common miata problems
 

i am still considering building a miata for a project car. are there any problems that are commonly associated with miatas? are the problems that arise easy to fix and inexpensive? does you car randomly shut down on you without any warnings?

Miatas are prone to spanking fast expensive cars with FI and yuo will smile to much the 1.6's can breack there ring and pinion gears, the motors seem to be pretty stout up to 300whp with no mods. Most problems come from when people take shortcuts and or dont torque or tighten stuff correctly if you take your time and make sure your stuff is done right it will be just as reliable as stock, I would accelerate the maintenance schedule or just keep a better eye on it so that you can determine wether or not your fluids need to be changed more as more power and heat tends to breack down yuor oils quicker and cause excessive rear tire wear and breack pad wear as well

miata don't seem to have too many problems and take forced induction very well, they almost need it. besides parts are cheap and wrenching is fun

If you buy a Miata with 100k miles, expect to rebuild the motor very soon. Like any other 10+ year old car, you're buying a rolling chasis. You might get lucky and get a stout motor but don't bet on skipping a rebuild.

I don't know if that's a fair thing to say. I put a turbo on my car at ~115k miles, and it's running great. Plenty of folks that've gone 150-200k miles, most of that boosted, before having to rebuild their motors.

I think the biggest issue is rust. Watch out for it around the rocker panels. Fixing that properly will make an engine seem cheap.

I think if properly maintained the engine is fine over 100K.

First thing that failed on my car, that I wasn't at fault, was the battery and then the window motor. These things are known for being well-built.

problems
 

if you are getting a very eary miata, do some reasearch on the short nose crank issue, also, make sure you do some research on the changes mazda made to the miata from 89-94, a 94 or later miata is often desired due to a stiffer more braced suspension, and more power.

another thing to watch for in the early miatas is the tendancy for the transmission to stick in reverse, found this one out the hard way as well.

Oil dipstick handle after age, breaks off.

i also have a problem with my rear tires, they seem to wear out much faster than the front, im not sure why....:skid:

what ever condition just clean or check the drainage holes.

Any time you buy a used car with 100k+ miles just don't go banking on having a perfect engine is a better way to put it.

Mine did that too! That was a real :vash: moment.

Yeah, I'd go along with that. That's a lot different than saying to expect a re-build soon on any car with more than 100k miles.

I agree w/that too. My buddy put 100k supercharged miles on his 1.6. The head cracked when an sc bolt loosened, so he swapped out the long block. He gave the old engine to another friend who used the bottom end in his race and has run 4 race seasons on it.

that is part of me buying a car if it doesnt run worth a shit i dont buy it unless it is dirt cheap. I bring tools and check anything and everything i can think of. you need to be pickey and carefull when buying a car it will save alot of headache

Just perform the necessary tests prior to buying it. When you show up with a compression gage and the such, folks usually have a way of telling you if there is stuff wrong, that way they don't look like shit when you find it. I have 163000 miles on mine, dropped the turbo on at 160000, and the motor was above 180 psig in all cylinders and less than 2 persent leakage past the exhaust valves. Just do a thorough run down of the car prior to buying it.

my window regulators died after 15 years. That's the only problem I've had with the car.

Mine has driver's side has been dying for the last ten years. I think it gets about 1% slower every few months. Ugh.

btw, www.a1electric.com has a good replacement kit that doesn't use cables. It was $200 for the pair.

Engine mounts
OEM spark plug wires
OEM canvas tops
OEM plastic radiator end caps can be problematic... most see 100k-125k, then they fail.
Something with the airbag sensing system causes the airbag light to blink intermittently in lots of Miatas. The bag will still work properly, it's just that the bright-ass light blinks. Solution... a small square of electrical tape on the bezel glass.
Water drains from firewall cowl become easily clogged.
Water drain from A/C condensor gets clogged spilling water into the passenger footwell. A blast of compressed air is solution.

We all know the 323gtx came with a turbo on it. Assuming you installed a turbo at 0 miles in a Miata, properly managed low boost motors (10psi or less) should have no problem seeing 150k miles. Assuming good oil and proper preventative maintenence, the engine should outlast the turbo itself. Corky says that boost isn't the enemy... knock is. A 2psi motor knocking like crazy will fail before a 15psi motor running flat A/F's and good EGT's. Does anybody know of a well managed low boost B6 that failed early? I'm sure if you asked over at m.net, you'll have many Begi and FM kit owners running 12psi or more that have well over 100k miles on their stock motors.
I've beat my motor silly for 140k NA miles and just installed a 10psi turbo that I'll have dialed in this weekend. I'm hoping to see 200rwhp. I also hope to see 200k miles before needing a rebuild or replacement used motor.