Penguin Mobile: "Jesus Built my Hotrod"
- Thread starter Mauro_Penguin
- Start date
Mauro_Penguin
Punk in Drublic. #BlackLivesMatter
Motorhead
Platinum Member
Greenie N00B Member
Greenie Member
Had a chance to work on the speed yesterday.
Got the oil changed, slapped my ETS TMIC back on (I had been rolling with the OEM since the accident), threw on my heavy knob and corksport steering wheel again. The little things make it feel like a real car again.
One thing I did, was add extra Tbolt clamps to my TMIC couplers. I always hated how any tbolt clamp out there would leak, even the expensive ones are no guarantee. So I added double the clamps, to hopefully help reduce leaks. We shall see...
So far the car runs good again, still need to swap thermostat since mine is getting stuck, get new front tires, and a few other things.
I am having a lot of blowby pressure, and am developing tiny weaping leaks in the usual spots. Still haven't decided how I want to address it since I do not want to go VTA.
Got the oil changed, slapped my ETS TMIC back on (I had been rolling with the OEM since the accident), threw on my heavy knob and corksport steering wheel again. The little things make it feel like a real car again.
One thing I did, was add extra Tbolt clamps to my TMIC couplers. I always hated how any tbolt clamp out there would leak, even the expensive ones are no guarantee. So I added double the clamps, to hopefully help reduce leaks. We shall see...
So far the car runs good again, still need to swap thermostat since mine is getting stuck, get new front tires, and a few other things.
I am having a lot of blowby pressure, and am developing tiny weaping leaks in the usual spots. Still haven't decided how I want to address it since I do not want to go VTA.
Last edited:
What about putting a brake booster check valve between the PCV valve and the intake manifold?
Or using a vacuum pump from a GMC Acadia/Chevy Traverse (12V) to keep the crankcase in a state of constant vacuum. Depending on it's output vacuum you may have to run it in a bleed style to prevent too much vacuum in the case causing the seals to suck in instead of being pushed out.
Mauro_Penguin
Punk in Drublic. #BlackLivesMatter
Motorhead
Platinum Member
Greenie N00B Member
Greenie Member
I already have a check valve in line with the OEM PCV valve.
Do you have a part number for this pump? I'll look into it. I'd be interested if it saves me snaking OCC lines everywhere.
Do you have a part number for this pump? I'll look into it. I'd be interested if it saves me snaking OCC lines everywhere.
Mauro_Penguin
Punk in Drublic. #BlackLivesMatter
Motorhead
Platinum Member
Greenie N00B Member
Greenie Member
Update...
It's a new year!
Since the accident in Dec 2021 I had been fighting bad depression. Nothing new to me in my life, but the accident amongst other things made it worse. I got a new psychiatrist who is much better and has actually helped me a lot! It sucks that I lost almost 2 years to depression and shitty medication/side effects, but I must look forward and not dwell.
Last year was the worst financial year that my wife and I have EVER had. Didn't have money for needed house projects or car maintenance. I watched everything around me rot, which made me feel worse. I did buy a 1993 F250 XLT from my friend last year. I committed to that in Jan before we knew how bad finances would be last year, but it's all paid off now. Here it is, in its natural environment, on the back of a tow truck.
It's a 7.3L NA Diesel engine from International, an E40D transmission, Borg & Warner transfer case, and 8ft bed. It's beat up, ugly as shit, has a bunch of interior stuff that needs fixing, but mechanically it all works! It has over 350k miles, no sway bars from factory, and twin traction beam front suspension. I had to rebuild the driveshaft first. While replacing one of the Ujoints, I fucked up my right arm, but thats a story on its own. It's an off road crawler project...
Back to the Mazda...
I swapped the thermostat with a new OEM unit back in Aug. The car would run either really cold or really hot if stopped. I was burning oil and running rich all over town.
Car was still running lean at idle and rich on acceleration. In December I swapped my old shitty JBR Tig gaskets for the AP gaskets, and redid my OCC lines. I also swapped in some used injectors that I sent out to get cleaned, since my original ones were at 96k miles. Dropped them in with new OEM rail seals and corksport injector seals. I have a couple of sets of injector seals from RockAuto, but I just used those to send the injectors out for cleaning. I don't trust aftermarket seals with a rail that sees 1850psi of fuel, OEM has worked great so I stuck with those despite the added cost.
Now it's a new year and we are getting back on our feet.
I'm STILL having issues with the car running lean at idle and rich upon acceleration. I need to set some time up to troubleshoot. I'm going to clean/replace all the HPFP seals, throw in fresh spark plugs, and boost leak test. I also need to replace my coolant tank since it cracked during all the thermostat stress.
The double Tbolt clamp experiment didn't work. I wont recommend it to anyone. They are a pain to tighten since you have to watch placement carefully, and sometimes they would actually slide out of position. They ended up cutting some of my boost tubes, not all the way through, but enough to check when I boost leak test.
That's where I am at now.
I've been going through my garage still cleaning stuff out and finding parts. The heatwave last summer busted my AC, have to save up to get that fixed. My radio head unit is starting to fail, and my roof is all rusted to shit. Since I have the truck to roll in occassionally, I am going to sand the mazda roof, treat it, prime it, paint it, and then probably wrap it to keep that metal safe. This year I will either restore it all, or just gut it, and leave it as a fun mazda beater. But this car is too much fun to get rid of.
Despite all the issues I feel good, happy and motivated. This year will bring about good things.
Thank you all for reading. I hope everyone is doing well!
It's a new year!
Since the accident in Dec 2021 I had been fighting bad depression. Nothing new to me in my life, but the accident amongst other things made it worse. I got a new psychiatrist who is much better and has actually helped me a lot! It sucks that I lost almost 2 years to depression and shitty medication/side effects, but I must look forward and not dwell.
Last year was the worst financial year that my wife and I have EVER had. Didn't have money for needed house projects or car maintenance. I watched everything around me rot, which made me feel worse. I did buy a 1993 F250 XLT from my friend last year. I committed to that in Jan before we knew how bad finances would be last year, but it's all paid off now. Here it is, in its natural environment, on the back of a tow truck.
It's a 7.3L NA Diesel engine from International, an E40D transmission, Borg & Warner transfer case, and 8ft bed. It's beat up, ugly as shit, has a bunch of interior stuff that needs fixing, but mechanically it all works! It has over 350k miles, no sway bars from factory, and twin traction beam front suspension. I had to rebuild the driveshaft first. While replacing one of the Ujoints, I fucked up my right arm, but thats a story on its own. It's an off road crawler project...
Back to the Mazda...
I swapped the thermostat with a new OEM unit back in Aug. The car would run either really cold or really hot if stopped. I was burning oil and running rich all over town.
Car was still running lean at idle and rich on acceleration. In December I swapped my old shitty JBR Tig gaskets for the AP gaskets, and redid my OCC lines. I also swapped in some used injectors that I sent out to get cleaned, since my original ones were at 96k miles. Dropped them in with new OEM rail seals and corksport injector seals. I have a couple of sets of injector seals from RockAuto, but I just used those to send the injectors out for cleaning. I don't trust aftermarket seals with a rail that sees 1850psi of fuel, OEM has worked great so I stuck with those despite the added cost.
Now it's a new year and we are getting back on our feet.
I'm STILL having issues with the car running lean at idle and rich upon acceleration. I need to set some time up to troubleshoot. I'm going to clean/replace all the HPFP seals, throw in fresh spark plugs, and boost leak test. I also need to replace my coolant tank since it cracked during all the thermostat stress.
The double Tbolt clamp experiment didn't work. I wont recommend it to anyone. They are a pain to tighten since you have to watch placement carefully, and sometimes they would actually slide out of position. They ended up cutting some of my boost tubes, not all the way through, but enough to check when I boost leak test.
That's where I am at now.
I've been going through my garage still cleaning stuff out and finding parts. The heatwave last summer busted my AC, have to save up to get that fixed. My radio head unit is starting to fail, and my roof is all rusted to shit. Since I have the truck to roll in occassionally, I am going to sand the mazda roof, treat it, prime it, paint it, and then probably wrap it to keep that metal safe. This year I will either restore it all, or just gut it, and leave it as a fun mazda beater. But this car is too much fun to get rid of.
Despite all the issues I feel good, happy and motivated. This year will bring about good things.
Thank you all for reading. I hope everyone is doing well!
Last edited:
Mauro_Penguin
Punk in Drublic. #BlackLivesMatter
Motorhead
Platinum Member
Greenie N00B Member
Greenie Member
Is that ppf stuff what you put on your roof now?
I'm open to ideas to help seal it once it's treated and painted.
Yeah, about this mental health stuff.... it only gets worse with age...
I flew out to NC last November for my buddies 40th birthday. (Same dude I bought the truck from) Our other friend from San Fran flew in too. The 3 of us have known each other since middle school. It had been about 10 years since the 3 of us all hung out together.
We talked about all sorts of shit over the long weekend. One guy has issues with chest pressure and breathing when he gets stressed, my other buddy acknowledges that his inherited ADHD is impairing his ability to work. Both of them say they drink to deal with their issues and refuse to seek any actual help. I tried talking to both of them rationally to no avail. That trip should have made me happy, instead it made me feel more isolated from my 2 life long friends.
We all choose the paths we take. Now I walk preaching to people about mental health. Whether it's therapy, or meds, no one deserves to live unhappy.
I feel ya man. My post-crash recovery is not over and I still have many issues moreso after lumbar fusion. Took my neurologist to come up with a good combination of stuff. Still messing with my head. Stopped drinking pretty much. It's a bad crutch. Cooking is my therapy in ways. So is my damn evil Christine. Driving it without other traffic is an escape. Felt like Toretto just then.
And yeah xpel makes ppf and it's awesome. He had to wet sand and prime the roof in places due to rust. Ideally I would have painted it. But the $$$ meant no.
And yeah xpel makes ppf and it's awesome. He had to wet sand and prime the roof in places due to rust. Ideally I would have painted it. But the $$$ meant no.
Mauro_Penguin
Punk in Drublic. #BlackLivesMatter
Motorhead
Platinum Member
Greenie N00B Member
Greenie Member
Small update...
Got some gaskets and maintenance parts this week.
Lots of little things for the Speed. Spark plugs, ITFP sock filter, new coolant tank and cap, axle seals, valve cover gasket, etc etc....
Oil change for the Mustang.
For the truck... New taillights, Ignition cylinder, headlight switch, license plate lights, necessary little shit....
Should be enough to keep me busy for a few weeks.
The goal next month will be to fix the truck enough where I can drive it to work, so I can leave the Speed mid project at home. If I can do that, I will be able to fix everything faster.
I have to solve the lean/rich issue, and do a leakdown test among other things.
Fucking radio is fucking up constantly. My AUX is dead, and my Android can't connect to the prehistoric Bluetooth. I'm stuck with FM radio and CD's, but the damn radio keeps skipping and scratching up my CD's.
I'm about ready to rip it out and run it over with the truck.
Got some gaskets and maintenance parts this week.
Lots of little things for the Speed. Spark plugs, ITFP sock filter, new coolant tank and cap, axle seals, valve cover gasket, etc etc....
Oil change for the Mustang.
For the truck... New taillights, Ignition cylinder, headlight switch, license plate lights, necessary little shit....
Should be enough to keep me busy for a few weeks.
The goal next month will be to fix the truck enough where I can drive it to work, so I can leave the Speed mid project at home. If I can do that, I will be able to fix everything faster.
I have to solve the lean/rich issue, and do a leakdown test among other things.
Fucking radio is fucking up constantly. My AUX is dead, and my Android can't connect to the prehistoric Bluetooth. I'm stuck with FM radio and CD's, but the damn radio keeps skipping and scratching up my CD's.
I'm about ready to rip it out and run it over with the truck.
Mauro_Penguin
Punk in Drublic. #BlackLivesMatter
Motorhead
Platinum Member
Greenie N00B Member
Greenie Member
The CD player is important to me. I have a LOT of underground music that isn't on streaming apps or is out of print.
My half bro recommended a Kenwood unit he got for an old car, but for now it's extremely low on the priority list.
I had to revert my Bluetooth version the last two phones I've had to get it to connect to the Mazda. I have Pixel phones and was able to do that through developer settings.
You can download it to a USB and connect it to the head unit
Hey man! i read a bunch of the thread about the air ducting, great read! im in a similar boat and hope to do some experimenting soon..
Also, for the mental health stuff, I know its awful to go through stuff like that. Ive been there. Things can get better!
any updates on the speed? any steering improvements?
Mauro_Penguin
Punk in Drublic. #BlackLivesMatter
Motorhead
Platinum Member
Greenie N00B Member
Greenie Member
Hey dude! Speed has been in hibernation since Jan. No work done to it yet since my garage is a mess, and I've been driving/fixing the damn diesel truck and my mother in laws expedition, which has also had 28 years of neglect by bad mechanics. The shit I've found on that truck is incredible.
Currently waiting on back order parts for the mother in law truck, dealing with never ending old neglected diesel truck issues, and trying to organize my garage so I can leave the Speed on jack stands and I can work on it as time presents. It's getting a whole suspension refresh, and yes I'll be doing the hood vents on it again.
Im trying to get 2 side hustle's started, (cause being an Optician sucks salary wise). One does involve wrenching on cars. I got a buddy that wants to help me film the stuff that I do on some vehicles, and maybe get into flipping. The videos will be a big help, since media time is real scarce for me.
Last big steering improvements were the hood vents as it planted the front down so much better. Im planning on swapping almost all (but not all) bushings to poly, and dialing in the rear toe at Zero, and loosening up the JBR RSB. Or maybe I will toss it (cause fuck pedophile creeps), and get a whiteline RSB to match my FSB.
I have all my old notes, so whatever you are curious about ask away. Torque Steer is not torque steer on our platform, just a nasty cocktail of many tolerances that mazda left on the table.
Mauro_Penguin
Punk in Drublic. #BlackLivesMatter
Motorhead
Platinum Member
Greenie N00B Member
Greenie Member
Short non update...
Mother in laws Expedition is getting seafoamed today. I replaced all 4 cats with magnaflows. Hopefully this finishes it and I can dedicate my time to my own cars again.
My g**damn diesel truck has decided to spring a leak from the water pump AND the radiator at the same time. Already got a new water pump and fan clutch since those were from the previous administration. The radiator is leaking from the trans cooler fittings. Luckily no coolant in the trans. Ive read that some guys have had luck loosening the outer nut, and retorqueing it to let the inner oring reseat and seal again. Since I have nothing to lose, and some $487 to try to save, I will try that first. All this got me thinking if I should step down the radiator cap from 13psi to 7psi, but 7psi caps are challenging to find. Everything I find for this truck is 13psi, but it used to be common to stop down to 7. The higher psi is supposed to help it get hot quicker, which is good because all my drives are short. Its also supposed to help with cavitation, and that's a big one for me. I've found chips in the block while servicing the cooling system in Jan, so I know there is a history of cavitation. It really sucka because I had planned to get r134 tools and equipment to work on all of our cars at home, now it's going to have to wait until next month. Another month of Florida heat....
I am almost done organizing my garage. Got some new shelves and trying to get everything prepared for the AC unit and workbench for the side hustle. Soon I'll be able to permanently park the speed in the garage so I can fix it, restore it, and paint it. Woohoo!
I decided Im going to get the bushings for the front control arms that Damond sells. The price is steep for the rear bushing, but I like the thick housing they sell with it. I have powerflex bushings to press into the thin factory sleeves, I cross referenced them ages ago, but the 1 time I tried to work on them, the sleeve started to crumble or something and I stopped and left it for a later time. The Damond bushings would save me that whole headache and I can mess with the factory sleeves later.
Soon the speed will get worked on!!! Its exciting. If only this damn diesel truck will stay together.
Mother in laws Expedition is getting seafoamed today. I replaced all 4 cats with magnaflows. Hopefully this finishes it and I can dedicate my time to my own cars again.
My g**damn diesel truck has decided to spring a leak from the water pump AND the radiator at the same time. Already got a new water pump and fan clutch since those were from the previous administration. The radiator is leaking from the trans cooler fittings. Luckily no coolant in the trans. Ive read that some guys have had luck loosening the outer nut, and retorqueing it to let the inner oring reseat and seal again. Since I have nothing to lose, and some $487 to try to save, I will try that first. All this got me thinking if I should step down the radiator cap from 13psi to 7psi, but 7psi caps are challenging to find. Everything I find for this truck is 13psi, but it used to be common to stop down to 7. The higher psi is supposed to help it get hot quicker, which is good because all my drives are short. Its also supposed to help with cavitation, and that's a big one for me. I've found chips in the block while servicing the cooling system in Jan, so I know there is a history of cavitation. It really sucka because I had planned to get r134 tools and equipment to work on all of our cars at home, now it's going to have to wait until next month. Another month of Florida heat....
I am almost done organizing my garage. Got some new shelves and trying to get everything prepared for the AC unit and workbench for the side hustle. Soon I'll be able to permanently park the speed in the garage so I can fix it, restore it, and paint it. Woohoo!
I decided Im going to get the bushings for the front control arms that Damond sells. The price is steep for the rear bushing, but I like the thick housing they sell with it. I have powerflex bushings to press into the thin factory sleeves, I cross referenced them ages ago, but the 1 time I tried to work on them, the sleeve started to crumble or something and I stopped and left it for a later time. The Damond bushings would save me that whole headache and I can mess with the factory sleeves later.
Soon the speed will get worked on!!! Its exciting. If only this damn diesel truck will stay together.
You want to mail the rear bushings and housings to me I can install them
Mauro_Penguin
Punk in Drublic. #BlackLivesMatter
Motorhead
Platinum Member
Greenie N00B Member
Greenie Member
I may take you up on that. Thank you.
My press needs a new pump, so I'm going to replace that first and see what I can do. If I see anything I don't like, I'll let you know.
I put the bushings in the toaster oven with the door open to get them nice and soft