Snowmotion's NB8a

[Okibi]

Great work

[Snowmotion]

Lost the back image so here it is.

[Snowmotion]

When I got the car I found the center console box had a broken plastic hinge that runs down the passenger side.
Looking around at options I found that a new lid was a $200 option or there are some 2nd hand pieces available but thought they would probably be close to failing also as they are a flexed plastic hinge.
So opted to do a little repair using a 50mm hinge.
This is the finished result.

I fixed a hinge on the inside with a little trimming. I needed to slot the hinge holes in the end to get the alignment correct.

[Rasputin]

I hope you sealed that paint really well with a few coats of a high quality sealant/wax after clay barring it.

Wax doesn't like clay ^_-

Dan.

[Snowmotion]

I hope you sealed that paint really well with a few coats of a high quality sealant/wax after clay barring it.

Wax doesn't like clay ^_-

Dan.

Not yet. .. will need to do some more work later this week as wife was not happy with my new toy getting all my attention.

[Magpie]

Not yet. .. will need to do some more work later this week as wife was not happy with my new toy getting all my attention.

Don't set a precedent that you may latter regret...

[Snowmotion]

Not yet. .. will need to do some more work later this week as wife was not happy with my new toy getting all my attention.

Don't set a precedent that you may latter regret...

I think it is too late for that...
I kind of ruined it on the last project car... but on the upside she like this car...

[Snowmotion]

Few more little jobs done today.

Replaced the 3 lower spoiler pins, fitted new brake and clutch rubber pedal covers and changed the transmission fluid.
Still got to get inside and replace the upper and lower rubber covers on the shifter and do the diff fluid and timing belt a little later.

I took her for a nice run this morning up to MX5 Mania and back and managed to travel a few back roads courteous of my GPS (I really should stop listening to it when i know where i am going) but they were fun.

I managed to pick up extractors last night at a bargain price so they will go on when I do the timing belt. Hopefully I can find the exhaust leak at that time.

More fun motoring to come.

[hks_kansei]

Hopefully I can find the exhaust leak at that time.

One tip to help avoid exhaust leaks (or any car leaks)



Treat all gaskets like a condom.
Just because there is a possibility of re-use, doesn't mean it's ever a good idea.

[Snowmotion]

Hopefully I can find the exhaust leak at that time.

One tip to help avoid exhaust leaks (or any car leaks)

Finished off the Transmission fluid change today and replaced the boots on the gear shift as they were both stuffed. Also changed the transmission fluid at the shifter. I had some mixed feed back if this was necessary or not but when I removed the old fluid (very dark) it was clear that it should be replaced. (90ml) I used sealant on the gasket as I could see oil had spilt out of the old shifter.

Did little more top down motoring today.. perfect day for it.

[Snowmotion]

After a small hick up in my health at the end of the week I was fortunately back on my feet to work on my car on the weekend.
I was able to continue working through projects on the car. Following the claying of the car last week I polished and waxed the whole car. (love how small this car is ).
I also worked on the interior cleaning all the plastic panels including the roof. Whilst doing I noticed all the roof brackets were a bit pitted so pulled them all off and sanded back and repainted. Looking much nicer now. Also resprayed the center cap on the wheels as they had lost all their paint.
Looking forward to getting into the mechanical's in a few weeks when I have some spare time.

[Snowmotion]

I have had an interesting few days learning some new things and solving other problems.

Decided I could do the 200k timing belt change on my car although not ever done this before. I knew there were some oil leaks at the valve cover and lower on the motor and water leaks presumably from the water pump. I did lots of reading and watching video's before I started to get a good idea of what to expect.
Pulling it apart was all good till I got to the crank pulley where the pulley would not come off the shaft after the 4 bolts were removed. AJ at MX5 Mania who supplied the timing belt kit was awesome here and offer some advice when I phoned.
One of the biggest job was cleaning all the years of oil residue off the car from these small leaks.
All the seals came out and were replaced easily and new water pump installed with no hitch. The water pipe to the passenger side has to be the worst 2 bolts to remove and install.
I got a little mixed up with the reassembly order having to undo some work to get all back pieces back on in order.
Setting the timing was far easier than I thought it would be with a good you tube video showing how to align to TDC at the crank in order to have everything back in the right timing.
I was not surprised some of the seals were leaking as they were more like rock than rubber.
One small stuff up made while putting back together. I had the sway bar released to give more access to the crank bolt but only thought about putting it back in after I had reinstalled and filled the radiator. This is a no no. lost a little of the coolant in the process but saved most of it for the next fill.
Once all assembled (and not quite in the 5 hour time frame I planned) the car started first go and runs perfectly. Probably better than before.
I just need to re tighten the AUX belts to stop a little squeal.

A perfect day for getting around in today to vote.

[Snowmotion]

Having bought some 2nd hand Bilstein shocks decided I had not suffered enough yet and it was time to install the improved shocks.

This sort of job I have done before and thought it would be a breeze. So far i have pulled apart the front shocks but not succeed in getting any out yet.
I am planning on trying the long bolt method tomorrow or that failing use some spring compressors to get them out and new ones back in.

I have not started on the rears but they look way easier than the front.

Looking forward to the morning so I can attack this job. I want it done in 2 hours but suspect this is wishful thinking.

[Snowmotion]

So I finished installing the new shocks this morning.
I did lots of searching about the best way to remove the current shocks and tried a few methods. Best results were achieved with:
Front: Long bolt removal. After the initial fear of removing this bolt this turned out to be a really easy method.
Rear: Undoing the bolt connecting the upper support at the wheel hub made it easy to remove the shock.

Only major obstacles were a stripped nut on the top of a rear shock (thankfully I read about someone else using a socked nut remover from Bunnings ) and a rear swaybar link being a little stubborn.

Car sits a little higher at the moment on these Bilsteins (2cm) and needs a alignment but he ride feels much better.

[Snowmotion]

Had a small problem when fitting the Cam seals as I folded one over and had a new oil leak. With some good advise from NitroDam I quickly found the leak and fitted a new Cam seal. Looking good so far.

I had a look at fitting the new Empire header (POS in NitroDan's words, may be right) and looked to remove my stock one to see what will need to be done. One stripped bolt on the exhaust shield and my new striped head socket set fixed the problem again.
Only thing I had not considered was the EGR opening on the header is a female and the factory one is male so some problem solving to be done here.
I have read many strong opinions overnight about the pro's & cons of blocking off the EGR. Seems there is little benefit blocking it off except weight saving so will look to find a solution.
Once this is sorted I can be ready to fit it up.
The good news was I found where most of the exhaust leak was, no gasket or liquid gasket fitted at the join to the Cat convertor. Fitted the one I go with the header and it is much nicer now.

I had an alignment done during the week. They almost gave me the settings I asked for. Given they worked on it for 1 hour I was satisfied but may have to try someone more familiar with the MX5 next time.

I have had some great driving this weekend with the top down. I feel the smile.