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Greetings From Honduras ☺ our Kia Sephia history

531K views 1K replies 16 participants last post by  Loyale 2.7 Turbo 
#1 · (Edited)
Greetings from Honduras! :)

I am not New to Car Mechanics but New to Kia.

I Recently obtained online for my wife, a Kia Sephia 2000
(Almost New 'cos its Previous Owner didn't use it very Much, it sat for long time!)
I Hope I Can Find Help here and Eventually I Hope I Will Help other Members too.

This thread will be a Binnacle of the Progress and Mods I will do to the Car. 🚙

(Edit: it says "Built in 1999" on the door's metal plate)

Kind Regards.
JesZeK.
 
#4 ·
Why I had to Change the Sephia's Engine?

When my Wife and I Purchased the Kia Sephia, it came from USA to Honduras in Regular shape, but the engine was Blowin' a cloud of white smoke that with time got worse, as you can read about that in this Thread:


~► http://www.kia-forums.com/kia-sephia-forum/55621-long-time-sat-kia-sephia-help-3.html

After changing the Muffler with a Brand New one and other minor jobs, we used the kia Normally as Daily Driver without issues but the White cloud of smoke became even worse; the Head gasket was Fine: I Test Compression plus there was no oil in water, nor water in oil and everything was working just Fine.

I thought it had worn Valve's seals, so I scheduled a Complete Engine Reseal, but then, after Checkin' the Timing Belts and Outer Belts, I Found a "Dancing" (Wiggling) Main Pulley, let me Explain:

I Noticed that the Main Pulley, that comes at the Bottom of the Engine, was moving almost an inch side by side on each Turn, so I Obtained a New one...




...Thinking that maybe the Old one was somehow, Bent.
 
#5 ·
I started to Change that Main pulley and What an unholy Surprise I Found!!! :eek:


The Timing Belt's Sprocket were Loose and the Previous Owner (or its Mechanic, I Don't Know), instead of Obtaining it New, or at least a Good used one, did This:




With That Stupid Idea of Welding the Sprocket to the Crankshaft, not only the Sprocket wasn't well alligned (Making the Main Pulley to "Dancing" -Wiggling- as it is attached to the Sprocket) but also the Welding Burnt the Oil Seal there!!!


So the T8D engine was Leakin' Oil from that seal and the Welded Sprocket to the Crankshaft makes to Change it a Nightmare that involves to Change the Crankshaft and the Sprocket too...

First I Obtained a Good used Crankshaft at a Junk Yard, then I Was Searchin' for a Good Sprocket and evertything involved, but then I Realized that the Pulley's Vibration must have "Eaten" part of the Engine's Life with its Vibration that should damaged the engine's inner parts...

We continue to use the car as Daily driver while we got enough amount of Money to do a Complete engine Overhaul.

The engine was Blowin' White Clouds of Smoke and leakin' oil from that seal, but otherwise it was working Great.
 
#521 ·
The Previous Owner

When I first received this Kia, I noticed immediately that the Previous Owner used it for Racing Purposes, how do I know? ... Easy, the engine was acting like wanting to Race all the Time, also it was burning around a Quart of Oil per Week and Blowing a Cloud of Smoke; and I found some other damages on the Engine, such like this:


... an unholy Surprise I Found!!! :eek:



...

So, I ended doing an Engine Swap, using a 2003 Spectra T8D engine, coupled to the 2000 Sephia's T8D intake and exhaust.


Now you start the nightmares about all the metal floating around in the transmission...
Somehow I already did years ago, and I didn't knew from where those metal chunks came of, until now...

When I serviced the Transmission, and after pouring a can of seafoam's: "TransTune" driving the Kia with it, I poured all the ATF and removed the Transmission's oil pan, to find this:


...
The Followin' Picture shows you the Metal Chunks that came
of the Flushed 4EAT along more dirt, gum, barnish and mud:



Which Now I Understand that those are small chunks of metal that came from the Differential Side Gears.

So, I Bet that the Previous Owner, beside flooring the Gas Pedal, never left it while the Transmission changed Gears, so the Differential Side Gears received the impacts and must be the Weakest part on the Transaxle.


...Now you got to find a way to convince your wife to stop popping wheelies :) ...
She is a Sweet Girl and drives Carefully. The car came like that already when we purchased it used; and is a Miracle that it lasted without issues all these years with us.

Kind Regards.
 
#6 ·
That days, my other daily driver, my Subaru "BumbleBeast" Wagon, was in need for brand New two timing Belts, plus tensioners, etc...
and we were short of Money & Time.

So instead of Doin' a complete Overhaul... I did a Crazy Engine Swap!

I Obtained another T8D engine but Second Generation. (From the '03 Kia Spectra, the Sephia came with the First Gen T8D engine) but I Only Purchased the Block along with the Head (Long Block) Already Assembled as it came from Factory, in other Words: my Wallet wasn't enough big to purchase the Complete engine from the Junk Yard, so they Taken off This Parts from the Engine:

(Parts Removed from the new Engine, in order to Lower the Price)

► Intake Manyfold complete.
► Exhaust manyfold Complete
► Flywheel.
► Front main Pulley
► Engine Mounts, except the one in front of the Timin' Belt Cover.
(The old one was Damaged)
► All the E.F.i. Stuff, including ignition Coils, etc...

My Sephia still Ran with its original engine (Blowin' a Cloud of Smoke) and I Went to Purchase the New engine Driving it.

The New (to me) engine was Pretty Clean, came from a Spectra with 67,000 Miles; the car was in a Huge rear Crash and the engine was inmaculate, even its oil was Clear.

Since it came without intake or exhaust manyfolds, Flywheel, etc... I wanted to Use the ones from the old engine on the New; that way I will be Able to Run the New Engine with the EFi / Computer Stuff from the Old one... and the Swap becomes Cheaper! :)
 
#7 ·
All the Information about the Swap was Already posted on this Thread:

~► Here.


Here you can see the Spectra's T8D Engine, inside the Sephia's Trunk, as it Came from the Junk Yard:


 
#8 ·
This is the Sephia's original T8D engine (First Gen, says K6-1) when I Just Removed it from the Car:





Compare it to the Spectra's (Second Gen, Says K6-2) T8D Engine:


 
#9 ·
The Port Shapes & Sizes are Different: The Sephia'a T8D engine Ports are Oval while the Spectra's T8D Engine's Ports are Squarier and bigger.

But the intake Manifold of the Sephia, does Cover Perfectly the ports on the Spectra Engine: I've Just "Been There, Done That"




So I Used my Sephia's old Engine Stuff on the Spectra engine and Worked 100% Well!


Now has more than a Whole Year Working Flawlessly. :)
 
#10 · (Edited)
These are the Differences between the '00 Sephia

and the '03 Spectra intakes & Head ports:








A Closer View of How the Sephia's Manifold cover the Spectra's Engine:




Here Both engines together,

the Spectra's one is Inside the Car,

while the Old sephia's one is Lying on the Floor:





I had to use the Sephia's engine Valve Cover,

because the Spectra's engine came without the Oil filler Cap,

and the Older one does Not match the New one.​
 
#11 ·
Greetings From Honduras2

As I Said...

... I had to use the Sephia's engine Valve Cover, because the Spectra's engine came without the Oil filler Cap, and the Older cap does Not match the New one.
...but that is Not a Good Idea after all.

Why? ... Well, the Valve Cover of the Sephia engine worked on the Spectra Engine, but after the first moths of use, I Noticed that it "Sweated" oil from the Gasket between the Valve Cover and the Head...

That is not exactly a "Leak" but the engine had somehow to accumulate some oil around that area, so after six months of use, I Changed the Gasket between the Valve Cover and the Head.
 
#12 ·
This is How the Spectra engine Looked like,

with the Sephia engine's Valve Cover:




Also I Changed the PCV Valve on the Sephia's cover...





...which is Plastic and has a Rubber O-Ring to fit it to the Cover.​
 
#13 ·
The Spectra engine on my Wife's Sephia has been Working flawlessly since the Swap, that Oil sweat is not a big issue... but it started to show again, even with the brand new Gasket; after all these months.

Maybe the tolerances & measurements are not completely identical between the Sephia's Valve Cover and the Spectra's Valve Cover; so I Decided to Buy another Brand New Valve cover's Gasket and the Missing Oil Filler Cap for the Spectra's engine original Valve Cover, and do the Install.
 
#14 ·
So, I Removed the Sephia's Valve Cover from the Spectra engine...





...here you can see the Sephia's Valve Cover, just removed;

also the Gasket that has white tint is the one that I've placed some months ago, the white thing is Silicone.


The other Gasket is the one that the Spectra's Cover had when I removed it during the Engine Swap.



Also I Removed the Old Sparkplugs that I Installed since the Engine Swap; all of them looked like this one:





I Use Denso "U-Groove" Twin Electrode Spark Plugs, I placed a fresh set of the Same ones there.

Part Nº K16TR11 (3194)

~► Amazon.com: Denso (3194) K16TR11 Traditional Spark Plug, Pack of 1: Automotive


I Know the T8D engine shall use the K20TR11 Sparkplugs, but I have not found them here... Yet.




And this is the Brand New Oil Filler Cap, with its part Number, as it came from the Dealer:


 
#15 ·
The Sparkplug looks Horrible... but that is the "Normal Life" of it, according to this Chart:

~► NGK Spark Plugs USA

It had more than a Year of Hard use.


Here's a Picture Guide to "Read" the Used Spark Plugs: :D




Kind Regards.
 
#16 ·
Finally, this is How the Engine Looks like, with its Original (Spectra) Valve Cover:





This valve cover fits better...

is the Original one and the Spectra's engine has a Better Designed PCV Valve:

Fully Metallic and it Screws directly on a metallic thread to the Cover. :D


Also I Painted the Plastic Cover with Rustoleum Special Enamel for Plastics.

~► RustOleum Paints for Plastics

Kind Regards.​
 
#17 ·
My Wife's 2000 Sephia runs with a 2003 Spectra engine, with the Original intake & Exhaust manifolds from the Sephia bolted on.

But both Catalytic converters were clogged, and since those are not Legally required here, in my Country; I decided to get Rid of them.

Please, see the Followin' Pictures to Understand How I Did that:
 
#18 ·
Here you can see how I Deleted the Second Catalytic converter,

Just use a Straight Pipe instead:





This is the First (or pre-) Catalytic, next to the Exhaust Manifold:




A Closer View:




Even Closer:

 
#19 ·
Here you can see the Catalytic Element inside the Round Box:






I Removed it using a Sledgehammer and Chisel,

Here you can see chunks of it:






It also has some sort of Nest, which was removed using long pliers,

This is How the Empty Box Looks Like:


 
#20 · (Edited)
The Car now has a Beautiful Deep Sound, like a Turbo Muffler's Sound which is Deeper but not Louder...

Maybe Because the Empty Round Box actuates as a Resonator, Somehow.

That Rich Deep sound is with a Common Muffler, not anything Special.

The Fuel Consumption has dropped a little :D

and I have No Codes related to that!


The only code that Lit the "Check Engine" Light, was due to a Low Operating Temperatures: I Run the Engine without Thermostat.


...
... Warning! ...
...

Removing the Catalytic Converters could be ilegal in many of the USA States,

I am Not giving advice about to remove them, I only Shared my own experience.


Kind Regards.
 
#21 · (Edited)
Greetings From Honduras3

I Made a very Short video just to let you Hear the Spectra's T8D Engine / Exhaust Sound, without Both Catalytics and having a resonator and a Standard Muffler on a 2" pipe:



The sound is not loud at all, but the Camera's Microphone was very close to the Exhaust tip, which makes you to believe it was Loud.

You'll Notice that it doesn't has the Typical L4 Engine's Rasp sound, just a Deep note.

The empty pre catalytic Chamber on the Exhaust manifold, plus the Resonator on the pipe, keeps the Deep Tone even Deeper and not too loud.

Kind Regards.
 
#22 ·
The Car came with No Body Rust at all...




...Except for the Brake Booster...





... here you can see it, already Fixed: sandpaper & RustOleum Paint :)
 
#23 ·
...and the Battery Base, that was Very Rusty.

Again: The Magic of SandPaper & RustOleum:





I Hanged it There After Painting and it had Two Hours at the Sun Light





Also I Glued a Thick Rubber Over it...

it is a Great idea that this Kias have a Removable Battery Base, just three Nuts and Voilá! :grin:
 
#24 · (Edited)
The New -To Me- 2003 Spectra's T8D engine works Flawlessly, Strong and Smooth as Silk on the 2000 Sephia; my Wife and I are more than Satisfied with the Overall car Performance, which now has been named: the "KiaStein"




When I did the Engine Swap, I Sent the Radiator to a Local Radiator shop in order to change its Old Plastic Tanks for a New metallic ones.Those are Made from Aluminium:

 
#25 ·
The Old Hose that connects the Air Filter Box to the Intake,

had a Broken Resonator Chamber, held by Electrical Tape...

I Obtained a Good used one at a Local Junk Yard and swapped it:





Also I Cleaned all the Air Filter Chambers and Hoses...








...plus installed a Brand New Air Filter. "Made in Polland"
:eek:
 
#26 · (Edited)
When I Swapped the Engine on my Wife's Kia Sephia, I took the opportunity to change the engine mounts and the Automatic Transmission mounts Nº 1 and Nº 2, from the Four it Has:


Here you can see the Brand new Sparkplugs I installed on the Fresh engine:

Nippon-Denso's twin electrodes U-Groove.

Yes, I Brake the Chair too...
 
#416 · (Edited)
Long time ago, when I swapped the Engine on the "KiaStein", I also changed the Motor / Transmission Mounts Nº 1 and Nº 2, as you can Read here:





but now, the other Mounts Failed... So I had to Change the Nº 3 and Nº 4 this week, let me Show you:


 
#27 ·
The Original Stereo unit came without its Faceplate and was impossible to get another faceplate for that...





But that Stero already had a Decade old, so it doesn't worth to repair it.

Instead, I obtained a Brand New Stereo:



Which I Really Like because it not only is Powerful and extremly Easy to Use:




it also has Shortwave bands, such as SW1 and SW2, Useful for Real Long Trips, Basically is the Same Stereo I installed on my BumbleBeast Subaru, but that one is Light Grey with Colour Display. (this one is Black with White Display)

Easy to use MP3 and WMA CD's ...

and the rear seat passengers' can use the Remote control. :lol:
 
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