I remember reading this back in the day!!!!
------------------------------------------------------------
Credit to Dan[sac] and Club Protege.com
http://www.clubprotege.com/forum/showthread.php?33987-My-BG-hatch-V6-swap-rear-brake-upgrade-etc
Today I pulled the B6 and subframe, clearing up room in the bay for the KLZE.
I looked at the a-arms and they look to be the same on the BG and K8 but I think the problem may be in the hub geometry for those with axle problems. I didn't really have time to make any in-depth comparisons as I had to move the BG subframe (I'm running out of real estate).
My swap will use MX3 front subframe w/ sway bar, mx3 hubs with the bigger brakes, mx3 mounts. I'm keeping the manualsteering rack to save weight and space in the engine bay. I'll be using a Probe/MX6 radiator, and sit it in front of the upperradiator support. There is a slight difference between the Probe and MX6 rads - the Probe passenger inlet is straight on and the mx6 has a slight angle toward the pass. side fender - this was so that the Probe rad could clear the pop-upheadlights on the Ford body. Either one should work though.
I'm also upgrading the rear brakes - actually swapping out the full subframe/sway bar/tie bar/disk brakes from the MX3 as well just to make it easier.
I was considering upgrading to 5-lug, but the 4x100 wheels are cheaper and more abundant in 15-16" variety and there is a large pool of used items from the Honda/Toyota crowd. I don't really want to spend a fortune on this project.
The wheels I picked are 16x7 with 205/40/16 Falken ZIEX tires. The sidewall is short and stiff so really good transmission mounts are a must to minimize wheel hop so I'll fill them over the next couple of days. I was getting wheelhop with the stock B6!
For wiring, I'll again be using the MX3 issue with the MX3 ECU. I might switch to a Probe ECU because I only have air meters from the 2.5L. Axles and shift linkage also come from the MX3.
I was lucky that I found a '92 MX3 V6 that I could pick anything I wanted out of. You can do the swap with less than what I have, but I like things easy if possible.
I'll be working on it a little at a time over the next week or so. I still have to freshen up the ZE with a new timing belt/tensioner and valve cover gaskets.
-------------------------------------------------------------
I pulled the BP wiring harness (ECU-to-engine and the engine bay fuse box with battery terminals) and cleaned the firewall and framerails. Almost 2 decades of crap makes for an ugly sight.
---------------------------------------------------------
****M62 supercharger ****
Did you source a PGT or MX-6 SC kit?
Found one already made, but I'll probably have to customize it to my liking. It's an A/C location mount clutched M62, which means I can turn it off with a switch. The 7psi will be achieved via an overdrive crank pulley. If I do it right, it should not even be obvious that it's boosted and the intake pipe will look like a cold air intake.
Picked up the supercharger kit today, it's in great shape. The M62 is freshly rebuilt, there is only one bracket holding it very securely to the block, and it uses all OEM tensioners - as stealth as I wanted it and more. Even came with good black silicone couplers and t-clamps. The clutched pulley works great, this will be my favorite 'push to pass' button yet .
should, and charge like $149.99 for them - it's actually just a 3/16" plate with a few choice holes drilled in it.
Here's how you do it.
1) Remove A/C compressor from your KL
2) Take 3/16" steel plate and bolt onto a/c bracket
3) Take blower and bolt to 3/16" plate
That's it. Sure you, have to mock it up a bit to make sure the pulleys line up, but that's really the hardest part.
Yes, there are other fitment issues - I'll relocate the oil filter housing, and probably rebuild the lower radiator support to make a little more room and make it comfortable to work there. Pics and all that jazz will come next week when I'm done with finals.
Originally Posted by Rayman
Lower than stock. The oil pan is still the lowest part of the whole thing, and the outlet manifold (the one facing toward the front of the car) will be flipped up. I'm thinking about getting a narrower Honda radiatorbut first I gotta do some math on their cooling abilities.
I will completely replace the lower rad. support so it will both make room for the blower and allow me to easier fit the radiator of my choice.
Stock KL injectors are 220cc - Millenia S injectors (290cc) are drop-ins, and I'll be tuning it all with Megasquirt. With MAP-sensor driven fuel tuning, driving off-boost should be fine. At 7psi the stock disty should be fine for spark supply. I don't want to go to coilpacks because then I have to add a toothed wheel to the custom overdrive pulley, and frankly I think coilpacks would be overkill for a low boost application.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
GUTTING THE POWER STEERING
Here is the power steering gutting procedure - it's really a lot simpler than it looks.
Basically you want to take the back plate off the pump, take out the inner parts and that's it. The shaft itself spins on a sealed bearing that is replaceable if need be.
Here we go -
Pump & bracket, at first:
FWIW, I haven't used the back plate on the gutted pump on my drag car and the shaft bearing is fine. I was at first concerned that without the rear bracket that holds the pump to the engine the side loading of the shaft due to the belt turning might cause problems for that bearings, but no problems thus far and I don't anticipate any either.
------------------------------------------------------
Of course if it was going too well something wasn't right, so I had my moments - right now I'm making a 3" spacer for the throttle body since i don't have the Millenia TB to go with the Millenia IM. I'm using a KLDE TB with a ZE IAC, drilled idle holes in the TB, and with the spacer it will finally clear the thermostat housing.
-------------------------------------------------------
I had to replace the pass. side chassis bracket that holds the motor mount in place because I forgot to do so before dropping the motor in, which is why it was a bit off center. A quick trip to the yards and I came back with a blue one that I painted red to match and the engine is now straight on.
The other problem was putting the transmission mounts on and into the crossmember. All 4 mounts are filled with tough 94-shore polyurethane so the engine is rock solid in its cradle now, but that made for a fun time aligning the bottom ones to fit. Because the engine sags a bit in its stock mounts, the new position with the filled mounts meant that the shift linkage wasn't lining up properly so I spent another hour and a half massaging those pieces in.
Also did the heater core lines and fuel lines, bolted the starter up and screwed in the tach cable. I'll do a bit more electrical work and bolt up the y-pipe. Tomorrow I'll be up early before the football games to finish the vacuum setup and finish welding the exhaust.
Sadly, the Probe/MX6/MX3 radiator will not fit without some cutting up front so I think I'll just use the Pro LX unit in front of the upper rad. support and use a fan on it. It IS possible to make the V6 rad. fit, but right now I just want the car to run, and since I don't have slimline fans handy I'll use the Pro fan. I don't like running without a fan, this being California and all.
------------------------------------------------------------
Radiator
In the meantime I trimmed my upper rad support to fit the long neck of the Cavalier (91 RS) radiator and I like the final placement. Pretty big core, too, so I shouldn't have any problems in the Cali 100+ summer heat.
The radiator, as seen from the firewall:
The cavalier rad doesn't have pegs like the BG, so I'll have to make a couple of rubber insulators to make it stay in place. I might even solid mount it with aluminum brackets since the engine doesn't move anymore anyway.
--------------------------------------
Subframes are MX3 front & rear.
---------------------------------------
Not quite 100% perfect, but a decent test drive. Car needs alignment and a parking brake adjustment.
Speedo isn't working which means the B6 speedo gear isn't compatible with the mx3 tranny like the BP is - I'll test that out tomorrow probably.
The cooling fan isn't coming on at 207* as it's supposed to, which leads me to believe that there is a fan relay somewhere in the mx3 chassis harness that I missed when I picked over the engine harness. I'll check that at the yards too.
Other than that, it's nice. With the exhaust & magnaflow muffler it's really nicely toned down (no chrome tip on purpose). No check engine light, perfect vacuum signal, and a good idle. Suspension is stiff with the Jamex springs, and at first I wasn't digging the raked look but it's growing on me. Just gotta drive around big potholes with the 40-series tires.
I forgot how tiny the 323 sunvisors were :no:
Love the mx3 seats as well.
Edit - the sidemarkers are form a 3-series BMW. Next week I'll put on the upper & lower rear spoilers and shorten therear bumper. I was initially going to get a JDM front bumper to go with it but for now I like the retro look.
---------------------------------------
As far as the fan goes, it looks like my hunch was right. I looked up the '92 MX3 cooling fan setup on AllData and there are 2 additional cooling fan relays under the driver side fender. I'll see how they'll fit with the rest of the B6 harness - in the meantime I put a relayed switch on the fan. The single fan relay in the underhood fusebox checked out ok, and the fan does turn when 12V are applied.
As far as the gauges go (stockers), I'll put in an MX3 gauge cluster. My speedo doesn't work with the B6 gear in the K8 tranny, and my tach is off anyway by at least 30%, more in the upper rpm. Since it plugs right in, I'll put in the mx3 cluster and try to massage it in there as best I can. That way I have the proper tach readout, and the electric speed sensor. The B6 one that's wedged in there allows fluid to leak out anyway.
Thanks for the good words guys - it's not overly difficult, but sometimes it can be time consuming and make you feel like it'll never end. With the right info at your fingertips and all the parts collected, I wager this swap can be done in one weekend. And there are plenty of MX3s in the yards, just shop for the 50% off days
Now I just need to hunt down the MX3 gear ratios for the K8 motor and stock tire size for the MX3 V6...
---------------
Aaahhh, I got a little too optimistic with the gauge cluster. The MX3 cluster does fit with a slight amount of trimming, and it does plug right in, but in order for it to work, you have to swap the rest of the chassis harness, and that includes the cooling fan relays I missed (one in the driver side fenderwell right behind the coolant tank) and the others are by the pass side between the strut tower and firewall. Also the rest of the harness has to go in as well, so I may or may not do it (most likely I'll do it because I don't want to half ass it now that it's done, and having the cooling fan on a switch is annoying at best as it requires constant temperature monitoring).
I did get the electric speedo gear swapped back in today and took out the cable driven speedo gear and the cable itself.
Other than that, I love it. I just paid the tags for it so it's registered till March 09 (no smog till then) so I have time to do the BAR/referee recertification if I keep it.
I say if I keep it because chances are in about 2 weeks it'll be for sale so I can buy my billet gears for the drag transmission (at $900+/gear it gets pricy VERY fast).
---------------
Well I was indeed right about the cooling fan and the extra relays. Today I got a full chassis/dash harness from a GS MX-3 as well as the full steering column/wheel. This way I'll get a working tach, working electric speedo, tilt wheel, and the improved MX3 wiper controls. This way I'm also set up electrically for cruise control if I ever choose to go that route.
---------------
Well I'm almost done with the harness swap, I'll post a bunch of pics tonight. Fairly straight forward, but as always some kinks.
The rear part of the harness (fuel pump & tail lights) has a different plug on the 323 and MX3 (where it connects to the in-cabin fuse block), so I'll have to swap that as well. I'll take care of that tomorrow and swap my fuel pump & sender at the same time to take care of the wacky fuel level signal.
Almost everything plugs right in, except the front parking lights. On the 323 the female side is the light housing, and on the MX3 the female side is the harness - so I'll have to do a bit of splicing on those 2. No biggie, simple color coordination. This will give me a chance to wire the side markers as well.
In the cabin, there are a couple of functions that will need splicing or replacing - the emergency flashers and the gauge brightness adjuster will have to be spliced in. Since I swapped the steering column as well, there is no need for splicing as all turn signal, headlight and wiper controls came over from the MX3.
So after tomorrow when I'll be doing the rear part of the harness, the car will have a 100%, bumper to bumper MX3 harness. If I were to start over, that's the first thing I'd do. It's not that hard, just time consuming, but it gives you a chance to do everything right the first time, plus the car will get a thorough cleaning in the process.
The other bonus is now I am 100% wired for power windows, cruise control, and all the MX3 creature comforts if I choose to install them later.
The cool thing is now I'm wired for power windows, cruise, ABS, rear wiper, whatever I want to install later if I feel like it.
In all, less than 30 wires required splicing, and most of those were the easy kind - the tail lights, frontparking lights, brake reservoir fluid level, hazard light switch - pretty much just color-match things.
One thing I still have to add is the front cooling fan relay I've been hunting for 3 weeks.
I also have to cut a small metal plate to adapt the mx3 column to the 323 lower pedal assembly. The bonus is now I have the mx3 variably intermittent wiper controls working as well.
A couple of words about that - the state smog referee (this applies to CA, your state may differ, check first) does not accept hybrid engines, so I had to put the KL03 manifold back on. Basically I said all the parts came from a 1993 Mazda mx-6 V6, and I had to get all parts to match that. They have the AllData printouts where they check the manifolds, computer, vacuum diagrams, everything. I had to ditch the 93 Probe computer and find a 93 MX6 computer because it has a different serial # on it (both were for 5-sp, CA emissions vehicles). So make sure that all the parts are from the same car (or type of car). The wiring harness from the MX3 is sufficiently identical to an MX6 harness that it won't be discernible.
Bottom line - be patient and thorough. It took me 3 tries to get everything right, but in the end it all worked out. When I build my next one it will be much easier to get it approved the first time as now I know what I need to know.
Here is a link I found useful for the process:
(on your 323 KLZE project).
------------------------------------------------------------
Credit to Dan[sac] and Club Protege.com
http://www.clubprotege.com/forum/showthread.php?33987-My-BG-hatch-V6-swap-rear-brake-upgrade-etc
Today I pulled the B6 and subframe, clearing up room in the bay for the KLZE.
I looked at the a-arms and they look to be the same on the BG and K8 but I think the problem may be in the hub geometry for those with axle problems. I didn't really have time to make any in-depth comparisons as I had to move the BG subframe (I'm running out of real estate).
My swap will use MX3 front subframe w/ sway bar, mx3 hubs with the bigger brakes, mx3 mounts. I'm keeping the manualsteering rack to save weight and space in the engine bay. I'll be using a Probe/MX6 radiator, and sit it in front of the upperradiator support. There is a slight difference between the Probe and MX6 rads - the Probe passenger inlet is straight on and the mx6 has a slight angle toward the pass. side fender - this was so that the Probe rad could clear the pop-upheadlights on the Ford body. Either one should work though.
I'm also upgrading the rear brakes - actually swapping out the full subframe/sway bar/tie bar/disk brakes from the MX3 as well just to make it easier.
I was considering upgrading to 5-lug, but the 4x100 wheels are cheaper and more abundant in 15-16" variety and there is a large pool of used items from the Honda/Toyota crowd. I don't really want to spend a fortune on this project.
The wheels I picked are 16x7 with 205/40/16 Falken ZIEX tires. The sidewall is short and stiff so really good transmission mounts are a must to minimize wheel hop so I'll fill them over the next couple of days. I was getting wheelhop with the stock B6!
For wiring, I'll again be using the MX3 issue with the MX3 ECU. I might switch to a Probe ECU because I only have air meters from the 2.5L. Axles and shift linkage also come from the MX3.
I was lucky that I found a '92 MX3 V6 that I could pick anything I wanted out of. You can do the swap with less than what I have, but I like things easy if possible.
I'll be working on it a little at a time over the next week or so. I still have to freshen up the ZE with a new timing belt/tensioner and valve cover gaskets.
-------------------------------------------------------------
I pulled the BP wiring harness (ECU-to-engine and the engine bay fuse box with battery terminals) and cleaned the firewall and framerails. Almost 2 decades of crap makes for an ugly sight.
 |
| Engine harness removed |
 |
| ECU location and unplugged |
 |
| B6 wiring detail. |
 |
| wiring removed |
 |
| wiring comparison |
****M62 supercharger ****
Did you source a PGT or MX-6 SC kit?
Found one already made, but I'll probably have to customize it to my liking. It's an A/C location mount clutched M62, which means I can turn it off with a switch. The 7psi will be achieved via an overdrive crank pulley. If I do it right, it should not even be obvious that it's boosted and the intake pipe will look like a cold air intake.
Picked up the supercharger kit today, it's in great shape. The M62 is freshly rebuilt, there is only one bracket holding it very securely to the block, and it uses all OEM tensioners - as stealth as I wanted it and more. Even came with good black silicone couplers and t-clamps. The clutched pulley works great, this will be my favorite 'push to pass' button yet .
should, and charge like $149.99 for them - it's actually just a 3/16" plate with a few choice holes drilled in it.
Here's how you do it.
1) Remove A/C compressor from your KL
2) Take 3/16" steel plate and bolt onto a/c bracket
3) Take blower and bolt to 3/16" plate
That's it. Sure you, have to mock it up a bit to make sure the pulleys line up, but that's really the hardest part.
Yes, there are other fitment issues - I'll relocate the oil filter housing, and probably rebuild the lower radiator support to make a little more room and make it comfortable to work there. Pics and all that jazz will come next week when I'm done with finals.
Originally Posted by Rayman
btw, what kinda ground clearance are u looking at? lol
I will completely replace the lower rad. support so it will both make room for the blower and allow me to easier fit the radiator of my choice.
How are you going to handle the fuel enrichment and boost retard functions between naturally aspirated and Kompressor mode?? Fuel would be easy enough I guess. You could use a rising rate F.M.U??? Thinkin' you could use a MSD Boost timing master box for the ignition. Kool stuff, can't wait to see how you tackle this project. Mx-326 GS Kompressor, jealousy building LOL.
Stock KL injectors are 220cc - Millenia S injectors (290cc) are drop-ins, and I'll be tuning it all with Megasquirt. With MAP-sensor driven fuel tuning, driving off-boost should be fine. At 7psi the stock disty should be fine for spark supply. I don't want to go to coilpacks because then I have to add a toothed wheel to the custom overdrive pulley, and frankly I think coilpacks would be overkill for a low boost application.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
GUTTING THE POWER STEERING
Here is the power steering gutting procedure - it's really a lot simpler than it looks.
Basically you want to take the back plate off the pump, take out the inner parts and that's it. The shaft itself spins on a sealed bearing that is replaceable if need be.
Here we go -
Pump & bracket, at first:
 |
| From left to right - engine bracket, PS pump, belt tensioner bracket |
 |
| Closeup of the back of the pump |
 |
| Here is what you see after you remove the 4 12-mm bolts and remove the back plate |
 |
| Pump emptied - you can just flip it over, all that stuff will slide out. You can see it on the right (the inner PS vanes, gasket, back plate) |
 |
| Because I don't need them (and dead weight is evil), I also took out the PS pressure sensor and fluid inlet fitting |
 |
| Gutted pump |
 |
| Assembly mocked up on a KL, with the PS pulley on the shaft |
 |
| Back side |
 |
| The back plate of the pump (if you wish to reinstall it) has a circular slot for the shaft to get into - if you bolt it to the pump, grease up that slot as the shaft spins inside of it. Here is the back plate on the pump again. I will not be using this, but you can if you want the back side bracket to attach to the engine. |
 |
| After back plate is on, reattach the bracket to engine for the back side of the pump. Use the gasket that was originally between the 2 pump pieces to keep clearances the same for the shaft. |
FWIW, I haven't used the back plate on the gutted pump on my drag car and the shaft bearing is fine. I was at first concerned that without the rear bracket that holds the pump to the engine the side loading of the shaft due to the belt turning might cause problems for that bearings, but no problems thus far and I don't anticipate any either.
------------------------------------------------------
Of course if it was going too well something wasn't right, so I had my moments - right now I'm making a 3" spacer for the throttle body since i don't have the Millenia TB to go with the Millenia IM. I'm using a KLDE TB with a ZE IAC, drilled idle holes in the TB, and with the spacer it will finally clear the thermostat housing.
-------------------------------------------------------
I had to replace the pass. side chassis bracket that holds the motor mount in place because I forgot to do so before dropping the motor in, which is why it was a bit off center. A quick trip to the yards and I came back with a blue one that I painted red to match and the engine is now straight on.
The other problem was putting the transmission mounts on and into the crossmember. All 4 mounts are filled with tough 94-shore polyurethane so the engine is rock solid in its cradle now, but that made for a fun time aligning the bottom ones to fit. Because the engine sags a bit in its stock mounts, the new position with the filled mounts meant that the shift linkage wasn't lining up properly so I spent another hour and a half massaging those pieces in.
Also did the heater core lines and fuel lines, bolted the starter up and screwed in the tach cable. I'll do a bit more electrical work and bolt up the y-pipe. Tomorrow I'll be up early before the football games to finish the vacuum setup and finish welding the exhaust.
Sadly, the Probe/MX6/MX3 radiator will not fit without some cutting up front so I think I'll just use the Pro LX unit in front of the upper rad. support and use a fan on it. It IS possible to make the V6 rad. fit, but right now I just want the car to run, and since I don't have slimline fans handy I'll use the Pro fan. I don't like running without a fan, this being California and all.
------------------------------------------------------------
Radiator
In the meantime I trimmed my upper rad support to fit the long neck of the Cavalier (91 RS) radiator and I like the final placement. Pretty big core, too, so I shouldn't have any problems in the Cali 100+ summer heat.
The radiator, as seen from the firewall:
 |
| Pre-fitment |
 |
| pre fitment |
 |
| After trimmage |
 |
| After trimmage |
The cavalier rad doesn't have pegs like the BG, so I'll have to make a couple of rubber insulators to make it stay in place. I might even solid mount it with aluminum brackets since the engine doesn't move anymore anyway.
--------------------------------------
Subframes are MX3 front & rear.
---------------------------------------
Not quite 100% perfect, but a decent test drive. Car needs alignment and a parking brake adjustment.
Speedo isn't working which means the B6 speedo gear isn't compatible with the mx3 tranny like the BP is - I'll test that out tomorrow probably.
The cooling fan isn't coming on at 207* as it's supposed to, which leads me to believe that there is a fan relay somewhere in the mx3 chassis harness that I missed when I picked over the engine harness. I'll check that at the yards too.
Other than that, it's nice. With the exhaust & magnaflow muffler it's really nicely toned down (no chrome tip on purpose). No check engine light, perfect vacuum signal, and a good idle. Suspension is stiff with the Jamex springs, and at first I wasn't digging the raked look but it's growing on me. Just gotta drive around big potholes with the 40-series tires.
I forgot how tiny the 323 sunvisors were :no:
Love the mx3 seats as well.
Edit - the sidemarkers are form a 3-series BMW. Next week I'll put on the upper & lower rear spoilers and shorten therear bumper. I was initially going to get a JDM front bumper to go with it but for now I like the retro look.
---------------------------------------
As far as the fan goes, it looks like my hunch was right. I looked up the '92 MX3 cooling fan setup on AllData and there are 2 additional cooling fan relays under the driver side fender. I'll see how they'll fit with the rest of the B6 harness - in the meantime I put a relayed switch on the fan. The single fan relay in the underhood fusebox checked out ok, and the fan does turn when 12V are applied.
As far as the gauges go (stockers), I'll put in an MX3 gauge cluster. My speedo doesn't work with the B6 gear in the K8 tranny, and my tach is off anyway by at least 30%, more in the upper rpm. Since it plugs right in, I'll put in the mx3 cluster and try to massage it in there as best I can. That way I have the proper tach readout, and the electric speed sensor. The B6 one that's wedged in there allows fluid to leak out anyway.
Thanks for the good words guys - it's not overly difficult, but sometimes it can be time consuming and make you feel like it'll never end. With the right info at your fingertips and all the parts collected, I wager this swap can be done in one weekend. And there are plenty of MX3s in the yards, just shop for the 50% off days
Now I just need to hunt down the MX3 gear ratios for the K8 motor and stock tire size for the MX3 V6...
---------------
Aaahhh, I got a little too optimistic with the gauge cluster. The MX3 cluster does fit with a slight amount of trimming, and it does plug right in, but in order for it to work, you have to swap the rest of the chassis harness, and that includes the cooling fan relays I missed (one in the driver side fenderwell right behind the coolant tank) and the others are by the pass side between the strut tower and firewall. Also the rest of the harness has to go in as well, so I may or may not do it (most likely I'll do it because I don't want to half ass it now that it's done, and having the cooling fan on a switch is annoying at best as it requires constant temperature monitoring).
I did get the electric speedo gear swapped back in today and took out the cable driven speedo gear and the cable itself.
Other than that, I love it. I just paid the tags for it so it's registered till March 09 (no smog till then) so I have time to do the BAR/referee recertification if I keep it.
I say if I keep it because chances are in about 2 weeks it'll be for sale so I can buy my billet gears for the drag transmission (at $900+/gear it gets pricy VERY fast).
---------------
Well I was indeed right about the cooling fan and the extra relays. Today I got a full chassis/dash harness from a GS MX-3 as well as the full steering column/wheel. This way I'll get a working tach, working electric speedo, tilt wheel, and the improved MX3 wiper controls. This way I'm also set up electrically for cruise control if I ever choose to go that route.
---------------
Well I'm almost done with the harness swap, I'll post a bunch of pics tonight. Fairly straight forward, but as always some kinks.
The rear part of the harness (fuel pump & tail lights) has a different plug on the 323 and MX3 (where it connects to the in-cabin fuse block), so I'll have to swap that as well. I'll take care of that tomorrow and swap my fuel pump & sender at the same time to take care of the wacky fuel level signal.
Almost everything plugs right in, except the front parking lights. On the 323 the female side is the light housing, and on the MX3 the female side is the harness - so I'll have to do a bit of splicing on those 2. No biggie, simple color coordination. This will give me a chance to wire the side markers as well.
In the cabin, there are a couple of functions that will need splicing or replacing - the emergency flashers and the gauge brightness adjuster will have to be spliced in. Since I swapped the steering column as well, there is no need for splicing as all turn signal, headlight and wiper controls came over from the MX3.
So after tomorrow when I'll be doing the rear part of the harness, the car will have a 100%, bumper to bumper MX3 harness. If I were to start over, that's the first thing I'd do. It's not that hard, just time consuming, but it gives you a chance to do everything right the first time, plus the car will get a thorough cleaning in the process.
The other bonus is now I am 100% wired for power windows, cruise control, and all the MX3 creature comforts if I choose to install them later.
 |
| Pass. side beginning of harness remova |
 |
| MX3 tilt wheel column |
 |
| New monster waiting to go in |
 |
| Car prep for dash removal |
 |
| Dash out, 323 harness visible |
 |
| A good time to clean the heater motor, as well as the vent supplying 'fresh' air to the motor - 17 years of leaves |
To remove the wiring snaked behind the heater core, you don't need to remove the core. I just unbolted the 2 nuts holding it up and let it lay down a few inches so I could get the loom out. A word of caution - if your heater core inlet/outlet on the engine side still has the swivel plastic extensions, those could easily break during this maneuver, so I would recommend disconnecting the hoses from the engine side prior to doing this. On my car I removed the plastic swivels and clamped the rubber hoses directly on the metal inlet/outlet of the heater core since I needed the extra clearance to the V6.
 |
| Old stuff out |
 |
| MX3 gauge cluster, fitting in snugly. It sits fine behind the 323 bezel, with small gaps on the left/right side that you can fill easily with a little plastic sheet contoured to fit the gauge. The vertical fit is perfect but it did require the removal of the mx3 upper brackets, which means I'll make a couple of small tabs to keep the cluster secure |
 |
| Old wiring gone - the job was made a ton easier after I decided to remove the pedals - the brake/clutch pedals come out as a single assembly. The clutch rod (going to clutch master cyl) comes out with the pedals. The brake rod is unclipped from the pedal assembly and stays in the car |
 |
| MX3 harness in |
 |
The white plug that sits on the frame rail between the fuse box and overflow tank is the one that gets the extra cooling fan relay that the 323 is missing. That's the reason my cooling fan wasn't coming on at 207*F as it was supposed to. |
One more note - the MX3 steering colums does not bolt in directly to the 323 pedal set (at the bottom). To compensate, the pedal sets could be swapped as well. I will just make a small metal plate to bridge the gap between the 323 and MX3 mounting points for the two 10-mm bolts that hold the bottom of the column in place. The main load bearing fasteners are the 4 12mm bolts up top, and those match up with no problem.
------------------------------------------------------------------
No, I'm still waiting on an MX3 fuel pump and sending unit. Car's been sitting on jack stands for 2 weeks now, but the interior wiring is almost done as well as the complete mx3 center console. I also threw out the Jensen casette player
--------------------------------------------------------
Good news today - the car fired up on the first crank with the complete MX3 harness. Tach works, speedo works, CEL operates properly. Got a little more to finish putting it back together and then later tonight I'll test drive it. Seems to run a touch better with the MX3 fuel pump but it may be in my head only - I'll verify that for sure later. The old 323 sender was dead though.
The cool thing is now I'm wired for power windows, cruise, ABS, rear wiper, whatever I want to install later if I feel like it.
In all, less than 30 wires required splicing, and most of those were the easy kind - the tail lights, frontparking lights, brake reservoir fluid level, hazard light switch - pretty much just color-match things.
One thing I still have to add is the front cooling fan relay I've been hunting for 3 weeks.
I also have to cut a small metal plate to adapt the mx3 column to the 323 lower pedal assembly. The bonus is now I have the mx3 variably intermittent wiper controls working as well.
--------------------------------------------------------
I initially said that you'll need to fab an adapter plate to make it work - it turns out that that plate is a factory thing, and I just forgot to remove it off the donor MX3 - thus when I tried to install it on the pedal bracket it seemed to 'not work' initially. So if you're pulling a tilt column off an mx3, get that small plate with it (the 323 has no plate for the non-tilt column).
--------------------------------------------------------------
The bonus - she is now 100% 50-state CARB and smog-legal as I went through all the hoops and got the swap legalized and legit.
A couple of words about that - the state smog referee (this applies to CA, your state may differ, check first) does not accept hybrid engines, so I had to put the KL03 manifold back on. Basically I said all the parts came from a 1993 Mazda mx-6 V6, and I had to get all parts to match that. They have the AllData printouts where they check the manifolds, computer, vacuum diagrams, everything. I had to ditch the 93 Probe computer and find a 93 MX6 computer because it has a different serial # on it (both were for 5-sp, CA emissions vehicles). So make sure that all the parts are from the same car (or type of car). The wiring harness from the MX3 is sufficiently identical to an MX6 harness that it won't be discernible.
Bottom line - be patient and thorough. It took me 3 tries to get everything right, but in the end it all worked out. When I build my next one it will be much easier to get it approved the first time as now I know what I need to know.
Here is a link I found useful for the process:
http://www.jagsthatrun.com/Pages/Chevrolet_S-10_V-8_Smog.html
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Yeah, as far as I remember I used the stock 323 parts and had to extend the outer tie rods out (threading them out to make up for the wider mx3 parts).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
What computer did you use? (On the KLZE 323). I have been pokin' around the net and I plan to use the MX-3 computer with a Probinator chip. My 323 is as basic as they come, but this new one I picked up has a few options including power steering. Do you think I can run the MX-3 P/S pump with the 323 rack? I looked up the power racks for the MX-3 and the 323. (They have different part numbers). Not sure how different they really are though?? I have not managed to pick-up a MX-3 yet, so I will have to compare the P/S pumps. The P/S is really over kill on a 323, but I plan to keep it since it is there, and since it will have wider tires and a V6 under the hood soon. Did you use the MX-3 master / booster /proportioning valve in the brake swap??
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VERSION 2.0
Comments
Post a Comment