MIATA THREAD - My Third Gear Syncro Is On Grindr

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Automotive Insanity > MIATA THREAD - My Third Gear Syncro Is On Grindr

Elysium: Aug 21, 2003; It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.

6'5 is pretty tall for a miata, depending on how you're proportioned you might be able to get away with it by removing some cushion or mounting the seat directly to the floor. I doubt you'll fit that well though.

# ¿ Oct 11, 2007 07:19

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 19:55

Elysium: Aug 21, 2003; It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.

It seems ok. Personally, for 6k I would prefer it have leather and nicer wheels like an M edition, but the new top is interesting. I wouldn't pass it up for 5k, though people love to come out of the woodwork to tell you all about how there are 15 50k mile Miatas for sale for $3,000 in their area, when I never see poo poo like that, or they are really run down.

# ¿ Nov 15, 2007 20:36

Elysium: Aug 21, 2003; It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.

Found out my clutch slave cylinder was leaking the other day when my clutch went to the floor and became inoperable a mile (luckily not farther) from my office. Did some quick research and checked the master cylinder and found it basically empty. Just filling it up was good enough of a fix to get me home, but the slave will have to be replaced (opinions seem mixed on rebuild kits). I don't really do my own maintenance, but it looks really easy so I'm going to try to do it myself. Seems to involve only 2 or 3 bolts and removing the line, putting the new one in place and bleeding the system.

From searching Miata.net, this seems like a pretty common weak spot for Miatas. In fact looking over my maintenance records, this is exactly what was wrong with my car 2 years ago when I took it in for a barely functional clutch. I was charged $188 for parts (new slave) and labor (1.5 hours - this seems pretty excessive, searches lead me to believe a pro could do it in under half an hour easy). I got the Tokico slave from FM for about $50.

Elysium fucked around with this message at 15:41 on Nov 19, 2007

# ¿ Nov 19, 2007 15:36

Elysium: Aug 21, 2003; It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.

soulescape posted:

What is causing this? How expensive of a repair am I looking at? How much longer can I drive like this before my car leaves me stranded somewhere?

This has pretty much already been answered, but I just wanted to add that the same thing happened to me (I posted a couple pages back) and it's a pretty easy fix, I did it myself, and I don't even do my own oil changes. Like they said, look under the hood at your Clutch Master Cylinder reservoir, it's probably empty or close to empty. This would mean that you have either a bad slave cylinder (extremely likely) or a hole in the line somewhere (less likely). Fill up the reservoir under the hood with Brake fluid (DOT3). That should keep you driveable for a while at least until you can fix the problem. You may have to "pump up" the clutch to get the new fluid into the system, but keep an eye on the fluid level every time you drive, and keep spare fluid with you (it's cheap)

Fixing it is extremely simple, order a new slave cylinder for about $50, take off 2 bolts and the clutch line, put new one on, reattach two bolts and clutch line. Then bleed the system. Good illustrated instructions are here: http://bellsouthpwp.net/P/o/PopVII/Clutch%20Slave%20Rebuild.htm

Having a mechanic do it will cost you somewhere from $100-200

# ¿ Dec 10, 2007 23:06

Elysium: Aug 21, 2003; It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.

Put about a foot long crack in my rear window on Sunday after stuffing some baggage on the rear shelf when the car had been sitting outside in the cold for a while. Looks like it's time to bust out some packing tape. I don't use my rear view mirror anyway (literally, it's in my trunk) so it shouldn't be too bad.

# ¿ Jan 29, 2008 15:52

Elysium: Aug 21, 2003; It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.

If you're 5'10 you really shouldn't have any problem at all.

I'm 6'0 and only touch my head to the roof if I sit up all the way straight, a position no one would ever drive in. I keep the seat forward one notch from all the way back, which allows you to lean the seat back another inch or so. My standard driving position gives me at least a few inches of headroom. Being... wide... probably gives you an overall feeling of crampedness which you are projecting towards a feeling of limited headroom.

# ¿ Feb 5, 2008 16:08

Elysium: Aug 21, 2003; It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.

Actually I didn't even really consider that having a fat rear end would increase your "sitting height" regardless of your standing height. Also, have a big rear end may cause you to have to sit "forward" on the seat, somewhat out of the lowest part of the bucket, robbing you of another inch or so.

# ¿ Feb 6, 2008 21:28

Elysium: Aug 21, 2003; It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.

Jammer Jones posted:

I hit 77,777 miles on my 97 Miata last weekend

I'm waiting for the day when I can reset my trip meter, so that 789.0 miles later my odometer will read 123,456.

That's still a long way off though.

# ¿ Mar 22, 2008 00:30

Elysium: Aug 21, 2003; It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.

I have an Optima Red Top battery in my Miata, and it appears to have gone completely dead somehow practically overnight (worked fine on Sunday, wouldn't even attempt to start today). I didn't leave my lights on or anything (if I turn them on now I hear a clicking sound, and they don't come on). It jumped fine and ran fine afterwards (lights and stereo and everything), but the battery was still dead when I turned the car off after the drive. Is the battery just cooked or is there something wrong with the alternator too? The lights wouldn't run with a dead battery and a dead alternator right?

Some research tells me that if the Optima gets fully discharged (how it got fully discharged is another mystery), the alternator won't be able to charge it back up even after a jump and a long drive. If I buy a trickle charger will I be able to just charge it up and be fine? The battery is only about a year old it should have tons of life left.

Can I hook up the battery from a Mercedes 230SLK to my car to see if it starts up fine with a known good battery, or is there some kind of incompatibility?

# ¿ Jun 19, 2008 03:22

Elysium: Aug 21, 2003; It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.

laymil posted:

You should be fine bringing it back with a trickle charger.

I hooked it up to a trickle charger at 2a, and went to check how it was doing after an hour and it was reading as full... obviously an hour shouldn't have done anything but I tried it out and the car still wouldn't start, rehooked it up to the charger and it's still reading full charge. hrm.

# ¿ Jun 20, 2008 01:21

Elysium: Aug 21, 2003; It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.

So I think my left rear brake isn't working. The car still brakes fine, it's just that the rotor on that side is rusted up, whereas the other ones are smooth (in the path of the brake pad) since they rub any rust off as I brake. What would cause one brake to stop working, and is there some kind of easy fix I could do? I don't have any idea what to look for, all I know is that the brake fluid is full. 94m miata, stock brakes and rotors.

Elysium fucked around with this message at 21:36 on Jun 10, 2009

# ¿ Jun 10, 2009 21:34

Elysium: Aug 21, 2003; It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.

Schwack posted:

Well, my 6 month old Robbins cloth top was slashed open last night, even though there was nothing in the car to steal.

Was your car locked?

# ¿ Jun 29, 2009 15:50

Elysium: Aug 21, 2003; It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.

My mother just called me today because apparently she stopped at a Jaguar dealership today and fell in love with this NC: http://www.thegreatbritains.com/used/Mazda/2008-Mazda-MX-5+Miata-1a0382500a0a0064006b54ef8ad1bbcd.htm

I have no idea what the price market is for NC's but that seemed like an ok price from some cursory autotrader searching.

However, knowing that my mother doesn't actually want to start up a new car payment it's surprising to me that she would be looking at an $18k car, so suggested this:

http://www.autotrader.com/dealers/d...ealer_id=142703

Are those decent prices from a dealer? She won't buy from a private party. Also, she WANTS the auto trans. Crazy, I know.

# ¿ Jun 10, 2010 18:53

Elysium: Aug 21, 2003; It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.

Try taking off your rear view mirror (if it's legal in your state).

# ¿ Jun 10, 2010 23:51

Elysium: Aug 21, 2003; It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.

Suniikaa posted:

I'd ditch that chrome style bar, they call them mousetraps for a reason.

I have never seen any pictures or evidence of anyone that has ever been "mousetrapped" by a style bar, despite someone mentioning this every time they see one.

# ¿ Jul 19, 2010 16:07

Elysium: Aug 21, 2003; It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.

Woman in an SUV backed into me at a stoplight at lunch today. Someone wanted to turn into a shopping center and it was blocked off, so the SUV started backing up to let them in. As soon as I saw reverse lights I laid on the horn, and she stopped. I then started to back up a little bit until the car behind me honked because I was getting close. She then starts reversing again, and I lay on the horn again and she tags my hood under her bumper.

She gets out with an incredulous look on her face and explains that she was looking the car BEHIND me (who was apparently laying on the horn despite there being a Miata sized gap between them) the whole time.

Some small dents and scratches on my hood... I let her go because it wasn't worth the hassle. If my car were new (or even just nicer than its 20 year old condition) I would have been pissed.

# ¿ Jan 10, 2014 19:15

Elysium: Aug 21, 2003; It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.

Best angle is from the side I think. Kind of ugly from the front, mostly the lights. Back is meh.

# ¿ Sep 4, 2014 03:20

Elysium: Aug 21, 2003; It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.

Like I was saying, looks amazing from the side. Shame about the front and the back though.

# ¿ Sep 4, 2014 20:11

Elysium: Aug 21, 2003; It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.

You're not cool unless you have one of the 6 "color" cars.

# ¿ Sep 15, 2014 16:25

Elysium: Aug 21, 2003; It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.

So how shady is it if you contact a guy about a craigslist car and ask for the VIN and he replies ""i have the vin but don't want to provide all that info. if interested you will come see the car and its title..""

p.s. are there any cheap carfax options or alternatives these days? $40 for a single report? I remember when it was like $10.

Elysium fucked around with this message at 19:26 on Jan 26, 2015

# ¿ Jan 26, 2015 19:24

Elysium: Aug 21, 2003; It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.

So I had my top replaced at a shop before the winter. They said to leave it up for several weeks before trying to put it down because it needed to stretch. Went through the winter with it up all the time of course, and now that it's getting warmer I've tried to put it down a few times, and it is still too tight to put back up by myself. I'm talking it's ball-bustingly-2-people-pulling-on-it-to-get-it-to-barely-latch tight. Is there any adjustment I can make? I've tried undoing the catches on windshield header but they don't seem to have much if any adjustment.

# ¿ Apr 8, 2015 17:00

Elysium: Aug 21, 2003; It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.

So my car didn't start the other day... quick check revealed the problem: the positive battery cable is completely sheared/frayed off. Can this be mended or am I going to have to replace the whole harness? It broke just before the connector, so is it possible to just strip the wire a bit more, and then clamp the old connector to it?

Elysium fucked around with this message at 14:46 on Jun 3, 2015

# ¿ Jun 3, 2015 14:38

Elysium: Aug 21, 2003; It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.

The connector didn't fail, the battery came loose and the movement of the battery was enough to wear down the cable itself. So do I get one of these? http://www.autozone.com/batteries-s...3458565cmpid=cj

# ¿ Jun 3, 2015 14:55

Elysium: Aug 21, 2003; It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.

Nocheez posted:

Can you post a picture or two of your cable and terminal?

Well I'm not around my car, but i would say it looks a bit like this: http://s967.photobucket.com/user/alkamin/media/battery-cable.jpg.html

# ¿ Jun 3, 2015 15:00

Elysium: Aug 21, 2003; It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.

Just rev it in 1st and then switch to 3rd.

# ¿ Nov 23, 2015 19:20

Elysium: Aug 21, 2003; It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.

willroc7 posted:

Since we're posting possible buys... thoughts on this?
http://cleveland.craigslist.org/cto/5446852733.html

I see this all the time in Craigslists posts, but do people actually trade cars? I've literally never heard of anyone doing it in real life.

# ¿ Feb 23, 2016 18:30

Elysium: Aug 21, 2003; It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.

Is there a commonly available paper air filter that fits the Jackson Racing CAI? I went to clean the foam JR one and it was literally falling apart so I need a new one ($30) unless I can just get a paper replacement that fits, which according to the internets are just as good or possible better.

# ¿ May 20, 2016 17:06

Elysium: Aug 21, 2003; It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.

I'm about as concerned of rolling my Miata as I am of getting my skull crushed in by a stray wrecking ball as I walk down the sidewalk. Sure, it COULD happen, but I generally try to avoid that and I don't feel the need to wear a helmet when walking around for extra protection.

# ¿ Jul 5, 2016 17:23

Elysium: Aug 21, 2003; It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.

What is the most likely source of squealing on startup that goes away after about a minute? Timing belt is way overdue so I'm guessing it's that?

# ¿ Aug 22, 2016 18:21

Elysium: Aug 21, 2003; It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.

How are the sales numbers for the new models? I have seen maybe 2 total since they were released.

# ¿ Oct 20, 2016 19:05

Elysium: Aug 21, 2003; It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.

So my clutch pedal broke today. Like it literally snapped in half as I was coming to a stop light trying to make a left turn. I had noticed it had some sideways play for a while, but I didn't think too much of it and I guess it had been working itself back and forth until the metal was so weak it cracked right off. Kind of put a damper in my plan to get lunch.

# ¿ Jan 6, 2017 03:41

Elysium: Aug 21, 2003; It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.

So I had a coolant leak in my 94m and my engine was steaming pretty bad from coolant shooting out onto it. Got it back home, it appears to be this hose labeled "to heater":

So I think what I need is just to buy this and pop it in in the broken hoses' place? http://www.autozone.com/cooling-heating-and-climate-control/hose-heater/dayco-hose-heater-/240788_404555_0

are there specific clamps that go with this?

# ¿ Feb 6, 2017 18:55

Elysium: Aug 21, 2003; It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.

Yes I have been reading some things that seem to indicate that. I just need to replace the O-ring or maybe more than that?

# ¿ Feb 6, 2017 19:42

Elysium: Aug 21, 2003; It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.

So in total:

1) Mark CAS position
2) Remove CAS
3) Replace CAS O-ring
4) Slice bad hose and carefully remove
5) Lube new hose and put in place, clamp down
6) Replace other heater hose as well because why not?
7) Replace CAS in marked position and tighten
8) Profit?

# ¿ Feb 6, 2017 22:19

Elysium: Aug 21, 2003; It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.

Ok so let's say someone was changing the CAS o-ring, and after taking out the CAS, accidentally rotated the thing inside the CAS they say you shouldn't rotate before marking its position. How the gently caress would this person get the CAS back on?

Elysium fucked around with this message at 01:08 on Apr 5, 2017

# ¿ Apr 5, 2017 00:18

Elysium: Aug 21, 2003; It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.

destructo posted:

Just put it back in and reset the timing once you get it started again. If it won't start, rotate it one way or the other until it does.

I meant like literally, physically, how the gently caress do I get it back in, blind? Just keep rotating the bar like 1 degree at a time and hope it slides into the tiny rear end slots that aren't beveled?

# ¿ Apr 6, 2017 16:31

Elysium: Aug 21, 2003; It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.

Nocheez posted:

If you can see the cars directly behind you in all 3 mirrors, why do you even have all 3?

I don't. Took out my rearview mirror because it obstructs my vision forward, so I adjust my side mirror so I can see directly behind, and I just move my head a bit to see wider. I don't find rear/side visibility to be an issue at all in a Miata though. It's nice that "over your shoulder" is pretty much the end of the car, so it's easy to tell when things are clear. And of course with the top down you have better visibility that anything.

Elysium fucked around with this message at 16:03 on May 9, 2017

# ¿ May 9, 2017 15:39

Elysium: Aug 21, 2003; It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.

Driving home from work today through a small neighborhood, guy leans out of his car going the other way and goes "Whoah buddy, slow down!"

Glance down at my speedo, 15 mph :/

# ¿ May 9, 2017 22:08

Elysium: Aug 21, 2003; It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.

My only issue with the NC is the way the hood line looks, wish they just would have connected it to the headlights like every other Miata.

Elysium fucked around with this message at 20:14 on May 15, 2017

# ¿ May 15, 2017 20:11

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 19:55

Elysium: Aug 21, 2003; It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.

Took 15 years but I did it

# ¿ Jun 5, 2017 14:09

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