Hi, Gear Noise ?

[andyling]

Hi all

I just got a mx5 today, it has bit of "gear noise", specially when I lift from the throttle and keeping it in the 2nd gear.Could it be the LSD noise, but i don't know whether it has a LSD. Or could it be the Pully noise? Any ideas? Then engine runs awsome, it has low kms.

Also:
When is cold, foot down, My oil pressure does not go all the way to 6, only goes to 5.5-5.8. When hot, foot down, only goes to 4.5-5. Is this normal?

And lastly, Any good ideas to clean the rear plastic window?


Cheers

Andy.

[Nearly too late]

Can't help with the noise without hearing it, but I don't think you have a problem with your oil pressure.
I have a 1990 1600 it runs about 5.6 to 5.7 at 3000rpm cold and 3.8 to 4.0 hot at 3000rpm, idle hot its about 2.8, 2.9, have had no problems yet.

[andyling]

Can't help with the noise without hearing it, but I don't think you have a problem with your oil pressure.
I have a 1990 1600 it runs about 5.6 to 5.7 at 3000rpm cold and 3.8 to 4.0 hot at 3000rpm, idle hot its about 2.8, 2.9, have had no problems yet.

Thank you, Yeh, I think it's all good, my hot Idle pressure is only slightly less than yours. And I can't see any smokes or leaks.

[WideOpenThrottle]

If you raise the back wheels & you rotate one wheel if the other wheel turns in the same direction chances are it could be an LSD.
Gear noise? obviously check all oils & put in LSD oil to diff if its one.
Sometimes the gear boot & rubber gaiter around the gear stick have perished as well as the wooly insulation if gone will add & or create unwanted noise.
Mine one is noisy in gear going downhill with the foot off the gas,its done 270thou k or more - i have yet to check the box[its out on the bench awaiting further inspection].

[Habanero666]

And lastly, Any good ideas to clean the rear plastic window?

Cheers

Andy.

Yes, I have some products to do that. Please PM me.

[Mark]

If you raise the back wheels & you rotate one wheel if the other wheel turns in the same direction chances are it could be an LSD.

Does that apply for viscous LSD in early Na models, but not to torsen type?
One early Na I looked at up on a hoist, if you turned one wheel (RH side IIRC) the LH side turned the same direction, but if you turned the left side wheel, the other didn't turn at all. That made my brain hurt.
With a torsen, I think it would seem just like an open diff checking that way - with opposite wheel turning the other way - but I'll admit I've never tried it to see.

[poison]

I'd also put a vote in for the gear box seal/gater. I did mine on my NA and
it made a huge difference. One symptom of this can be a warm gear box gaiter
when driving for a while. I also just replaced my friends one on a 99, so
anything older than 10 years has bound to have worn out. You can buy them
for a $100, easy job, takes about 20 mins or an hour if you shouldn't be
using tools unsupervised.


http://mx5mart.co.nz/db.cgi?db=mart&uid ... records2=1

1) Unscrew the gear knob
2) Remove console screws, there are 5 I think, two at the front sides, two
inside the console, and one under the ashtray. It then lifts straight up
(with some fiddling if you have a boot release handle).
3) Remove the 4 gaiter bolts, and pull up gaiter.
4) Remove 4 small gaiter bolts around base of gear stick. Put bolts in a
safe place, do not drop them or anything else into the gear box.
5) Lift out gear stick.
6) Clean out as much dirt as you can from the hole. On the NB this goes
directly into the gearbox so be careful.
7) On gear shift, clean the ball and cut off old gaiter.
The new gator will seem impossible to slide over the gear stick but with
a little lubricating it will.
9) On the NA put some gear oil into the hole, to lubricate the ball, on the
NB you don't need to.
10) Refit them all from 5 -> 1.

[poison]

Without looking inside the diff or pulling a wheely with one wheel on the
grass it's almost impossible to determine if it's a torsen. Of course if
it's a BRG you won't be able to pull a wheely even on the grass

This question has been asked on many forums (I asked ages ago), I tried the
same thing, in the end I pulled the oil filler and looked inside with a
torch, you should be able to see the gears.

http://www.miata.net/garage/vlsd.html

[dynofiend]

Hi all

I just got a mx5 today, it has bit of "gear noise", specially when I lift from the throttle and keeping it in the 2nd gear.Could it be the LSD noise, but i don't know whether it has a LSD. Or could it be the Pully noise? Any ideas? Then engine runs awsome, it has low kms.

Also:
When is cold, foot down, My oil pressure does not go all the way to 6, only goes to 5.5-5.8. When hot, foot down, only goes to 4.5-5. Is this normal?

And lastly, Any good ideas to clean the rear plastic window?


Cheers

Andy.

I wouldnt worry too much about the oil pressure. As long as it has some youre ok.

The gear noise is quite noticable in these cars compared to normal cars. Reason being that your basicly sat right next to the gearbox. On a normal car the box is tucked under the bonnet and isolated from the cabin nicely. Again its nothing to worry unduely about. If you are thinking of replacing the gearlever gaitor, just visually inspect it first, it may not need replacing at all.

On the LSD note, its unlikely the car has an LSD, the majority dont.

The way I look at it, if you are driving the car in such a way that you dont know whether it has an LSD or not, you dont need one anyway

[andyling]

Guys, I just Noticed My car OIL CHECK LIGHT DOESN'T COME ON WHEN I TURN THE KEY, AND STILL DOESN'T COME ON AFTER I START THE ENGINE.

then I checked the oil stick. IT GOT NOTHING IN IT, WTF..

So the Noise is very likely the ENGINE BEARING NOISE.

there are some leaks at the very bottom of the engine, Dam, I hope the engine is not totally fxxked.


THE THING IS why the OIL CHECK LIGHT DOESN'T COME ON AT ALL?

And WHY AM I still getting GOOD Oil PRESSURE?

[sprsta]

dude there is no oil light the guage is all you have go go from

dont worry too much your engine is pretty sterdy

[Mark]

then I checked the oil stick. IT GOT NOTHING IN IT, WTF..
...

And WHY AM I still getting GOOD Oil PRESSURE?

So long as there's enough oil in the sump/pan that the oil pickup is immersed, then you'll get oil pressure, and won't damage the engine from running it dry. But when it's that low, disaster isn't far away, plus you're running the engine on perhaps 1/2 the quantity of oil it's supposed to have in the system, so it's going to get dirtier and hotter than a full level.

Check and top up regularly.

Leaks can be a real problem to find. A small trickle can run down, blow back or blow forward and drip a long way from where it's leaking, so just because you see it around the bottom of the engine, don't assume it started there. Start from the top and work down. That said, I've got a car (not MX5) leaking heaps of oil, and by a process of elimination I'm sure it's not any of the usual culprits, cam cover, front or rear engine seals, oil pressure sender, filter, sump gasket, or blocked PCV valve. It is driving me crazy.

[Mark]

9) On the NA put some gear oil into the hole, to lubricate the ball, on the
NB you don't need to.

Should that be on the 6 speed NB (rather than all NBs) you don't need to?

[andyling]

dude there is no oil light the guage is all you have go go from

dont worry too much your engine is pretty sterdy

Dude, you saved me from not getting much sleep tonight.

[andyling]

then I checked the oil stick. IT GOT NOTHING IN IT, WTF..
...

And WHY AM I still getting GOOD Oil PRESSURE?

So long as there's enough oil in the sump/pan that the oil pickup is immersed, then you'll get oil pressure, and won't damage the engine from running it dry. But when it's that low, disaster isn't far away, plus you're running the engine on perhaps 1/2 the quantity of oil it's supposed to have in the system, so it's going to get dirtier and hotter than a full level.

Check and top up regularly.

Leaks can be a real problem to find. A small trickle can run down, blow back or blow forward and drip a long way from where it's leaking, so just because you see it around the bottom of the engine, don't assume it started there. Start from the top and work down. That said, I've got a car (not MX5) leaking heaps of oil, and by a process of elimination I'm sure it's not any of the usual culprits, cam cover, front or rear engine seals, oil pressure sender, filter, sump gasket, or blocked PCV valve. It is driving me crazy.

Thanks Mark.

I will do the oil and filter change tomorrow, and then Check the oil level daily. If I notice I need to top up every few days then I will get it fixed professionally.

And I hope the Noise will dispear after the oil change.

[poison]

Mark, yes you are right, you don't have to worry about oil for the 6 speed.

Also I forgot, before you life the console out you need to disconnect the
electric window switch.... oops

[brownie]

Gear boxes do get a bit noisy in the bearings after a few years ,No one bothers to change it every couple of year and if the cars got a bit of mileage bearings wear due to the oils viscosity getting thin and dirty ,Mine is noisy with 180kms on the clock,Keep the top down and you won't hear it ,
I did change the gearbox oil though last year but haven't driven it with the top down to see if it is any quieter ,Feels smother when the oils up to temp.

[WideOpenThrottle]

Low power steering fluid can create noise as well as dated cam belts because when they get old & stretched can flap quite a bit!

[Habanero666]

when they get old & stretched can flap quite a bit!

[andyling]

Hi, Changed the oil, The engine doesn't actually leak much, nothing leaked to the floor over night.

BUT, IT SMOKES BAD WHEN I START it in the morning. during the day is ok.

Blue smoke, Oil, this explains why it was running low, ( when running very very low, the engine doesn't smoke)

SO, what should I do guys?

Would the "engine stop smoking " product work?

The thing is mechanical may need take the whole engine apart before they know what's going on.

[Mark]

Hi, Changed the oil, The engine doesn't actually leak much, nothing leaked to the floor over night.

BUT, IT SMOKES BAD WHEN I START it in the morning. during the day is ok.

Blue smoke, Oil, this explains why it was running low, ( when running very very low, the engine doesn't smoke)

SO, what should I do guys?

Would the "engine stop smoking " product work?

The thing is mechanical may need take the whole engine apart before they know what's going on.

If it's a little bit of blue smoke on startup, and a high mileage car, don't worry about it too much. Top up the oil as needed.
Valve stem seals probably need replacing - you need to pull the head off to do the job, so at that time, there's probably other things that need to be done, and if totalled up it might be better/cheaper just to buy a good used engine and fit it. But that might not be something you need to do tomorrow.
If you coast down a hill in gear, then accelerate, it will probably also blow a puff of blue (oil) smoke.
If it's smoking really badly, then it shouldn't have passed the WOF check that the new owner got before he sold it to you - he did do that - right?
I don't believe in special additives for oil.
Unless you have a reason to want to get it running perfectly, then just enjoy it until that wear related maintenence is really needed. It might be in 10,000km, maybe 50,000km.
You could take it to a trusted mechanic, and get some checks/advice, but unless it's showing other problems (overheating, water in the oil, oil in the coolant, running badly) then I'd suggest not to spend too much money - save it for doing the whole thing properly in the future.

[Habanero666]

( when running very very low, the engine doesn't smoke)

This is not a very good situation for cylinder head lubrication

[andyling]

Hey, Mark

Thank you very much, And Yes, My mate said exactly the same thing you just told me. It's the Valve Stem Seal, He says It's alright if I keep checking the engine oil level.

The Engine doesn't smoke at all when it's running, 2ND GEAR 7500 RPM, NO SMOKES.

The strange thing is this car only done 125,000 kms, well it's 20 years old of course..

I may buy a blown engine and learn to rebuild it myself, If I decidd to keep this car for long.

I assume 1.8 would also fit the 1.6 car?

Any other engines can fit? Rx7 12B LOL.

[Paul Murray]

My mx5 has had gearbox noise for the last 80k and also blue smoke on start up for quite sometime. Has 275k on the clock, pulls strong. Is regularly serviced at 6 monthly intervals and does 250-300km per week. I have no intention of doing anything to fix the problems until one or the other stops the car functioning. These cars are strongly built.

[Habanero666]

One thing I do know with these neglected engines, they stink to follow behind when you have the soft top down or the air vents on non recirculate , and also smoke like five bast*rds under average deceleration.

Please don't pollute our clean NZ air There are others on the road with convertables!