Tech Day- Timing belt, waterpump, and fluids.

[cam76034]

And some of us already had prior plans for the weekend.

[POS Racing]

So what happened to the transmission??

[bmcreider]

Something similar to this, and maybe this similar, easy fix can work, happened:

http://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread...everse+neutral

Somehow, during the TB job, I'm assuming loosening the crank bolt with the tranny in 5th, it got screwed up.

We first noticed when I had the new TB on and I was going to rotate it a few times to check the timing, but the motor wouldn't spin right - the resistance just got stronger like it was in gear, even though it had been put back in neutral after we broke the bolt loose hours before.

Well, Juano got in the car, and pressed in the clutch, and the resistance went away, so in "neutral" the car was in some kind of gear. Later, after putting it all back together, it ended up being in reverse. "1st" and "2nd" gear are some kind of tall forward gears like 5th or 4th, we assumed, and the shifter wouldn't move into the 3rd, 4th, 5th, or reverse positions...only neutral, 1st, and 2nd.

So, tranny is bonkers, and I am assuming it couldn't take the torque needed to break the crank bolt loose, for some odd reason. 1.6 tranny in a 1.8 car, apparently, so I don't know if the 1.6 is weaker or anything, but maybe.

Otherwise, that fix I posted in the link above may work, Rogue may know that fix or another fix; it basically might be easy to solve. Timing belt and water pump work fine, though, so that's the good news.

[bmcreider]

By the way, here is a direct link to a possible fix:

http://www.miata.net/garage/stuckreverse.html

[JuanoTejano]

It looks like that is probably it. Hopefully it can be as easily fixed as the thing seems to believe but we were looking for the reverse hole switch last night and couldn't find it, Rogue said he would be sending me a picture today so hopefully I can get it fixed. Thanks brett for all your help yesterday and for finding that for me.

[bmcreider]

This is the last time I ever help anyone on this forum do anything with their car.

If you don't autocross, or if you are not my friend, you do not get your car worked on. I did $250 of labor, at the cheapest, yesterday and I got jack shit for it but micromanagement, a Whattaburger meal, and at past midnight, "Thanks for breaking my car."

I do not have to, and will not ever again, tolerate such a condescending attitude with such little appreciation from someone who, by their own admission, needed my (free) help in order to do the job.

I spent $15 in gas, got a $6 meal, gritty fingernails, cut hands, sore arms, a bad back, and blamed for (a non existent) transmission failure, and had my (perfect) timing job called into question, and my overall mechanical knowledge doubted...

Never again.

Some people in this world would do well to learn appreciation, and if not, learn how to work on your car, and if not, buy a fucking Corolla.

[black roadster]

This is the last time I ever help anyone on this forum do anything with their car.

If you don't autocross, or if you are not my friend, you do not get your car worked on. I did $250 of labor, at the cheapest, yesterday and I got jack shit for it but micromanagement, a Whattaburger meal, and at past midnight, "Thanks for breaking my car."

I do not have to, and will not ever again, tolerate such a condescending attitude with such little appreciation from someone who, by their own admission, needed my (free) help in order to do the job.

I spent $15 in gas, got a $6 meal, gritty fingernails, cut hands, sore arms, a bad back, and blamed for (a non existent) transmission failure, and had my (perfect) timing job called into question, and my overall mechanical knowledge doubted...

Never again.

Some people in this world would do well to learn appreciation, and if not, learn how to work on your car, and if not, buy a fucking Corolla.

Please don't let one bad experience tarnish you to folks on this forum. My experience has been that EVERYONE has been very gracious at tech days. The pay sucks but the experience and camaraderie usually makes for a great day.

I can't and won't speak for your experience this last weekend. I have hosted and attended tech days and one should always be gracious and appreciative of any help, regardless of the results unless someone were being darn right stupid and careless and even then remember you get what you pay for.

NMC (Not My Car) always applies.

Also a note. Tech Days should not be an expectation but a welcome assistance. The best ones are planned with a bit of advance notice. (Several weeks at least) and sometimes provide for several cars to get work done.

I am sorry you had a bad experience. Maybe the next time you need work done, some of us can show you what a tech day is supposed to be about.

William

[JuanoTejano]

All I have to say publicly about this is that I was expressing my appreciation for his help the whole time yesterday, before and after we knew about the transmission failure, and did not blame him for the problem. I am a sarcastic asshole, I know, but we had what I thought was a good back and forth report with jokes going both ways the whole day and he never expressed this anger that I see now last night or else I would have explained myself regarding what I thought was quite obviously a joke. When I said thanks for breaking my car it was at the end of the night, we both laughed and I thanked him for his help and he left. I'm sorry for the misunderstanding but I was very appreciative of his help and said that many times.

[TurboDuane]

There are only two ways I can think of to break the Crank bolt free. One is put it in gear (as you apparently did) with the break set and give it a go. I personally don't care for this method as there is always too much play for my comfort. I always feel like I'm either going to break a knuckle or something. However, this is about the only way if you are working solo.

My prefered method, which really requires two people is a large screwdriver, or something to catch a flywheel tooth in the inspection hole of the clutch housing (or is it a bolt? I forget?). One person holds the screwdriver and the other breaks the bolt free.

The best is to use a combination of both of the above, as you don't stress either the teeth or the drive line.

bmcreider, many of us get dirty with our cars and I'd be willing to wager that some of us could teach you a thing or two. I personally have had two turbo'd Miata's. One I built, the other I bought and modified even further. That said, I don't ask for help to fix my cars, but I also don't go out of my way to help others. That said, a Tech day is fun, usually nothing serious being done, ususally fluid changes, brakes and beer drinking. I love those. Don't be so quick to judge.

[cArAzzIE]

Please don't let one bad experience tarnish you to folks on this forum. My experience has been that EVERYONE has been very gracious at tech days. The pay sucks but the experience and camaraderie usually makes for a great day.

I can't and won't speak for your experience this last weekend. I have hosted and attended tech days and one should always be gracious and appreciative of any help, regardless of the results unless someone were being darn right stupid and careless and even then remember you get what you pay for.

NMC (Not My Car) always applies.

Also a note. Tech Days should not be an expectation but a welcome assistance. The best ones are planned with a bit of advance notice. (Several weeks at least) and sometimes provide for several cars to get work done.

I am sorry you had a bad experience. Maybe the next time you need work done, some of us can show you what a tech day is supposed to be about.

William

What he said!
I am deeply grateful for my new top and all the hard work it took to get the old one off and the new one on! And I believe this is a great forum and is full of generious knowledgeable people that enjoy helping each other out. I've met some really cool people here!

[JuanoTejano]

You may recall I was one of those people helping out with that, mostly with the bar though. I was actually defending the members of the forum earlier in this very thread.

I've been very happy with all the help I've received from people on the board, they've never left me hanging.

I hope people don't judge me just based on him being pissed at me, because I am very appreciative of all help I get from people and try and let them know by thanking them many times. I'm sorry that he feels the way he does and I apparently should have done more to let him know how much I appreciated his help but I really don't think I did anything wrong yesterday everything I did or said was with the best intentions.

[juxt3r]

Please don't let one bad experience tarnish you to folks on this forum. My experience has been that EVERYONE has been very gracious at tech days. The pay sucks but the experience and camaraderie usually makes for a great day.

I can't and won't speak for your experience this last weekend. I have hosted and attended tech days and one should always be gracious and appreciative of any help, regardless of the results unless someone were being darn right stupid and careless and even then remember you get what you pay for.

NMC (Not My Car) always applies.

Also a note. Tech Days should not be an expectation but a welcome assistance. The best ones are planned with a bit of advance notice. (Several weeks at least) and sometimes provide for several cars to get work done.

I am sorry you had a bad experience. Maybe the next time you need work done, some of us can show you what a tech day is supposed to be about.

William

Very well stated, William! ...and thanks again for all of your time, help & patience during my first timing belt/water pump change!

Some experiences are good ones, some aren't. We've got a lot of wildly contrasting personalities around here, so don't be surprised if someone else's mannerisms don't jibe well with how you generally act/react.

[trickyrix]

I've thoroughly enjoyed every Tech Day I've been part of! I may not be the most skilled monkey in the bunch, but I help where I can and I always learn something new.* Sure, some days run longer than others, but the object is never to flat-rate the job. Personally, I've enjoyed the BS sessions and the social aspect. Shit happens, you learn from it, and you move on to the next job...









*For instance, I learned that I'm pretty sure I don't want to replace my own clutch when the time comes.

[HudsonHawk]

I have been both the recipent and the worker at tech days. I was enormously appreciative of the help to replace the timing belt and associated parts. Don't think I could have done it myself. I have also been happy to help out on other cars. I have learned something from every experience.

I have been at tech days that took WAY longer then anticipated. We muscled through it and the results were great.

The end of the day tempers can get short and the sarcasm flows. But everyone appreciates a helping hand.

[JuanoTejano]

I got my car running tonight, if anyone was interested.

[TurboDuane]

I got my car running tonight, if anyone was interested.

How? On my way home I got to thinking that I too had this problem once, and it turned out to be the shifter had worked it's way loose, causing it to not slide into gears properly.

Glad you got it running and hopefully you two can kiss and make up

[JuanoTejano]

http://www.miata.net/garage/stuckreverse.html

By doing what this guide said. Basically you remove the reverse light switch from the from the top part of the driver side of the transmission (I have a pic if you need it) with a 21mm crescent wrench and then using any small prodding device carefully move the only thing you can feel in there toward the rear of the car until you hear a click and it should return to normal operation. Let me know if you need anymore info but I doubt this happened to you because the car would be rendered completely undrivable.

I never had any problem with Brett, I actually thought he was friendly and pretty funny and I had a good time working with him. I just wish he would have communicated his problems with me at the time so I could have explained myself, instead of just bashing me on the forum.

[bmcreider]

...instead of just bashing me on the forum.

I wouldn't have a problem with someone who was doing my timing belt and water pump either.

You wouldn't listen to a single thing I said. You start a cold car and it's idle is high and you freak out proclaiming an error of timing, or something else that was caused by "our" (my) work. You proceed with the same antics when your exhaust secretes steam, thinking that was caused by something "we" (I) did doing the belt/pump change.

And, of course, the transmission.

Maybe it is a clash of personalities, but your "sarcasm" about breaking your car, how to put in spark plugs as if I am a cumbersome fool, or any other things is not funny, and is not appreciative.

I have never, in my life, done so much work for such little appreciation.

[JuanoTejano]

Well man I really think that if you would have talked to me about any of this in person I could have explained myself entirely but now all I can say is a blanket "I'm sorry for the misunderstanding, I never blamed you for any of the issues with the car and I did greatly appreciate your help."

I did say in my PM to you that what you perceived as me questioning the integrity of your work (steam, high idle etc.) was just me asking questions to learn as much as I could about any possible causes as evidenced by me thinking that it was maybe the RTV of the valve cover gasket got somewhere and was burning off, not trying to place blame. I really thought that we were both on the same page because of the jokes going back and forth all day, I genuinely intended no offense with my sarcasm and only said it to try and make myself seem less depressed by my transmission failure and more jovial, as had been the tone of the night until I felt crushed by the thought of needing a new transmission and missing Laguna.

[bmcreider]

Well.

At least the car works.