So near the end of the summer the KL03 decided to give it up at 91,000 miles. The engine seized and the cause is yet to be determined. So after running a solid 10.01 @ 71mph at the local 1/8th mile strip the weekend before it is now just a big mess. So after doing some research I have decided that instead of junking her she will be reborn.

I'm currently in school for Auto Technology and as a shop project I will be transplanting a low mileage KLZE into her and working on the tranny. This is only the start. The engine will be torn apart and new oil and water pumps will be installed, the valve train will be reaplaced with KLDE valve springs and retainers, all the seals and gaskets will be replaced and new belts will be installed. For performance mods will be R-R racing motormounts, Outlaw Engineering IM spacers, new NGK spark plugs and wires, and a CAI. OBX headers, an OBX underdrive pulley, and Royal Purple motor oil will also go on along with a ZE chip for the a-spec computer to correct VRIS points, delete the EGR code, and maximize the fuel curve. The tranny will get a stage II clutch kit and Fidanza flywheel with a stainless steel clutchline. Hopefully this will bring the engine into the 200hp range and I will be aiming for low nine sec./mid eight sec. 1/8th mile times.

The outside and interior will slowly be reworked after the motor build-up and will be kept as a daily driver, but the focus is still balanced performance. The exterior will stay mostly stock, with only a few aftermarket mods. Then the whole car will be prepped and resprayed the same color it is now plus some metallic. J-spec headlights and M-edition tail lights will be installed. Inside racing seats with four point harnesses will replace the stock front seats and the airbags will be removed. The climate control will move down to where the cubby sits and a three gauge pod will be custom made and installed in the console to keep track of engine vitals while a dual a pillar pod will hold two more gauges. Sparco pedals, Speedhut custom gauges, Bride leather steering wheel, and carbon fiber console will be installed. A new headunit will go in along with Blaupunkt 6" powered mids in the front door panels.

Along with the engine performance the suspension will be modified to keep the car in style and up to par when it somes time to corner. Tokico struts and springs will drop and support the car. A 17 mm. rear sway bar will be installed and a rear strut bar and to keep things stiff. Hopefully the car will not be too low as I wish to keep it as streetable as possible.

Update! 04/06/06: The past two weeks in the shop I have removed the KLDE motor and torn down the motor. It came out good and everything went well removing it. Once out of the car it was mountd onto an engine stand and dissasembly of the entire long block followed. The entire top end was fine and had no problems, came out looking very good for 91,XXX miles. On the other hand on the bottom end we had no such luck.
Once the oil pan was removed along with the baffle, it was immeadiately clear we had some major problems. There was pieces of metal littering the pan! Turned out that the motor spun two bearings, bent two connecting rods, and was starting on a third bearing.
Cylinders 6 and 2 had spun bearings, with cylinders 6 and 1 bending rods. The crank is trash as the bearing on cylinder 6 decided to weld the rod to the crank journal and i ended up using a large punch, a chisel and a BFH(Big Fucking Hammer) to get the piston and rod out of the cylinder. The other bearing chiseled off the crank, and what was once two halves of a bearing is now one long strip of FUBAR'd metal. The other five pistons and four rods are still good as is the block and heads, and will most likely be parted out. If you want anything off the old engine let me know!

The actual cause of the problem? Oil starvation.
Early last summer the car began to overheat and needed a new water pump and thermostat, as well as new head gaskets. Due to heat stress from one particular hot night, the oil pump started warping. Soon after it was repaired(and $1100 later) the oil pump binded up altogether after some spirited driving on the highway. Anyway, summary is: no oil + high RPMs = siezed engine.

Update! 04/29/06: The ZE arrived on Monday the 24th at school. The motor appeared to be very clean and in good condition. I got the engine mounted on to an engine stand, got a breaker bar on the crank and to my surprise the engine turned over very easily and didn't even hesitate. I performed a cylinder leak down test and on cylinders 2, 4, 6 the numbers came back with 10% or less leakage which is excellent. On cylinders 1, 3, 5 they were higher ranging from 35-50% leakage. This proved to be just a valve seat problem and will be solved by having the valve seats reground at the machine shop. This motor is in excellent condition and shows little wear. I am going to be looking for good numbers from the actual compression test once the engine is in the car. Somewhere between 205-215 psi. The KL03 engine has 9.2:1 compression ratio which is approximately 190-202 psi. for compression, the ZE having a 10:1 compression ratio obviously should be in the 205-215 psi range.
In the mean time I have disassembled the top end of the block and swapped over the valvesprings and retainers from the KL03 heads. I am going to install a new oil pump and water pump along with the OBX lightweight underdrive pulley and new accessory belts within the next week.

Update! 8/08/06 Well, lets see. The ZE motor has been dissasembled and now has the bottom end back together. The ZE heads have been reasembled after swapping the valvetains. I am still waiting for some parts and the only thing holding me back from finishing is cash flow. I have a "DOHC 24 Valve" valvecover coming and I will be sending out my ECU to be reflashed to tune the ZE. Now all that's left is some new belts, fluids, flywheel and She'll be ready to roll!

Update! 9/21/06 The heads came back from the machine shop and looked excellent. They not only got the surfaces planed, but new valves, springs and lifters installed! Nice and shiney they are ready to go on. Had to go through Headbolts.com to find the headbolts because niether the parts store or the dealership had them, they are discontinued. A slightly used alternator and some new fastners came in this past week. The pulley assemblies and the heads have been test fitted on the block. Everything seems to be going smoothly so far and should be done soon. Check back soon as more pics should be posted this coming week.