NB MX-5 Hey, it's Minnie!

[chiefmg]

Cylinder head got installed and torqued. Couple of times I thought I was going to break those ARP studs! Did a lot more associated with the head, here's some pictures:

Here's my new reroute spacer, had some trouble getting the upper nut tight due to lack of clearance as machined.

What I did that day (besides the obvious) was to measure the thickness of all valve shims, assemble the cams to the head and check valve clearance. That then allowed me to determine what shims I would need to correct lash. I ended up needing four, unfortunately I made it to the dealer a little too late for their ordering so I wouldn't get the new shims until Monday. I had 10 clearances that were out, a couple were very tight. Cleaned up the block seating surface as well as the pistons. I couldn't find a large sanding block anywhere in town so I bought some belt sander refills and cut a piece of 1 X 4 board to allow me to use that as a sanding block. It worked pretty well.

The picture above showing the block/pistons is after I sanded the gasket surface.

 

[chiefmg]

Got the intake side buttoned up. Modified the M-Tuned fuel rail so that I can get the valve cover on and off easier, this consisted of beveling three areas where the bolts pass through. Used new insulators for the injectors where they go into the head. Ground down the thermostat to fit the new spacer and finished making the gasket needed so that is all closed up. Cleaned up and painted the JR header. I thought I got all the peanuts blown out of the inside, I ran my fish tape through it before bolting it up just to make sure.
Fuel rail mod:

Reroute spacer firewall clearance (I know, kind of hard to see but it's more than with the BEGi spacer):

Modified thermostat:

 

[chiefmg]

Finally got a small side project finished up, although it looks like I'll have to repaint it once I get some more spray as I've already gotten some chips:
Beginning:

Finish:

As I've said before I'm not a blingy type, while I liked the Zoom lid I didn't want all the polished metal shining at me. Someone said, why not paint it? Why not, indeed.

 

[chiefmg]

Got the driver's Recaro installed, and it fits just the way I had hoped. All that's left is to attach the seat belt receiver, I have an idea about that.

Since doing this I have given it more thought and decided it might be better to run the adapter brackets fore and aft instead of across. However I am going to wait and see the quality of the Wedge Engineering brackets I bought to mount similar Recaros in my RX-7. If they are good then I will probably just get a set for the Miata and sell these Corbeaus.

 

[chiefmg]

Got my center cap stickers put on:

Dropped my JR header off at the local welding place, they cropped off the EGR tube completely as well as moving the O2 bung I'll be using for my wideband. Whoever put it on in the first place had it sitting at about the 11 o-clock position and with the MTX-L I'm using, the wire coming out of the unit would be rubbing on the tranny tunnel.

 

[chiefmg]

Header was picked up and I painted the disturbed areas. Also painted the seat brackets. The next morning I got both seats installed, everything fitted and worked except for the back release levers (due to interference with the seat belt receivers) but I don't need that anyway. Header was installed and torqued down, thank heavens for ratcheting wrenches as two of the bottom nuts are about impossible to tighten due to clearance issues with tubing. Moved valve shims around based on the readings I took previously, however when I measured the clearance after that some of them were still out of whack. They had to be done again. The rest of the day was spent removing shingles from the roof for installation of a new roof (had to keep the wife happy).

 

[chiefmg]

Ordered the rest of the shims I needed. Here's pictures of the header modifications:
EGR removal:

O2 bung shift:

 

[chiefmg]

Spent most of the next day helping my son with his Protege. Picked up my shims, once we were done with his car I set about finishing up my lash adjustments. Ended up with several that were over spec but it's hard to get them exact with the shims the way they are. I'll be looking into what may be available aftermarket in smaller increments. Kept working on it until I had the timing belt on, covers buttoned up and crank pulley back on. That took me to 0030 so I decided it was time to call it a day.

Did the most important thing the day before- paid her off!

 

[chiefmg]

That is going to be it for a couple of days. My relief will be here tomorrow and I am flying home the following day. Once home I have to get caught up with normal life. There won't be much time for doing this, but rest assured I'll be back.

 

[bazooka joe]

Epic thread!

 

[CTt3P5]

Agreed Mark!

 

[chiefmg]

Epic thread!

Agreed Mark!

Thanks guys.

 

[chiefmg]

Back home finally, so let's continue...

Got everything back together, and she fired right up! Took her out for a shakedown spin (dirtiness and all) and had fun. As I was leaving my driveway I couldn't figure out a new noise I was hearing, then figured out it was the Rivals picking up small debris which then got flung off to hit the inside of the wheel wells. Can you say sticky? After making sure everything was fine, I washed her dirty butt when I got home. Ready for a spirited cruise the next day, should be a fun time.

I did have to get back under the car to install the butterfly brace, the front 949 brace and the RB sway bar blocks at some point.

 

[chiefmg]

The Triple Nickel cruise was fun (this was in Ohio), I probably won't do one of those again though as I did about 430 miles total. Lots of sun and my ears were ringing from all the hours top down. The Rivals got better as the day wore on, initially they felt a little odd to me (like they were a little greasy), I didn't have any moments but I wasn't completely confident in them. On the way home, I took an exit ramp off the freeway at 55 that I normally took at 50 with the Toyos, and it felt like they had more in them.

I ran a straight piped Harley on the way home (and beat him), but I had a little difficulty in shifting into third while doing so. That was the start of problems with the clutch.

 

[chiefmg]

Washed the dust and bugs from the cruise off. Adjusted my idle as I had opened the throttle body butterfly in an effort to reduce idle droop and it ended up being too much (as in, 2,000 rpm idle too much). Tightened the A/C/power steering belt as I was getting some squealing from it. Finally installed an inflatable lumbar bladder in the driver's seat (picked it up off eBay a while ago) and that made the driver's side almost perfect. The only issue is with using cruise control where I am not actively moving my right leg, it tends to rest on the outer bolster where the support pipe is located and goes numb after a bit. I can move around and it isn't a problem, just something I have to be aware of. These Recaros hold me in place so well I don't have to use the dead pedal to plant my butt in the seat much at all.

Did a few small things over the next few days. Finally got the center section of my butterfly brace installed again. I forgot what a right-royal PITA that is. Also adjusted my bypass valve so it's working better, I was getting a kick in the boost like a turbo. Now it's back to being seamless. Replaced the factory sealing washer for the temperature sensor with the O-ring and backing washer the guy I bought the reroute spacer from provided. There was a small leak from the sensor, I have to check it now once it cools to see if the O-ring corrected the leak.

Checked later and no more leakage from around the reroute spacer. Success!

As mentioned I was having some problems with the clutch on the hydraulic side. Bled the system and got a lot of air out, although it didn't seem like it was all out. Action was improved initially but then degraded again (as experienced by difficulty in getting the lever into some gears). I also tried adjusting the actuating rod at the pedal but with no change. I suspect I had some internal leakage past the piston in either the master or slave, I ordered replacements to install when I get home.

Put on the cover I picked up off eBay before leaving that time. It was listed as being a dealer's show-off cover, has the Mazda emblem on the front, "Get In, Be Moved" on each side and "No Peeking" on the back. It's yellow which is the one black mark against it. I asked my wife what she thought of it, she said it was cute. I had to restrain myself from killing it with fire after that...

 

[chiefmg]

Got home from the company conference I had to go to in London, within two hours I was out replacing the clutch master and slave. Unfortunately that didn't fix my problem. It acted like the clutch wasn't disengaging the tranny fully which made it hard to shift. I tried adjusting the push rod twice without much change. Only other thing I could think it might be was the throwout lever is broken in some fashion.

Did some research on my problem, found one guy with a FM Happy Meal like mine who ended up having to get a new clutch/pressure plate from them. As a last try I adjusted the pedal to increase the overall travel. While this puts it a little higher than I would like (it's topped out on the switch bracket) it appears to have fixed the problem. I was going to try some minor adjusting to see what I could do with it, I was just glad I won't have to pull the tranny.

Was still having some problems with the clutch. Spoke to a tech at FM and he gave me one other thing to try. If that didn't do it then I decided to get another clutch.

Got a fresh alignment. Last time I used the FM specs, this time I went with 949's Dual Duty specs. Main difference between the two is more front camber. In just the short drive home I noticed quicker turn-in with lighter feeling steering. Not sure at that point if my power-on oversteer was affected much or not, that was checked on my next drive.

Spent about three hours quality time with the Miata next morning. Pulled the 'charger so I could access the O2 sensor connector plug (I have now moved that so it is accessible at all times), removed the O2 sensor for the wideband and calibrated same. Shimmed the 'charger nose out with an additional two washers to see if that will finally let the belt track straight. Finally, identified my slight coolant leak as coming from the thermostat cover on the reroute spacer, so pulled that off, cleaned it up, made a new gasket and used some silicone on both sides this time. Going to let that dry overnight before refilling the system. Everything else was buttoned back up and ready to go. I waited to check the last item on the clutch later that day, it was a bit muggy out.

Oh, and while the new alignment was ace, it doesn't stop power-on oversteer. Things were pretty controllable however.

 

[chiefmg]

Measured travel at the clutch slave cylinder, it was 16mm which matched what FM measured on one of theirs. Also checked that I could push the slave pushrod back into the cylinder (this is necessary to ensure you don't have the pedal pushrod too tight), I could. So it looked like I'll be getting another clutch.

Rain the next day so didn't do much of anything. Topped off the coolant after letting the silicone on the reroute spacer set up overnight, pulled the front bumper cover and replaced the passenger side foglight that I broke. FYI, you can't adjust the aim of the light by pulling on the housing. It will break, trust me. Just loosen the bolts and do it the right way.

Also removed the XPel film from the headlights that wasn't quite right. I had a new set to put on but didn't want to mess with it then.

 

[chiefmg]

Out driving on another day and started getting a stutter again. Pulled the plugs, coolant in #4 cylinder. !@#!#$)$^)*&)#$^^&&)@$*@@!!!!!! I have no idea why it was, car was fine, no overheating or anything else that would cause a problem, now this.

Three hours and fifteen minutes to pull the head off. Looked fine with no apparent warpage. The only thing I can think of is the slightly uneven tightening I did due to that little bit of wiring that got trapped at the rear. If that was it, then it means the MLS gaskets can absolutely not be compressed more than once. I'm going to try cleaning the head up with some aluminum polish I saw at Ace, ordering the gasket in the morning.

Helpful tip, an easy way to remove hard-to-reach washers is to use a magnet. My fingers are somewhat long and slender, but just won't reach into the head very well.

Got the head gasket ordered, it was due in a couple of days. Cleaned up the head and block surfaces, due for a root canal the next day so I doubted I'd feel like doing much. Replaced the studs/nuts holding the reroute spacer on with socket head cap screws, I couldn't get the one nut tight enough to make me happy due to the machining which restricted access to it. I had put the bottom nuts for the intake manifold on the head so they wouldn't get lost, as I was cleaned it up I noticed one was missing. Looked all over for the damn thing and couldn't find it, right before I came in I moved the head slightly and heard a clink. There it was! Still have no idea where it was hiding.

Pictures of the head before/after cleaning:

 

[chiefmg]

Got her mostly back together, getting the timing belt on and set gave me fits for some reason (last time it only took me twice to get it set right). Still had to put on the belly pan and cowl cover, and get some more coolant to fill things up. Then I'd see how she ran. Didn't get more done because I had to wait on the gasket, and that night was date night.

Had some rain so the test drive had to wait, it finally cleared so did that. Everything seemed fine. Waited on her to cool so I could check the radiator level.

Went out with the wife, car was idling high so the next morning I checked my rerouting of the throttle cable. I moved it to a slightly different position which seemed like it would improve things. Went to start the car before heading to lunch, crank, crank, crank, start and immediately to redline. Shut her down and checked, the throttle cable had jumped off the bellcrank. Took a look after lunch, I didn't get the holding bracket for the throttle cable oriented correctly which is what caused the problem. FYI, that bracket must be parallel to the ground or slightly higher, otherwise (because the throttle body is mounted at an angle) the cable will not align properly and will come off the bellcrank. This is a bad thing.

When I got that all back together I noticed there wasn't any slack in the cable, causing the throttle to be held open. A couple of washers on the bolt behind the cable bracket to move it closer to the throttle body fixed that. Took a test drive and all those problems are now solved.

After some thought, I decided to pull both the JR header and FM muffler. There's just a little too much obnoxiousness on the noise front for me, plus something is causing the car to vibrate under some loads. There was also a metallic rattling noise that was new, but I found out what it was when I pulled the stuff off. I forgot to put the tab for the metal hardline for the heater connection to the mixing manifold under one of the exhaust mani nuts.

It's getting kind of scary how fast I can pull stuff off this car. Granted I've done a lot of things to it, but it only took me a little over an hour to pull the 'charger, exhaust mani and muffler.

Got it all back together, I took the time to clean up the muffler and pipes of the Brainstorm dual, it was looking kind of ratty. Rattle canned it flat black with some high temp paint from Ace, came out well. Took a test drive, no more vibs and it sounds nice and throaty without the edginess that the FM dual had.

 

[chiefmg]

What you can find on eBay if you have time on your hands:

That's the cover I mentioned before (for anyone whose speed-reading skills are poor).