As Bert mentioned, steering boots are a workable option - that's what we used on my car for a Koni install at the end of 2001, and they seem to be doing the job still. My gibberings on the matter are still in the club archive: http://www.mx5club.org.nz/emaillists/nzmx5list/archives/2001/msg01401. sh...

Greg wrote: I talked with the guys at Pitstop in Wairau Rd Glenfield who said that they'd done the mod a couple of times before. For a full replacement including appropriate muffler / resonator(s) - can't recall exactly what they proposed - the quote was about $400. This was for a 2 inch pipe from t...

Ken wrote: From the sounds of it I might have a hole in my muffler (woohoo) and since the other half has said that if this happens we should relocate the spare tyre under the car I thought someone out there might know more about this. Searching the mx5club archives (via google), I've found the email...

Gazza said: the main man for anything to do with an MX5 soft top is Al's upholstery 0-25-937 009 somewhere local (on the Shore, I forget where) he really is the Shiz. Indeed, Al is The Man. When I asked him though, he didn't have any zip sliders and wasn't able to order me one. Having said that, I'd...

He suggested that I put feelers out there and see if anyone has a slip for the zip for my rear window, as mine is stuffed&. I got a replacement for mine from North Shore Canvas, on Archers Rd (Glenfield, North Shore) - they make awnings for boats, and other such things. Note that mine is an after-m...

Bearing in mind that I know diddly-squat about engines... Well, without wanting to start an argument, my suggestion could be adapted to utilize say 1st and 2nd gears, using a rolling start and coming up with some predetermined starting and terminal speeds. What I am suggesting overcomes a critical v...

I discovered yesterday that my headrest speakers weren't working - turns out that the cable under the seat had fallen prey to the part of the forward-back adjusting mechanism which locks the seat in place. It had happily munched through the cable. Have now resoldered and they're back to their medioc...

the swinging number plate bracket from Team Miata ... ( http://www.teammiata.com/TM305.htm ) It's a cool idea - I've seen one working on a friend's MX5, and I liked it a lot. :-) It's just a pity about the $200 fine that resulted. (this was back in the days before we knew that merely fixing the pro...

Anyone aware of a site I can get graphics/pictures of MX5's, especially stylised ones? I had a quick look on Google Image Search for stylised roadster images (well, 'quick' means that I only looked at the first 654 pictures it offered me)... http://mx5.dk/ http://www.mx-5club.be/ http://www.mx-5.co...

I rang the Loctite guy today regarding which Loctite product to use on the front crank pulley shaft, he asked if it was a clearance fit (pulley can be removed by hand) or a press fit (needs force/tools to remove or put back on). Assuming clean surfaces etc, the pulley just slides on, so by your def...

Eric said: I've noticed, a couple of times now, that when I start the 5 after it has sat a couple of days the starting oil pressure is much higher than normal, around 6 kg/sq cm. I'm not sure what my cold idle pressure is (maybe 4), but I find it doesn't take much in the way of hard driving to get t...

Gazza said: Do you think it failed from factory or from a poor repair at some stage? Given that the car is 185,000km old, and was 114,000km old when it came into my life, it's possible that at some time someone has had the cambelt drive pulley off and didn't follow good procedure in replacing it. My...

Ya just don't get it do ya, if anyone else out there thinks it's not dumb to hide your reply at the end of the email and not at the start, please stand up and be counted (excluding zorruno :-) I'm with zorruno - top-quoting has no appeal to me. Personally, I think this list should have an ob-MX5 po...

Eric said: By the way, I notice that the spare seems to lose pressure rather more quickly than I would expect, I run it at 60 psi and check it about once a month, when it is frequently down to 20 psi. Is this normal for these small, high pressure tyres, or do I sense a bill coming on When I was bein...

Dave said: Now you have got every MX-5 owner paranoid! Not me - paranoia is provided by the paranoiac. I've just described my experience of my car, and provided links to more information for those who feel it is worth investigating. Don't forget that this happened to a small % of cars only. Good poi...

Just in case anyone cares, there were a couple of other things I forgot to mention regarding the crank-nose failure... Since having the loss of power, I've also gained a bit of backfiring. Whilst I recognise this as a symptom of the bad things in my engine, I do quite enjoy the odd little backfire s...

Gazza said: I keep hearing about this, but how can you tell if there is a problem (I have an 89 model). The single most informative article I've seen on the subject is this: http://miata.net/garage/crankshaft.html (note that the VIN numbers they refer to are not applicable to the cars in NZ) The fir...

My poor wee car has suffered the dreaded early-MX5 crank-nose failure. Fletcher & I are going to give it the tender loving loctite-fix next weekend (well, I'll be tender with the car, Fletch will be tender & loving with his tools). Part of the fix involves using a brace/jig to hold things in place w...

My handbrake seems to be failing on the left rear wheel. I've had it fixed (more than once) but my mechanic, nice fellow though he is, doesn't seem to be able to fix it permanently. It works for a few weeks and then the left rear brake fades. The brake pads are fine, and so is the handbrake cable a...

I relocated my spare wheel to underneath the boot about 18 months ago - it has worked really well for me & I highly recommend it. The exhaust got louder - a resonator seems generally to be considered essential, as well as the new/small/relocated muffler. I didn't like the single-stud mounting used b...

I also had strange noises associated apparently with the clutch - now gone since clutch replacement... When I bought my car, 3.5yrs ago, I was told it had had a new clutch put in shortly beforehand (which seems to have been true). About 1.5yrs ago I noticed a grinding (for want of a better word) noi...

I've just been for a WOF today and failed because my handbrake was too weak on the right hand side only. I had this problem: on mine it was the bowden cable (the cable like a bike brake cable) running from the handbrake equaliser (under the middle of the car) to the caliper. The rubber boot at the ...

I mounted my microwave sensor beneath the power window switches - this being on the slopey bit just forward of the centre console storage thingy and just rearward of the ashtray. I cut a square of carpet off the top of the transmission tunnel and glued down a thick piece of plastic sheet onto the tu...

I had the wheel bearing replaced & all is now well. Presumably if it had been left longer it would have developed the expected grinding noise of a dying wheel-bearing - I noticed the slop before it had gone that far. The wheel bearing kit cost $95.82 + GST = $107.80 Assuming my worn bearing was orig...

I have detectable slop in my left rear wheel - not noticeable while driving (so far), but with the car jacked up, that wheel has noticeable movement. The right rear wheel has no detectable slop. It started out (maybe 1,000km ago) as only being detectable in one axis - ie. if you grabbed the wheel to...