decided to up and crap out. Got a reman from Barry (thanks man) and as of Tuesday.. she's back up and running again.

Tunes67

Monday the 6th of August the Disty crapped out yet again. I so hate mitsushitsi. Anyway.. this time I did the HEI mod.. I'll post a couple of pics here in the next couple of days. I will also do a write up with pics in a week or two after I have had a chance to do a new distributor cap.

Tunes67

Havent gotten around to doing the HEI write up yet.. but I did put in a new set of spark plugs today

Tunes67