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Question for anyone regarding maintenance on/around the engine.. as stated I have a 99 NB. At this point I'm guessing it makes sense to replace both front and rear main seals, camshaft seals, timing belt, water pump, plugs, do a valve adjustment. While I'm doing a coolant reroute, timing belt change, and changing the clutch I figure I'll be working in the areas and just want to replace anything that could or is already leaking. I will be yanking the AC and replace heater hoses as well. Any seals I should also look out for that tend to leak on the tranny or other spots?
I will also swap to a 36-1 crank trigger wheel (it apparently makes syncs faster with a standalone). Anything I'm missing I appreciate it. I will start tearing into things soon just waiting on some parts. I try to get most things ahead of time but I'm sure things will come up once I get things apart.
It's probably worth replacing the transmission input shaft seals if the transmission is out and they've never been replaced. Same with the transmission output shaft seal (but the output seal can be done without removing the transmission, so it isn't really as important).
There are a few of coolant lines that connect the back of the head, oil cooler, throttle body, and front water neck. The ones in the back and underneath the intake manifold are a pain to get to and worth replacing (or deleting).
If you're pulling the engine when doing all of the work it's not a bad idea to replace the oil pan half moon seals, oil pickup tube gasket, and resealing the oil pan and the rear main seal retainer. There's also an o-ring on the oil pump that can be replaced along with fresh RTV. Doing these (along with the rear main seal like you mentioned) would basically prevent needing to pull the engine for an oil leak going forward.
If you replace the transmission output/tailshaft seal be careful not to damage the housing sealing surface - it's very soft. A buddy scratched mine when we swapped my clutch and it would fling transmission fluid on the exhaust at high speed until I pulled it again and cleaned up the surface.
May as well replace the clutch slave cylinder and put a braided line on it if the current age is unknown. The master's cheap enough I'd do it too while you have to bleed the system. The long braided clutch line all the way to the master doesn't really add value aside from eliminating one potential leak point, if anything I think it makes the engine bay look more cluttered.
Worthwhile picking up all the little coolant lines while you're at it, including new firewall grommets for the heater core.
May as well replace the clutch slave cylinder and put a braided line on it if the current age is unknown. The master's cheap enough I'd do it too while you have to bleed the system. The long braided clutch line all the way to the master doesn't really add value aside from eliminating one potential leak point, if anything I think it makes the engine bay look more cluttered.
Worthwhile picking up all the little coolant lines while you're at it, including new firewall grommets for the heater core.
Thanks yep I'm replacing all the clutch components. A new MC, slave and braided line for the looped and soft section of clutch line. Definitely cheap enough to do once and not have to think about it again for a while. Also makes sense I guess to replace any and all coolant lines since they're going on 25yrs old. At this point I'll likely pull the IM to port match and install the skunk2 TB and replace the hoses underneath.
On further thought it probably makes sense to just change to a squaretop or skunk2 manifold. It simplifies things. Seeing as how the skunk2 TB is a pain to install, I'd rather just do it once, and the VICS manifold is not ideal. At this point the squaretop seems like the better choice as it's about 1/2 the price and oem quality.
At this point just patiently waiting for parts to come in. Come on Supermiata/949! I started to install the rollbar but hit a snag and realized there's no swapping belts after the rollbar is in. My plan is to run 3 point belts on the street and the car came with a nice momo steering wheel I plan on installing. Removing the airbag without changing the belt seems like a bad idea safety wise for the street. I thought about getting some 94-97 OEM belts but most are pretty old and crusty at this point and they will be a giant pita to swap later (after the rollbar install) so I ordered a new driver's side belt from seatbeltplanet. Just have to be patient. I got the harddog M2 sport I believe.
I don't want to just disassemble everything and leave the car apart as the plan is to register it at the start of the new year and drive it on the street a bit. I've been itching to drive it but just need to be patient. Here in VA, 25+ year old cars get antique tags which means permanent registration, no safety inspection or emissions.
I have a lot of goodies for the car around the garage. People said to run 17x10s but I like the looks of the freeforms more and I doubt the 1/2" will make a big difference. I went with these because it says these'll clear the SM 11.75" x 1.25" bbk. Tires wise there are definitely limited options in 245/40/15s. I was set on running RS4's but unfortunately it doesn't look like they're available for a while (factory fire or something) so I've been contemplating different options. I've had a couple people tell me the Nexen NFera Sport R's would be better for lapping over say the RT660's (which sounds more like an autox or TT sort of tire (they fall off after a few laps apparently)) so I will likely order a set of the Sport R's soon.
I got these hubs waiting, but I'll wait for more parts to come in so I don't have to disassemble things twice. These are the BroFab hubs and they definitely look quite beefy.
Finally, the important stuff. I ordered a couple different shift *****.. The Type R **** I like the look of ($10 on amazon, hard to beat) but the DC Sports **** ($17) is weighted (almost 1 lb) which feels good. Decisions decisions..
Nice choice on the freeforms, I'm going that route as well. Jealous of the hubs! I might make the dive this year as well, but I'm on some fresh hubs all around so I might wait another season. Exciting stuff going on here!
It's like Christmas lately with goodies coming in the mail. Finally not sick this past weekend (it's bad this time of year with young kids) and installed the steering wheel I got with the car. Pretty straightforward. It came with the NRG short hub and quick release. Looks like a 350mm wheel. I ordered a resistor for the airbag sensor from Project-G and that looks to have fixed the airbag light. Simple Honda brass tab for the horn button. As with everything, i had to remove things at least 2x to get orientation correct for different parts, but that's how it goes. I used to think by the time I'm in my 40's I'll have this s**t figured out and it won't take several times removing/installing things and multiple trips to HD for house projects, but I've just learned to embrace it. It's all part of the process.
Damnit upside down..
There we go..
I also got a squaretop from Prestige in the UK. I thought about the skunk2 manifold but at double the price and fitment looking kinda meh, this seems like the OEM manifold should do just fine. I'm not looking to make crazy power so I don't think the squaretop oem will be a restriction. I cleaned it up well with brake cleaner and rags. I will have to open up the TB opening to match the skunk2. The only other concern is the oxidation on the manifold is pretty bad and sorta ugly. I guess ideally I'd powdercoat it to make it all purdy again but I'm not sure if I want to put in that much effort. I got a lot of stuff to do.
One interesting video I saw this weekend was a miata that blew his engine because one of the press fit coolant lines broke/came out down to the right of the crank pulley. That is some *****. I will be sure to add a coolant pressure switch. These cars are getting old and s**t happens. I'm not sure how common that is on these cars but seems like EVERYONE ought to have a coolant pressure switch. A couple people told me this (on this forum) and hats off to you guys. That's a real shitty way to lose a motor.
I stopped by a friend's place and he pulled these out of the box for his car. The picture doesn't do the thing justice how f'ing big it is (I swear as big as my head). I will bring the AFCO F88 caliper and get a side by side comparison shot. The caliper is a monster! Good news is SM shipped out my orders so around Christmas I'll be tinkering in the garage.
Pos-cat for installing the steering wheel hub upside down on the first go. Been there before haha.
Stoked to see more progress! So far the parts showing up seem to be compounding the amount of work you're gonna have ahead of you lol.
How was your experience working with Prestige on that manifold and how long did it take to get in? I've been wanting to grab some parts from them but am hesitant because of negative reviews.
Stoked to see more progress! So far the parts showing up seem to be compounding the amount of work you're gonna have ahead of you lol.
How was your experience working with Prestige on that manifold and how long did it take to get in? I've been wanting to grab some parts from them but am hesitant because of negative reviews.
I got a bunch more work but I don't think the first event is till March (you So Cal guys wouldn't know about tracks closing in winter ) so I got time.
No issues with Prestige but it was only a manifold.. I messaged them on FB and I had the part in 1 week. I will definitely consider them for a diff or 6 spd down the road. It seems like a 3.63 is the way to go. Pretty sure I have a Torsen 4.3 in this car so not sure what's "best." Sell my existing diff and look for a Torsen with a 3.6 or just buy a 3.63 diff with a Fuji diff and just swap the 3.6 ring and pinion into my 4.3 diff? I'll cross that bridge down the road at this point.
Ahh yes, that's perfect on the timeframe then. Yes, our tracks don't close but summers in the desert still suck haha. I usually take mid-summer off to get my car dialed in rather than go racing in 100-degree heat. So, kinda similar? Lol.
Glad to hear your experience with them was good. I'll consider them in the future for a diff or trans replacement if/when I need one.
Ideal gear ratio seems to shift quite a bit depending on who you talk to/the car's power level/what you're doing with it. 3.6 does seem the best for daily driving/comfort once you've added some power. I was surprised to find out that plenty of guys still run 3.9s or 4.1s in their high power track cars, though. I've got a 4.1 in my car currently and have no issue with the current gear ratios. Might have to bump up to a 3.9 or 3.6 though as I believe I might end up topping out in 6th gear at my current power level at Willow Springs... Full torsen 3.6s seem to be harder to come by than any other complete diff as well...
Ahh yes, that's perfect on the timeframe then. Yes, our tracks don't close but summers in the desert still suck haha. I usually take mid-summer off to get my car dialed in rather than go racing in 100-degree heat. So, kinda similar? Lol.
The west coast with dry heat isn't terrible imo. On the east coast 90F + humidity is nasty. Plus you add all the rain we get and So Cal is still the clear winner. We can agree to disagree.
Ideal gear ratio seems to shift quite a bit depending on who you talk to/the car's power level/what you're doing with it. 3.6 does seem the best for daily driving/comfort once you've added some power. I was surprised to find out that plenty of guys still run 3.9s or 4.1s in their high power track cars, though. I've got a 4.1 in my car currently and have no issue with the current gear ratios. Might have to bump up to a 3.9 or 3.6 though as I believe I might end up topping out in 6th gear at my current power level at Willow Springs... Full torsen 3.6s seem to be harder to come by than any other complete diff as well...
Yep for sure. For a pure track car maybe a 3.9 or 4.1 is tall enough, but the stock gearing is quite short stock so I'd say a 3.6 would be welcome (especially with a 6 speed). I personally don't mind giving up a little speed for a little more street friendly car. I put a 3.6 in my s2k (pretty sure it uses the exact same Mazda 3.63 ring and pinion gear as the miata, stock is 4.1) and I like the taller gearing for putzing around. It definitely just comes down to personal preference.
Good news is the new driver's side seatbelt came in this week so I was able to install it and finish the rollbar installation. Rollbar install was pretty straightforward I'd say. I watched the FM harddog install video which was helpful suggesting a 12" 3/8" bit for the rear holes on the rollbar. That made it easy. I was a little concerned that the OEM side latches for the hardtop wouldn't clear as they are VERY close (they clear by like 1/8-1/4") but the M2 Sport bar just snugs in there. I was mindful and tried to bolt the front rollbar bolts down as I pryed the rollbar a bit away from the sides but it may have made no difference to be honest. The rollbar fits nicely. Cutting the plastics is a pita and I took too long on it but it came out nicely. If I really wanted to be ---- I could put the plastic edging around the cuts but it looks good enough to me.
I just recently bought one of these led lights from HF and I can't recommend it enough. It's so small/compact and the strong magnet makes it super handy when working around the car. If you don't have one do yourself a favor and pick one up.
Also, anytime you need to reattach some vapor barriers in the car or waterproofing this is the stuff to use. Very handy.
Finally, I started my seat install but the planted seat brackets are not tall enough for the Recaro Pole Position ABEs. I also started whacking the tranny tunnel like a neanderthal and busted one of the rear o2 harnesses. Check before you start swinging the hammer like an idiot.
I'm going to look at the PCI and PLM mounts and see which one will fit these PP ABEs. If anyone has any experience or dimensions of the PLM and PCI mounts let me know. I shot them both an email. The PP ABEs are definitely a little wider than the FIA seats, not sure about the height/shape at the base though. For future reference in case anyone is looking up the info. The rear mounting point is ~4 1/8" off the bottom of the seat. The planted bracket is only 4". The front to back holes are about 11.25" apart.
I also pulled off the rear coilovers to see if anything looked out of the ordinary but they seem fine. They have bumpstops and rear shock travel looks to be about 1.5". Not a lot but I don't think that's out of the ordinary. I might raise up the car 1/4" or so. Most stuff has come with the exception of the "frame rail" braces so I got plenty of work to do on the car.
Kraken had a sale so figured might as well pull the trigger. I'll wait till summerish to install it. The 2560 is kind of a widdle turbo but it'll do the job.
Do yourself a favor and grab some locking hardware for the manifold to turbo and elbow connections. Those copper nuts like to loosen up after being run hard and also eventually round off. At least that was my experience after running them for almost a year.
Props for continuing to make progress during the holidays as well haha.
Do yourself a favor and grab some locking hardware for the manifold to turbo and elbow connections. Those copper nuts like to loosen up after being run hard for and also eventually round off. At least that was my experience after running them for almost a year.
Props for continuing to make progress during the holidays as well haha.
Thanks appreciate the advice! I was going to ask about that down the road as I don't have experience with them and the "best" seem to be something like the flying miata hardware. Is there a specific hardware type you used? Copper is def a soft metal and they came with the turbo kit but I thought they might need to be replaced.
Bunch of sick family in town staying with us that's been spreading.. hopefully doesn't get worse.. :/
The hardware available through FlyinMiata is the same Stage 8 hardware you can find all around the internet. I think I purchased one set from FM and one from Amazon (crucify me ). There are probably other similar kits but I didn't bother checking as they seem to be the universal standard around here.
Yeah, I haven't researched it fully yet but am curious as to why copper nuts would be the call for a system that generates so much heat. I basically had to tighten my turbo to manifold nuts every other track session when I ran the copper ones, and eventually they ceased to be hexagonal.
All of the turbo Fords I deal with at work have ovalized turbo to manifold (or turbo to head on the motors with integrated exhaust manifolds) nuts. They take some persuasion to get on as you're basically deforming the nut around the stud as you crank it on, but I've never seen one loosen up on its own. These aren't track cars though so maybe that's why I've never seen use of them in the Miata community.
So one thing that was off with the car was that the right rear of the car was sitting lower than the other 3 corners. I pulled the coilover out to check it and raised it up. I raised it up a bit too much as the rear height is almost 5" to the pinch weld now. It was ~4.25". I think I'll shoot for 4.75" definitely no lower than 4.5". I need to pull them again to lower the car a bit but I'll do that when I put the car on jack stands. Better a little high than too low for now.
The plan was to pull the tranny by now and install the new clutch/flywheel but a combination of factors.. laziness, getting sick, and I saw the rear tranny seal leaking made my postpone it. I ordered a bunch of stuff from TCM and it hadn't come in time so I'll just have to be patient.
So something that did come is some "framerail" braces. Everyone calls them framerail braces but these are definitely not frame rails, just floor reinforcements. I opted for the R theory flavor since I like they are solid without cutouts which should make it easier to jack from (I looked at the FM version but it has a bunch of cutouts). I find jacking up the miata a pita since you can only do it from a few points so I figure at the very least some "framerail" braces will be nice to have as jacking points going forward. Before installing them there were a few surface rust spots around the framerails. I have a few other spots to clean up rust under the car but I'll fix those at a later point. Anyway.. a few quick minutes with a sanding disc and all the surface rust was gone. I primed and painted the bare metal. Fortunately the car is in pretty good shape with only a handful or so of surface rust spots.
Fortunately the reinforcements were in good shape and surprisingly hadn't been banged out of shape. The R theory reinforcement braces were fairly straightforward install. I'm not sure how some people install these by themself. Fortunately I was able to recruit my son (8 now) to stay in the car and put a wrench on the bolts. That was a huge help! All in all it wasn't too bad and I also hit some spots with undercoating spray.
I did finally get tags for the car. Nice to get permanent antique tags so no headaches with emissions or annual inspection. I finally took the car out yesterday and man the car is LOUD. Of course it's a convertible but I think a big part of it is the tires. It has some old RE71Rs and I googled re71r and loud and it seems pretty common. The things howl just going down the road and being in a convertible doesn't help. I could also smell some burning oil (it has a bunch of leaks) so I gotta get working on those. The brakes feel a little meh but that's probably just the pads. Also, I can't wait to install a lightweight flywheel. It's not horrible but blipping the throttle and driving you can feel how heavy the stock flywheel is. It needs a proper light flywheel. I look forward to swapping it out. All in all car feels pretty good for what it is. Hopefully some fresh rubber will quiet it down a bit.
Another thing on the list is the seat. I saw a set of PLM seat brackets used for sale and for the price figured it was worth trying them (I got a measurement and knew they were tall enough at least unlike the planted brackets). The seat I have is a Recaro Pole Position ABE. For those that don't know, there's an ABE version (which is TUV approved (I think this is the european equivalent of maybe NHTSA..?)) and FIA (which is race approved). The difference is the ABE is a little wider in the waist area I believe and the slots for the seat belts are much larger (to accomodate oem 3 points). I wanted the ABE specifically because I wanted to keep 3 points on the street and the larger slots make it easy to run 3 points on the street and swap to 6 points for the track. I chose the ABE because I know I fit it and it's a comfy seat. I ordered this direct from Germany. Onto the install..
Man the miata interior is tiny. People complain on the s2k forums but the ABE fits w/o any interference by the door panel in my s2k. Good news is the PLM bracket works. I would've liked for the seat to sit a bit lower but the spot welded rear raised mounting points for the Miata won't allow the seat to sit lower. The shape of the PP ABE's slope down quite a bit in the rear of the seat so the only way to get the seat much lower is to remove the rear spot welded mounting points and install my own mounting points that are flat. The mounted ABE seat sits only a tiny bit lower than the stock seat. It is what it is.. I hammered the tranny tunnel a bit and it's scrunched tight to the tranny tunnel. I had to install and uninstall it about 10x to try and get it situated but that's just how it goes.. I had to cut a good chunk of the door panel to make it fit. I'm not sure if I missed it but I don't know how people install this seat with the stock door panel. Maybe I could've gotten it to shift over another 1/2" or so at most, but the seat looks centered to me. Not sure if the FIA seat has smaller wings than the ABE..?
Seat is in and it's very solid.. The nice thing about these rails is they have a hole for the 3 point belts. Unfortunately the OEM seatbelt receiver with fixed bracket doesn't work so I'll probably look for a ~10" long receiver buckle with fix mounting point. Strangely there are a ton of ~10" seatbelt extenders online but none with just a round hole to mount on the end. I will call seatbeltplanet. I'm also not thrilled with how the door panel looks (yes that's black duct tape lol) so maybe I'll have to switch to a flat door card(s). If anyone has suggestions I'm all ears.
My other passenger seat is sitting in customs and will hopefully get out soon. The passenger side I'm obviously not gonna be too specific about positioning so I'm hoping that install will be much easier.
Why do you have to remove the coil-overs to adjust them? At most, you should be able to do that just removing a wheel. What am I missing?
The body of the shock (or really the base) is threaded onto the rest of the shock. I'm thinking I can probably just remove the lower bolt, lower the hub (so the lower part of the shock can rotate) and spin it. I probably don't need to completely remove it.
You are carry a lot of extra weight in excess bolt length, that is what they invented angle grinders for ...
Haha for sure. I'm not to that level of weight reduction yet.
On further thought I might be able to get the seat shifted over tight to the tranny tunnel another 1/2" but there's not much room to go. A combination of hammering to the tranny tunnel and using a thinner phenolic spacer on the tranny side. I'd only care to give the door panel some more clearance but I'll probably leave it for the time being. Maybe I'll look into it more when I have to pull the seat to install the harnesses. Also I can see how the PCI mount might give an extra 1/4" clearance based on how the uprights start higher up rather than at the very base but not worth the minimal difference at this point.
12-05-2023, 09:33 AM
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Finally not sick this past weekend (it's bad this time of year with young kids) and installed the steering wheel I got with the car. Pretty straightforward. It came with the NRG short hub and quick release. Looks like a 350mm wheel. I ordered a resistor for the airbag sensor from Project-G and that looks to have fixed the airbag light. Simple Honda brass tab for the horn button. As with everything, i had to remove things at least 2x to get orientation correct for different parts, but that's how it goes. I used to think by the time I'm in my 40's I'll have this s**t figured out and it won't take several times removing/installing things and multiple trips to HD for house projects, but I've just learned to embrace it. It's all part of the process. 
) so I got time.
