Peabody, thx for the offer, I was thinking a locker might be too much for the front shaft and hubs, because I have blown CVs on the old silver Sportage before I swapped the axles, but I think it might have been because I had too much wheel speed, then contact with the ground. Right now I am going to focus on the lockers. If I find I'm breaking CVs a lot, I may switch. And thx Chris, I think that's the better route vs ripping someone off, even though American products are constantly ripped off by that corner of the world, mostly China though...

Picked up Aerostar van coils today at the junkyard. Plus a bunch of other little cosmetic things. But here's my big thing - I tried to pull some window motors, since only one works in my Sportage, and I can't figure out how you can ever get to the bolts holding the regulator to the glass if the thing is stuck with the window all the way up. Any ideas? This is also how my windows are and I will need to know when I go to put NEW window motors in. I swear I have changed them multiple times, in my other 2 Sportages, but just can't figure it out. Oh, and I got a spare tire.

Just passing thru and wanted to say "Yo" to Dave, Nuke, and the rest of the old gang. It has been a VERY long time and I miss those good times. Unfortunately I have nothing to contribute anymore since I sold the Sportage in 2006. So have a good one and carry on. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

Nice to hear from you old friend.

Ok, so we all know the design and placement of cupholders was never Kia's strong suit. In my ok 95, they were exactly where your elbow should be and in my 2002 and 2000 models, the last of which is my current vehicle, they block the a/c and heat vents, they are weak and bouncy, they are almost always broken in used vehicles and since they're bouncy, their placement is atrocious, both 2000+ models I've had have had soda, coffee and whatever else spilled into the a/c vents, down the center console, into the buttons and switches and into the stereo. Only 2 buttons and 1 function work on the stereo, luckily, the other stuff is so cheap, it would work under water. Anyway, so, long story short - anybody make any custom / home brew solutions for the console issues, like storage and cupholders? Would really like to see something before I just go with one of my two best ideas. One of which is fabricating an entirely new console Tuffy brand style. Thanks for any input.

I pulled the complete cup holder tray thing from the dash in my last one, fab'd a filler plate, and mounted my CB and light switches in an opening cut in that filler plate. CB to the passenger side, and switches for lights on the driver's side closest to the steering wheel. Worked awesome, and I'm about to do the same with my newest '97.

Cool, I was wondering what to do with the existing cup holder space when I do whatever I'm gonna do for new cupholders.

But where will you put your cup... or can of beer? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/shiner.gif" alt="" />

In my home brew Tuffy-esque center console. But, I don't drink beer and jack on rocks is difficult to drive around with anyway, so I can wait till I get home. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

Ok, so, moving along, I still have some issues with the Sportage. Have not been able to fix whatever is wrong with the cooling system. It still pushes out under the radiator cap when driving for more than about 20 minutes. I have a new radiator coming, but I don't know for sure that's the issue. I took it to the shop and they wouldn't test anything until the radiator was replaced, for $600+, so, I'm doing it. This will be the 3rd Sportage radiator I've replaced, or 4th. Then I can test other things to see if that was the problem or not. To the comment made in another thread, yes, I am throwing parts at it, yes, it is more expensive than testing this and that, but I don't really know how or have the patience for testing everything and I can do the labor myself. So, that brings me to another issue - the stereo, or, more specifically, the speakers. I hope someone in here knows some car audio. I swapped the old aftermarket stereo with a Sony xplod, 52w per channel. Now that I have replaced the rig job of speaker wiring, the front speakers sound great and the rears are popping at volume and low end sounds. I figure they are either blown or not powerful enough. I don't know the rms on the speakers since they were already installed, but they are JVC, 100w peak and blue cone. Per Sony, the deck is only 17w per channel rms, that shouldn't make the speakers pop if they weren't blown, right? 100w peak should have at least 50w rms, shouldn't it? Anyway, so I am leaning towards blown. What wattage should I get? 60?-ish? I DO NOT want some crazy sound system, I just want it to sound GOOD loud. Also, as far as mods, ordering lockers, gears, tires, wheels, shocks, brake hoses and front strut spacers in the next 2-3 weeks. Fixing the cooling and stereo problems first. Oh and I had a power drain at one point, turns out it was a dying battery and positive and negative speaker wires wrapped together and touching shorting out. Why I had to redo the audio in the first place...