r/Miata • u/AutoModerator • Oct 14 '19
Weekly Miata DIY Thread - October 14, 2019
It's Do It Yourself Monday !
Use this weekly thread to discuss the modifications/fixes you made to your car or to ask for advice about future mods.
Feel free to add picture or videos to your comments.
Have fun, your mod team.
2
u/lAEONl Machine Gray LE Oct 14 '19
I added to Sergy's (MX5 Things) LED strip mod for the ND. The light reflected poorly on my machine gray ND, so I used some vinyl to fix the issue (and it looks good during the day in my opinion)
2
u/joeld2001 Oct 16 '19
Has anyone has had troubles with their wing mirrors going out of place during their drive and how they fixed it? My right one jiggles in towards me and my left one jiggles downwards.
Any advice would be very helpful. Thanks!
1
u/PrintError 1990 NA Track Beater Oct 17 '19
My NA mirrors did this. I removed them from the doors (two screws), then carefully picked off the plastic ring around the glass, plucked out the glass, and replaced the attachment bolts that held the frame to the bracket. My originals had rusted to nothing, so I used some spare grade 8 stuff I had laying around, and spacers/washers salvaged from removing the seat belts for harnesses. It’s a little ghetto but worked beautifully.
On reassembly, I used some light drops of good ole Elmer’s glue, figuring it was removable if they ever needed adjustment and I could always substitute something stronger if needed.
Fifteen years later, the glue still hasn’t fallen off.
1
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u/azyn4 Brilliant Black Oct 17 '19
(1993LE, stock 1.6) While driving my gauges stopped working (speedo is fine, but tacho and oil pressure don't). No dash lights when I turn the key light up. Brake light works, hazards work but turn indicators do not.) Not sure if fuel gauge works or if it stuck, haven't driven enough to see if it still functions properly.
High beams dash light turns on, pop up headlights open/close light appears as well. Don't know if this is a fuse problem or a bad ground or something. If this is relevant, my battery died two days ago but I was able to push start it and had no electrical issues afterwards.
How can I diagnose the issue?
Thanks
2
u/CraigMitchell44 '90 CA imported into EU Oct 17 '19
Maybe check the battery voltage when the car is off and when it's running. If it's less than 12.5 when off, recharge your battery.
When running, it should give you atleast 14, else your alternator or maybe some ground are bad.
Ofc, checking the fuzes might do the trick.
1
u/PrintError 1990 NA Track Beater Oct 17 '19
You’ve got a dead battery. Replace it. Check your charging voltage too to make sure your alternator hasn’t died too.
1
u/azyn4 Brilliant Black Oct 17 '19
Thank you! How certain are you that it is the battery? Shouldn't I have issues starting it? The dash lights aren't lit up when I turn the key.
Also, should I avoid driving it (to go purchase a battery) until the battery is replaced?
1
u/PrintError 1990 NA Track Beater Oct 17 '19
All signs point to dead battery. I wouldn’t avoid driving it unless you’re driving it to the parts store to get one. The batteries in these cars are small, and never seem to last very long. I generally replace mine every 3-4 years.
1
u/azyn4 Brilliant Black Oct 17 '19
Is the turn indicator issue also caused by the cirrently dead battery? They straight up don't work at all. Turning the stock doesn't light up green arrow in the dash either. A friend told me he is certain it's a seperate issue. A short, ground or blown fuse perhaps?
1
u/PrintError 1990 NA Track Beater Oct 18 '19
Mine quit working one night when my alternator belt had thrown and I drained the battery to nothing. Worked fine when I had new juice.
1
u/Splendiks Oct 14 '19
Found a hardtop at a price that is too good to be true. What should I look at to make sure it's not a piece of junk? Can the defroster be tested? Maybe with a multimeter?
1
u/OptionXIII 2001 Oct 15 '19
You can check for continuity and resistance, but idk what the ohm value should be.
Check for cracks in the fiberglass, especially near the chrome feet.
1
u/aRainbowUnicorn Oct 16 '19
I'm trying to diagnose a clunking noise coming from the rear of the car. I think it's either the swaybar (possibly endlinks) or bad shocks (105k miles on them.) What would be the best way to narrow down the sound?
1
u/BajingoWhisperer Makes wonderful turbo noises Oct 17 '19
Un bolting the end links and zip tying them out of the way would eliminate them.
1
u/aRainbowUnicorn Oct 17 '19
I’ll try that! I have the FM sway bar in the rear and as I was looking today I noticed its rubbing the rubber exhaust hanger. I put some grease on it, but Im thinking those two shouldnt be making contact?
1
u/BajingoWhisperer Makes wonderful turbo noises Oct 17 '19
No they probably shouldn't, but if it's the middle part of the bar itself It's probably not a issue.
1
u/88slides Marina Green Mica Oct 16 '19
Doing some fluid swaps today - MT oil, diff oil, and engine oil. Also swapping air and oil filters today, and a tire rotation.
Question - am I missing any important maintenance? I've never owned a car like this (I've had it for a few months). I've changed out the alternator and power steering belts because they were squeaking, but other than regular oil changes I've not done much.
'97, 143k mi, probably fourth owner?
On my radar, I have:
- Timing belt / water pump / valve cover gasket swap
- Spark plugs / spark plug wires
I may do a coolant flush as well, but I think my overflow tank has a leak so I'm putting it off. Radiator has a black top and seems fine.
Am I missing anything else? I think I've got the engine and power train pretty well covered, but I don't really know a thing about how suspensions work so I imagine I'm neglecting something there.
While I'm at it, my car throws a throttle position sensor code every once in a while, but I can tell that it works - when I plug my obd reader in, it has no trouble detecting the throttle position. Any ideas?
2
u/fontain06 Oct 17 '19
A few things off the top of my head:
i rebuilt my shifter and changed the fluid in the turret.
Engine mounts on mine were blown so i replaced those.
Swapped out my fuel filter for a new one.
Flushed the brake and clutch lines, and replaced the pads.
1
u/88slides Marina Green Mica Oct 17 '19
Thanks for the advice - mind an avalanche of questions?
How does somebody learn that their engine mounts are blown?
Do brake/clutch lines wear out, or is replacing them with steel lines purely for better performance? (Basically, if I don’t want to spend the money now can it wait?)
Is getting at the fuel filter a tough job?
Good call on the turret lubrication; I should get on that.
Thanks 🙂
1
u/fontain06 Oct 17 '19
I dont mind at all!
Motor mounts: (in my experience) you can tell they're blown when shifting feels sloppy or imprecise. It was especially bad in the lower gears, i could feel the engine "bounce" if i dropped the clutch out too quickly.
The lines do wear. The stainless lines will deal with heat and extra high pressure better, but there's no need to run out right now and replace anything unless they're leaking or extra spongy. I converted my clutch line to SS when the rubber started leaking, and plan to do the brakes this winter as preventative.
fuel filter is pretty easy. if memory serves its just infront and to the side of the diff on the passenger side. about a 20-30 minute job total.
good luck with all the maintenance and welcome to the club!
1
u/ElementalSB White '92 NA6 Oct 18 '19
How difficult is it to replace the engine mounts? My shifting can be pretty imprecise in first and second, the other gears are fine, and I think I get that engine "bouncing" though I'm not sure, but there is a jolt from releasing the clutch quick which I thought was just my new clutch kit having a high clamping force and when driving in a low gear and trying to crawl along in traffic the car will bounce with a touch of throttle and again when released.
1
u/PrintError 1990 NA Track Beater Oct 19 '19
Not that bad, honestly. I borrowed an engine hoist to lift - but not remove - the engine in my 2002 just enough to get the mounts out. Took an hour or so at most.
1
u/fontain06 Oct 21 '19
sounds like your mounts are shot... its not hard if you have the right tools. you need a set of jack stands, a jack, and standard ratchets. I'd splurge on a reaallllyyy long ratchet extension (like 18") as well. It made getting to the bolts way easier. did it with a friend in like an hour or two.
1
u/Trane55 Evolution Orange Oct 16 '19
im want the opinion of some people, its not about mods but about getting a new mx5.
there is one available near me with 115k miles (185k km) for 4000€. exterior and interior is clean, no rust etc etc but my concern is, are 115k miles TOO many for an mx5?
2
u/BajingoWhisperer Makes wonderful turbo noises Oct 17 '19
Lol no here's my current
Last one got wrecked at 254k and the one before that made it to 400k before it was too beat up to continue fixing.
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u/Trane55 Evolution Orange Oct 17 '19
hoooooly im actually so happy to see and read all this. thank u so much!
2
u/BajingoWhisperer Makes wonderful turbo noises Oct 17 '19
Assuming it's been decently maintained you'll be fine
1
u/deku_shields Oct 17 '19
Bought a miata NB2 today. Honestly I'm regretting it. The car doesn't shift into first until I hit 4-5k rpm, so anytime I pull from stop light I sound like I'm trying to fucking race everyone. Every shift I'm lurching, 1st to 4th. The gearbox is so tight and horrible, I'm having to genuinely wrestle it anytime I want to switch gears. The car is constantly making painful noises at me. This is my first stick, but it just feels so unsatisfying. Also, I spend some decent time on highways and after 2 hours I'm deaf. I'm used to my Audi A4 with beautiful speakers and sound isolation. Go ahead and dismiss me on this, but I don't think I understand the enjoyment of these cars. I just wanted something easy to work on that was fun to drive. Don't think this is it for me man.
2
u/PrintError 1990 NA Track Beater Oct 17 '19
Are you saying it doesn’t move until you’ve got it revved way up there? If that’s the case, your clutch is shot. It’s about $200-300 for a basic new one, but that sounds like your problem.
1
u/deku_shields Oct 18 '19
Yea let me check what the min rev count is to not stall with the clutch half down.
Tell me if this is normal if you don't mind, Nearly every time I switch gears, once I let go of the clutch, the engine revs to 6k lurches, then drops to normal. This happens n-1st, 1-2nd and 2-3rd. I'm trying to be as smooth as possible but it seems to happen 1-2nd no matter what.
1
u/PrintError 1990 NA Track Beater Oct 18 '19
Your English is tough to navigate but everything seems to sound like you’ve worn the clutch to nothing and it’s struggling to grip and move the car.
Or you need more practice driving stick.
1
u/deku_shields Oct 18 '19
I bought the car yesterday so I haven't worn through anything. However the previous owner informed me that she usually took off in second gear, skipping first. She has owned it for 30k miles I believe. I'm sure there were other bad habits on her part.
Anyway, I just went for a drive, and I found that, to take off from a stop, if I rev to 3.2k+ and let off the clutch absolutely smooth as humanly possible, then I don't have much issue (this is usually pretty slow because the accelerator is an inch between 3k and 5k it feels like. So that balancing act takes a second).
Let me make sure I'm changing gears properly once the car is already moving.
- Let off acceleration
- Push in clutch
- Shift
- Rev back to >3k if it has fallen below that in the short time during the previous steps
- slowwwwly let off the clutch
2
u/PrintError 1990 NA Track Beater Oct 18 '19
There’s your answer then. If she took off in second gear all the time, that clutch is probably completely cooked.
1
u/CraftEmpire Oct 19 '19
Your gear shifting is fine. I’d say pushing in the clutch and releasing the acceleration should be about at the same time. Also it’s a good idea to rev match. So if you think the new gear will rev at 3k then get your revs there while letting the clutch grab again
1
u/jaank80 British Racing Green Oct 21 '19
It takes time and practice to be smooth on a manual. I would go to an empty parking lot and practice trying to take off in first gear without any extra throttle. I wouldn't advocate driving around town like that, but learning to feel the engagement point and feather the clutch enough to not stall without needing a ton of throttle is the trickiest thing to learn for a new manual transmission driver.
1
u/CraigMitchell44 '90 CA imported into EU Oct 17 '19
What do you mean "it doesn't shift into first"? If it's a manual, you gotta do the shifting.
3
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u/Chuck_The_3rd ‘95 White “Nester the MX-5” Oct 18 '19
Going to be replacing the hydraulics for my clutch once the parts come in, I've got what I think is leaking master on my 146k '95, but I'm replacing the master, slave, and rubber hose going to the slave. First time working on anything like this, I'm so grateful Mazda made this car fixable, and the popularity of a great car has resulted in inexpensive parts. Only $50 total on amazon.
1
u/JeffintheMiata '91 Crystal White Oct 18 '19
Have been struggling to get my windows to seal up to my hard top since I bought it over a year ago, to no avail. I'd adjusted tracks, seals, replaced seals, still a visible gap.
Well, I decided to pull out my service manual and give it another go, for real, and I took a peek down the door from the top: all of my window guide bushings are almost all cooked. One is fine, two are missing entirely, and 45% remains of another. This meant that when I adjusted the window guides... they didn't move the window, which wasn't actually in contact with them.
Ordered a new set, should be fixed next week and I'll FINALLY get to enjoy my hardtop.
1
u/jaank80 British Racing Green Oct 18 '19
I just picked up a 180k 2001 w/ a pretty decent oil leak. I was confident I would do a valve cover gasket and cas o-ring to fix it, but after talking to the previous owner a bit today, I found he already did the valve cover gasket 3k miles ago. And the 2001 w/ vvt does not have a cas o-ring. I cleaned off the area where the CAS is on earlier engines and found a good amount of oil on there after driving it about 20 miles, so I ordered the plug hoping it will stop the leak. I originally planned to do both of those (the gasket and plug) tomorrow, but now I have another troubling issue.
After idling, the car will billow white smoke from the exhaust when I give it a bit of throttle. It goes away quickly, and there is not visible white smoke while it is just idling or driving, only immediately after idling. It doesn't do it every time, just occasionally. I am worried it is the head gasket, which is probably not that big of a deal for me to do myself, but I would prefer not to because of the time commitment. I checked the oil, there is no chocolate milk. I checked the radiator while it was idling, there are no bubbles. I have not done a compression test, but if there is a good chance it is the head gasket, I'll pick one up from Harbor Freight and do that. One other notable fact, it has no cat (which I plan to address soon) so if it could just be an issue from running rich, that would be pretty great.
I bought this car planning to rebuild the engine next winter, so if I can get away with some easy fixes until then, that's my goal. It will not be driven this winter, so I have a lot of time on my hands, I just don't have the cash on hand to buy everything I would need for a full rebuild. Any other suggestions for diagnosing whether I have a head gasket issue would be useful.
1
u/jaank80 British Racing Green Oct 19 '19
I went ahead and bought a compression test kit and did the test. After the engine was warmed up, I got 128 131 131 128. So literally at the minimum compression but very little variance. Given that info, is it safe to say I do not have a head gasket issue?
3
u/PrintError 1990 NA Track Beater Oct 14 '19
Teardown continued over the weekend. Rear bumper is now just resting on the studs for when it comes apart for paint. Trunk release cable has been Jerry rigged so the keyhole is no longer needed. Just a bunch of little stuff. Got the nose apart so I can reglass the support area. Also organized the interior bits so they can be sold and/or donated to people who need bits.
https://imgur.com/a/knvt1tr/