[RKM]

Originally Posted by dimitri

I decided to use 40 cells of TS LFP160AH for a nominal pack voltage of 128V. Initially I wanted 45 cells, but for many reasons decided to lower to 40. One of the reasons is that I want to use PakTrakr as my Battery Monitoring System and it only goes to 40 cells, also I can fit 40 cells entirely in the back of this car and will just need to upgrade rear springs to hold 500Lb of lithium. And of course 40 cells cost less than 45 cells while providing enough power for my projected range of 50-70 miles.

I bought from Elite Power because their price is competitive with direct orders from China, yet I have a peace of mind in dealing with US company and not worrying about customs, etc. I'd rather not post prices here, you can call or Email them for a quote. There has not been any major price break yet, but if these cells last as they claim, they should be cheaper than LA even at today's price.

Battery cost is the largest chunk of my budget, so I am saving every penny on other parts, buying from Ebay and cherry picking EV suppliers, instead of buying a whole kit like I did with my first EV.

Thanks for the response. Big bonus to be able to have a single bat box! I'm glad to hear, surprised even, that Elite is able to be price competitive with a direct order. It is definitely less risky. I'll contact them re. a quote. I haven't seen the 160Ah cells listed on their site, will check again and inquire.

I keep telling myself... if they last and perform as advertised, they will be better and less expensive in the long run. Let's hope that is the case!

Rob

[judebert]

Nice. I've loved the Protege wagons since I saw my first one. I'm jealous!

[dimitri]

OK, today was officially first day of the project, I jacked the car and started unplugging and removing everything around the engine.

DSC_2382.jpg

I'm going to need some advise from experienced auto mechanics, since its not really my field, so I am learning as I go.

I knew that auto tranny has a cooling loop for the ATF fluid, but I didn't expect it to be in same radiator as the engine. I was planning on removing the main radiator, but found that tranny hoses go into it as well. Obviously it must have 2 separate loops, since there are 2 separate fluids, right? So what should I do? Keep the big radiator only for tranny? That would suck....

Also, I am trying to remove the engine without removing transmission, not sure if its a good idea, seems pretty complicated. I wanted to avoid extra work of removing drive shafts, etc.

It seems that one joint shaft is supported by the engine itself, so after I put Warp9 in I am going to have to fabricate new support for that joint shaft? That's a hassle I haven't planned for

Front drive seems more complicated than rear drive, Miata was much easier to work with

[Tesseract]

Originally Posted by dimitri

...
I knew that auto tranny has a cooling loop for the ATF fluid, but I didn't expect it to be in same radiator as the engine. I was planning on removing the main radiator, but found that tranny hoses go into it as well. Obviously it must have 2 separate loops, since there are 2 separate fluids, right? So what should I do? Keep the big radiator only for tranny? That would suck......

Nope - just get a separate transmission cooler. They are sold at auto parts stores mainly for people that tow RVs and such.... Here's an example:

http://www.etrailer.com/pc-TRAN~HH41019.htm?utm_source=froogle&utm_medium=ppc

[TheSGC]

Ok, since I am the only other NutCase that has done an AutoTranny, lemme give you my knowledge:

For the transmission cooler, yes it usually uses the bottom half of your ICE radiator. But you can remove that and get a Transmission Cooler. The are usually used as add-ons for towing packages and are rather small. Usually go for $30-$40 and can be installed anyway you want. I still have my radiator installed due to laziness, but it will be removed and I will install a transmission cooler when I install my new motor.

I left my transmission installed when I removed the engine, but the transmission was self supporting and the drive shafts weren't dependant on the engine for mounts. The annoying thing was I had to separate the torque converter from the engine through a small hole under the car, and manually spinning the engine and transmission to get to the next bolt.

You're going to have to make your own adapter plates and coupling because none exist for an auto, and EV suppliers won't make them, but once you have your transmission it's really easy to make one. Check out my site for my journey into AutoTrannyWorld.

[dimitri]

SGC,

I follow your blog and have your Auto Tranny PDF doc. Your conversion inspired me to do an AutoTranny myself. Thanks for sharing the info.

I just ordered the tranny cooler on Ebay for $40 shipped, nice

Now I just need to figure out how to take the damn engine out.

Wouldn't you still need to unbolt the TC from the drive plate thru a hole even if you taken engine out with the tranny attached?

Thanks

[TheSGC]

Originally Posted by dimitri

Wouldn't you still need to unbolt the TC from the drive plate thru a hole even if you taken engine out with the tranny attached?

Thanks

Yes, but it would have been much easier if the transmission/engine was more than 2 ft off the ground! And to make it worse, the car jacks were sinking into the mud while I was under, so the space was getting smaller and smaller. I thought I was just loosing my mind, but the jacks sunk 3 inches in the few hours I was working on it.

I really should update that PDF too.

[Jimdear2]

Originally Posted by dimitri

SGC,

Now I just need to figure out how to take the damn engine out.

dimitri,

Just a thought, Go by the local Mazda dealer and ask the service manager if you could post an offer to have one of the line techs, come and help you pull the engine after normal work hours or on the weekend.

$50.00 bucks and a case of beer or somesuch might save you a lot of grief and broken parts (car and personal body parts).

Might also be a way to make some good contacts for all of those MAZDA only questions.

Good luck.
Jim

[PatricioIN]

Originally Posted by dimitri

OK, today was officially first day of the project, I jacked the car and started unplugging and removing everything around the engine.

Attachment 2166

I'm going to need some advise from experienced auto mechanics, since its not really my field, so I am learning as I go.

I knew that auto tranny has a cooling loop for the ATF fluid, but I didn't expect it to be in same radiator as the engine. I was planning on removing the main radiator, but found that tranny hoses go into it as well. Obviously it must have 2 separate loops, since there are 2 separate fluids, right? So what should I do? Keep the big radiator only for tranny? That would suck....

Also, I am trying to remove the engine without removing transmission, not sure if its a good idea, seems pretty complicated. I wanted to avoid extra work of removing drive shafts, etc.

It seems that one joint shaft is supported by the engine itself, so after I put Warp9 in I am going to have to fabricate new support for that joint shaft? That's a hassle I haven't planned for

Front drive seems more complicated than rear drive, Miata was much easier to work with

Make sure you take careful measurements of where that shaft support is as you'll need to put it back there when you put in your electric motor.. there's a lot of pics and info on that on my site.. or for a short reference, check out Brian's "Saturn Project" thread as he just did one similar.. most of us incorporate that passenger side 1/2 shaft mount into our new motor mount. It seems harder than it is.. just some noodle work.

[judebert]

My Honda Civic Wagon had an axle support on the engine, too. We got a giant U-bolt that we wrapped around the motor, and we built an axle support on the other side.