Thanks!

 

Replace enough parts in your rebuild and you effectively have a reman built by somebody other than Mazda.

If you're replacing seals and housings the point still stands. The engine still needs to be warm and broken-in before a compression test will mean anything.

In unrelated news, I thought my exhaust was loud with the TurboXS cat'd midpipe and Tanabe something-or-other exhaust. Then I drove my friend's 2010 BMW 128i which has been prepped for SCCA STX.

Holeo fack, that thing is awful. Shore 80A engine mounts, clutch-type diff, loud-as-**** custom exhaust... I've never been less comfortable on a 60 mile drive in my life. Drove my '8 to work this morning and I might as well have been driving a Bentley in comparison.

His car only works one place: the race track. I don't know why he doesn't just gut the interior and weld in a full cage at this point.

 

:d :d

 

Update time...

Everything is fine except for one minor issue that cropped up on my way to work this morning: Nearly overpowering odor of fuel in the cabin.

I thought it was the car in front of me at first but noticed that it was still there when that car turned and I didn't. Was 1/2 mile from work at that point so I drove the rest of the way and popped the hood. Shining a light in between the LIM runners I could see the front primary fuel injector leaking fuel.

Was planning on leaving work early to head out of town but this kind of puts a damper on that...

 

I get alot of exhaust in the cabin. My 8 has a midpipe to factory exhaust connected by flex pipe and clamps. Today I"m checking that first and tightening and wrapping the exhaust joins. Still though, I think my header has a leak.

Fuel rails can be a challenge to get to. I wonder how that leak started.

 

You probably want to get it sorted out soon. It not only smells bad but also is terrible for your health. Carbon monoxide is a part of the exhaust gas and that is some nasty stuff. The worst part? You can't smell it. You can easily get screwed in an enclosed space.

Where the header and mid-pipe meets can be troublesome. I had that area leak before and went to the exhaust shop that installed it to get it fixed. It's been fine ever since.

 

Thanks for the concern. I reused the gasket at the cat and manifold and also need a better set of bolts. I didn't tape it because of the rain so I suppose I'll have to address it later. After addressing those issues I should be good.

NAP, bigger injectors?

 

Why would I go with bigger injectors? It's making normal power levels.

One top o-ring on the rear P1 rotor was bad. Replaced that and it's fine again.

Exhaust gaskets should be considered single-use. The TurboXS midpipe on my car isn't compatible with the OEM exhaust gasket and the correct gasket is $20+$20 shipping. I'm not paying $40 for that. I ended up buying some remflex gasket sheet and made my own gasket. Works great.

Also, if you haven't gone through and re-torqued the fasteners holding the exhaust manifold to the keg, do that, too. A few heating/cooling cycles can make them back off after you reinstall the engine.

 

I thought you'd take advantage of the opportunity to get down there. It seemed to be the thing to do as a power mod when I was at turbo clinic putting my engine together. Charlie suggested bigger injectors on my rebuild a few times during the process.
Yep, you read my mind. I have some gasket material lying around that I used for my bike. I know they are generally one use, that's why I mentioned it. Mine was actually labeled reusable though. The packaging made me chuckle because I would have reused a non reusable. It looked pretty non reusable. Going to tighten things up before sunset. Have to paint a friends house.

 

The stock injectors flow plenty if you aren't planning on somehow feeding more air into the engine. Going with bigger injectors will just mean that you'll have to tune it to adjust the injector duty cycle down. This would leave you right back where you started only you've spent money to get there.

Modern engines are waaaaaaaay better at controlling fuel delivery than they are air delivery. So, designers just try to meter the air and then provide fuel to match. If you aren't somehow increasing the amount of air going into the engine then increasing your fuel delivery capacity doesn't do anything but waste money.

 

The injectors aren't hard to get to, just annoying due to the way the factory wiring harness is routed/designed. No need for more injector unless adding forced-induction.

 

does the pulley mount for the water pump need to come off before I exchange the core? Looks like all the studs are included.

 

Pulley... mount?

The pulley mounts to the water pump shaft via three bolts. Remove those, pulley falls off, and you put it somewhere safe.

And yes, mine came with a full compliment of studs for mounting the exhaust manifold.

 

 

Well, it's been a blast, but all shitty things must end.

I regret that I will never get around to shoe-horning an LS under the hood but I need to move on.

Also, I might have bought a 2017 Miata RF Launch Edition... So, you know, gotta make space.

I bought the car in late March 2006 and enjoyed the **** out of it for 6 years. I went back to school in 2010 so the last two years of that stretch, it mostly sat in a parking garage, only leaving to go to autocross events. In 2012, I school prevented me from even doing that so I sold it to my friend, Emanuel. He sold it to another friend, Nathan. I bought it back from Nathan in 2015.

I remember the first time I had it back on an autocross course back in 2015 and thinking, “Oh, right. This is how it’s supposed to be.” It was like reconnecting with your best friend after several years and remembering why you were best friends.

Since 2015, I've been doing my best to make it a good autocross and trackday toy and I've succeeded pretty well.

Sometime in the next few weeks, it's going back to Nathan.
I ran a compression test last weekend (~6400 miles on the reman engine):



That normalizes to
122/118/122 @ 250 RPM and sea level
115/112/111 @ 250 RPM and sea level

Nathan is getting a good car and, considering what I paid him for it back in 2015, he's getting a ******* steal.

I'm just happy the car is going to another enthusiast who knows how to both take care of it and enjoy it. That's the only way I could let go of it.

New toy:

 

So... What you're saying is... you'll be buying it back from Nathan in a couple of years?

 

Actually, I told him that part of the sweetheart deal he got means he has to sell it to Emanuel when he's done. Then it will go back to me.

 

Dude.... proof that remans are 100x better than what they used to be

Glad to see this all come full circle, and that you were able to give this final update to the thread. Hope you will stick around the forum, your help and knowledge is extremely appreciated

 

hate to see you go, but won’t miss the F-bombs and cursing God’s name in vain openly on the forum.

 

Are you Mormon or something?

 

Yah, I'm pretty pleased with the Mazda reman.
And old habits die hard so I'm sure I'll keep visiting out of muscle memory as much as anything else.

Just had to get that parting shot in, eh?

Well, I suppose we all have our vices.

 

That Miata is truly a great looking car. All the best!

 

Miata
Is
Always
The
Answer

Hate to see you leave the fold, NaP. I may be right behind you. In my case, I am most likely buying a friend's well track-prepared E46.

 

Thanks for your help NAP. Beautiful Miata.

 

I’m not a Mormon, I’m an atheist, and I share TeamRX8’s sentiments. There’s no need for the offensive f-words. And there’s no call for offending the sensibilities of the many religious folks here or anywhere.