...that I could buy, borrow or beg?
Long shot I know - there's one on ebay but it's two weeks delivery :-(
Head has been off the MX5 for fettling, makes sense to change the cambelt but the big bolt on the front of the crank need to come off and it's not budging.
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Have you tried pinging it off using the starter motor? I used this method on son's MX5 and it worked ok. I used a jack under the socket to support it and an axle stand under the end of the breaker bar to hold it as near horizontal as possible. (The anti-roll bar stops you getting dead horizontal)
I chocked all the wheels as well as having the handbrake on and the footbrake applied.
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Not yet...it had crossed my mind, I just assumed it wouldn't have enough torque or conversely if my instinct was completely wrong it might break something - the lack of control doesn't sit comfortably!
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Borrow/hire even buy an impact driver, mine made short work of stubborn difficult to get at bolts you just know would round off otherwise.
Good man maths..;)
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Good idea GB, but can't get one in unfortunately. There's an anti-roll bar in the way. You can get a socket on with a 5" extension lying on top of the bar but there isn't even room to get a breaker bar knuckle directly behind the socket. With an extension on there's no room for the tool.
My usual very able and precise car man is doing this job in among, and he'll do it eventually in a logical way but for the nonce it's stuck pending either a safe method of locking the crank (not sure how much the gearbox will take and there's a lot of lash that way) or removing enough bits to get the impact driver on.
I had a go this morning in the hope it was like pickle jar lids - I have three goes and it doesn't budge, then Mrs Dugong unscrews them with negligible effort - but leaning on a 2 foot bar with the car in fifth and the handbrake on it wasn't moving.
I'm not taking any risks as my pal might be a bit grumpy about it if I break something and turn a routine job into a disaster. I'm just getting impatient, now the head's sorted I want to see how much better it goes!
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Panic over, for now anyway. Have found one on ebay I can get delivered next week for £15 so hoping it comes.
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you are of course turning it the right way as you know it may not be the "normal way" of course you are. silly to ask.
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>> you are of course turning it the right way as you know it may not
>> be the "normal way" of course you are. silly to ask.
>>
...or not, as the case may be ;-)
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If you had done it before taking the head off you could have used the rope trick - feed string through a plug hole and then turn the piston up to TDC until the crank locks. Pull the string out afterwards.
It's also a short cut way of replacing valve stem seals and springs without taking the head off.
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Now this is the stuff I thought this forum would be full of when I first found it, stuff I understand:)
I'm enjoying reading this thread but so often it's all talk of ECU's, DPF's and DMF's and I haven't got a clue!
Please tell us, in detail, how you eventually get it undone.
Pat
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Using the starter will work well - at least there isn't much chance of it starting!
In many cases, the engine starting isn't actually a disaster if there's a woodruff key on the crank nose. For those engine designs where the tension of the crank bolt is all which prevents the toothed belt pulley slipping, then, I wouldn't recommend this method.
I wouldn't bother trying to lock it in gear - the torque on a crank bolt is usually more than enough to make the clutch slip anyway.
The problem with the starter motor trick, is that it doesn't help you put the bolt back in.
The traditional method is to remove the start motor, and jam a big flat screwdriver into the ring gear teeth while someone else swings on the breaker bar / torque wrench.
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>> you are of course turning it the right way as you know it may not
>> be the "normal way" of course you are. silly to ask.
Sensible question of course. The convention apparently is that the bolt would screw in the same direction as crank rotation which in this case is clockwise. MJM's post confirms that, happily.
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The main problem with this engine is access to the bolt. The anti-roll bar is very close to it. There is only just enough room to get the socket and bar on. When I did it the engine only spun for a turn or so but the bar wedged against the anti-roll bar. I had to "persuade" the engine to turn backwards a bit and the anti-roll bar to er, bend a bit to get the socket off. It sounds a bit of a brutal technique but it works. If I had to do it again I would, using the same method. The problem I found with jamming it in gear was that I ran out of room to "wind everything up" before the bolt surrendered. There isnt much usable lateral room under the bonnet.
The good news is that once the bolt is out the rest of the belt and tensioner change is simple. From memory I think there is a coolant hose from the thermostat housing that goes through the belt. I removed the stat housing and fitted a new thermostat whilst it was apart. Yes, you are turning it the right way.
Last edited by: MJM on Sat 15 Oct 11 at 20:28
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ditto what pat said above.
i like to here the tips and spannering talk, its what the forum should be. there must be loads of people on here who just lurk but if a nice conversation like this gets going they may be more inclined to chip in.
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One reason so few people post answers to practical problems is that very few owners now actually do anything themselves. All the answers are about how much it should cost to get garages to do the job, and the advantages of main dealer v. independent.
I stick to the kind of cars I can fix myself, but I feel I am in a tiny minority.
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>> I stick to the kind of cars I can fix myself, but I feel I
>> am in a tiny minority.
>>
I do all my own servicing and repairs on 2 x Yaris and 1 x matiz.
Once you have a code reader and a decent ekectrical meter most well designed modern cars are easy.
(I exclude Renault from well designed cars)
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To add a bit of colour I'll tell you how I got here.
I bought the car (1999 1.8S, 140bhp) fairly cheaply, knowing it wasn't a rot box, it needed a hood and the wheels smartening up, it had just had a £700 service including rear pads, discs and calipers, and the front discs/pads would need doing soon. No sign of smoke or nasty knocking noises.
I drove it around for a few weeks and discovered it could be reluctant to start and had nowhere near enough go. Among the paperwork I found a phone number for the previous owner (who had traded it in for a secondhand Boxster). He was happy to talk to me and said he had been told "the compressions were low". No kidding. 140/90/40/50! No sign of oil in coolant or vice versa, no oil consumption worthy of note so thoughts were around cam timing/valve problems.
Head removal revealed no signs of undue bore wear - no lip, scratches etc which was a relief. The exhaust cam timing was one tooth late, not enough to account for the symptoms or the differences in compressions. Off went the head for a £250 rework, after it was discovered that paraffin poured down the ports came out of every valve.
I'm very hopeful that the problem has been located and it will be a little rocket when it's back together. Once I know the engine's OK I'll spend out on the hood and a few other bits.
It's no longer a cheap car of course, but not yet an expensive one. Yet!
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>> ditto what pat said above.
>> i like to here the tips and spannering talk, its what the forum should be.
>> there must be loads of people on here who just lurk but if a nice
>> conversation like this gets going they may be more inclined to chip in.
>>
I suspect there are a few old codgers like me around who were impoverished youngsters who had to "fix it or walk". My first dozen or so cars were in that category, Then I went diesel in 1989, oil and assorted filter changes, with pad and disk changes covered things from then on, now it is the local indie or dealer. I (we) have done the kerbside clutch and cylinder head jobs, I even did a set of big end shells at the roadside, so there is bound to be a wealth of knowledge around here.
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>>so there is bound to be a wealth of knowledge around here.
I don't have a wealth of knowledge but I certainly had a few fix it or walk cars. Every job was a voyage of discovery with the Haynes manuals (which used to be worth having - now utterly useless).
Happily I now have a very good home mechanic friend who is very able and I trust totally, so I don't mind paying him. Not paying for stuff that doesn't need doing, but having basics done properly (like calipers freed off on a service) saves a lot anyway so I don't begrudge him a penny. Meanwhile I can carry on not doing all the other things I should be doing.
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>>feed string through a plug hole and then turn the piston up to TDC until the crank locks. Pull the string out afterwards.<<
Cliff, would you elaborate on that?
I really would love to know just what you mean.
I spent some very hard up years when I was young having to do my own repairs or not get to work so I learned a few bodges and shortcuts, but I haven't heard of that one.
Sadly now, we can afford to pay a man to do it and all the fun, and sense of achievement, seems to have gone out of owning a car.
Pat
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you spool string or thin soft rope into the combustion chamber through the plug hole, quite a bit of it, and then wind the crank until the cylinder on the upstroke locks against the nice soft rope in the head of the combustion chamber. Then you can attack the pulley bolt knowing the crank wont move because its locked by one piston and con rod.
You then turn the crank the other way to release the rope, and pull it back out the plug hole.
Dont drop the end of the string in the head tho!
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>> you spool string or thin soft rope into the combustion chamber through the plug hole,
>>
Also handy for holding up the valves while you change the oil seals.
Dealer staff must hate us as customers, bullsh*t doesn't work. :-)
Last edited by: Old Navy on Sun 16 Oct 11 at 16:19
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>> >>feed string through a plug hole and then turn the piston up to TDC until
>> the crank locks. Pull the string out afterwards.<<
>>
>> Cliff, would you elaborate on that?
>>
>>
Turn the crankshaft so that one piston is near the bottom.
Take a bit of thick string or thin cord, perhaps 10 feet long, and feed it into one of the spark plug holes. Don't lose the end.
Then turn the crankshaft round slowly backwards, bringing the piston up, and compressing the string into a ball. At some point it will lock the piston, and hence the crankshaft.
Then you can apply a socket and breaker bar on the crankshaft nut.
Or, if you feed the string in carefully and poke it with a bit of wire, you can position it under the valves so that the piston wedges the valves closed.
Then you can lock the crankshaft to stop it turning, and use a valve spring compressor and release the collets on the end of the valve. The compressed string stops the valves falling into the cylinder. You can replace a broken spring, or replace all the seal guides.
I have heard of using compressed air instead of string, but that depends on maintaining a good seal. The instant you lose it, the valve will drop.
Good luck if you feel like trying it - I can vouch for the method from personal experience.
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I doubt I'llo ever get the chance to try it now, but I love to hear of the things people used to do...when it's the parts of an engine I understand!
I once changed a base gasket on a GS650 without removing the engine though!
Pat
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>>Once I know the engine's OK I'll spend out on the hood and a few other bits.<<
I've done a hood. We ran out of packing tape to keep the water out on the old one.(:
We bought a new genuine Mazda Mohair one from MX5parts (about £500) a few years ago. You may have to factor in a new drip rail. (they can split, ours was ok though)
The hood was a very good fit. The job is not difficult to do, just time consuming.
A couple of tips.
Mazda supply some rivits to attach the drip rail to the hood. Some M3 screws, washers and nuts are better.
The tension spring is a bit of a sod. Good needle nose pliars make it easier.
You will need about 10 off 5mm aluminium long shank pop rivits. If you need some, let me know, I've got a stock of 3/16 ones. They're effectivley the same. Steel ones need too much force to break the stems.
You may need to stretch the hood a little to get the hood up for the first time.
Whilst the hood is off you can remove the drain collector each side and give them a good clean out.
HTH
Meant to add, we've got the American workshop manual. If you need more info I'll scan the relevant pages in.
Last edited by: MJM on Sun 16 Oct 11 at 15:21
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we bought my dad an MX5 1.8i 150hp model on a 52 plate last Christmas as a present and he has used it a few days a week since then and he loves it. never had a problem with it and it was due a service last week and i really wanted to do it myself but he sent it to a mazda garage and was about £250.
im 42 but when i started driving at 17 i used to have old cortinas or chevettes and even an old XR3. I had to do all the work on them mechanically and i really enjoyed that. I was doing work on all the cars until i started buying new on an L plate 1993 model 405grd saloon.
i cant connect with any of my cars except the merc 190e as its the only one i work on now and its lovely to work on and still in mint clean condition.
unfortunately i don't have a drive or garage at home now and the other cars and motor-home/ boat etc are all newish and not easy to work on with no driveway
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Thanks for the offers of help MJM. I'll see where we get to!
In terms of manuals, I have this goo.gl/2Vb46 "enthusiast's manual" for the Mk1 1.8 - there isn't one for the Mk2 but engine-wise it's pretty near, the most obvious difference being that the the Mk1 has hydraulic tappets but the Mk2 has shims and buckets.
Consensus seems to be that apart from the workshop manual this is the best available.
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That looks like the updated version of our manual. My son's is a mark 2 but as you say the engine and the rest of the oily bits are near identical. We followed that manual for the hood change and found it identical.
Just post on here if you want any help. I look in most days but don't post that often.
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Update.
Well, the big bolt came out of the crank nose with the aid of the tool from ebay, which is a 3/16 or so steel plate that bolts into the same holes that hold the crank pulley on, and fits around the boss of the water pump.
It's back together now and much better. Not as brisk as I had hoped, but it starts and runs properly. I certainly couldn't have got 100 out of it before. The ABS light has been on a couple of times but maybe there's some damp got in while it's been standing, or a connection is disturbed. I'll poke around at some point.
I'll get the hood done now, then the front brakes, and it'll be much nearer sorted.
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Pleased its sorted out. Son's is a 1600, nippy but not fast. I've got my daughter's MR2 here at the moment (It's up for sale, she's got a company Passat now) and that's deadly in comparison!
I found that the timing marks on the cam sprockets weren't brilliant. Shout if you want the rivits for the hood replacement.
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Mazda MX5 - Crank holding tool - anybody have one? - MJM
