Thanks titus. I just got an email back from Chris saying the same thing, and recommending John Day.
Now if Gary had only given me some contact info, I'd call 'em and get a quote...
Iain
"We don't stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
Iain, have you checked Mazdaspeed to see what they charge for an entire engine? I know it sounds insane, but you never know. I checked a year ago for a 1.6 and it was, well, let's just say closer to that price you said you'd pay than I'd have guessed...
Far out, but free to check. :)
C
I haven't checked yet, but I will tonight.Originally Posted by ccage
Iain
"We don't stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
Yeah. Supposedly 1.6s were dirt cheap a while ago until Mazda got greedy and started charging quite a bit more. The engines aren't quite the bargin they used to be. That's what I heard anyway.
OK, here's the quote from John Day Custom Engines:
$1150: Rebuild, includes everything that Marvelspeed offered, plus new oil pump, new water pump, and valve job on the top end. No new pistons.
$1450: Same as above, plus new pistons.
$600: cost to R & R the engine.
More importantly, John Day estimated 2-3 weeks to be done, while Marvelspeed is booked up for the rest of this month. Chris & Gary both recommend this guy, and for ~$100 more than Marvelspeed I'll also get a new water pump, a new oil pump, and a refreshed head. John Day sounds like a better deal to me.
What do you guys think?
Iain
"We don't stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
It sounds like you'll be our litmus test...
Seems like a no-brainer to me!
So what is the cause of the noise? Did you spin a bearing? Or is it the dreaded #4 issue?
If it is #4 I'm sure you could just do a quick TCB fix with a short block of wood and just wedge it in there :P Not a perm. solution of course
For those of us (read: me) that don't know what the number 4 issue is... what is it?
http://www.miata.net/solo/99miatathr...ngfailure.html
I haven't got the faintest idea. All I can tell you is that the car is making a noise that it shouldn't be and that noise is coming from the bottom end. The car still runs and drives just fine and feels strong... but it is my experience that noises don't just go away on their own. Given the age of the engine and the abuse it's been put through (and the abuse I intend to put it through this season) I'd just as soon bite the bullet and rebuild it before it lets go in the middle of nowhere.
I doubt that it's a #4 issue, since this motor has 95k miles on it. The first one went at 11k, and most #4 engines don't make it much past 30k miles with normal driving, let alone what I subject the car to.
Iain
"We don't stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
I believe it has something to do with the coolant routing causing the #4 cylinder to overheat.
* I also will most likely be on the litmus test for John Day as I just picked up my new crank from Gary tonight and will be doing that plus new rings etc. Not sure if I can afford a total rebuild but will at least be getting the new crank installed with new bearings/waterpump/rings/and the block honed.
90 MX5 281k miles! - euro spec, Porsche Riviera Blue w/black hardtop, 97 motor swap, vintage Borbet rims, GC, FM shock hats/frame rails/rear sub-brace, AGX, sway bar, stb, Fidanza/ACT combo, EBC Yellows
92 COMMA SM - new paint coming soon...
Nah, follow sammmy's link and it'll explain the #4 problem to you. In a nutshell, Mazda installed the wrong #4 thrust bearing in a number of '99-'00 engines, which caused them to fail prematurely. The first engine in my car was replaced under warranty at 11k because of a bad #4 bearing.
Well, I got approval from Melissa last night, so I'll be making an appointment with John Day today to drop the car off this weekend. I appreciate the offers to help me pull the motor, but I've decided that for $600 I'll let someone with the time, expertise, and space do the job properly.
Iain
"We don't stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
Well, we have seen two Miata engines that had spun rod bearings, one of them being Marc, aka Indy Spat and whatever his name is here, I am still learning. Marc's had two spun bearings in it. This may be what yours is Iain, but also look at the front of your crank and see if it is wobbling, may be external.
Spoke with John yesterday and he will take care of you. Luckily, he had a dead week next week so your time was good for an engine pull, he normally does not want to handle it, but he has family to feed too.
Gary
Danger!!! This Dog Bites.
www.trackdogracing.com
I live where even the coyotes won't go...
Ric doesn't do engine work. The shop that builds his engines is Stoid Racing. I got a quote from Brian at Stoid yesterday (John Garcia recommended them - he and Tommy Saunders have apparently used them for Formula Ford engines in the past), and they're quite a bit more expensive than John Day or Marvelspeed for the same job. In addition, they have neither the facilities nor the desire to pull the motor for me. That ruled them out for me.
Truth is, Marvelspeed, Stoid Racing, and John Day all came highly recommended from different sources that I trust. However, John Day had the most open schedule (and the most reasonable price), so I made an appointment with him this morning to drop the car on Saturday.
Iain
"We don't stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
The 2nd to last engine in my 93 spun a rod bearing too
'02 Berlina S2k
J's 60RS, K&N FIPK, AUT CF cooling panel,
JDM sidemarkers, S badges, BYS emblems,
Mugen TP, 11.7:1 CR, Comptech Header,
Hello Kitty Mugen badge
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote