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Jun 16, 2020 13:36:40 GMT
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What series is it? 4, 5, 6, or 7000 I think are the options.
I don't know much about the market at all, only that the masks were sold out on many of the paint supply websites etc and were coming up for a lot more on certain other sites. Truth be told I wasn't 100% sure which certification of filters etc I actually needed. Probably overthinking it as usual.
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Project Diary1975 Viva / 1988 T25 Camper / 1989 Mini / 1991 MX5 / 1992 Mini / 1994 Saab 9000 / 1997 Saab 9000 / 2008 Saab 9-5
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Jun 16, 2020 15:12:09 GMT
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There's a YouTube channel called 'MiataKing' with a video about shaft removal from hubs, it always seems to be the drivers side on Mk1s!
Basically it looks like the only way to convince a properly stuck shaft is using an air hammer.
Unfortunately I found out the hard way that a hydraulic press isn't always the answer - the top arm of my rear hub let go at about 7 tons, brown pants moment!
Great project, not sure I'm all that keen on the Rocketeer kit, especially having read some of your struggles and the 'interesting' customer support you've had, but you've made a great crack of it!
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Darkspeed
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,882
Club RR Member Number: 39
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Jun 16, 2020 16:56:12 GMT
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I broke a decent puller trying to shift the shaft from a VW polo that was stuck in there good and solid - Mate said - "Air hammer" which I thought "Yeah Right" after the abuse I have given that shaft - Well he turned up with - it must be said - a fair sized air chisel/hammer with nice rounded end, stuck it on the driveshaft connected to my current very domestic compressor and proceeded to just push the shaft out with ease - Gobsmacked. Also seems to be the tool for pulling hubs and freeing ball joints as well. But need to be the "Super Duty" type.
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gryphon
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 330 
Club RR Member Number: 157
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Jun 16, 2020 20:07:23 GMT
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What series is it? 4, 5, 6, or 7000 I think are the options. I don't know much about the market at all, only that the masks were sold out on many of the paint supply websites etc and were coming up for a lot more on certain other sites. Truth be told I wasn't 100% sure which certification of filters etc I actually needed. Probably overthinking it as usual. It's a 4251+, advertised as for organic vapour. Now you've got me looking into it more and I've no idea if I've bought the right one. A friend who used to do a lot of painting recommended the type, but not the exact specification...
There's a YouTube channel called 'MiataKing' with a video about shaft removal from hubs, it always seems to be the drivers side on Mk1s! Basically it looks like the only way to convince a properly stuck shaft is using an air hammer. Unfortunately I found out the hard way that a hydraulic press isn't always the answer - the top arm of my rear hub let go at about 7 tons, brown pants moment! Great project, not sure I'm all that keen on the Rocketeer kit, especially having read some of your struggles and the 'interesting' customer support you've had, but you've made a great crack of it! First post! Welcome to (the non-lurking side of?) RR  I don't like the idea of anything letting go at 7 tonnes! I did get the goggles out while I was using it, it's the sort of time that I think I really should have a full face shield. I don't think the kit is bad, it just doesn't live up to it's sales pitch. Engineering experience* is lacking in places, as is the support, but if I were to try to do the swap myself and outsource all the fabricating work as I don't have the skills/space/kit/time to do it myself I'd easily go way over the cost of the kit, and it would absolutely take faaar longer for what would probably be a worse result first time round. A lot of work and revisions have gone into the kit. I can't wholeheartedly recommend it, but I wouldn't not recommend it either.
*I certainly don't claim to be experienced. I've picked up on a few things that would certainly be described as bad practice, but I also work with a wide range of far more experienced engineers who are very keen to analyse things over a coffee... Naturally the faults get discussed in far more depth than the bits that do the job, and most of the kit does the job well.
To be honest I think the more I drive the car the more I'm happy to forget/forgive any struggles building it! It makes me grin - a lot. Re: Air hammer... \/
I broke a decent puller trying to shift the shaft from a VW polo that was stuck in there good and solid - Mate said - "Air hammer" which I thought "Yeah Right" after the abuse I have given that shaft - Well he turned up with - it must be said - a fair sized air chisel/hammer with nice rounded end, stuck it on the driveshaft connected to my current very domestic compressor and proceeded to just push the shaft out with ease - Gobsmacked. Also seems to be the tool for pulling hubs and freeing ball joints as well. But need to be the "Super Duty" type. An air hammer wouldn't have crossed my mind! I have an air chisel somewhere - probably quite a puny one - and an even punier 25L compressor. Somehow I think that might struggle. I definitely know people with beefier setups though. A good one to bear in mind, thanks both |
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Last Edit: Jun 16, 2020 20:09:57 GMT by gryphon
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Jun 16, 2020 21:41:53 GMT
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I've had problems with driveshafts spline sticking in hubs..... really sticking. Hell. even Eric O at South Main Auto has problems with splines sticking in hubs....
This on a vehicle just 3 years old. It's a right royal battle, featuring guest appearances by a big sledgehammer.
Later videos feature "Big Nasty" - not your average air hammer!
Gearing..... yes. Tall gearing. 3.3 is the one IMO.
Nick
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1967 Triumph Vitesse convertible (old friend)
1996 Audi A6 2.5 TDI Avant (still durability testing)
1972 GT6 Mk3 (Restored after loong rest & getting the hang of being a car again)
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gryphon
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 330
Club RR Member Number: 157
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Jun 16, 2020 21:51:23 GMT
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I'm glad he clarifies how that flew through the inspection, I was scratching my head for a bit! And for cruising, definitely the 3.3 - and still 5th only gives me what would have been 4th in the S-Type. An MGBGT owner fanatic I work with is trying to convince me to fit an overdrive, only half jokingly...
I just hope the lower gears still have good shift points - I've not tried to judge that from graphs before |
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goldnrust
West Midlands
Minimalist
Posts: 1,887
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I have an air chisel somewhere - probably quite a puny one - and an even punier 25L compressor. I've got a small Clarke air chisel/hammer and equally small 25L, and I've been surprised by the violence it can output. Would definitely be worth a shot! I remember when I was introduced to the content of air chisels, I'd been trying and failing to remove a lock ring that was holding the front wheel bearing in place on my Lancia. I failed with a big bar, my friends expensive Snap-On rattle gun failed, I went round to a local tree shop who tried and failed with a 3/4" drive air impact and finally I took the hub assembly round to a backstreet garage who said 'how much do you care about the lock ring?' and then processed to go at it with an air chisel. It came loose in just a couple of seconds! |
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Jun 17, 2020 10:49:33 GMT
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Referencing your wheel choices,
I'm playing this game with a MK2 at the moment.
My discovery so far is that the front has very little room for a 195/45r16 on a 7j wheel with a 44mm offset.
It is so marginal at bottom out its not even funny compared to a 195/50r15 on a 7j wheel with a 28mm offset.
This is with HSD monopro, which arent the best fitment on an MX5 in so many ways, though they do have great damping for the money.
The 16s rub at the top, and so you have to raise the whole car up, its just pure diameter which is the issue.
They also rub the arch lip, but this is unlikely in normal operation, its the reason i went inwards in offset.
A 15" wheel brings an easy life.
A 16" wheel brings issues.
The rear arches are so huge, i could fit drag radials!
If you ordered the brand new arms from mx5parts, theyll come through rusty!, had to restore mine out of the box. They did knock some money off after i complained though which was good. Hope they last another 22 years.
Hope this helps.
6b
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Jun 17, 2020 13:15:16 GMT
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First post! Welcome to (the non-lurking side of?) RR I don't like the idea of anything letting go at 7 tonnes! I did get the goggles out while I was using it, it's the sort of time that I think I really should have a full face shield. I don't think the kit is bad, it just doesn't live up to it's sales pitch. Engineering experience* is lacking in places, as is the support, but if I were to try to do the swap myself and outsource all the fabricating work as I don't have the skills/space/kit/time to do it myself I'd easily go way over the cost of the kit, and it would absolutely take faaar longer for what would probably be a worse result first time round. A lot of work and revisions have gone into the kit. I can't wholeheartedly recommend it, but I wouldn't not recommend it either.
*I certainly don't claim to be experienced. I've picked up on a few things that would certainly be described as bad practice, but I also work with a wide range of far more experienced engineers who are very keen to analyse things over a coffee... Naturally the faults get discussed in far more depth than the bits that do the job, and most of the kit does the job well.
To be honest I think the more I drive the car the more I'm happy to forget/forgive any struggles building it! It makes me grin - a lot. Re: Air hammer... \/
I broke a decent puller trying to shift the shaft from a VW polo that was stuck in there good and solid - Mate said - "Air hammer" which I thought "Yeah Right" after the abuse I have given that shaft - Well he turned up with - it must be said - a fair sized air chisel/hammer with nice rounded end, stuck it on the driveshaft connected to my current very domestic compressor and proceeded to just push the shaft out with ease - Gobsmacked. Also seems to be the tool for pulling hubs and freeing ball joints as well. But need to be the "Super Duty" type. An air hammer wouldn't have crossed my mind! I have an air chisel somewhere - probably quite a puny one - and an even punier 25L compressor. Somehow I think that might struggle. I definitely know people with beefier setups though. A good one to bear in mind, thanks both Cheers, been lurking for a while (killing time at work mostly - seems very hit and miss with what photos i can see across the site!) mostly looking at mx5 and garage builds, fairly active over on MazdaMenders but haven't done anything on here yet. I can see what you mean regarding time, effort and cost, it's a decent choice as well in terms of easy power whilst retaining the F/R weight balance. I've got a 1.8 (non-VVT) with a GT2560 to go in mine (when the restoration is eventually finished!) which apparently made 270BHP with it's last owner, but I think longer term I'd like to explore the K20 supercharged route (will see how well the K-miata kit weighs up!) |
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gryphon
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 330
Club RR Member Number: 157
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Oct 19, 2020 13:23:02 GMT
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Overdue update time! All my new old rusty suspension bits arrived, and I bowed to the inevitable and gave everything a good clean up with the knotted wheel. The old bushes came out with a little heat from a hot air gun and a push from the vice.   Followed by a rough keying with some sandpaper and a coat of hydrate 80 :  And after drying for a few days (far longer than needed), it was followed by a brushed on coat of Bilt Hamber Epoxy Mastic. I'm happy to report that with the 3M mask I didn't get a single whiff of epoxy - it even sealed over my (short) beard which I was surprised by - to the extent that I lifted it off briefly just to check that yes it really did stink without the mask on!  And finally had the new bushes pressed in with the vice:  Above is one rear corner's suspension arms. I gave the new brake dust shields the same treatment, but left the cast urpights as they were - if they start getting dangerously rusty I've got bigger problems to worry about! One corner fitted to the car:  The epoxy finishing is quite chip prone, so I think I'm going to have to protect vulnerable bits with some of the UB underseal for some extra protection. Other rear corner all done - and non hacked about brake dust shields look far better  Then my shiny new wheels on the rear  Using the eccentric bolts I adjusted the toe - putting a ruler across the wheel, I looked down the straight edge and adjusted until it pointed to the outer rear edge of the front tyres with the steering straight. Not overly accurate, but it puts it in the ballpark for when I string it later. (Actually it got them both to within 1 degree of where I wanted them - I was pretty pleased) I now lowered the rear of the car, got the front up on axle stands and abandoned it for over 2 months while life got in the way. One of life's distractions was building a decent sized shed/workshop in the garden though, so not all bad! Moving onto the fronts, one of the new used upper control arms had some rounded threads on the balljoint. Having ordered a 12x1.25mm die to run down it, I then needed a way to hold the stud and stop it rotating... I had a couple of pairs of mole grips at the back of the garage which would have been perfect... so what do I do??  Well, it worked... now the less said about it the better! Moving on...  One nicely repaired thread. The old suspension assemblies came off quite nicely, all the ball joints split with very little effort needed - the ball joint splitter and impact driver made quick work of them all. Pushed the new bushes into my old lower control arms - which is the first time my vice has ever slipped on me. But then they are the biggest bushes, and it's a quick release vice which I'm putting far more force through than I feel I should - I gave it's internals a good clean and lots of grease before starting though. I had the opportunity to compare the updated Mk2.5, or NBFL front knuckles (which are confusinly stamped NC - which is the code for the Mk3 MX5) to the earlier Mk1 (NA) knuckles. They supposedly had a change that affected the geometry, and commonly on forums it's stated that they are taller between the control arm mountings.  Putting the two of them next to each other, I couldn't actually see any change that would affect the suspension geometry, but the NBFL knuckle is much beefier at the mount to the upper wishbone - which explains the different ball joints with the longer stud to match the increased thickness. The new NBFL upper A arms also have extra reinforcement on the underside compared to the earlier ones, so are stiffer, but geometrically so far as I can tell they are identical. With my brother helping it didn't take long to get the fronts built back up, then back on the car.   It wasn't until fitting the brake discs that I realised the breaker I bought the bits off had made a mistake - the nearside knuckle is from a big brake car, so the brake shied fits perfectly... The offside knuckle however has a normal sized shield. There isn't a huge difference between the sizes at the front and it fits with a little bending. Annoying, but It's fitted now! Easy mistake to make and I'm sure it was an honest one. For the first time in months, we could now drop the car onto all 4 wheels - and the first time on all 4 superleggeras - and give all the suspension bushes a relax, then re-torque at ride height to take out any preload.  It's amazing the difference a slightly wider set of wheels make. Me likey. We spent the rest of the day fixing other little bits and bobs around the car. We adjusted the pushrod from the clutch pedal to the master cylinder in order to raise the bite point from the floor to a more comfortable point in the pedal stroke which worked well. We also pulled the ECU out and tried to work out why the rad fan wasn't being activated - It's plugged into the right pin on the new ECU, which I'd hoped might be the issue, so no improvement there, I still have my lead coming into the cabin to turn it on. The loose wire I had to the OBD connector are now tidied up, going through a 4 way superseal connector, then to a proper J1969 OBDII connector that's now sitting in the passengers footwell.... Should probably tidy that out the way a bit. We then took it for a very brief shake down with all the wheels pointing only roughly in the same direction. Everything - bar the rad fan - worked, but it didn't feel very good to drive! The next day we got the fishing line out and gave it a string Geo:   The usual rigmarole of measuring, adjusting, measuring, adjusting etc etc for a couple of hours. This time instead of just setting the wheels straight we did the maths and set each wheel to 1.5* toe in (ala FlyingMiata suggested settings). I didn't have a good way of measuring camber or caster so just did the former by eye and latter by setting wheel position vs body equal on both sides - which is an objectively terrible way to do it! When doing it, I didn't find a website that you could just put the mm measurements in to calculate the wheel angles, so I spent the next day coding my own... I have since found an existing site which does it, but I think mine's nicer, so I'll get it hosted at some point and will pop a link up. After the Geo we took another test drive - much improved, and it drives, brakes and accelerates in a straight line! It turns in faster left than it does right though, which I suspect might be due to my scientific setting of the caster angle The ride is FAR better with the new hardened rubber bushes than it was with the poly's though, and I think I'm happy enough with it to get Spires to give it an accurate fast road geo and corner weighting so it will get fixed in due course. It will be interesting to see how close I got the geo to the target... I've probably put another 30 odd miles on the car now and am feeling far more enthusiastic about it than I have for the last few months while it's been in axle stands.   |
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gryphon
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 330
Club RR Member Number: 157
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Feb 28, 2021 22:21:34 GMT
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A new year and a lot of freezing weather that's kinda put me off working on the cars for some reason! I wasn't totally idle over christmas though, and bought a new toy:  When I rebuilt the V6 I bought a second hand set of injectors from eBay, checked that they did actually pass fuel, and plonked them in with the idea that I'd get them cleaned and flow tested once the engine was up and running. Well, the engine was indeed up and running, but it really doesn't like cold starts, with poor idling and a misfire until I give it a bit of a rev, after which it settles into a nice idle. One of my suspicions behind this was that I might have a sticky injector. Sending them off for cleaning and testing would be in the region of £130, but after a quick google I realised I could buy a chinese flow tester with ultrasonic cleaner for around £200, and I did have a few extra injectors lying around it would be good to test... So I bought an Autool CT-150 and I've been pleasantly surprised - it's a really well made bit of kit.
I wasn't sure what fluid to use with it, so started with injector cleaner - the type you add to a tank of fuel. 6 cans of Mannol cleaner were a bit under £20. One filled the ultrasonic bath, and I think I used 4 more to fill the pump reservoir.
Rather cool slomo vid here of testing some RX8 injectors: (oh yeah, I have a new project! ...but nothing rotary, it's yet another MX5. Kept me pretty busy over Christmas!)
After learning the ropes with the RX8 injectors, I pulled the v6 injectors and tested them. I am both happy and sad to report that they are fine! Flow was really well matched, not at all sticky, and the spray pattern wasn't bad - although it didn't atomise as nicely as the ones in the video above.
Injectors back in the car, and unsurprisingly it still doesn't like cold starts! More investigation needed.
In other news, since the last post a couple of new issues have developed. Namely a clicking noise from the rear offside - but only after a few miles of driving, and a nasty squeal from the front offside when reversing, definitely brake related.
After swapping the injectors back in, I took it for a first run of the year today to remind myself what needs fixing.
(photos are so kind... I wish the paint looked half as good in reality!)
Fuel gauge was showing just above empty, so a few miles into Stratford to fill the tank and see what noises I could hear. Through the backroads to Stratford the car was lovely - once issues are sorted I'm really going to enjoy this car! - but the moment we slowed into a 30 zone the rear offside wheel started crunching/grating far worse than it had done previously. Sound is speed dependant, once per wheel rotation. There's nothing obvious amiss, and it doesn't sound like CV, so I'm going to have to go with a very quickly deteriorating wheel bearing. Not far from the fuel station, but deciding I didn't want to be heard grinding through Stratford I turned around and headed home.
... And ran out of fuel.
I have a poor defence - in the other '97 MX5 we own, the fuel gauge can be taken a good few mm below the empty marker without issue. On this one, apparently on the empty marker really does mean empty! I'd been assuming I had a decent reserve left.
It was a lovely evening for a 2 mile sunset walk home - although I'm not sure my partner (who'd joined me for a quick drive) completely agreed.
Thankfully the jerry can in the garage was full, so it didn't take too long to get the car back on the road for a slow, noisy, limp home.
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75swb
Beta Tester
Posts: 1,052
Club RR Member Number: 181
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Have just re-read the entire thread, it having dropped off my radar at the glowing cats post the first time round. Glad to see you're getting through the issues, and having watched a couple of tests of rocketeer cars yesterday also, it's going to be one hell of a motor when you're finished!
I'm potentially getting an NA as part of a px deal, but it's the dreaded short nose crank. It's done 200,000km so far so evidently not immediately terminal, but thoughts are turning to replacement options should the 1.6 die... I very much like the idea of the rocketeer kit, but wow, that price. I see why you would expect things to be exactly perfect for the money!
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gryphon
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 330
Club RR Member Number: 157
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Have just re-read the entire thread, it having dropped off my radar at the glowing cats post the first time round. Glad to see you're getting through the issues, and having watched a couple of tests of rocketeer cars yesterday also, it's going to be one hell of a motor when you're finished! I'm potentially getting an NA as part of a px deal, but it's the dreaded short nose crank. It's done 200,000km so far so evidently not immediately terminal, but thoughts are turning to replacement options should the 1.6 die... I very much like the idea of the rocketeer kit, but wow, that price. I see why you would expect things to be exactly perfect for the money! Thanks! Getting there slowly. Determined to put some miles on it this year! I think the short nose 1.6 issues stem from it being reassembled incorrectly - although I could be wrong there! My latest project is an early 1.6 (although big nose) that's getting a VVT engine swap and Mk2.5 sport running gear upgrade, plus the supercharger that gets mentioned right at the start of this thread. The Rocketeer kit is pricey - but I also don't think there's such a thing as a cheap engine swap project (unless you have all the kit and a lot of experience at least). In other news, I took more of a look into my radiator fan not triggering - caution, electronics ahead! The radiator fan is driven by a relay. The coil on the relay has one side connected to battery voltage (V_batt) and the other side is switched in the ECU to ground to control the fan. The circuit in the ECU that switches this is called a Low Side Driver, as it's acting on the Ground, or lower voltage, side of the circuit. When I patched the fan control into the new harness, it looks like I got the wrong wire. The harness diagram I was looking at didn't match the car, but to double check the connection I did a continuity test between the harness wire and the rad fan connection in the diagnostics port - and got a beep - so connected it up. What actually happened is I connected the new ecu relay driver to a wire at V_batt in the original harness. The continuity test was showing a connection through the relay coil to V_batt, rather than a connection to the low side of the relay coil. When the ECU tries to switch on the radiator fan, in reality it creates a short straight from V_batt to ground. Ouch. I have since corrected my wiring mishap, but to my disappointment the ECU failed to switch the fan on. Maybe I caused a little damage  So the next stage is to take a look inside the ECU - now that my warranty is expired on it, why not:  I think I've said before, but this ECU is nice. The MBE 9A9, which this is based around, retail for £2k ex VAT so this is one area where the Rocketeer kit actually starts looking like rather good value. As you can see above, one nicely laid out PCB and the shiny finish is a conformal coating giving a waterproof protective layer. To my eyes this is far higher quality than any aftermarket ECU I've taken a peek into. Also, no burnt out components from my wiring mishap which is a good start - but also doesn't give me anything imediate to replace! I'd half hoped to find an obviously fried low side driver I could swap out. Next up, identify the major components. I haven't typed this all up, so you get my scribble I'm afraid!  All quality components with automotive ratings and plenty of built in protections against idiots like me connecting things up wrong. Interestingly the ECU appears to have 6 Injector drivers and 8 coil drivers which seems an odd choice - no doubt I'm missing something! They can be used as high voltage low side drivers I guess... Back to my fan issues, I'm pretty sure the component I'm interested in is 'G' at the bottom right - the TLE 6232GP 6 channel low side driver.I think it's this as it's the most suitable component on the board for the job - there are two much higher power BTS3018 low side switches top left, but they would be complete overkill for driving a relay, and I suspect they might be driving the VVT solenoids. For those interested, the TLE6232GP datasheet is here. The first feature listed on the datasheet - short circuit protection up to 24V. Reading on, it looks like my 12v short circuit probably hasn't caused any lasting damage. I had a go at tracing the input back though the PCB, but the conformal coating is really quite tough, and I don't really want to splope it off, removing it's protection, so I'm leaving that as a last resort. So... why isn't my fan working? Now my theory is that the on board diagnostics has that output flagged as a short circuit and has disabled it. Using the OBDII diagnostics, the ECU has flagged that there is an issue with the radiator fan, but clearing the DTCs didn't change anything. Next step is to try to use the MBE Easimap 6 software, for which I need a CAN to USB adapter. Fortunately I have a few of these floating around - unfortunately the software didn't accept any of them! The official MBE adapter isn't cheap, but needs must. I did have a slight worry that I was paying way over the odds for a cheap generic CAN bridge. I needn't have worried:  Nothing generic here. That's a chunky Infineon 16-bit microcontroller, 4 Megabit of flash memory (which is a lot in something like this!) and a slightly outdated standard USB interface chip. This is definitely more than a CAN adapter. I guess it's a tuning aid, but I'm out of my depth here as to what it might actually do. Anyhow - it works! Easimap 6 has a rather unintuitive interface, and unlike Megasquirt/ME etc doesn't have MAP/VE/RPM tables for tuning. I need to spend some more time getting my head around it. Also, while I could access the fuelling tables, spark advance, throttle, temp corrections etc, I couldn't find anything to do with the rad fan control, VVT, waterpump... nothing other than the basic mapping functions. Looking around the software later that evening I found that I was in 'Basic User' mode and i could select 'Advanced User' mode. Hopefully that will reveal some extra settings, but I haven't had the chance to try yet! |
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Last Edit: Mar 9, 2021 11:26:22 GMT by gryphon
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gryphon
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 330
Club RR Member Number: 157
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I've done a few bits and bobs over the last few weeks... the biggest win is probably finally fixing the radiator fan! Since the last post I've spent some more time finding my way around Easimap 6. My issue of only having access to the maps and basic ECU setup was fixed by switching my user profile from basic user to advanced user. I think giving the basic user access to the ignition advance table, but not the rad fan switch points is a bit of an odd choice, but hey ho. (Ok, I guess it's so a tuner can map the car with no worries about hitting the wrong button and changing something... )
^I'm getting some serious Windows 98 vibes
The good news is that the interface allows quite a few of the general purpose output pins on the ECU to be assigned to different labels. By default, rad fan 1 relay is assigned to pin 52, and rad fan 2 relay is assigned to pin 14 (and is unused). First off I pulled pin 52 from the connector and inserted it at 14, found the output test and my fan spun up. Excellent! In what turned out to be a stupid idea, I then switched it back to pin 52 - now that I'd worked out how to test the outputs - just to verify that the output was indeed dead. It was. So I pulled the pin back out of 52... except that I must have not quite have got my de-pinning tool in correctly, and instead of removing the pin, the wire slipped straight out of the crimp (with very little force), leaving the pin very stuck in the connector body. As I've said before, the crimping is definitely the weak point in this harness! After quite a few attempts I gave up on extracting the wire-less pin from the connector housing and had a go at ordering some replacement terminals. I couldn't find any identifying marks or part numbers on the connector itself so just identifying the brand took longer than I'd have expected! Eventually I worked out it was a Bosch part - for anyone else with an MBE ECU trying to identify the connectors, here you go: MBE ECU ConnectorsBrand: BOSCH Series: 121P EMSTerminals: Small: BCB 1.6
Large: BDK 2.8
Large Connector:Part Number: 1 928 403 454Number of Positions: 81 Small Connector:Part Number: 1 928 404 375Number of Positions: 40
Now that I'd identified what I needed, the next challenge was ordering them! The Bosh connectors seem to be mostly OEM usage, with very little aftermarket use, and as such none of the major electronics suppliers (RS/Farnell/Mouser/Arrow etc) stocked the connectors. I found a single UK supplier for them (Auto-Click), and ordered some, only to have my order refunded 10 days later with no communication. The next most local supplier I found was in Germany - I paid much more in postage than I did for the terminals, but they arrived in under a week
£15 well spent???
Very quick job to pop one on the end of the offending rad fan wire:
Pop it back into the connector at position 14, then in the ECU software assign Pin 14 to 'Rad Fan Relay 1'... and hey presto, a working radiator fan!
I can finally get rid of my very Heath Robinson manual radiator fan switch:
That is a very long piece of wire with one end pushed into the rad fan terminal of the diagnostic connector under the bonnet, and the other end wedged into the outer contact of the cigarette lighter. It used to run through the passenger door seal, across the passenger seat and sit in the centre console - until I wanted to switch the rad fan on, at which point I popped the cigarette lighter into it's socket, grounding the wire and switching the relay. I didn't expect it to take me this long to fix it properly.
I've done a few other tweaks to the ECU settings while I had it plugged in - the electric water pump now comes in far more aggressively for my peace of mind (preciously it ran at 10% duty cycle until around 60 degrees - which I'm not sure is even enough power to keep it spinning, although I'd hope that rocketeer checked that when they were setting it up) and properly calibrated the throttle limits. I've also worked out that my lumpy start is to do with the cold start sequence in the ECU, where it holds the idle control valve open for a period after startup - it doesn't give the higher rpm that I'd expect so need to look into that more.
While waiting for electronics bits, I chased down a couple of noises. On heavy engine braking there was an occasional nasty rattle - a bit like a very bad heatsheild rattle. When I looked under the car this time it was immediately obvious:
The Rocketeer exhaust has an extra hanger - I'm not quite sure why - that goes underneath the PPF with decent clearance... but not decent enough! I could see some witness marks where they had touched. The angle grinder has had a knotted wheel on it for so long that I've misplaced the nut and spacer for cutting discs, and as a result the dremel spent a long time and two cutting discs getting through the stainless. One noise successfully fixed though.
The front brake squeal turned out to be a small bit of the dust shield that was bent and just touching the disc - nice and easy.
Bleeding the coolant in this engine is difficult, as the highest point in the loop is the engine outlet, which is very difficult to bleed from. To make things a little easier I've fitted a rad cap with a manual pressure vent, so that once the system is under pressure I can vent any air from the top of the radiator into the expansion tank. Doesn't solve the problem, but helps get a little more air out of the system.
Finally a cosmetic tweak, going from this:
To this:
As someone pointed out earlier in this thread, it no longer looks like it has a thermometer sticking out of it's mouth! Since the last update I've also switched the front indicators for ones with the orange lenses removed (de-tangoed), which cleans up the front a little in my eyes.
On Easter Sunday - as we're finally allowed and the weather was stunning - we took the car for a hour or so top down run through the Cotswalds. Definitely its best outing so far, behaved excellently and sounds epic. We took the opportunity to set the dampers up for the new bushes. Interestingly the setting that had worked best for the polybushes now felt very harsh and jittery with the rubber bushes. We settled on a far softer setting of 5 clicks from softest on the front, 6 on the rear. Possibly a little on the soft side, but the ride is nice and it feels confident over bumpy surfaces where it felt very skittish before. It still turns in far better going left than right, and also pulls right a little under braking - not overly surprising with a rough geo and no cornerweighting.
Definitely coming together |
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gryphon
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 330
Club RR Member Number: 157
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Apr 27, 2021 10:32:41 GMT
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Coming up to it's second MOT with the new engine, for a little while, there wasn't much to report here - the car was running well, being used for evening and weekend jaunts and the odd bit of commuting. It was starting to look so reliable that I swapped out my modern daily for a ropey e39 BMW! Naturally that reliability didn't last for long. We'd tried to get into Caffeine and Machine one evening, got turned away as they were at capacity, so went for a Cotswald drive instead. Had a nice evening with the top down but as we were heading home the diff started whining, then rattling! After sitting on the drive for a couple of days I went to move it to the garage and take a look at it, and couldn't get in gear - the clutch wasn't disengaging. I thought it had all been going too well! First priority - bleed the clutch! The last time I did this was with one person pumping the pedal, another opening and closing the bleed valve. We spent ages at it and I thought we'd done a decent job, however even adjusted as high as possible the bite point had always been very low. This time I have a handheld vacuum pump to try:  Well, the fluid coming through is certainly black! The vacuum pump works really well too, although it's continuously drawing air out - even after I've flushed the system clean. I tried a little grease around the bleed valve threads to make sure it wasn't drawing air through those, which made no difference. After flushing around 500ml through the fluid was coming out clean. There was still a never ending stream of bubbles though, and as I've greased the bleed screw threads it means I probably have a leak somewhere. As the slave cylinder was new a year ago, that probably means the master is failing. For the immediate future, the bleed has done the trick and the bite point has moved up considerably. For all its bubbles, this is a better bleed than the last one! Another annoyance to look at was a squealy front brake. From a google, the Yellow Stuff pads are infamous for being noisy but cleaning up the caliper and adding some copper slip to the back of the pads can't hurt - it was all looking a bit grotty.  I cleaned up the pad retainers, removed and cleaned the slide pins and boots and reassembled with red rubber grease:  Reassembled with copper grease on the back of the pads:  Squeak cured! For about 5 miles... Now it's back with a vengeance. Maybe the discs are a little too rough - they're not looking great. Now it's coming up to MOT no.2 time! There are a few things that definitely need sorting. 1. Emissions 2. Headlights 3. Handbrake Emissions wise, somewhere back in the depths of this thread you might remember I completely cooked my cat(alytic converter). It managed to just squeak the emissions test... I took it for a pre-test emissions check a couple of weeks ago and it was just a smidge over despite our best efforts. Time for a new cat. Getting a bolt in replacement from Rocketeer seems to be a no-go, simply because they don't answer my emails, so I've ordered a weld in magnaflow one. This is currently stuck in a post office with very inconvenient opening hours so slight delay there. Headlights... A while ago I fitted the low profile hella units.  They're E marked, H4 stamped, and fully legal, except that I was a little too keen on the low profile part, and they point at the ground even at the limit of their adjustments! It took an afternoon of faffing with limit screws and actuating rod lengths to pull them a little higher!   Should now satisfy the MOT - and be far better if I ever drive it at night, which I haven't yet. Finally hand brake. The lever is too high and I'm sure I'll get at least a 'not enough reserve travel' advisory. Adjusting the handbrake is very easy on an MX5 - on each caliper remove a 14mm capping bolt that reveals a 4mm Allan Key adjustment to move the position of the bite point. At least, it is easy if the teeth on the allan key adjuster aren't stripped!  One side adjusted perfectly - the other side took lots of lubrication, wiggling, putting pressure in various directions as I turned it... Eventually it did adjust though, and the handbrake travel is far more acceptable. I had a look at the diff at the same time, and other than a bit of an oil leak from the O/S driveshaft seal (annoying as it was a new seal!) I couldn't feel any extra lash or crunchyness in it.  With any luck, the next post will be a new cat and a fresh MOT  In terms of driving, the car has become a proper little license looser... The powertrain is awesome. The sound is awesome. What really lets it down is the ride and chassis flex. To this end I've done what I probably should have done in the first place and ordered a set of Meisterr ZetaCRD Coilovers. I'm not liking the HSDs, and I know I like the Meisterrs. I also need to get a rear roll bar in there to add some stiffness as well as safety. Having recently fitted a GC3 roll bar in the track MX5 the mounting holes match up relatively closely to the old TR Lane mounting holes a previous owner drilled in this car, so I think I'll go for one of those. I was going to get a TR Lane one, but found out they've recently changed their mounting design, and I've not seen many pop up second hand. |
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Last Edit: Apr 27, 2021 12:29:07 GMT by gryphon
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Love the detail in this build but I keep looking at engine swaps for mine & I'm nowhere near there yet!
As for the clutch issue I ended up swapping the slave, master & the feed pipe for a braided job as the system is rubbish. Also noticed that it didn't matter if I bought the cheapest or the expensive items I still had bubbles & clutch pedal fade after a while.
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Last Edit: Apr 28, 2021 7:45:52 GMT by ianlea73
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gryphon
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 330
Club RR Member Number: 157
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Apr 28, 2021 10:21:30 GMT
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Love the detail in this build but I keep looking at engine swaps for mine & I'm nowhere near there yet! As for the clutch issue I ended up swapping the slave, master & the feed pipe for a braided job as the system is rubbish. Also noticed that it didn't matter if I bought the cheapest or the expensive items I still had bubbles & clutch pedal fade after a while. I've already swapped out the oem clutch line with a braided one - the back of the engine is very busy with vacuum pipes and harnesses, the braided clutch hose made sense. The only old part in the clutch hydraulics is the master cylinder, so given the failing pedal and the black fluid I suspect I'll be replacing it soon. Might use it as an excuse to fit a brake master support bracket while I'm in the area In other news I managed to get to the post office when they were open to collect my new cat. Hopefully get that welded between the old flanges in the next couple of days.  |
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gryphon
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 330
Club RR Member Number: 157
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And a quick swap...
I was recommended a local guy who does good work on exhausts, had a nice little car chat and he did a neat job of adding the old flanges to the new cat at all the right angles - bolted straight back in place. Hopefully that's the last part of the MOT puzzle sorted - booked in for Monday
Not MOT related, my meisterrs arrived!
Very shiny. Off with the HSD Dualtechs:
and on with the shiny things:
All in, it took us about three hours. Managed to do all of them by simply unbolting the damper and a droplink, standing on the caliper to push the suspension down and pull the damper out, drop the new one in, bolt it all back up again. Drop back on it's wheels, roll back and forth to let it settle and torque up the lower damper bolts.
Despite being very careful about torquing all the bushes at ride height when I fitted the suspension, they seemed to sit very happily in droop which is a bit weird. Not too worried for now though as they'll all be retorqued when it's corner weighted - and that's booked for the next available slot... which is a month away 
Whilst I only did a bit over 1k miles on the HSDs, and generally in good weather, the coilover covers do seem to have kept them decently clean - you can see where they weren't covering at the bottom! I don't regret buying them at least.
That's all I got - fingers crossed for monday.
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gryphon
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 330
Club RR Member Number: 157
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May 15, 2021 10:43:38 GMT
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MOT day started well - the trip to the MOT station was the first drive on the Meisterrs. I haven't touched the damping adjustment yet and they were an instant improvement in ride over the HSD dualtechs. A lot plusher/less harsh, and less bouncy. First up was the emissions test... immediately the HC was reading very high - around 1.1 when the pass level is 0.2, however it's a sports cat, and it's about half way down the exhaust system so takes a while to get hot. After holding the engine around 2.5k rpm for 30sec or so the HC started dropping, and a minute later we had green numbers all round Revving the engine revealed a couple of issues though. Firstly the intermittent misfire is getting worse and seemed to be occuring about once every 10s. I only notice it very rarely when driving, but holding 2.5k rpm in neutral it was very regular and obvious. Secondly, just before the end of the test the engine made a 'noise' that made the tester and I look at each other with wtf was that expressions. He thought it sounded like a boost hose letting go - except there is no boost - and I thought it was a little more metallic, but have no idea what would cause it. Almost as if the starter gear tried to engage for a split second? Didn't sound quite right for that though... It was there and gone so fast, I've never heard it before and really don't know where to start looking for it! Anyway, the rest of the test went smoothly except for a slightly weeping connection between a brake hose and one of the rear calipers. Annoying thing to fail on, but exactly the reson I really value MOTs because I hadn't noticed it! Once home the banjo fitting got nipped up an extra little bit which solved the leak, and a quick re-test later in the week gave me another years ticket |
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May 17, 2021 12:09:11 GMT
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Nice work on the MOT. Hope you can get the small niggles sorted without too much drama.
It is fustrating to fail on a slight leak at a caliper fitting though, alot of hassle for them to log it as a fail and have to retest vs the tester just giving it a quick nip up when he noticed it.
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I don't like the idea of anything letting go at 7 tonnes! I did get the goggles out while I was using it, it's the sort of time that I think I really should have a full face shield.
