Final things to get ready for tech inspection.

We installed the fire extinguisher, sealed the rear bulk head further, sealed on of the holes in the firewall where the AC formerly came through and a handful of other things as well. Made some $0.75 numbers and class letters out of masking tape. Here it is ready to go.

Novice permit is here

My novice permit and paper rulebook has arrived. :)

Transmission Back In

Yesterday, I was able to reinstall the transmission front cover, and the broken retaining ring. 

Joey and I spent some time working on the car today.

We were able to reinstall the coolant cap at the back of the motor, rear main seal, fly wheel, clutch, transmission, power plant frame, and driveshaft. It was a pretty simple reinstall. It took a couple stabs to get the transmission mated with the engine, but with two of us able to adjust and push on the transmission, it was not too bad. We had to use a drift to line up the starter with the holes on the transmission. Again, this is pretty simple. Once everything was snugged up we followed it up with the torque wrench. The bolts that took the longest were the slave cylinder bolts.

I also fixed a small coolant leak. This is the infamous "water pump o-ring" its really part of the inlet. Regardless, I had to break some bolts on the header heat shield to get access to this. I also ended up emptying most of the cooling system onto the floor of the garage. The o-ring was pinched. Once I pulled it out it was apparent.

I need to get some coolant, transmission fluid, and we should be ready to roll.

Parts should be in tomorrow.

My parts should be in tomorrow. Will start work this weekend.

Hmmm i think this transmission has been taken apart before. The put back together by the redneck version of Thor. You are not supposed to bang on mating surfaces with a hammer. No wonder the case seams leak.

Input Shaft Seal, Rear Main, etc

So I was able to locate an transmission input shaft seal locally. Unfortunately once I removed the transmission front cover, I found a broken snap ring. I have one of these on order.

I was also able to put in my rear main seal. As easy and straight forward as this would seem, it actually is a bit of a pain. Not having a seal driver large enough, I conceded and went to Lowe's. A 3" PVC end cap makes a perfect seal driver for the rear main seal. I went so far as drilling the end so that my seal driver handle would fit with it.

Once everything comes in, it will be time to put it back together.

Fed Ex does it again

I think fed ex has a vendetta against me. Last time they routed my package to the wrong side of the country before getting it to me a week late.

This time the package is supposedly at my side door, but its apparently invisible, or somebody else's side door.

I honestly get better, cheaper, more consistent service from USPS.

The funny thing is the end of their email on my last complaint was "I trust your next experience with us will be a better one". WRONG!

Driver's gear

I bought my suit and Hans from Racer Parts Wholesale (http://www.racerpartswholesale.com/). Service was great and I can pick up my orders at the warehouse. Great service. I am a happy customer.

Transmission Out

Joey and I were able to get the transmission out without too many issues. The biggest issues we encountered were the rear most power plant frame bolt, and the bushing the is coupled with the bolt directly in front of that bolt.

Once the power plant frame was out of the way, it was a piece of cake. I think we spent more time removing the PPF than we did removing the transmission itself.

The rear main is most definitely leaking. The transmission, well thats an interesting one. The turret drain bolt was most of the way out. So now the question is, was it the output shaft seal and the turret drain leaking? Or just the turret drain. I will just replace the output seal.

 This is the pesky drain bolt. This has been threaded back in since I tool the transmission out.

Turret is practically dry, and nasty dirty

 Think something is leaking?

 Yep... The rear main is leaking. You can actually see a fresh drip if you look closely.

 This is the bushing that we had a hard time getting out. Once it started moving, it moved pretty quickly.

 Flywheel, clutch, and driveshaft.

This is the jack holding up the front of the motor. You can see a tie down strap in the background. We used this in lieu of a transmission jack. It worked very well.

The transmission out and the driver side is mostly cleaned up. This was nasty before it was cleaned up.

Passed Physical

I passed my physical. I will now be applying for my novice permit with the SCCA. I hate going to the doctor, but it was a fairly painless experience. Althought, I do still have quite a bruise on my left arm from the blood draw.

I have also started my training regiment. I am now on day two of exercising at least 35 minutes a day 5 days a week. Anyone who knows me, knows that this is not in my ordinary routine. I joined a gym closer to my house so I can hit it on my way out in the mornings. I find that if I do this right after I wake up, I am not yet enough in touch with reality to know how much it sucks.

Timing Belt, Water pump, cam seals, front main seal

Over the last couple weekends I replaced the practically everything on the front of the engine that can break or leak.

• Timing Belt
• It probably did not need to be replaced, but the water pump and the various seals needed to be. If I am going that deep, its worth changing.
• Water Pump, 
• it started seeping coolant after the track day, a slow but steady drip from the front center of the engine.
• Easy to change.
• A thin coat of RTV on each of the gaskets and slide everything back together. 
• Torque the bolts appropriately.
• Cam Seals, these were definitely leaking.
• Once I remove the bearing caps, the old seals come right out without risk of damaging the cams.
• A little flange sealant on the bearing cap mating surfaces and reinstall the new seals.
• Front main
• This was a PITA to get out.
• I ended up using a lisle shaft seal remover. It did require some modification to the tool to get it to work. Basically I just bent the tab so it would engage more with the seal. 
• I reinstalled using the front main installation tool from flyin miata. It made it a snap.
• Pipe to Engine Lower radiator hose
• Quick easy fix
• New worm screw hose clamps
• New grommets in brake master cylinder resevoir
• Its amazing as tight as the old ones were, they were leaking.
• No further leaking since they were replaced.
• You can get the grommets without the master cylinder from finish  line/rosenthal mazda, or mazda motorsports if you are allowed to order from them.

Next steps, tack the leaks from the back of the engine. The rear main and or the flywheel bolts seem to be leaking. I am in the process of removing the transmission from the car. While the transmission is out, I will assess the clutch, address any leaks on the transmission. I will definitely be replacing the input seal and the output seals on the transmission.

I have already removed the header to down pipe nuts. These have proved to be a a serious pain in the past. I am working on the power plant frame bolts. The rear most bolt always seems to be frozen and a part of the differential. I ended up resorting to the 3/4 inch drive impact with no avail. I will keep hammering on it over the next few days and see where I get. Luckily I do not have to have this bolt out to remove the transmission, though it will certainly make it easier. After this bolt it out, the rest tend to come out ok, but there are typically just access issues. These are nothing 36 inches of extensions and a couple universal joints cannot solve.

I will make sure I get photos of the transmission removal.