Picked up a Engine hoist/leveler/engine stand for $150 from a guy in Vegas, only had been used once! Man I love a good deal. Was going to buy a hard top for $800 as well but decided I should wait to see what insurance does compensation wise.

In preparation for pulling the motor tomorrow I pulled off the front bumper/fenders/hood; I also removed the glass from the front windshield so I wouldn't have to deal with pieces popping off all the time. Mad respect to windshield folk, that **** is hard to get off!

The fender bolts were seized but luckily this time I had my heat gun and a dead blow hammer to knock the corrosion off the threads so they would turn. There are some odd bolts in weird *** places in the fender and front bumper. Had to pull out the Haynes manual in a couple spots. Probably doesn't matter though, I honestly could just grab the sledge hammer and knock it off, but I might as well learn how to remove everything properly while it doesn't matter if I scratch/bend/wreck/strip something.

Before I pull the engine ever wire/line/pipe is getting a piece of tape and the connecting end is getting a corresponding piece of tape...hopefully this way I can't screw it up too bad.

 

Looking good man, keep up the good work! Also, keep an eye out for the right miata, you will find it.

 

Had to work for an employee today so didn't get the early start I wanted but here is the current state of things.

A.C disconnected
Radiator drained and removed
FMIC removed
Electrical all labeled
transmission drained of fluid



Can you remove this mounting plate that the AC connected to? Or should you keep it for the pulley that is mounted to it?


Perfect cupholder for Peach iced tea and vodka(numb the pain of the body)


So what remains is:
Disconnect PPF from transmission
Disconnect driveshaft
Disconnect wiring
Motor-mounts
...
Profit I hope. I'm sure I'm forgetting something but I need to eat some dinner before my stomach caves into itself.

 

Don't forget to remove the shifter before trying to drop the tranny.

Man, you're really making good progress.

 

Thanks, motivated to get it all out before the weekend ends, dreaming of it being out tonight but I might be a little tired and sore by that point.

This would be stupid easy if I had another pair of hands to help but just doing it myself PLUS not ever working on a Miata before makes it slow work.

Jesus thank you for the shifter comment, I totally spaced that!

 

The AC bracket can come off. Leave it if you're keeping it, take it off and replace the bolt going into the oil pump unless you want a bad leak.

 

Makes me sad, but also happy to see the progress moving forward. I'll try to get you that parts list. Today was more hectic than expected.

 

Picture heavy update

Everything is done except pulling the bolts for the PPF and the motormounts. I'm going to pull the engine tomorrow when I have more energy and can be more careful when I pull it. Don't want to do this tired; especially since I dont want to damage any wiring of anything else delicate.

Managed to pull out the turbo. Removing all the lines and piping and AC made it ridiculously easy to remove so I considered it one step easier in removing the engine.

I am a little worried about the heavy corrosion on the studs and the manifold/turbo flanges. Going to get them milled flat and replaced with Iconol bolts/nuts. Rather not worry about a bolt breaking next time I install/remove it.






Weeping around the Valve cover, probably need to replace the gasket while I'm at it.



Oil return line looks kinked, should I replace it? Or is the restriction not bad enough to warrant that?



Don't pull the fuel line off this...jesus christ fuel came pouring out of it. Luckily I had a rubber plug laying around...that could have gotten messy



Ok so I'm guessing these 5 bolts are all that I need to remove for the PPF? Any special technique to drop the driveshaft out of the diff or does it just slide out?




Also what is the best/easiest way to pull the motor mounts? From the top or through the bottom?




A huge thank you to all the are helping me with all this, you don't know how much it means to me. This is the first time I've done an engine pull and so I'm acting like a virgin nervous about playing the game "just the tip".

I have an excel spreadsheet that matches with every corresponding number on every wire/plug/pipe/bolt. Hopefully it will be ridiculously easy to put it all back together again.

 

Thanks Dave. They need copies of the actual receipts if you can manage that. I don't know why they need the aftermarket parts information since I thought reimbursement was laughable for that. Hopefully it doesn't make buying it back more expensive.

Hope you had a good cruise! Sorry for bothering you during it.

 

I may be able to pull the paypal receipts to different places if the log goes back that far. Otherwise I won't be much help. I didn't keep all of the receipts for all of the parts I bought. Most things were paypal transactions and probably don't list the purchased item.

EDIT:

Anybody know how to get long term transaction history in paypal? I need to go back to 2008 or 2009. Would the insurance company accept current pricing for items. For instance if you went to diyautotune and priced the MS3x as replacement cost, would that work. There is $1k easy in just the engine parts. supertech pistons, mtuned rods, gaskets, billet oil pump gear, etc, MS3x $700 not including the knock module, ACT Xtreme clutch and pp is probably $350 - $450, manifold, dp, exhaust was $1200 iirc, hard top $800 - $1000, 3.636 r&P ~ $500, turbo $600 to $800, ic ? shocks were $400 plus revalve, springs and perches another $150, FCM NB top hat/bumpstop setup was another $200iirc, AEM wideband $140, seats $400, seat mounts $300, roll bar ~$500 All of these are parts we could get current prices on. .......This is making me sad again.......

 

for the driveshaft, it's just 4x (i think 12mm) bolts where it bolts onto the diff, then the yolk just slides out.

 

Depending on the angle of the trans, the fluid may poor out of the tail when you pull the driveshaft.

The six speed really liked the amsoil mtf, I think the ford stuff felt a little better, but it was twice the cost to fill the trans. I'd stick with the amsoil.

Not sure if it matters for insurance purposes, but that is a 2004 mazdaspeed 6spd trans.

 

I'm impressed by how well the car held up being flipped.

 

That's actually a reinforced rubber hose under the SS braid. Doesn't really kink. I suspect it was rubbing or pressed by something. If it bugs you, you can replace. But it you didn't have any signs that the turbo oil drain was backed up (smoke/oil consumption/etc.), then there's no need. There's no pressure on this line, so not a safety hazard.

Yep. Pull the speedo cable out of the tranny and disconnect the wiring harness from the PPF (pair of pliers to compress the little plastic spring tabs makes quick work). There is also a ground strap at the back of the PPF (10mm bolt). The front bolt at the differential should have a sliding bushing in it. That's the hard part. Lot of techniques to get that out (the Mazda manual recommends threading an oversized bolt into the bushing to pull). If you haven't already, you should download the Mazda FSM that is in a sticky.

4 bolts connect the driveshaft to the diff. Undo those and separate from the diff (might need a large screwdriver to help pry it off) and it just slides out of the tranny. If you haven't drained the tranny before this, you'll leak fluid. This is a good time to inspect your U-joints and the rear tranny seal.

When pulling, just undo the single bolts to the front subframe and pull away. The passenger side is slotted to facilitate this. I'm pretty sure you're going to need new mounts, most do.

When installing, it can be tricky to get both sides lined up at the same time. Last time I installed, I had the passenger side mount bolted to the engine and left the driver side mount off. Got the engine in and the subframe nut on finger tight. This gave me a good reference point to make minor adjustment to line up and install the driver side. Easy-peasy.

 

I think I paid $40 to $50 to have that hose custom made. I would reuse it if you can. You like how I had the oil pan bung welded into the pan??? Had I thought of it sooner the custom return line would not have needed an adapter. oops

 

Well the pain fairy decided to visit today and remind me how many times I slammed my hand into something when a bolt suddenly popped loose...hopefully 800mg of ibuprofen kicks in soon so I can start finish up.

I stripped the interior last night as well since I couldn't sleep. Soft-top, roll bar, door bars, seats, carpet, center console, rear shelf...basically everything but the dash and the steering wheel.

Hopefully after the engine pull I can pull the suspension and the subframe. I'll be honest though, I don't know if I'll have the willpower to do it at that point. I think I should just be happy with the progress I've made in a couple days and not go to overboard.


Go to transaction history and there should be an area above the recent transactions that allows you to enter a date range of how far back you want to look.

Right?? I am as well. I did pull some of the dents out a little so it looks better than it was.

Can I get the specs on it just in case for the future?

Props given Hornet! Awesome.

 

You're doing this without air tools!?!

You, sir, are a glutton. Just think how much you'll appreciate your air compressor when you finally get one.

 

Well...that was anticlimactic. Which I suppose is a good thing but that popped out silly easy.

Glad it is done, now I only have to do this two more times and I may or may not have a running car again!
(Dear FSM let it work when I put it back together)



w

Is this normal for the PPF bolt with the bushing to be like this?

 

No, that PPF bolt looks like it's been ground down for some reason. Would be worth sourcing another.

 

Holy cow, someone got angry at that poor bolt.