The thread where Skidude asks stupid questions
 

I'm taking the engine out of my car, and I have never done that before. It doesn't look like that big of a job, but I'm sure there are some things I'll come across that I won't really know what to do with. Let's start:

What do I do with the AC system? Is there a correct way to discharge it, or some way to avoid having to discharge it?

Assuming you want to keep the A/C system, all I did was attach an engine hoist to the engine when it was ready to pull, moved it up a few inches, then unbolted the bracket the AC and PS were attached to (Be sure to tie them to something so they don't hang on their hoses). No need to discharge it or even fark with it if you want to keep it.

Yes, I am planning to keep the AC. The pumps won't be in the way of getting the engine/trans out?

Also, one of the items on my list is to address what appears to be an AC system leak at the compressor. I had to recharge the AC this summer, and the compressor is covered in oil crap.

There are 4 10mm bolts that hold the AC compressor to the bracket. You can simply take those off and it is possible to lift the engine in and out. You just have to zip tie the compressor out of the way. The same goes for power steering.

They will be in the way, it will be annoying, but I've done it and you can too. Take this chance to spray everything down with degreaser and scrub it really good.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1327066476

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1327066476

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1327066476

And as usual, Brainy shows everyone else up :(.

That's actually a neat way to do it Brainy.

Next stupid question: What are my options for slim cooling fans? I'm thinking I might like an over-the-top IC route, but I don't want to spend a lot of money on new fans. Spal and Mishimoto are the two I've heard of, but they're both a little more than I really want to spend. Are there any other good ones, or is my only option to find some of those used?

So I guess there aren't any other good options for slim fans?

Next stupid question: What do I have to do before I disconnect the fuel supply line? I opened the gas cap to relieve the pressure there, but do I have to do anything else to prevent it from going everywhere?

spal are worth the cost. These china fans lack the CFMs.

fuel will still spill, but not keep pouring. I simply unplug at the hardlines, and typically take a spare hose and loop the two.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1327679558


I dont think you'll ahve issue with your returnless...just make sure the hardline isn't the lowest point between the filler.

Ok. So, how do I disconnect these weird fittings? I've never seen connectors like this before... do I squeeze or press or twist? I'm guessing the little white thing in the "holes" is what I manipulate?

---- the NB fuel line connectors. I hate them, I have no clue how to properly undo them.

Can a v-mount intercooler setup be any good without cutting holes in the hood, or is that necessary to get good flow through it?

I went to Pep Boys and bought a fuel line removal tool, and it STILL didn't work. I ended up using a couple small screwdrivers. Those connectors suck, though I suppose it's good that they won't come off by accident.

Spray some pb blaster in the fitting, push and pull the fittings together and apart, then push the tool in, push the hoses together, then pull them apart with the tool still pushed in. Should come free with ease. If the seal is OEM, it'll be nice and tight.

I don't know if it's possible or not, but it acted like I had a "standard" size tool and the mazda fuel lines were metric. The tool had two ends, and one was just a little too small to fit around the hard line, and the other end was just a little too big to fit inside the fitting. I also broke the tool trying.

So no info on whether a v-mount setup is any good without cutting a hole in the hood? I assume it would work, but wouldn't be worth the work over a proper front mount setup.

What is the proper method to re-round those coolant fittings that go through the firewall to the heater core? One of mine is slightly D-shaped after wrestling the hose off of it. It's not bent very much, but probably enough so I should fix it.

I fixed mine with a 1/4" socket extension. Made it round enough and it sealed fine after that.

^Made that same mistake with mine... only mine was way more than "slighly d-shaped"... it was seriously mangled. Good news is that the metal is very soft (copper?) and can be re-massaged into a roughly round form. Get it as round as you can, then use a worm-type hose-clamp on it, that will give even pressure across the surface. The factory pinch-type clamps will leak under pressure unless the pipe is very close to perfectly round. I used half-a-roll of teflon tape on mine and double clamped the ---- out of it to get it not to leak.

I usually just cut both heater hoses and replace them with new ones. Better that than mangle the soft pipes.

A ford fuel line fitting tool should work. With mine the big end is the one to use; it acts like it doesn't want to go in, but with a little persuasion it will. Then you just pull the fitting apart.

Next time to avoid much of the spillage you should disable the fuel pump and run the engine until it dies. The FSM has the procedure.

So if I want to replace the cam cover gasket, front and rear main seals, and anything important for putting the oil pan back on, what do I need to buy from Rosenthal (or preferably Amazon Prime)? Rosenthal has a number of seals, with very little description and I'll be angry if I buy the wrong ones. I get free two-day shipping with Amazon prime, but they have even less description than Rosenthal.

You need the service manual for your car. Or at least the Haynes manual. You may look at the price of the FSM and say "Holy #@#% Mobius, it's two hundred bucks!" but the answer to most questions you haven't even thought of are in there.

Since you're Amazon Prime at least get the Haynes manual. The engine rebuild section will have pictures of guys with Mullets working on either a Chevy or Ford V8 smallblock but the actual miata-specific sections are pretty good.

And for you, since it was Valentine's day, I include this link. This mazdamotorsports PDF has all the part numbers you need.

So, today's stupid question:

I spilled a bunch of oil in/on/around the alternator. It's dirty oil that came out of the engine. How do I fix it? Did I ruin it?

I did manage to kill my alternator by showering it in oil, but if you clean your properly before using it, I don't see why it wouldn't be fine. Take it apart and clean it with brake cleaner perhaps?

I managed to kink my valve cover gasket just a bit so that it didn't leak during the shake down at home, but leaked a lot at the track. The time before practise and qualify was not enough to do more then fix the leak and clean the bay, so the alternator had to keep running 20min track time while full of oil, which killed it. Don't repeat that.;)

I just hit it real quick at the car wash. Our 24v cummins alt gets covered yearly it seems.

I took the front cover off and hit it with engine cleaner, then doused it with water and put it back together. I'm not entirely sure I didn't break something while pulling it apart, but it seems to spin alright now so I'll just reinstall it and see what happens.

Empty a can of brake cleaner on it to flush it out completely (before you put the belt on, obviously).

Here's a couple quick shots of my project so far. Nothing too interesting, really, I just felt bad for not having any pictures in any of my threads for a while.
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1329842805
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1329842805

What do I use for sealant when attaching the oil pan? Just standard RTV? The stuff I peeled off was gray and RTV is white. Also, do I need to do any special cleaning of the surfaces first, or is just wiping it down with a clean rag sufficient? I'll be very mad if this leaks.

Probably something like this?

http://www.all-spec.com/products/821...FcFw4Aodcl98Uw

What does VTCS actually do? Is it that set of butterfly valves in the intake? Would it be a bad idea to just wire it open?

it increases intake port velocity to induce more tumble in the cylinder. really only helps when the car is cold and under about 3000 rpm (and under about 60kPa if you are boosted)

How much does it help, though? I ask because I accidentally twisted off the screw that holds the actuator on, and removed the solenoid that actuates it, and it would be less annoying to just leave it than fix all that, but if it actually makes a noticable difference during warm-up, I'll fix it.

it helps some. it also helps emissions some because it is effectively a "choke" when the butterflies are closed. less air ==> less fuel.

does your car die easily when it's cold?

My car runs horribly for the first 30s to a minute after I start it, but then it seems to run fine after that.

got a cold start up log?

Not with me, but I'll try to dig one off my laptop tonight. I worked on my cold start ALL summer and fall, twice a day most days, and never got anywhere. I think my injector dead times might be off a little or something.

Can anybody tell me what solenoid I need to reinstall for vtcs (a description or something)? I took that whole area of the engine bay apart thinking it was all emissions crap and I can't remember which solenoid I need for vtcs.

I still haven't remembered the startup log, but I do intend to post it as soon as I read this thread from my home computer.

So nobody can help me with the VTCS solenoid? I took pictures of that area of my engine bay before I disassembled everything, but none of the pictures show which solenoid that hose went to. It's all obscured by other stuff. I suspect it's the orange sensor I have, but I honestly don't know.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1331930923

This is the hose that runs to the actuator, if anybody could take a picture of the solenoid, or describe it to me or something.


Here is how my garage looks right now. I reserved an engine lift tomorrow to put the motor back in the car.
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1331930923

Also, here is a log of one of my typical starts last fall. I think. It looks like it, anyway. I also think that is the msq that goes with it. I could be off a couple days, but the symptoms were the same every day.

Well, for anybody still paying attention, I put the engine back in on Saturday, and hooked it up enough to start it on Sunday. Is there a trick I missed to putting the engine in? It took me and a friend more than an hour to get the motor mount bolts lined up with the holes. Granted, we didn't have a load leveler for the engine lift, it still felt a lot harder than I expected.

The engine looked really nice in the bay, all clean and painted, and then I put all the harnesses back and plugged them in, so it looks like a rat's nest again, but a slightly cleaner and more painted rat's nest. If I were more patient, I would do a wire tuck, but I am not, so it will have to do.

On the list of things to do tonight is fill the coolant and transmission fluid and maybe stick some dynamat strips in the doors. I have a little bit I'd like to put in strategic places, so I figure a couple strips in each door, a couple more up on the parcel shelf, and beyond that I am open to suggestions.

Now, since this is a stupid questions thread, here is the stupid question: On the 6-speed, which side of the transmission is the fill-hole on? I looked quickly once this weekend and saw one bolt on each side that kind of looked like it could be a fill hole. I plan to open that hole, then just fill the trans through the turret until fluid comes out of that hole. It will be easier that way, I think.

Driver's side. Fill and drain are both on the driver's side. Do not touch the passenger side bolt that looks like a drain!

Some cheap vinyl tubing from Lowes Home Racing + a funnel will allow you to run the hose down past the brake master and stuff it into the hole. 1/2" ID tubing will fit almost exactly, and seal well enough that when the fluid gets to that level it will start backing into the tubing, making checking for when it's full very easy. That way if you spill something, you spill it in the engine bay.

Thanks for the info, Mobius! Out of curiosity, what IS that bolt on the passenger side?

It's the "Magic bolt of transmission rebuilding". I can't find my pdf of the manual for the 6 speed, the M.net link in the garage doesn't work unless you buy premium access to hypershares, and the boostedmiata link doesn't work either. But it holds stuff in place internally, and if removed, the transmission has to be taken apart to get the stuff back in the right position.

The fill bolt is the higher (duh) bolt forward towards the bellhousing.

Image shamelessly stolen from the interwebs. Link to m.net article here.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1332279568

New stupid question:

How much noise is a turbo supposed to make? Mine makes a very faint tic tic tic noise as it's slowing down after I turn off the car. I can't tell if a blade is making contact with something, or a bearing noise, or what, but I don't remember hearing it before I had the ends off.

Thoughts? This may be worth its own topic...

Is there any way to get those stupid clamps off the coolant system without taking the hoses off? A bunch of the OEM "spring" clamps aren't tight enough so the hoses are leaking. I want to replace them with worm clamps, but I don't want to empty the coolant. I will try just bending them off, but that may or may not work. Tips are appreciated.

That's pretty much your choice - manhandle them off however they will come off.

Although the OEM spring clamps do wear out eventually, I like them on radiator hoses. They will self-adjust for temp expansion/cooling. Replacements are available at any parts store. Worm clams will eat into the hose. Be a baus and go t-bolt if you don't go with spring clamps, they won't cut into the hose and you can get them tight enough that expansion don't matter. Siliconeintakes.com

And the t-bolts will easily go on without taking the hose off.

Do I recall there is not much need to upgrade coils on the NB2s? I think I am getting a misfire at low RPM and boost (I haven't investigated yet) and wondered if weak coils could be the cause.

Dude, Sam TOLD you to not use them in February. If you are going to ask for advice you should at least follow it.:giggle:

That said, do you have a cutoff wheel/die grinder/dremel?

Just cut the clamp through and it will fall away and you can open up and thread the worm clamp around the hose.

:rofl::noob: That is one of the places that is leaking, too. It seems to be leaking there, and the bottom of the radiator. I'll fix that one tomorrow, and get a new clamp for the rad inlet and some other places later. I can't believe I forgot that! It does say in the title, though, that these are stupid questions...

Yes, I have a dremel. I can give that a try, but I am afraid I will damage the hoses. I haven't gotten much practice on it so I'm not too steady.

NB2 coils should be fine, they're much better than the NB1 coils.

I'm leaking oil. It's coming from that stupid T-fitting beside the oil filter. I was really careful to put some thread sealant on all the threads, then I tightened them down pretty good, but it still leaks. Are there any common mistakes associated with this part? I think it leaked all last year as well, and so I put it together very carefully this time but I guess I didn't do it right. Are there some thread sealants more suitable for oil lines than others?

To be clear, I put sealant on both ends of the fitting that attaches to the block, and both the oil pressure sensor, and the end of the turbo-line fitting that goes in the T fitting. Not on the AN end of that fitting.

White tube permatex thread sealant works great for me

I believe that's what I used as well. The fittings need to be clean and oil-free for it to adhere properly.

I cleaned all the male threads with a wire brush before I assembled, but how do I get the oil and crap out of the female threads?

Flush with brake cleaner. An old toothbrush may help to get the more stubborn bits out.