RaYmO's 1991 NA6

[zawrilla]

Good to hear the car is heading back on track now Ray.

I've been meaning to get some Redline oil for a gearbox and diff oil change. Costs a bit, but sure is good.

[oongie]

This car is HAWT~
I was going to buy it a couple of months back when it was on the market!
But didn't have the dosh back then.
NOICE car. Great JDM styling.

Cheers Paul

[CoffeeBoss]

Alls well that ends well then? Hello from a fellow JDMSTer.

This is such a great NA6 - and i've lusted after AWD gear after seeing this car on JDMST (and your thread on buying the gauges, great travel story).

One of the best NA6 interiors going around, and the most recent set of wheels really match the theme well. Top work!

[RaYmO]

OK... another drama emerged this evening.

You may recall engine overheating I had experienced as a result of an old rubber seal that had created an oil leak.

Well this afternoon when I was driving out of the world square carpark... the temp gauge started rising past the regular temp. Here we go again...

I managed to get the car out of the carpark and pulled over on the nearest side road. I found myself on Dixon ST near the old Harbour Twin Cinemas and parked there for a while. Couldn't do anything but wait for the engine temperature to drop before I could check what was happening.

Took the opportunity to have dinner whilst the engine cooled and when I got back an hour later I started doing some checks.

Dip stick - Revealed that there was still oil in the engine (no signs of leaks as it was still full) - I had my car serviced at MX5 Mania 2 weeks ago so it's a good sign that the oil is still there and super clean too.

Radiator - Full of water and the overflow bottle is full of fluid too. No radiator leaks present.

Then I checked the Temp Sensor (may need to get the MX5 Gurus to verify this is the sensor)



When I opened it up:



I found condensation at the bottom of the sensor. There was close to 3-5mm of water at the base of that tube.

I find it strange that there was water in there... Could this be the culprit behind my wacky temperature readings?

One other thing I had noticed was a rattling tinny sound coming out of my engine bay when I cold start the car. Had this checked out and apparently the exhaust is loose. Mania didn't have a spare hoist at the time so I thought I'd get the rattling fixed up during my next service (but XXXX is it annoying). Could a loose exhaust also raise temps under the bonnet?

[Disco]

Did you get this sorted Ray?

[OZChris]

Love the gauges

[RaYmO]

Did you get this sorted Ray?

Hey Disco,

When I had the car inspected again, the culprit to the overheating is a faulty Thermo/temp switch.

The switch isn't turning on the radiator fan... so if I'm stuck in peak hour traffic or driving very slowly (eg in carparking stations) there isn't enough airflow going through the radiator to cool things down.

$50 later... I had resolved the heating issues... This was a few weeks ago when the whole drama was unfolding.

Last night, the engine bay gremlins struck again

Again during peak hour on the way home from work, my car started to show signs of overheating... I pulled over to this Motel on Victoria road in Ryde (near the putt putt place) and waited for my car to cool down. The radiator fan wasn't working again. I turned my AC to full blast, left the bonnet open and drove on... That helped stabalise the engine bay temps until I got home.

After another morning @ Mania, we discovered the fault this time was a busted motor within the radiator fan. Had that replaced (as well as the indicator flash can which was causing issues with my blinkers) and that should be all the issues addressed at this stage.

As much as I love this old girl... I'm finding it hard to stand the menopausal dramas associated with keeping her (hot flushes, tantrums, issues with peak hour traffic etc)

I'm super tempted to sell her and upgrade to the '09 NC

[PUR157]

Don't be disheartened... in times of crisis you can be forgiven for having those sorts of thoughts...
(by the way I was the other asian dude this morning that dropped off the White MX5 at mania... shoulda stopped to say hi )

It just sounds like you're dealing with one of those long chains of related issues (temperature control and cooling)... hopefully if you fix this whole set of problems you'll be in the clear, remember the good times!

I had the 100k service done today and my car came back feeling a little weird... so I'm going for a follow up tomorrow morning...
Did steve do that "high pressure engine bay" wash on your car too?

[Disco]

When I had the car inspected again, the culprit to the overheating is a faulty Thermo/temp switch.

The switch isn't turning on the radiator fan... so if I'm stuck in peak hour traffic or driving very slowly (eg in carparking stations) there isn't enough airflow going through the radiator to cool things down.:

See I had exactly the same problem, then got that sorted then it was still overheating. Put a used radiator in it - imagine my dismay when I see steam coming from that..! I hear your pain, but 1 (automatic - bigger core ) radiator later and my worries are over. Mind you, now I fancy a nice old Merc with bench seat and column auto...

Saw you on the Anzac bridge yesterday, looks brilliant.

[RaYmO]

Can't believe it's been over a year since I last touched this thread ey...

My baby needed to exhale better... so here's some bits I just ordered from Yahoo Japan:

HKS Silent Hi Power Exhaust





And the Mazdaspeed headers from a few months ago:



This is probably the first significant performance mod I've carried out...

Reflecting on my mods to date.. they've been mainly cosmetic but this has become my missus' daily ride now (the price of love has reduced me to rocking a silver EK Civic nowadays...)

[CoffeeBoss]

I love a good thread revival.

This should really wake up your Roadster. HKS Silent Hi Power's are really nice and headers, well
Should be a good combination sound and power-wise.

I hope to be taking a leaf out of this book early next year. Just got to get that clearance from the CFO...
"oh look, a hole in the muffler, better get that sorted out..."

[StanTheMan]

Can't believe it's been over a year since I last touched this thread ey...

My baby needed to exhale better... so here's some bits I just ordered from Yahoo Japan:

HKS Silent Hi Power Exhaust





And the Mazdaspeed headers from a few months ago:



This is probably the first significant performance mod I've carried out...

Reflecting on my mods to date.. they've been mainly cosmetic but this has become my missus' daily ride now (the price of love has reduced me to rocking a silver EK Civic nowadays...)

once you have that exhaust fitted......If she's anything like my CEO .....I'm sure you'll be back in the 5 in no time .

[RaYmO]

6 months since my last post and I've finally got a chance to install the kit yesterday.

Dropped over to Performance Exhaust in Northmead and had my car looked after by Haks (he also owns the tasty FD to the left).



Before (rusty old stock NA6 headers)




After (Mazdaspeed Headers)



Before (stock setup)



After (high flow cat)



Before (stock exhaust)



After (HKS Silent Hi Power):





My car is a lot more torquier, there is a faint rumble during idling which isn't too noticeable at first but it is there. It's just a touch louder than stock in 1st, 2nd and 3rd gear, when you cruise in 4th/5th it's actually as quiet as stock.

Throttle response has improved dramatically with the new headers.

Haks has done a fine job and the install took about 2 hours to complete - his work is highly recommended by me (i expect him to be rocking a NA MX5 shortly )

[sliq]

[CoffeeBoss]

All the benefits of a better exhaust without the drawbacks - sounds like Win Win to me. Nice work!