Yeah, I picked up the Marathon battery off Amazon. Been great so far.

Best of luck in the new adventure dude!! Make sure you keep the thread updated along the way :)

Yea I'm sad we didn't get a Miata meetup. It's wednesday right? I don't know how long this diff bushing shenanigans will take but I have to meet up with some folks at mews for a root beer float. If I'm out in time for the meet, maybe I'll drop you guys a text

Sounds good. Yeah, I have to skip Starbucks, but I'll be meeting up with everyone for dinner afterwards.

What temps are you seeing in TS? I was running without my spiffy cowling for a while and was seeing 220º+ regularly. Once I buttoned it up I rarely break 200º unless I'm really railing on it or its 100º+ outside.

What exhaust hanger bushings are you using? I switched to poly and it got rid of the exhaust vibrations(and consequently transferred them to the car slightly) I was having with the 6 point harness bolts.

With the under tray and the a/c condenser in the way, while driving, the coolant temp climbs to 215°F at which point TS switches the fan on. Temps will drop to as cool as 180°F if I keep the fans on. I wasn't sure if it was just my 6spd+4.1 cruising at 4k causing slightly warmer temps. If I slow down to 60mph, (~3k) then it seems to self regulate better without the fans.

As soon as I get back, I have to check the motor out, figure out how to box the rad/AC/intercooler and was thinking about sticking a NACA duct to extract air/heat from the turbo side and maybe help circulate air through the bay. Not sure if I'm ready to commit to the Singular Motosports louvers until all the big items are in good health

Well in the next 6 months or so you'll see a bevy of 3.63 R&P go on sale in the classifieds once the 3.3 group buy gets shipped out!

Would the speedometer read a bit more accurately pairing the trans to the right diff?

Still using that cute little VSS from an NA 5spd/4.3 diff

Mine was reading off by quite a lot on the 3.63 R&P but after a bit of research I found the correct transmission gear for the speedo to read correctly. Now I'm about +/-3mph off. Just see what sensor gear you need for your R&P.

Mazda sells the assembled unit that you can just drop in but it is around $70. I bought all the small parts separate and it came in around $35. Hope that helps.

Thanks for the info Jeff!



Update:

Yesterday I installed rear diff bushings. Easiest thing yet. Didn't have to disconnect the drive-shaft or the PPF. Had to remove the midpipe and muffler, lower diff, air hammered old bushing, pressed in the new stuff while jacking diff back up.

maybe 1.5 hours tops

Car made it through the 8 hour drive down to Virginia. Averaged 28mpg! I was pleased.

Now I have to find a place to fab up some charge pipes, do a leakdown test, and figure out why my A/C isnt' working. I hate VA humidity

I start work in Carderock, MD in a week

So I replaced the A/C relay which in the case of my car is the 6 pin that sends power to both the compressor and the fan. Normally my fans are wired in parallel, however, I tried hooking up the stock fan wiring to the relay as a trigger to activate the second fan and it does NOT kick on with A/C. The clutch is dead silent as well.

I replaced both orings on the compressor and tried recharging, but the clutch still doesnt engage. Nothing else changed with the wiring, but it was working before the motor swap.

Is this an MS3 issue?

The place I went to wasn't able to help me with leakdown.

I miss having friends with compressors nearby.

Onto troubleshooting more a/c related things. Man....

On another note, cold compression numbers are:

#1- 155
#2- 150
#3- 140
#4- 155

Must try again warm then do leakdown if brutally different from cylinder to cylinder

Pressurized the coolant system and found three leaks. Sorted them, still no ac. Hottt

Shitty about the leak down test for coolant. Do you think maybe you just need to recharge the AC system? Saw you are Also getting the SM radiator. Should be great.

The ac clutch never engaged so I couldn't charge the system. Pressure switch worked. I replaced the compressor but need to replace the lines to and from as well. They are slightly different between na6 and na8 and the oring aren't sealing.

Yea I'm stoked about the cross flow rad. Running ac and relatively decent power, I long for more efficient. Mishimoto isn't working for my setup; fans come on during highway cruising. Under tray is present.

Once I tear everything apart again, I'll try to figure out how to box the radiator section.....no clue.

Damn, if this was a month earlier, I would have bought that Mishimoto from you haha.

Tell me about your coolant re-route, please.

Also, I see where you got your turbo water feed from the back of the head. How is the return connected into the mixing manifold? Really clean set-up, by the way.

Coolant reroute is the standard M-tuned unit available at 949 racing.

For the coolant feed, like you said, I used a plug on the back of the head just under the coolant outlet to fix a -6AN banjo that runs right to the turbo. From the turbo I have another -6AN that has a barb fitting at the end. A silicone hose is used to couple this line with the barb know the mixing manifold.

Just as a note, I'm using an MSM mixing manifold that has been slightly modified so if could clear my turbo manifold. Essentially, the offset neck was cut and rotated 30 degrees downward and rewelded

Thanks. The M-tuned reroutes I'm used to seeing had remote mounted t'stats. I guess I'm behind the times.