Let's See What We Have Here
Over the years of buying used cars mess around with, I've noticed that every vehicle has a different story. From someone's aborted "Project Car", some shoddily maintained "Daily Drivers" and a few outright "Money Pits", I've learned to approach each new purchase as a possible "Worst Case Scenario." If it turns out to be a bad car, then I'm not surprised. If it turns out to be OK, then, "Yay, me." I lucked out and won't get too screwed on this one.Thus as I started to tear into the Miata, I wondered, "What have I gotten myself into this time?"
When I bought the car, I had a feeling that the car might not be as nice as I thought. The guy I got it from said that it was "One of a few that he had" and that it was "Mostly his Daily Driver".
Most guys who own multiple Miatas either race them, or buy them to flip them. The PO provided a printout of an Excel spreadsheet that detailed the maintenance the car had received since he bought it about 30K miles ago, so it shouldn't have been a flip car. However, it was obvious that it had been "shined up" a bit for the sale, so I was thinking possible ex autocross car. Who knows? All I knew aside from the wheels needing to be re balanced, it ran great.
So, I decided to not do my usual "Post Purchase Maintenance Procedure" until after I had relocated to Wichita from Texas.
PPMP?
I usually do the following after I buy a used car, even if the PO owner provides documentation, or swears up and down that "It's already been taken care of. Don't worry." PPMP is a lot nicer than saying, "Unf**king The Car", which is what me and my old DSM buddies used to call the process. It's imperfect, but it usually works.Here's What Usually Happens:
1. Oil/Filter Change
2. Timing Belt/Water Pump Replacement
3. Replace Any Seals/Gaskets Exposed By Timing Belt/WP Job
4. New Plugs/Wires
5. Tranny/Differential Fluid Change
6. Fuel Injector Cleaner/Filter
7. Any Other Model Specific Maintenance That Might Be Needed
8. Visually Inspect Underside and Exterior Of Vehicle For Any Obvious Damage Or Issues
I trusted the PO of my first Talon TSi/AWD back in 1997, and it almost bit me in the ass with a broken balance shaft belt. I lucked out and the main timing belt didn't get taken out by the broken balance shaft belt lying in the bottom of the timing cover, but it could have been a very expensive mistake. Never again!
Miata Mysteries Revealed
The engine in the Miata is a "Non Interference" design, so I wasn't too worried about the Timing Belt as the PO had it changed approximately 29K miles ago according to his spreadsheet. I bought the parts to do the job, but elected to wait a few weeks to do it, so that I could tackle everything else in one fell swoop.I did want to get the oil changed right away, so I jacked the car up and crawled under it to check out the chassis and underside of the car. Like I suspected, this was a generally clean, and rust free car. There was evidence of oil leaking from some seals in the front of the engine, but otherwise very clean and tight. No scrape marks on the front subframe, braces or lower control arms revealed that the car hadn't been excessively lowered, which was a very good sign that the whole "Daily Driver" claim was legitimate.
What Fresh Hell Is This?
I grabbed a drain pan to start the oil change process, when I noticed something odd about the drian plug that was installed.It had no hex head for a wrench, or Allen Key, just a weird shaped lip on a very large metal washer that looked like a pair of pliers could grab onto it to loosen it.
"Aww Crap."
The threads in the oil pan for the drain bolt had stripped out, and the PO (or whoever did his oil changes) opted to use a "Temporary Repair Plug" to "fix" the problem. Evidently this is a common issue with the aluminum Miata oil pan and "enthusiastic" mechanics, who like to torque things way too tight.
Unacceptable.
Let's Overthink This, Shall We?
So, of course since I'm a Aircraft Mechanic by trade, I had to go and over think the whole thing.The plug wasn't leaking, and had been on the car for who knows how long. Why screw with it? If I had to, I could use the Vacuum Oil Removal Pump I have for my VW TDI to get the oil out and not EVER have to deal with draining the oil out.
Nah. Let's do it the hard way, because you're an Anal Retentive Asshole with a Mild OCD Complex.
Sure. Why not?
Option 1, was to replace the oil pan with a new or used unit. I was all for this idea until I found out that in order to install a new oil pan, the engine needed to be removed from the car or the front subframe needed to be dropped. Nope. Not gonna do that.
Option 2, involved a new oversized drain plug with special threaded flutes to cut new threads into the pan. Supposedly these were only supposed to be a temporary fix as well, even though it offered a bit more peace of mind than a thin rubber gasketed disc attached with a piece of threaded rod and a toggle bolt on one end. Pass.
Option 3, would be to repair the threads on the fragile aluminum oil pan with a insert repair kit, or thread it for an oversized drain plug. Doing some research on the forums led me to discover that the majority of folks used a TimeSert Drain Plug Repair Kit. It was kind of expensive, but it seemed like the best way to go in my situation. Placed an order, and after a small mixup with my shipping address, received the kit in about a week and a half or so.
I chose to use the 1415A kit on my car, and found that it wasn't that hard to even under the car with common hand tools.
Not Nervous About This At All
So, armed with my new repair kit, the required tools and plenty of axle grease to catch any metal shavings, I went ahead and removed my "temporary" oil drain plug to start the process. |
| AutoZone Parts and Red RTV. Two Things That Don't Go Together |
I made sure to clean the drain hole and flushed out as much trash with about two quarts of cheap oil before again cleaning the repaired threads and the repair insert with plenty of brake cleaner. I applied a liberal amount of RED LocTite to the insert and threaded it in per the instructions and locked it in place with the supplied tool.
 | |
| Almost Looks Like I Know What I'm Doing |
I waited for three days to allow the LocTite to completely set (Overkill, I know), before I installed a new Drain Plug into the pan. Changed the filter and filled the engine with fresh Synthetic Blend oil. Started her up to check for leaks, and everything appears to be working fine.
Conclusion
While a bit more expensive than the other options available, this seems to be the best way to go if you have a stripped out oil pan drain. The TimeSert design seems to be a superior repair option than HeliCoil or other thread repair options. My threads were pretty hosed, so tapping it for an oversize drain plug could have been done, but I wanted the new plug to thread into a steel insert, rather than soft aluminum. The kit includes 4 extra inserts, so you may be able to recoup some cost for the kit by renting it out or performing repairs on the side.One forum user did report that after about a year, his TimeSert repair failed while he was removing the drain plug for an oil change. I plan on using my Oil Extractor to do oil changes in the Miata for the most part, to try not to push my luck with the repair. Despite this, I still think it's money well spent.
Hopefully it'll hold up.
I Guess We'll See...
Alpha, Mike, Foxtrot.....
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