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Alright, noise is considerably cut down. It looks like I was just listening to knock for too long of a duration. So now it's only listening between TDC and 28 degrees after.
Alright, noise is considerably cut down. It looks like I was just listening to knock for too long of a duration. So now it's only listening between TDC and 28 degrees after.
Feels much better.
I actually turned the sensitivity up, but also reduced the window it looks for knock in. So now it's should be more sensitive for knock, despite it reading lower.
So bad news. Car was runny poopy on the top end. Then running poopy everywhere. Finally wouldn't even idle right. Checked timing with a light and it was a lot retarded. Pulled the belts and pulley and found...
I'm not ready to pull the engine again just yet. Didn't feel great about "the loctite fix". So I thought about it for a while. Was kicking an idea around with a buddy of mine and we came up with this...
Just a little spud with a keyway. So that we could hold the timing gear and crank pulley boss together like this...
Had to end mill down because no flat surface. Then drilled the through the boss and touched on the timing pulley. Next the stack could be separated. Drilled the holes into the face of the timing pulley for 2x 1/4" pins to be pressed in but still leaving ~.100" before breaking through.
Drilled the holes in the back side of the boss so the 1/4" pins were tight but not press fit. Again leaving about ~.100" before breaking through (with the 1/4" drill).
Pressed the pins into the timing pulley and milled them to length.
The pulley and boss are now mated together with the pins. We're hoping it will help the crank pulley boss from spinning again now that the keyway is pretty useless up front. There is still a small ~.200" section under the timing gear that looks healthy.
Also used loctite 660 in the rest of the keyway. Obviously new key and pulley boss.
Cleaned very well and red loctite this time on bolt.
Damn that sucks man! Looks like you did the best repair possible though short of a new crank or welding/machining the crank. If your car was NA I'd say that repair will hold. With a SC pulley hanging off the front I'm not as sure.
Going to pick up a '99 engine with 170k on it tomorrow. He said it's a bit low on compression and burns 1/2 quart every 1k miles. It's an absolute steal. Dude is moving doesn't want to take it with him.
Also, found a complete VVT head for $200.
So the plan is:
1) sell the 99 head as is. What can I get for that? 3-400 shipped reasonable?
2) re-ring the 99 bottom end. Just stock build.
3) valve job/surface VVT. Possibly supertech springs and valves.
4) install VVT head on car... Have a stock 99 engine ready to drop in whenever.
This would be a really sweet situation for me. That would allow me to do whatever I wanted with the VVT engine and in a weekend have a bone stock engine. No switching headers, intakes, injectors, coolant reroute...
The head alone is worth the drive if you got it for free... I would talk to a machinist about cutting a keyway 60 or 180 deg from the damaged one, you can probably have it done for $100 and be on your way!
My blower lost another nose assembly 1500 miles after the rebuild. It got noisy again and when I pulled the belt, shaft had tons of end play. This was no fault of PSE. I sent them a photo of my setup and they said it looked like my belt could be touching it's self where the tensioner is under load. Sure enough I checked and it looks like they were correct. I had to order a new nose, but PSE disassembled it, installed the new nose and shipped it back all free of charge! Great company!
I've fixed the tensioner issue I believe. The belt has tons of room now. Hopefully smooth sailing from here on out.
I just got the blower back on yesterday. Did some upgrades. I adapted a stock Mustang throttle body to the blower (65mm). Installed a huge air filter and 3" hose from filter to throttle. Finally has the 14psi other's with my pulley sizes get. Highest previously was 11.5. The stock Miata throttle and intake parts that came with the blower were obviously restrictions. The old intake and filter will literally fit inside the new stuff. Car feels good.
So after installing and driving on my vmaxx's for a while, I thought the ride could be improved. Felt like riding on straight bump stops at reasonable ride height.
I first tried GS top hats and wasn't thrilled. Ride wasn't much better, they are heavy and have no spring retainer. So I made my own. Ride is definetely improved and no noise due to the spring moving around. Just a little heavier than stock and the rubber bushings fit just like stock.
I was worried about trading 1" of droop for compression, but I have not noticed any drawback even when pushed on bumpy roads. This was a very noticeable improvement for my setup and I'm stoked.
It's been a while but things are staring back up again. I bought a '99 Legacy Outback for $400. Its a 5 speed with a 2.5 DOHC. From Wiki, this is sort of a hybrid engine with larger mains (like phase 1) but bell housing bolt pattern like phase 2? I know almost nothing at this point but am doing research. It's got 300k but I care not. The body is straight and rust free. Going to try and get it through smog this week. I know a few of you have subies, what's your favorite forum? Thinking about mild boost just to make it fun. Figure it's loose enough at 300k lol.
Also picked up a VVT head and an extra short block for the miata. I'll be rebuilding again. Plan to use the rods and pistons out of the current engine. New rings and bearings. Overbore the "new" block or hone the old depending on what the Bote gauge says.I have another stock spare stock engine to swap in the mean time.. This will happen late summer early or early fall. Planning on a 949 damper this time and light weight flywheel. Eventually efr but that is a year out or so.
Last edited by williams805; Jun 25, 2017 at 10:13 AM.
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