Help me buy/mod a Miata
08-20-2014, 03:03 PM
#83
^ Yup. That's what I was saying.
I'd not changed motor mounts in a Miata with the engine in place for YEARS. I didn't remember it as being that hard. I thought it would be maybe a couple hours.
Passenger side: I'm sure there's a secret way around it, but I couldn't find it. I had to separate the hard and flexi brake lines to get the motor mount though the tiny available space. And that was okay, because the fluid was pretty old anyway, but it was still a pain. Took maybe an hour to do that side. I could have done it half the time if I'd just gone ahead and removed the brake line at the beginning.
Driver's side. The lack of a slot really screws you over. The passenger side frame is slotted. The driver's side has a hole. I don't know why I was surprised at this, as the NA is the same way. Still, I guess I expected the NB to be improved or something.
To get enough room for everything, I ended up unbolting the header and letting it swing free. No need to separate it from the exhaust. I worked literally for hours with two jacks to get the engine in juuust the right place to let me unbolt the damn mount. Then I had to put the new one back in place. More hours of inching. All the while, wishing I'd just pulled the engine out for a few minutes, swapped the mounts, and put it back in.
I'd not changed motor mounts in a Miata with the engine in place for YEARS. I didn't remember it as being that hard. I thought it would be maybe a couple hours.
Passenger side: I'm sure there's a secret way around it, but I couldn't find it. I had to separate the hard and flexi brake lines to get the motor mount though the tiny available space. And that was okay, because the fluid was pretty old anyway, but it was still a pain. Took maybe an hour to do that side. I could have done it half the time if I'd just gone ahead and removed the brake line at the beginning.
Driver's side. The lack of a slot really screws you over. The passenger side frame is slotted. The driver's side has a hole. I don't know why I was surprised at this, as the NA is the same way. Still, I guess I expected the NB to be improved or something.
To get enough room for everything, I ended up unbolting the header and letting it swing free. No need to separate it from the exhaust. I worked literally for hours with two jacks to get the engine in juuust the right place to let me unbolt the damn mount. Then I had to put the new one back in place. More hours of inching. All the while, wishing I'd just pulled the engine out for a few minutes, swapped the mounts, and put it back in.
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08-20-2014, 03:11 PM
#84
Boost Pope
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I did the AUX in mod like 3 years ago. Not exactly PnP but not hard either. I used a female plug though, instead of a male plug thats shown in the picture. MX-5 Miata Forum
I really don't want to have to install an aftermarket radio... Anyone wanna trade a silver '04 non-BOSE headunit for a '99-00 unit?
On engine mounts:
When I replaced the ones in my '92, all I did was put the front of the car on stands, remove the front wheels (for ease of access), place the floor jack under the oil pan, and gently lift the engine up off of its mounts. I left everything attached to the engine and merely raised it up a few inches. It was quite easy, as I recall.
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08-20-2014, 03:55 PM
#85
Cpt. Slow
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Remember the NB mounts have an arm that goes to the back of the pan. Not sure if that complicates the job or not, but that's what I'll be trying as well.
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08-22-2014, 01:04 PM
#87
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Cool. Just picked up a barely used set of MS mounts and gates cast water pump for $85 shipped, just need a few seals, timing belt, and pulleys, and I'll be tackling this job. Oh, and I should probably do the radiator at the same time.
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08-22-2014, 04:20 PM
#88
Cpt. Slow
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Forgot to mention I bought this lovely $12.xx gem.
Fits Mazda Miata 89 04 Genuine Leather Shift Boot Black St | eBay
NA and NB boots are different, however with a little measuring and a soldering iron, you can repunch the holes to make anything fit to the little bracket.
Fits Mazda Miata 89 04 Genuine Leather Shift Boot Black St | eBay
NA and NB boots are different, however with a little measuring and a soldering iron, you can repunch the holes to make anything fit to the little bracket.
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08-22-2014, 11:59 PM
#90
Cpt. Slow
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CSTG
Until the shift boot and aux in wiring components come in, I've busied myself with a '05 MSM steering wheel. I like the perforated leather, and the air bag and rear plastic bits are in better shape. I also like that I've gotten rid of all the Nardi logos. F them. There's some damage from some tape applied by a PO on the top (purposefully cut off in photo), but otherwise this one's in better shape. Just gotta find a decent leather treatment and/or dye. I also replaced the e-brake plastics with bits from the MSM, as mine were a little sun faded. No pics, cause thats boring.
Also (I'll zoom in for you) during a drive afterwords, I hit 177,777 miles. It would be more interesting in 600,000 miles, but I'm guessing it won't hit that under my ownership.
I also decided to edit my signature to more closely match my ClubRoadster sig. I've helped out a lot of members on this forum and on CR. Flyin'92 originally made the joke, Curly's Shade Tree Garage - All your needs taken care of under a tree, and it's kinda stuck. Whenever I offer to help someone in need, I say "CSTG can help".
So I thought I'd show you guys around.
Here it is, in all it's glory, a single car garage attached to a 1700 sq. ft. town house in Oregon City, built in 2010.
I'll start from the left side and go around. In this corner I've got my drill press, motorcycle lift (for sale), jack stands, compressor, and 90% of the MSM's AC system that I'm taking in for aluminum scrap recycling, and some sport brake dust shields I'm taking in for scrap. There's also a shelf with a few power tools, my electric RC car I never use, and a few other small things. Cause I built the shelf and I don't trust it. Inside the coil of air hose, you can see power strip #1 of 3, which powers the drill press, compressor, stereo, shop vac, and anything I use out side, with the picture yellow extension cord.
Then there's my dart board with my drain pan hanging over head, shop vac, and main storage shelves. They contain lots of Miata parts, my stereo, lots of fluids and cleaners, my nitro RC car I never use, my welder, and the top shelf is all camping gear we hardly use. Camping is NOT a vacation. Camping is work. Above the shelf hangs my welding helmet, and a toggle switch for our door bell, cause we used to work night shift, and **** UPS.
The back of the garage has our depositable bottles, shoe rack, coat rack, spare tool kit, sawsall, garbage, a million ratchet straps, the first of three tool boxes, and half of 2 mountain bikes. Behind the simple green bottle is purple power, behind that is goo-gone, behind that is armor all, and behind that is power strip #2 of 3. Powers the #3 power strip and the garage lap top. The other four outlets are for whatever I need. Many cell phones have been charged here.
In the right corner is box #2 of 3, the 2nd 1.5 mountain bikes, and my work bench with harbor freight vise, graciously donated by MT member Turbofan. You can also see my front licsense plate collection of all our cars, plus one I stole in France. Under the work bench is my engine lift, above it is my collection of clutch alignment tools (theres 2-3 missing), and hardware organizer. Also power strip #3 of 3, which powers the grinder, 2 power tool chargers, my soldering iron, work light, and work bench light.
Also pictured on the bench is a SPORT BRAKE MASTER CYLINDER AND BOOSTER I NEED TO SELL (wink wink), and gpugliese's new wideband packaged up and almost ready to ship tomorrow.
On the right side wall is the small #3 of 3 tool box, which a bunch of miscelanious things, the old tool kit I had in my old DD (doesn't really fit in the '01 :(), winter space heater, my main jack, a busted HF jack I'm taking in for scrap, project Lazarus's future 6-speed under an old sheet, MSM ENGINE BRACING I NEED TO SELL (wink wink), #4 of 4 jack stands, drill bit charts, random Porsche poster I dug out of an old college box, A-frame ladder, my metal scraps, and in the black bag is my wife's snow shoes. For all that snow we get.
Lastly in the right front corner is our strap on bike rack and my next project, which has gas cans, old VW rotors, a chain saw, and seed spreader on top. I'm making a kegerator. Cause working in the garage has been a lot of effort.
TL;DR: I need a bigger garage.
And finally, the fleet. The NA just had an incredibly successful track day, where I did nothing but monitor oil levels in the giant RX-7 oil cooler. Hit a fairly easy 1:34 at PIR, the Nitto Neo Gens with a dozen track days on them are really starting to show their weaknesses.
In this tiny *** garage, I've replaced my brakes, suspension, and pulled no fewer than a dozen engines. The MSM part out was probably my biggest feat. The upstairs room filled with body parts quickly (and is still full), but at one point I pulled the engine and transmission, and I still even had a VVT motor sitting on a stand by the refrigerator.
That's all folks, thanks for reading.
Also (I'll zoom in for you) during a drive afterwords, I hit 177,777 miles. It would be more interesting in 600,000 miles, but I'm guessing it won't hit that under my ownership.
I also decided to edit my signature to more closely match my ClubRoadster sig. I've helped out a lot of members on this forum and on CR. Flyin'92 originally made the joke, Curly's Shade Tree Garage - All your needs taken care of under a tree, and it's kinda stuck. Whenever I offer to help someone in need, I say "CSTG can help".
So I thought I'd show you guys around.
Here it is, in all it's glory, a single car garage attached to a 1700 sq. ft. town house in Oregon City, built in 2010.
I'll start from the left side and go around. In this corner I've got my drill press, motorcycle lift (for sale), jack stands, compressor, and 90% of the MSM's AC system that I'm taking in for aluminum scrap recycling, and some sport brake dust shields I'm taking in for scrap. There's also a shelf with a few power tools, my electric RC car I never use, and a few other small things. Cause I built the shelf and I don't trust it. Inside the coil of air hose, you can see power strip #1 of 3, which powers the drill press, compressor, stereo, shop vac, and anything I use out side, with the picture yellow extension cord.
Then there's my dart board with my drain pan hanging over head, shop vac, and main storage shelves. They contain lots of Miata parts, my stereo, lots of fluids and cleaners, my nitro RC car I never use, my welder, and the top shelf is all camping gear we hardly use. Camping is NOT a vacation. Camping is work. Above the shelf hangs my welding helmet, and a toggle switch for our door bell, cause we used to work night shift, and **** UPS.
The back of the garage has our depositable bottles, shoe rack, coat rack, spare tool kit, sawsall, garbage, a million ratchet straps, the first of three tool boxes, and half of 2 mountain bikes. Behind the simple green bottle is purple power, behind that is goo-gone, behind that is armor all, and behind that is power strip #2 of 3. Powers the #3 power strip and the garage lap top. The other four outlets are for whatever I need. Many cell phones have been charged here.
In the right corner is box #2 of 3, the 2nd 1.5 mountain bikes, and my work bench with harbor freight vise, graciously donated by MT member Turbofan. You can also see my front licsense plate collection of all our cars, plus one I stole in France. Under the work bench is my engine lift, above it is my collection of clutch alignment tools (theres 2-3 missing), and hardware organizer. Also power strip #3 of 3, which powers the grinder, 2 power tool chargers, my soldering iron, work light, and work bench light.
Also pictured on the bench is a SPORT BRAKE MASTER CYLINDER AND BOOSTER I NEED TO SELL (wink wink), and gpugliese's new wideband packaged up and almost ready to ship tomorrow.
On the right side wall is the small #3 of 3 tool box, which a bunch of miscelanious things, the old tool kit I had in my old DD (doesn't really fit in the '01 :(), winter space heater, my main jack, a busted HF jack I'm taking in for scrap, project Lazarus's future 6-speed under an old sheet, MSM ENGINE BRACING I NEED TO SELL (wink wink), #4 of 4 jack stands, drill bit charts, random Porsche poster I dug out of an old college box, A-frame ladder, my metal scraps, and in the black bag is my wife's snow shoes. For all that snow we get.
Lastly in the right front corner is our strap on bike rack and my next project, which has gas cans, old VW rotors, a chain saw, and seed spreader on top. I'm making a kegerator. Cause working in the garage has been a lot of effort.
TL;DR: I need a bigger garage.
And finally, the fleet. The NA just had an incredibly successful track day, where I did nothing but monitor oil levels in the giant RX-7 oil cooler. Hit a fairly easy 1:34 at PIR, the Nitto Neo Gens with a dozen track days on them are really starting to show their weaknesses.
In this tiny *** garage, I've replaced my brakes, suspension, and pulled no fewer than a dozen engines. The MSM part out was probably my biggest feat. The upstairs room filled with body parts quickly (and is still full), but at one point I pulled the engine and transmission, and I still even had a VVT motor sitting on a stand by the refrigerator.
That's all folks, thanks for reading.
Last edited by curly; 08-23-2014 at 10:37 AM.
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08-23-2014, 07:14 PM
#94
Cpt. Slow
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Nail came over and graciously polished my headlights. They weren't too bad, but why not.
Before:
After:
Both:
And both finished:
decent photography skills would of probably helped show the difference more, but there ya go.
Before:
After:
Both:
And both finished:
decent photography skills would of probably helped show the difference more, but there ya go.
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08-23-2014, 08:33 PM
#96
Newb
Join Date: Jun 2014
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Nice use of space & organization! My single car garage appears to be slightly smaller (not as wide) but not nearly as well organized. That needs to change as I'll be pulling my engine next month for turbo prep + new clutch.
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09-01-2014, 11:51 AM
#99
Cpt. Slow
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So I had a dream that I parted out an NB and/or saw one in a junk yard (don't remember) and it had a aux mod harness in it. I was super excited. Parts to make 5 supposedly shipped a few days ago, I'll probably get them Tuesday or Wednesday. If anyone wants a harness, I could either make a few or just ship the parts. Depends on how many switches and plugs I destroy trying to make my own.
In other news, my $12 ebay shift boot came in. I'm fairly happy with the results.
Old and new:
Installed on the table, cause it's dark outside:
And a shitty photo with my phone's flash:
So I'm guessing the leather is of lower quality, but since the original had a bunch of holes and was hard and brittle from the exhaust heat through a broken rubber shift boot, that really doesn't matter.
The other main difference is the little plastic ring, sewn in on the top. The ebay boot doesn't have one. Again, I really couldn't care less, it still sits fairly nicely on the shift lever. Would buy again.
In other news, my $12 ebay shift boot came in. I'm fairly happy with the results.
Old and new:
Installed on the table, cause it's dark outside:
And a shitty photo with my phone's flash:
So I'm guessing the leather is of lower quality, but since the original had a bunch of holes and was hard and brittle from the exhaust heat through a broken rubber shift boot, that really doesn't matter.
The other main difference is the little plastic ring, sewn in on the top. The ebay boot doesn't have one. Again, I really couldn't care less, it still sits fairly nicely on the shift lever. Would buy again.
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