We swapped the engine out and the new one in within about 4 hours. We've run into a couple snags. We were getting a weird noise coming from the front / head area. Looks like SOMEONE forgot to tighten the timing belt tensioner pulleys 0.o (I'm an idiot), so I'm pulling the front covers and what not off to do that. Pics to come later
STS Miata - Project: Stronger Faster Lighter
- Thread starter aMaff
- Start date
FINALLY! Out with the old and crusty:
And in with the new hotness:
To borrow a quote from kevin: Simply insert part A into slot B:
And you're done! We ran into a couple snags like not tightening the idler pulleys and then the water pump pulley, forgetting to put on the lower radiator hose before filling it with fluid, and had trouble setting the timing, but we finally got everything set. We cranked it 'dry' (no fuel or spark) to build up oil pressure. Once it did we hooked plugged in the coil packs and the injector harness and it literally fired right up!! I was thrilled. It was actually kind of fun working the kinks out with the new engine. Hopefully I can get a good break in done tomorrow and go from there. I'm excited
And in with the new hotness:
To borrow a quote from kevin: Simply insert part A into slot B:
And you're done! We ran into a couple snags like not tightening the idler pulleys and then the water pump pulley, forgetting to put on the lower radiator hose before filling it with fluid, and had trouble setting the timing, but we finally got everything set. We cranked it 'dry' (no fuel or spark) to build up oil pressure. Once it did we hooked plugged in the coil packs and the injector harness and it literally fired right up!! I was thrilled. It was actually kind of fun working the kinks out with the new engine. Hopefully I can get a good break in done tomorrow and go from there. I'm excited
Mr. 4500 RPM
Member
- :
- Black P5
looking good andrew, lost some weight i see . . .
Sweetness. So you forgot to tighten the water pump pully the second time around? Tard 
. Did the noise go away after you fixed the tensioner and idler? What was the holdup on the timing?
I'll dig around for a plug for the OP and give you a call (or call me).
. Did the noise go away after you fixed the tensioner and idler? What was the holdup on the timing?I'll dig around for a plug for the OP and give you a call (or call me).
Sweetness. So you forgot to tighten the water pump pully the second time around? Tard
I'll dig around for a plug for the OP and give you a call (or call me).
Yeah, the noise went away then came right back b/c of the water pump LOL. Tightened both tensioners and checked to make sure the timing was right (Cyl #1 @ TDC, reference timing marks) and it was, then put the covers back on. Well, I put the water pump pulley on and hand tightened the bolts. The plan was put the belt on the Alt and get it tensioned, THEN tighten the WP bolts. Well, step #2 was sort of forgotten LOL.
As far as the timing, we figured out that for some reason the reference on the pulley's not in the right place. When #1 is @ TDC, the mark is out passed the "long" protrusion from the timing mark cover. We made a couple phone calls and, since it's all "relative", pulled the accessory pulley, put a mark we could see where it would line up with the T on the timing marks, and used that as a reference to do the timing. Runs fine, it's set to 10* (well, 11) for the time being.
w00t! The car runs AND drives! . I took it out on the road today to get the rings seated and start breaking her in some. It feels good. About as quick as the old motor, but then again I haven't really wrung this one out yet. Gonna wait a few hundred miles and then see what happens. Also it's saying something because we retarded the timing about 5 degrees back to the stock 10* before TDC so it *should* be noticeably slower. Of course, it could all just be placebo effect and wishful thinking, so fingers crossed.
Anyway while it was up on jackstands I went ahead and started on another project I've been putting off for far too long and did the front wheel studs. The rears will be done... uh... eventually lol
Here's what we started with:
Knocked the old studs out:
New vs. Old
Starting to put them in:
1 corner done:
Wheel on:
It's a lot easier to work with the wheels now. And oh yeah: They're kinda pimp
. I took it out on the road today to get the rings seated and start breaking her in some. It feels good. About as quick as the old motor, but then again I haven't really wrung this one out yet. Gonna wait a few hundred miles and then see what happens. Also it's saying something because we retarded the timing about 5 degrees back to the stock 10* before TDC so it *should* be noticeably slower. Of course, it could all just be placebo effect and wishful thinking, so fingers crossed.Anyway while it was up on jackstands I went ahead and started on another project I've been putting off for far too long and did the front wheel studs. The rears will be done... uh... eventually lol
Here's what we started with:
Knocked the old studs out:
New vs. Old
Starting to put them in:
1 corner done:
Wheel on:
It's a lot easier to work with the wheels now. And oh yeah: They're kinda pimp
- :
- 96 Miata M-Edition, 2015 Mazda 3 Hatch
Awww...mine's just a baby. 103k.
...and probably in the worst shape of the bunch.
Pfff.. Mine has 56k on it.
1996 M
- :
- 96 Miata M-Edition, 2015 Mazda 3 Hatch
FINALLY! Out with the old and crusty:
And in with the new hotness:
To borrow a quote from kevin: Simply insert part A into slot B:
Luke's shirt is awesome in this shot.
I bought W.A.N.G. Racing a christmas present today:
http://www.soloperformance.com/Longacre-Complete-Wheel-Alignment-Kit_p_104-1141.html
Bubble caster / camber gauge, standard toe plates, and sprung for the 3 point wheel adapter. Next step is to build a few stands and rig up some grease plates. Alignment rack on the cheap y0!
http://www.soloperformance.com/Longacre-Complete-Wheel-Alignment-Kit_p_104-1141.html
Bubble caster / camber gauge, standard toe plates, and sprung for the 3 point wheel adapter. Next step is to build a few stands and rig up some grease plates
. Alignment rack on the cheap y0!
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HFT has some toe plates for cheap.I bought W.A.N.G. Racing a christmas present today:
http://www.soloperformance.com/Longacre-Complete-Wheel-Alignment-Kit_p_104-1141.html
Bubble caster / camber gauge, standard toe plates, and sprung for the 3 point wheel adapter. Next step is to build a few stands and rig up some grease plates
They "mount" to the inside of the lip of the wheel and then you can place the guage in the middle. Some wheels have a weird design at the hub and don't allow the guage to sit flush.
Take some masonite and cut it into squares, slap some grease between them, and there are your toe/turn plates. Cheap and easy.
well, it's just one, but from what I read they're a little more accurate than the 2 point, and a bit easier to handle / use.
Masonite? Hell, we were going to go w/ linoleum tile. Shiney sides in, dab of grease, and go to town
Passed emissions today which is good because the registration is up this month.
Next on the list, in some sort of order:
-advance timing as soon as I finish off this tank of fuel and throw in some of the good stuff
-get the stock bushings out of the 'new' rear LCAs
-install long wheel studs on rear hubs
-swap poly bushings into new rear LCAs and swap new LCAs onto the car
-Install megasquirt & street tune
-Dyno tune the megasquirt
-swap in the fresh diff w/ new bushings
Our first event is likely going to be towards the end of February. About all of this should be done by then. The only one I see as probably not happening before then is the diff, as it's not really on my critical action items list. Neither are the studs, but I'm going to have the rear corner apart to swap the LCAs (with less bent ones) regardless, so I might as well while I'm there.
The new engine has about 350 miles on it. I'm still DD-ing so by early to mid Feb when the MS goes in we should be all broken in. I'm getting kind of excited about this. The engine *feels* strong, and I'm looking forward to what the dyno will say (I'm going to be booking 2 or 3 hours of dyno time, so we'll likely do a couple baseline runs w the stock ECU / timing advance, then hit it with the magaskeet
(alright)
Next on the list, in some sort of order:
-advance timing as soon as I finish off this tank of fuel and throw in some of the good stuff
-get the stock bushings out of the 'new' rear LCAs
-install long wheel studs on rear hubs
-swap poly bushings into new rear LCAs and swap new LCAs onto the car
-Install megasquirt & street tune
-Dyno tune the megasquirt
-swap in the fresh diff w/ new bushings
Our first event is likely going to be towards the end of February. About all of this should be done by then. The only one I see as probably not happening before then is the diff, as it's not really on my critical action items list. Neither are the studs, but I'm going to have the rear corner apart to swap the LCAs (with less bent ones) regardless, so I might as well while I'm there.
The new engine has about 350 miles on it. I'm still DD-ing so by early to mid Feb when the MS goes in we should be all broken in. I'm getting kind of excited about this. The engine *feels* strong, and I'm looking forward to what the dyno will say (I'm going to be booking 2 or 3 hours of dyno time, so we'll likely do a couple baseline runs w the stock ECU / timing advance, then hit it with the magaskeet
(alright)
How about summa dem apples!?
113.4 WHP, 98 ft/lbs! That's a gain of right at 10 WHP with the engine in exactly the same configuration as the old one (same mods / timing / stock ecu). Not bad for my 1st engine build, and not bad just in general for a B6
And to show her undying appreciation, my car decided to rupture its heater core, so now I've got to pull the entire friggin dash out and get that fixed. Unfortunately I've got bigger fish to fry for the next couple weeks, so that's going to have to wait. I'm going to bypass it today as a temporary bandaid. Hopefully I can find a good one and have time to replace it before the Dixie tour. Ugh... 1 step forwards 1 step back.
The Megasquirt goes in tomorrow, we hit the dyno for a tuning session next week, and hopefully all will be good in the world again lol
113.4 WHP, 98 ft/lbs! That's a gain of right at 10 WHP with the engine in exactly the same configuration as the old one (same mods / timing / stock ecu). Not bad for my 1st engine build, and not bad just in general for a B6
And to show her undying appreciation, my car decided to rupture its heater core, so now I've got to pull the entire friggin dash out and get that fixed. Unfortunately I've got bigger fish to fry for the next couple weeks, so that's going to have to wait. I'm going to bypass it today as a temporary bandaid. Hopefully I can find a good one and have time to replace it before the Dixie tour. Ugh... 1 step forwards 1 step back.
The Megasquirt goes in tomorrow, we hit the dyno for a tuning session next week, and hopefully all will be good in the world again lol
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Me too man. Hopefully everything goes smoothly. I was driving around today after I bypassed the heater core to make sure it was cooling properly and I took the liberty of actually getting on it some (hadn't really done that w/ the new motor yet). Damn thing will chirp the tires going into 2nd. Not that that's impressive, but for a miata on sticky tires and a 'stock' engine w/ bolt ons, that's not bad at all.
Also, I went to replace the rear wheel studs and there really isn't a way to do it without disassembling the hubs. Which sucks because that's another pain in the ass I didn't want to have to deal with. Bah.
Also, I went to replace the rear wheel studs and there really isn't a way to do it without disassembling the hubs. Which sucks because that's another pain in the ass I didn't want to have to deal with. Bah.
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