I did it again!

[6speed]

Well, my diff might be shredding itself. I did the recommended post-breakin fluid change on wednesday, about 3 miles of around town low speed driving yesterday, 1 mile to the highway this morning, and as i was coming up to speed on the ramp an overwhelming high frequency vibration was coming from the rear end. Directly related to speed, RPM doesn't change anything, feel is certainly the rear of the car, frequency is smooth, maybe what 2,000rpm feels like on the motor. Can faintly feel it by 40mph, by 55 it's disturbingly intense, by 60 it's overwhelming every other sensation that the car produces. I turned back and parked it, took the 2 in to work.

Only guess at the moment is something got in there with the new fluid. Going to drain it tonight and start inspecting everything I can, including borescoping the internals.

 

[bazooka joe]

oh boy....

 

[Reitrof]

And???

 

[6speed]

Still pending. Diff is redrained, no metal bits fell out, nothing on magnetic plug. Borescoped the internals while slowly rotating a wheel and no obvious damage. Pending a 2nd opinion from the shop that did the gear swap, should be today.

 

[bazooka joe]

that's good news...

 

[6speed]

Reverted nearly everything over the weekend. Hydra out and shipped to buyer, radiator and fans out, rewired oem set and they are back in, Injectors swapped back to oem, and RPF1s off. Nearly everything has a committed buyer already, getting just about $6k back, which is acceptable.

The diff and a seized plug in the rear o2 bung on the downpipe are the only remaining fixes before I go back wheels down.

 

[THE Phen]

I know that FM keeps a pretty decent database of the owners and the stuff that they bought. I went thru a headache with them regarding my Hydra because the VIN didn't match the box. Maybe shoot Jeremy Ferber an email letting him know that the box went to a different owner, so they can update their system... just in case.

Just a thought.

 

[6speed]

Yup, already did. It's still under warranty, which i believe transfers as well, so he would need that anyway.

 

[6speed]

Found the problem. One of the 4 bolts between the driveshaft and the diff is missing. Presumably pure coincidence on timing with the fluid change, unless somehow the car flexing from being lifted triggered it to actually fall out, since that was the first time it was in the air since the gear swap.

Fortunately, not the diff.

 

[Reitrof]

Great, sounds like an easy fix?

 

[6speed]

Yeah, not hard. Just have to buy all new bolts, nuts, and washers. Need to have identical weight for balance, and the remaining 3 were probably over stressed.

 

[bazooka joe]

Awesome!

 

[6speed]

Looks like I've got my decision on what I'm going to.

Of all the cars I test drove, only 2 captured that smile, only 2 met what I was really looking for in a car: Boxster S and RX-8.

The Boxster S has going for it:
- a convertible
- generally faster from a power to weight perspective
- something new
- better gas mileage

But negatives of:
- Hard to DIY anything due to needing a lift and/or special tools for just about everything
- I would be paying through the nose for any work I need someone else to do
- The engine failure risk is low, but if it happens, it's $15k minimum
- harder to take on longer trips due to space

Conversely, the RX-8 has going for it:
- I know the platform like the back of my hand
- literally anything that goes wrong I have all the tools and knowledge to fix
- more practical / usable
- under warranty


So it's pretty clear at this point. I also test drove a 2009 Sport trim back to back with a 2009 R3 trim, and the R3 trim is hands down a better car. It was easily noticeable how much better the R3 was.


So I'm staying Mazda after fair consideration of other options, and am hunting down an R3. My MSM will be up for sale tomorrow. Also got an estimate on vinyl wrapping an R3, as I don't like 2 of the available US colors (Sparkling Black and Velocity Red), generally like a 3rd (Aurora Blue), but I need to protect the paint better than my last 8 anyway for all my driving. Thinking a satin white or white carbon fiber...

Carbon fiber, close and far.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/481888_455318491223625_1566990609_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/943140_455318511223623_750767697_n.jpg


This is pretty hot imo...

 

[Reitrof]

Oh no, here we go again.

 

[THE Phen]

Regarding the Boxster and lack of space... My dad's boxster will carry literally 3x more than what my Miata can. Not that that's saying much, but the Frunk (front trunk) does have a nice bit of space inside of it.

 

[6speed]

Understood. I can't fit people in there, shouldn't put puppies in there, and even with that, the RX-8 still has it beat on storage space

For sale listing going up on various forums: http://www.mazda-speed.com/forum2/index.php/topic,28608.0.html

 

[THE Phen]

Hahaha, good point.

 

[altspace]

Buy mine.

 

[bazooka joe]

if he only liked VRM! i like that white one! good luck with the sale, shouldn't have a problem selling it...

 

[6speed]

Yeah, I don't expect much trouble selling it. Just might take a bit to find the right buyer. It's roughly equivalent to another black MSM that is up for sale across the forums, but $2,500 cheaper.

I'd take Josh's, but it's not a 2009+, it's red, and I'd be dailying it, which I would feel really bad doing given the reputation for how clean his car is.