"KIMI" - The RPM 1st Gen S2 (with bits of S3...)

[california styl]

haha! lo tech and hi tech combined......!
Good luck over the weekend!

[Casey]

^^ Thank Robbie!

OK, help please in somewhere to source an oil seal for the rear axle.

Whilst checking over the brakes and calipers (which seem fine), we\'ve discovered a fair amount of oil leaked onto the stone guard and back of the brake disc, nearside. So, tomorrow we plan to remove the axle and take a look, but the only place the oil can be coming from is via a failed axle oil seal?

I\'ve phoned my local Mazda dealer who found the part (1011-26-154; thanks for the parts lists you Gen 1 guys have made available!), who said is was available, but not in the UK. Price £4.60, but couldn\'t tell me how long it would take to get the part imported! Anyone know anywhere to source more quickly?

Thanks!

[David Nock (RIP)]

Rotechniks in Berkshire are my usual port of call for this kind of thing. There\'s also Rx Motors in Dorset, WGT in Cheshire and Jimmys in Norfolk. Other people might have alternative sources for getting hold of this part? Dealers are often very quick though; a few days usually.

The half shafts often come out fairly easily, you shouldn\'t need a slide hammer.
Then (from memory) the oil seal just taps gently into the end of the axle tube.

Be aware though, as a point of information, that S2 half shafts have a different number of splines to S3 half shafts. I would guess that the oil seal is the same but I\'m not certain.

Worth checking for axle tube cracks I suppose, though I\'ve never encountered this. Seal failure is much more likely.

[Casey]

^^ Many thanks Dave, I\'ll ring around those places on Tuesday, assuming when we get the shaft out tomorrow that my diagnosis is correct. I\'ve got an axle puller available, should it be needed! And thanks for the heads up about possible different seal in the S2/S3 half shafts. I\'ll double check before ordering

[Will66]

So we\'re getting the Axle off tomorrow, I\'ll bring my three foot breaker bar!  We can attack the rust on the axle and diff casing as well!

[David Nock (RIP)]

Oooh \'eck. Sounds like Malcolm\'s set for precision engineering work but Will\'s decided to give it \'what for\' in the nuts!.......

[Casey]

Oooh \'eck. Sounds like Malcolm\'s set for precision engineering work but Will\'s decided to give it \'what for\' in the nuts!.......

Dave, you\'re getting to know our characters quite well now.... :Laugh

[Will66]

At least I\'m not bringing my big hammer!  Things may have been precise when they left the factory, however after 25 years of British roads, sometimes things need a little robust persuasion.  Normally I tickle the stubborn nuts first with some penetrating fluid or something, see if they\'re going to play nice, but sometimes you\'ve got to show the pesky threaded fasteners who is boss!  

[Casey]

Big team of us looking at KIMI today. Got a fair look around and found several issues as follows;

Pics, left to right; after removing half shaft and seal on the rear axle we spotted this damage when the seal was removed. Someone before us was a bit heavy handed removing a previous seal? Damage to seal inner also spotted (small nick going through the rubber) in the last picture below. This probably explains the oil leakage. What do people think about the damage to the axle (under the seal). If we simply replace with a new seal, are we likely to get leakage due to surface damage under it?

Picture 2 shows TWO mystery boxes under the passenger side footwell carpet. What do these do? One (marked 8553C) was electrically connected. Another box 8553D, was not connected. Assume this is an S2/S3 issue of some sort?

Pictures 3 & 4 (pic 4 dead centre) show an opening into the clutch bell housing (rusty flywheel can be seen in both pics). Should there be a cover plate here? Pics 3 & 4 taken from driver\'s side, looking down into engine bay (in case there was any doubt!).

[David Nock (RIP)]

Put a smidge of locktight on the damaged part of the axle tube as you refit. That should form a gasket with the metal backing of the new seal.

The boxes are a first primitive version of a management system for emissions etc. I presume that the connected box will be the correct one, (S2), swopped over when the shell was changed. In any event they seem to be remarkable bits of kit as I\'ve never known a reported fault with one - ever. The \'ECU\' is shown in Haynes. My thoughts would be to try and squeeze the connected one into it\'s proper position without disturbing the wiring, and remove the other unit - keeping it safe if needed in the future.

I\'m sure there should be engine cover plates. I had noticed the top one was missing but hadn\'t noticed the other space. I think there is a flanged piece of metal to be fitted here. Anyone else on this?
Why would a mechanic leave these off??

[Ian65]

I\'m sure there should be engine cover plates. I had noticed the top one was missing but hadn\'t noticed the other space. I think there is a flanged piece of metal to be fitted here. Anyone else on this

There should be 2 cover plates, this one at the top...











and the side one...











you will probably be able to get these from a scrapper or somewhere like RX motors... they definitely want replacing though.... you don\'t want anything finding it\'s way into the bellhousing.

Why would a mechanic leave these off??

a mechanics probably wouldn\'t.... but a bit of a bodger probably would!

I agree with Dave re the ecu... sounds about right!

.

[shaunwil]

With the seal make sure you get rid of any high spots too to reduce the amount of work the sealant will do.  Looks like they screwdrivered it out on the wrong side making it a harder job !

Shaun

[Casey]

:god Grateful thanks for the advice.

Shaun & Dave, exactly what we thought, try and smooth off the high spots and smear some sealant in the damaged area. Hopefully it will provide an oil tight seal!

Ian, superb, now I know what I need I\'ll ring around onTuesday to see if I can pick up the two blanking plates.

Boxes under the carpet - we thought it was some sort of simple ECU! We\'ll take the "D" version out and fix the "C" one in as best we can. The cables seem too short at the moment to fit in the "proper" position, so we\'ll have to take a closer look.

And massive thanks to Will, Ian and Aston for coming over today and working on KIMI with me. Thanks too to Crissy  for coming over with a set of "square drives" that we needed to try and remove the diff drain plug. Unfortunately, it seems the diff plug needs a 10mm square drive, but we only had a 9mm and 11mm. We tried a 3/8" as well; no joy, the drain plug is in their tight - we tried panetrating oil, but she wouldn\'t budge!

Can anyone confirm the right tool is a 10mm square drive?

Can anyone

[David Nock (RIP)]

Thinking about sealant in the bath...as yer do.....I used \'Ozotite\' to seal the diff on my car, (it\'s a gasketless joint), applied with a toothbrush. A little of that dabbed onto the damaged tube might be as good as locktight if not better.

The drain plug is best \'attacked\' with one of them universal drain plug spaners, you know the things, 8 tapered drives in a cast steel cruciform shape, double ended - 4 each end. Get Will on it, he\'ll not pussyfoot around with it.

Maybe a lump hammer needed as well, plus a block of wood to drift against the spanner.

[shaunwil]

I think I used a 3/8in Sq breaker bar on with my S3 diff. Its about 15in long !

Shaun