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"Made in Honduras" Kia Parts


  

Long time ago, I obtained this thick mudflaps for the rear of the "KiaStein"

KiaMudFlaps.jpg

... Those are made locally! ...


MudFlapsKia.jpg

For the Front Wheels I obtained Generic Rubber Mud Flaps:


Generic%20Mud%20Flaps.jpg

To install them, I just unbolted the Plastic Screws that the car has there,

and obtained millimetric Metallic ones on same size, thread and pitch,

I opened the Holes on the Generic Mud Flaps and used metallic Wahers:

 

Install%20of%20Mudflaps.jpg
 

This is How the "KiaStein" looks like with those Mud Flaps:

 

Honduran%20Mud%20Flaps.jpg

 

Kind Regards.

Edited by Loyale 2.7 Turbo
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Awesome job/write ups.  You are a true mechanic.  Here in the states most people would have just thrown on new parts for everything (including subpar new parts)  but you stay true to being resourceful, smart, and getting the job done in the best way. 

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Halogens.jpg

 
 

Now I am thinking about replacing the under bumper Halogens on the "KiaStein" with something better, more efficient; however I refuse to install H.I.D. lights on Headlamps with Plastic lenses; I install H.I.D. on Glass Headlamps only to avoid Dangerous Glare from yellowish / non completely transparent plastics.
 
Despite that the Headlamps are more than enough for City driving, the reason is that they're insufficient for the many nocturnal travels on secondary / two way roads; plenty of potholes, potholes inside the potholes, animals crossing, and even worse: Animals Driving!   :o
 
In the past, people were Worried about H.I.D. lights retrofitted in many old cars, however, the problem nowadays is those High intensity LED bars, installed in many, many cars, providing an horrible Glare, which blinds the incoming driver ... the Regular High Beams on the Headlamps aren't enough to illuminate the road in front, against that blinding light barrier, and we need something that could let us see further, preferably without blinding the incoming traffic.
 
I am accustomed to my Subaru's 5000K H.I.D.'s with tremendous 55W per headlamp, those have High and Low beams, and I installed them on Glass Headlamps, but I refuse to retrofit same / similar system on the Plastic headlamps of this Kia.
 
Bigger Halogens for the under bumper area will not fit, because the small space given there... so what could you Suggest? 
 
Are there any non-blinding small LED lights that I could install on the under bumper area of this Kia?

 

Or maybe small, self-ballasted H.I.D.'s
 
Any suggestion will be welcome ... Kind Regards.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I found a torn inner rubber boot on the Passenger's side axle, I thought that there was something wrong with the design on that area, because the rubber boot passes extremely Close to the oil pan and even it rubs against it, and the extra Heat shorten its lifespan... However, I decided to remove both sides' Axles from the "KiaStein" and clean them, regrease them, place new Rubber Boots, and clamps, and finally, reinstall them.

Edited by Loyale 2.7 Turbo
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The Rubber Boot that I was using, for the inner side of the C. V. Joint, was Wrong. I was using a Thick one that rubbed against the Engine's oil pan. I searched for the Proper inner rubber Boot.

You can read the
Complete information and see Photos, Here:

~►
 CLICK HERE!

The "KiaStein" continues to perform Flawlessly, thanks to God.

Kind Regards.

Edited by Loyale 2.7 Turbo
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  • 3 weeks later...

From the beginning, I've been pouring good quality 15W~40 motor oil on the T8D engine of the "KiaStein" because it is the maximum thickness that the Kia Factory indicates, to be used on warm climates...


Portapapeles02h.jpg


...so, since we live in the Caribbean, that has been the oil used;
in Motul brand, either 15W~40 or 10W~40:

MotulOils.jpg


Also I used Motul on my Subaru "BumbleBeast"
but in 20W~50



OilChangeinmyEA82.jpg

 



However, suddenly I noticed that both cars started to have an abnormal oil consumption, I asked to my friend who has a repair garage and sells the Motul oils, and he admitted that the same was happening with all his clients that were using Motul; something might happened to their oil refinement at the factory... but whatever reason it was, I had to switch from the 20W~50 Motul used on my Subaru, and also I switched our "KiaStein" to Chevron's "Delo 400" motor oil, suitable for Gasoline and Diesel engines, according to the American Petroleum institute's round seal on the Back:

 

 

Steaz%20Seeds%20Oil%20amp%20Filter.jpg

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Liqui-Moly is Awesome, but pretty expensive. Besides that, at the same time I switched my Subaru "BumbleBeast" to another brand, and I chose Valvoline's 20W~50 motor oil for Higher Mileage engines, known as "Max Life" which was providing Awesome results on my Subie; such as much quieter and noticeably smoother engine operation.

 

Max-Life%2020W-50.jpg


So I tried that same "Max Life" motor oil on our

"KiaStein" but in 10W~40 grade:


Max%20Life%2010W-40.jpg
 

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Something that is Great on this "KiaStein" is the Suspension, it has 16 years old and besides that the coil springs are a little worn, the four shock absorbers are absolutely Healthy, also the rest of the parts involved, which is unbelievable for a car that was very mistreated by the previous owner, and is suffering from constant Pot holes on our Honduran roads; it is pretty well for being 180K miles...

Kind Regards.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I did some home repairs for a Guy who offered to pay me with a couple of small LED lamps, one for each corner of the Bumper, I thought it was good idea to swap the Halogens with Leds, so, I worked changing a toilet, repairing some piping fixtures, and some roof lamps...

 

 

But the guy gave me this, instead the two small ones:

Candela%20LED%2024.jpg

 

 

He told me that he thought he had a pair, but that is a single one with 24 LED's ... and I really don't like it; the light pattern can Not be adjusted properly and those provides too much Glare that blinds incoming traffic, which is Dangerous... in the end I had to take that lamp with me, and now I am trying to sell it among the people I know...

So, no illumination improvements yet ... :( ... Kind Regards.

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So, I took the Family to another weekend trip, to a small Mountain Village,


 


The full story and photos are ~► Here, but lI'll share some on this post.


 




I was at a Hilltop when I spotted this...


 


Small%20Mountain%20Village%204.jpg


 


 


...first gen Kia Sephia (a Korean Ford Escort), I used my Camera's Zoom to see its Enormous...


 


Small%20Mountain%20Village%205.jpg


 


 


...LED light bars ...  :eek: ... so, I walked down to take a Closer photo, see:


 


Small%20Mountain%20Village%206.jpg


 


 


I remember people were complaining about the Glare,


from HID lights Retrofitted on Halogen Headlamps...


 


Small%20Mountain%20Village%207.jpg


 


...this must be even Worse. I refuse to install LED bars on my Cars.


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Suddenly, the Driver's door Handle, broke and I couldn't open the Door from the outside anymore; so I decided to remove the door Handle and see what happened:

 

 

Door%20Handle%200.jpg

 

 
 
The plastic piece that moves along the Handle, to pull the metal rod that opens the Door, was fissured, broken in two; so I grabbed my twenty years old Ryobi drill, and using a ⅛" bit, I drilled a vertical hole that went down along the broken part:


 

Door%20Handle%201.jpg

I already had fixed the loose spring's Hookup, long ago...

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After drilling the hole, I slowly inserted a ⅛" Ø X 1½" long, self tapping Screw, with the aim of joining the two parts of the Plastic piece, back together:

 

Door%20Handle%202.jpg

 

 

Finally, I filled all the openings on said Plastic part, with 4 minutes JB Weld glue, to make it Solid and Stronger; because the part came with certain empty spots:

 

Door%20Handle%203.jpg

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The Repaired door Handle, already have two weeks working Absolutely Flawlessly, and according my Wife, the handle needs much less movement to open the door, than before.

This repair was super fast and easy; I hope this ideas will be useful for other car's owners. Sometimes you don't need to buy another part to fix a problem with your car...

Kind Regards.

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My 24 LED Bar is Blinding for sure, I don't like to have such kind of Glare for the incoming drivers, it would be disrespectful for them, and dangerous for everyone on the road as well. I was hoping to obtain a pair of small LED lights to substitute the under bumper Halogens, to be used along the High Beams during night travels, as we use the Halogens; so they turns off when we switch to Low Beams. 
 
What I've changed recently, were the Tail light's Sockets for the single-contact 1156 bulbs; those were made from plastics that crumble with age, so I obtained the Best sockets I could, locally, those are Flösser, made in Germany:
 

Floumlsser%20Sockets%20for%201156%20Bulb

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... I am accustomed to my Subaru's 5000K H.I.D.'s with tremendous 55W per headlamp, those have High and Low beams, and I installed them on Glass Headlamps ...

 

More information on the Subject, here:

 

~► http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/86790-hid-lights-on-loyale-yes-or-not-why/page-4?do=findComment&comment=760580

 

Kind Regards.

Edited by Loyale 2.7 Turbo
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  • 1 month later...

 1½ years Report / Update

 

Eighteen months have passed already since the Rear Disc Brakes' Swap, and the "KiaStein" somehow keeps braking Right, like a New car.  :) 

When I did the Swap, I installed brand new Brake Pads on all four wheels; however I've never changed the Original Kia Rear Brake Pads so far, but I think that they might need to be changed soon; while the front Brake Pads were changed after a Year of use.

Kind Regards.

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The only downside of not having ABS, is that under certain circumstances, the wheels could Lock during a Panic Braking; however the locking is never easy to occur, nor frequent, but somehow the Maneuver of the Sephia under Panic Braking at high Speeds, is Better with the Discs Brakes in all four wheels, because the old drums locked much easier IF they were properly adjusted.

 

In Honduras, laws does Not require the car's owners to change their tires upon certain measurement of wear, so we use tires here, until they gets completely Bald; so, besides New tires, we have available shops that sells Used tires that comes from the USA; we believe that they has left half life still to be used.

 

 

This is what happens to a tire that has more wear on its inner side, after a Full Lock Braking:

 

Damaged%20Tire.jpg

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  • 1 month later...

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