A couple of technical questions

[SSgtShady]

Question 1: I looked at a 94 which was a very cherry car for its age with 120k on it. Very nice condition. Motor seemed strong but what I noted was that the valve train was a little noisy, and I really felt like the car was more 'roary' than normal: by that I mean the exhaust sounded pretty loud underneath the car to be stock. Is this normal for the 1.8? I have seen and driven and listened to more 1.6 cars. So, whats the story on valve train noise and exhaust throatyness in the 1.8?

Question 2: I drove a 91 the other day which had 170k on it. There was a gear whine which I can't tell if it was from the diff or from the tranny. Is this a normal sound? It was your usual gear whine/scream which you would know right away is coming from gears, but is it an okay thing in this car?

[The Driver]

Hard to tell about the '94 one, as maybe someone along the way installed an aftermarket header/exhaust on it. my first NA had both (that I installed), my current one has the free flow exhaust/ monster flow intake that has a "bite".


No idea about the 1.6, as I have never owned one, but I hear that the rear is a weak link on them!

[Dilly]

Motor seemed strong but what I noted was that the valve train was a little noisy

Did it sound like it was ticking a whole bunch?

[wannafbody]

Buy the one with the least amount of rust

[The Driver]

Buy the one with the least amount of rust

Huh? OP is in Arizona...

[Blueiii]

Did you look at the exhaust? If you need to, look at some pictures online so you have a reference point. It might have been an aftermarket exhaust.

I wouldn't be overly concerned about exhaust sounds or differential sounds. Both are relatively inexpensive in the grand scheme of things. (I keep an eye on craigslist for miata stuff regularly; just today there was a stock exhaust for $40.... This is in Ohio, mind you.)

[wannafbody]

Huh? OP is in Arizona...

Oops missed that

[bedheadben]

Question 1: I looked at a 94 which was a very cherry car for its age with 120k on it. Very nice condition. Motor seemed strong but what I noted was that the valve train was a little noisy, and I really felt like the car was more 'roary' than normal: by that I mean the exhaust sounded pretty loud underneath the car to be stock. Is this normal for the 1.8? I have seen and driven and listened to more 1.6 cars. So, whats the story on valve train noise and exhaust throatyness in the 1.8?
Put some oil in it and see if it quiets down. It's pretty common to have valvetrain noise on these cars. In terms of the exhaust, it's hard to understand what you're describing. They are pretty loud stock, and maybe it's catless?

Question 2: I drove a 91 the other day which had 170k on it. There was a gear whine which I can't tell if it was from the diff or from the tranny. Is this a normal sound? It was your usual gear whine/scream which you would know right away is coming from gears, but is it an okay thing in this car?
It could be from the diff. A whine like that is not "normal." I would suspect the rear end and possibly replace it. I put a '99 Torsen in my '90 to replace the weak stock open diff.

[atank]

On the 94 was it a cold start lifter noise? I would not worry about the LION noise from the exhaust. Get the 94 unless the 91 is dirt cheap, then do like ★ bedheadben ★ said go with a LSD, on the 94 change the oil, and filter see if the lifter noise goes away.

[Pip]

Apparently 94/95's are the most desireable of the NA's due to ODB1 coupled with the bigger 1.8L engine and the more robust differential this brings. If you found one with a Limited Slip, then even better. Buy the 94. You won't regret it.

If you want to change out the exhaust on the 94 after you buy it, Partsgeek is running a sale on a Bosal stock replacement exhaust (from just after the cat all the way to the tip with stock hangers and flanges) that costs only $90.10 and comes with free shipping...

http://www.partsgeek.com/catalog/1994/mazda/miata/exhaust/muffler.html

(Not affiliated with Partsgeek, but I bought this exhaust.)