First of all, it seems you may have a number of problems, but for the
'Mysterious Sound' I suggest that you try to isolate it, preferably in the
driveway or in a garage. If you have an apartment with no place to put the car
up on jackstands, you'd be wise to either contact a LOCAL Miata club for help
or risk wallet and car at a dealer, otherwise you're in for an hour drive to
the "trusted" Miata repair wrench you wrote about.
I'll assume you have a driveway or some place you can troubleshoot the "sound"
problem.
You need to get all 4 corners of the car up on jackstands, in a place away from
klids and animals.
You can't risk having the car suddenly roll away while you're listening for
noises.
With the car off the ground, all 4 corners in the air on jack stands
sufficiently high enough so the tires can't touch the gound, have the windows
down, the transmission in neutral, and the parking brake DOWN/OFF.
Check for the sound at the wheels with the ENGINE TURNED OFF/NOT RUNNING.
Try spinning each wheel by hand and listen for the noise. If you hear it,
you've found the corner where the problem resides. It could be any number of
possible problems, but now you know the affected corner. If you don't hear the
noise then you can't replicate it without the engine running.
1. Get in the car and start it - KEEP TTHE TRANSMISSION SHIFTER IN NEUTRAL!
DON'T jar the vehicle! Be careful because you don't want to knock the car from
the stands.
2. Do you hear the sound now, with the engine IDLING and the car in neutral?
If not, give it a little gas and take the engine to 2500 RPM or so.
Do you hear the sound now, with the engine IDLING at 2500 RPM, and the car
in neutral? If so, you found the speed range where it occurs.
3. If you didn't hear the noise, then it probably occurs with the transmission
in gear. BE CAREFUL, but place the transmission in FIRST GEAR. This will
cause the rear wheels to turn. Get out of the car and STAY AWAY from the rear
wheels, but listen for the sound. Be certain no kids or animals are nearby.
Don't touch the rear wheels because you hands (or long hair) will be caught and
swept up into the fender if you do!
4. Can you hear the sound now? If so, then you know it occurs when driving,
so the engine AND transmission have to be operating to reproduce the sound.
5. If you don't hear the sound, then it occurs in another gear, or when there
is a definite LOAD on the engine and transmission (car on the ground and being
driven), or the car's suspension system must be in use, as when driving.
6. Turn the engine OFF, let the carr down off of the jackstands, and go for a
ride (have a cell phone with you, as the car may break down while you're on the
road). Listen for the sound while driving in EACH GEAR. Also note whether
shifts are particularly difficult in EACH GEAR.
7. Return home and evaluate what you've learned.
BTW, If you don't have a Miata repair manual, and you intend to keep the car,
then I suggest you get a few manuals. You'll want to read through the
troubleshooting section of each.
The important this is to first isolate the sound, and then determine which
parts are in use while the sound is heard. Obviously, parts that can move are
more likely to be involved, and the most likely to have worn to a point where
they move MORE than they should, or where unintended contact with other parts
may be occurring.
Good Luck!
Jerry aka LGO
-----Original Message-----
From: TimothyErskine <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Sun, May 15, 2011 8:40 am
Subject: Na 1995 ---puzzling symptoms
Hello...
Great lurker here with a problem which is baffling. I wish I could record the
sound so you could hear it.
Its coming from the front of the car. It is not the engine. Might be the
brakes because the sound seems to go away when I apply them, though it also
could be that I am slowing down which effects the running gear. Running gear
meaning the drive line including the clutch assembly. Clutch is not slipping
but it is difficult to get into gear and every now and then I get a distinct
clang coming from the flywheel(?). I am guessing here. What metal part in
that area be free enough to ring while meshing the 1st gear and sometimes 2nd
gear. You can kind of feel it clang through the gear shift. Short duration,
no grinding per se. Is it possible the clutch itself is loose? When it is in
gear at very slow speed, under 5 miles an hour on a very smooth surface you
sometimes and feel a beat coming through the steering wheel and the sound is
like a knock. Wheel bearing???
I know this is very sketchy information and you can see how ignorant I am by my
attempt to describe the symptoms. A competent mechanic familiar with miata is
over an hour away. I do not trust the local wrenches to trouble shoot and
repair the problem. I am hoping this is something within my mechanical skill
set. I have in recent history done some work on the car with some success.
Mostly regular maintenance stuff. Replacing clutch slave cylinder, remove and
replace front calipers and brake pads, timing belt and water pump(which was
exciting for me cause the car actually ran perfectly the second time I aligned
the timing belt to the timing marks on the cam sprockets), new radiator(best
thing I have ever done to improve cooling reliability) which is of high dollar
aluminum very well made, misc electrical headaches like the headlight switch,
etc etc etc.
One more piece of information. That garage an hour away did a engine and
transmission replacement about 30k ago. Low mileage engine and tranny @ 46k. I
did lose the ac compressor within about 2.5k after the replacement because I
believe its shaft was mis-aligned or the belt was over tightened. Sitting in
traffic one day all the refrigerant escaped up through the hood. Looked like
smoke..but wasn't. One thing that happens now that didnt happen before the
replacement is the headlights mysteriously close underway but can reopen if I
push the manual black button on the center dash. What's up with that? And why
would I have to top off oil on an engine that young? I did replace the PCV
valve.
Sorry to be so windy, just trying to give you as much background as you might
need. Please help if you can. This is my only transportation.
Thank you..
Tim
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