Rude

I'm in the need to either overhaul my engine or get a short block. 2004 MSM. I'm not good at working on vehicles. I think I might have sourced a tec to do the job who is somewhat familiar with Miata's, but not the MSM. I'm guessing a refurbished short block will be cheaper than an overhaul? What block, and other parts do I need to get? I think that I read 97-00 block, but not exactly the same with oil feeds, and cooling? I definitely don't know how to proceed, and I need help.
The car as is right now 124,xxx running throwing a lot of soot out of the exhaust when it's been sitting, and a little smoke under heavier acceleration higher in the revs 5-6k. My tec friend already diagnosed that it's not the cat or 02sensor's.

technicalninja

If you are already an MSM it's easiest to stay with the MSM block.
You need a proper diagnosis of your cars problems BEFORE you even think about a rebuild.
Soot, black smoke is usually fuel related. Running too rich, ancient gas, improper mods are all suspect.
Bluish grey smoke that lingers is oil related. Possible culprits are poor ring sealing, bad valve stem seals, Turbocharger seal failures.
All heavy internal type of work (besides the turbo).
Brillant white smoke that dissipates quickly is commonly coolant being burned.

You hit the one forum that the members do far more serious internal work that folks on the other forums do.
This is the forum for techs that mix and match parts from different years and sometimes different manufactures...
Sticking a Honda engine with a BMW transmission driving through a Cadillac rear end is common here.

You will not be able to find an inexpensive high quality rebuild for the MSM from a standard engine rebuilder and you may not need that anyway.

First you need to have the car scanned, record any codes and fix the important ones. Clear codes, drive car 15 minutes.
Have a hot compression test and leak down test done, re-pull codes and post your numbers and codes in this thread.
Knowing these numbers/codes will allow for a much more accurate diagnosis.

If you have internal issues, I'd rebuild what you have now and I'd include a few upgraded parts to increase durability.
My minimum list would be H-beam rods, BE oil pump, Fluid damper, high quality rings/gaskets/bearings.
This recipe requires the bores/pistons to be re-usable and there really isn't a good way to tell until the engine is torn down and inspected.

And, if you start a rebuild process before you know exactly why you are doing it you will spend money that you may not have needed to.

Proper diagnosis is the only way to go...

What part of the country do you live in?
What is the MSM to you?
How long have you had it?
Does it have any mods?
What is your car background?

Rude

My friend who is a tec at work took it to one of his guys, and diagnosed it down to the rings causing the problem. Compression, and leak down.
I trust my buddy, I've known him for about 20 years.
I live in Albuquerque.
The MSM was a fun car that I used to drive a few times a week when I used to live in a mountain area out here. I then got married and moved to the city, so no more fun roads on a daily.
I've had the car now about 3 years. When purchased it had 114,xxx. I didn't know anything about the PO, bought from a car lot. The car had a after market radiator, intercooler, and exhaust, and that's about it. I put in the FM intake. I'm supposed to get a quote soon on the overhaul from another one of my friends buddies who is supposed to know about Miata's. He already told my buddy just to rebuild this one instead of sourcing a new block. I will obviously need to talk to this guy soon, and discuss the situation with him. Another option would be to sell as is? Idk yet. No Autocross, no racing, just would enjoy driving it a couple times a week as I would have to mix it in with my 3 other rides 94 Geo Tracker, 08 modded GTI, 11 Subaru Forester with 500hp.

Gee Emm

MX5 badge? I thought you blokes drove Miatas?

Nice looking ride!

Rude

Thank you!

technicalninja

Very nice cars...
All of them!
I'm especially interested in the Forester.
As my mom has always wanted one, I have a soft spot for them.
Yours is bad assed!

I own a 04 MSM, titanium, and it's down for engine repair as well.
I bought it that way.
Yours looks super clean.
Mine will be pretty serious when I am done. 300 lbs/ft on E85...
Mine says "Mazdaspeed" on the back but doesn't have the MX5 badge.
It doesn't look like it ever did.

The single best mod to do on an MSM is to get rid of the stock ECU.
Mine died because the last tuner BEGi tried to modify the stock ECU and add on an additional piggyback unit (Xede).
This recipe gummed a fully built motor up to the point of failure in 8K miles.

If you want more power than stock FULLY REPLACE the ECU. ECU and bigger injectors can be worth 40 hp on a stock MSM (with the mods you already have) and will allow much higher power with a proper engine build and different turbo.
The stock MSM turbo appears to run out of steam somewhere around 225 hp. It's pretty small...
The easy button is this
Miata 0405 MS3Pro PnP for 04-05 Mazdaspeed Miata (diyautotune.com)
EBC Electronic Boost Control Solenoid Mac Valve Kit with Hardware (diyautotune.com)
That one will plug into the stock wiring harness and is specific to the MSM.

These are the injectors to get
FlowForce Fuel Injector Kit for NA/NB Miata — FlowForce (goflowforce.com)

Or, slightly more expensive
Injector Dynamics ID1050-XDS Fuel Injectors – 949 Racing

The above should support up to nearly 400 whp on E85

Now, a 225 hp MSM is a hoot to drive. The stock engine can handle this level in when in good shape
This is one I built 5 years ago. After pretty serious teething problems with a Hydra ECU (will not use again!) this car has been drop dead reliable.
We didn't touch the short-block and the car is closing on 200K now...
2004 Mazda Speed Miata 1.8l turbo - Granbury Auto AC & More

If I'm going to the trouble of tearing a BP down it will get H-beam rods and a Boundry Engineering oil pump.

The guys out at 949/ SuperMiata should be your first stop for performance parts.
SuperMiata | 949 Racing
They are active on this forum, have competitive pricing and are the ONLY source for multiple apex parts for our cars.
They have the best clutches IMO.
They have the best coil overs (in everyone's opinion!)
The new suspension bushings are world class.
Spend your money with them if you can.
If Emillio700 or Turbofan give advice it is golden...

Welcome to the forum!

Rude

Thanks for the compliments! It has the Mazdaspeed badge on the other side. The oem ecu on the msm is purity bad, but in Albuquerque i don't think that we have a quality tuner for that platform. I don't want the headache of trying to dial in a tune from a inferior tuner for streetable performance. Multiple trips, multiple money to the tuner, but yeah a standalone, and injectors would be ideal for me on my msm. It runs decent as is with that diode installed that keeps it going into closed loop, or however it works.

Gee Emm

What he said.

In ADM cars, the stock ecu is waste of electrons. We have cars developing what is known as the 'bog', a flat spot in the rev range that may be related to part of the smog system that you don't have, but people kill motors regularly as a result of trying to get around that without biting the bullet and going aftermarket ecu, Autronic in my case. The performance bump is a bonus on the improved drivability.

If you are rebuilding that engine, I would urge you to future-proof it by putting rods in it. Even if you don't do the turbo thing, it will be a selling point if/when you do decide to part with the car.