patsmx5

iTrader: (16)

What you do is "twist" the hose to break it loose when trying to remove it. Get a big pair of pliers, squeeze the hose, and twist it. It will break loose easy this way, then twist and wiggle and it will get wet. Then it comes right off.

NA6C-Guy

iTrader: (1)

Well thats typically what I do, but for some reason on my Miata that doesnt work so well. Not only is it hard to get a good pair of pliers into that tight area against the head and firewall where the hoses are, but they are usualy stuck quite well. I end up bending the brass no matter how I do it. Ive tried twisting the hose just in front of the brass, but to do it that way I would need enough room to do probably 90* or more. I'll worry about it next time I guess.

NA6C-Guy

iTrader: (1)

I hope Im just paranoid, but I was seeing some steam from the exhaust while I was letting it idle as I was adjusting my new Hella Micro DE fogs. Its 50* and 53% humidity, so I shouldnt really be seeing steam... I know my ******* head gasket sealed, ARP studs, retorqued correctly, both surfaces machined... yeah. I could here some slight gargle from the intake filter, like its sucking water again (which it wasnt doing on initial start up and the first few drives). Mother ******. I'll just drive it and see what happens. At least the bottom end is good. Ive put about 40 miles on it, and driven it 4 or 5 different times and this is the first time Ive seen any steam. Its only slight too, maybe a 1' long "cloud" then it disperses. I bees worried. If it ends up being the goddamn headgasket leaking Im just going to have to take the shame and bring it to a shop and have them look at it for me. Obviously I dont know as much as I think I do if I cant install a ******* head gasket and have it seal. THE SHAME!



I guess overall this thread is of no use anymore. Im done with the "prep build" I hope. My coolant level hasnt dropped at all in 10-15 miles, still above the lip in the radiator filler neck, so I will for now ignore this possible issue. Unless I see more evidence. Engine bay still needs detailing, not up to my clean standards. I cant wait for my new paint and top, top looks a bit ragged, and the paint is faded, mostly the front bumper and rear bumper. Turbo comes first though.







Why my engine hates me:



Only using it for the break in. Will change the oil and filter from Valvoline and Fram back to Mobil 1 and WIX.

NA6C-Guy

iTrader: (1)

One more little update. Engine now has about 1400 miles on it, and I just did the late 1000 mile oil change. Oil was a bit on the black side, but I didnt see any real metal flakes, most of those came out in the 100-150 mile oil change. I still havent gotten my lazy *** to do a compression check, but did pull the plugs earlier to check for any signs of coolant or oil standing in the cylinders after a short run. Plugs looked a good color, a slight ashy white/grey on all 4. I did notice all 4 plugs were barely over hand tight... I guess I didnt tighten them as much as I thought. Never had that happen before, but its not a big deal. Tops of cylinders have a thin black sooty crust on them, wasnt expecting quite so much after only 1400 miles, but I guess thats ok...? Its running well so thats all that matters.

I still havent traced my coolant smell source. I noticed I was a few ounces low on coolant in the radiator and my overflow contents have all vanished. Im pretty sure its an external leak since I smell hot coolant any time I do a quick pull at wot, but it goes away as soon as I go back to normal driving. One of my heater core lines through the firewall is pretty loose and feels like its maybe loose on the other end, so maybe its all leaking into my floorboard/upper trans tunnel near the firewall at a slow rate so I dont notice it. Or maybe its somewhere on the engine and is leaking on the block or head where it burns off and leaves no signs. Oil doesnt have any coolant in it, and the coolant looks fine too, so Im not too worried about internal.

NA6C-Guy

iTrader: (1)

Found my coolant leak source tonight. Put some of that UV dye in the system earlier today and drive it around to get it hot a few times, then checked it after dark. At first I saw it under the dash and thought it was going to be the heater core, but after looking under the hood, I noticed it wasn't. Apparently the worn out grommets where the heater hoses go, let the brass rub against the firewall opening and slowly cut a tiny hole in the line, which now leaves me with a pretty decent leak. It was puddled on the shelf under the brake fluid res. and had dripped enough just after idling in place for a minute or two to leave a puddle in the dirt about 6'' in diameter. Some more minor drips/splashes on the side of the block, and on the header I'm sure. Which is where the steamy smell is coming from.

I'm hoping I can just cut off the boot which isn't doing anything anyway, slip the hose off, soap it up and try to push the hose up past the firewall, and wrap the hose with some kind of tape to help protect it from wear. Surely the pressure of the hose will be enough to hold back a pin hole leak. Id hate to have the remove the damn heater core to seal it up. Anyone have any creative ideas to fix it, besides my fix? If not that, I can just slip a 1'' length of hose to act as a grommet, and to cover the hole, and put a hose clamp on both sides of the firewall to seal it up. I'm just glad its this and not another head gasket issue. I pulled the valve cover today out of curiosity to check the head bolts/studs, and the middle one on the exhaust side was the only one that had lost torque, but it was only by maybe 5 lb/ft if that, so it may have just not pulled all the way up the first time around. Still need to do the damn compression check to see how the rings are doing.