Miata Service

Buckie Gets A Ride


 
It was sunny out, so I took the Miata out for a last drive because it won’t get used for more than a month, but once again it was way too cold to put the top down. It was just a short hop, Marine Drive to Troutdale, then a mile or so of US30 before heading home via Stark and Halsey. But those last few miles the clutch did not feel right. It was engaging deeper into the pedal throw, and it became hard to get in gear. I was going to stop for my daily latte at Stomping Grounds but headed home instead. Good thing. I was hoping to get the Miata into the carport area, but first I needed to move the GTI out. When I cleared that spot, I couldn’t get the Miata in any gear at all; it was not moving from its spot.

My only option at this point was that I needed to tow Buckie to the dealer. I think if I could have gotten it into the carport area, I could have possibly tried to troubleshoot and repair it later. This was not an option, as there was no way to get the car up the slope of the driveway to there. The clutch itself has got to be fine because it was brand new from back in June when Tonkin Mazda got rid of the infamous clutch judder problem. Most likely it is one of the hydraulic cylinders that operate the clutch.

The service rep said they may get to it on Monday, but maybe not until Tuesday. On Tuesday I board a plane for Albuquerque, but there is no issue; they’ll take care of the issue and just keep it on their lot until I get back.

Be careful what you wish for; this car has turned into a money pit. I wonder if I kept the 2024 blue one, would David in Klamath Falls have swapped my old 2002 CTBNL for the 2024…

Thanks Dani

On Tuesday I got a text from Dani at the local Mazda dealer; it was a reminder that the last time I had a service was in July. I texted back that I could come in Wednesday or Thursday early. Her reply asked if tomorrow (Wednesday) at 7:00AM would work. I texted back, “Great, see you then.”

I set an alarm for 5:30 so I could shower and have breakfast first. I timed my arrival pretty well; I was only 4 minutes shy of the hour of seven. When I walked up to the door and pulled, it was locked. That’s when I looked down and noticed the vinyl lettering saying that they opened at 7:30. There was someone inside, and he came over and let me in.

Me, “I have an appointment.”
He, “We don’t start until 7:30.”
Me, “Someone named Dani texted me, and she gave a 7:00 time.”
He, “Aaaah…our AI agent that helps with customer contact.”
Me, “Well…I’m here.”
He, “I won’t have any techs available until 7:30.”
Me, “Thanks Dani.”

I’ll Rip Your Face Off

To change out the headlight, the correct way to get the bad one out is to start by removing the front bumper! I looked, and there were a couple videos showing how easy it is to remove the bumper. Had to watch both, because the first one I watched missed things that needed to be removed to make it happen. And if I had watched the second video first, I still would have had to watch the other one because it too missed fasteners that needed removing.

I removed both the good and bad headlights because I’m going to use a CERAKOTE® Ceramic Headlight Restoration Kit on both so that they match. Then again, if the eBay one matches up real well with the good ten thousand mile one, I’ll just return the Kit.

Nothing Is Easy With You

Nothing’s Easy With You

Yesterday Buckey got a set of air horns from Moss Motors installed. Today I thought to myself, why didn’t I try them out? So this morning I went out and hit the horn…nothing. Crap! What did I do wrong? The first thing to check is, power? I unplug the hot lead and hook it back up to the regular horn, beep, beep.

Next is to check the ground wire, and as soon as I touch it, the wire drops off. I try to press it back on the terminal, and it just barely engages. I dismount the compressor, and the ground terminal has been pushed up into the body partway. No wonder the wire came off so easily. The connection is so tenuous it would come off after a mile on a bumpy road.

So, I pull everything off, and I put it in the box it came in so I can return the air horns. I might just get a refund, I very rarely use the horn anyway.

While getting the air compressor off the car, I notice a broken piece of plastic. Uh-oh, that is the headlight mounting bracket. And look, the headlight itself is pushed back 1/4 inch. Damn turkey! I turn on the headlights, and the high and low beams come on, but not the turn signal/running light. Can’t go out at night, it is the driver’s side light, and it might be blinding to oncoming cars. These headlights aren’t cheap. For grins I check the price of a new unit from Mazda. Yikes, $669! Off to eBay I go, and for $180 it’ll be here next week.

Bucky Update

I’ve addressed those maintenance issues I mentioned last week. I greased the turn signal & wiper stalks, and they are quieter now. The turn signal one may need a bit more grease, as it isn’t as silent as the wiper one, but that’s for another day. The driver’s door power mirror not working was because the wire connection from mirror to door was not hooked up.

I took Bucky down to the folks at PDX Wraps to pick out the color that I wanted the stripe to be. We hashed out the color and location, so now when I’m done at the DMV next Thursday, I can just drop it off and Uber home. Reverse that on Friday afternoon and drive it home.

While we were on the driver’s side of the car, he noticed what looked like a light scratch. Upon closer inspection it appears to be a line of excess paint drips. The Carfax showed no accidents, but I am beginning to think, with this excess paint and unconnected mirror wires, that it was in a fender bender of some sort and it was fixed off the books. Not a big deal, but still every time I turn around there is another surprise with this car.

Excess Paint?


 
Speaking of surprises, when I went to restart the car at PDX Wraps, it was hard to start. It was a hot day, so that could be the issue, but it wasn’t that hot. So now what? It could be the 25-year-old fuel pump, regulator, or fuel injectors, or a couple, three of them. This car has really become a money pit, and I’m starting to reconsider the plan to keep Bucky and sell the new Miata plan.

Bucky’s Back Baby

Bucky’s Back Baby


 
He has been over at the Mazda dealer having his clutch made all new. He was gone for 3 weeks and a week and a half of that was waiting on the machine shop to resurface the flywheel. Besides the clutch work they fixed a couple issues that FTW tuning missed when they had the car refurbishing all the fluids and rubber belts. First up was they missed the clutch fluid, they also missed a small rodent’s nest underneath the plastic cover where the windshield wipers hide. They didn’t change spark plugs, I didn’t think of it to ask, and had I done that they may have found that the wiring harness that plugs into the coil packs had broken tabs that might have allowed them back out due to vibration. I had them change out the two short spark plug wires that bridge from the 2 coil packs that sit on one plug to go to the other plugs. Lastly, I had them re-chase the threads in one of the passenger seat’s mounting rail that was stripped out. I only found this out when I pulled the seats to get under the carpet to really clean the interior.

I have a couple of maintenance items that I need to address. The turn signal and wiper stalks are creaky sounding in use, so I’ve ordered so dielectric grease to make them smooth and quiet again. The other I haven’t dug into yet, but the driver’s side rearview mirror doesn’t move with the switch. Might be something spontaneously unplugged itself or the mirror internals are broke. Something for me to look at this weekend when the weather gets back into the 80s.

I’ve one more modification I want to put on the car, side stripes in a color that closely approximates the bronze wheels. I have an appointment with the DMV on the 7th of August and PDX Wraps is practically next door, so maybe when I’m done trying to get the car titled and registered I can drop it off for some stripes.

Miatas Servicing

Yesterday afternoon I drove the Blue Miata over to Tonkin Mazda to get its 15k mile service. Because I got an oil change just before I left my Service Advisor was a little surprised that I was back with such a high mileage figure. 🙂

Today it was the Black Miata’s turn. This service is going to take a bit longer than yesterday’s 2 hour time frame. It’s getting a new clutch disc – Bucky Earns His Name