Coolant reroute install question
 

Well, I may be overdoing it a bit, but I'm slowly making my way from my original idea of the "doodoo" box to a fullblown "do it once, do it right" install.

Question is, since I also should probably swap out my clutch before going FI, and I also got the BEGi rear thermostat coolant reroute (minus all the pipes that go from the kia neck to the radiator, cuz I'll just get that $16 pipe from that one stickied thread).. but at what point would it make the most sense to install that stuff?

Is it a massive pain in the ass to get to the thermostat spot in the back of the head? If I'm going to drop the transmission to do the clutch, would it make my life easier to do the coolant reroute at the same time, so I could tip the engine forward a bit to get to stuff back there?

Or am I overthinking this (something I'm known to do) and I should just scrape my knuckles up a bit and do it whenever I feel like? All I know for sure is that I scraped my knuckles up pretty good just trying to get the coil pack disconnected when doing my compression test (ended up just unplugging the CAS) so I can't imagine trying to get that damn spacer in there.. :-\

Doing the reroute with the engine/tranny in car isn't so bad.

I found the easiest thing to do was to ensure the thermostat was sealed/glued to the rear of head before starting and then make sure the gaskets are also sealed/glued to the spacer before starting. This makes for easy work and WAY less of a mess.

Yeah, i've heard about how the self-adhesive gaskets help with that a lot.. I don't have great big manly man hands, but for some reason I just seem to have all sorts of trouble fitting them into tight spaces (giggidy). Figured if I'll have the trans dropped anyways maybe it would make sense to do it then, but if it isn't too terrible maybe I'll just do the coolant reroute when I do the turbo so I only have to drain the coolant once. (Planning to do the clutch before the turbo so I can break it in on N/A and not F/I).

Unbolt the PPF and jack up the rear of the trans. With coils off, there's a surprising amount of room back there with this method. I can fairly easily get my entire spacer/thermo/cover/bolt assembly back there in one piece with this method.

Agree. I'd definitely do this while you've got the tranny off. Ideally, you can get enough room to use a torque wrench on the bolts. Most of the issues people have are with small leaks after install -- and most of these are likely related to uneven tightening.

With the tranny off (or even just the PPF disconnected), you can tilt the motor forward or rearward. Either direction will buy you room.

+1 for you sir, this sounds like just the ticket. Will I need to support the front of the PPF with blocks or something while it's unhooked? Or just remove the whole thing? When I did my buddy's diff I remember the PPF being a big unwieldy PIA. And then just put the jack on the rear end near the drive shaft and jack it up a few inches?

PPF can just hang there. The connection to the diff won't let it stray very far. You will have to remove the unsleeved bolt and loosen the sleeved bolt at the diff so you can rotate the PPF laterally enough to get it off the transmission.

So it's going to be:

1) Install MS, get car running
2) Install 460cc redtops, adjust settings on MS, get car running
3) Disconnect PPF, jack up rear of tranny, install coolant reroute
4) Finish removing tranny and install new clutch
5) Break in new clutch
6) Install turbo kit and run waste gate pressure, get car running and tuned
7) Install cheap MBC and re-tune for ~8psi
8) Install EBC solenoid and tune duty loads (giggle) for MS to run EBC

How does that look? Any other preventative stuff I should do while I'll have everything apart? I'm thinking I'll replace my heater hoses (they look *very* worn) and probably do my clutch slave while I'm under there..

Take a hard look at the rear main seal. If it's weaping, use an OEM Mazda seal. I've had other brands start leaking within months and they're a PITA to replace.

Roger that. Looks like PN 902-375 ? MossMiata.com - Parts & Accessories for Your Mazda Miata

Also found http://flyinmiata.com/index.php?dept...umber=04-26020

Front ones, too? http://flyinmiata.com/index.php?dept...umber=04-26050 and http://www.flyinmiata.com/index.php?...umber=08-46100 ?

Skip step number 7, an ebc only costs like $25.

The one from DIYautotune is like $50, but I was originally looking at this: would it serve my purposes? I found the EBC thread stickied and was reading through it.. Sounds a bit daunting, but I'm sure it'll all fall into place.

This is the one I was thinking of. Mac Valve 36A AAA Jdaa 1BA "Brand New" | eBay

The front main and cam seals can be reached anytime to do a TB job. But you have to remove the transmission, clutch and flywheel to reach the rear main seal. That's why I recommended taking a look while doing the clutch job. I usually get my Mazda OEM parts from Mazdaspeed or Rosenthal.

But make sure it actually needs to be changed. I wouldnt touch it until it leaks. Yeah it sucks to have the car open, not replace it and have to open it up in a couple of month is by some rare chance it started leaking. It sucks worse to replace it and have to open the car up 3 more times because you sucked at replacing it when the one in there was perfectly good and probably going to last another 100k miles.

I think my mazdaspeed sponsorship mabobby just expired. I forgot to submit my time slips to them. :-\

This. Sorry if I wasn't clear to inspect and only change if leaking. If you've got a good one, it's a keeper.

One last question.. If I'm planning on doing the reroute, but using the $17 hose from the kia neck to the radiator, what all do I need? Is it just the spacer, the kia neck, and the block off plate for the front? Also a new thermostat?

The kit is $249, and as far as I can tell the spacer, block off plate, thermostat, and kia part are $147 total.. which leaves $100 difference. Is it just because there are so many other parts/couplers/alu pipe that BEGi puts between the neck and the radiator? Seems like there shouldn't be a $100 difference that I can cover with a $17 part.. so I figure I have to be missing something.

EDIT: this hose: https://www.miataturbo.net/useful-sa...-needed-46698/

You also might find that the best angle for installing the reroute is from underneath the car with the trans out. Put yourself where the transmission was.

That's all you need. Separate parts FTW. I posted pictures of exactly this reroute in my build thread.