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NA NEWBIE in perth
Posted: Sun Mar 16, 2014 8:10 pm
by shipy59
Hi all, went and bought myself a 89 na6 with 268,000 km on it. yeah i know its a lot but for 3800 its not bad. within half an hour it had lancer mags n tires on it. Look good but has a lot of backspace so a bit of neg camber on rear but will keep an eye on that. my big concern is it may have a leaking head gasket as we went for a drive up the hills today and she was bubbling nicely when we stopped up top. Got home and can see very small bubbles in rad so hope a retorque n rad flush will sort it out.
got to check out front pulley bolt tension as it looks a bit wobbly. so far love my little red noddy car

Re: NA NEWBIE in perth
Posted: Sun Mar 16, 2014 11:40 pm
by doc
Welcome to The MX-5 Car Talk Forum Shipy.
Nice looking NA.
Wobbly crank?
I'll let the NA guys on here tell you all about it.
Re: NA NEWBIE in perth
Posted: Sun Mar 16, 2014 11:51 pm
by Okibi
Welcome to the obsession.
If it still has an original radiator get a nice aluminium one, it will make a world of difference and less chance you'll cook the engine in Perth's warm weather.
Re: NA NEWBIE in perth
Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2014 9:45 am
by 93_Clubman
Welcome & congrats!
Re: NA NEWBIE in perth
Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2014 8:36 pm
by doc
Really? No one is going to mention the crank issues with the 1.6 engines?
This guy has a wobbly crank, He's a good guy. Someone fill him in.
Re: NA NEWBIE in perth
Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2014 8:45 pm
by Okibi
Re: NA NEWBIE in perth
Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2014 9:07 pm
by tescoking
hope to see you in the club soon
Re: NA NEWBIE in perth
Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2014 10:57 pm
by shipy59
Hi guys , yep i know all about wobbly crank syndrome.... fixed a couple over my time as a car mechanic. ripped rad out tonight and gave it a power flush so will see how that goes with the last of the warm days coming. looks like it was replaced at some stage with a alli one but someone has painted it
been getting used to how it sticks in corners and wow,its a bit like a gokart you think you are at the limit but wait theres more grip to be had push harder!!
Re: NA NEWBIE in perth
Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2014 11:12 pm
by doc
Street legal Go-cart!
They're a blast!
(Or a toppless RollerSkate!).
Re: NA NEWBIE in perth
Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2014 11:37 pm
by shipy59
well a little update. pulled rad monday night and power flushed it out. not much crap but saw a little, test drive and seemed ok temp wise.
SO on my way to work the oil pressure slowly dropped and dropped,GOD WHAT NEXT............ so tonight i changed filter,filled with some diesel 15/40 and a dash of thick morreys additive . so far so good. pressure seems higher cold and holding warm. I think it had a stuck relief valve this morning as it was ok for the drive home after work.
Re: NA NEWBIE in perth
Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2014 8:52 am
by geofiz
Shipy,
If you need a new radiator, I have a stock NA one that you can borrow until,a replacement arrives. It doesn't leak and is OK, has been in three cars now as a loaner unit
As a bonus, I am just up the hill from you, all of 5 minutes away.
Hope to see you at one of the club meets soon.
Re: NA NEWBIE in perth
Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2014 10:22 pm
by shipy59
HI GUYS n thanks for the rad loan offer but gave it a good power flush and it looks good in condition. guildford to midvale with a/con on,stop start driving and all good , temp was 34 or there about. Sat just under half.
Also oil pressure drop problem cured with a new filter n 15/40 diesel oil with a good dose of morries addative.
One day would like to have a go at the bike dome track,looks like fun now that i know how much grip they have.
A little cosmetic question, is gear shift boot black leather with red stitching and console cover standard fare??
Re: NA NEWBIE in perth
Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2014 10:00 am
by 93_Clubman
shipy59 wrote:A little cosmetic question, is gear shift boot black leather with red stitching and console cover standard fare??
Originally the gear shift outer boot that attaches to the centre console was black vinyl with white stitching. If by 'console cover' you mean centre console lid, yes there was originally a lid on the rear section of the centre console, but no 'console cover' as such. Sounds like it's all coming together well - as you probably know MX5 have generally been quite reliable, so usually a full baseline service following purchase will sort many issues & minimise others.
Re: NA NEWBIE in perth
Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2014 12:32 am
by shipy59
So tonight i put standard wheels back on as didnt like the ride n noise from the wide tyres/rims.
next is an oil change in box as probably hasnt been done in 268,000 km.
Re: NA NEWBIE in perth
Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2014 4:12 am
by tescoking
shipy59 wrote:So tonight i put standard wheels back on as didnt like the ride n noise from the wide tyres/rims.
next is an oil change in box as probably hasnt been done in 268,000 km.
Use Redline MT-90 synthetic gear oil and Redline differential gear oil in your diff
