Exhaust leak is fixed. Ordered the gasket for the upper part of the manifold to get the injectors in. My son convinced me to put the FF 640's in. I started to loosen the intake bolts then realized I needed to have a new gasket before I take it apart.

One thing I'm noticing, my intake manifold is different than the one on my daughters 99. I was under the impression they would be the same for 99 and 00. Hers has the vacuum at the front near the tb, mine does not.

 

Well, today was a disaster. I attempted to swap the injectors. Removed the top half of the manifold, unhooked the fuel rail and got them changed, put everything back together and the front injector is spraying gas everywhere from the top. I was very careful, did not lose the spacers and remembered to add the FF spacers as well. I tried to adjust the rail without taking everything apart which was my second mistake, I dropped 2 of the spacers into no mans land. I ordered a new intake manifold gasket, going to have to just take everything apart and try again. She's out of commision for at least the next week which is a bummer as the weather is supposed to be real nice. Also, inspecting the yellow injectors I took out there isn't any kind of marking or label or number on them. Guessing that's not a good sign. IDK.

 

Change of plans, I just ordered more of the stock spacers and the FF spacers. I think I may have damaged the top o ring on that front injector which is why its spraying fuel. Should be able to get it sorted pretty easily.

 

Well, this is turning into a full build thread lol. Got the new injectors in and got the fuel table dialed. Car wasn't idling right. Made some changes on my desktop PC and emailed it to my laptop. Accidentally loaded the wrong tune and she was really lean in boost. Very valuable lesson learned. Rod through the oil pan. I found a motor for 500, had a slight knock on cold start. Gonna grab it tear it down and see if I can use it. My block is probably toast, possibly my head. Haven't had a chance to asses. I just saw a hole in the passenger side of the oil pan.

 

Damn, well this has been a ride.

What the hell kinda tune did you load? Not being critical, I've mixed up tunes as well, just curious. Could you upload it? I wouldn't expect a rod through the pan just from leaning out.

 

Yea I'm not sure. I will upload the tune I loaded when I get home, and the one I thought I loaded. Looking at them the fuel tables aren't all that different. I got into boost in 3rd took her to about 5k, shifted into 4th and about 2 seconds later she let go. Wasn't on it or anything. Motor didn't shut off which I didn't realize until I coasted to a stop. Im hoping that didn't cause any unnecessary extra damage. Although I'm fairly certain the block will be toast. Hoping I can salvage the head at least. The motor I found is the same bp-4w but it had a cold start rod knock so I'm not sure what all I'll have to do to that but the block should be ok. It's a complete engine including the intake manifold.

 

Jeez, was not expecting this to be the next update. Gonna be triple checking every tune I load even closer from now on. Same as Sim, I haven't ever heard of a rod going through the block just from leaning out. Spark map and boost control were similar to your other tune too?

 

Only thing different was fuel. The motor may have just failed, but it didn't knock and seemed pretty tight to me. When I hit boost in 3rd I glanced over and saw afr was 15.xx so I let off and shift. Couple seconds later she let go. I wasn't really paying attention because I had afr dialed all day. Weirdest thing was the car not shutting down. I was kind of shocked when it happened and didn't notice it was running for probably 10 seconds then shut it off.

I pick up the other engine tomorrow at 1. Hoping I can use the bottom end, if the head is good that'll be a bonus.

 

Idk. Probably to much boost and not enough fuel. I think I was at 11-12 psi.

Eagle rods with 3/8 arp 2000 bolts seem to be the go to here. Stock pistons should be ok?

Looking at the flyin Miata rebuild kit plus oil pump and water pump. Seems to be the way to go. OEM rings.

Wife is thrilled lol.

 

Yea I misread the safe stock bottom end boost. Mistook 9 for 15 lol. Joking. But I was running 11-12 which I've since learned is a good way to expose an already weak motor.

#2 is the one that failed. What are the chances the head is still ok?

 

Peekaboo

 

Only way to asses the head damage is to pull it apart. If only the rod snapped, there's a good chance it's ok. They're non-interference engines, but if the broken rod push the piston higher than it should go, there's a chance valves/guides are fucked.

Good news though, a slightly lean pull or two won't throw a rod out the block. In fact, it won't do any damage to the rods at all. The engine will happily rotate while all hell breaks loose in the combustion chamber. Aggressive timing can cause knock, damaging rod bearings and possibly rods, but not a lean condition. Rebuild one of the good engines with OE main/rod bearings, forged rods, stock pistons with new rings, ball honed cylinders, and a rebuilt head. If it's assembled well, that's a pretty bullet proof block for not much money, good to ~300hp/18psi.

 

Thank you for the info, curly. The engine I'm picking up today has ~120k on it, ran fine but had a cold start knock. Should be able to use the whole thing.

When I get it home I'll start taking it apart and see what I'm working with.

 

I really hope the crank is good in this new to me engine. Everything else checks out. He had a nib timing kit from FM and a unopened set of arp head studs and bolts. 550 for everything. If it checks out I think I did pretty good.

 

Got the new engine mostly torn down last night. Other than a little bearing material left on 2 journals, the crank is in excellent condition. I was able to get the bearing material off pretty easy with some 1000 grit then polished with 1500. I polished all of the journals as close to the same as possible which wasn't much at all. Used the shoe string method which worked pretty well. I will probably still hit the journals with some polishing compound but I don't think it's necessary. I'm confident the crank will be ok.

I had initially planned to replace the water pump and oil pump with new units but the water pump and timing belt are new. I will reuse the water pump and timing belt. The oil pump, I will have 2 on hand, will be taken apart and cleaned. The one on the failed engine worked well, my oil pressure was never a concern so I may pull that one and put it on the new engine. If it wasn't damaged.

I ordered eagle rods, act bearings, and OEM rings last night. I was looking at eBay rods but ended up finding the eagle set with 3/8 arp bolts for the same price as the eBay parts. Made sense to just go with the eagle rods.

PIstons are in good condition just a little carbon buildup. I seriously considered going with forged pistons but I won't ever get close to 300+ and feel confident the stock pistons will serve their purpose. Idk how much power the car was making at 12 psi but it was plenty for my use.

Going to replace the clutch while I have everything apart. The current clutch works well I just don't know how old it is. I'd hate to get the car back on the road just to have the clutch fail shortly after.

 

I forgot to mention, I will be pulling mostly everything off the old engine and reusing it. The coolant reroute and all of that. I will use the old intake as well. The one on the new engine is different, it has the vacuum at the front near the tb where mine doesn't. Idk what the difference is but I feel better using as many known good parts from the old engine as I can.

 

I see the difference between the 2 intake manifolds. The new (1999, same as my daughters car) one has butterflies where mine doesn't. From what I've read the one without the butterflies is the more desirable variation?

 

Checked the valves on the new head. more than half leak. Ordered OEM valve seals. I'm debating doing them myself, and lapping the valves myself. Any reason not to? The nearest engine machine shop is an hour away, and I don't know if they will even do a valve job for me. I will call them tomorrow and at least get a quote.

 

Always check the valve guides for wear.

 

Ordered new guides as well, thank you for the suggestion. Hoping the shop will do the work, doing research I'm not sure it's something I want to experience right now lol. I will probably have them take the old rings off the pistons and gap and install the new ones, and get the rods and pistons together with new clips.

2 cans of engine degreaser and 4 cans of brake clean later, I got everything mostly clean. Cylinder walls look great, still have a nice cross hatch. I will hit them with a ball hone just to be sure.

Anything else I should think about? Going to do a clutch while I have everything out, the one currently in it works fine but idk how long it's been in there. And, I hate how high the engagement is. Spent several hours over a few days messing with adjustment on the pedal and couldn't get it any lower.