common miata problems
#2
Miatas are prone to spanking fast expensive cars with FI and yuo will smile to much the 1.6's can breack there ring and pinion gears, the motors seem to be pretty stout up to 300whp with no mods. Most problems come from when people take shortcuts and or dont torque or tighten stuff correctly if you take your time and make sure your stuff is done right it will be just as reliable as stock, I would accelerate the maintenance schedule or just keep a better eye on it so that you can determine wether or not your fluids need to be changed more as more power and heat tends to breack down yuor oils quicker and cause excessive rear tire wear and breack pad wear as well
#8
problems
if you are getting a very eary miata, do some reasearch on the short nose crank issue, also, make sure you do some research on the changes mazda made to the miata from 89-94, a 94 or later miata is often desired due to a stiffer more braced suspension, and more power.
another thing to watch for in the early miatas is the tendancy for the transmission to stick in reverse, found this one out the hard way as well.
Oil dipstick handle after age, breaks off.
i also have a problem with my rear tires, they seem to wear out much faster than the front, im not sure why....
another thing to watch for in the early miatas is the tendancy for the transmission to stick in reverse, found this one out the hard way as well.
Oil dipstick handle after age, breaks off.
i also have a problem with my rear tires, they seem to wear out much faster than the front, im not sure why....
#15
Just perform the necessary tests prior to buying it. When you show up with a compression gage and the such, folks usually have a way of telling you if there is stuff wrong, that way they don't look like **** when you find it. I have 163000 miles on mine, dropped the turbo on at 160000, and the motor was above 180 psig in all cylinders and less than 2 persent leakage past the exhaust valves. Just do a thorough run down of the car prior to buying it.
#18
Tour de Franzia
iTrader: (6)
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Republic of Dallas
Posts: 29,085
Total Cats: 375
btw, www.a1electric.com has a good replacement kit that doesn't use cables. It was $200 for the pair.
#19
Engine mounts
OEM spark plug wires
OEM canvas tops
OEM plastic radiator end caps can be problematic... most see 100k-125k, then they fail.
Something with the airbag sensing system causes the airbag light to blink intermittently in lots of Miatas. The bag will still work properly, it's just that the bright-*** light blinks. Solution... a small square of electrical tape on the bezel glass.
Water drains from firewall cowl become easily clogged.
Water drain from A/C condensor gets clogged spilling water into the passenger footwell. A blast of compressed air is solution.
We all know the 323gtx came with a turbo on it. Assuming you installed a turbo at 0 miles in a Miata, properly managed low boost motors (10psi or less) should have no problem seeing 150k miles. Assuming good oil and proper preventative maintenence, the engine should outlast the turbo itself. Corky says that boost isn't the enemy... knock is. A 2psi motor knocking like crazy will fail before a 15psi motor running flat A/F's and good EGT's. Does anybody know of a well managed low boost B6 that failed early? I'm sure if you asked over at m.net, you'll have many Begi and FM kit owners running 12psi or more that have well over 100k miles on their stock motors.
I've beat my motor silly for 140k NA miles and just installed a 10psi turbo that I'll have dialed in this weekend. I'm hoping to see 200rwhp. I also hope to see 200k miles before needing a rebuild or replacement used motor.
OEM spark plug wires
OEM canvas tops
OEM plastic radiator end caps can be problematic... most see 100k-125k, then they fail.
Something with the airbag sensing system causes the airbag light to blink intermittently in lots of Miatas. The bag will still work properly, it's just that the bright-*** light blinks. Solution... a small square of electrical tape on the bezel glass.
Water drains from firewall cowl become easily clogged.
Water drain from A/C condensor gets clogged spilling water into the passenger footwell. A blast of compressed air is solution.
We all know the 323gtx came with a turbo on it. Assuming you installed a turbo at 0 miles in a Miata, properly managed low boost motors (10psi or less) should have no problem seeing 150k miles. Assuming good oil and proper preventative maintenence, the engine should outlast the turbo itself. Corky says that boost isn't the enemy... knock is. A 2psi motor knocking like crazy will fail before a 15psi motor running flat A/F's and good EGT's. Does anybody know of a well managed low boost B6 that failed early? I'm sure if you asked over at m.net, you'll have many Begi and FM kit owners running 12psi or more that have well over 100k miles on their stock motors.
I've beat my motor silly for 140k NA miles and just installed a 10psi turbo that I'll have dialed in this weekend. I'm hoping to see 200rwhp. I also hope to see 200k miles before needing a rebuild or replacement used motor.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post