Crank(y)shaft Pulley Part 2: The Fix

I talked earlier about the crankshaft pulley problem that early Miata's have; the bolt holding the pulley gets loose, the key holding things steady bangs around deforming the crankshaft, the timing starts to get screwed up and the engine becomes worthless. My car was exhibiting some of the symptoms (wobbly pulley, low low-end power) but I didn't know for sure. Well in May at the start of the Miata season it was time to change the timing and accessory belts so while the front of the engine was taken apart I could have a look: bad news the key and crankshaft were badly damaged.

Here's the end of the crankshaft, the slot at the top where the key fits is about one and a half times wider than it's supposed to be from all the banging.

and here's the key that holds things in sync, notice the large extra groove that's not supposed to be there. It's been banged out too.

Looks bad. No hope. Engine is a gonner.

or is it?

I don't know who came up with this, me or my dad, but we decided to fashion a new key that would be wider at one end to fit snuggly into the wide groove on the crankshaft and line up the sprocket and pulley at the other end. Where we were doing the repair they had an assortment of keys from various vehicles, one from a Dodge Ram was wide enough to fit into the wide end of the crankshaft groove, then we had to machine it to fit the sprocket and pulley. There's me using a fine rotary grinder to thin out one end to fit into the sprocket groove.

Afterwards we banged everything together and it all fit tight. Put the car back together and it works. The timing between the crankshaft and valves matches so it has way more low end power. It's a completely different car, a real peppy sports car. You can powerslide all the time and darting through traffic is a cinch. The fix cost nothing because we got that key for free. So if you've got the same problem don't replace your engine, just machine a new key and it will be fine. Oh and the wobble: It appears the wobble is caused by the rubber damper at the back of the pulley breaking down with time. A new pulley should remedy the problem, I haven't gotten one yet (next season) and I'll let you know. So far it only wobbles when the engine bay is hot, indicating it's the rubber breaking down. I was totally stunned that this worked and saved me from getting a new engine. Next year I'll replace the bolt and pulley just to be sure and inspect to see if everything held during this season. Ingenuity eh?

From Yin to Yang: Starting up the Miata after Winter Hibernation

Well it's that time of year when the sun is out more and the temperature is heating up. It's time for top down driving. I started up the Miata for the first time after a six month hiatus. Last year when I did this it didn't go too smoothly: 1. I let the battery go totally dead so I needed a new one. 2. The oil had pretty much completely drained out of the engine and into the pan, so when I started the car in clanked clattered and stutered and probably caused some damage. This year I actually disconnected the battery so it wasn't drained at all and to prevent the horrible start up, I pulled the Fuel Injection Relay starving the engine of gas. Then I cranked the car running the engine on the starter only and gently circulating oil up into the engine. I could watch the oil pressure go up on the gauge, when it looked like it wasn't going any higher, I put the relay back and started the car on the first crank no problem. It ran a little rough at first but then smoothed right out and it didn't make any horrible clattering sounds. When I park the car this year I have to remember to add fuel stabiliser, I think that will help with the rough idle.

The insurance isn't on the car yet so I could only drive it a bit around the garage. It really is the yang to the Mercedes' yin. The 300 is serene, quiet, and isolates you from all the messy dirty parts, while the Miata is loud, rauchus and you can feel and hear every single dirty part spinning and whirring. It got my blood pumping just moving it from one spot to the other; what a car. Driving the Miata is a different kind of relaxed and both are great.

Fuel Economy?

I keep very close track of how much fuel my cars use. Needless to say the Mercedes uses more than the Miata. It hungers for fuel, craves it, thinks about it all the time, and not the cheap stuff, it wants the goods.Premium fuel is the only gas the Mercedes will accept, and it accepts a lot of it.
The Mercs gas tank is 70 litres which includes the reserve, the Miatas is half that and it takes the cheaper gas and it burns less how much less? Here's how it breaks down:


City Mileage:
Miata 9.8l/100km (24mpg)
Mercedes 14.1l/100km (17mpg)
Highway Mileage:
Miata 7.4l/100km (32mpg)
Mercedes 9.5l/100km (25mpg)
Combined Average:
Miata 8.7l/100km (27mpg)
Mercedes 13.7l/100km (17mpg)
Best Tank:
Miata 6.3l/100km (37mpg)
Mercedes 9.3l/100km (25mpg)
Worst Tank:
Miata 11.4l/100km (21mpg)
Mercedes 16.8l/100km (14mpg)

In six months of Miata ownership I spent $1162 on gas and travelled 11100km, that's 10 cents per kilometre. In six months of Mercedes ownership, I spent $1210 and drove 8693km, that's 14 cents per kilometer, 40% more. But the Merc is way more car than the Miata so it kind of works out. These numbers are also scewed because the Miata is used in the summer, and is driven for lot longer distances; average km per day was 531 (this number is heavily scewed by the 24hr mad drive to Vegas). The Mercedes averaged 47km daily. But gas has been much cheaper than last summer so if gas were to match last summer's pricing the Merc would be even more expensive to run. Still it's a Mercedes, it's not a toy and it doesn't fuck around.

Is that your car?

I don't dress well. My favorite outfit is my "Rip Zone" hoodie (I have no idea when or where I got it), a pair of Levi jeans from Zellers, and a pair of discount runners (dicounted because they were ugly and no body bought them). So basically I don't look like high society, nor do I earn high society money. This has lead to an interesting phenomenon; people don't beleive I own a Mercedes. Here are some examples: Shortly after buying the car I was washing it in my garage when a neighbour noted "Why are you washing your bosses car?". On a recent trip to Oregon, in the line up to cross the border into the USA a pair of border guards came up to the car and asked me a long series of questions all designed to determine if it was my car "Is this your car? When did you buy it? From who?". But the most common response I get from people is "Is that yours?" or "Did you win the Lotto?". Sometimes I tell them how much I paid for it, sometimes I don't. It's sad because I realize that most people beleive that they can't afford a Mercedes, when the truth is, almost anyone can.

Unflappable

Rich people are safer. At least they were in 1990. At $50,000 the 300E was no bargain back then but you were getting a lot of engineering for your money. ABS, Airbags (neither which work on this particular car), side impact beams, crumple zones front and back, and more importantly unflappability. You just cannot upset this car; it is perfectly balanced. That's where I think most of that money went; to the engineering of a big heavy sedan, that's perfectly serene and quiet, has a soft suspension that absorbs bumps with aplomb, yet when you push it hard around corners the steering is sharp and communicative, it doesn't under- or over-steer it just goes around the corner with nary a tire squeal, and it does this even when it's wet or snowy (mind you you've got to back off a bit in the snow but it's amazing how well it tracks in the stuff). None of the cars I've owned before were this capable, the G20 or my Legend were great handlers but if you pushed them too hard they would get all out of sorts and under-steer totally out of control. Not even the Miata is as capable as the Benz. The Miata is sharper of course, more visceral, it's a super light sports car where the Benz is still a big sedan, but do something mildly drastic or irresponsible in the Miata near its limit and you will be punished with snap over-steer and total loss of control. The constant prospect of sailing backwards into a tree on your mind tends to keep you not pushing the Miata as hard, however the Benz at its limits is always controlled, you just get some mild, polite under-steer to remind you that you are reaching the edge of that envelope and that edge is way way up there. The Miata's tendency to over-steer is what makes it so dynamic, challenging, and exciting. It also makes it a difficult daily driver; left turn too fast oops spinning through that intersection (it happens). In the Benz things are always serene, dignified, and safe no matter how dumb you behave. That's what $50,000 bought you in 1990, not just leather, wood, and power this and that, but the ability to act like an ass and stay on the road no matter what; true safety.

Mercedes Benz 300E 2.6

When I was a kid I had a collection of matchbox cars. When I got too old I had to give it away but I kept a few of my favorites. One of these was a Mercedes-Benz 300E. So when looking on Craigslist for a winter beater I came across a "300s" with photos of a 300E and a low price, I had to check it out. A day later a nice older gentleman who didn't know what he had sold me this 300E for $1600. It's not perfect; The ABS doesn't work, the Air Conditioning is dry, it has a penchant for leaking oil, when I first got it it refused to shift into 4th gear, and it drinks premium gas like it's 1990 gas costs only 49 cents per liter and I can actually afford a Mercedes. But I love it. Every inch of this car exudes quality, it doesn't squeak, doesn't rattle, it barely makes any sounds at all, the cabin is toomb quiet at any speed. Everything in it was engineered to be the best that it can be. Mercedes-Benzes at that time were made to a standard, price didn't matter, if you couldn't afford it, you couldn't have it and there was no better car you could have. It feels like a fine antique; real wood, with real varnish, everything has that well oiled (oil leak), heavy feel, and that chrome emblem sits at the front slowly rising and sinking as the car gradually changes speed. Unlike the Japanese luxury cars I've owned, which were nothing more than re-badged Accords and Altimas with some leather seats and a sunroof, this car feels substantial; like I could drive it through a brick wall and it wouldn't get a scratch. Incidentally this car was the original basis for the Euro NCAP five star rating, i.e. every car was benchmarked against how this car performed in a crash and it wasn't till very recently that they upped the standard. I don't know if it's right or wrong but driving this fine automobile really makes me feel better about myself, like I'm a better person and not just some out of work actor in a tinny econobox. One of the other Matchbox cars I kept was a Spaceshuttle car, I wonder if I'll ever get to own one of those.

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Daily Driver?

The Miata has been my daily driver since May, what was it like?

My work schedule is all over the place so I don't have a regular daily commute but during the month or so here and there when I did have to commute every day across town the Miata always put a smile on my face. It starts from clicking open the little door via that one finger door handle. You just know it's special - it's not some generic plastic parts bin door handle found on lesser cars.

Put the top down on sunny days and get that morning fresh air blowing through your hair you arrive at work beaming. The Miata's responsiveness and sharp steering make it great for zipping through traffic. With the top down you can see all around you and can easily fit into small spaces. And if you cut someone off it's okay; you're driving a big blue Pokemon. And it gets great mileage: My overall mileage which includes freeway and city driving was 8.7litres/100km (27mpg), in the city I averaged 10.6litres/100km (22mpg) and on the highway 8.4litres/100km (28mpg). Sure a Prius gets 5l/100km (46mpg) but driving a Prius is punishment and driving a Miata is joy.

Because the Miata is small and low to the ground people sometimes don't see you (oddly these people are usually driving a Camry or Corolla, the automotive antithesis of the Miata) and will change lanes as if you're not there. The Miata's horn is no help since in Japan the horn isn't meant to say "Hey fucker go fuck yourself and your family!" but something more a kin to "Hello friend nice to see you, let's have coffee sometime." So it's pretty much useless. You've got to be vigilant when driving.

Parallel parking is a cinch since the Miata is so small you can always find a spot, but again it's so low to the ground that people in larger cars reverse into it. I've got a nice scratch on the top of the nose where some body's bumper rubbed up on to it and the front license plate is nicely deformed. As a result I avoid parallel parking or I try to park so I'm the first car in a line.

You can't furniture shop in the Miata. This summer I bought furniture twice, once it was some patio chairs and serendipitously a friend of mine (who owns a pick-up) happened to be also shopping in the store at the same time and was able to take the chairs and drop them off right onto my patio. The second time I bought a used bed, and a set of drawers that no matter what size of car I had would not have fit into it. I had to steal a cargo van from work to do the move. Also Costco shopping is kind of out for the Miata as well. Only a few boxes will fit into the trunk. But weekly grocery shopping fits perfectly, and the whole trunk size problem only came up once or twice.

Roadtripping is possible but you need to take your time. My girlfriend and I were able to drive to Las Vegas and back this summer in the Miata. We packed 5 days worth of clothing, a video camera and photo camera, and still had room to bring back some knick nacs. Actually we ended up saving money because we made the mistake of stopping at an American Super Walmart where the prices begged us to buy everything but since we couldn't fit it into the car, we didn't buy anymore than some beef jerky. The big problem is noise. On American freeways at 120kph the Miata is LOUD; wind noise, tire noise, engine noise, exhaust noise, for hours on end gets tiring fast. Even with the headrest speakers the radio was drowned out. If you are going to road trip, stay off the freeways and take secondary roads. This is where the Miata really shines. The only problem is if your girlfriend gets car sick easily since the curves beckon you to go faster and faster.

Everything is great as long as the weather is mild. When things turn cold and wet the Miata stops being so much fun. To begin with when the top is up the interior becomes dark and stuffy and not very pleasant at least nowhere near as pleasant as when the top is down. The Miata's short wheelbase and rear wheel drive platform are awesome fun for spirited driving on twisty dry roads but in wet slippery conditions the car becomes nervous and twitchy. Here's a true story: I'm driving along on a straight road at 60km/h, there's a mild hump that runs across the road on an angle. As the rear of the Miata crests the hump it breaks loose and the Miata spins out sending me into the median skidding on grass narrowly avoiding a tree. Thankfully the median had no curb cause it would have been a repeat of the crash earlier this year. I was just driving straight minding my own business. And it's not like my tires are super worn. Going around any turn in wet conditions with the slightest press on the gas the rear will step out. When it's expected, it can be controlled and can be a great source of fun for the driver and terror for the passenger but it becomes terror for both when it's unexpected. That's why in the winter it's best to park the Miata and drive something else. Something bigger and more stately (more on that later).