I have a '90 mariner that was wrecked about 2 years ago and I have been working on it since then. I've replaced the front shocks, Robbins soft top, front left control arms, steering linkage, rotors/pads (old ones were warped), all of the belts, and have just recently gone back under to tighten the control arms again due to making a banging noise every time i hit a bump. Last week it started getting cool and the belts started squeaking so i tightened my alternator/wp belt and the problem went away. But while down there i noticed there was wiggle in my a/c compressor again, i thought i fixed the wiggle when i was working on the top because i had replaced a lost bolt, and now it seems that the bolt has worked its way out again, but anywho i don't use a/c in the winter. Well after driving around i noticed that the belts had stopped squeaking and thought i had solved the problem this winter, but then the next day the belts were squeaking just as bad as they were before i did anything. And now I'm noticing more noise coming from the suspension when on rough roads or going over bumps, and I'm also hearing some modulation as I hit the brakes (front right end, the wreck was in the front left) but it can't be a warped rotor already can it, i also don't feel any vibration in the pedal like i did with the warped rotor? Is there some bigger more sinister problem with my car thats causing all this **** to go bad all of a sudden?

John

 

I dunno, replace the shell?

 

If your belts aren't slipping, a quick squirt of some armor-all on them takes out the squeek. They have belt dressing out there, but it's sticky and causes more mess than good. Simple, yet effective....nothing to hate your MIata over. You should also try and use locktite (blue) on every bolt- NOT grounding bolts (loctite can act as a insulator). For your brakes, you may be missing the little springs that push out the pads when not in use.....if you don't have these installed, you may get some slight pad rubbing from time to time without pressing the pedal (usually happens when turning).

 

buy a new car with a warranty, service agreement for a month fee and you won't have to deal with all the PITA **** on a 15+ year old car

 

Sell it to me. I will take good care of it.

 

You can warp brake rotors in one panic stop. That's all it takes.

 

John,
sorry to hear about your continued probs. understand tho: your car is 17 years old coming up on 18. when you work on your own car, and you don't do a thorough job, things are gonna eff up.

re: a/c compressor. if you torqued down the bolt properly, there is almost no way that beast of a bolt is gonna back itself out.

re: belts. not sure what you did to alleviate the prob. if you replaced the belts, re-check the tension; if you didn't, and the various dressings/tricks didn't fix 'em, just change out to new belts. they're cheap as can be.

re: suspension noise. might be new time for new bushings. again, the car's 17 years old...

g'luck.

 

i've been suspecting the bushings for some time now, just haven't had the drive to change them. As for the tension on the belts, its the tensioner itself that keeps backing out, so i think I'll end up using two nuts to lock it in place. As for the compressor, I'm just goint to start using loctite on EVERYTHING. I know it may be the age of the car, but my older '89 240 is in better condition and never needs any additional lovin'. I'm picking up a $300 miata tomorrow and I hope it fairs better than the current one.

 

Rub valve grinding compound on the belt in about 4 spots after re-tightening. If this doesnt fix it, get a new belt, use loc tite on the bolts for the tensioner.

I dont have any of the springs in the caliper and I dont have issues fwiw.

 

Take a candle and run it on the belts while the engine is running,it seems to work pretty well.

 

$300 cars are known for reliability. This is a solid decision.

 

what are you doing talking about decisions?

 

quit bitching

 

where do you guys find these cheap cars at? damn, hook a brother up.

 

To clear any possible confusion and burns I believe he means an UNLIT candle :gay:

 

yeah i figured that much, but it was worth clarification.

Hustler-the kid with car is trying to sell it fast because his parents won't give him his new car until his miata is gone. The downsides to it are the bad top and the euro taillights

oh yeah and he's put some aftermarket turn signals in because his were stolen from the car

 

I found a "custom" purple and mint green body kitt-ed miata for sale, even with purple spray painted interior. I really wanted it to gut and make a track car for my sister's x-mas gift, but couldn't get it cheap enough. Torn up cars are the best.

 

kewl, i got some OEM tail lights for you
stolen turn signals, wtf...there is some nice ones on ebay, they are clear

 

Oops,sorry I forgot to mention that.

 

looks like I'll have to fix up this miata for now, on the day i was going to buy it the guy blew the motor that morning