DanM

Finishing the bottom end yesterday really gave me a boost, so I pushed on with the top end assemble this evening. I set myself the goal of installing the head, water pump, and camshaft cranks. Reaching into my shelf of parts I found the gates water pump that I bought from Treasure Coast Miata last year. It didn't come with new hardware so I dove into my box of refurbed bolts and pulled out the water pump bag. All the hard work I put in last summer stripping, de-rusting and painting parts is really starting to pay off and I feel like I'm using new(ish) parts. Assembly is becoming a real joy! Next is the head gasket and the head. The head gasket came as part of my full gasket and seal set, but the head bolts were original. Looking in the Miata service manual it says you can re-use them so I gave them an inspection, oiled them up and cracked on. Initially the install went well, the gasket looked good, the head positioned well and the bolts slid in like butter.... As normal, I began to torque the bolts down in 2 or 3 stages. As I started the 2nd round something didn't quite feel right. As I was approaching the mid torque setting the wrench slipped and the bolt head started to round......sh*t! Having already stretched or snapped bolts, and experienced the pain of having to get them out, I decided to back off completely. I really don't want to mess things up this late in the game after all the time and money I have put in. I decided to order a new set of bolts and will patiently wait to do it properly. Not to be deterred, I continued with the plan and opened up my coolant re-route kit from Supermiata to find the thermostat neck block off plate. The kit comes with everything you need including gasket sealant so I smeared a generous amount over the block off plate and installed it on the head. Followed by the timing belt sealing plate (de-rusted with a fresh coat of pain and new seal) ...and finally the camshaft cranks went on. I'm really happy with the progress today, even with the head bolt scare. Tomorrow I will install the idler and tensioner pulleys and maybe the water pump pulley and then take a pause to do a bit more research and spend some time with the family over the weekend. I'm getting close to installing the crank pulley bolt and woodruff key, the part I've been dreading. I want to triple check everything so I don't fall foul of the short nose crank issue!

I finally got around to finishing the bottom end of the engine today. This involved installing the new rear crank seal, the windage tray, oil pump pick up with new gasket and finally the oil pan. I had a bit of a discussion on tech talk about whether or not to install an aftermarket oil pan baffle and ultimately decided against it. Thanks to everyone who gave their thoughts and feedback. New rear crank seal. Windage tray and oil pump pick up Now for the oil pan. Can you guess which side I did first? 🤣 Sparkly clean... All buttoned up and torqued to spec.

@MV8 Yes, it does, but some are installing a larger one like this, especially if they shorten the sump. https://supermiata.com/oil-pan-baffle-miata.aspx I have no plans to shorten the sump at this time, so was curious if I would get any benefit.

I'm in the process of assembling my NA MX5 1.6 and wondering if I should install an oil pan baffle. The car is going to be primarily autocross and street. Will I benefit from having one, considering the usage? Now is the time to do it while the engine is apart. Thanks Dan

They were the originals from my donor. I am now trying to source a full set incase the others are now weak.

Thanks @MV8. I used Inch/Ibs with my small Husky torque wrench, but it just kept spinning. I think there may have been some wet gasket material on the thread and it just wouldn't bite.

Oil Pump time! It was a beautiful day here in Ottawa. After a nice bike ride and a couple of hours on the patio I decided to do a little more on the engine. Time to unpack and install the Boundary oil pump. Cleaning the surfaces After installing a new crank seal I applied some Permatex "Right Stuff" gasket maker to the back and slid it straight in to place. After finding my box of refurbed bolts, I located the "Oil pump" bag and installed the bolts...... ...well almost. For some reason one of the bolts wouldn't torque down and just stretched! I'll have to pick up another one this week.

With the crankshaft in place and a few hours to spare, this afternoon I installed the pistons into the cylinders. Here are the steps I went through for each of the pistons... Step 1 - Clean, Clean, Clean - Pistons, journals, rings, bearings and cylinders Step 2 - install the piston rings on to the pistons Step 3 - Install the bearings on to the rods and caps Step 4 - Assembly lube on bearings and journals Step 5 - Install Pistons Step 6 - Install Caps and torque nuts Step 7 - Breathe ... Cleaned and ready for assembly. I oiled each of the rings before installing them on the piston. Lube, Lube, Lube Ring compressor attached (Very awkward thing!!) and in position over the cylinder Tap, Tap, Tap... Et Voila!! 3 more to go!! Nearly there... Finally I torques all the nuts down to spec.

I made concerted effort to install the crankshaft today. As always, I started out with by cleaning the parts with lacquer thinner again. They had already been cleaned a number of times, but I wanted to go over them one more time before starting assembly. First the block and end caps, followed by the crankshaft journals and new bearings. Then, the assembly could begin.... first the clean dry bearings into the end caps and block. This was followed by a generous coating of assembly lube on the new thrust bearings and all the mating surfaces. The crankshaft... Once everything was seated and positioned I inserted the end caps and slowly torqued down the bolts. I think I completed the torqueing in three increments.

Not much to report today. I managed to get out to the local auto parts store to get some new crush washers and then installed the 4 oil squirters. Also, started to clean the crank shaft, so it can go straight in with the new bearings. New King bearings ready to be cleaned and installed next.

More cleaning and prep today. I took some time with the lacquer thinner on each or the cylinders walls and then followed up with some Automatic Transmission Fluid. The ATF both cleaned the surface and left a residue of oil to stop flash rust again. Next was the oil squirters. I simply sprayed them thoroughly with brakes parts cleaner, scrubbed with a a wire brush and blew with compressed air. When the stores open tomorrow I'll pick up some brass crush washers (I only have aluminium) then begin the install.

Happy Canada Day to all Canadian Members! Today I'm making the most of the public holiday and turning my attention the the block. This morning I gave it a good pressure wash inside and out. I took it to the machinist a while back to have the cylinders bored out and just wanted to make sure its totally cleaned out before I start the reassembly. After the wash I spent a good chunk of time drying it off inside and out with the compressor and covered the cylinders with a light coating of oil to prevent flash rust. Finally its back on the stand ready for a good micro clean before assembly.

Continued with the cylinder head over the weekend, turning my focus to installing the camshafts. I gave the camshaft, caps and bolts a good clean with lacquer thinner and brake cleaner. Then gave the journals and lobes a good covering with assembly lube before installing them in the head and following the shop manual instructions for torqueing them down. Once they were both in and torqued, I opened my full engine gasket and seal kit from Treasure Coast Miata and installed the front camshaft seals.

Thanks for everyone's kind suggestions and personal messages. A quick update on the situation.... I decided to take out all the lifters and start again with the cleaning and oiling and thankfully they all fitted back in the head. Good news for me and means I can continue to rebuild the engine....a useful distraction while I await more news on the Westfield administration front and my remaining parts/snagging list. 🤞

Thanks John, I will check it out. I will have another look at it tonight and hope that it was human error on my part!

There was no crank wobble and when I disassembled it, the key way was in great condition. I bought a new key, pulley, bolt, etc. and will take care when I reassemble.

Help, wisdom, advice and suggestions needed!!! While finishing the last 8 lifters I noticed that some of them are still "Springy" once pressurized and one of them must have been damaged during storing and will not fit back in. What to do? Lifters can be pretty expensive. I live in the real world with a limited budget and I am already way beyond what any sane person would invest into a 1.6 short nose MX-5 engine considering it's inherent limitations. My options: OEM "equivalent" lifters? Mazda OEM lifters? or Aftermarket performance lifters? Anyone with experience with OEM equivalent? Would I get away with cheaper lifters in the short term and then replace lifters and old cams when/if I decide to turbo? Or should I save and get new lifters and cams together? The down side to waiting and saving would mean that my build stops as I am still waiting for Westfield to resolve my outstanding issues. Million dollar question: What would you do, if it was your build and your cash?

Awesome! Thanks for the heads up, 5W 30 is what I’m using!

Next on my list is to clean out the Hydraulic Lash Adjusters (HLAs). To remove the plunger I used some long nose vice grips with some electrical tape on the end to protect them. Then I carefully separated and washed each of the parts with brake cleaner before wiping out the crud. Then gave each part a good blow out with compressed air before reassembling and priming with oil. I managed to finish 8 tonight and will hopefully finish the remainder tomorrow.

It’s petty amazing how they keep it together in those conditions!

Not much time in the garage this weekend, instead I drove a couple of hours to Montreal with a friend to watch the Canadian Grand Prix qualifiers. I'm not an F1 fan, but when the event is so close to home it would be rude not to show up. The weather was terrible, but a good time was had, both at the track and in downtown Montreal in the evening. Got home early this afternoon and spent the rest of fathers day finishing the intake valves.

No, he did not. He cut the seats and tested them for fitment.

At this point its mainly a vanilla 1.6 build with some minor enhancements. Here are some examples: Super Tech Springs Boundary - billet oil pump Gates - water pump Coolant re-route Weisco Pistons (20 thou over - I had a ridges in the cylinders) Head skim 10 thou (To bring surface back into spec.) Valve Seats re-cut to spec Mega squirt ECU

Hey Graham, good point, no I didn’t. I asked my machinist to do that, but perhaps I should take a look before I put the intake valves in.

Cylinder Head Assembly Finally made a start on the cylinder head assembly this week. Earlier in the spring I took the head to my machinist to have it inspected. With 234000 on the clock it was slightly out of spec so I had the head surface skimmed by 10 thou and the valve seats re-cut for new valve kit that I purchased. Nice clean head. Before starting the assembly I decided to re tap the bolt holes in the head to ensure that that any gunk inside the threads was removed. Then after giving the head another good clean I started to install my nice shiny new parts. I replaced all the old valves and springs with a completely new set up from Supertech. Valves and springs Seats, Retainers and keepers The new valve stem seals were genuine Mazda parts. With everything in order I set up a little assembly line on my work bench to clean, lube and install the parts. Valves and seals first Then seats, springs and retainers. I made my own tool to compress the springs out of a clamp and a socket. Worked very well for installing the keepers. The first one took a while to do, as i've never done anything like this before. But once I got into a rhythm the rest came together nicely. That's all for tonight. Tomorrow I'll continue with the intake valves.