Scooter - A Miata Journey and ITB Noises
#81
i think it’s too low temperature. The coolant goes to 80C in a decent amount of time but oil lags behind a lot. Let’s see how the 90C thermostat goes.
Holy hell, I love all the info being thrown around in this thread. I also LOVE mt.net, and how we're still going strong in 2024 when most other forums have bit the dust. The community here rules, and Zac sending Ricardo a tailshaft for his damaged (in shipping) transmission is exactly what I'm talking about. I have no doubt that if I end up in Zac's neck of the woods that he'd take the shirt off his back to help me out. Maybe I'm just feeling emotional, but love y'all. I think Ricardo and I need to try and make that gridlife event at PPIR when Zac goes. I gotta look on the calendar and see if that's possible. Never done a gridlife event but sounds fun, and PPIR is good fun (except the oval with that huuuuuuuge dip).
Dang Nate, that’s emotional, but full of truth. This forum is awesome (I’ve been wanting to use that for too long haha). In all seriousness, the knowledge sharing and help given is truly great around here.
I’m down to do PPRI as pit crew or to spectate. The 1k driver entry fee is rough for me this year.
#82
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You guys should consider the trip to Miatas at The Gap. The MT.net group there every year is tight and supportive in the same way. We also often exchange items that are too heavy to ship easily, not just for ourselves but for others back home who couldn't make the trip. We even had Gemlingz there from Iceland a couple of years ago. He drove all the way there...
#83
You guys should consider the trip to Miatas at The Gap. The MT.net group there every year is tight and supportive in the same way. We also often exchange items that are too heavy to ship easily, not just for ourselves but for others back home who couldn't make the trip. We even had Gemlingz there from Iceland a couple of years ago. He drove all the way there...
Driving to the east coast trailering the car would be kinda f*cked from where I live but maybe one of these years I could fly and convince the girlfriend that we’re going on an east coast vacay lol. It’s on the bucket list for sure. Looks like a good time.
#84
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OK, count me out at that cost too. Maybe we could all just do a trackday in Arizona and meet in the middle or something.
Ricardo, let me know if you need a hand with swapping that new engine in or anything!
Ricardo, let me know if you need a hand with swapping that new engine in or anything!
#88
Seconded. Having now towed my vehicle for the last year, it scares me to think I used to drive it 5 hours round trip to race it with a turbo'd 200k+ mile stock motor lol. I think even when I blew my last 6 speed, there's a good chance I could have made it home. I'm glad I didn't have to find out though.
#89
Absolutely. Now that I've got a taste of towing, I really want my own. I'm sure one of these days it'll be the only way to get the Miata home...
#90
I decided to upload the video of the last trackday when I was mentally checked out and played with adding some more telemetry:
The last two weeks have been anxiety inducing. I've been preparing to swap a BP-6D in Scooter, and I also wanted to do a 6-speed swap while I had all of it out. Unfortunately, the tail housing was damaged in shipping. Zak has been awesome and sent me TWO tail housings, one NB1, one NB2, yet neither worked. This housing I have has a boss for a detent, which after talking with Flyin' Miata, Mazda Motorsports and @Fireindc , seems to be a non-USDM thing. If any of you know more, please let me know. I asked the shop to put the trans back together with one of Zak's tail housings anyways but I knew I wouldn't get it back in time for the swap as I want to make it to FM Summer Camp in June.
Detent boss in 6-speed received
Detent
No detent on this one
In the meantime I decided to swap from 500cc injectors, to 365cc. When I chose these 550cc injectors I knew they were way overkill but I couldn't find anything smaller with ECU data. I also didn't realize how much that would affect idle and low throttle cruising in an NA application. I went with FIC 365H and they provided injector data for the Link ECU. Some re-tuning was needed around the low TPS cruise and idle areas but it all worked. These injectors should also support E85 at my future power goal of around 160whp.
ITB fuel rail with damper in one end, and fuel pressure sensor
Damper with adapter
I then took Scooter on a few cruises throughout the week to give the BP-4W a final send off. Lots of fun was had.
I love hanging out at this lookout, if you can't tell
I should record this drive sometime but it's not easy to make it justice. Maybe telemetry or an engine bay mic would help with that
That brings us to yesterday. A day I've dreaded for too long....
Having friends around is always awesome
So the BP-4W is out and sitting in my tiny garage. This is the first time I pull a motor and it's a bit surreal. Today I'll spend all day cleaning and finishing the BP-6D and hope to introduce Scooter to it on Sunday. I don't expect to start it until later in the week because some wiring needs to be redone (cam sensor, R8 coil swap, Link CAN Lambda). I'll also post more pictures of the ITB linkage and BP-6D later when cleaning is over. Wish me luck.
The last two weeks have been anxiety inducing. I've been preparing to swap a BP-6D in Scooter, and I also wanted to do a 6-speed swap while I had all of it out. Unfortunately, the tail housing was damaged in shipping. Zak has been awesome and sent me TWO tail housings, one NB1, one NB2, yet neither worked. This housing I have has a boss for a detent, which after talking with Flyin' Miata, Mazda Motorsports and @Fireindc , seems to be a non-USDM thing. If any of you know more, please let me know. I asked the shop to put the trans back together with one of Zak's tail housings anyways but I knew I wouldn't get it back in time for the swap as I want to make it to FM Summer Camp in June.
Detent boss in 6-speed received
Detent
No detent on this one
In the meantime I decided to swap from 500cc injectors, to 365cc. When I chose these 550cc injectors I knew they were way overkill but I couldn't find anything smaller with ECU data. I also didn't realize how much that would affect idle and low throttle cruising in an NA application. I went with FIC 365H and they provided injector data for the Link ECU. Some re-tuning was needed around the low TPS cruise and idle areas but it all worked. These injectors should also support E85 at my future power goal of around 160whp.
ITB fuel rail with damper in one end, and fuel pressure sensor
Damper with adapter
I then took Scooter on a few cruises throughout the week to give the BP-4W a final send off. Lots of fun was had.
I love hanging out at this lookout, if you can't tell
I should record this drive sometime but it's not easy to make it justice. Maybe telemetry or an engine bay mic would help with that
That brings us to yesterday. A day I've dreaded for too long....
Having friends around is always awesome
So the BP-4W is out and sitting in my tiny garage. This is the first time I pull a motor and it's a bit surreal. Today I'll spend all day cleaning and finishing the BP-6D and hope to introduce Scooter to it on Sunday. I don't expect to start it until later in the week because some wiring needs to be redone (cam sensor, R8 coil swap, Link CAN Lambda). I'll also post more pictures of the ITB linkage and BP-6D later when cleaning is over. Wish me luck.
#91
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The detent in the tail shaft housing is a NB2/MSM thing. The NB2 shifter rod (from the shifter to the control forks) has 3 notches on it to control fore/aft movement. The NB1 shifter rod does not have these notches. I suspect this was one way Aisin tried to improve the shifter feel. By moving the fore/aft dents closer to the shifter it eliminates the springs in the control forks. The NB1 has detents in the control rods for fore/aft movement down in the center case.
I have a NB1 transmission with a NB2 tail shaft housing and shifter rod. At first I tried to use the NB2 detents as well. I found that too many detents lead to odd shifter feel, so I just removed the spring and ball from the NB2 housing and it's just fine. It's a lot more work to remove the detents from the NB1 center. If I rebuild this transmission again, I might try to change the setup to use only the shifter rod detents.
I have a NB1 transmission with a NB2 tail shaft housing and shifter rod. At first I tried to use the NB2 detents as well. I found that too many detents lead to odd shifter feel, so I just removed the spring and ball from the NB2 housing and it's just fine. It's a lot more work to remove the detents from the NB1 center. If I rebuild this transmission again, I might try to change the setup to use only the shifter rod detents.
#92
The detent in the tail shaft housing is a NB2/MSM thing. The NB2 shifter rod (from the shifter to the control forks) has 3 notches on it to control fore/aft movement. The NB1 shifter rod does not have these notches. I suspect this was one way Aisin tried to improve the shifter feel. By moving the fore/aft dents closer to the shifter it eliminates the springs in the control forks. The NB1 has detents in the control rods for fore/aft movement down in the center case.
I have a NB1 transmission with a NB2 tail shaft housing and shifter rod. At first I tried to use the NB2 detents as well. I found that too many detents lead to odd shifter feel, so I just removed the spring and ball from the NB2 housing and it's just fine. It's a lot more work to remove the detents from the NB1 center. If I rebuild this transmission again, I might try to change the setup to use only the shifter rod detents.
I have a NB1 transmission with a NB2 tail shaft housing and shifter rod. At first I tried to use the NB2 detents as well. I found that too many detents lead to odd shifter feel, so I just removed the spring and ball from the NB2 housing and it's just fine. It's a lot more work to remove the detents from the NB1 center. If I rebuild this transmission again, I might try to change the setup to use only the shifter rod detents.
#93
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I know my NB2 tail shaft housing came from an MSM. I have seen the detent boss on other NB2 transmissions for sale, but I don't have enough information to say if its specifically MSM or different markets.
#95
Updates from the weekend!!
Saturday - Cleaning Day
The day started slow. Made espresso and peace with what I had done. Did my best to not get overwhelmed and chipped away at the many little tasks. Re-organized my tool box some and then started cleaning.
After a couple of hours I was feeling bored and decided to switch tasks and began working on the BP-6D some. Reinstalled the oil pressure/temp sensor, tightened the VVT oil feed, installed water pump, moved the coolant re-route over, installed alternator and did the timing belt.
While installing the coolant reroute, I found the housing had pits in the aluminum! A bit concerning, but it never leaked. I know I didn't over-torque the bolts, so I slapped it on with a new gasket and a 90C (195F) thermostat that I hope helps the overcooling issues. I'll contact FM about it later.
Pitting in FM coolant reroute housing
Sunday - BP-6D, meet Scooter
The goal for Sunday was to have the engine and transmission ready to install, but the bonus goal was to leave it installed.
I started by removing the trans from the 4W....and look at this ****
What the hell....
Yikes!
Clutch plate seems like it had plenty left
Seems fine for the mileage?
This is the clutch that was in the car when I bought it. It always made a rattle at idle until clutch was pressed and it got much worse this last week. Now I know the reason. This clutch always felt too soft to me, but I didn't want to pull it until it gave up the ghost, which it didn't. I don't know how many miles it had when I purchased it, but I've driven it 30k miles, with plenty of abuse.
Spent more time on the transmission
BEHOLD the SuperMiata 1.6 lightweight flywheel and clutch setup.....and how I forgot the dust shield
BP-6D, meet Scooter
Time was tight by the end of the day. Forgetting to install the dust shield set me back a few, and I had some trouble with a couple transmission bolts that I'll have to revisit when the 6 speed goes in later in the year. By the end of the night, the engine was installed and bolted in place! Bonus goal achieved!
Next I have to do everything else haha. I'm going to focus on some smaller but easier parts first to get a rhythm, have a more complete car, and feel like I'm progressing. The wiring scares me a little bit, don't know why. But I need to rewire the CAM sensor to the back, replace the Spartan 3 with a Link CAN Lambda, wire the VVT solenoid, and wire in the R8 coils. I hope to get most of this done this week before I go on vacation, but I'm going to prioritize mountain biking.
Saturday - Cleaning Day
The day started slow. Made espresso and peace with what I had done. Did my best to not get overwhelmed and chipped away at the many little tasks. Re-organized my tool box some and then started cleaning.
After a couple of hours I was feeling bored and decided to switch tasks and began working on the BP-6D some. Reinstalled the oil pressure/temp sensor, tightened the VVT oil feed, installed water pump, moved the coolant re-route over, installed alternator and did the timing belt.
While installing the coolant reroute, I found the housing had pits in the aluminum! A bit concerning, but it never leaked. I know I didn't over-torque the bolts, so I slapped it on with a new gasket and a 90C (195F) thermostat that I hope helps the overcooling issues. I'll contact FM about it later.
Pitting in FM coolant reroute housing
Sunday - BP-6D, meet Scooter
The goal for Sunday was to have the engine and transmission ready to install, but the bonus goal was to leave it installed.
I started by removing the trans from the 4W....and look at this ****
What the hell....
Yikes!
Clutch plate seems like it had plenty left
Seems fine for the mileage?
This is the clutch that was in the car when I bought it. It always made a rattle at idle until clutch was pressed and it got much worse this last week. Now I know the reason. This clutch always felt too soft to me, but I didn't want to pull it until it gave up the ghost, which it didn't. I don't know how many miles it had when I purchased it, but I've driven it 30k miles, with plenty of abuse.
Spent more time on the transmission
BEHOLD the SuperMiata 1.6 lightweight flywheel and clutch setup.....and how I forgot the dust shield
BP-6D, meet Scooter
Time was tight by the end of the day. Forgetting to install the dust shield set me back a few, and I had some trouble with a couple transmission bolts that I'll have to revisit when the 6 speed goes in later in the year. By the end of the night, the engine was installed and bolted in place! Bonus goal achieved!
Next I have to do everything else haha. I'm going to focus on some smaller but easier parts first to get a rhythm, have a more complete car, and feel like I'm progressing. The wiring scares me a little bit, don't know why. But I need to rewire the CAM sensor to the back, replace the Spartan 3 with a Link CAN Lambda, wire the VVT solenoid, and wire in the R8 coils. I hope to get most of this done this week before I go on vacation, but I'm going to prioritize mountain biking.
#96
Hell yeah dude! Love seeing the progress. I think doing little projects on it here and there throughout the week and prioritizing riding will make the overall task less daunting.
Regarding the transmission identification antics above: My "NB2" transmission was rebuilt with new syncros before I got it, but whoever did the rebuild forgot to put a bushing in one of the shift forks, so who knows what else was hacked up with this thing haha. Maybe it's a Frankenstein trans.
Looking forward to seeing the car running again! Not having to top off your oil all the time will be a nice treat after having dealt with that for so long lol.
Regarding the transmission identification antics above: My "NB2" transmission was rebuilt with new syncros before I got it, but whoever did the rebuild forgot to put a bushing in one of the shift forks, so who knows what else was hacked up with this thing haha. Maybe it's a Frankenstein trans.
Looking forward to seeing the car running again! Not having to top off your oil all the time will be a nice treat after having dealt with that for so long lol.
#97
Thanks man. I definitely need to get out on the bike today and come back to it with a fresh brain. Work is also stressing me out so that doesn't help either.
I think it's likely that your transmission was modded then. So far it all points to this one being from an MSM though. I wish it still had the damn VIN, but oh well.
Yeah me too! I hope it works all works out and I can stop worrying about oil too. Soon....very soon.
I think it's likely that your transmission was modded then. So far it all points to this one being from an MSM though. I wish it still had the damn VIN, but oh well.
Yeah me too! I hope it works all works out and I can stop worrying about oil too. Soon....very soon.
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