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Rich's 1999 MX5 1.8i S


Rich
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Bedford is a proper track built from the ground up for corporate days - hence why its got loads of run off and the safest track in the UK (in my opinion). No risk of any nails there :) Its not th ebest outright track for an mx5 if you do the full length version but its the ideal place to do a first track day. Theres no camber or elevations to worry about that adds another dynamic into your car control.

 

fair enough if you are thrashing someone elses wheels on an airfield go for it but i'd never set a wheel on one again.Its all really coarse concrete with huge stones embedded in it which envivitably work loose and then flick up on the paint or scrub the s**t out of your tyres. The north weald one they have some kind of fish market on there or something so half of the space is really slippery and half of it is just grippy but rough. 

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fair enough if you are thrashing someone elses wheels on an airfield go for it but i'd never set a wheel on one again.Its all really coarse concrete with huge stones embedded in it which envivitably work loose and then flick up on the paint or scrub the s**t out of your tyres. The north weald one they have some kind of fish market on there or something so half of the space is really slippery and half of it is just grippy but rough. 

 

Reminds me of that TG where they drive around that abandoned airport - all the stones destroyed the 458s undertray!

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On every car i have owned i have never put axle stands on the sills. I always put them on the lower wishbone pickup point on the chassis.

On the front that's fine but you can't always put stands on the rear so they have to go on the sills.

Your jacking up the rear wrong then :D.

 

Even on cars with a rear bean I have never used a silk to Jack or for axle stands

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  • 3 weeks later...

Question for you Steve, when you jack the front do you go from in front or the side? I had a look from the front and the jacking point is so far back I can't see it! I think I'll have to drive it onto blocks of wood first. The rear diff looks easy enough to get to but again quite a fair way in.

 

I've also read there are some reinforced sections for axle stands behind the sills, have you used these?

 

Going to do the oil change this weekend so checked the filter location and that's easy enough to get to. Can't see where the sump bolt is as the cars so low! :lol:

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I normally jack my 5s on one corner of the rear subframe, or under one wishbone if I want to put the stands on the subframe / brace parts.

 

Whilst it might be ok, I try not to jack using the diff as you'll be putting a lot of strain on the rubber mounts and I know from experience that these do deteriorate and you stand a good chance of ripping them apart.

 

With the front, anywhere on the front subframe is good to jack on but yes, it is a bit low so to drive onto a couple of pieces of plank or paving slabs is a good way to get that jack right in where you want it.

The sump bolt is easily accessible once you get under there.

 

My cars are not in the greatest condition so I would never use the sills or anywhere near them to jack or to stand on. Always use a tough part of the suspension and you'll not be at risk of serious bodywork damage!

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In the past i have jacked from the sides and slide an axle stand in tight against the jack so that its on the reinforced section of the sill. i have also placed stands on the lower wishbone at the inner bolt that secures it to the chassis. That said you can probably use the cross member if you can get to it.

 

Worth noting that regular jack cups will bend the sills slightly. I used a bit of wood in between to reduce the stress a bit - but i think the hockey puck with a groove carved out is the way really so it lifts the car either side of the sill and doesnt place load on the sill itself.

 

As far as i know you have the nominated points for a jack and that area is reinforced either side- how much of it behind is reinforced i dont know but i wouldnt be using just that inner side to prop the car up - will probably go through the floor or something.

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Thanks Andy and Steve :)

 

I have to admit I'm nervous about jacking from the diff even if the handbook says to use it. The thing with jacking the corners on the rear is what happens when you've already raised the front and that's sitting on axle stands, is it going to make the car unstable or would jacking from one corner effectively raise both wheels anyway? I suppose really you want to raise the rear first and then the front afterwards.

 

I was going to order some of the caravan ramps to raise the front slightly so I can get the jack in but while searching for them I came across some people who have made their own from planks of wood and stepped them. I'm thinking of doing this with scaffolding boards and gluing/nailing them together. If I make them 3, 2 and 1 foot in length they will be easy to store as well and should in theory be safer as the whole lot will be solid wood.

 

Are the axle stands located in this photo in a good position, those bars don't look very thick, I assume this is the brace?

 

03-JackStands.jpg

 

With the axle stands behind the sills I was looking at this PDF - http://billswebspace.com/Raise_Your_Miata.pdf

 

It seems these areas are reinforced and it's the lifting point for the scissor jack but do these areas ever corrode over time and weaken? From the number of threads I've found and read on jacking points and stand locations it seems there is alot of confusion about where the best places are!

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I personally wouldn't put the stands in the middle of the bars, but yes, they probably are strong enough.

 

It all depends on what you want to work on. If you aren't taking the wishbones off then I would prefer to place the stands where the braces meet the subframe.

 

I'd raise the front first and then the rear as you have more clearance at the back and if you jack the rear first you'll have the nose sitting lower and might be more tricky getting a jack under. Also, the front is heavier, so getting that up and stable is more important.

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Is where the braces meet the subframe where the 2 black bolt heads are in the photo? That does look a more solid place to put them but I think I need to have a good look underneath the car and see for myself.

 

Hopefully I won't need to do any suspension work on the car for a while, it'll be mainly servicing, brakes, protecting etc.

 

Good point about not being able to get the jack under the front once the rear is raised, unless I use the scissor ones on the sill instead to raise it and then slide the jack in. I'm sure I'll figure something out! :)

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I spent yesterday working on the car and drove it onto some bricks so I could get the jack under. I literally had to lay down on the ground so I could position it under the subframe! Axle stands were placed near the subframe bolt and it seemed fine like this. I tried lowering it without the bricks and the jack got stuck underneath so I definitely need to drive it onto ramps first. I reckon if I can make some with a height of 7-9" I could do the oil change without jacking it up.

 

The oil change was fine but the oil filter made abit of a mess but luckily it went on the wood the jack was on and not the drive! Even with a rag underneath it was just pouring out by the time I had got it unscrewed and upright. With the Honda's I have to remove a wheel to get to the filter so can put a bowl underneath so the mess is minimal. The handbook says to check the dipstick 5 minutes after turning the engine off so I put 3.5 litres in (takes 3.8) and it was showing over the full mark!  <_ the dipstick tube it curved and seems to catch on side when i pull out smearing oil up it. checked before leaving work earlier so was cold there a thicker amount of under full line then thinned above think ok. maybe should check from in future>

 

On to the brakes after doing that so I could try and find the problem causing the pull. It brakes fine normally at any speed and doing an emergency stop at 30mph but braking hard from speed makes the car pull to the right and then it dips back to the left. This made me think the NSF wasn't working properly so the OSF brake is making the car pull.

 

I stripped the NSF down and there was alot of crap around the brake pads, clips and carriers so I cleaned all that up. The paint on the edges of the pads also hadn't been removed as they were catching a little so I filed that off. The slider pins were very dry, barely any grease on them but they weren't seized. The larger (lower) slider pin had quite abit of corrosion on it as well so I gave it a light sanding, then regreased everything. Went for a spin and it was still pulling the same as before! :(

 

Stripped the OSF brake down and that was even worse with the dirt and rust around the carrier and pad edges, they were also catching on the carrier more than the NSF. I cleaned and regreased all of that and went for another drive where I think it's improved now. I only got the chance to try it once on the way to work at 50mph and it braked more or less in a straight line but I'm going to test it properly going home at higher speeds. Also I didn't touch the pistons, if those are the problem then I can't see the point in trying to clean them I'd just replaced the whole caliper but I think it could be the slider pins.

 

The upper pin sits in a rubber sleeve, which I didn't remove (the sleeve not the pin) as I know I won't get it back in without damaging it but there were signs that copper grease had been used on them. This would've made the rubbers swell so it could be possible the pins are sticking, especially if rust has formed inside the hole too.

 

I can buy 2 slider pin sets from Brakes International for £24 and hope that cures the problem but I have also seen these new calipers, carriers, pins, boots etc for £62 on Autolink with a discount. So it would be £50 extra each side to replace the lot compared to just getting the slider kits and I'd also do the hoses at the same time. Or if I did the sliders and then found it was the caliper I could get these refurbished genuine ones for about £65 but it's only the calipers although I'd have the spare boots/sleeve as well.

 

I'll see what happens on the drive home first and if the problem has actually improved or not. I'm hoping I can get away with just changing the slider pins.

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When changing the oil filter the only thing you can do really is place a load of tissue under the filter and get the thing off fast. I always get it snapped off ready and then go for it and get the filter off and turned upright asap. I'd dropped mine before as i got oil on my gloves taking it off and trying to contort my hand and filter out the small gap between the inlet manifold and engine bay- that was a messy business! I was thinking i might get a cat litter tray, line with tissue and cut to fit and slide that in ahead of swapping filter next time.

 

I also recommend this tissue for any workshop work :

Blitz-x1-kt.jpg

 

I have rolls of it all over the place and its brilliant. Very strong. Its on offer atm at co-op - 2 rolls for £2. A roll last me weeks.

 

With the calipers - its a common issue to get siezed rear pistons. I have replaced my rear calipers with geuinine refurb units 4/5 times in my ownership. Thats probably a caliper once a year on average! These days i park with handbrake off in the garage and leave in gear with a brick behind the rear wheel. Supposedly that helps stopping things get stuck. Only time will tell.

 

Word of note : be very very cautious where you get refurbs from if you do try them. Theres a load of cheap chinese copies floating about which are shocking quality and downright dangerous in some instances. Theres some tell tale markings that can help identify genuine calipers.

 

I only just saw that pic with the axel stands on the rear bracing. f**k that. Wouldn't catch me using that !!

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There is quite abit of room at the front of the engine bay so might be able to slide a tray in there so it's under the filter, that's a good idea though. I bought 6 large rolls of garage paper towels from Costco last year and still have 2 left so I'm alright for the moment but I've always though kitchen towel is too thin but I'll get some of that and give it a try.

 

I don't think there are any issues with the rear calipers but I've not looked at those yet. From what I've read there is an adjuster bolt on the rear that seems to catch some people out when they try to replace the discs and pads. Is this for the handbrake?

 

I have to admit I did think those 'new' calipers were cheap with the the carriers and sliders etc but Autolink are a reputable company I thought so they should be ok. I didn't know about the Chinese copies so I might have a rethink. I have only ever used recon calipers from Brakes Int (6 in total) and never had a problem but I think they've been genuine ones, they always have the same markings as the ones I replace.

 

That's why I asked about the axle stands on the bracing, it's not the thickest bit of metal, I could see those bending if the car is left on them for a long period of time. It seems alot of people say put them on the chassis rails where it's doubled skinned but it depends on how strong they are and if the corrosion has set in.

 

I also adjusted the base idle yesterday, when cold the revs keep dipping, they were hitting 550rpm sometimes and the car felt like it wanted to stall. The idle was only 50rpm out but it's made a difference, this morning it only got as low as 700rpm. I also checked the TB and behind the butterfly there is alot of black crap, I wondering if I should remove it to clean? I also want to clean the IACV but it looks like I might have to remove the TB to take it off unless I can just spray carb cleaner in the hole inside the TB?

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That paper roll - its not kitchen roll as such - its seen as a heavy duty all purpose roll. Its massive overkill for the kitchen! Its tough as old boots. Great for working in the engine bay and mopping up.

 

Binding rear calipers can cause the car to pull also. Think about it if the right rear is sticking it will want to bring the car over to the right slightly. If you used Autolink or a decent motor factor you should be good tbh but it wont hurt to familiarise yourself with the differences.

 

Check this out : http://www.mazdamenders.net/~mazdamen/forum/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=1695&start=10

 

If you have the aftermarket chassis rail bracing you can use them for stands with no issue. I wouldnt use them otherwise.

 

I think mine idles around 700-750 so sounds like you are in the ball park. It wont hurt to give the TB a good clean witth carb cleaner. I dont think it matters if the spray goes in it might cause rough idle and a bit of smoke for a while after but it should settle down. I chucked loads down my old 106 Gti with no ill effects other than a smoke screen for a bit :lol:

 

Oh and run a bottle of Redex through and give it an Italian tune up. It'll thank you for it :D

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Looks like I'm stripping the rears down as well then and see what those are like.

 

Thanks for the link, it seems to apply to the rear ones but it's definitely put me off now, would rather spend a few more quid and get a recon genuine one  :smile_anim:

 

From what I've read it's supposed to idle around 850-900rpm, once the engine is hot this is where it sits, it only dips when cold/warming up.

 

My only concern with spraying in the hole for the IACV is there's no where for the muck to go as you can see in this ebay photo, it's just bolted to the bottom. The 2 little pipes are for the coolant I think. I might get a new gasket and take it off to give it a good clean.

 

I'm already running Redex through it so hopefully that helps and it gets driven hard every time I take it out! :D

 

One thing I haven't done yet is try adjusting the dampers, I've left them on what Iain set it to but I might start having a play and see how it handles if I make them softer, I don't think I need them any harder!  :lol:

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I dont know much about the IACV but if you want to spray into that then i guess it would be sensible to have it out on the bench and give it some TLC. I've not had any issues with mine so its not an area i have looked at :)

 

I run my meisters on full soft for daily driving :) At the moment its a battle to get it out the garage though.

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I'll probably do it next year or over winter when I take the car off the road. As long as the idle stays at 700rpm+ while it's warming up I'll be fine with that. Will probably grease the window runners then as well, they also need doing.

 

Tested the brakes on the way home at 70mph, definitely a big improvement now so must've been the OSF sliders. I don't understand that though, if it pulls right it should be the other side causing it. It still squirms abit but I'm putting that down to it being a light car and the soft Toyos.

 

Think I'll replace the sliders for now. Genuine ones are under £20 for 4 but the boot/sleeve kits are nearly £45 for genuine ones!! Can't believe they charge so much for bits of rubber so will go with the ones from Brakes Int.

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