Mech-Head's "The Other Woman" build thread - LS3 Upgrade

[FC3S Murray]

Man you doing a great job keep at it before you know it will all be finished so worth it

[mech-head]

Man you doing a great job keep at it before you know it will all be finished so worth it

Thanks Sean.  I definitely did more than I planned for the swap.  But you know how it goes.  While I am at it, I might as well do this now...

[mech-head]

Mother-Fucker

I thought that making my temperature adapter from a steel plug was the shit.  It twisted off at 10 lbs-ft.  I guess that I drilled it out just a little more than necessary.  I can't imagine what a brass fitting would have failed at.

Well, I had another adapter sitting around, but it is longer and doesn't allow the sensor to go as deep.

It's for the stock gauge, so I am not too worried.  I have my aftermarket gauge set up for the JTR radiator hose vent.

Stock sensor installed.

Motor installed (hopefully last time for a while).

Plenty of room for the MAP sensor.

Power steering fittings are much easier to get to than with the rotary.

I changed the rack with the old rotary and those fittings were hell to work on.  I don't think these will give any grief at all.

Well, dropping the motor in went real smooth.  I did a little clearance making after the initial fit test.  That really helped things move into place much easier.  Not that the first time was difficult, but the second time around, it just went right in.  The Pez mounts absolutely rock.

I still have quite a bit to do, but most of it should just be assembly now.  Probably get some of the wiring taped up and radiator installed this week.

[FC3S Murray]

Don't sweat the passenger head temp probe depth. Mine barely stuck out the adapter. My temps are always off at idle(40° difference at times) but once I drive it evens out perfect with my GM Coolant sensor I monitor from my OBD2 Port. I use that Torque app on my android phone to watch all my PIDs

[mech-head]

Don't sweat the passenger head temp probe depth. Mine barely stuck out the adapter. My temps are always off at idle(40° difference at times) but once I drive it evens out perfect with my GM Coolant sensor I monitor from my OBD2 Port. I use that Torque app on my android phone to watch all my PIDs

Yeah, I think the stock sender is just a vague switch anyway.  It pretty much went cold, normal,  and replace engine.

[FC3S Murray]

Haha....replace engine lol. So true.

[mech-head]

Been working on the Integra speedometer swap.

Here's some parts.

I did the odometer a little different to maintain the use of the original Mazda holes in the bezel.

The wiring needs to be done, and the needle still needs to be painted, but when it's all together it looks original.

I posted this up in the Integra speedometer sticky with some more details.  It's pretty straightforward though.

It looks like this week I will focus on the electrical aspects.  Pez should have my harness in the mail.  Maybe by the weekend I will start putting the interior back together.

[FC3S Murray]

Worked out great man. I have noticed about a 4mph differance between what the integra speedo displays, the pcm vss obd2 pid and my gps.  This is with the 4000ppm programmed in the pcm.

Not bad considering

[mech-head]

Harness came in from Pez

This is how I left things tonight.

I also had the condensor brackets welded to the radiator.

Yes, the condensor is upside down.  It will be easy to flip over before installation.  Greg informed me of the correct orientation while we were talking AC lines.

I hope to get a lot more done this week and over the weekend.  My last goal was start-up in May, but it looks like early June now.

[mech-head]

Out with the old, in with the new.

Swapped out the N/A differential to my S4 TII today.  Props to Don for his differential swap sticky.

CPU harness is routed and CPU is placed in the passenger footwell.  I still need to finish up a little wiring with that before buttoning it all up.  Radiator is also mounted.

It's getting closer to start-up time...

[bikedad]

I need to revise that sticky a little. I now drop the entire cradle assembly. It's faster and easier.

Rick,
You should look at this sticky as well...
http://www.norotors.com/index.php?topic=3659.0

With the added torque you might have the same problem I did and bust the pinion tab. If you wanted to get elaborate with it you could go Heim joint or maybe urethane bushing at the joint. I haven't had any problems with the bolt but there is a slight gear whine due to it being semi solid.
It's negligible and I don't really notice it but you could be the judge of that.
With the cradle assembly out it's a piece of cake..................

Doh! I just realized I sent you the spare "Ray Device" never mind. I'll leave this diatribe for future members builds.

BTW, I hope to have my car done by SNS with the stroker but if I don't then I might ride with you. (I might ride with you anyhow because you have a convertible  )

[mech-head]

I need to revise that sticky a little. I now drop the entire cradle assembly. It's faster and easier.

Rick,
You should look at this sticky as well...
http://www.norotors.com/index.php?topic=3659.0

With the added torque you might have the same problem I did and bust the pinion tab. If you wanted to get elaborate with it you could go Heim joint or maybe urethane bushing at the joint. I haven't had any problems with the bolt but there is a slight gear whine due to it being semi solid.
It's negligible and I don't really notice it but you could be the judge of that.
With the cradle assembly out it's a piece of cake..................

Doh! I just realized I sent you the spare "Ray Device" never mind. I'll leave this diatribe for future members builds.

BTW, I hope to have my car done by SNS with the stroker but if I don't then I might ride with you. (I might ride with you anyhow because you have a convertible  )

Don,

I looked at that thread and I was kind of thinking about modifying the Ray Device to address the vibration.  I was thinking about using the hole in the front differential mount that is used for the counter-balance for mounting an adjustable link.  The other end of the link would drop down vertically and connect through a urethane bushing (like a lower shock eyelet) to a weldment on the subframe.  The bushing would isolate some of the vibration to the subframe.  I thought that I would leave the front differential mount alone and not box it in like yours.  That might be asking for trouble down the road, but I could always go with a Mazdaspeed mount in the future.  Getting the car up and running has to happen first.

I hope to see you at SNS.  Of course you can ride with me, but if you have the stroker done, I might have to get a ride with you too.

[mech-head]

Certain things have given me grief on the car lately, but I did get some positives done this week.

Made a transmission brace to allow better routing for exhaust.

I had a granny's mount installed, but wasn't looking forward to the exhaust end of it.  This seemed like an easy alternative for me.

I managed to get the radiator mounted, accelerator pedal extended, and complete some wiring.  I was hoping for a start-up tomorrow, but it just ain't happening.  Bleeding the clutch is being a pain and I still can't get one half shaft out.  I will read up on the clutch bleeding as I know a lot of people have had issues.  The damn half shaft will probably need to come apart and being taken into work and be pressed out.  Oh well, changing the bearing would be a good idea anyway.

There is still some wiring to do, and I need to mount the battery.  I am not sure of the trunk, or behind the seats.  Since it's a convertible, there is plenty of space behind the seats with the spare tire, but access would be a pain.  I don't really want to give up trunk space either, so I am undecided at the moment.  Suggestions???

 

[mech-head]

Long day today, actually it's been a pretty long week.  Wiring has been the main subject all week.  The harness is wired into the Mazda circuits.  I have to give credit to Pez for answering my questions with plenty of patience.

Here is where I left things today.

Harness through the firewall.

I am not a big fan of the airbag harness routing, but I didn't want to mess with it too much either.

CPU wiring.

Here it is all tucked away under the cover.

Tomorrow I plan on switching out the fuel pump and finishing the wiring for it.  Then carpet and heater/AC can be bolted back in.  The start up is getting pretty close, so I am getting extra motivated.

[mech-head]

This is how the engine is sitting on 6/15/11.

It seems like a bunch of small stuff needs to be done before starting it up, but I think that I will actually plan for cranking it on Saturday.

The heater hose seems a little close to the header (~1").  I will brace it out of the way and keep an eye on it.

I hope to have a start video posted Saturday night or Sunday morning.