Congrats on the car and thanks for writing up a good story with pictures!
Whelp, I finally drank the Koolaid and got one. I picked up a 1995 Miata from the guys over at Day Custom Engine in Garland. They rebuilt the engine with seals, gaskets, and rings, then sold it to a guy. That guy drove it to ft worth and pretty much immediately called them back asking for his money back and it's leaking oil and blah blah blah blah. They were in the middle of moving shops from Richardson, so they just took the car back, gave him his money, and parked it.
They didn't want to really deal with it while they are getting their shop set up, so last thursday, they sold it to me for 900 bucks while being completely open about the fact that it leaks tons of oil and the transmission rattles like a tin can with marbles in it. I test drove the car, and it seemed pretty solid other than the stated problems, a ripped rear window, a few dings and scratches, and a lack of head unit or speakers (weight reduction!), so I bought it. They were even nice enough to tow it to my place of employment for me that same day. I parked it in the employee lot, prayed nobody would ask questions about the trail of oil from the bank parking lot or the pool of oil under the little black car, and went home.
Friday afternoon, we had no work left, so I brought it in and got down to business. I put the car up on a lift, laid some diapers under the front end (grey absorbent thingies we have for oil spills), and fired her up. When we got the car in the air, it was pretty clear the oil was spurting from the sides of the lower timing cover, so I took all that junk off and verified it was indeed the oil pump that was leaking. From there you can pretty much get the story from the pictures. My fingers hurt.
Pictures and a bit more story. http://imgur.com/a/VZbLl
Well, this should be fun!
Congrats on the car and thanks for writing up a good story with pictures!
2002 Mazda Miata LS Silver 6speed. Racing Beat Dual Exhaust, HDHCHTDD roll bar, Racing Beat Front Sway Bar, Whiteline end links.
Just looked at the pictures, and you're not messing around, that's allot of work just to get to an o-ring! I'm sure we'll bump into each other soon, I'm in Carrollton as well.
C
killer deal! and heck, the work may be kinda tough but it's done for the love of the mx5! & at the end of the day we're pretty much all proud to say that we're owners of such great machines! congrats and good luck to you on your new purchase! BTW I'm a Frisco local.
Sooooo, the car is still leaking even after resealing the oil pump and all. I give up haha
Any leads on Mazda specialists around here so I don't have to go to a dealer? I can imagine the chunk that would leave in my budget...
I don't think there are any like that in the entire DFW area....
Wished we had someone like Miata Solutions or Track Dog Racing in our area that would be so sweet!
Link - http://www.miatasolutions.com/
Link - http://trackdogracing.com/vehicleservices.aspx
I vouch for miata solutions. You can just give Stevan a call and pick his brain a bit, and can either help you or point you in the right direction. He is out in Justin but its not that far for quality service and having someone knowledgable handle your car. good luck with the little bugger and welcome!
He said he's full until the end of May. I dropped it at TDR yesterday.
Ahh yeah he is a busy guy most of the time. TDR are good people. Keep us updated
Got the car today. Joe is tearing into it as we speak. we should know something shortly. The output shaft is making a nasty sound out of the bell housing and it definitely is leaking oil! effse7en, Give us a call. Tried to call you but you don't have a voice mail box setup.
The exhaust that was on the car was all one welded piece, so I had to get a new stock one. Luckily they had one they sold me for not a whole lot. The trans was determined to be dead with no fluid in it, so I grabbed that one from my buddy at work since TDR said they would throw it in while they were in there. Here's hoping I can pick it up tomorrow; I've got the day off
Yeah, We found lots of loose bolts on stuff. We have gone through it and using new seals. One of the cam seals was damaged and the crank seal was deformed. It's getting new seals and being properly assembled. We also disassembled and rebuilt the oil pump to be on the safe side. Get the trans to us as it's about ready to go back together. We should put new seals in the replacement trans too.
I dropped the transmission off in Gary's truck on Tuesday night, he said he was gonna bring it to work the next day.
Well damn, I suppose it won't be done tomorrow then I was also unaware of most of the information in that post...
Woot, I got her back yesterday, now to stare at her out my window while I wait for friday so I can afford the insurance to drive her around...
wow dude, congrats
silver 91 miata - no mas
gold 91 miata w/ hardtop - no mas
99 emerald green mica miata - just found!