Kia Sephia Sporty

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

Here you can see the infamous -but needed- Rubber isolation:



Got it?

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

Simply I changed the worn out main pulley, with this brand new one, along the four bolts which holds it to the Sprocket for the timing belt, at the crankshaft; and the annoying screech noise, went away... and has been like that since a couple of months ago.

Kind Regards.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

Some time ago, the bar that serves to hold open up the engine bay cover, got loose and came out from its plastic base holder; also it lost the plastic that held the bar itself when it is not in use, over the fender.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

 

What I did, was to drill a ⅛" hole on the bar's base, and pass-thru said hole, a screw,

which was placed from the inner side of the fender, in order to hold the bar firmly, in place.

 

 

The screw was twisted with my pliers, after placing it, to avoid it from slipping out.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

And I twisted the metal base on the fender, where the plastic tab was Lost, in order to let it hold the bar in place; and I added a piece of hose to the bar, to avoid vibrations that might cause more annoying sounds...

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

Kind Regards.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

Power Steering stories.
 

 
It took me a Year to post this information, but I wanted to be Sure that this "Lazy" repair, really works, prior to share the idea here; however, I am not telling nor suggesting that you should do this... Let me explain.
 
During year 2013, the Power Steering rack of our "KiaStein" started to Leak fluid, very slowly. At first, it was almost unnoticeable, except for the lower fluid level on the reservoir... I only kept the level as it should be, by simply refilling the reservoir; then next year the car started to mark its territory, you know, leaving oily spots on the Garage and other places...
 
The Owner's manual for the 2000 model year Kia Sephia, states that it uses ATF (Automatic Transmission Fluid) on the Power Steering System; just like my 1985 Subaru, which by the way, also Leaked from the Power Steering Rack, years ago, and I decided to do the Same I did then, with my Subie: I drained all the ATF from the Power Steering System and after cleansing it, I poured a mixture of Fresh Power Steering Fluid and Lucas' "Stop Leak" Power Steering Additive; that combo has worked Flawlessly for my Subie, since many years ago.
 
Like in my Subie, this Kia's Steering wheel became a little bit harder to steer after the Fluid's Swap; that difference is noticeable but nothing dramatic; in fact, it adds a "Sporty" feeling to the Steering on these cars, somehow, but also makes the pump to spin quieter, and the engine's bay becomes a li'l bit less noisy.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

The fluid swap worked well on my Subie, as it is about to reach two decades without getting worse, and there are no noticeable leaks, only needing a couple of ounces or so of Power Steering Fluid, yearly; but the fluid swap didn't worked well on the "KiaStein" somehow, as the leakage only slowed down, but persisted.

Then, we moved from the Big city to a small town in the mountainous rural area of Honduras, where I met several local folks including Master mechanics, some of them already have more than fifty years of experience; I talked to some of them, and they said to me something weird:

- Pour an ounce of fresh Brake Fluid DOT 3 to your Power Steering Fluid.

- Say What? 

- Yes, the Brake Fluid will inflame the rubber on the Seals.

So, what they said is that the Rubber seals, shrinks with age, and the continuous exposure to the hot oil; and the Brake Fluid tends to do the opposite to them; but such solution is like certain medicines, which only do good when they are taken in tiny amounts, and they are Venom in considerable amounts.

I hesitated to follow their advice, meanwhile the Leak got worse.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

As things got worse, my Wife had to pour almost daily Power Steering fluid, and also she tried with Power Steering "Stop Leak" additives from any brand that she found on her way home... but those went out from the steering rack, twice the fast than the mere Power Steering fluid itself.

So, I knew that I have to change the Steering Rack.

...or try the Brake Fluid trick...

What could I loose?

Well, damaging the Power Steering Pump was my worry, as it has been Flawlessly working on the Kia since new. But after lots of thinking, and after knowing that the Local junk yards around the Rural area where I live, didn't had any Sephias to do the Swap... I decided to try that old mechanic's trick: I poured a couple of ounces of Brake Fluid on the Power Steering's Fluid reservoir.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

Long Story Short:

At first, nothing changed at all, we had to refill the Power Steering reservoir with more Power Steering fluid, but only the next two days after I added the Brake Fluid to the system; after that, the Leak slowed down to the half, and after a week, the Leak was absolutely Gone!

...and the system hasn't leaked a single Drop in over a Year!!!

Definitely, this trick has some hidden science behind, and might not work well on all the hydraulic systems; but I am really pleased with this Lazy solution, so far.   

Maybe the Power Steering hydraulics could fail again in the future and restart to Leak; but this trick gives you more than enough time to obtain the needed parts to do the repairs.

I've not obtained another Steering Rack yet, because seems that the parts' swap isn't necessary; we have other priorities and the "KiaStein" keeps working Flawlessly, thanks to God.

Kind Regards.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

On 12/17/2017 at 8:34 PM, Loyale 2.7 Turbo said:

...and the system hasn't leaked a single Drop in over a Year!!!

Definitely, this trick has some hidden science behind...

Needed Update:

More than two years so far, and the system recently started to leak a couple of drops per week
Awesome! 

Kind Regards.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

For two years, my lazy-áss trick worked well, but the hydraulic steering rack's seals decided to restart the leakage, and I am not at the best moment to find and buy a good used hydraulic steering rack at the local junk yards, and do the Swap.

Also, the only car part when I have failed flat-on-my-face to successfully repair, is leaky hydraulic steering racks, all the ones that I've tried to repair, ends equally leaking or even worse, no matter if I use brand new seals from the original car brand, or aftermarket ones; so I really dislike to repair hydraulic steering racks; I prefer to Swap 'em... but I can't obtain another one soon.

So, I decided to give to this lazy-áss trick, a second chance; and this time I poured more than two ounces of Wagner's DOT3 non-synthetic Brake Fluid, to an almost full Power Steering fluid's reservoir, while engine was at idle, just minutes prior to start a 420 miles trip, hoping to not need to be refilling the reservoir with power steering fluid during the Trip, nor running out of power steering fluid...

...and the Magic happened once again! 

The thing hasn't leaked a single drop in said trip, nor in this two whole weeks since I poured the Brake Fluid to the Power Steering Fluid;

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

The trick consists in basic science: The Brake Fluid Swells the Rubber Seals while softening 'em; just the contrary from what age and usage does to them: Shrinking and Hardening.

I'll update regarding this, as soon as anything new, happens; but the "KiaStein" keeps working Flawlessly, thanks to God.

Kind Regards.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

Regarding the increased bore Master Cylinder.

 

After long time with the KiaStein running with the increased 15/16" bore master cylinder, my Wife told me that her car has a hard brake pedal that makes her tired from pumping it on traffic jams; so, I Decided to return to use a 7/8" bore master cylinder, but a Brand New one; in order to do different braking tests and feel if with the original size, the leg / foot effort for braking, reduces; but not the Braking force of the car.

 

And I must update here the Results, and also I admit that I was wrong. My mistake. Sorry.

 

I wish I should payed more attention back then, and followed good advice, such like this one:

Hi Jes,

Confirmed - don't change anything out, your current Master Cylinder should be within spec. for the rear calipers: you are not changing wheel size / the calipers are small, your current braking system should handle them without issue...

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

So, after removing the 15/16" master cylinder, placing in its place a brand new 7/8" master cylinder and swapping the piping that was modified, with another one from a donor car found on a local junk yard; everything (Except the Double Diaphragm brake Booster) went back to factory specs on the Master cylinder and pipings.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

And the results of the different braking Tests I did, proves that the car, Really has a much better braking behaviour with the 7/8" bore master cylinder, rather than with the increased sized one.

Also the Brake pedal feels much, much softer and lighter to use; plus the braking power increases, as you get increased clamping force at the calipers with a longer running pedal, due to the Leverage effect.

But pedal doesn't travel too deep as it did with the old (stock) 7/8" master cylinder, which leads me to think that the stock one was worn and about to fail, back then...

anyhow; the "KiaStein" performs very good, braking with the 7/8" bore master cylinder, and the "in-tandem" double diaphragm brake booster.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

So, please dismiss the idea of using an increased bore master cylinder, it works backwards; the bigger the Bore, the less pressure will have the brake fluid at the Calipers, because their chambers will be filled earlier and brake pedal gets tall and stiff; you will lose the advantage from the Leverage Effect, and thus means less braking Power.

The KiaStein performs great, with the original 7/8" size.

But the double Diaphragm brake Booster, is really Better than the single diaphragm one...

My wife is Happy now.
Kind Regards.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

About the

FRONT disc brakes

 

The rear disc brakes continues performing awesomely, thanks to God; not having a single issue so far...

But the Rear disc brakes came off from a "Premium" second gen Kia Sephia (which is mechanically identical to the first gen Kia Spectra), which means that I have big 10.1" Discs in the Rear... and the smaller 9" Discs on the Front, which are the stock ones...

I read online that there were 10.1" front Discs for the Late (2001) second gen Kia Sephia (and the 2002 ~ 2004 Kia Spectra) , known as the "Upgraded from Factory" front Brakes, available on Premium models...

So, my Natural desire was to obtain the Bigger 10.1" Upgraded front Disc brakes, to match the 10.1" rear Disc Brakes, to has the car on Balance, and remove the "unnatural" Small Front Discs / Big Rear Discs setup that I had on the "KiaStein" but, those upgraded front brakes are not easy to come by; I've searched for Years... (Literaly) ...and only came across of the standard 9" front discs; I wanted the "Upgraded" 10.1" Discs.

Until I found them, recently...

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

The last Real Kia, came from its factory on march, 2004 and was a Kia Spectra with the 1.8L engine; then from April 2004 and on, all the Kias including the Spectra, are really rebadged Hyundais, with only differences on body / interior design; so the Newer Kia Spectras are really Hyundai Elantras with the 2.0L engines; (in the same way that the Kia Sorento / Hyundai Santa Fe are Brothers, the same goes to the Hyundai Tucson / Kia Sportage, also the Hyundai Sonata / Kia Optima, etc...), so, to find a first gen Kia Spectra with the "Upgraded from Factory" front disc Brakes in 10.1" fashion, was not easy; as almost all the "Newer" Spectras I came across on Junk Yards, were from the Hyundai plattform, and those are completely different animals with the Sephia, parts doesn't interchange at all.

But thanks to God, I found one 2004 Kia Spectra, built in late 2003 with the 1.8L engine (Known as the "Old Body Style" somehow), which had the Famous Upgraded 10.1" front Disc Brakes.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

Also I must mention that to do this Retrofitting, I need:

► the Complete Hubs.
► the Rotors.
► the Calipers.
► the Disc Pads.
► along the Axles.

Because the "Upgraded from Factory" brakes, are completely different from the regular ones, the Axles on the upgraded ones are way much Beefier and also they are much thicker at the Hub's end, to the point that the axles from the Regular models doesn't touch the Splines inside the Hubs for the Upgraded brakes. However, the other end of the Axles (the tripod joint that fits at the transmission's cups) is Equal, even the shafts has the same measurements and Splines, as long as you use parts from a donor car that has the same transmission as yours.

This Means that I needed a donor car that has Automatic Transmission as the "KiaStein" is, otherwise the Axles will not fit...

Think about it, it was not easy to find the Perfect donor car here, in Honduras; but Miracles happens.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

 

Finally, Photos (hoping that Photobucket allows me to share 'em Here)

 

This is the Donor Car, well... the front clip from an automatic 2004 model Kia Spectra premium, built in late 2003; which somehow came from the USA to the Local Junk Yard with only 31,000 Miles on the odometer:

The rim on the floor doesn't belong to it; the front clip already was empty, I mean without engine nor transmission; no interior parts, etc... and the front hubs were still with their 10.1" front Discs, Calipers, and Axles! 

This is how I purchased them after I took 'em off from the Front Clip.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

The rotors had a superficial rust film, otherwise everything was immaculate; I cleansed everything and regreased all the ends of the Axles and Hubs; also changed the rubber boots that were torn and I was ready for the Upgraded Brakes' Retrofitting 

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

I removed off the Old Hubs still with everything attached, 

Notice their small size and the holes all around the base for the wheel...

...Then I installed the New Hubs along everything. 

Notice their increased size and no holes around their base.

Also, the bolts on the Upgraded Brakes' Calipers, are way much thicker and can be held with regular Nº 14 wrenches, while the smaller calipers on the old hubs, required Nº 7 hexagonal wrenches... among other improvements.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

Also, I had to Obtain new Brake Pads, which have nearly twice the rubbing area than the old ones; this new ones has almost the same rubbing area than a 2012 Sorento's Pads, little less, which is Big for a little sedan...

Some months ago, I painted all the four calipers and brake parts on the "KiaStein" with high temp, red enamel; so, as the rear calipers were Red, I had to paint this new front ones in same Red, to match the rear ones... 

Then, after Bleeding completely the system three times in a cross-pattern, with the Help of my Wife; I took the "KiaStein" for a Test-Ride to the Mountains' Roads.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

SUCCESS!!!

Thanks to God, everything is Successful !!!

 

I've never drove a vehicle with such braking power, using little pedal force to completely stop, in a straight line; no matter if the road is paved, gravel or unpaved road.

Finally, the KiaStein features the awesome Braking system that I always wanted, it doesn't lock the wheels easily, and lets you maneuver correctly, during panic braking.

And the Best part: my Wife is Happy with her car's Behaviour.
Thanks to God.

Kind Regards.