Getting Stuck In

With so many different tasks to do, it was a little hard to decide on the first step. I decided the most logical approach would be to start small and boring. So I began by doing something I always hated to do, yet is inevitable – cleaning the engine bay.

Luckily everything was already quite clean:

The downside is that the before-and-after effect of my couple hours of scrubbing was diminished:

My plan is to leave the engine COMPLETELY stock in terms of performance. This means no aftermarket air intake, intercooler, or anything fancy. In the future, I would like to focus on the engine and overhaul it in a big way. If you’re going to do engine mods, I think it makes more sense to do it all at once. I mean, just a cone air filter is illegal… so if you have to do it, why not go all the way with it. Until then, there is no reason NOT to stay stock.

Once I was done with the engine bay, I clay barred all the windows inside and out. In my experience, I found that using a clay bar is the best way to remove all the smudges on windows.

I’m very pleased with how clear the car’s windows are now. Having zero tint is almost a rarity these days, but I love it.

Next, I raised the car onto jackstands and changed out the engine, transmission, and differential oils. It’s been a habit of mine to thoroughly flush out the oils in every car I own. Here are my products of choice…

• Amsoil 20w50 for the Engine (4 quarts)
• Amsoil 75w90 for the Transmission (~3 quarts)
• Neo Synthetic 75w90HD for the Differential (~2 quarts)

I opted to stay away from Red Line oils because I was not fond of their MT-90 for the transmission. I used it in my previous RX-7 and the results felt more or less like stock, but it may have been because of that particular application. Either way, you can’t go wrong with Amsoil and I was curious to try Neo Synthetic in the differential.

I upgraded the oil pan drain plug to one made by Dimple, which has a VERY strong magnet.

When I bought the Amsoil oils, I also picked up their bottle pump adapter. This made refilling a breeze.

I wish used this in the past, because having to fill up a transmission with only a long tube and gravity sucks.

I admit this post may not be the most exciting, but once I can finish all the odds and ends with the car, hopefully then things can become more interesting.