Page 7 of 74 FirstFirst 12345678910111213141757 ... LastLast
Results 91 to 105 of 1107

Thread: This ain't no build thread!

  1. #91
    Nukuler banned! chiefmg's Avatar
    Location
    N KY
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    1,422
    Thanks Given
    184
    Thanked 1,226 Times in 527 Posts
    Fired her up! Unfortunately the supercharger belt kept jumping off, tried some adjustments but nothing was working. Back to research to figure it out. Nice to know that nothing was leaking or falling off after all I changed.

    The next day I had no joy with the 'charger adjustments. If I aligned the pulleys the unit was all the way back in its brackets (towards the firewall) and when the engine was run the belt immediately jumped off two ribs towards the front. If the 'charger was pulled back towards the front the belt only jumped off one rib. Seemed like there might be some sort of vertical misalignment but there is no provision to adjust that. I fabbed up a bracket out of some scrap aluminum I had to hold the MS in place where the stock one sits, but made it wrong with the MS oriented 90 degrees off. When I got back underneath and took another look I realized that I couldn't do what I wanted so that got shelved. Trying to figure out what to do next about the 'charger alignment issues.

    Next day I'm cautiously optimistic that I'm on track to get this damned supercharger belt aligned. Took the 'charger and assorted brackets off and took a good look at things. The main plate had a slight bend in it which I fixed, otherwise it was all good. The front and rear supercharger brackets that mount to the main plate were on correctly. Put it all back on and ran it with the belt moving off two ribs. Stood back and peered at it this way and that. It looked again to me as though the nose of the 'charger was cocked. Took it back off again and used one washer between the forward bracket and the main plate for the two bolts. Put it all back together, checked the alignment and the pulleys looked good. Started the car and the belt moved off one rib but it was otherwise fine. When I tried revving it the belt jumped off. On the plus side while it was idling it was steady at 1000 rpm (it had been hunting up and down during my previous starts). I loosened the forward bolts for the 'charger bracket and moved it to see about how much more I needed to shim things. After waiting for it to cool down I put in two additional washers under each bolt and tried it again. The three shimming washers helped a lot, I checked pulley alignment and was able to get it spot-on. However when I ran the car the belt still moved off one rib and I was hearing some unusual noises that sounded like they were coming from the nose of the supercharger. I tried making more adjustments but there was no change. Came inside to cool off, took an afternoon nap (I was thinking about things, honest!). Went back out a little later and checked the horizontal plane of both pulleys. The supercharger appeared to be more level than the crank pulley (remember, the engine is slightly higher in the front) so I removed the two rear bolts and pushed down on the rear of the 'charger. This time when I started it the belt immediately jumped completely off. So, I put the bolts back in again and put the belt back on. Started the car to see how it was, and the belt stayed on and in place! I did start using the belt the guy sent me with the kit which shouldn't have an impact because it's the same as the new one I bought (just has some usage on it). I revved the engine and it was making happy noises and the belt stayed where it was. Hooray!!!! There was a part of me that was annoyed because I didn't know specifically what fixed the problem (still don't for that matter).
    Last edited by chiefmg; 02-02-2013 at 05:10 PM.

  2. #92
    Nukuler banned! chiefmg's Avatar
    Location
    N KY
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    1,422
    Thanks Given
    184
    Thanked 1,226 Times in 527 Posts
    Kept getting a flashing CEL when I drove it. According to the MS builder, that is an indication of overheating. I don't see any increase on the temp gauge, the rad was topped off and there was no leakage from the water pump. Someone else said they had a similar problem and it was their rad, plus they checked their thermostat. My rad is fairly new, and I had the thermo out but didn't test it. I found out my new parts from MS Motorsports weren't due for a few days, so I went to the local dealer to get a thermostat. Unfortunately they didn't have any in stock, so I used the Stant I had bought previously. Initially I thought I was an idiot and put it in backwards, however according to the service manual it was correct and you can only install the stock one in one direction. Couldn't find the gasket I had so made one of those. Put it all together and ran the car, seemed fine until I was pulling out of the drive to go for a run and the CEL started flashing. Back into the garage with her. When I checked the TunerStudio (what I'm using for the MS), the temp was 203. Now I was truly stuck, no idea what might have been causing this.

    The next morning I went out and bedded in the new brakes. Took me a couple of tries as I kept getting traffic behind me on the road I use. Didn't they know I needed it clear?!

    Another problem reared its head. The wife and I were on our way home from c&c when I noticed an unusual noise. Pulled into a gas station and checked, found the crank overlay pulley had loosened. I shut it off very quickly and called for a tow. Two hours later the truck shows up and took me home. So I then had to try and source an overlay pulley that bottoms on the crank pulley so I wouldn't have it happen again. And I was having so much fun! On the plus side, I can attest that the Ryoku Rob tow hook works as advertised. Good thing I had it too as the PO had removed the baby teeth.

  3. #93
    Nukuler banned! chiefmg's Avatar
    Location
    N KY
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    1,422
    Thanks Given
    184
    Thanked 1,226 Times in 527 Posts
    So I've been lazy at continuing this, let's work some more on getting caught up as I have been busy installing upgrades lately.

    When I pulled things apart on the crank pulley, I found that three of the four bolts holding everything together had broken off in the hub. Not a pretty sight. I tried drilling them out using a right angle attachment on my drill with no luck. So I ordered a new hub from the local dealer and then pulled the hub off when I got home. Since I had nothing to lose I tried drilling them out from the back side, lo and behold they all came right out. Luckily I was able to cancel my order.

    I didn't take a picture but the bolts were slightly protruding from the back of the hub, which means they weren't as tight as they should have been. In the course of my research about the overlay pulley, I found that Mazda used two different crank pulleys from '99 to around '01. One is cast, the other steel. There doesn't seem to be any particular breakdown for which one was used. The cast one has a raised area in the middle while the steel one doesn't. BRP originally included a spacer in their supercharger kits for use with the steel spacer. Apparently the person I bought my kit from had one of the cast pulleys and so didn't have to use the spacer. I called Track Dog Racing to see if they had or knew of a source for the spacers, lucked out again as they had one on hand that I bought.

    Here are pictures of the two types of stock crank pulleys.

    Cast:
    Steel:

    The stock steel crank pulley is in the middle.

    Here's how the spacer fits on the overlay:
    Last edited by chiefmg; 01-31-2013 at 10:15 PM.

  4. #94
    Nukuler banned! chiefmg's Avatar
    Location
    N KY
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    1,422
    Thanks Given
    184
    Thanked 1,226 Times in 527 Posts
    There is a positioning dowel pin in the hub for the crank pulley, but another one was needed for the spacer to overlay. Off to Ace I went, they didn't have steel rod in the correct size so I bought the next bigger one and then used my angle grinder to reduce the diameter while slowly turning the rod. Worked like a charm. I checked the length of the pulley bolts before putting stuff back to make sure they didn't extend beyond the back of the hub, they were fine. I used the Rennenmetal crank holding tool while torquing the hub nut, you need to either get it or one like it if you are doing anything that requires removal of the hub. Started putting everything back together, when I got to the thermostat cover I heard/felt a snap as I was tightening the bottom nut. I felt around but didn't find anything so thought maybe something had just slipped. That thought went away when I started filling the coolant and it came pouring out of the thermo cover. Took it off to find the hole on the bottom had broken. The thermostat had slipped out of place and I didn't notice it, causing the cover hole to be stressed due to my tightening it over the thermostat. Back to Mazda to order a new cover.
    Last edited by chiefmg; 02-02-2013 at 05:11 PM.

  5. #95
    Nukuler banned! chiefmg's Avatar
    Location
    N KY
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    1,422
    Thanks Given
    184
    Thanked 1,226 Times in 527 Posts
    Got the thermo cover and got the rest of the car buttoned back up (making doubly sure the thermostat stayed in place this time). I did occasionally get the flashing CEL for coolant temp but otherwise the car ran great. My boost gauge wasn't functioning so I wrote to ProSport, they wrote back saying my connection was bad. Sure enough I hadn't fully seated it even though I thought I had. Now with a functioning boost gauge! My gauge has the peak hold feature so I was able to confirm a max pressure of 10 psi. The car didn't feel as fast as when it had the M45, I think this is because the torque curve is flatter. Took a drive with the laptop hooked up to get some tuning done.

    Since I had raised it when I first got home I had the alignment checked, readings weren't too far off so it only cost me $60. Went to the next autocross and had some competition, came in second out of four. Here's a vid of my fastest run:

    Before I went back to work I changed the oil/filter and redid the 3M tape holding my gauge pod on. I just can't bring myself to drill holes in the A-pillar trim.
    Last edited by chiefmg; 02-02-2013 at 05:12 PM.

  6. #96
    Nukuler banned! chiefmg's Avatar
    Location
    N KY
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    1,422
    Thanks Given
    184
    Thanked 1,226 Times in 527 Posts
    While I was out to sea this last time, I bought a Koyo radiator cap. The stock one I had seemed to fit ok, but they say you have to use theirs for a proper fit and I wanted to remove a variable from the mix of my temperature issue. I also finally scored a MSM rear spoiler, bought it from Treasure Coast Miata. Ended up cheaper than someone I had been negotiating with on another forum. Since I had that I went ahead and bought a new '99-00 front lip from RSpeed to replace my damaged stocker, as well as a set of Cobalt adjustable end links for the front sway. Picked up some nice leather pieces from Redline, shifter/e-brake boots, console lid cover and seatbelt receiver covers. Scored a set of factory original floor mats off eBay purely by chance, seller had listed them as being for an '01 with brown stitching. Found a used FM 2.5" dual exhaust on CL that I bought. Also got a 180 degree thermostat from TDR and a O2 sensor bung for the new exhaust (turned out I wouldn't need it). Once I got confirmation when I was to be headed home, I ordered a FM Happy Meal with the 13.45 pound flywheel as well as a couple of their specialty tools. This was due to some slippage I noticed with the MP62 when accelerating briskly a few times. Finally, I went ahead and bought a pair of the ProjectG vent windows.

    While I was gone the wife went to drive it, I got an e-mail asking me where the battery was so she could charge it. After that was done and she drove it, she wanted to put the hard top on because she went to a friend's house with the top down and when she drove home it was too cold for her to put it up. A buddy of mine helped her get that on.

    I got home on 15 December, which means we are very close to being up to date. Exciting, isn't it? I'll pause here for today to give you all the chance to digest it.
    Last edited by chiefmg; 01-31-2013 at 10:43 PM.

  7. #97
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! roy obanion's Avatar
    Drives
    Anything I can get my hands on!
    Location
    St. Louis, MO
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Posts
    335
    Thanks Given
    0
    Thanked 8 Times in 8 Posts
    It is a chance for some of us to relive what you did in the past several months, plus I think I have read most of this somewhere else ;)

  8. #98
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! mrpham's Avatar
    Drives
    Crystal White MX-5
    Location
    Brisbane, Australia
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    258
    Thanks Given
    1
    Thanked 219 Times in 65 Posts
    Hey mate.

    Been hearing a lot of bad stories about those M6 bolts used on the accessory pulley. They're simply under-engineered and prone to snapping.

    Check out these:
    http://www.flyinmiata.com/index.php?...umber=36-10408

  9. #99
    Nukuler banned! chiefmg's Avatar
    Location
    N KY
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    1,422
    Thanks Given
    184
    Thanked 1,226 Times in 527 Posts
    Thanks for that, but I couldn't use the factory bolts as they aren't long enough for the overlay pulley. I bought some Grade 8.8 at the hardware store and threaded them all the way down. As I mentioned the problem was they had bottomed out on the hub and without the spacer in place, there was likely some movement of the pulleys against one another. All that caused the breakage in my case.

  10. #100
    Nukuler banned! chiefmg's Avatar
    Location
    N KY
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    1,422
    Thanks Given
    184
    Thanked 1,226 Times in 527 Posts
    It didn't take me long after getting home to start putting parts on. First thing I did was install the e-brake boot to see how it looked. I am a little torn as the color isn't quite a match for the interior but it does look nice. The day after I got home I tried installing the FM exhaust, removed the butterfly brace center section for access and then swapped things out. Had some trouble though with the slip fitting for the rear piece that goes over the axle, it was crimped from the clamp when installed previously and wouldn't go on properly. Not sure how the PO was able to get it off with that problem. I ended up just leaving the FM muffler on and put the stock midpipe back on. I installed the Redline shift boot, cleaned the interior and had a little fun running errands that was slightly curtailed by some rain. New muffler is louder than the Brainstorm that was on the car but I like it. While out I got a huge thumbs up from two guys in an older Civic hatch, complete with ricer ziptie X's on the rear bumper. At least he didn't try racing me. Did some prep work on the MSM rear spoiler so I could drop it off for painting. Removed the old 3M doublesided tape, that was fun.

    Dropped the spoiler, front lip and new emblems off at a local place for painting that I've used before. Bought a cowl guard from the dealer as mine was kind of beat (normal breakage they get). Started the search for the ProjectG vent windows as I found all the rest of my parts but those. Took a little while but they finally turned up by the front door underneath some stuff the wife had piled up.

    Got both vent windows installed after a day or two, the cowl guard came in so that went on as well. Vent windows work, they don't move as much as air as the old style (for you youngsters, think of the entire triangular vent window pivoting on hinges) but the effect is noticeable and I think will be nice to have in warmer weather.

    Picked up the painted items, just to show that the fasteners for the stock NB spoiler are the same as for the MSM (save two):




    Might answer the question for someone in the future. Note the MSM has two plastic clips that are about halfway between the outermost bolt and the center stud. I removed those. If you look at my trunk lid you will see how the stocker was installed. That strip of double sided tape at the center rear gave me fits, it was still holding tightly. I've seen some sort of tool that aids with removal of the tape, I looked for it the following day. I cleaned up the underside of the MSM spoiler and prepped it with some new tape. I got motivated and went back out to the cold garage and removed the front bumper to put the new lip and emblem on.

  11. #101
    Nukuler banned! chiefmg's Avatar
    Location
    N KY
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    1,422
    Thanks Given
    184
    Thanked 1,226 Times in 527 Posts
    Got my new front lip installed, there are some small gaps in the same places where the original had them which makes me wonder if my bumper was tweaked at some point. I bought that tool I mentioned for removal of tape residue, it's called an eraser. Round wheel you chuck up in a drill, has about the same consistency as an art gum eraser. It does a good job but the leavings off the wheel go everywhere. Found out whoever installed the factory spoiler was an idiot. They didn't put any sort of tape or other protection down before drilling the holes so the paint got chipped. To top it off they didn't touch up the chips. I'm guessing minimum wage slave who didn't care about cars. I took care of that before putting the MSM spoiler on.

    My Happy Meal finally showed up, and I ordered a battery as mine was showing signs of weakness. Best price I found was here: http://www.batteryweb.com/mazda-miata-batteries.cfm Bought the Westco since it has a higher rating. I saw where some folks got one from O'Reilly's but when I searched their site online for the number, it didn't show up. I also considered getting the Marathon from Battery Mart, the ad says it's an AGM type but the specs show it to be sealed lead-acid. I didn't want to chance it.\

    Decided that I should just go ahead and do the timing belt/water pump while I'm going to have everything apart, one less thing to worry about while I'm gone. Ordered that off eBay and picked up a tranny jack from Harbor Freight. After a small amount of running I found a local machine shop so dropped off the thermostat spacer to get it machined. I'll be drilling/tapping the holes for the temp sensor and heater connection myself once I get things in place and mocked up. Oh yeah, and I also ordered the female-male adapter in stainless I need to fix up the fuel lines properly.

    After some more research and cogitation, I decided to buy the front block off plate for the coolant reroute from BEGi. This is so I can run the two small hoses (from oil heater/throttle body and to the pump) from there. This was after I couldn't find any aluminum in town thick enough to make my own. I figured $20 wasn't too bad, but once shipping was added it came up to $37! Note that they later refunded part of the shipping cost. Received my stainless pipe adapter for the fuel system. Once I get the front plate and a couple of other things (like the hose that will be running from the back of the head to the radiator) I'll be ready to dive in.

  12. #102
    Nukuler banned! chiefmg's Avatar
    Location
    N KY
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    1,422
    Thanks Given
    184
    Thanked 1,226 Times in 527 Posts
    Received the battery, timing belt kit and BEGi thermo cover. Spent a couple of hours quality time with the Miata, since it was finally warm enough I didn't have to worry about losing the feeling in my fingertips. Removed the supercharger, drained/removed the radiator, pulled the upper intake mani and alternator. Discovered the nut for the bottom of the PS pump that also holds on the bottom support for the 'charger was missing. Not sure what happened there, but I will be sure to use some blue LocTite when I reassemble.

    Did some preliminary cleanup on the Kia thermo cover and the square top mani that will be going in. I was thinking about using oven cleaner but it says not to use it on aluminum. Ended up using this degreaser I bought at a local auto parts store along with a brass wire brush. It got the grunge off, I'll disassemble the mani and use a powered wire brush to take off the rest of the crud and make sure it's presentable.

    Picked up a flexible rotary brush (not wire) to clean up the manifold. Started on that earlier today, it looks like it will do a good job. Got the lower intake manifold removed along with the fuel rail and injectors. Pulled off the water pump pulley and crank pulleys (all of them). Replaced the brass reducer on the fuel line with the stainless one I bought. Oh yeah, and pulled the COPs.

    Decided to become a scofflaw and remove the Miata's EGR. Got a set of blanking plates ordered, now just need to figure out what size cap I need for the exhaust mani.
    Picked up the coolant hoses from the dealer today, and just got done painting the radiator panels. Going to look pretty good if I do say so myself. I didn't fill in a couple of small scrapes in the aluminum, I want to see how well it will hold up painted (and if I will like it) before going all out on it.

    Woke up early one morning, I've had some questions about the oil cooler lines for the coolant reroute that I haven't been able to find an answer for so figured I'd search one more time. Good thing too as I found this: http://www.boostedmiata.com/gallery2...l_001/reroute/ That should answer anyone's questions about how to do a reroute.

  13. #103
    Nukuler banned! chiefmg's Avatar
    Location
    N KY
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    1,422
    Thanks Given
    184
    Thanked 1,226 Times in 527 Posts
    Got the tranny out but not without some finger mutilation. I'll spare you all the gory details but while loosening one of the PPF bolts the breaker bar slipped and I split the fingernail on my little finger on the FM frame rails. Old clutch and flywheel were removed, friction surfaces were showing what I think are signs of slipping. Went to change out the front seal in the tranny only to find I got the wrong gasket for the plate so I had to research and see what I needed. Got the new rear main seal installed (that is a snap with the FM tool), flywheel installed and torqued, strangely enough there are different values for the flywheel bolts given in the factory manual and the factory engine repair manual. Clutch disc and pressure plate are also on, I'm waiting on the rest until I do the coolant reroute as I have better access to the rear of the engine with the tranny out.

    I did the conversion of the flywheel bolt torque values from Newton-meters to pounds-feet and discovered the higher value in the engine manual is wrong. So I was faced with taking it back off and doing it correctly. For the record it is 71-75 lbs-ft.

  14. #104
    Nukuler banned! chiefmg's Avatar
    Location
    N KY
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    1,422
    Thanks Given
    184
    Thanked 1,226 Times in 527 Posts
    My tranny manual paid for itself as it turns out the 6 speed front cover doesn't use a gasket but sealant. The oil seal is different between the 5 and 6 speeds but I did get the correct one. Got the flywheel bolts taken care of and the pressure plate/disc back in place. Then began the coolant reroute saga. Got everything off the back of the head ok, ran around town to pick up the fasteners, tap and drill bit needed to make things work. I thought I could put the temp sensor in the back of the head (there's a blanking bolt just above where the hose to the oil cooler comes off, had to use two washers to keep it from bottoming). Marked/drilled/tapped the side of the spacer for the heater barb and installed that using some Aviation Form-a-Gasket. Went to put it all together only to find that the outlet interferes with the temp sensor when located directly in the head. Pulled that out and tried to see how I could fit it into the spacer, but you have to have some sort of bung to provide clearance between the sensor and the thermostat. After some thought and realizing discretion is the better part etc, I ordered the BEGi spacer. It has everything already done, with what I've spent so far and what I needed to do in order to make the Moss spacer work, I would be above the $93 they charge. Taking a break then back out to button up the tranny and get all the underneath stuff installed. Today's the last warm day for a while so anything that requires lying on the floor will be done by tonight.

    Some pictures for all you Gen-Xers who require visual stimulation:

    Thermo location back of head-
    Temp sensor in head-
    Reroute parts-
    Back of engine-

  15. #105
    Nukuler banned! chiefmg's Avatar
    Location
    N KY
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    1,422
    Thanks Given
    184
    Thanked 1,226 Times in 527 Posts
    Tranny was buttoned up, getting it aligned with the engine was interesting. Exhaust was put on, underbody bracing installed (except for mid-section of butterfly brace, I will be doing something later with the exhaust and it's too big a pain to deal with it twice). I could basically put the front wheels on and drop it back down but it can wait. I was done for the day.

    Next day torqued the tranny drain plug so I didn't forget it. Put a HD lip on the new front lip. Ordered a couple of gaskets for the shifter, one got torn during removal. Most of the day was a rest day, my body was so sore from worming under the car and out over two days that I needed it.

Page 7 of 74 FirstFirst 12345678910111213141757 ... LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •