Learned'd VIII: Less Bewbs, Same Nonsense

[Kompresshun]

f***.

Had a buyer coming today to get the Miata and was going to drive it home. I went to go get a tank of gas for him as a nice thing to do for driving about 2 hours and the f**king thing starts making a smoke screen that James Bond would be proud of at anything over half throttle.
It did just have an oil change, but I'm guessing that this isn't a coincidence. It still runs fine and is building & holding boost, but its building slowly. I'm guessing the head gasket is going. I'll have to compression test it to see if I can learn anything there.
I'm much closer to being done with working on cars than I was when the Subaru s*** all over the floor.
At least this car is MUCH easier to work on.

I missed this earlier. Man, that sucks Ray! I think the sports car gods are trying to tell you that you need to keep the Miata and sell the Subaru

Oddly enough, aside from the small amount of leaks on mine it's been running damn good lately. It scared me going to work earlier this week because it randomly had a "hiccup", but them kept right on after that. I did a quick check under the hood when I got to work and found a spark plug boot nearly off the plug. Put it back on and it's running better than ever.

[Dattebayo]

This must be the week for car trouble then... because, the truck will not start at random times and I just started to burn a lot of oil at the same time as the temps are going up in the engine.

[WDRacing]

I have to drop the fuel tank on my S14 for a fuel leak. Which means the rear subframe has to be dropped. No sense in doing that without changing the bushings and whatnot.

My 540i also decided to just start eating coil packs. I'm on my 3rd bad coil in 2 months. Fortunately buyautoparts has them for $35/ea so they aren't wicked expensive. If you buy them from Bavaria they are 200ish a pop.

[frapjap]

I missed this earlier. Man, that sucks Ray! I think the sports car gods are trying to tell you that you need to keep the Miata and sell the Subaru

Oddly enough, aside from the small amount of leaks on mine it's been running damn good lately. It scared me going to work earlier this week because it randomly had a "hiccup", but them kept right on after that. I did a quick check under the hood when I got to work and found a spark plug boot nearly off the plug. Put it back on and it's running better than ever.

Weird stuff like that happens sometimes. Glad its not giving you any more grief though.

When I was almost home, a puff of smoke came from under the hood and the tail pipe. I was nearly home so I was able to coast it and use very little throttle to get it in the driveway. I was able to compression test it last night. 190 across 3 cylinders. I couldn't get to cylinder 1 because the damn spark plug head rounded out. ***hole. I get to buy a new tool at Sears... But the CHRA looks fine on the turbo, so that isn't the problem. Did some more diagnosing and was giving the engine throttle with the radiator cap off and the engine running, I get the spike of coolant out the opening, which is a tell-tale sign of a bad head gasket. The engine also idled poorly. I disassembled the turbo manifold and will be taking off the head tonight/tomorrow. Old age finally got to it.

I'm just REALLY glad that the car didn't find an owner and I didn't sell it to anyone that way. I'd hate myself- not to mention the sticky situation. When I bought my first 240sx, it had an engine failure 2 days into owning it (and it wasn't from me hooning on it!). I was pissed and the guy who sold it to me was a real ***hole about the situation.

[frapjap]

I have to drop the fuel tank on my S14 for a fuel leak. Which means the rear subframe has to be dropped. No sense in doing that without changing the bushings and whatnot.

My 540i also decided to just start eating coil packs. I'm on my 3rd bad coil in 2 months. Fortunately buyautoparts has them for $35/ea so they aren't wicked expensive. If you buy them from Bavaria they are 200ish a pop.

When it rains, it pours!

Definitely do those bushings. Its a b****, but worthwhile. Any leads on to why the coil packs are failing so often? Is it because they're the cheap ones?

[Kompresshun]

Yeah it sucks dealing with older cars sometimes, but it's to be expected with 25 year old car as well. That's why I try not to get very frustrated with my Miata too. I'll probably sink a ton of cash in it by the time i'm done with it, but i'm perfectly fine with that because I knew going in that it wasn't ever going to be perfect.

I'm glad it happened before you sold it too... Nothing makes you feel s*** than selling someone something and it breaking a few days later. It makes your credibility suck, even though it's being sold as-is. I've gotten stuck with a few like that over the years as well.

[Kompresshun]

Any leads on to why the coil packs are failing so often? Is it because they're the cheap ones?

If it's anything like a Nissan, i'd wager that's your problem Brian... Usually cheapo aftermarket ignition coils fail A LOT sooner that OEM ones do. Sometimes you get lucky, but with my experience with them you will probably always have short lifespans out of non-OEM coils.

[numbnuts240]

i hate applying for jobs that ask for ancient work history. i have to figure out 10 years of employment. wtf.

I think if you describe your old job as a p0rn fluffer as an "augmentation" manager, you'll be fine.

i usually phrase is as "eruption prevention technician". employers like a guy that can diffuse a "sticky" situation before it gets out of hand.

[WDRacing]

Definitely do those bushings. Its a b****, but worthwhile. Any leads on to why the coil packs are failing so often? Is it because they're the cheap ones?

If it's anything like a Nissan, i'd wager that's your problem Brian... Usually cheapo aftermarket ignition coils fail A LOT sooner that OEM ones do. Sometimes you get lucky, but with my experience with them you will probably always have short lifespans out of non-OEM coils.

It's the factory coils being replaced, not the "cheap ones". They're coming up on 200,000 miles, so they're just dying of old age. The "cheap ones" are warrantied for a year. I haven't had a single issue with anything I've purchased from Buyauto. I recommend them to anyone looking for excellent service, good prices and fast shipping. Their prices on stuff like MAFs and other parts just can't be beat.

The only thing I ever really noticed was the sway bar end links I got from ended up with rusted hardware after last winter. The rubber boot was fine, but the nuts were rusty, an easy fix.

I'm going to use their "track" coil-over kit for my S14 when I save up the money for it.

http://www.buyautoparts.com/ Check them dudes out. It's worth a look for comparisons sake if nothing else.

The first coil I changed out was just over 10,000 miles ago. Still works like a champ.

[frapjap]

Gotchya, I misunderstood. I thought you were replacing the new ones over and over, not the original OEM. In that case, good call on your part.

I'll take a peek at buyauto to cross shop against Flying Miata and Rock Auto for a timing belt, HG, and water pump kit.
Thanks for the recommendation!

i usually phrase is as "eruption prevention technician". employers like a guy that can diffuse a "sticky" situation before it gets out of hand.

Interviewer:
"Tell me about a time when you succeeded. Give me a specific example."

[Kompresshun]

Yeah Brian I misunderstood as well. In that case it sounds like they're working out good for you.

Ray, since you're just trying to fix it I would look at Amazon. They sell the same stuff they do at most major suppliers and are usually a lot cheaper. I wouldn't buy it from Flying Miata in this case though. A stock HG, timing set, and water pump will do the job fine.

Now, when I do mine I won't be buying from any of those places. I'll be getting a Cometic HG set and i'll be going with the HP Gates timing kit next time.

[numbnuts240]

i usually phrase is as "eruption prevention technician". employers like a guy that can diffuse a "sticky" situation before it gets out of hand.

Interviewer:
"Tell me about a time when you succeeded. Give me a specific example."

"would you mind if i just demonstrate?"

[numbnuts240]

ineresting

http://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/4672753517.html

[DrifterXRPS13]

What is up my learned'd bretheren?

[numbnuts240]

jihad failed again, huh?

[float_6969]

:

[frapjap]

Yeah Brian I misunderstood as well. In that case it sounds like they're working out good for you.

Ray, since you're just trying to fix it I would look at Amazon. They sell the same stuff they do at most major suppliers and are usually a lot cheaper. I wouldn't buy it from Flying Miata in this case though. A stock HG, timing set, and water pump will do the job fine.

Now, when I do mine I won't be buying from any of those places. I'll be getting a Cometic HG set and i'll be going with the HP Gates timing kit next time.

Well, turns out that the head is warped, but only slightly at .002. Contemplating putting it back on, but the head gasket looked damned decent so that little bit of coolant might be making it smoke like crazy.
More than likely, I'll just mill the bastard and be on my way.

Since it is all apart, I am comtemplating just putting it back to stock though...Very close to that option. What do ya'll think?

"would you mind if i just demonstrate?"

We need a guy with commitment like yours! Show me what you can do and I promise we can arrange something.

[Bubba1]

Are you suggesting that he and you...uh... get something straight between you...?

[Kompresshun]

Well, turns out that the head is warped, but only slightly at .002. Contemplating putting it back on, but the head gasket looked damned decent so that little bit of coolant might be making it smoke like crazy.
More than likely, I'll just mill the bastard and be on my way.

Since it is all apart, I am comtemplating just putting it back to stock though...Very close to that option. What do ya'll think?

I would go ahead and mill it, just since you have it all apart.

It may not be a bad idea to put it back to stock if it's not a ton of trouble. You can probably sell the car and the turbo setup for more separately than actually installed on the car anyways. Also, a lot of people(like myself) would shy away from a car that's already had a major modification done like that because you never know how well it was assembled.

Now, I would buy your particular car with no reservations, but if it were from someone else then no way.

"would you mind if i just demonstrate?"

We need a guy with commitment like yours! Show me what you can do and I promise we can arrange something.

[frapjap]

I would go ahead and mill it, just since you have it all apart.

It may not be a bad idea to put it back to stock if it's not a ton of trouble. You can probably sell the car and the turbo setup for more separately than actually installed on the car anyways. Also, a lot of people(like myself) would shy away from a car that's already had a major modification done like that because you never know how well it was assembled.

Now, I would buy your particular car with no reservations, but if it were from someone else then no way.

We think pretty similarly. It wouldn't be much trouble at all to put it back to stock. The biggest issue I'll have is getting the stock exhaust back on. It'll have to go to the exhaust shop to line up the stock header/downpipe to the cat back again. Probably a $100 ordeal, not the end of the world. The turbo kit isn't worth a whole ton of dough, but the price would reflect that. My guess is that it'll be pieced out.

Went to drive the T/A this morning and the damned passenger rear was flat. Stupid screw straight up in the middle of the tread pattern. At least its repairable.

How was ya'lls weekends? We went to an engagement party and a country concert afterwards. Even saw a redneck fight and a HUGE burnout by a big ol' diesel.

[WDRacing]

Great weekend here. Didn't do a whole lot, spent some time with the fam damnly on Saturday and the wifeunit took the kids to the park most of the Sunday. So I was free to watch football and do whatever as loud and obnoxious as I felt the need to.

[frapjap]

Great weekend here. Didn't do a whole lot, spent some time with the fam damnly on Saturday and the wifeunit took the kids to the park most of the Sunday. So I was free to watch football and do whatever as loud and obnoxious as I felt the need to.

Which game(s) did you watch? The Eagles were very entertaining. 21 points scored solely by the defense and special teams!

[Kompresshun]

Ray, if you're not in too big of a rush to sell the kit I might buy the whole thing off of you. It would save me a lot of time hunting down parts for mine since it should be pretty much plug and play.

Not a bad weekend here either. Got the wifes car detailed saturday and did a bunch of stuff around the house, then went and looked at more houses Sunday. I'm exhausted on looking at houses, but we still have about 4-5 more on the list because we're having to look in a different area now. It sounds like Kristen got a new job in the Shelbyville area, so the area we were looking to buy in before won't work now. Thankfully the two areas we're looking in now are cheaper and are actually a little closer to work for me, so i'm good with that.

[numbnuts240]

The Eagles were very entertaining. 21 points scored solely by the defense and special teams!

thank goodness the niners finally pulled their heads out of their collective asses, at least for that game. 2nd half performances have been unbearable to watch.

[frapjap]

Ray, if you're not in too big of a rush to sell the kit I might buy the whole thing off of you. It would save me a lot of time hunting down parts for mine since it should be pretty much plug and play.

Not a bad weekend here either. Got the wifes car detailed saturday and did a bunch of stuff around the house, then went and looked at more houses Sunday. I'm exhausted on looking at houses, but we still have about 4-5 more on the list because we're having to look in a different area now. It sounds like Kristen got a new job in the Shelbyville area, so the area we were looking to buy in before won't work now. Thankfully the two areas we're looking in now are cheaper and are actually a little closer to work for me, so i'm good with that.

You're welcome to it if you want it. I'd sell the "dumb parts," as Brian calls them, (manifold, down pipe, j pipe, turbo) for much less than market since they're not the highest quality pieces. The manifold has fine cracks that were welded, the turbo works fine and has no problems aside from having a hose clamp holding the waste gate pin from falling down and making it open all the time(though it functions 100% correctly with the fix), and the down pipe is actually perfectly fine.
The rest of the parts- intercooler & piping, Wideband, BOV, Mesagquirt, injectors, etc are where I didn't go cheap on the car.

Wooo! Got a fantastic quote for the head from the race shop. $60 to mill, clean, etc. He'll try to do it with the cams in place, but if he has to take them off, it'll only be about $10 more. Lucking out on that one!

[WDRacing]

I watched the Bears Packers game, then the Red Zone.

Also, no alcohol for the whole weekend. My kidneys were starting to remind me that coffee and beer can't be the only fluids I intake. Much better now, just in time to watch the Pats hammer KC and drink some Sam Adams Octoberfest!

[Bubba1]

The Iggles game was actually pretty good, especially for us Giant fans. We watched the game with my nephew and his GF who are big Eagle fans. Can't say I hate 'da Eagles as much since they got rid of Me-Sean Jackson and Vick. Plus Sproles looks like the real deal.

[WDRacing]

Sproles is awesome if he can hold onto the ball. He's had issues in the past, which is why he was traded around. Dude is all sorts of explosive.

[frapjap]

Sproles can be damned awesome. I usually pick him up for Fantasy.
My big winner this week was Steve Smith. He whupped up on Carolina for letting his a** go!
I really like Foles though, he doesnt usually have such bad games!

[float_6969]

...just in time to watch the Chiefs hammer the Patriots...

There, I fixed it for you

We also set the new Guinness World Record for loudest outdoor stadium. It was a good night for KC!