Lowtege: Trans swap + Shaved bay

[fuhfuh.Focus]

Alright time to get serious. 2002 Mazda Protege ES 1 owner, 203,000 original miles. It's finally time for the automatic transmission to go, in favor of a 5 speed manual. The transmission of choice is from a 2003 Mazdaspeed Protege with an LSD. The bay will be shaved while everything is out for the trans swap.

Here are some current photos of the car:

IMG_4988-3 by Alex Perrucci, on Flickr

IMG_4983-2 by Alex Perrucci, on Flickr

SowoRoller by Alex Perrucci, on Flickr

IMG_4781-1 by Alex Perrucci, on Flickr

IMG_4968-1 by Alex Perrucci, on Flickr

SOUTHRNFRESH 5 X STREET DRIVEN TOUR 2015 by SOUTHRNFRESH, on Flickr

And the always growing collection of parts for the swap:

IMG_4075 by Alex Perrucci, on Flickr

New valve cover with cut timing cover
IMG_3981 by Alex Perrucci, on Flickr

AutoExe CF shift knob and Adjustable cam gears
IMG_4071 by Alex Perrucci, on Flickr

De-powered steering rack with seals removed, shaved and smoothed, for maximum bay cleanliness.
IMG_4068 by Alex Perrucci, on Flickr

MP3 factory tuned ECU, axles, and other parts.
IMG_4073 by Alex Perrucci, on Flickr

Stay tuned for more. First order of business will be cleaning up the trans and opening it to install speedo gear/sensors, and new bearings/seals for the diff.

Follow the "build" on Instagram @lowtege

[anti.engineered]

In for the bay work

[fuhfuh.Focus]

Made some progress today. Got the trans apart and got the diff out to install the speedo gear and new bearings. Reverse gear turned out to be fucked so I have a new one on the way.

IMG_4123 by Alex Perrucci, on Flickr

IMG_4140 by Alex Perrucci, on Flickr

IMG_4157 by Alex Perrucci, on Flickr

IMG_4155 by Alex Perrucci, on Flickr

IMG_4164 by Alex Perrucci, on Flickr

[rice4life]

Love what's going on hurr.

Boost it and you'll have an MSP!

[TheTynosaur]

There's a lot of really awesome cars in Georgia, but somehow I never see any of them on the road

[fuhfuh.Focus]

The lsd's from the mazdaspeed protege are notorious for failing, the factory rivets were a weak point. So I've had it welded for strength.

Diff is now ready to receive speedo gear, new bearings, and be re-installed.

IMG_4197 by Alex Perrucci, on Flickr

IMG_4199 by Alex Perrucci, on Flickr

[fuhfuh.Focus]

Progress has slowed slightly. Had a couple things holding me up. Took 3 tries to get the right reverse gear, first one was lost in the mail, second one was the wrong part. I finally have the right one now. Went to paint the transmission case while it was apart and didn't like how it turned out. I have a new case being smoothed and powder coated now. Once I receive it I'll assemble the transmission and can move on to taking the car apart.

Pic of dif with new bearings ready to go.
IMG_4355 by Alex Perrucci, on Flickr

[Pedro'z]

I'm so into this!

[Ener]

I like what you have done so far. Looking forward to the shaved bay.

[fuhfuh.Focus]

Received new trans case from powder coating!

IMG_4569 by Alex Perrucci, on Flickr

IMG_4568 by Alex Perrucci, on Flickr

[Louis_D]

That's a really classy looking protege man.

Btw, I absolutely LOVE your headlights!

[DukeNukeEm']

Hella classy fr xD

(also love the fart can)

[fuhfuh.Focus]

I've started re-assembling the transmission. Had to order some other parts and currently waiting on those.

Went ahead and polished and clear coated all the transmission bolts today while I had nothing to do.

IMG_4597 by Alex Perrucci, on Flickr

IMG_4602 by Alex Perrucci, on Flickr

IMG_4735 by Alex Perrucci, on Flickr

IMG_4739 by Alex Perrucci, on Flickr

[jazig.k]

Gonna be good!
My powdercoater talked me out of blasting and coating my transaxle. I wish I was more persistent! That silver looks awesome.

[LCG]

In for the bay work

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