It's only a problem if you really want to solve it

I have a 1993 Miata with 153000 miles on it. I am hearing a radialing noise coming from the engine just after a take my foot of the gas. I thinking it might be the exhaust system(headers too).?

Jonahan, Haerstown, MD, USA

And it hurts when you do this as well, right? It could be the exhaust system. It could be a catalyst heat shield It could be a damaged catalyst monolith. It could be a loose underbody component. I can, however, with some certainty say it's probably time to take the car to somebody - a trustworthy mechanic, perhaps - who can actually hear the noise.

bwob

Preventative maintenance: a cam belt change at 25,000 miles

Bob, I have a 2000 base model in excellent condition. Please tell me what really needs to be done at the 15000 service interval. I read the dealers check list and they want a lot of money 250.00+ to just change the oil and rotate the tires. What should I do?

Phil, Bronx New York

The best thing to do is to refer to the service/warranty booklet which came with the car and no extra charge. It will outline all the needed maintenance at given service intervals. If your car hasn't got one (usually it's with that other never-read tome, the owner's manual) a call to Mazda's customer service people in Irvine will help clear things up.

Armed with it, when you take your care in for service, you can let the service advisor know you're happier with him working as an advisor (and being subservient to you by following factory recommendations) than attempting a career in sales.

The 'dealer's' checklists in service departments will have far more benefit to the dealership's bottom line than to your car's longevity. If the dealer balks, take it elsewhere.

bwob

There's a reason it's called the AFTERmarket (Part 18)

Does the Weapon-R hyper intake system need any modifications to be used with a '91 Miata? Is the air flow meter eliminated or does it come with the parts needed to accommodate it.

Robert Stolting, Fernley, NV, USA

Damned if I know, but then the only airflow meter I was involved with - and only peripherally as a component - was the one installed at the factory.

I know this is a really, really stupid idea, but have you considered contacting the people at Weapon R? As obtuse as this may seem I've found that the best way to learn about aftermarket parts is to contact the manufacturer in the aftermarket.

bwob

Bwob's shortest answer yet

Do you have any ideal when M3 is coming out and what will it look like? I just want to say that Miata is definitely best car, I have ever owned.
Thanks.

Tom Lin, Union, NJ USA

Yup.

bwob

Non-readers corner

How long does a timing belt last in a 95' under normal driving condition?
It has 71000 mile on it now. Do you think I should stop driving it?
Where is the fuel filter located at?

Benny, Wichita/KS/USA

How long do people live? The situation with the belt is somewhat similar, if only because of the number of variables involved.

The factory recommends the belt be changed at 60,000 miles for all Miatas - even 1995s - except California cars. This has nothing to do with the belt, but is a reflection of California emission regulations which state that key engine components must function through the emissions warranty period without replacement. The rule does not allow the manufacturer to recommend these parts be serviced before the end of the 100,000 mile term, although a customer can have the belt changed before this handcuff Mazda is forced to wear. The belt is, in fact, the same one used on any other Miata. When I lived in California the cam belt on my car was changed at 60,000 miles come Hell or high water.

Since you live in Kansas, Mazda says your belt should be changed at 60,000 miles. As a course of action, since the car has more than 60,000 miles, the cam belt should be replaced. That's pretty straightforward and not really in need of much interpretation. (I am presupposing that in Kansas 71,000 is greater than 60,000, just like the other 49 American states and you people aren't the victims of some sort of 21st century version of 'New Math'.)

The fuel filler is, of course, at the end of the neck of the fuel tank filler pipe. Strictly speaking if you are unable to find the fuel filler, your cam belt situation will become utterly immaterial within, say, 300 to 380 miles. That's assuming your tank is full. If it isn't, the belt problem will 'go away' sooner than that. Until the tank is refilled, that is.

In the future, you might want to consult the little used owners manual and service booklets placed in the glovebox of every Miata at the factory. What people don't realize about the Miata is that the car is actually supplied free of charge with these booklets. What people think is the purchase price of the car is is merely for the booklets, making them the most expensive softbound publications in the World, costing many thousands of dollars when new. Perhaps some clever owners have learned the true value of these tomes and remove them for their own collections of rare editions when they sell their Miatas as used cars.

bwob

[Editor's note: After a few people picked up Bwob's little faux-pas, he sent us the following:]

Well, for those who haven't spotted it, the non-reader was me. Despite a vacation, I guess in my unending quest for Truth, Justice and a hearty dash of cynicism, my brain didn't synch with my fingers on the keyboard. My apologies to Benny in Wichita (they've already gone out in direct e-mail form) and to any and all Miata.netheads who may have taken offense at my bullheadedness. And as has been pointed out to me by people who change their own fuel filters on Miatas, it lives under the car, just ahead of the rear axle in a little recess held on with philips head screws.

bwob

Non-writers corner

I need to sale my 1999 Miata
leather loaded,7350 miles
Excellent conditon
i would to get $1700.00
could you give me any advice RICHARD

Richard, Kalamazoo Mi

Well, the only advice I could give is that I think you may have forgotten a zero in there someplace. And not as a one-to-one swap for the seven or the one.

bwob

So no Mazda is preferable, eh?

How long do you think it will take for Ford to ruin Mazdas Image and product line if they haven't already ? I currently own two Mazda products a 96 Miata and a 98 - 626. I am seriously skeptical about making any further
Mazda purchases due to the Ford factor.

kgoedicke, keene NH

About 314 years. Give-or-take a month. However if the next-generation Miata is fitted with Firestone Wilderness AT tires, it'll happen in 296 years, three months and eight days. Precisely.

Of course with no 'Ford Factor' and relying solely on Mazda's corporate wits, you wouldn't have had to worry about this, as there never would have been a 1996 Miata, let alone a 1998 626.

bwob

Old for New?

I have a 1992 FMII that I love. There's nothing I don't like about it, including it's 1.6L engine. However, I do prefer the aesthetics of the 2001+ Miatas, yet detest the limits the new engine and its controls present to turbocharging. So, if you haven't figured it out yet, I'm curious as to the potential difficulty of swapping a 1.6L into a NB chassis. Call me crazy, if you'd like, but we all have our preferences. :)

Eddie Versace, Philadelphia, PA USA

Physically easy, as there has been a 1.6 in the NB from the start of production for a number of markets. The 'new' 1.6 is not the same B6 seen in 1989 - 1993 Miatas, although the engine mounts are close enough that the can be used with minimal alterations.
The 'new' 1.6 has almost no aftermarket support, since it was a alteration of an engine used in some of Mazda's more prosaic hatchbacks and has never been sold in North America from where a large percentage of the Miata's aftermarket support emanates. Despite having the same displacement and bore spacing as a B6, the engine is almost totally different to the original 1.6. B6 headers cannot even be used, since the exhaust port spacing is different with the new engine.

Though introduced in Japan with the NB, even Mazdaspeed and other Japanese tuners tended to avoid the engine, since the people in Japan who were predisposed to tuning the car went for the 1.8. As a result, retrofitting an original 1989-1993 BP in 1.6 NBs (as well as the 1.6 NA6Bs sold in some European and Southeast Asian markets from mid 1994) is not unheard of.

The only potential concern might be the emissions situation in your part of the world. For example, in California and here in Australia, engine swaps are perfectly legal, but the requirement for emissions compliance is based on the newer vintage of engine or body. So a 2002 NB8B with the 1.6 from a 1992 NA6A would have to meet the emission regulations for a 2002 model year car, despite the older engine. Conversely, if somebody wanted to put a variable valve timing BP in a 1990 NA6A, the owner would have to ensure the car complied with 2001 emissions.

bwob

Only average and now at no additional charge!

Common sense seems to elude a lot of people who own cars.If there is something wrong with your car and you don't know how to fix it, take it to an expert.Yes a mechanic needs to see and drive your car to diagnose the problem correctly.Yes it costs money to fix cars.Most shops will give you a free estimate.At the very least you could stop guessing what the cause of the problem is. Drive time is priceless and money is forgotten over time.

My question is:Why have we done away with survival of the fittest?

Matt Robertson, West Bend,WI USA

Matt, may I commend you on the preface to your question. All I can add - and it brings no additional value to your already well-chosen words - is that without these folks "Ask Bob!" wouldn't be as entertaining. Well, to me at least.

To answer your question, I don't think it's been eliminated as much as watered down by a universal quest towards mediocrity. I suspect lawyers are to blame, perhaps in collusion with MBAs. As for the 'why', well I can only surmise that some people don't seem to cotton to the idea that others might know more than they do. As for me, I'm comfortable with (and well accustomed to) the idea that there are more people in the world who know more than me than those who don't. And the funny thing is I'm not bothered a bit by that.

I'm obviously not MBA or barrister material.

bwob

Where's the Dipstick? (We shall refrain from replying 'Behind the wheel')

I just bought a 99 auto transmission & some type of oily fluid is leaking all over the garage floor. I cannot find where to measure auto transmission fluid?

Dwight Doolan, NYC,NY

The transmission dipstick's location is revealed in the owner's manual. That's normally found in the glove compartment. Which is in the passenger compartment, on the right-hand side of the instrument panel for a US spec car. Easy access to the passenger compartment is available through the doors, though being a convertible if the top's down you can play the part of Mr. Cool and just hop in over the door. But only if the window's down, that is.

bwob