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Last week my dad drove up the the Miata I had him buy for me in the DC area. 2003 LS in Garnet Red. 6 speed with LSD and owner claims sport suspension package (though the shocks are black, not yellow). 133k miles. My dad did the timing belt service, pads and rotors, and replaced the radiator and most of the coolant hoses before driving up to Boston.  It came with a hardtop. As you can see I don't have a great place to store it so I am considering selling it.  Only real issue with the car aside from some scrapes in the paint is the condition of the soft top. I am guessing this is the original canvas top. The glue at the top of the glass seems to have failed. As a short term fix I put a bunch of staples into the flap where the glue had failed. I bent the staples up into the material after taking the picture  The repair seems to have held up through a few hours of rain we had, but I don't have high hopes for this being a long term thing. Is this failure common, and is there an easy way to fix it? Top is in fairly good (not great) shape otherwise. Also, I can't figure out if this is an LE or SE. The PO said LS, an old carfax sales sheet I found in the car says LS, but there are decals on the side that say "Special Edition". Any ideas?  Other issues with the car I could use some advice on: 1. Bose sound system sounds like poo poo. Left driver sounds way worse than the rest, but none of it is good. I don't care about sound too much but if I can make this sound better for <$200 I'd consider it. 2. I have a bit of trouble shifting into reverse, sometimes it goes into 6th instead. The shifter is also a bit clanky when I push it all the way to the left and when I go into second. Would a shifter rebuild help with either of these? 3. I have no point of comparison, but the ride is a bit rough. I am not sure if this is because Miatas are made of swiss cheese or because suspension components are worn. Any easy ways to diagnose actual failures of suspension components that would cause a rough ride? I would like to avoid spending $500 on new struts just to find out nothing changes. 3b. On the chassis flex, this thread is pretty negative on some of the Miata community solutions like upgraded door bushings and chassis braces. But for $40 I'll try the door bushings and report back. I don't even have a jack or jackstands up here so no way I'd be able to install extra framerails and braces. 4. I hate the pinstriping. But I am guessing it was installed at the dealer 15 years ago and trying to remove it might end up making everything worse. Any suggestions here? 5. What else can I do to the car for fun that doesn't cost much money, can be done on the street, and requires no air tools? mcgreenvegtables fucked around with this message at 22:42 on Apr 15, 2017 |
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Apr 15, 2017 22:40
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2003 SEs were blue.
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Apr 16, 2017 02:28
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Great, so someone just stuck Special Edition badges on my car for the hell of it...
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Apr 16, 2017 05:01
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mcgreenvegtables posted:3. I have no point of comparison, but the ride is a bit rough. I am not sure if this is because Miatas are made of swiss cheese or because suspension components are worn. Any easy ways to diagnose actual failures of suspension components that would cause a rough ride? I would like to avoid spending $500 on new struts just to find out nothing changes. It's not rough, it's ~raw~. I guess it depends on what you're used to but they're pretty spartan so it may be just fine.
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Apr 16, 2017 08:21
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mcgreenvegtables posted:4. I hate the pinstriping. But I am guessing it was installed at the dealer 15 years ago and trying to remove it might end up making everything worse. Any suggestions here? I don't know what was up with dealers doing that, but I've had at 3 different Miatas that they (dealer, PO, rental car company? Who knows) installed pinstriping on. It's really easy to peel off on a hot summer day, leave the car parked with one side facing the sun and peel that side off after warming for a few hours, then the next day flip it around and warm the other side. No risk of heat gun damaging paint or anything, they're shockingly easy to remove when warmed like that. No razor blade or anything, you can catch the edge of the sticker with your fingernail and peel it up. If it starts breaking then that part wasn't exposed to enough heat, usually the corners get stiffer because they turn away from the sun, but they're small enough that it's not a big deal to peel those off a half inch at a time as it breaks. I actually had 4 with pinstriping, but one of them I sold before I had a chance to remove it, but nothing about that one suggested it'd be any different than the other 3. Peronally I see it all the time, but on the internet I almost never see pictures of it, maybe because of the price range I try to buy cars in it ends up with the weirder selection of cosmetics. mcgreenvegtables posted:1. Bose sound system sounds like poo poo. Left driver sounds way worse than the rest, but none of it is good. I don't care about sound too much but if I can make this sound better for <$200 I'd consider it. https://www.amazon.com/Infinity-Reference-6032cf-6-5-Inch-High-Performance/dp/B002BZFSYA/ I put these speakers into Miatas, no cutting required, you'll probably have to drill new holes for the mounting tabs, don't use self tapping screws unless you want it to rattle in 6 months. I don't use headrest speakers at all, they feel more like a gimmick than anything, too small and too close to your head to sound good. You get a setup like turning them so far down to not make everything sound tinny that you might as well skip them.
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Apr 16, 2017 15:40
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craig588 posted:No razor blade or anything, you can catch the edge of the sticker with your fingernail and peel it up. If you can find plastic razor blades, they're pretty drat good for scraping stuff off. I used one to get a sun baked-on magnetic sticker thingy off my friend's car.
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Apr 16, 2017 16:16
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Apparently AEM installed a cold air intake at the dealer I bought my ND from, for testing purposes or some poo poo. I'll post a picture of the engine Bay later but I was curious how common this is? There was no charge for it and they gave me the old intake in a bag, lol
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Apr 16, 2017 17:01
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Without asking you beforehand?
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Apr 16, 2017 19:38
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Uh what?
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Apr 16, 2017 19:42
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it was before i bought it. they were like oh by the way you have an intake lol! edit: here's the engine bay:  heres some cool cars my neighbors have:  here's my bike that i am incapable of taking a picture of for some reason:  the FZ is my main ride, the miata is mostly for camping and roadtrips and such A MIRACLE fucked around with this message at 19:59 on Apr 16, 2017 |
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Apr 16, 2017 19:44
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I have a 97 NA (extremely clean, stock, no LSD) with 87k miles. I've been thinking of forking out for 14" Direzzas, new dampers, sway bars, a hard top and possibly a torsen, but at the end of the day that's alot of money to put in a Miata. Would it be stupid to replace it with this: https://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/cto/6088857916.html which is roughly configured the way I'd want my car? New car pros: I love the look of the Mariner Blue/hard top/K1 combo, already has a decent suspension set up, has LSD, leather is cool Cons: Down on power, VLSD not as good as Torsen Comedy option: buy the blue one for track use and keep the red one as a DD, put the final nail in the coffin of my marriage blk fucked around with this message at 20:00 on Apr 16, 2017 |
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Apr 16, 2017 19:51
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A MIRACLE posted:it was before i bought it. they were like oh by the way you have an intake lol! The housing is just open like that? Looks worse than the stock intake, which I believe routes from down around the grill.
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Apr 16, 2017 21:29
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Hikaki posted:The housing is just open like that? Looks worse than the stock intake, which I believe routes from down around the grill. I guess I don't really have an opinion either way on it. Just thought it was an interesting note about the car. If it fails I still have the stock intake. I will say the finish on the pipe is really nice up close.
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Apr 16, 2017 22:18
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As a new car?
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Apr 16, 2017 23:51
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It had about 100 miles on it
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Apr 16, 2017 23:54
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Edit: Dur, I'm dumb and then quoted my post instead of editing it because I'm doubling down on idiocy today. So, I'm in the middle of replacing the timing belt/water pump on my 2001 and both my cam gears appear to be 180o off from what my service manual and every picture on the internet seems to show? The water pump was slathered in RTV and the valve cover was very poorly painted flat black, so I'm pretty sure the timing belt was done by the previous owner who seemed like an idiot although I never met them because I got my car from a BMW dealership (car didn't come with any records). Any ideas? Crummy cell phone picture:  Did I mention that my car's previous owner thought he was Dominic Toretto? 
Cat Hatter fucked around with this message at 04:00 on Apr 17, 2017 |
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Apr 17, 2017 03:38
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Cat Hatter posted:Did I mention that my car's previous owner thought he was Dominic Toretto? I'm the red window washer hose.
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Apr 17, 2017 03:57
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Cat Hatter posted:So, I'm in the middle of replacing the timing belt/water pump on my 2001 and both my cam gears appear to be 180o off from what my service manual and every picture on the internet seems to show? The water pump was slathered in RTV and the valve cover was very poorly painted flat black, so I'm pretty sure the timing belt was done by the previous owner who seemed like an idiot although I never met them because I got my car from a BMW dealership (car didn't come with any records). Any ideas? I just realized that I'm the idiot this time and didn't rotate the crank an extra 360o to get to the proper TDC. Everybody go about your business. RillAkBea posted:I'm the red window washer hose. Cat Hatter fucked around with this message at 04:05 on Apr 17, 2017 |
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Apr 17, 2017 03:59
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I've seen people with powder coated prop rods.
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Apr 17, 2017 04:10
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Rhyno posted:I've seen people with powder coated prop rods. The powdercoat makes them more resistant to damage from pussy shrapnel.
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Apr 17, 2017 05:07
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mcgreenvegtables posted:Last week my dad drove up the the Miata I had him buy for me in the DC area. 2003 LS in Garnet Red. 6 speed with LSD and owner claims sport suspension package (though the shocks are black, not yellow). 133k miles. My dad did the timing belt service, pads and rotors, and replaced the radiator and most of the coolant hoses before driving up to Boston. 1. Sorry, don't know. 2. Yes, rebuild shifter. 3. This is impossible to do over the internet.... sorry. Either gotta take it to a shop or start looking at it yourself. 3b. Your car already has the factory FSB and underbody bracing. So let it be unless you're planning serious stuff. 4. Remove it. you'll be fine. 5. Tires, alignment (won't be you doing it, heh). I would install 9011/9012 bulbs to replace your 9005/9006s. REALLY nice upgrade. Also, don't sell the hard top. When winter comes around you'll thank me. Blaise fucked around with this message at 14:05 on Apr 17, 2017 |
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Apr 17, 2017 14:03
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mcgreenvegtables posted:3. I have no point of comparison, but the ride is a bit rough. I am not sure if this is because Miatas are made of swiss cheese or because suspension components are worn. Any easy ways to diagnose actual failures of suspension components that would cause a rough ride? I would like to avoid spending $500 on new struts just to find out nothing changes. Your car has no struts so any money spent on them would be a waste. :v NBs were sprung very softly and you shouldn't have a shtity ride. Get the car rocking by pushing down on a corner of the car repeatedly, or by jumping on one of the sills in time. After you jump off/stop the car should bob up once, come down and settle. If it bounces more than once the shocks are likely blown. Crude AF, but it somewhat works. Bad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCFmkZC5t2M Good: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FhHJmxgra8
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Apr 18, 2017 01:42
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ethanol posted:So what do you do when a service dealer lies and puts a generic brake brand on your car after you ask for a different brand, while charging you a marked up price for the brand you asked for? I asked for Wagner ended up with brakebest select ceramic pads. They charged $76 for the back set and $86 for the front set. $104 for each pair of rotor, before labor. I can only tell because the pad clip says ceramic select on it. Always Do your own brakes in the future I guess Likely the oreillys they ordered them from didn't have the wagners in stock/available in time for your scheduled appointment and those are the closest equivilent pad that would be available. Brakebest is our in house pad label, and quite alot of the pads are from wagner with our name on the box. Still go get them to put proper wagners on just so they have to eat the $60ish the pads probably cost them (because the oreillys will tell them to gently caress off for trying to return installed brake stuff) and the labor for being shitheads.
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Apr 18, 2017 05:22
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Most recent addition.  '96, automatic, $800. I asked the gf if she'd like her own miata to drive.  Needed shifter bushings, a battery and a rear window. Battery - $100 Rear Window - $25 from home depot plus $5 in glue Shifter Bushings - $33   So far, into it for $960. lol. There's no way we could lose money, even if she decides she hates it (she doesn't). Yay for disposable miatas. 
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Apr 18, 2017 16:59
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I just bought a 91 (my first Miata!) and the first day I had outside there was a big thunderstorm and water got in. I fixed the trunk leak already, the 3rd brake light nuts were loose and the gasket wasn't sealing. The water in the interior appears to be coming from where two soft top seals meet in the middle of the side windows. Under heavy rain a drip formed and dripped onto the seats the whole storm. Is there anything I can do to improve this short of replacing the top? I already gave it a treatment with 303 aerospace, just wondering if there's anything else I can do.
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Apr 18, 2017 17:29
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Wait...the automatic has shifter bushings? (I've never owned one - legit asking for info)
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Apr 18, 2017 17:30
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Goober Peas posted:Wait...the automatic has shifter bushings? Yep. The shifter had INCHES of play and you had to choose your gear based just on intuition. When I disassembled it not only was it totally dry (no grease) but I couldn't find the hat bushings on the pivot bolt. Or the bushings on the pole going into the trans. Totally gone... miata.net search shows that it's usually how they end up 
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Apr 18, 2017 17:36
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Apr 19, 2017 04:14
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I laughed too. Dome light was working and I was shocked bc I thought the battery was dead. So I hit the light-up button.
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Apr 19, 2017 14:16
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Ok, I'm (hopefully) reaching the end of my timing belt/water pump change on my 2001 Miata and I seem to have some stuff left over. Specifically: Does anyone know where this bracket goes?  And/or where this grey electrical connector clips in? 
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Apr 21, 2017 03:44
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both of your pictures are terrible the first pic, that bracket is the sensor ground, it gets bolted near the front of the intake manifold second pic, the only thing i can think of outside of the thermostat that is 2 wire is either the cam angle sensor, vvt solenoid, or a fan. it's probably not a fan
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Apr 21, 2017 04:41
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Phone posted:both of your pictures are terrible The bracket in the first picture is zip tied to the single wire that I believe engages the AC compressor clutch, but the curved part that looks like it supports a hose doesn't seem to fit anything within reach. Also, my airbox was replaced with a K&N intake before I bought the car so I don't even know if it was connected to anything when I started. Seems like I would have heard it rattling around though. The second issue is with the three wire connector in the center of the picture. It comes out of the wire loom in front of the valve cover and then goes down near (possibly to?) the crankshaft position sensor. It has a clip on the back of the connector to secure it somewhere so it doesn't get caught in the belts, but I'm not sure where it secures to.
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Apr 21, 2017 04:54
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there's a plate on one of the timing covers that has a few things attach to it
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Apr 21, 2017 06:17
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Flushed the brakes today. A 1.5-2 hour job having never done it before and using the side jack points for the front, as my jack doesn't clear the front lip. About 0.8 liters of Motul RBF600 later things look a lot better than the brown mess that was in there before. My NB 1.8 seems to lose water somewhere tho. It doesn't smoke, and the oil looks decent, so I'm somewhat at a loss. E: I'm pretty sure brake fluid shouldn't look like this: 
Wibla fucked around with this message at 20:46 on Apr 22, 2017 |
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Apr 22, 2017 19:28
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I rebuilt my shifter (2003 6 speed) and its now much more obvious that reverse and 6th are in separate places, so I'm very pleased. However, I think I made a dumb mistake. I swear one of the instruction guides I read said there should be manual transmission fluid in the shifter assembly when you open it up, and to remove this and replace it with fresh fluid. When I opened mine there was no fluid, and I put in about half a quart before I realized it was draining straight out of the assembly and into the transmission. So far I'm just pretending nothing happened and hoping for the best. Would now be a good time to drain the trans fluid and put the correct amount of new stuff in? mcgreenvegtables fucked around with this message at 15:56 on Apr 23, 2017 |
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Apr 23, 2017 15:00
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Always put the right amount of fluid in your machines. I would fix that sooner rather than later, although it may not be a huge deal. I wouldn't take the chance.
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Apr 23, 2017 16:54
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mcgreenvegtables posted:I rebuilt my shifter (2003 6 speed) and its now much more obvious that reverse and 6th are in separate places, so I'm very pleased. At least on the NA (can't see why the NB would be any different) there is supposed to be some fluid in the "turret" portion that doesn't drain down I don't think. It's a pretty small amount though.
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Apr 23, 2017 18:15
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The 6-speed doesn't have it. You only have to fill the turret in the 5-speeds.
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Apr 23, 2017 19:59
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Perfect excuse to change the transmission oil? I need to rebuild the shifter on my 10AE, how much of a pain is it? Oh, and new motor mounts... The shifter moves around way too much when I go on/off the throttle.
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Apr 23, 2017 23:14
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It really wasn't too bad. Took under an hour. Actually, I skipped replacing the bushing and wave washer held in by dowels because they seemed to be in good shape and I couldn't figure out how to get the dowels out that were holding them in. Could have probably done if if I'd had some WD40 and a bigger range of tools to work with. The hardest part besides that was getting the old bushings and boots off the shifter , but you can destroy them so again, better tools would have helped me.
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Apr 23, 2017 23:47
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