bzr
09-08-2014, 10:32 PM
Or: an insane tale of woe, as forsaken by whichever diety you choose
This is my car. It's a 2000 NB Miata.
http://i.imgur.com/ZmZULev.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/xhptXog.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/OJfYhOr.jpg
Her name is Sally. I bought her three years ago, fresh out of college with my summer savings. It's the first car I've ever owned. The previous owner put the stripe on (http://autoweek.com/article/people/what-we-drive-2000-mazda-miata), but I get the brunt of all the jokes about it. When I bought her, she had just 28,000 miles on it.
http://i.imgur.com/1e4IfkS.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/PeFuCKf.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/V694fpI.jpg
I drove the car across the country, from my native home of Massachusetts, when I got a job in Los Angeles. I put 10,000 miles in a week. I zigzagged across the country. I drove the Tail of the Dragon, which sucked, and then Cherohala Skyway, which did not. I stopped at the World's Largest Ball of Twine in Cawker City, Kansas. I did 140 with the top down in Nevada on Highway 50, the Loneliest Highway in America. The car was perfect. I was so young, so naïve. I thought the car would be invincible. I swore to myself that I'd never sell it—that I'd be the old crusty guy who hands this car to his grandchildren, whether they want it or not.
http://i.imgur.com/Vuca6Gt.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/EQIZbx3.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/dIucwG4.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/x5oqlIY.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/Oe2fVrN.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/o8TztSe.jpg
This car ran without skipping a beat for three years (ok, I had to replace a clutch slave cylinder). I took it to Buttonwillow, Streets of Willow, Fontana, and MRLS (in 2011). Full synthetic oil changes every 5,000 miles, following the maintenance schedule by the book—at 50,000 miles I dumped what seemed like an entire Chevron refinery onto my arm changing the fuel filter. I installed a FCM full coilover kit and FM sways, new brake pads and calipers all around, Dunlop Direzza ZIIs, but I never touched the engine.
Earlier this year, the trouble began.
http://i.imgur.com/oJSEYZN.jpg
I welcomed the new 2014 with a cylinder misfire in number 4. Turns out, I might not have tightened the last spark plug down all the way…and so, the end tip burnt off and became embedded in the piston. That's what Tri-Point Engineering told me. While I was at it, I had a host of other things done: hoses, new brake lines, and such. Spark plugs and wires were replaced. The car ran fine after that, as they had expected.
A few months later, I replaced the valve cover gasket. I also lettered the tires, because that's what cool kids do on the Internet.
http://i.imgur.com/CP0dGZl.jpg
Fast forward to May—the car sounded funny, but I thought it was just an oil pan leak. So, I changed the oil. Around two gallons poured out. New oil went in. The next day, the strange sound didn't go away. "Fuck it, it'll go away," I thought, and I drove 400 miles to Big Sur.
See, here's the thing about cars: I only play a smart guy on television.
Anyway, the car ran worse and worse and filled the scratched-up rear bumper with soot. So, I limped it into a Mazda dealer in sunny Seaside, where they found that half the oil had poured out all along Highway 1 and was probably draining down the cliff and into the gullet of a baby sea otter. They topped me off, said, "you should probably be fine," (I've learned to take that with bs), and sent me on my way. No charge.
I made it as far as Gonzales, 30 miles away, when the car died for good.
http://i.imgur.com/W8ZlbqP.jpg
It was towed to Cardinale Mazda of Salinas, where the weekend after, they told me that it had thrown a rod. Badly. Three weeks passed before I was able to secure a Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD and a U-Haul trailer and bring the car back to Los Angeles. I had never towed anything more than a mattress before. I wrote about the experience, here (http://autoweek.com/article/car-life/trailer-towing-101-learning-easy-way).
So, I pulled the engine with Corbin (of Zero Fcks RX-7 fame, he's just as nice in person!!!) and had the car and busted engine hauled back to Tri-Point. I sold the head, and secured a new engine on eBay: a 45,000-mile 1.8 from Japan, complete with six-speed transmission. Do you know what a 5-speed transmission, like mine, is worth on eBay? Like, $300 (http://www.ebay.com/sch/Complete-Manual-Transmissions-/171117/i.html?_from=R40&_vxp=mtr&_nkw=miata+5-speed). Do you know what a 6-speed transmission is worth Friggin' sixteen hundred bucks (http://www.ebay.com/sch/Complete-Manual-Transmissions-/171117/i.html?_from=R40&_vxp=mtr&_nkw=miata+6-speed).
Thusly emboldened—I can pay off my entire engine repair! I thought—I listed my six-speed at a hilarious price (http://clubroadster.net/vb_forum/28-sale-trade/172106-six-speed-transmission-jdm-4-into-2-header.html). I had always intended to negotiate, you see, and knew that eBay pricing was bs. I listed it on eBay, too. Guess people are too smart to pay the price of a hooptie NA for just the transmission. Those salvage yard people don't know what they're doing…
So, 45k engine in, along with some other goodies (lightweight flywheel, new clutch, 2001+ header). I had been planning to attend Miatas at Mazda Raceway since January, and I was able to pick up the car a week before. I drove to Monterey this past Wednesday. And around Big Sur…the car died.
http://i.imgur.com/1Erhbiu.jpg
The way I diagnosed it, shortly after lunch (at Nepthene (www.nepenthebigsur.com), a wonderful place) my car would make a GAHGAHGAHGAHGAH sound every time I stepped on the throttle. The sound was so loud that a CHP officer, pulled over at a construction zone, decided, "boy, that doesn't sound good, that guy is fkd" and followed me to the place where I pulled off, then called me a AAA tow truck. (He was a really nice guy. Alternatively, has there ever been an instance where someone called AAA roadside assistance without an air of frustration? Once for me, actually—when I had my car towed to Tri-Point, sans engine. They didn't suspect a thing, or they certainly didn't' care.)
It idled like knocking ,again, but the sound seemed to come from the top end. My gut reaction: it might have jumped timing or something. The valves couldn't have been bent, because these are non-interference engines, after all. So, take it to a shop, redo the timing, and I should be on my way to a Valhalla of Miatas. After all, the same thing couldn't happen twice, right? To a fresh, low-mileage motor?
I had the car towed 20 miles out of Big Sur. The fun thing about Big Sur is, there's no cell phone reception and no way to get out of it other than the Pacific Coast Highway, which loses a lot of its luster when you're riding shotgun in a flatbed truck while the driver blasts Everclear without a shred of irony or disgrace. Christ, talk about rubbing salt in the wound. Bad enough that your Miata weekend is ruined with another expensive bill, but the fact that you have to contemplate your fate while fucking Everclear plays in the background is insulting.
Anyway, yep, the engine knocked again. The eBay seller has a 90-day guarantee, which I will fight like Verdun (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Verdun) to get. I gotta take the engine out and ship it back, however. That includes the head, the block, the transmission, and everything it came with, so I'll be sans engine again.
Now, if you say, "why not drop an LS2 in it?" I'll counter with, "that's an excellent idea, as I found out last year (http://autoweek.com/article/car-reviews/driving-flyin-miatas-corvette-powered-mazda-miatas)," but I'll let you into a secret—auto journalists make way less money than you think they do. I'd love to build an LS2, but if I dump $15,000 into this car—my bank, my father, my mechanic, my boss, my therapist, and my girlfriend will all murder me, in that order.
But yet, now that the car has gone through two engines, I feel like I can do all the things I've always ever wanted to do to a Miata. I want to build a badass nasty stroker. I want to turbo it to around 180hp, nothing terribly intense. I want to get a Miatabusa (http://www.motoiq.com/Projects/Mazda/Miatabusa.aspx)—I was able to talk to them at MRLS. All terrible ideas, but the supply of 99-00 engines is drying up—and the thrust bearing issue (www.miata.net/solo/99miatathrustbearingfailure.html), as a Flyin' Miata tech said, can happen a lot after the warranty expired on early NBs.
I'm thinking of doing a 2001+ VVT engine, because those are still fairly cheap with less mileage than the 63,xxx currently on my chassis. My car will be a daily driver, canyon carver, and occasional trackday dog, so I'm looking for maximum reliability. I'm currently researching remanufactured engines within Los Angeles, complete with generous warranties. I may want to spend a bit more on forged internals and a mild turbo. I figure: if I'm dropping this kind of money on a new engine, why not do something as close to factory stock as possible, but with as much improvement as well? I probably still won't sell this car. The Rongs are a very stubborn people.
But ultimately, I'm the guy who blew two supposedly-unkillable Miata engines in a year. If I was a Lemons racer, I'd win a Lifetime Index of Effluency and keys to Jay Lamm's whiskey bar for a year and a half.
http://i.imgur.com/0Pa82MD.jpg
Evidently, the journal bearing had gotten so hot, it fused to the crank and scored it.
http://i.imgur.com/p66N6mz.jpg
This has been a year of hell for this car, and has probably shortened my own lifespan by a bit, come to think of it. Maybe I'll end up foisting this on my children instead of my grandkids.
Lastly, an anthem.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ii6kJaGiRaI
If you've read to this point, here is a GIF of a kitten. Goodnight.
http://i.imgur.com/UaNm6fv.gif
This is my car. It's a 2000 NB Miata.
http://i.imgur.com/ZmZULev.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/xhptXog.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/OJfYhOr.jpg
Her name is Sally. I bought her three years ago, fresh out of college with my summer savings. It's the first car I've ever owned. The previous owner put the stripe on (http://autoweek.com/article/people/what-we-drive-2000-mazda-miata), but I get the brunt of all the jokes about it. When I bought her, she had just 28,000 miles on it.
http://i.imgur.com/1e4IfkS.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/PeFuCKf.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/V694fpI.jpg
I drove the car across the country, from my native home of Massachusetts, when I got a job in Los Angeles. I put 10,000 miles in a week. I zigzagged across the country. I drove the Tail of the Dragon, which sucked, and then Cherohala Skyway, which did not. I stopped at the World's Largest Ball of Twine in Cawker City, Kansas. I did 140 with the top down in Nevada on Highway 50, the Loneliest Highway in America. The car was perfect. I was so young, so naïve. I thought the car would be invincible. I swore to myself that I'd never sell it—that I'd be the old crusty guy who hands this car to his grandchildren, whether they want it or not.
http://i.imgur.com/Vuca6Gt.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/EQIZbx3.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/dIucwG4.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/x5oqlIY.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/Oe2fVrN.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/o8TztSe.jpg
This car ran without skipping a beat for three years (ok, I had to replace a clutch slave cylinder). I took it to Buttonwillow, Streets of Willow, Fontana, and MRLS (in 2011). Full synthetic oil changes every 5,000 miles, following the maintenance schedule by the book—at 50,000 miles I dumped what seemed like an entire Chevron refinery onto my arm changing the fuel filter. I installed a FCM full coilover kit and FM sways, new brake pads and calipers all around, Dunlop Direzza ZIIs, but I never touched the engine.
Earlier this year, the trouble began.
http://i.imgur.com/oJSEYZN.jpg
I welcomed the new 2014 with a cylinder misfire in number 4. Turns out, I might not have tightened the last spark plug down all the way…and so, the end tip burnt off and became embedded in the piston. That's what Tri-Point Engineering told me. While I was at it, I had a host of other things done: hoses, new brake lines, and such. Spark plugs and wires were replaced. The car ran fine after that, as they had expected.
A few months later, I replaced the valve cover gasket. I also lettered the tires, because that's what cool kids do on the Internet.
http://i.imgur.com/CP0dGZl.jpg
Fast forward to May—the car sounded funny, but I thought it was just an oil pan leak. So, I changed the oil. Around two gallons poured out. New oil went in. The next day, the strange sound didn't go away. "Fuck it, it'll go away," I thought, and I drove 400 miles to Big Sur.
See, here's the thing about cars: I only play a smart guy on television.
Anyway, the car ran worse and worse and filled the scratched-up rear bumper with soot. So, I limped it into a Mazda dealer in sunny Seaside, where they found that half the oil had poured out all along Highway 1 and was probably draining down the cliff and into the gullet of a baby sea otter. They topped me off, said, "you should probably be fine," (I've learned to take that with bs), and sent me on my way. No charge.
I made it as far as Gonzales, 30 miles away, when the car died for good.
http://i.imgur.com/W8ZlbqP.jpg
It was towed to Cardinale Mazda of Salinas, where the weekend after, they told me that it had thrown a rod. Badly. Three weeks passed before I was able to secure a Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD and a U-Haul trailer and bring the car back to Los Angeles. I had never towed anything more than a mattress before. I wrote about the experience, here (http://autoweek.com/article/car-life/trailer-towing-101-learning-easy-way).
So, I pulled the engine with Corbin (of Zero Fcks RX-7 fame, he's just as nice in person!!!) and had the car and busted engine hauled back to Tri-Point. I sold the head, and secured a new engine on eBay: a 45,000-mile 1.8 from Japan, complete with six-speed transmission. Do you know what a 5-speed transmission, like mine, is worth on eBay? Like, $300 (http://www.ebay.com/sch/Complete-Manual-Transmissions-/171117/i.html?_from=R40&_vxp=mtr&_nkw=miata+5-speed). Do you know what a 6-speed transmission is worth Friggin' sixteen hundred bucks (http://www.ebay.com/sch/Complete-Manual-Transmissions-/171117/i.html?_from=R40&_vxp=mtr&_nkw=miata+6-speed).
Thusly emboldened—I can pay off my entire engine repair! I thought—I listed my six-speed at a hilarious price (http://clubroadster.net/vb_forum/28-sale-trade/172106-six-speed-transmission-jdm-4-into-2-header.html). I had always intended to negotiate, you see, and knew that eBay pricing was bs. I listed it on eBay, too. Guess people are too smart to pay the price of a hooptie NA for just the transmission. Those salvage yard people don't know what they're doing…
So, 45k engine in, along with some other goodies (lightweight flywheel, new clutch, 2001+ header). I had been planning to attend Miatas at Mazda Raceway since January, and I was able to pick up the car a week before. I drove to Monterey this past Wednesday. And around Big Sur…the car died.
http://i.imgur.com/1Erhbiu.jpg
The way I diagnosed it, shortly after lunch (at Nepthene (www.nepenthebigsur.com), a wonderful place) my car would make a GAHGAHGAHGAHGAH sound every time I stepped on the throttle. The sound was so loud that a CHP officer, pulled over at a construction zone, decided, "boy, that doesn't sound good, that guy is fkd" and followed me to the place where I pulled off, then called me a AAA tow truck. (He was a really nice guy. Alternatively, has there ever been an instance where someone called AAA roadside assistance without an air of frustration? Once for me, actually—when I had my car towed to Tri-Point, sans engine. They didn't suspect a thing, or they certainly didn't' care.)
It idled like knocking ,again, but the sound seemed to come from the top end. My gut reaction: it might have jumped timing or something. The valves couldn't have been bent, because these are non-interference engines, after all. So, take it to a shop, redo the timing, and I should be on my way to a Valhalla of Miatas. After all, the same thing couldn't happen twice, right? To a fresh, low-mileage motor?
I had the car towed 20 miles out of Big Sur. The fun thing about Big Sur is, there's no cell phone reception and no way to get out of it other than the Pacific Coast Highway, which loses a lot of its luster when you're riding shotgun in a flatbed truck while the driver blasts Everclear without a shred of irony or disgrace. Christ, talk about rubbing salt in the wound. Bad enough that your Miata weekend is ruined with another expensive bill, but the fact that you have to contemplate your fate while fucking Everclear plays in the background is insulting.
Anyway, yep, the engine knocked again. The eBay seller has a 90-day guarantee, which I will fight like Verdun (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Verdun) to get. I gotta take the engine out and ship it back, however. That includes the head, the block, the transmission, and everything it came with, so I'll be sans engine again.
Now, if you say, "why not drop an LS2 in it?" I'll counter with, "that's an excellent idea, as I found out last year (http://autoweek.com/article/car-reviews/driving-flyin-miatas-corvette-powered-mazda-miatas)," but I'll let you into a secret—auto journalists make way less money than you think they do. I'd love to build an LS2, but if I dump $15,000 into this car—my bank, my father, my mechanic, my boss, my therapist, and my girlfriend will all murder me, in that order.
But yet, now that the car has gone through two engines, I feel like I can do all the things I've always ever wanted to do to a Miata. I want to build a badass nasty stroker. I want to turbo it to around 180hp, nothing terribly intense. I want to get a Miatabusa (http://www.motoiq.com/Projects/Mazda/Miatabusa.aspx)—I was able to talk to them at MRLS. All terrible ideas, but the supply of 99-00 engines is drying up—and the thrust bearing issue (www.miata.net/solo/99miatathrustbearingfailure.html), as a Flyin' Miata tech said, can happen a lot after the warranty expired on early NBs.
I'm thinking of doing a 2001+ VVT engine, because those are still fairly cheap with less mileage than the 63,xxx currently on my chassis. My car will be a daily driver, canyon carver, and occasional trackday dog, so I'm looking for maximum reliability. I'm currently researching remanufactured engines within Los Angeles, complete with generous warranties. I may want to spend a bit more on forged internals and a mild turbo. I figure: if I'm dropping this kind of money on a new engine, why not do something as close to factory stock as possible, but with as much improvement as well? I probably still won't sell this car. The Rongs are a very stubborn people.
But ultimately, I'm the guy who blew two supposedly-unkillable Miata engines in a year. If I was a Lemons racer, I'd win a Lifetime Index of Effluency and keys to Jay Lamm's whiskey bar for a year and a half.
http://i.imgur.com/0Pa82MD.jpg
Evidently, the journal bearing had gotten so hot, it fused to the crank and scored it.
http://i.imgur.com/p66N6mz.jpg
This has been a year of hell for this car, and has probably shortened my own lifespan by a bit, come to think of it. Maybe I'll end up foisting this on my children instead of my grandkids.
Lastly, an anthem.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ii6kJaGiRaI
If you've read to this point, here is a GIF of a kitten. Goodnight.
http://i.imgur.com/UaNm6fv.gif