Liam's NA Miata - Finally back on the road!!!

homeforsummer
Nice shots 👍 Also now following!
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Thanks! Wish I could post some photos from my canon but my computer is broken.

Tiny update on the Miata, just found out my friend does body work and owns a welder, and is really good at it. So I'll get him to take care of the rust for me. Once that is done, I can really focus on making this car how I want it to be and this build will get way more interesting.

Car is running super well as well. Going to get a wheel alignment soon, its hard to find time with working full time and busy weekends.

Computer still having issues so I can't post photos. :(



 
Heys, have not been updating this, since nothing has really changed on the car, I just got back from vacation too.

Found some nice wheels I'll be looking at this Saturday. http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/rds/pts/4581978490.html

Also, I have another oil leak. :( I think it's the front crank seal, I thought it was the oil pan gasket, but the oil is leaking from the front. Apparently I need my timing belt taken off to get to the seal, I don't have the experience or the know how to do that. The weird this is that it is not a constant leak, past two days it hasn't leaked, but today it started leaking a little bit.

I'm debating on taking it to a shop, what do you think I should do?
 
Now is a good time to learn how your front main seal comes apart. It's going to be very expensive if you take it to a shop. Would you rather pay lots of money to get it fixed or learn how to do it yourself, and save mega bucks in the process, and then have the knowledge to fix it should it ever happen again (and these skills apply to most engines you will work on). Something you need to think about.

Most of it is bolting and unbolting parts. The front cover has to come off along with the timing belt and some of your other goodies like power steering, A/C etc. Most of that just so it's not in your way when you go to pull the seal. Do not stick a flathead screwdriver in there at an angle and try to pry it out. A scratch or bend on the crank could make it so you never ever have a good seal again. Use a seal puller or very lightly thread a screwdriver into the face of the seal. There are guides on how to do this.Pull it out and replace it with the new one. After that it's just putting everything back on. There are many guides on how to set the timing belt, that are very thorough. Don't stress over it, you can do it!

Like I said, good time to learn.
 
In my opinion, anything that you feel too daunted by to try and you don't have an experienced friend to teach you, take it to a shop.

I'm all for the DIY but I do nothing but research with every minute of spare time so I don't go into any project unprepared. Unless you have the time to do that to eliminate your fears of performing this job, take it elsewhere.
 
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LeadFootLiam
Heys, have not been updating this, since nothing has really changed on the car, I just got back from vacation too.

Found some nice wheels I'll be looking at this Saturday. http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/rds/pts/4581978490.html

Also, I have another oil leak. :( I think it's the front crank seal, I thought it was the oil pan gasket, but the oil is leaking from the front. Apparently I need my timing belt taken off to get to the seal, I don't have the experience or the know how to do that. The weird this is that it is not a constant leak, past two days it hasn't leaked, but today it started leaking a little bit.

I'm debating on taking it to a shop, what do you think I should do?
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Take it to the shop. Period.

UrieHusky
In my opinion, anything that you feel too daunted by to try and you don't have an experienced friend to teach you, take it to a shop.
I'm all for the DIY but I do nothing but research with every minute of spare time so I don't go into any project unprepared. Unless you have the time to do that to eliminate your fears of performing this job, take it elsewhere.
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I agree 100%. A project like this needs to be handled by professionals. It will include a warranty in case anything goes wrong. Also piece of mind if you have them do the job.

I have worked on cars for over 20 years and there are some things that are not worth the hassle. This is one of those jobs. Plus they can find any other oil leaks while into this project and fix them too.
 
Thanks guys, I have emailed my local miata shop and have asked for an estimate.

Depending on how much, I'll have to save up for the repair, good thing the leak is not constant
 
Any progress with your body work? that rust needs to be number 1 priority or by this time next year you won't have to worry about oil leaks because you won't have any car left :lol:
 
UrieHusky
Any progress with your body work? that rust needs to be number 1 priority or by this time next year you won't have to worry about oil leaks because you won't have any car left :lol:
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I agree again. Get the oil leak fixed and the rust fixed. Those should be your top 2 priorities right now.

That LSD / posi rear end upgrade should not even be a consideration until you get quite a bit more driving experience. You JUST started driving. Don't even think about a posi for at least a year or longer. Not sure how I missed that entire 2 page topic but that's the last upgrade you should be thinking about right now.
 
Slash
Most of it is bolting and unbolting parts. The front cover has to come off along with the timing belt and some of your other goodies like power steering, A/C etc. Most of that just so it's not in your way when you go to pull the seal. Do not stick a flathead screwdriver in there at an angle and try to pry it out. A scratch or bend on the crank could make it so you never ever have a good seal again. Use a seal puller or very lightly thread a screwdriver into the face of the seal. There are guides on how to do this.Pull it out and replace it with the new one. After that it's just putting everything back on. There are many guides on how to set the timing belt, that are very thorough. Don't stress over it, you can do it!

Like I said, good time to learn.
Click to expand...
Wrong, wrong, wrong. Here we go again with you trying to help and not knowing anything about Miata's.

Power steering and A/C do NOT have to come off. The belts that drive them do, however. Then remove the valve cover, all the front plastic covers, and you'll see the timing belt, etc. The front crank pulley comes off with 4 10mm bolts, remove it too. (I would mark it and put it back in the same position when you are finished) I would HIGHLY recommend replacing everything while you are in there if you have not done so already. That includes the timing belt, water pump and both tensioner pullies. If you do it yourself, be VERY careful pulling the old seal out. You do not want to scuff up the metal where it seals, then you'll have a leak no matter what you do.

Can be done for cheap, unless you have someone do it for you, which means you'll pay at least twice as much. ;)
 
Just make sure it gets handled. They can get pretty nasty if left alone haha. The seal is under the crank pulley. Not too hard to get to but easier with special tools from Flyin Miata.
1424274_10202667950088198_218770260_n.jpg

http://www.flyinmiata.com/index.php?deptid=5681&parentid=0&stocknumber=35-69000 BIG NOSE
 
Okay so I took my car to my local Miata specialist, the leaks in having are super common, all it needs is a full timing belt service, and all the seals with be replaced. So I will start putting away money for that, around $1000.

I haven't forgotten about the rust, the guy at the Miata shop says hell fix the rust for $600 bucks each side. It's expensive, but I could tell this guy knew his stuff and had tonnes of experience. I will get him to do the rust sometime this summer.

As for the diff, I won't get it until I have experience pushing my car to the limit on Autox and trackdays, have not done any of that since, it's not even track worthy.

Thanks for all your help guys!

I will be posting some photos from my new camera so stay tuned.

 
$1,000 for a timing belt job? Flyin' Miata doesn't even charge half that and they are tops when it comes to working on these things. You could drive the car to them, have them do the job, and drive home and still have money left over. :lol: Find someone else, maybe a guy that owns one and will do it for a case of beer. :P
 
LeadFootLiam
Okay so I took my car to my local Miata specialist, the leaks in having are super common, all it needs is a full timing belt service, and all the seals with be replaced. So I will start putting away money for that, around $1000.

I haven't forgotten about the rust, the guy at the Miata shop says hell fix the rust for $600 bucks each side. It's expensive, but I could tell this guy knew his stuff and had tonnes of experience. I will get him to do the rust sometime this summer.

As for the diff, I won't get it until I have experience pushing my car to the limit on Autox and trackdays, have not done any of that since, it's not even track worthy.

Thanks for all your help guys!

I will be posting some photos from my new camera so stay tuned.
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Wow $1,000? Holy crap is he pulling and rebuilding the engine? Sheesh I guess once you are done ALL the seals will be replaced and there will be no leaks. Plus it will have a warranty.

When you say $600 each side. Do you mean $600 each side which = $1,200 total or do you mean $600 total to do both sides? $600 total sounds about right. $1,200 is quite high.

Smart move on the diff. Very last priority for sure especially if it is currently not leaking or making any noise.
 
That seems pretty pricey, for both the engine and the body work.. I'd look elsewhere for alternative quotes.
 
I got a quote from the people my parents use for their cars, he said $1,080. Looking like I might just have to drop 1 grand for this.

And yes it's 600 bucks for each side that has rust. He said if anyone does it cheaper than they ain't doing it right. I was think of cutting out the rust myself, and get him to patch it.
 
I'd do it for you for 150 + parts and a box of beer. It'd still be "Done right"

That's just mechanic talk for "Kid I know what I'm doing, trust me" and that's when you're stuck for life getting them to do every little thing.

Ask around at different places, 2 different quotes isn't really enough :lol: you're way more keen to throw 2 grand into fixing this than you should be.
 
I've been freshening up my automatic Miata with new belts (timing and accessory), seals, and hoses. I even had to replace a cracked cylinder head and I'm still not in it $500 haha.
 
Clark
Surely for all this talk of $1000 isn't it cheaper to buy an engine?
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I just looked on Trade me and there was a B6 with 5 speed for 1.5k nzd

1500 New Zealand Dollar equals
1288.28 US Dollar

Low Ks too... uhhhhh
 
Okay lol. I'll do some research tonight, and see if this is something I can do myself.

On another note my new shift knob from voodoo came in today.
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This thing is dope, feels so nice too. I might plastidip it red. I got a full refund for the other one I ordered earlier.

Here are some photos of April.

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Photo from my DSLR.

 
So I still haven't gotten a wheel alignment, I am hearing a clunking noise when I turn right at full lock, and when I corner hard to the left. I took it to a shop and he said he couldn't align it because of that. As for the fender, the local miata specialist, said he can order a factory one, put it on, and paint it for $500 bucks, that's how much an insurance deductible is for me, so I'll just get him to do it.

If I don't get called for work, I'll take a look at those wheels sometime tomorrow, if I like them I'll place a deposit and pay the rest sometime in august.

And I will get that timing belt sort ASAP, my friend uses a super good mechanic for cheap labor, said he could do my timing belt for like $500 bucks, so we'll see how that goes.
 

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