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I bought it. 1997 Pontiac Sunfire GT, ~125k miles on it. New rubber, new brakes, other minor repairs just done, and a valid safety test. I paid less than the cost of said new brakes/rubber/safety, so it'll do. Apparently I'll need to top up the clutch fluid every few weeks, and the shifter is quite stiff. (Not sure what this could be, going to check transmission fluid when I get home, after that I have no idea what to check. Any ideas?) Pics once I get home if people are interested, although its just your basic beater.
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Jul 7, 2009 14:50
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Changed the oil, first maintenance I've ever done. Incredibly easy, although I wish I had a set of jack stands and a floor jack rather than ramps. Tomorrow is cut holes in the rear deck for the speakers the previous owner installed and didn't cut any kind of opening for. Makes so much sense...
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Jul 25, 2009 07:57
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visionviper posted:Yesterday I put new headlamps in my car. I can now actually see when I drive at night. It's shocking. I did this today after a terrifying drive home last night where it was pouring rain and I could hardly see the road. The previous owner had put in some lovely Korean bulbs that were shaded dark blue (enough that I couldn't even see the element) and the difference is phenomenal.
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Oct 10, 2009 21:53
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Speeding ticket in my ride today, does that count? 
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Apr 5, 2010 05:53
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I got a can of And proceeded to  Tonnes of smoke, but it was incredibly windy so it was blown away fairly quickly. Probably a good thing, as the house I live in backs onto the new building here at the university, and I'm pretty sure those people looking on just about called the fire department. Oh, then I changed the oil. The throttle response post-seafoam is ridiculous, the car feels so much more responsive now. It's a 97 sunfire gt with about 210km.
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Apr 28, 2010 22:47
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Put new tires on it! General Exclaim UHP's, so far they're night and day compared to the previous 5-6 year old (guessing) hard as poo poo budget bin tires. Oh, and when I went to set the ebrake when I got home, it went PING when it got to where I normally leave it, and I had to really pull it up to keep the car from rolling. That will be investigated tomorrow. Not my car, but helped my dad trace down electrical problems with the spitfire. So far the blinkers now work, all the brakelights work, and we have no idea why its occasionally blowing headlight fuses. I think thats just 'cause its british though. Tomorrow its pull the dash off and trace wires time! The headlights are bastardized, as is the footwell light, and the tach stops working when you turn on the headlights. That, and a million wires that lead to nowhere, is tomorrows job. Fathers day will be awesome! At least the car is essentially rust free, in Ontario. 
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Jun 20, 2010 03:14
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Replaced the body wiring harness on my dads '76 Triumnph spitfire. Lucas electronics... He's got FM40002, meaning it was the 2nd car off the production line, meaning it doesn't exactly have a '76 wiring harness. Instead, its got dash mounted winshield washers instead of column mounted ones, and most of the rest is from a 76, but a bunch of the parts are actually from a '75. So we got a wiring harness for a 75, because the washer stuff wouldn't work otherwise. End result? It doesn't work yet. I think we need to jumper pins 11 & 12 on the smiths module, and connect the WO and WR wires at the start interlock relay to essentially make the 76 wiring diagram... http://www.triumphspitfire.com/images/wiring/75diagram.jpg VS http://www.triumphspitfire.com/images/wiring/76diagram.jpg Note: everything connected to the smiths module (75) / seatbelt timer buzzer (76) is long gone.
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Jul 21, 2010 01:51
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quadpus posted:What the hell is a smith's module? I have no idea. I think its kind of like the shifting deamons in automatic transmissions: not quite sure how they work, but if you forget to put them back in all hell breaks loose. Oh and we sent the 75 harness back, going to see if a 76 works any better. Easier to lengthen wires for the wipers than mess with ignition wiring.
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Jul 23, 2010 15:51
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I would, but we already sent it back. It turns out, after much cursing and many beers, that the old wiring harness is a 76 with the dash mounted wiper switch being the only part of the harness resembling a 75. Oh British electronics...
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Jul 24, 2010 04:06
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Pulled off the passenger side rear drum to check why the parking brake wasn't engaging on that side. Found out the end snapped off of the cable, so I put the drum back on and decided that I just won't park on hills, and live with only 1 wheel locking.
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Jul 31, 2010 19:22
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Thats really interesting to see. I guess the only comparison I can make is that the PO gave me the results for the previous emissions test (every 2 years here) on my ~215,000km sunfire. I seafoamed it about 3 months before its test this year, and results in every catagory (I don't remember them all) was down by about 2/3rds from the test 2 years prior. I had a huge cloud of white smoke when I did it though 
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Aug 20, 2010 14:49
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Replaces the rear parking brake cable today, that was a bitch of a job. Surprisingly getting the drum apart and back together was simple, even without the propper spring tools. Getting the old cable out of the junction however... XD
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Oct 10, 2010 04:09
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Beach Bum posted:So wait, what would you use on a rad hose? Aircraft clamp into google isn't bringing up a whole lot. I'm guessing t-bolt hose clamps, i.e.  I think the reason is you want the clamp to be around the hose without all the notches in it for the screw drive, because those notches can cut into the hose.
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Apr 24, 2011 16:23
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My Dad and I spent a lot of time getting nowhere: Lucas 
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May 22, 2011 04:29
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Oil & filter as well as differential fluid change, woo! I was a bit worried about the miata, because apparently the filter is hard to change. I didn't have any trouble, I guess I have freakishly small hands or something because I could get at it going in from the top of the engine bay no problem. Also not sure if the differential oil had ever been changed, pitch black and smelling like pure sulfur...  Was going to try the transmission, but I couldn't get the car high enough off the ground. That will have to wait until I can use a lift.
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Aug 21, 2011 02:59
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EightBit posted:That's normal. Gear oil makes lots of people dry-heave. Hmm. The stuff I put in didnt smell nearly as bad, could that be because the new stuff was synthetic?
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Aug 21, 2011 05:13
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Geirskogul posted:No, it's usually just really freaking smelly because of how the oil breaks down over time, and the metal that gets suspended in it from gear wear. Ah, that makes sense. First time changing gear oil
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Aug 21, 2011 05:23
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Drove down to the states, picked up my winter tires/steelies, drove back. Installed them, got to the last wheel, and the shop that had the front tire off last cross threaded the nut getting it back on. Cue broken stud... Sigh.
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Nov 5, 2011 17:55
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tonedef131 posted:I finally finished rebuilding the 4T65E out of my wife's Grand Prix. Took me probably 60-80 hours all said and done and that was with a second person helping. It was my first automatic transmission rebuild, plus I didn't cut any corners and replaced anything that looked remotely questionable, so I'm sure I could cut down the time quite a bit next time around. The problem was the forward apply band so it wouldn't engage drive, the rest of the transmission was in excellent shape. Check out how clean this valve body was for having 200k on it: You... You... you let the magics out! 
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Nov 14, 2011 06:27
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Replaced my wipers with some rainx horizon ones. They came with a little cloth that you scrub on the windshield and then clear off with paper towel, & then turn the wipers on for 5 minutes. I'm going to go buy some actual rainx spray tomorrow for when this wears off, because holy gently caress it was pouring and I barely had to use my wipers. It was glorious, I could pass trucks and actually see the whole time.
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Dec 5, 2011 04:28
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djfooboo posted:edit: Went to change wheels and sheared a stud QQ Ha. I did that when I put my winter wheels on, Canadian tire got understandably pissed when I bought the stud and proceeded to change it out in their parking lot, as I lack a driveway to actually do any work in. Really hoping I don't have to do that again when I switch back to summer wheels.
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Mar 19, 2012 23:50
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I put the winter wheels/tires on! The steelies were in disgusting shape, so minor painting was required first. 
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Oct 31, 2012 22:39
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Bucephalus posted:You gonna post an "after" pic? I like it. 
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Nov 1, 2012 03:18
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^^^if they're vinyl then yes...Tusen Takk posted:
This was pretty much my decision process. My winters are all rusty -> I should deal with that before winter -> black is boring and doesn't help with visibility -> green would be silly and quite amusing... And so I found myself putting neon green spray paint into the basket. I'm in eastern Ontario, we get lots of snow. I hope the wheels make me a bit more visible, because no one notices me on the road as it is... Maybe hot pink is required next year!
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Nov 1, 2012 18:14
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I'm a ski patroller, the miata is my only car. Skis do in fact fit in the passenger seat. Haven't been stuck yet
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Nov 1, 2012 23:15
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VelociBacon posted:
I didn't watch the video, but I've used the top sylvania light before and the only issue I had was I was going through a set every 6-8 months in the miata. They burn out really fast. Switched back to standard bulbs as a result. They're definitely brighter just not worth 60$ every 6 months.
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Dec 31, 2012 03:07
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Geoj posted:You're confusing a light blue tint seen on otherwise high quality bulbs from mainstream manufacturers (ie, Sylvania, Bosch, PIAA, Hoen, etc.) with the heavily colored ricer bulbs that go for $5/pair on ebay. The light still appears to be white, but you're paying extra for a slight cosmetic change that comes at the expense of longevity and output. Blue bulbs actually put out less light than the standard variety despite being overdriven. No, the bulbs I'm talking about did not have a blue tint or film to them, the glass was clear. I knew they were overdriving them though, more light output means hotter, which is why they died faster. Definitely better on the light output though. I ran one standard bulb and one sylvania for about a week, and the colour of the light was nearly identical between the two, the sylvania just had more light if that makes sense.
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Dec 31, 2012 14:12
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Figured out why my car smelled slightly like burning plastic every time I'd get out. Plastic bag melted to the exhaust. 
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Mar 4, 2013 23:55
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I bought a place for it to sleep!  Yes, the car is dirty. Please forgive the horrible pictures, the real camera is packed somewhere. There's a house to go with it, but this was the best part. 240V outlet in the garage already! 
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Mar 27, 2013 04:14
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Thanks guys - the garage is honestly amazing. Going from apartment living with no real place to work on the car to this is amazing. Suddenly the amount of tools I have seems woefully inadequate. I took possession today, and the first thing I did was move what tools I have in and then dick around with the right rear caliper. The hardware the outside brake pad sits in got gunked up, and the pad wasn't moving at all. Didn't catch it until I saw a ring of rust on the outside edge of the swept surface, and the outside pad hasn't worn evenly. I sanded the pad flat, cleaned the hardware, and re-greased everything, hopefully that fixes the issue. The outside pad is way more worn than the inner though, and the parking brake adjuster is hosed in that caliper (the other one is fine  ), so if this doesn't work I'll just grab a reman caliper and throw it on.
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Mar 27, 2013 04:30
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Summer tires on and aired up, I forgot how squiggily winter tires are by comparison. It's a whole new car! Also replaced one of my rear rotors that I suspected was out of round, and it was. Had to sand the pads a bit as they were a bit mangled, and they're working fine now. No more squeak, squeak, squeak as the rotor was skimming the pad in certain points.
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Apr 20, 2013 19:09
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It got backed into while street parked. By a lady driving a ford flex. Who drove by my car before reversing into it. Which had a backup camera.  Bumper needs at least a respray if not replace, and I suspect the mounts are hosed because the bumper is nowhere near aligned correctly. Insurance tomorrow, as the car was pushed back about 2', so who knows what else is going on. Mechanically it felt fine on the drive home though... 
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May 7, 2013 03:21
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I did a thing.  Now I can drive at night without being terrified.
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Aug 4, 2013 16:57
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ratbert90 posted:That looks great! Just be aware that headlights are coated from the factory with a UV protection that coats the top of it, and that those headlights will look yellow again in just a few months. Thanks! The 3M kit I got came with a sealant that you put on after the 500/800/3000/rubbing compound steps, so we'll see how well it holds up. I honestly don't mind re-doing the restoration once a year or so. The previous owner did a restoration kit without sealant before I bought the car, and it took about 2 years to get that yellow/cloudy. At ~250$ per headlight housing, I could buy 15 restoration kits and come out ahead. Root Bear posted:
It took about 45 minutes to do both headlights, including an unknown amount of time spent angrily searching for the chuck for the drill. Also it's relatively idiot proof, I've never been good with the whole sanding / polishing thing. TrueChaos fucked around with this message at 03:34 on Aug 5, 2013 |
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Aug 5, 2013 03:28
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Super Aggro Crag posted:Put my winter wheels on today while it was warm. Hi friend!  Green wheels are the best. Oh, I parked another thing in the garage with it, both cars fit with lots of room:  It's an unmolested '88 CRX SI with ~160k km's on it. Storing it over the winter for an autocross buddy.
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Nov 19, 2013 00:06
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One of the autocross guys pained his beater miata with it, and it's hilarious. His kids draw all over it and he just chalks his numbers on. Occasionally we write funny stuff on it while he's marshaling (read: cocks. and dickbutt), it's great.
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Mar 6, 2014 23:38
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I intended to change front pads / rotors. So, to get things started... I managed to get the other end out pretty easily.  And of course, it's a long weekend up here in  so I can't get a new stud until tomorrow. Figured I'd leave that side as is and at least get the other side done. Moving on to the other side: Yes, thats the screw used to pop the rotor off the hub. Sheared. I'm on a roll today. Thankfully I had enough room to get a sledge in there and get the rotor off. At which point I searched high and low for my c-clamps to compress the pistons, got frustrated, and decided I'll finish it tomorrow. Everything is already apart, so the easy bit is done. Right guys? Right? 
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May 19, 2014 15:26
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opengl128 posted:You shouldn't start it unless you're going to drive it. You're doing more harm than good otherwise. You're fine if you let it get all the way up to temp, as well as rev it a bit once it's warm. I start mine up every month or so, usually let it run for ~30 mins or longer.
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Dec 10, 2014 21:51
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ExecuDork posted:Everybody posting pics of their smooth concrete garage floors and jacks that actually lift the vehicle more than 2" higher than ride height are making me intensely jealous. My gravel spot is at least level, and every drop of toxic nastiness I spill (I managed to get around 99% of the oil into the drain pan, 1% on me) just kills the tenacious weeds. But I would love to try out this living-in-the-future concept of "working indoors" sometime. My garage floor is about as level as a pornstars chest. It's interesting.
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Jul 12, 2015 00:05
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| # ¿ Apr 24, 2024 07:16 |
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Seat Safety Switch posted:Basically doing little poo poo around the house to try and put off the elephant in the room that is the front hub swap on the Miata. I'm sure once I get in there it won't be all that hard, but I really didn't want to tear down the front brakes again less than two weeks after doing them. At least this time I have new slide pins and boots so I can pretend that I'm doing something different and magical this time. This shouldn't be an elephant in the room, they're easy as poo poo to replace. Pull the brake crap off, pop off the cap covering the hub nut, remove hub nut, pull off hub. Clean/grease spindle, installation is the reverse of removal. When I did mine I didn't need to do any brake work so I took off the caliper + mounting bracket + pads as one assembly. Takes about 30 minutes including searching for something to use to punch out/in the indent in the hub nut.
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Sep 11, 2015 23:15
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