Fitting suspension / new exhaust
Discussion
Ok the time has come to make a purchase of new suspension and exhaust...
Planning to fit it all myself (with the help of a like minded friend), now i've fitted suspension before on a Mk3 Golf but is there anything different to consider with the 5?
Exhaust wise we've decided on the twin exit MX5parts jobbie:
It was reduced from £225 to £150 last night but when I went to order it this morning the price had gone back up (7 day special or something). Bah!
I've not fitted an exhaust before? Don't think it'll be that complicated so what should I remember to do before hand (soak all the bolts and make sure the exhaust is cold before I touch it? )
Planning to fit it all myself (with the help of a like minded friend), now i've fitted suspension before on a Mk3 Golf but is there anything different to consider with the 5?
Exhaust wise we've decided on the twin exit MX5parts jobbie:
It was reduced from £225 to £150 last night but when I went to order it this morning the price had gone back up (7 day special or something). Bah!
I've not fitted an exhaust before? Don't think it'll be that complicated so what should I remember to do before hand (soak all the bolts and make sure the exhaust is cold before I touch it? )
Oh yeah suspension , its easy as well , if your just unbolting the old units and fitting new damper spring units you will have them done in 3-4 hours .
Rear.
Remove wheel (important) ,
undo the lower tie rod (antiroll bar) bolt onto the lower wishbone.
in the car undo the 2 bolts securing the damper to the body
Remove the bolt from the top wishbone holding the hub
pull it down and wriggle the damper out
Front
undo the bolt holding the anti roll bar to the wishbone
undo teh 2 bolts holding the damper to the body
undo the lower bolt holding the shock to the lower wishbone
have a cup of tea
now look down just infront of the shock and there is a bolt 17mm undo that and the lower wishone and hub can be seperated
push the wishbone down and take the shock out
havent figured out the refitting yet .....
just do the fronts bud , dragster looks all the rage
miata net
http://www.miata.net/garage/garagehandling.html
Rear.
Remove wheel (important) ,
undo the lower tie rod (antiroll bar) bolt onto the lower wishbone.
in the car undo the 2 bolts securing the damper to the body
Remove the bolt from the top wishbone holding the hub
pull it down and wriggle the damper out
Front
undo the bolt holding the anti roll bar to the wishbone
undo teh 2 bolts holding the damper to the body
undo the lower bolt holding the shock to the lower wishbone
have a cup of tea
now look down just infront of the shock and there is a bolt 17mm undo that and the lower wishone and hub can be seperated
push the wishbone down and take the shock out
havent figured out the refitting yet .....
just do the fronts bud , dragster looks all the rage
miata net
http://www.miata.net/garage/garagehandling.html
Edited by DennisTheMenace on Sunday 12th October 21:42
DennisTheMenace said:
Cas seal on the back of the engine is a normal culprit but get under and have a looksee ,Exhaust is easy mate , few bolts (soak in plus gas) and some rubber hangers , nice and easy , dont forget to turn the baseball cap backwards after fitting your raspy trumpet
Is plus gas the same as wd40? Haven't ordered the exhaust yet (might wait and see if it goes down in price again).
Last time I was under the car I seem to remember seeing oil on back of the engine above the sump IIRC. Also I think the cam gasket is weeping slightly but that wouldn't be leaving the oil deposit on the ground.
How complicated a job is the cas seal?
no plus gas is a lot better its a releasing agent , wd just smells nice .
cas seal is not to bad , you hear people say its a pig of a job , the cas unit on my replacement engine failed after 1 day
it was dark and i done it in about 15 mins . just mark a line before removing so you know where it has to line up to , saves faffing around with the timing , also remove the coil packs , 5 min job and it gives you more room
cas seal is not to bad , you hear people say its a pig of a job , the cas unit on my replacement engine failed after 1 day
it was dark and i done it in about 15 mins . just mark a line before removing so you know where it has to line up to , saves faffing around with the timing , also remove the coil packs , 5 min job and it gives you more room DennisTheMenace said:
no plus gas is a lot better its a releasing agent , wd just smells nice .
cas seal is not to bad , you hear people say its a pig of a job , the cas unit on my replacement engine failed after 1 day it was dark and i done it in about 15 mins . just mark a line before removing so you know where it has to line up to , saves faffing around with the timing , also remove the coil packs , 5 min job and it gives you more room
Sounds like a plan... worth doing an oil change at the same time? cas seal is not to bad , you hear people say its a pig of a job , the cas unit on my replacement engine failed after 1 day
it was dark and i done it in about 15 mins . just mark a line before removing so you know where it has to line up to , saves faffing around with the timing , also remove the coil packs , 5 min job and it gives you more room Hi Phill,
The old man and I fitted my new exhaust, which was a single exit type with mid-pipe, in roughly 4.5 hours. The most difficult part was getting the old exhaust off. If yours is original, be prepared for it to take a loooooong time.
Have you bought the new exhaust yet? I take it that it comes with templates for the other exit point?
The old man and I fitted my new exhaust, which was a single exit type with mid-pipe, in roughly 4.5 hours. The most difficult part was getting the old exhaust off. If yours is original, be prepared for it to take a loooooong time.
Have you bought the new exhaust yet? I take it that it comes with templates for the other exit point?
Combover said:
Have you bought the new exhaust yet? I take it that it comes with templates for the other exit point?
Not yet, wish i'd ordered it last night, but as it's my wife's car I thought i'd check with her first... sods law that the special offer ran out.Yes it comes with the template for the other exit point (from what I can tell from mx5parts)
This is probably a very basic question, again relating to the suspension.
So in a perfect world, all the bolts come off easily and I have removed the suspension. So in my hand I have a damper and spring assembly.
Now using the spring clamps I compress them securely before removing the top mount. I carefully then release the spring clamp leaving me with the old spring and damper.
I then compress the new spring in preparation for installing the new shock/spring combo on the car.
My question is how will I know how far I should compress it? I can't take a measurement off the old shock/spring combo as we'll probably go for a set of lowering springs.
Basically how can I ensure that I get the both sides of the rear of the car at the same height and the same with the front.
Once this is all fitted, the car will be heading over to Tony at WIM for a full set up.
So in a perfect world, all the bolts come off easily and I have removed the suspension. So in my hand I have a damper and spring assembly.
Now using the spring clamps I compress them securely before removing the top mount. I carefully then release the spring clamp leaving me with the old spring and damper.
I then compress the new spring in preparation for installing the new shock/spring combo on the car.
My question is how will I know how far I should compress it? I can't take a measurement off the old shock/spring combo as we'll probably go for a set of lowering springs.
Basically how can I ensure that I get the both sides of the rear of the car at the same height and the same with the front.
Once this is all fitted, the car will be heading over to Tony at WIM for a full set up.
pmanson said:
It was reduced from £225 to £150 last night but when I went to order it this morning the price had gone back up (7 day special or something). Bah!=
Give them a call and tell them you wanted to buy it at the discounted price but missed out on the offer. Tell them you'll buy it if you can have it at the offer price. Chances are they'll do you a deal. I've done this successfully before with MX-5 Parts both on their 7-day offers and also on their OC rally "VAT Free" offers...MX-5 Lazza said:
pmanson said:
It was reduced from £225 to £150 last night but when I went to order it this morning the price had gone back up (7 day special or something). Bah!=
Give them a call and tell them you wanted to buy it at the discounted price but missed out on the offer. Tell them you'll buy it if you can have it at the offer price. Chances are they'll do you a deal. I've done this successfully before with MX-5 Parts both on their 7-day offers and also on their OC rally "VAT Free" offers...Will do that tonight, then give them a call tomorrow morning.
Just been out and measured the cat. I measured it around 340mm (although that was with a tape measure that kept flexing and with me having to hold the light with the other hand.
I'm guessing that means I measured it wrong and it's the 370mm cat?
Ok MX5Parts state the following:
I'm guessing that means I measured it wrong and it's the 370mm cat?
Ok MX5Parts state the following:
MX5Parts said:
Fits Mk1 1989>1996 (upto chassis number JMZ...308212) having either the 370 or 440mm cat (please check!).
Ok our chassis number is as follows JMZ******01131426 - will it fit? Edited by pmanson on Monday 13th October 20:15
measure between the flanges of the CAT.
exhaust - shouldnt be too much of a problem, my old one was over 10years old when i removed it. the biggest problems were:
undoing the bolts on the CAT (ended up knackering one bolt when refitting - 2min job down at a mates garage to put a new one on - good idea to give the threads on the stud a good brush with a wirebrush)
and then the other was more more of a hassle - the old exhaust was one piece from cat to exit - and trying to thread it out from under the car, and through the bracing around the rear end (had to under a couple of bolts on the ties to allow extra room)
the new exhaust being in 2 pieces made refitting MUCH easier.
Suspension - rears easy enough - just follow the directions on the Miata/garage page. i gave up on the fronts, as i couldnt unseaze the bolts, so since i was going to have it aligned afterwards anyway i took it to a local garage to get both done at the same time - they charged £200 to fit the front shocks and do a 4 wheel alignment.
i went for the performance5 puredrive shocks - that way i can adjust the ride height (i'm finding i need a little bit of ride height over their recommened ride heights as i'm scraping the car over some of the rough roads where i live.
exhaust - shouldnt be too much of a problem, my old one was over 10years old when i removed it. the biggest problems were:
undoing the bolts on the CAT (ended up knackering one bolt when refitting - 2min job down at a mates garage to put a new one on - good idea to give the threads on the stud a good brush with a wirebrush)
and then the other was more more of a hassle - the old exhaust was one piece from cat to exit - and trying to thread it out from under the car, and through the bracing around the rear end (had to under a couple of bolts on the ties to allow extra room)
the new exhaust being in 2 pieces made refitting MUCH easier.
Suspension - rears easy enough - just follow the directions on the Miata/garage page. i gave up on the fronts, as i couldnt unseaze the bolts, so since i was going to have it aligned afterwards anyway i took it to a local garage to get both done at the same time - they charged £200 to fit the front shocks and do a 4 wheel alignment.
i went for the performance5 puredrive shocks - that way i can adjust the ride height (i'm finding i need a little bit of ride height over their recommened ride heights as i'm scraping the car over some of the rough roads where i live.
Have you got an angle grinder to cut the old exhaust off? I've got the same twin exit from MX5parts and also thought I'd fit it myself. After undoing all the bolts and stuff I couldn't get it off due to the strut brace under the rear suspension. So, I had to loosely reconnect it and drive it to an exhaust place for them to cut it off - I also got them to fit it. Only cost £25 - which I thought was a bargain given I had been wriggling round in the oily grime underneath the car for 2 hours trying to do it myself.
Oh - and you do realise how loud it is? It's very loud indeed!
Oh - and you do realise how loud it is? It's very loud indeed!
hornetrider said:
Have you got an angle grinder to cut the old exhaust off? I've got the same twin exit from MX5parts and also thought I'd fit it myself. After undoing all the bolts and stuff I couldn't get it off due to the strut brace under the rear suspension. So, I had to loosely reconnect it and drive it to an exhaust place for them to cut it off - I also got them to fit it. Only cost £25 - which I thought was a bargain given I had been wriggling round in the oily grime underneath the car for 2 hours trying to do it myself.
I was thinking about ringing around some places tomorrow to see if they can fit for me on saturday morning... if not it will have to sit in a box (if it's arrived) until the following weekend. hornetrider said:
Oh - and you do realise how loud it is? It's very loud indeed!
I've heard mixed reports about the noise! Do you run a de-cat pipe? That seems to be what makes it extra loud! I do indeed run a decat. I'm at a decision point now - the car either goes for a 968 as its not great as a daily driver...
...or a throw some money at it, swap a cat in and have a smaller diameter mid pipe made up to further reduce noise (have cut the bumper so need to keep the twin rear). I'll also be doing suspension if I decide to go with this option - I do like the handling the bilsteins afford but... maybe something more sensible like the perf 5 setup is the way forward
Decisions decisions!
...or a throw some money at it, swap a cat in and have a smaller diameter mid pipe made up to further reduce noise (have cut the bumper so need to keep the twin rear). I'll also be doing suspension if I decide to go with this option - I do like the handling the bilsteins afford but... maybe something more sensible like the perf 5 setup is the way forward
Decisions decisions!
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