[MSCW list] 1997 M series engine replacement

[Timothy Metzinger]

Good morning Elizabeth.

There are two things involved here - there's rebuilding the engine, which is the process of replacing components (like the crank in your case) to make the engine come back to like-new specifications.  That takes specialized tools and knowledge, both of which you CAN acquire, but I wouldn't recommend trying it solo to anybody.  If you really want to learn that, find someone who does it regularly and pay them to teach you on your engine.  The other part is the actual removal/replacement, and THAT can be done with only a few specialized tools such as an engine hoist and stand.

My recommendation would be to first source a good rebuilt engine - you could work with Ed York at York Automotive to rebuild yours, or buy one from a vendor - some of our folks out by Summit Point may know of sources for rebuilt engines.  You could buy a simple used engine but you don't really know what you're going to get in that case. Once you have a replacement engine in hand, the actual swap is not that bad - I recommend taking the engine and transmission out as a unit rather than trying to disassemble/reassemble them on the car.

Best wishes,
Tim

-----Original Message-----
From: MSCW [mailto:mscw-bounces at lists.mscw1.com] On Behalf Of Elizabeth Snow via MSCW
Sent: Friday, July 7, 2017 10:24 AM
To: mscw at lists.mscw1.com
Cc: Elizabeth Snow <pearson.piano at yahoo.com>
Subject: [MSCW list] 1997 M series engine replacement

<<<<<  www.MSCW.com  Mazda Sportscar Club of Washington (DC), Inc.  >>>>>
**********************************
Dear everyone 

In 2012 I bought a Miata from Sam Powell, my boss at the time. Some of you may remember him. Sam did most maintenance himself. To make a long story short I took it regularly to the shop he recommended, but the mechanic who'd worked on it for years handed the car down to a younger mechanic. I started to see his work was so so at best, consistently. Forgetting to hook up emergency brakes, only doing half the requested work, tightening screws too tight so parts break and leak oil kind of stuff. About a year and a half ago he said he'd tightened the timing belt that Sam had put in. Within a year the car was running heavy and giving me the random misfire code. I took it to him and he drove it, cleared the code and said it ran better than ever, there's no problem. 
It was my daily driver, so I bought another car. Took the Miata to a different place for timing belt, and their guy found the problem: bent crank shaft.  Maybe resulted from tightening the timing belt, maybe not.  Probably at least effected by the added tension. 
I love this car, and want to replace the engine. I'd like to do it myself. I'm a piano rebuilder and technician for a living. My hobbies are dry laid stonemasonry, and traditional building trades (hand hewn log houses, post and beam, etc.) so I'm used to working with my hands at difficult, slow moving, sometimes frustrating things that have a high reward factor at the end. I do some car maintenance myself, but am a far cry from even a hobbyist mechanic. 

Please send sob stories, cautionary tales, advice, and warnings. 

Thank you in advance 
Elizabeth 
Montgomery county MD 
___________________________________________________________
MSCW    Mailing list MSCW at lists.mscw1.com
Unsubscribe or change your mailing list settings:
https://lists.mscw1.com/mailman/listinfo/mscw

--

 .