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Rich's 1999 MX5 1.8i S


Rich
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I need some of those straws that come with WD40, I always seem to lose them and can't find any! Really I need to spray behind the pulley with something that can creep in the gaps and I don't think WD40 is right for that job.

I took the car out for a gentle drive which lasted 15 minutes or so. Everything seemed fine. I'll be keeping it on the road until October. I don't know whether to replace the belts now or wait until it's back off the road and do it over winter. Plus look for a new alternator. I'm just concerned that the belt may have been damaged but looking at it I can't see any. They must lose rubber over time anyway with the constant spinning they do.

Need to give it a good clean now and get photos off to the insurance company for the agreed valuation.

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I need to get some plus gas, read lots of good things about it. 

The alternator belt also drives the water pump so if it snaps the car is going no where!! I've checked it the best I can but obviously the best way is to remove it and check. If I'm doing that I might as well replace. They still look brand new, only replaced around 5 years a go but barely done any mileage.

I'm not selling the car, keeping it for as long as I can.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Well it's been ok so far, I did a 120 mile round trip yesterday in all that rain. Pretty scary on the motorway with lorries thundering past you!! :ohno01: It's definitely a car for dry weather.

I took it for an MOT and it passed but got an advisory for a piece of exposed brake pipe that is corroding on the NSR. I'm going to get it replaced or repaired. The guy also mentioned the suspension arms are very rusty so I'll clean those up and paint in hammerite. I think the bushes are ok as the car handles perfectly.

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  • 2 months later...

The car is now off the road for winter and I've finally got the cover on I bought 3.5 years a go!! :rolleyes:

I'll be getting that brake pipe replaced next year now but I also want to refurb the wheels and I need to get a new alternator. Before taking it off the road I did replace the spark plugs as I realised I didn't know when they were last done! The car seemed to rev slightly higher afterwards (no more than 500rpm) and the idle dip I was getting when warm stopped but it still did it from cold.

Do these old spark plugs look ok? All 4 were the same.

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They look ok to me...... Remember it's being run on choke so there's going to be some build up on them.

If your going to get the wheels done i really recommend Max-Powder in Apsley. They did my wheels that needed milling, blasting and a total colour change from silver to gold, then powder coating at a cost of £55 ins per wheel.

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All 4 are the same and no oil or gunk on them so I would agree with you that they look ok. I might replace the HT leads next year too as they're cheap enough.

I'll probably use max powder, they get good reviews and the prices are reasonable. Isn't that where Mark worked? I really want them in a graphite colour. Did they remove/refit the tyres for you or did you do that at work?

I'm also contemplating doing the cambelt next year as well. If I'm replacing the alternator and belts, plus the coolant really should be done I might as well have a go. It's overdue so needs doing at some point.

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  • 7 months later...

So the car has been sitting for around 8 months. I was still having issues with a couple of the tyres going flat and one is completely deflated!

If I pump it up is the tyre likely to be ok still or could it have caused the sidewall to breakdown? I've got a cover on the car so haven't inspected them properly yet.

I was planning on getting the wheels refurbished or buy another set as BB have tried 2 or 3 times now to stop the air leak to no avail. Before I spend money on the wheels and tyres I need to check the car starts and runs ok. If the alternator has seized again then I'll have to replace that first, so the wheels might have to wait.

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Do you want to check them out again and try to find the problem? I was only looking at getting them refurbished to stop the air leak. If it's something else causing it then I'll refurb them myself if I can.

There is corrosion on the alloys and flakey paint but it's no where near as bad as others I've seen.

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I haven't checked the other tyre pressures yet but I have seen someone local selling some wheels. One has a poor condition tyre so is £15. I've asked what the condition of the alloy is like. Would it be worth buying that and just have the tyre swapped?

I've never had this issue with any other tyres fitted by BB and after 3 months of standing both the Honda and Lexus still have the correct pressures. So I'm certain it must be the rim that's the issue.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Checked all of them today and one of the front tyres is down to 17psi, that also had a slow leak before it was parked up. The other two are on 26psi, so they've not dropped at all.

I'm going to take the flat one off and check it for nails and cuts. I've got a builders rubble bucket so will see if it fits in that and fill it with water to check for bubbles.

Is it worth me buying a couple of rims I've seen? They look in much better condition than mine with minimal corrosions so it might be easier to just swap them over than refurb them.

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I've heard of rims having corrosion at the contact point ans despite sealer still leak. Only solution for thos was to take then off and sand sand down the corrosion before refitting the tyre.

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Odd thing that's exactly what we do... We use a wire wheel to remove the oxidation and then line the bead area with a latex sealer which activates to air by expanding.

We do this 20 times a day so well versed in the process.

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2 minutes ago, Tony said:

Odd thing that's exactly what we do... We use a wire wheel to remove the oxidation and then line the bead area with a latex sealer which activates to air by expanding.

We do this 20 times a day so well versed in the process.

Yes I even watched them do that but 2 of them still have slow leaks. With the one that's on 17psi, from previous experience it stops deflating if there is a nail in the tyre. If it was the bead then it would completely deflate like the other one has - is that right?

I'll try and take them off this week and inspect them both thoroughly or I can bring them over at some point if I can't find anything.

Is it worth buying a couple of those rims I've seen, 2 would be £40, possibly cheaper if I haggle. Plus like I said they're corrosion free on the outside so look better than mine anyway.

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I bought the wheels anyway, all 3 of them for £40. A bargain I think. From a fellow MK2 owner who has put 14" wheels on.

One tyre is almost new so I'm keeping that as a spare. Although it is a budget brand.

The other two I want the Toyos that keep going down on mine switched over to these rims. One tyre on those is scrap, the other isn't too bad and seems a shame to bin it so I might keep that as a spare too or sell it. It's a Falken and must have 4mm left easily.

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Considering he wanted £75 for all 3 I'm happy. I offered £30 for the 2 with worse tyres or what was his best offer for all 3.

On the rim that's actually a bit of corrosion. It seems the weights were put on the outside as well as the inside! That tyre I'm scrapping now, I checked the date and it's 8 years old.

The almost new tyre was made in August last year.

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Sure was and only 10 minutes down the road! I'm hoping to get the wheels off the car asap and then bring them over Tony. 

Once those are sorted I'm praying the alternator hasn't seized again and I can take the car out. MOT expires in 5 weeks so I want that renewed before I start spending money on other parts!

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I cleaned the wheels up over the weekend. I'm going to need some brick acid for the inside, the brake dust won't really shift. In fact I think the wheels may have been resprayed at some point and not lacquered. Last week at work and then I'm hoping to crack on with getting the car sorted.

I renewed the insurance today so I need to get some use out of it!

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