UPDATE TIME!!!!

So I've finally gotten a bit of work done, was slowly stripping down the engine bay to get ready for pulling her out. Here's a few shots from that..

Inside the water pump housing.

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/k...ps9ehy27ic.jpg

I'll give you three guesses (and one hint) of what that residue is...

Hint: It might start with a "B" and ends with "earing residue"


I was disconnecting the downpipe from the Turbo/Manifold and I think I may have figured out why I was getting an exhaust leak here..

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/k...psd9ogaxiy.jpg

Here's the way she looked after everything attached to the car was disconnected from the engine. I know it's not a proper short block, but it's good enough to pull out.

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/k...psaj0l9qd1.jpg

And yes, this time I made sure to get ALL the tranny bolts out first (the handy-dandy spare rear iron was stellar for making sure I had them all... they came out of the tranny, and went into the spare iron. Not only did this ensure I got them all, but it also will help me remember where they go when it's coming back together!!)

One more for posterity sake of how she looked yesterday when Bianca and I left for the afternoon to look at houses/places to rent. We're moving in like two weeks so figured it would be best to make sure we know where we're going to :rofl:

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/k...ps3iwgghgh.jpg


Vlad (Max_Spd) and his buddy Si (I NEVER know if I'm spelling his name right, I feel really bad, but it's pronounced like the ninja weapon that could double as a hand-held rotisserie) came over when Bianca and I got home that evening. They brought some toys, we fed them dinner (traditional/typical Brazilian fare of Rice, Pinto Beans, and Steak cooked in a pot... Pretty goddamned good imo!) and then we got a little more progress done.

They went home after a couple hours and we went to bed...

































This morning Bianca and I woke up early, and this is what I had waiting for me in the garage.

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/k...psia59upiv.jpg

That bitch got EVICTED last night :awesome:

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/k...psjfc1mmw3.jpg

I spent a decent chunk of the morning bleeding the clutch in the Miata. It needed it BAD!!! I'm fairly certain that if samples were taken from the fluid in the clutch line they could grow some sort of new, mutant, Transformers Penicillin.. It was UGLY. And there was TONS of air in the line... A full flush with ATE Super Blue (and what felt like a couple hours of Bianca bitching about being cold) later I was able to start stripping down my engine to a short block.

Shit was DUUURRRRTTTTYY!!!

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/k...pswogstgt0.jpg

It's hard to believe that this engine only had 3k-4k miles on it.. I guess a catastrophic oil loss will kinda attract dirt and grime though...

Even though I *thought* I had drained all the fluids it seems that there was still some water in the engine..

YAY!!! Bearing Juice!!!
http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/k...psxot33tl0.jpg


We've struck GOLD Captain!!! Bearing Sea gold...

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/k...psm6m9k4ta.jpg

Bearing material was everywhere...

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/k...ps2y96soxf.jpg

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/k...pstgbk4lpj.jpg

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/k...psdfq5dvfu.jpg

After getting the engine stripped to a short block today I took the Miata out for a test drive to make sure my mystery issue of the clutch slipping BAD when the engine bay heated up had gone away... I drove to Vlads neck of the woods and picked up the Rotary Adapter for the engine stand he left at mine last night.

While further stripping down the engine I "accidentally" and removed the front stack before dislodging the rear Counter Weight.... I suppose the plus side is that the front stat gear slid out with no complaints :hurray:

The bearing material was clearly trashed where it meets the E-Shaft, it looks like I should be able to press fresh bearings in and either reuse this, or sell them to recoup a slight bit of cost..

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/k...ps1zbu3gpw.jpg

(disregard Bianca in the background... :rofl:)

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/k...psgirhxqcx.jpg

So yeah... now I've got me a handy-dandy square of 2x4 to help smack the rear Counter Weight free with. Tomorrow after work I'll reassemble the front stack, reattach the Flywheel, pop loose the CW and continue with the strip down.

Here's how I left the engine tonight:

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/k...psg8llaghq.jpg

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/k...psqzsu9y1d.jpg

Making me want to leave mine together.....:uhh:

Excellent progress Levi. I wish i was stateside to help, really do.

Was slow starting to move on it Tharek, but now that its out I should have her fully apart and assessed for all damages relatively fast (provided nothing is fused together).

Cheebz - yours didn't die from oil starvation did it?

That's not "bearing juice" in the coolant. That's rust. There's no way for bearing material to get into the coolant system.

If you can't reuse them how are you going to sell them?

Watchoo talking about Willis? You already have the nut off you can remove the rear counter weight as it is.

No I am unsure if it is even damaged at all. I have a 2 psi blip on one face of the rear rotor. Turn fine ran fine started fine so I don't know. Haha

Honestly I figured initially that it was along those lines (the lovely stuff that comes caked in the engine fresh from Mazda) but Brian suggested it was from the bearings. I dunno, either way it's all gunna get cleaned up and flushed out with the new engine.

The only reason I wouldn't reuse them (provided they will take fresh bearings) is because RX-8 e-shaft. If I go with the 8 e-shaft I'll also go with the accompanying stat gears.

The CW is on there pretty solid. I'll put the FW back on to smack the CW loose, but Brian suggested (somewhat forcefully, but very convincingly) that it would be in my best interest to reassemble the front stack before I started hammering away at the ass end.

Wait, you've only got a single blip on the rear rotor and that reads 2psi (and the others read 0psi) or two good blips and one reading 2psi?

A -2 psi blip on one face of the rear rotar. I believe both other faces where at 118 so one face with 116. I think it's fine but I want to be rid of the stock Mazda apex seals though so going to have a look either way.

Pfaw!.... You're good baby cakes, why even break it open?

I had an issue before parting the car I never fully diagnosed. Its a spankin new engine so I scurred. I suppose I could run it and see what happens.

Ah, gotcha. That sucks, what was it doing?

And yeah... as far as my teardown goes, I didn't get home until 7:30pm tonight. I had to go out of town to sign a rental agreement on the house Bianca and I will be moving to, that took forever and a day. The office bitch I had to do the paperwork with was abrasive and worse than useless, I didn't eat anything all day long (I had a swig of milk before I left the apartment in the morning) and by the time I got home I was tired, hungry, and grumpy.

No work done on the car tonight... I'll get the front stack put back together and crack the CW off tomorrow night, then start breaking the motor apart for realz.

Here's hoping that the rear stat gear comes out as easily as the front did, and that the rotor bearings aren't seized to the shaft...

Was out one night and developed a terrible stumble. Thought I popped it would not idle. Next day runs fine for the next week started the teardown without finding out what. So I figure I might as well start over as the parts to rebuild should be very minimal. I hope....

The motor had break in miles I know as I did one oil change but i would be surprised if it has 3,000 on it.


Cool got a place nailed down at least.

Yeah, that was just me being a dick :lol: No way for bearing material to get into the coolant system......