NightWalker86

I noticed the following items that needed my attention on the engine/accessories before I could get it installed:

1. The charging harness from the 99 engine was incomplete and cut which means my charging harness needed to be transferred over. However, my charging harness had exposed wires on the plug going into the alternator. I would need to transfer the plug from the 99 charging harness over to my 93 charging harness, soldier the wires, shrink tube it, and then rewrap that section of harness.

2. The A/C compressors are different for the R12 vs. R134 systems. They are nearly identical, except the hard lines going into the compressor are different (the bores between the two do not match, meaning you cannot use a new style R134a compressor on a R12 line).

3. One of the air pump tubes was bent and not sealed correctly under the upper intake manifold.

4. A coolant temperature sensor wire needed to be extended by about 18" so I could route the engine harness through the passenger side of the car.

5. There was a slight bend on one of the fuel lines right by the oil filter housing.

6. The oil pan on the 99 was completely dented and no longer usable from being strapped down on a pallet.

7. The oil cooler line running to the oil filter housing was cut before the coupler which means I would have to transfer over mine.

So, my buddy and I got to work, I ended up giving him kind of the crappy jobs and had him steam clean my original 93 parts that I needed to transfer over to the 99 motor. This was actually a huge pain in the *** job and I can't thank him enough for taking the time to clean this stuff up. It really helps make the difference between a sub par job and a proper job in my opinion.

Let's get started...

In this picture you can see the fuel lines that got ever so slightly tweaked during the original engine removal, shipment, phase of the moon, etc...





Looking at those pictures it is not extremely noticeable, however from the underside you can see there is definitely a notable kink in the far right line. Originally I thought "no big deal, I'll just swap over my 93 fuel lines..." Nope, they are a different design and would not easily work out. So, after inspecting how the original setup looks, I decided to simply chop off the 6" of hard line that was damaged and I will purchase 3 new rubber fuel hoses that will replace the OEM rubber hoses running from the firewall hard lines to the fuel lines. In other words, it will be exactly the same as OEM, except the rubber fuel hose replacements I purchase will be 6" longer.



The section that was cut off:



Of course I deburred everything from the newly cut lines as well:





Now that the fuel line issue was resolved I could move on to the next item on the list which was the air pump tube not seating correctly under the upper intake manifold:



This turned out to be an easy fix because I was simply able to transfer the same tube from my 93 over to the 99. Nothing to worry about here but unfortunately I forgot to snag an "after" shot of the newly sealed tube. Next!

Next I removed the A/C compressor, bracket, and the damaged oil cooler line:



My buddy meticulously cleaned my 93 oil cooler line, A/C bracket, AND the A/C compressor:



93 compressor on the left, 99 on the right:

NightWalker86

Accessories reinstalled:



Now it was time to fix the alternator plug from my 93 charging harness:



Chopped the plug off the 99 charging harness and transferred it over:













Okay, next item on the list is the coolant sensor wire that needs to be extended 18". This guy:







Forgot to grab an after pic again, but I soldiered, shrinked, and wrapped the wire just like the other.

Johnny Kommavongsa

iTrader: (13)

that FD life.

NightWalker86

Oil pan time! This was kind of a pain because my 93 pan was covered in grime and old gasket and so was the 99 engine after I removed its pan too. I spent about 1.5 hours cleaning off all gasket material from my 93 pan and the 99 motor and then I sprayed the 93 oil pan in a nice flat black coat:





Finally got it on the lift to get the pan off:



That's reusable for sure....





99 pan off revealing how I spent the next hour...





Once I had everything cleaned up from both the 99 engine and my 93 pan I called around a few auto parts stores to see about an oil pan gasket. Nobody had it in stock (including a Napa distibution center and an Autozone distribution center) and it was going to take about a week to get in stock. They also wanted $56 for it! Yeah no... I made my own being very liberal with the sealant. I wanted an inside and outside layer of gasket.



It sealed well, and yes, I did intend for some sealant to ooze out:

NightWalker86

Well, after about 16 hours worth of work and a few items I wasn't expecting... it was time to drop her in! I was on my own for this one and I REALLY DO NOT RECOMMEND dropping the motor in by yourself if you can avoid it. It is just a huge pain in the ***. Anyway, I wrestled with it for a while and...









It's in! For those reading this and also looking to do an auto to manual swap, I can 100% confirm there is no need to change your existing auto PPF. It bolts right up to the 5 speed and I'm not sure there is even a difference honestly. Believe it or not, this was actually all the easy part of the project. Now comes the fun part of trying to make the 16bit engine harness/ecu work with my 8 bit dash harness. That should be loads of fun : )

What's left:

1. Reconnect all engine bay items (oil cooler lines, throttle body, air intakes, etc.).

2. Install my new aluminum radiator.

3. Order a missing clutch line that runs from the clutch master cylinder to the line coming off the slave cylinder.

4. Figure out if I can transfer the 5 speed driveshaft yoke to my automatic driveshaft.

5. Find a battery tray to work with my PC680 battery.

6. Install my OEM front lip.

7. Fill/change all fluids (oil, trans, diffs, etc.).

8. Reweld the exhaust I had to cut or purchase a proper downpipe and high flow cat.

9. Big one... figure out the 8 bit dash harness to 16 bit engine harness/ecu.

So... yeah, a lot of work left to be done! Stay tuned...

NightWalker86

Hah, very true. This stuff is honestly how I unwind and relax though so I don't mind too much. Now when I look at my bank account after all these purchases on the other hand... maybe not so much relaxing then

Johnny Kommavongsa

iTrader: (13)

^ ha i'm the same way. I wouldn't know what to do if i didnt have the FD to tinker with.

TomU

iTrader: (11)

Make sure you bead or at least bubble flare the cut fuel tube.

NightWalker86

I can't believe how long it has been since my previous update.. Well, at least I have a pretty good excuse for the most part. Life threw me an unexpected curve ball right before my 30th birthday. Before we get to that though, a little backstory... I work in I.T. and have been a gamer, computer geek, and car guy all my life. I live in an Atlanta suburb that has been lucky enough to be a pretty huge tech hub for a lot of companies. Google Fiber has been building out multiple cities with cheap symmetrical gigabit fiber internet services and so has AT&T. Now as a huge computer geek and gamer who has been known to host his own servers, this was something I couldn't wait for. Right around the middle of March I got an e-mail from AT&T stating that their "Gigapower" internet service was now available in my area. I figured it would be soon since they completely dug up and laid fiber throughout my subdivision about 6 months before. I was stoked and immediately setup an appointment to have it installed on 04/01/2016......

The AT&T tech calls me that morning and says he'll be there at 11 A.M. so I left work a little before that and met him there. He gets to work trying to install the the cables above the attic. He was having trouble getting the wires through a hole he drilled in the siding and pushed up through to the attic. I went up into the attic and had a look to see if I could help (I was talking with the guy the whole time so he knew I was up there), but at that point he seemed to have it squared away. At this point I moved to the front of my attic to investigate an old ventilation fan that I have noticed a few times and never actually saw work. Noticed it was mounted and had a plug but no power was run to it and there wasn't an outlet anywhere nearby. Eh, whatever. So I go to head back down to the garage below...

Let me stop for a second and explain a few things. My attic is located above my garage via a drop down access ladder. The ladder itself comes down at an angle and you can enter the attic from there. Now I'm calling it an "attic" but it is really just an access door to the area above the house where you can get at the roof from the inside, A/C ducting, electrical wires, etc. etc. There are many joists to walk over but there is NO actual floor, just the sheetrock from the ceiling directly below the wood beams you are precariously standing on. Moving from one area to the next requires careful precision to place your shoes over each beam in a big angle (they are about 3 or 4 feet apart from each other in each section). In other words, there is no floor and moving about the attic requires careful steps on sections of beams spread out a few feet between each other.

So yeah, here I am coming back from the front of the attic like I've done a dozen times before. Right before you get to the drop down ladder there is a bit of an overhang where you need to do a funky "crouch and reach" with your legs to get to the ladder. Tough to explain, but not that big a deal, I've done it a dozen times before. Except this time was different... Well, apparently while I was in the front of the attic the technician came back up the ladder and used a giant extendable pole to reach from the ladder over to the side of the house where he had drilled a hole. He used this pole to grab the wire he pushed through and bring it to him. He then left that pole fully extended right over the access hole to get down on the ladder. Here I come not thinking anything about it and do my little crouch reach move with my leg and put my foot right down on the pole as it lay across the top of the access hole to the ladder... and down I go.. in a glorious and unfortunate fashion I might add.

As soon as my foot touched that pole it slipped out from under me and caused my leg to kick out completely. This in turn led me to lose my grip with my other foot that was acting as my anchor and holding most my weight at the time. I threw my hands out hoping to grab the two beams to the left and right of me and catch myself but I wasn't quick enough. I came falling directly through my ceiling exploding the sheetrock underneath me. Now this sucks, without a doubt, but the fall wouldn't have been all that bad. I was coming down straight, feet first and would have landed and probably just knee'd myself in the chest. Would have sucked, probably knocked the wind out of me real good, but been alright. But that wasn't in the cards for me...

Instead, I came falling down straight (feet first) but then about 2 feet from the ground my legs caught the last few steps of the access ladder which folds down at an angle. The ladder caught my legs for a second and whipped me over to the right violently while I was falling. I finally hit the concrete COMPLETELY on my right arm. My entire fall, the force of all my weight from at least about 10 feet up, landed directly on my right arm on the concrete. Nothing like this has ever happened to me before and I was in shock since I can't remember the last time I ever fell off something (must have been a kid). I was dazed for a second but I do remember the very first thing I did...

My senses came back to me and I IMMEDIATELY look over to my right where the FD is sitting just a foot away. I'm initially thinking "OH NO, did I fall ON the car and bounce off? Did sheetrock come crashing down on it? How did I manage to be so dumb!?" No, and no, and also yes on the dumb part. The car was totally fine, I hadn't landed on it nor, magically, did any sheetrock from when I came crashing through it. Now that I had my priorities straight.. why does my damn arm feel so weird? I grab my right arm right by my elbow and something moves... I wasn't sure what happened exactly but something disappeared into my arm. Yeah, this doesn't get any better guys, stop reading if you've got a light stomach (don't worry though, everything ultimately ends up okay).

By this time the AT&T tech has come rushing into the garage asking what the heck just happened. I managed to mutter a few choice words about how I "F%^*ED up" over and over again. I tell the guy my arm feels weird and I can't tell if I hurt it. He took one look at me and said, "that's not right". I knew my arm wasn't broken, my forearm, my bicep, all that felt fine and I didn't have any bones poking through or something. But my elbow, I felt something disappear INTO my skin when I touched it before. It had swelled up quite a bit within a matter of minutes. I asked the technician to take a picture since I couldn't really see it myself....

Not for the faint of heart:



Oh f%^*... that definitely doesn't look normal. I had never broken any bones or ever had any serious injuries up to this point so I didn't know exactly what to expect or if I was even really hurt or just super swollen. I didn't feel in pain though, so I didn't think anything was broken. Seeing that picture though, I knew I needed to get to the E.R. right away. I was standing and at this point all the adrenaline hit me like a rock and I felt completely dizzy. I began breathing really heavy and had to sit down right away since I felt like I was going to pass out. A few minutes later and I was back to normal breathing but my arm continued to swell. I tried to use my phone to call my girlfriend to take me to the E.R. but it had been in my right pocket. It was completely shattered and the frame was bent in the shape of a "C" from the impact. Luckily I had my work phone (I.T. never sleeps : /) in my left pocket and was able to call her to come get me.

Now for those of you who have been paying attention, this all happened on April 1st... So I call my girlfriend up and say, "Tiffany, I think I broke my arm, I need you to come take me to the E.R. as quickly as possible". She laughs, "yeah right haha, my coworker's friends are all playing the same gag". I tell her, "no, I'm not kidding. I came crashing through the ceiling and landed directly on my arm. I don't know whats wrong with it but my elbow looks like a damn club". I think my voice concerned her at this point and she realized that no, this was NOT an April Fool's gag and I really was hurt. She came right away and picked me up. I remember before I left asking the AT&T technician if he would be able to come back after I got out of the E.R. and finish the install. I really wanted that gigabit internet after all lol.

We went to the E.R. and I explained what happened, meanwhile the area by my elbow continued to swell into a gross club. You've been warned..



They run some X-Rays and come back into my room. I ask, "So?". "We've never seen something like this before, it's probably best to just show you then attempt to explain it". I respond, "That sounds concerning, will my arm be alright?" as I follow the nurse over to a computer. Inside my head I'm yelling "F%^&" over and over again and thinking how did I manage to screw up this bad. She loads up my X-Ray and asks me to take a look:



Ahh... Now it all makes sense. THAT would be what disappeared into my arm when I was feeling around after the fall. So to sum this up, I managed to break my funny bone (elbow) off on friggen April Fool's day.... Yeah, that happened. They told me I would need to have surgery done to reattach my elbow probably with some screws. They said they couldn't do that until the swelling goes down and that I needed to keep it in a wrapped up sling over the weekend (it was Friday evening) for the swelling to go down. They gave me pain medication and setup an appointment with me to see a surgeon on Monday for a consultation. I was still pretty well in shock at this point but all I could do was wait to find out what the surgeon said on Monday. I left the E.R. and called the AT&T tech back and told him what happened. We had a laugh about it and I asked if he could still finish that install. He said he could and came by about an hour later. I stayed far away from the damn attic this time and rested on the couch. But at least one good thing happened that day:



I met with the surgeon Monday and he told me that I would need surgery to install some pins and potentially a partial plate to reattach my elbow and let it heal. He scheduled the surgery for the next day. I arrived at the outpatient surgery center the next day and met with the surgeon and an anesthesiologist. The anesthesiologist said I would be put to sleep during the operation but he also suggested I receive a handful of "nerve block" shots directly in my arm that would numb it completely and help me feel less pain during the first 24 hours of recovery. Sounded great, so I said sure. Now look guys, if you pay attention to one thing from this giant novel of a post it should be this.. NEVER EVER EVER GET A FRIGGEN NERVE BLOCK!!!!! It will be the most excruciating pain and weirdest feeling you will ever feel. You know how sometimes you fall asleep on your arm at night and wake up with "dead arm" where you can swing the damn thing around all ***** nilly with no feeling for a minute or two? Yeah, that's a weird feeling right? Remember how after a minute or two your arm begins to get this serious tingling feeling as the blood begins to flow back and movement returns? Okay, well that tingling feeling and dead arm is what I was stuck with for 24 HOURS!!!! It was awful, beyond awful. Easily the most painful and scary thing out of this whole damn ordeal. I mean, I popped my damn elbow off on a concrete floor and didn't even feel it, but that nerve block.. That nerve block was a son ofa bitch!

Okay, anyway... I had surgery on 04/02/2016 and was scheduled to go back and have my partial cast removed on 04/18/2016. During these 18 days, I obviously couldn't move my arm, couldn't get it wet, had to shower with my damn arm in trash bag, couldn't eat food well, sleep was a joke, etc. etc. I was out of work for a solid 2 weeks, luckily I had a generous sick time policy and it was covered. So I pretty much sat on the couch and watched Linus Tech Tips for 2 weeks thinking about how badly I screwed up and wondering when I would ever be able to work on a car again. The surgeon mentioned the road to recovery would be a tough one and would last between 6 months to a year. "F%^&". But the 18th finally rolled on by and I was headed off to the surgeon to have my cast removed.

Now there are a few things to note here.. First off, I didn't actually know WHAT was in my arm as far as hardware was concerned. The surgeon was gone by the time I had woken up from surgery and he only vaguely explained what happened to my girlfriend. I was under the assumption that I had a pin or two in there to support my busted elbow while it healed up. Well, after they took the cast off and did another set of X-Rays I come to find out that I've got this big old thing in there:



What the heck!? That is WAAAAAY more than a pin. Also... why are there like 40 friggen staples holding my skin together!?!? They never told me if I had stitches or staples either, but now I knew. Okay, give me a second to process... I'm the bionic man now with a stainless steel elbow... that's not so bad right... Wait... why the hell can't I bend my elbow... What the crap!? It's stuck in an extended position and I can't bend it AT ALL. The doctor tells me that because of the surgery, there is a great deal of scar tissue around my elbow. He says that it is going to take a lot of physical therapy and time for me to regain full range of movement and that there is a strong possibility that I won't EVER gain it all back. "F%^&!!!!!!!!!!!!" Great, so what's next then? Where do I go from here? He schedules physical therapy for me twice a week at a local place down the road from me and says he will check in every month for the next 3 months to see how the bone is healing.

So I start doing physical therapy which consists of a lot of "arm bikes" and slowly pushing and pulling my arm in an attempt to bend it gently. At first it would bend maybe 1 degree. Literally 1 degree. But after time it slowly began to bend more and more. The first time I was able to use a fork and knife again with my primary arm was a real breakthrough. Slowly, the everyday tasks that I had to try and fumble about with my other arm (or one arm) began to be doable again with my right arm. I kept going to my physical therapy and checking in with the doctor. After about 3 months, 95% of my range of movement had returned and the doctor said my elbow bone had healed very nicely so far. He did however warn me that I should continue to be cautious and step up my level of strenuous activities with my right arm slowly. He said it usually takes a full year to be 100% healed from something like this but that I can probably resume most activities I was used to after six months.

So for many months I wasn't able to do a single thing with my cars. My garage remained a crime scene with large chunks of sheetrock smashed against the floor, dust and debris everywhere, telling the story of my first broken bone. I can say that I have felt mostly normal after about the 4 month period. However, it is only recently where things have been more "comfortable" with this plate in my arm. I've bumped my elbow a few times on random things since then and I've got to say the feeling is EXTREMELY weird. Since my elbow bone is basically encased in steel, I don't really "feel" a bump in the usual way. It doesn't resonate through my bone, instead I simply feel something touch the skin between the steel and my elbow. Very strange feeling and very difficult to describe. But, it is becoming less foreign anyway.

So yeah... that is mostly the reason for the lack of updates in such a long time. I got my garage completely cleaned up and organized as well as figured out a solid plan for the wiring differences between the 99 engine harness and the 93 dash harness. I've also started to work on the car slowly again this week and have gotten a few things knocked out already. Those posts will follow shortly along with the updated plan of attack.

PS: Before anyone even says it lol, I take responsibility for the fall and don't blame the AT&T guy. I shouldn't of been up in the attic when he was working, even though he knew I was there. Wish he didn't leave that pole there, but it is still ultimately my fault and I can own that.

silverTRD

iTrader: (37)

Holy crap dude! Just read the whole thread, glad you're doing ok now. Looking forward to updates and at least you have some ***** out fast internet now :-D

NightWalker86

Okay, now for a real update.. I removed the automatic differential companion flange on Monday and installed a manual companion flange I purchased directly from Mazda. As a reminder, here is the difference between the automatic differential flange (left) and the manual differential flange (right):





To remove the old automatic flange, I installed a driveshaft bolt and then wedged a 12mm wrench between the bolt and the PPF. This kept the differential from moving and then I was able to break the companion flange bolt loose by kicking my 1/2" ratchet:



Greased up the spines on the new manual flange and then installed it using the same method as removal:





Once that was done I grabbed the driveshaft and attempted to install it….



Anyone notice anything wrong with that picture? Yeah, that isn’t the right driveshaft at all. At first I was super pissed because I had bought a manual driveshaft shortly before my injury on eBay that was specifically listed as being for a manual FD. This thing wasn’t even close to being the right length and the shaft was too big to fit into the trans! What the heck man!? I initially put it away and moved on to something else figuring I would need to buy another driveshaft. Turns out though, this is actually the top half of my old 3000GT VR4 driveshaft (they are 3 pieces). It had been so long that I completely forgot I even had this and my RX7 driveshaft was buried under some other parts I found that same night. That’s the problem with taking such a long break in-between a project. So crisis averted and I installed the CORRECT driveshaft this time lol

NightWalker86

Next up was the installing the new radiator and the new (used) A/C condenser. I purchased an eBay special “Blackworks” Aluminum radiator. I know I know lol. But it was a $120 and I figured I’d give it a shot. The radiator is a 2 row 2” thick aluminum design that was supposed to fit as a drop in replacement. Heh, yeah right. I got it in and the fans on but I need to figure out how to keep it secured up top. I’ll let the pictures tell the story. Oh, and no laughing at my makeshift radiator stand haha













Ton of gross bug residue on the plastics around my fans. I cleaned that up before installing everything.



This “tab” needs to be bent forward slightly so that the radiator can seat properly:

NightWalker86

Lastly I installed the A/C condenser which was relatively straight-forward. I appear to be missing one mounting bracket on the driver’s side and I still need to hook up the bottom A/C line, but other than that, it is nice and secure. At some point I will hunt down the other bracket so that it is 100% good to go:







That was it for yesterday since it was about 10:15 P.M. by the time I finished up. Here’s what’s left that I can remember off the top of my head:

What's left:

1. Reconnect all engine bay items.
2. Figure out a mounting bracket to secure the top of the new radiator.
3. Order a missing clutch line that runs from the clutch master cylinder to the line coming off the slave cylinder.
4. Find a battery tray to work with my PC680 battery.
5. Install my OEM front lip.
6. Fill/change all fluids (oil, trans, radiator, etc.).
7. Install the exhaust.
8. Big one... figure out the 8 bit dash harness to 16 bit engine harness/ecu.

I actually have a solid plan of attack for number #9 which has been my biggest headache trying to figure out exactly what I want to do. More details will follow once I have a few more parts needed to really get into the wiring aspect. Until then, I’ll continue to update as I slowly put the car back together.

NightWalker86

Hah, thanks for the words of encouragement! Whenever I hear somebody complaining about not having gigabit internet in their neighborhood I always tell them that mine cost an elbow to get

Johnny Kommavongsa

iTrader: (13)

ouch, glad you are ok and nice to see some progress.

Rguy

iTrader: (1)

I read the whole post holding my elbow and rubbing it.

NightWalker86

Thanks for the kind words, been a long way back but glad to be here.

Hah, this made me laugh! You never think something like that will happen until it does.

Here's some more carnage pics of my injury for those interested, more car updates should follow tomorrow since I'll be working on it again this evening.

TomU

iTrader: (11)

OMG

I kept reading and reading knowing something was going to happen and then BAM!!

Hope you are getting movement back

If you are having trouble finding a clutch line, think I have one if you want it

silverTRD

iTrader: (37)

Dude that elbow looks gnarly!!! That's how it is now still?

You should never patch that ceiling. Haha

NightWalker86

Hah! Bam is definitely the appropriate choice of words sir! I've got I'd say 95% movement back and might have lost like 1 or 2 degrees total. I used to be able to hyper-extend my elbow but now it is much more difficult. I can do it, just takes some effort.

If you've got a spare clutch line I'm definitely interested. I'll shoot you a PM and thanks a ton!

lol I probably should have mentioned all those photos are from way back in April. My arm does NOT look like that anymore haha. There was about a solid 2 week period where I legit thought my arm was going to fall off or something because the whole thing was purple. Scary as hell. It looks totally normal now except for about a 6 inch scar running across my elbow from the surgery. I usually just tell people I got into a fight with a shark or something hahaha. I'll snap a pic at some point.

jacobcartmill

iTrader: (6)

so any update on the engine wiring? i think you've gone down a bad road trying to use the S8 ECU and wiring. i am curious how this works out for you.

also, i hate to seem negative, but your wiring repair looks poorly done. i would recommend using some uninsulated barrel crimps and heat shrink, or if you must use solder, align the two wires parallel prior to soldering, and make sure the wire doesnt overheat and get crispy near the joint (i would guess 75% of people overheat the wire and make it more brittle than it started). (just my two cents)

i am looking forward to seeing some updates!

NightWalker86

I'm not a fan of barrel crimps at all, I've had really bad experience with them in my younger days. I always solder instead of crimp when it comes to wiring. The pics are crappy but the repair consisted of twisting the wires together, soldering all sides of the wire, bending it back flat, heat shrinking the wiring, and then rewrapping the entire length in electrical tape. I would have soldered it parallel like you mentioned (looks cleaner/no lump) but I was worried it might not be strong enough since the harness was a bit on the crispy side to begin with. I wanted the twist as an extra layer before I soldered that solid. Overall, that wire is the last of my concerns at this point haha. I've got so many other little odds and ends to fix at this point.

Regarding the S8 engine harness/ECU my reasoning is as follows:

1. My stock 93 engine harness is completely toast. Crispy, full of broken connectors, wires broken, etc.
2. I have little faith in another "cheaper" used 93-95 engine harness because most of them I have seen for sale have been better, but still not great.
3. An OEM new harness from Mazda is about $860ish.
4. The 99 harness is in GREAT shape. Not crispy at all, nothing is broken, the wires are completely flexible, it's mint.
5. The engine came with the 16bit ECU and ALSO the corresponding dash harness connector with about 5 inches of wire connected to it still.
6. My original rats nest is trashed and nearly all the solenoids literally broke apart in pieces upon removal of the intake.

I've tried to make it clear though that I do realize I'm going 100% against the grain here by doing this and that it more than likely will NOT work. Trust me, I know lol. I fully acknowledge the fact that this isn't the recommended way to swap in an S8 engine and that in most cases it is more work. But in my particular case, I've got nothing at all to lose by giving it a shot. Believe me, if my original parts weren't completely trashed I would be swapping them over. Right now I'm giving this a shot because these 99 parts are mint and I'd save about $1,000 and possible do something kind of neat if I get it working.

Really I've got nothing to lose and potentially everything to gain by giving it a shot. More than likely it won't work, or it won't work 100% and I'll still have to source the 93 parts. But honestly, I wouldn't have lost anything really. The way I intend to go about this I won't be cutting ANY of my factory wiring what-so-ever and it will be a plug and play deal. If anyone was thinking that was my idea, please understand that's a big HELLLLLL NO lol. My plan isn't really a secret at all and I'll be sharing it pretty soon since I'm getting kind of close to the wiring stage already. The reason I haven't giving a big huge explanation on it yet is because it's kind of a pain in the *** to try and explain without all the parts in front of me so it makes more sense to everyone. This has never been attempted before so rather than try to explain it all in a confusing way, I need to have everything in front of me and then I'll make a video detailing the plan. I'm waiting on one crucial piece from a vendor that should hopefully be in stock tomorrow.

So yeah... Will it work? Eh... Maybe lol, I feel like there is a 50/50 at this point. If it doesn't though, I'll only be out a small amount of cash and time in the long run and just source the 93 stuff. Should be fun and interesting either way though haha.

dguy

iTrader: (8)

Uninsulated barrel crimps with a ratcheting crimper beats soldering in a vehicle any day of the week, I like Pressmaster crimpers - they've got every crimping die known to man available it seems. Also a twisted wire is no stronger than a properly tinned parallel solder join.

On a side note, I'm very surprised on how clean your imported engine is. Who in Canada did you purchase it through?

jacobcartmill

iTrader: (6)

regardless of your fandom, the barrel crimp is much better than what you're doing, even if you use $5 harbor freight crimpers like i use.
you're wasting much more wire, overheating both ends of the wire with solder, then folding it back 180* putting lots of stress on it. that's about the worst possible way to connect wires. crimping is quicker, easier, and better.

again, i am trying not to sound negative; i have done a lot of wiring over the years (good and bad) and have had some bad wiring connections REALLY come back to bite me in the ***.

(disregard my not-enough-heat-shrink woopsie here)

NightWalker86

Ever heard the expression, "you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar" before? I can appreciate your passion, but your tone and choice of wording is a bit harsh. I'm used to solder from modifying electronics equipment like motherboards and game consoles where something like a crimp isn't an option since you have to solder directly to a pin for example. I've also had plenty of cars in the past that were crimped incorrectly and proved to be horribly unreliable. That is why I'm not a "fan" of them and why I have never used them in an automotive application before. Also, I usually don't need to solder too many things on a vehicle.

However, this line of discussion prompted me to go and research the issue a bit more to see what the general consensus was. What I found out is it is a hotly debated topic but the overall general consensus is:

1. When done right (emphasis on right), crimping is slightly better overall resistance wise and durability wise.

2. Using the proper type of connectors for a crimp is crucial and so is having a proper crimper like a pistol-type (i.e. not a pair of pliers obviously).

3. There are even a noticeable (albeit smaller) segment of people that suggested crimping AND soldering the exposed end as well.

4. Ultimately, soldering or crimping are extremely close to each other resistance and durability wise so a lot of it is a matter of preference. With that said, I could see there was more of a margin in favor of crimping, but it wasn't a huge margin.

Random sources for my research:

Will crimped wire or soldered wire carry a current better? - Electrical Engineering Stack Exchange

What do the experts say about wiring: crimp, solder, then heat shrink, or ?!?!? | The H.A.M.B.

https://www.ericthecarguy.com/kunena...older-vs-crimp

Now, with all that said, I've got to say this is mostly a moot point in my case. I installed the charge harness again over the weekend and man... it is just too damn crispy for my liking. It needs to be completely replaced at some point relatively soon. I'll get the car running and driving with it, but ultimately it needs a replacement to be up to my standards. Hopefully we can put this particular issue to bed now lol and move on to the way more difficult tasks ahead. I'll tell you what though, I'll give crimping a shot again in vehicle applications the next time I need to do something like this again.

PS: I've decided to split my updates up into both a text based post format and also a set of video updates since sometimes it is simply much easier to snap a quick video and show/describe what I'm tying to do than it is to make just a single post. I shot a handful of small video updates over this past weekend I'll be uploading soon.