NB MX-5: Hey, it's Minnie!

[chiefmg]

So what you are saying is that he owes you one?

He might not think so, but yes.

Didn’t have time to post this before leaving home, but I wasn’t really happy with the color gold I used on my diecast wheels. I bought another car (an Audi this time) with the same wheels and then ended up trying two different Tamiya gold colors to get what was closer to my actual wheels. Champagne gold first which was very pale, so then I gave titanium gold a shot. We have a winner!

As you can see it’s on my desk light where it will remain during my work stint. It is bookended by a Hot Wheels FB RX-7 on the other side.

 

[chiefmg]

After 24.5 hours of travel time yesterday, I got home around midnight. Only slept for about three hours (time zone changes are a b**** when you get older). Had to wait for the stores to open and get a new chamois as someone thought it a good idea to dirty up my old one. Once that was in hand, washed her filthy butt. Once that was done I went to storage to pick up my summer wheels/tires and the Recaros. Just got done installing those in prep for MATG. I'm going!

 

[chiefmg]

Yesterday I went to two Cars & Coffee events. When leaving the first one, I smelled gas strongly. I then noticed that my gas gauge was dropping a lot quicker than it should be. Had a look around at the second stop but nothing appeared. Headed for home after that to the same gas smell and gauge movement. Once in the garage (and shade) I took another look around. It appears that I may have a leak from at least one injector O-ring so the top of the intake manifold and the fuel rail will be coming off. I’ll also hoist her into the air and check the hoses for the fuel filter (didn’t see any leaks from there but want to be thorough).

Up early again this morning so started a more comprehensive search for my second inflatable lumbar bladder. I looked on Friday when I installed the Recaros with no joy. Luckily it ended up being in the first place I looked this time. I guess my mind does retain some things.

 

[CTt3P5]

You ever find that chamois culprit? Haha

Welcome home and look forward to seeing you next week!

 

[chiefmg]

No.

Yeah, you're saying that now...

 

[chiefmg]

Yanked off the upper intake manifold to find the injectors for #1/4 cylinders showed signs of leakage past the upper O-rings. After attempting to obtain fuel injector seal kits from big box auto parts stores and not having much success, I went to my old standby local place (that was closed on Sunday) and got four kits. Got those all installed today.

Since I was already deep into things I decided it would be prudent to pull the supercharger and change the nose oil. I found the intercooler and charge air pipes had some oil residue in them when I removed parts for the intake manifold removal so set about pulling those for cleaning. Had all that off early this morning (thanks to a still-off sleep schedule). I kind of forgot what a royal PITA it is to get that intercooler out. I used something called Oil Eater (that I used before for cleaning the grease out of hub bearings preparatory to replacing that) for the intercooler with hot water and let that soak for a few hours. The charge air pipes got some BraKleen run through them to clean. Drained the oil out of the ‘charger, I got more than three ounces but less than four (spec calls for four) so good that I am doing that. I drained what I could then dumped in some denatured alcohol to flush out the nose. Did that a couple of times and now have it airing out. I took the time to do some cleanup around the area underneath the ‘charger and intake air hose since that normally isn’t accessible. I’ll let everything air dry overnight before starting my assembly.

 

[chiefmg]

Up very early again so continued on. Measured out 4 ounces of Jon Bond Performance synthetic oil and added that to the ‘charger snout. Proceeded to install the intercooler, supercharger and then lined things up so the charge pipes were happy. Tightened the intercooler onto its bracket with the pipes in place. Took my time getting everything together, had some hiccups but nothing terrible until I was installing the charge pipe going into the intake manifold. The clamp kept moving off the coupler as I tightened it. After several different attempts to fix this (including looking online for a different reducer that is longer which is now en route) what finally worked was tightening the clamp on the charge pipe so it would line up properly, then tightening the clamp on the intake manifold. She fired right up after that. There were no signs of any fuel leaks.

Forgot but when I was doing the injector seals yesterday I decided to put a sleeve on the front fuel supply hose to the fuel rail for some protection. You can see the zip-ties I have holding it in place on either end:

Shifted her around so I could hoist her into the air. Started my oil/filter change. While that was going on I went rear to front underneath looking for anything leaking or otherwise out of the norm. That included removing the cover over the fuel filter and checking the condition of the fuel hoses there. I was very happy that everything looked good.

Next up I installed the generic front mud guards I bought a while back. I used two of the existing fastener locations for this. I replaced the lower screws with ones from the guards. For the first one I tried making a template to locate the holes but that didn’t turn out as well as I had hoped. I just winged it for the second one and it came out better. I will note that there is a recess in the front of the side skirt for the bottom screw, I used washers to take up that distance so the screw had a solid backing. Here are pictures to show how that looks:

At this point I only need to adjust the rear brakes and give her a good bath/waxing to be ready for MATG. Here’s a glamor shot from C&C on Saturday:

 

[chiefmg]

Decided to go ahead this morning and take care of a few more items. Put her up into the air, removed the O2 sensor and calibrated it. Adjusted the rear brakes, both with the caliper adjusters and at the e-brake lever (the cable had stretched over time). Pulled both headlights and swished some denatured alcohol around inside to clear the haze that builds up over time. I also just received the 3.5mm phono jack patch cord I bought to permit connecting my new phone to the radio input while it is wearing its case. Save a good wash and wax job, that should be it before I leave for MATG.

 

[Reitrof]

All I can say is WOW

 

[chiefmg]

All I can say is WOW

In a good way, or like WTF was I thinking?

So, it turned out that my problem with gas smell and dropping of the gas gauge was still evident after changing the injector seals. Next possibility was broken injectors. I went ahead and ordered some new ones but chances are they won’t show before I was planning on leaving for MATG. I have a set of Denso 550cc injectors I used before when sending off my EV14s for work, so I dug those out and set about installing them. Got those put in, when I fired her up there was at least one of those that was spewing fuel out of the side of the injector body. I suspect it was blocked. Didn’t look to see if any of the others were the same, I just shut her down. Not having any other options, I decided to put the EV14s back in.

While doing this I noticed the short rubber fuel hose connecting the hard line coming from the fuel pump to the braided stainless hoses to the fuel rail inlet was badly cracked. You can see that here:

Was this the cause of the fuel smell? Only one way to find out, I replaced it. Once the EV14s were back in and with the new fuel hose I fired her up. Everything looked good so went for a test drive. There was a little fuel smell (likely due to all the fuel that came out of the rail while changing the injectors back and forth) but nothing like the intensity from before. I also did not see the gas gauge drop as it had been doing when I got on it. For now I’ll call that a win.

I am left with wondering why if the hose was the cause of all this that I didn’t see any signs of fuel being sprayed around the engine bay. Something I will have to keep an eye on.

 

[bazooka joe]

In a good way, or like WTF was I thinking?

So, it turned out that my problem with gas smell and dropping of the gas gauge was still evident after changing the injector seals. Next possibility was broken injectors. I went ahead and ordered some new ones but chances are they won’t show before I was planning on leaving for MATG. I have a set of Denso 550cc injectors I used before when sending off my EV14s for work, so I dug those out and set about installing them. Got those put in, when I fired her up there was at least one of those that was spewing fuel out of the side of the injector body. I suspect it was blocked. Didn’t look to see if any of the others were the same, I just shut her down. Not having any other options, I decided to put the EV14s back in.

While doing this I noticed the short rubber fuel hose connecting the hard line coming from the fuel pump to the braided stainless hoses to the fuel rail inlet was badly cracked. You can see that here:

Was this the cause of the fuel smell? Only one way to find out, I replaced it. Once the EV14s were back in and with the new fuel hose I fired her up. Everything looked good so went for a test drive. There was a little fuel smell (likely due to all the fuel that came out of the rail while changing the injectors back and forth) but nothing like the intensity from before. I also did not see the gas gauge drop as it had been doing when I got on it. For now I’ll call that a win.

I am left with wondering why if the hose was the cause of all this that I didn’t see any signs of fuel being sprayed around the engine bay. Something I will have to keep an eye on.

May it was just weaping? Does take much gas to stink up the place.

 

[chiefmg]

May it was just weaping? Does take much gas to stink up the place.

I understand that, but that wouldn't explain the rapid dropping of the gas gauge.

Gave her a bath this morning, once she cools a little in the garage I'll slap on a coat of wax.

 

[bazooka joe]

Forgot about the gas dropping

 

[chiefmg]

While this isn’t actually anything to do with a build, it’s my thread so what the hell! Gave her a bath this morning. Threw on some wax once she had dried off. Changed the clutch fluid, it had been a while so what was in there was pretty janky. Cleaned the interior and then treated everything with an appropriate chemical. Pulled the windblocker off and cleaned it, also cleaned the boot cover. Buffed out the wax once dry. Glued down the driver’s floor mat heel pad that was lifting up (I have a new set of mats but trying to extend these a bit longer). Shampooed both floor mats, vacuumed them once dry and they are now back in the car. Used the last of my RaggTop protectant on the top. Pretty much just need to clean all the glass, put her in the sun to make sure I removed all the wax and then fill up the gas tank. I’m charging my GoPro right now, haven’t used it for some years so interested to see if it will still work.

 

[chiefmg]

Resting pre-Dragon:

 

[chiefmg]

Made it down yesterday, but the trip wasn’t without some drama. On Tuesday I was out running errands. Stopped for gas and after getting back underway I saw the CEL flashing. Looked at the temperature gauge and it was nearly pegged. Pulled over and shut her off, looked under the hood and found nothing amiss. I thought there was a chance the radiator fan wasn’t working so I started her up and drove away with the heater on full. Once some air was moving across the radiator the temperature came down immediately. At home I ran some tests and found both fans were fine. Thinking about what might have been the cause, since everything was fine until I stopped I figured the radiator was heat-soaked and the fan was unable to pull enough air to cool it all down. I should also note that since I got home it seemed the engine bay was hotter than normal any time I opened the hood after driving (I thought that might be down to the weather though). The most likely culprit was the grille I installed over the winter blocking airflow. So that got yanked off and I installed my original slatted piece. A test drive showed no more issues.

I set off southwards yesterday morning. Stopped at a rest area just across the Tennessee border to check for any fuel leaks as I was smelling gas almost constantly after about an hour into the trip. Didn’t see any fuel leakage but there was blue oil from the supercharger snout flung all over the place. I cleaned that all up and decided I’d continue to run it until something happened (or not). As it turned out I had no more leakage after that. Remember that I said the snout takes 4 oz of oil, and that I had gotten 3 oz and a bit out? Now I’m thinking that the smaller amount is what it actually needs. I’ll make a note of that for future reference as I don’t want to overpressurize the snout again and possibly blow out the oil seal.

In any case we’re at the Gap. First run on the Dragon yesterday on the way in was decent, except for the motorcyclist about halfway thru who had dumped his bike and was laying in the opposite lane. There were a bunch of other bike riders with him so nothing for me to do. This morning I went out a little later for some supplies and to visit Fontana to see if anyone I know was there, but there weren’t many Miatas around. On my way there from Robbinsville I took a picture from one of the usual overlooks I visit:

She’s a bit dirty, but smiling (trust me, she is!).

 

[chiefmg]

Got home from MATG just before lunch. After unloading and taking a nap, I feel almost human. Being in the sun a lot over a couple of days will wipe you out.

I made a couple of purchases while there that I will share in the next few days. My new injectors were awaiting me when I got home so I will see about installing those tomorrow. I had a nearly-constant gas smell during my trip so I need to get to the bottom of that. Gas consumption wasn’t high so it’s not something simple like a leak. Beyond that, she ran great!

 

[chiefmg]

Here’s a group shot of the folks I was there with, this was after our northbound run on the Dragon Saturday:

After festivities on Saturday at the resort, I came back to my car to find this little fella:

My wife is trying to claim it from me.

On the way home we hit a milestone as you can see:

After I had the ‘charger oil leak I noticed that I was only building 5psi (about half of normal). Figure the most likely culprit for that was belt slippage. Just picked up a new belt to replace that, I need to clean the pulleys and everything else before installing it. I pulled the tensioner assembly, as can be seen that oil got everywhere:

Today’s been a lazy day so I’m not going any further.

Oh, I managed to buy a used set of SE floor mats that I was told only had 30k miles of use. Unfortunately there is some rust staining on them that I need to get off. Overall though they are in better shape than my originals. I also made another purchase that I am in the process of being able to use (had to order a few bits), I’m going to wait to post about that until I can show the installed product.

 

[chiefmg]

Yesterday I cleaned everything up, got a new belt for the ‘charger and installed it. Ran to storage to change back to the NB seats, discovered I still am only building about 50% boost so the belt wasn’t the problem. When I got home I looked at my boost pipe connections and all were tight. I then tried moving the bypass actuator using my MityVac. While it did move it wasn’t smooth. Track Dog Racing says these last about 30,000 miles (and 2-3 years), I have about that mileage on it and a lot more years so I ordered a replacement.

Got up this morning to a nice day so washed the travel grime off her. Then it was off to run some errands. Of course, despite no rain being in the forecast when I checked yesterday, shortly before getting home a downpour started. Ah well.

I have been thinking for a long time about fabricating some sort of bracket to hold the driver’s side floor mat in place. Looking at the wear on the old mat I think it moving around has contributed to that problem. I would prefer not to damage my newish mats in the same way once I get the rust stains cleaned off. I don’t like Mazda’s solution of having big plastic screws into the carpet. So, I swung by Home Depot and picked up a piece of this:

I also got a piece of 3/16” steel round stock. I ended up cutting off a 1” strip from the sheet. After some judicious bending, measuring and drilling a hole for the seat bolt (also had to Dremel file it a little bigger followed by some hand filing to dress it up) I ended up with this:

After checking the hole in the mat I think I will be better off with 1/4” round stock for the pin so will head out tomorrow to get that. I will then make another bracket for the inner hole in the mat, get the locating pins welded in place and paint it up. Pictures to follow of the finished product.

 

[chiefmg]

Got back on the brackets today. The right one ended up being something of a pain due to needing to have it angled. I scrapped the first one I had made. Got the second one to where I thought it would work. When welding the two pieces together I tacked it first and it looked good, then proceeded to run a full weld. That didn’t happen, midweld I heard the one piece hit the floor so I had to redo that weld. It wasn’t pretty when done but it holds nicely. Here a picture of the finished brackets:

Here is how they look when installed doing their job:

I had to grind down the pins’ outside diameter so the mat would fit nicely without movement. I shot them with some semi-gloss black paint, once dry I’ll fit them for good. I am going to see if I can find some flanged bolts slightly longer for those two front seat bolts just to be sure I have plenty of thread engagement with the brackets in place.