Chris GTO TT Posted November 2, 2017 Author Share Posted November 2, 2017 Yikes, that's no good Hopefully warranty covers it! 2003 Baja 5MT 2016 Outback 2.5i Premium w/Eyesight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted November 2, 2017 Share Posted November 2, 2017 So, I think we dodged a bullet (knocking loudly on all the wood within reach...). This morning, I put the car up on jack stands and get underneath to look around. No coolant... apparently I was wrong about that, lighting in the parking lot, whatever... that's a good thing. Next, check the obvious suspects... oil drain plug is tight, oil filter is not... Oil filter had come loose and partially unscrewed, spraying oil all over the place. So, that's not good... warranty isn't going to cover it. I'm pissed... 36 years working on cars, and I've never had this happen. I've done uncountable oil changes over the years. I went back to my records, and this was the 12th on this car I've done. More on that later... Off to get a new filter and oil. My wife said it had made ugly noises at idle, but quieted down as she drove. That didn't make sense last night, but if it was the filter rattling on the threads...? Drained the 6 or so ounces of oil that was in the pan, put on a new filter and filled it with cheap dino oil (why fill with Mobil 1 if it's busted, right?). Start it up, and... Everything sounds normal. No knocking, no ticking... sounds fine. I back it into the driveway, put it up again and hose the undercarriage with degreaser and hose it off. Then I took it out and tried to break it. Buncha trips to the rev limiter, ran it through the gears, decel from redline... Nothing... sounds normal. I'm starting to relax a little now. We drove it to lunch, and it was fine. Wife is going to drive it to work tomorrow, and I'll change the oil back to M1 on Saturday, and take a close look at the oil that comes out for metal. Maybe send a sample off for testing... Whew... Now, the rest of the story: The last time I bought the oil change supplies, I was buying for the NC and NA (NB engine). Despite the fact that we'd had both cars for several years, this was the first time I ever bought filters for both at the same time. I had asked for the two filters and the NAPA counter guy had told me they were the same for both cars... I said, huh, I'd never realized that. I took both filters home, and changed the oil in both cars... this was the end of September. Guess what... they're close, but they're not the same. So, the NC filter is vertical. When you remove it, it usually dumps oil all over the crossmember. My routine is to use a wad of paper towels to remove it directly into a freezer bag to minimize the mess. Since I'm already under the car, the new filter is sitting by the jackstand with the gasket oiled, and full of oil, ready to go. Remember, this is my 12th oil change on this car... got a routine. I never even thought to compare the filters. So the wrong filter is the same thread, just a slightly smaller diameter. It snugged up just fine, and after a warm up run, passed the leak check. It made it ~1200 miles before the gasket blew out and it loosened up... I discovered the filter issue when getting the new filter this morning, because I also picked one up for the NB's new engine, and when I saw the two side by side, I realized immediately what had happened. What a clusterf*ck! Well, it runs, but who knows what hidden damage is waiting to rear it's head... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris GTO TT Posted November 3, 2017 Author Share Posted November 3, 2017 I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that nothing was damaged seriously. 2003 Baja 5MT 2016 Outback 2.5i Premium w/Eyesight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laz Posted November 3, 2017 Share Posted November 3, 2017 Curious to hear if the fake oil pressure gauge did anything different or if it just kept doing it’s happy dance? --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted November 3, 2017 Share Posted November 3, 2017 If my wife had been looking at the gauges, I might be able to tell you... She did say she never got any warning lights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laz Posted November 3, 2017 Share Posted November 3, 2017 I hear the only thing that kills a Miata engine is overheating. I think someone over at Miata.net ran an engine without oil on purpose to kill it and it just kept on going for a while. --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted November 3, 2017 Share Posted November 3, 2017 So, back to our regularly scheduled programming... Yanked the dead motor out of the NB... DSC_1343 by Rodan AZ, on Flickr And installed the RB header in the NA. RB header installed by Rodan AZ, on Flickr Need to drive the NA around a bit to get a heat cycle in. I've found that re-torquing header bolts after a heat cycle really helps them stay put. Didn't want to get stuck in the middle of the intake swap, so that will wait a bit. I got the VICS manifold and harness pulled from the 99 engine. They're going to need some cleanup before going on the replacement engine. I think I'm also going to order some injector o-rings and a couple other small parts. I was going to do it cheap and dirty, but I hate having to re-do stuff down the road. Going to try to do some more tear down on the engine tonight... see if I can get all the way to pulling the head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris GTO TT Posted November 3, 2017 Author Share Posted November 3, 2017 (edited) I'm really jealous of how great your NA engine bay looks! Also I'm surprised you are running a stock radiator. Edited November 3, 2017 by Chris GTO TT 2003 Baja 5MT 2016 Outback 2.5i Premium w/Eyesight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted November 3, 2017 Share Posted November 3, 2017 Also I'm surprised you are running a stock radiator. I stuck with it to get the car running, but it's never become an issue, so I just kept it. Highest temps I logged at Laguna was 195*. It will get upgraded eventually... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted November 3, 2017 Share Posted November 3, 2017 Did a little teardown on the '99 motor... It was missing all but three bellhousing bolts on the trans, but the clutch looks like it should be serviceable. I also got a clutch with one of the VVT motors, so I'll pick whichever is best. The oil cooler sandwich plate was loose, which looks like it was the source of the oil leak. Head looks OK, cams turn fine. Block isn't looking all that great... DSC_1351 by Rodan AZ, on Flickr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted November 5, 2017 Share Posted November 5, 2017 Finished the intake install yesterday... FT-RB-SK2 installed by Rodan AZ, on Flickr The Skunk 2 inlet was larger than the stock TB, and I was able to get the coupler over it, but I need a larger clamp as the old one wouldn't fit. Need to calibrate it to the MS3 and fire it up this morning. I'm wondering if it will still idle... I was a little disappointed with the hardware supplied with the throttle body. Both screws for mounting the IAC/adapter were too long, bottoming out before tightening. I was able to shorten them, but it was a PITA that shouldn't have been necessary. I also cleaned up the fuel line runs, which had been bugging me since I got the car running. The stock fuel hard lines in the 1.6 point to the rear. I used a brake line bender to bend them the other way, allowing for a much shorter run of rubber line. Should have done this a long time ago, but I was in a hurry to get the car running, and have been busy since... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris GTO TT Posted November 5, 2017 Author Share Posted November 5, 2017 Now you just need the new skunk intake manifold 2003 Baja 5MT 2016 Outback 2.5i Premium w/Eyesight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted November 5, 2017 Share Posted November 5, 2017 Those were announced right about the time I bought my flattop... I figured they'd be vaporware for at least another year, but of course they're available... And now Emilio at 949 has posted a dyno comparison between the S2 manifold and Flattop on an n/a VVT engine, and the S2 was only marginally better. Not enough to bother. Still waiting for turbo results, though. If I didn't already have the flattop, I'd consider the S2, but reading the other threads, it looks like there's some install hassles as well. The stock manifold is bad enough! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris GTO TT Posted November 5, 2017 Author Share Posted November 5, 2017 Oh I forgot you had a square top. 2003 Baja 5MT 2016 Outback 2.5i Premium w/Eyesight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 So, finally some results.... I went out and did some road tuning today. AFR's were still surprisingly close with the new intake/header, but I did make some adjustments. Car feels great! I had done a few "pulls" for Virtual Dyno at the end of October in anticipation of the swap. I wanted as direct as possible comparison before/after. I got really lucky with the weather... 68* F for the before runs, and 70* F for the after runs. Base barometer was 81.6 kPa before, 82.2 kPa after. Conditions were about as close as you can get two weeks apart at this time of year. I had done the before runs with just a warm up cycle, but the after runs had ~45 minutes of driving and tuning prior, so were made with intake temps a full 10*F above the before runs. Obviously, the runs were done on the same road in the same direction. As I've noted before with Virtual Dyno, I'm much less interested in absolute numbers as I am comparison. Anyway, here's the graph, with two 'before' runs compared to the 'after' run (only had time for one in each direction today). Red and blue are 'before', green is 'after'. These numbers are uncorrected for altitude... FTRB beforeafter by Rodan AZ, on Flickr Anyway, I'm pleased with the result, and it turned out just about as expected. Of course, these are very well documented mods, so expectations were clear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris GTO TT Posted November 10, 2017 Author Share Posted November 10, 2017 Wow definitely extended the top end power with much less torque drop off. 2003 Baja 5MT 2016 Outback 2.5i Premium w/Eyesight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted November 11, 2017 Share Posted November 11, 2017 The nice thing about swapping an NB2 engine into an NB1 chassis, is the wiring is a LOT easier than putting one in an NA... You just use the NB1 harness on the NB2 engine, with a couple of mods. I had already installed the NB1 fuel rail and injectors. Last night I worked on the coils. They wire up just like the NB1 coils, except a different connector is used, which I was able to buy with wires already attached from Ballenger Motorsports. In this pic, you can see the plugs on the coills. The gray connectors at the back of the valve cover are the stock '99 connectors. DSC_1360 by Rodan AZ, on Flickr Wired up DSC_1361 by Rodan AZ, on Flickr And tidied up DSC_1363 by Rodan AZ, on Flickr The tricky part is figuring out which wires go where, and fortunately, someone else already did the work: http://www.mostlymiata.net/1999-2001-vvt-engine-swap/vvt-engine-swap-ignition Today, I did some cleanup. When I cleaned the transmission on the NA, it took me something like 3 hours, and a half case of Brake Cleaner. I didn't want to repeat that, so being a lazy bastard, I bought a pressure washer at Sam's Club this morning. On sale, so good timing! DSC_1364 by Rodan AZ, on Flickr I figured with all the chassis cleanup the NB is going to need, it would be a good investment. Combined with some Super Clean, it did the job in about 45 minutes... Before DSC_1345a by Rodan AZ, on Flickr After DSC_1365 by Rodan AZ, on Flickr And I've already got a vulture circling on M.net who wants the '99 cylinder head... If I get a good price for that, it'll nearly pay for one of the VVT engines! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris GTO TT Posted November 11, 2017 Author Share Posted November 11, 2017 I can't wait until we're in the new house so I can put the Miata up on jack stands and start some of this work too! 2003 Baja 5MT 2016 Outback 2.5i Premium w/Eyesight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris GTO TT Posted November 12, 2017 Author Share Posted November 12, 2017 And I'm shopping for a different one again... https://sacramento.craigslist.org/cto/6380283195.html 2003 Baja 5MT 2016 Outback 2.5i Premium w/Eyesight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted November 12, 2017 Share Posted November 12, 2017 I hope you're over there buying that... right now! Seriously, that looks a really good buy, especially if it could be picked up for $4500-4700... Not a fan of that color, but car looks super clean, stock, and matching hardtop! Unless the small pics are hiding bad stuff, looks like a winner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris GTO TT Posted November 12, 2017 Author Share Posted November 12, 2017 Yeah it’s a really good deal for a 6spd car with factory matching hardtop. I really don’t need a 4th car right before we move into the new house next month:spin: It’s annoying though because 2-4 months ago this is exactly what I was looking for. 2003 Baja 5MT 2016 Outback 2.5i Premium w/Eyesight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted November 12, 2017 Share Posted November 12, 2017 Frees up the other NB to be a track rat... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris GTO TT Posted November 13, 2017 Author Share Posted November 13, 2017 hahaha, I can't justify turning my black car into a hardcore track car as is. I doubt having to split funds between 2 miatas would make me more likely to turn one of them into a track rat. 2003 Baja 5MT 2016 Outback 2.5i Premium w/Eyesight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris GTO TT Posted November 13, 2017 Author Share Posted November 13, 2017 Ad is already deleted 2003 Baja 5MT 2016 Outback 2.5i Premium w/Eyesight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted November 13, 2017 Share Posted November 13, 2017 Didn't think it would last at that price... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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