Category: Cars

Another weekend of little bits and pieces, and not much time to work on the car. Got the welder out again and baked the cast pipe to get the contaminants out. Welded up ok after that:

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/22/20190922042930-c8cfb1b6-xl.jpg[/img]

Then sorted out the new battery mounting in the boot. Thanks to kabab at Automotive Superstore for the Fullriver:

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/22/20190922042907-a11acffc-xl.jpg[/img]

The bracket is from Techno Toy Tuning in the US, brought it back last year with all the other bits.

Started sorting out hot side piping, and finalised the clocking of the turbo.

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/22/20190922042818-d117a31d-xl.jpg[/img]

Oil drain needs new bolts, as the socket heads I have interfere. But will all work well.

Then painted and inked the cam cover:

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/22/20190922042722-0ecbd203-xl.jpg[/img]

Seems to be a massive oil spot that I cant get out on the intake side 🙁

Inking was done with some left over Tamiya enamel paint and a 12ga blunt needle:

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/22/20190922042538-b03b9398-xl.jpg[/img]

Essentially just dribble the ink in, and voila. Done.

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/22/20190922042644-3c9c1dec-xl.jpg[/img]

Need to get the fuel filter in, and then I can start on final assembly. Perhaps even this week!

Very much in the 80% phase of the 80:20 proportion currently. Lots of niggling little things taking up large amounts of time.

First up was changing out the fuel pump. The car had a bit of a hesitation at high RPM and I think I now know why. The in tank fuel filter was basically folded over ontop of itself, blocking flow. 
[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/18/20190918192843-eee9bfc4-xl.jpg[/img]
[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/18/20190918192730-19affaa1-xl.jpg[/img]

Replaced that with a DW200 pump, which drops in nicely.
[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/18/20190918192816-7c1d6ca6-xl.jpg[/img]

After this I started swapping out the fuel lines for ethanol compatible ones, these two in above the tank were an absolute pain. No direct way to get to them, and not much room while leaning over the car.
[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/18/20190918192431-4f29e764-xl.jpg[/img]

Still need to add a new fuel pump relay to take the load off the circuit opening relay in the engine bay, that often pops, and so the fuel pump is directly controlled by the Haltech.

I then mostly sorted out the fuel lines in the engine bay, using PTFE lined 200 series hose and 6AN hose ends; and mounted the regulator to the brake stopper:
[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/18/20190918192616-89f64ee7-xl.jpg[/img]

Made a bracket for the flex fuel sensor, and mounted it up too:
[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/18/20190918192707-d631b676-xl.jpg[/img]

Finally i sorted out the coolant reroute pipe and mounting points to the chassis:
[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/18/20190918192501-66f49993-xl.jpg[/img]
Still need to pressure test it, but it should work rather well.

Almost getting to the point of being able to assemble everything properly, but for now im just getting everything in place and then going to do a full assembly run at the end so I can be sure that everything is done correctly at one time.

All but finished the wiring loom tonight. Just waiting on a couple of extra connectors where I had ordered the wrong ones, and to finalise placement of the fuel pressure reg.

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/i.php?/upload/2019/09/11/20190911050827-6279d364-xx.jpg[/img]

This is what Mazda should have done originally, like Toyota, a nice separate engine harness that just links into the body loom in key places. Not the silly integrated harness that ties back to the body in five different places.

Now that it is done I can move to the battery setup, and put in the new fuel pump/filter as the fittings arrived today.

Got a few more things ticked off the list, or should i say TIGd off the list. First up was getting the IC piping welded up, which wasn’t too bad except for two spots which seemed to have a ton of contamination that kept screwing up the weld.

Its all in there now though, and the 2″ BOV fits fairly well even with the coolant hard pipe:
[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/07/20190907032955-532eb94e-xl.jpg[/img]

Next up wast starting to work on the coolant hardline, which is a bit finicky with where it runs. But with a bit of massaging of brake lines it ends up looking like this:
[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/07/20190907032749-c10b58a2-xl.jpg[/img]

Welded in a pie cut elbow to redirect it 90deg at the firewall and its close to a straight pipe to the back of the head.

Towards the end of that the welding was starting to get a bit weird, and then I found this:
[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/07/20190907032741-6242d0e5-xl.jpg[/img]

Nasty crack in the torch, which isnt doing any favours. Time for a new torch, and this one was annoyingly not very old.

Without being able to weld stuff I went on to start on the turbo oil line and pressure/temp sender. Did some head scratching and came up with this for mounting the AN4 oil filter:
[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/07/20190907032415-f2d98cd2-xl.jpg[/img]

Its part of a bicycle seat clamp for a 31.8mm seat tube, fits the 32mm filter perfectly.

Added the Bosch sensor and lines and it sits like this:
[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/07/20190907032408-a3e4b288-xl.jpg[/img]

Will have to pop that clip out and put a P-clip in for the feed line.

Also have been working sporadically on the ECU wiring, which—because of Mazda’s infinite wisdom—is a complete replacement for the stock harness. Cue one tray full of Deutsch connectors, a brand new loom, and some braided sleeving:
[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/07/20190907033650-d4528328-xl.jpg[/img]

Picked up a Dymo to do heatshrink labels with too, which makes things much nicer:
[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/07/20190907033636-26efb5af-xl.jpg[/img]

Bit stuck on that stuff for now though, will need a new TIG torch to finish off the welding, and it turns out I ordered LS1 coil plugs not LS2 coil plugs. So more waiting for post.

Until then I’ll get started on the fuel pump and wiring harness there, plus new battery and tie down.

The silicone bends arrived this morning too, first up a simple 2″>2.5″ 90 off the turbo to the IC piping. Simple:

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/i.php?/upload/2019/09/01/20190901175953-88dce3f3-xl.jpg[/img]

The intake is a bit more squeezy, with the coolant reroute taking up room, but the 2.75″>2.5″ 90 works relatively well with a little trim:

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/01/20190901180049-95f6fad1-xl.jpg[/img]

Inspired by this fitment, i quickly sectioned up a 45° bend with the pipe cutter. This tool is amazing for doing stuff like this, and also scribing cut lines in steel:

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/01/20190901192834-ae80da85-xl.jpg[/img]

Squeezed it in place. Not much room on this side.

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/01/20190901192441-ff2d59f8-xl.jpg[/img]

But fits well from the other side:

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/01/20190901192747-7f47e7b0-xl.jpg[/img]

And thinking about running this overkill of a BOV:

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/09/01/20190901192523-2b2159d0-xl.jpg[/img]

All of which fits rather nicely. Just need to go and get some more Argon from Bunnings and I can set about welding up the IC piping.

Not much actual work happening on the car currently, but some more bits arrived.

First was overnight parts from Bulgaria:

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/08/26/20190826004527-8b5a3dbc-xl.jpg[/img]

Picked up a Kraken manifold and dump elbow cheap, so i jumped at it. Realistically its only a minor upgrade over the eBay unit that i already had, but it was cheap enough to justify.

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/08/26/20190826004335-b91920ef-xl.jpg[/img]

Second was this Radium fuel pulse damper, which was honestly just bought for the bling:

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/08/26/20190826004310-eb4bae55-xl.jpg[/img]

Some vague reports of a FPD being useful on the BP with big injectors, but I mainly got it as another guy had bought it thinking it was a fuel pressure regulator, and couldn’t figure out why it had only one inlet. 😆

Now that I’m back from work trips, I need to get a move on with the wiring.

Weekend passed, not much happened. Have been waiting on a few super minor parts such as new studs etc for the exhaust and turbo. I did get a chance to build a new sump baffle though.

Quite a few people report low oil pressure under brakes in these, and a guy over in Perth (madjak) designed a basic sump baffle for it, and chucked the template online. You can see how much bigger it is than the stock baffle:

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/i.php?/upload/2019/08/11/20190811044139-6da7eba4-xl.jpg[/img]

Traced onto a sheet of 2mm aluminium and got busy with the bandsaw:

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/i.php?/upload/2019/08/11/20190811044209-e3f6b6e6-xl.jpg[/img]

Voila, one sump baffle.

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/i.php?/upload/2019/08/11/20190811044328-c3da1fec-xl.jpg[/img]

That was the last thing to be done before i can get the sump bolted onto the engine and then its just tidying up some stuff before the engine goes back in.

The new HG arrived and confirmed to be the right part, nice open oil galleries and water feeds at the Cylinder 1 end. This is important as I will be running a coolant reroute that switches the water outlet from the head to cylinder 4 rather than 1. Running the VVT gasket with a reroute negates the entire purpose of the reroute itself.

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/i.php?/upload/2019/08/07/20190807050942-0b37dbe8-xl.jpg[/img]

Popped the head on and then the ARP studs and torqued down the head. Still needs another torque check after some weather cycles. Then added a Boundary billet oil pump

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/08/07/20190807050934-725fb1ed-xl.jpg[/img]

Replaced the oil seal that came with it for a genuine Mazda one. Lots of people reporting oil leaks with the Boundary seal.

Then add one new water pump and backing plates so we can get the timing gear installed.

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/08/07/20190807050925-772e6bda-xl.jpg[/img]

Now the Mazda B6/BP engines have a pretty severe flaw in that the crank extends only about 5mm proud of the timing belt gear, with the ancillaries pulley left to hang in free air for most of its length:

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/08/07/20190807050907-25d929ad-xl.jpg[/img]

This leads to the common issue of a wobbly ancillary pulley and then a flogged out keyway on the crank.
To combat this a guy in the US has started machining up these spacers for the crankshaft that replace the stock washer, and come with a longer key that is sandwiched in place:

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/08/07/20190807050915-35237f01-xl.jpg[/img]

As can be seen here it eliminates the void in the ancillary pulley to the crankshaft

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/08/07/20190807050845-4eaf6be8-xl.jpg[/img]

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/08/07/20190807050858-efbe5425-xl.jpg[/img]

It is probably somewhat overkill, but its a reasonable solution to the problem that Mazda caused for the engine.

Now that the head is on I could start mocking up various components to check fitment and compatibility.
First up is this oil filter thermostat housing which may be a solution to the relocation issue i think I will have.

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/08/07/20190807050826-fad5f185-xl.jpg[/img]

However the alternator sits just to the right there, and the intake manifold is exceedingly close on top. I suspect that this orientation will be the only one that works, and then the oil lines are pointing in the opposite direction. Will have to keep working on that one.

Next up I decided to get most of the engine mocked up and test fit, so out came the inlet manifold and fitted up, then the turbo manifold to clock the turbo:

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/08/07/20190807050724-e5a6a957-xl.jpg[/img]

Once the turbo was clocked and in place it was time to start thinking about how everything fit up. First problem is the oil feed on the block.

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/08/07/20190807050817-a554dae9-xl.jpg[/img]

Apparently it is a 1/8 BSPT not a 1/8 NPT, which means that the NPT fittings get about a thread in before fouling.

Next is to try and decide what sort of oil and water feed fittings to use. Mocked it up using the ones that came with the eBay turbo

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/08/07/20190807050809-7a7857a4-xl.jpg[/img]

I think ill keep the banjo arrangement on the water drain, but the feed there ill switch to a stainless one.

Then fitted up the Kinugawa wastegate actuator to accomodate the turbo being clocked:

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/08/07/20190807050800-8e193f9d-xl.jpg[/img]

Will just have to clock the cover, but I need to change the spring over anyway so that can be done later.

Added one coolant reroute

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/08/07/20190807050751-4d8860ee-xl.jpg[/img]

Uses a spacer plate and a thermostat cover from some Kia, will work well. Need thermostat.

Also considering using this cast iron dump pipe to V-band adapter

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/08/07/20190807050741-9fc486bd-xl.jpg[/img]

Looks like a half decently made piece of equipment.

So a few things to tidy up there, but its all pretty much sorted. Hope to have the engine screwed together by the weekend.

Plus the last piece of major hardware arrived for engine reassembly:

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/_data/i/upload/2019/08/07/20190807050837-0c636577-xl.jpg[/img]

Lightweight chromoly BP flywheel from Xtreme clutch. Cheaper than getting a stock BP flywheel and getting it resurfaced.

Well this took a back seat over the holidays with being away, and also with waiting on a new head gasket.

When i ordered a HG for this originally they sent a 01-05 VVT BP gasket, in the 94-00 gasket slip. I didnt notice until i went to put it on the engine and found that it blocks off half of the water galleries to the head:

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/i.php?/upload/2019/07/28/20190728230412-8e0b0bfc-xl.jpg[/img]

This is especially bad as Mazda changed the water gallery arrangement on the VVT heads as well which means that if you use this gasket with the BP4W head it blocks off almost all of the water going into the head… fail.

In the end it took almost 6 weeks to get a new HG in, courtesy of the supplier sending me VVT gaskets twice more and being away for holidays.

Anyway, in the interest of not letting the arachnids fornicate too much longer i started doing other things.

First on the agenda was to get rid of the insanely long fuel lines into the engine bay and their associated bulb flare ends. A couple of 6AN hardline adapters took care of that:

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/i.php?/upload/2019/07/28/20190728230407-56ceca3c-xl.jpg[/img]

Also, a label maker and heatshrink makes life a lot easier in the long run, especially as both feed and return are the same size. (Also see red ziptie).

Next was this pair of replacement swaybar mounts, given the stock ones are relatively notorious for cracking. Its probably overkill, but I had credit at a supplier to use up.

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/i.php?/upload/2019/07/28/20190728230353-795d2be5-xl.jpg[/img]

[img]http://images.plebeians.net/i.php?/upload/2019/07/28/20190728230345-7345afa3-xl.jpg[/img]

The new HG arrived today, along with some other parts, so it is time to get back into it.