Ownership Verified: wdwben's 2012 MX-5 PRHT (yup, another one)

so much satisfaction

Other than the aches and pains, absolutely. It SHINES.

Looks awesome! I need to figure out how to keep mine clean properly. Typically I'd go to a drive-through wash, but something tells me it's not a great idea with the soft top.

I have a pressure washer because our HOA is a pain about keeping the sidewalks looking nice, so I just got a foam cannon attachment for it. It makes washing the car SO much easier and faster.

Easy. Top down.

Apply shampoo BEFORE pulling into the car wash, but after putting on your swim goggles.
 
Looks awesome! I need to figure out how to keep mine clean properly. Typically I'd go to a drive-through wash, but something tells me it's not a great idea with the soft top.

The car (including the soft top) is designed to take the beating, but it still won?t do any good to either the fabric nor the paint so.


You already got the only correct answer, foam gun -> rinse -> hand wash 2BM -> rinse -> dry with microfibre.
Just a bit problematic if you don?t have a place to do it or the city has banned it.
 
Just a bit problematic if you don?t have a place to do it or the city has banned it.
In Germany it's generally illegal to wash your car outside of dedicated washing places for environmental reasons, but leviathan lives in a town big enough to have such places.
 
In Germany it's generally illegal to wash your car outside of dedicated washing places for environmental reasons,

That is factually wrong. I am surprised that you don't know that, or are falling for this urban legend. There is only very few general rules that apply, but in the end local communal, regional or state governments can have specific rules that actually go as far as outright banning it. What applies to whereever you live, nfi. But this is the facts by law:

You must not allow contaminated water (cleaning chemicals as well as operating fluids) to get into the groundwater. Which means you either filter the water you use (even if it is clear water), or make sure to just clean the outside surfaces that won't contain any operating fluids, if in the end the water you use ends up in the ground. Or you make sure to do it on a sealed surface where the water ends up in a sewer system, so it is going to a water treatment facility.

So generally speaking you can quite easily do that, especially in an urban environment, but local laws might ruin that plan. It's the same with washing your car on a sunday even in a real carwash.. also usually state regulated BS (thanks, Jesus!).
 
You must not allow contaminated water (cleaning chemicals as well as operating fluids) to get into the groundwater. Which means you either filter the water you use (even if it is clear water), or make sure to just clean the outside surfaces that won't contain any operating fluids, if in the end the water you use ends up in the ground. Or you make sure to do it on a sealed surface where the water ends up in a sewer system, so it is going to a water treatment facility.
And realistically, all of that basically amounts to using a place built for that. I never said it has to be a commercial washing place. If you want, you can build your own driveway to fulfill the necessary specs.
 
Last I checked most driveways lead to some sewer.. no special building for it needed, unless it's slanted or something so it does the go into it..
 
Just passed 61,000 and so it's time to do a bit of at-home maintenance. Spark plugs are getting replaced on Saturday morning, and I'm opening up the throttle body and MAF to give them a cleaning. I put in a K&N intake filter a few months ago, and I have a feeling that the oils might be gumming things up as the car isn't running happily all of the time. Hopefully it's just a bit of sensor cleaning and things get happy again. It's nice to be able to do my own maintenance; 5 years ago I never would have attempted any of this on my own. Doubly-so when I owned the Subaru; I'd never have attempted spark plugs on that engine.
 
MAF has been cleaned! Hopefully this will help some wonky WOT hesitation issues I've been experiencing lately.

Before:
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And after!
DXzX74fW4AE5F8P.jpg
 
Well, that's less than ideal:
DX7tzIeU0AEpPMf.jpg

DX7tzKiUQAIDe94.jpg


Four new double-iridium Bosche plugs in the car, and torqued to proper specs. Car seems to be so much happier now on the drive around the block.
 
Support bracket in the clutch pedal assembly cracked the other day while driving, which is annoying. I've got some JB Weld curing now as a temporary fix so I can hopefully drive the car until the $72 pedal assembly I ordered today arrives.
 
Yeah, it's a royal pain.

Well, the JB should have set by now, and it doesn't seem to have done the job. I won't know for certain until tomorrow morning, after it's fully cured. When my fiancé gets home, we're going to run out to Lowe's so I can get a 12mm deep socket. I wanna break loose one of the bolts in the pedal assembly in case I got JB Weld on it before that goop has fully cured and makes removing the assembly a miserable mess.
 
Well, there's your problem right there! (replacement arrives on Thursday, hopefully. Miata is parked until then)

DcEbolNVwAEXafW.jpg
 
Replaced with a new-to-me unit. Finally was able to drive... and boy it felt good. Glad to have my car back.
 
Dka3MUBXgAAHdRa.jpg:large


Proof that you can go to Lowe's AND buy things of reasonable size in a Miata. Installed a new ceiling fan on my lanai on Sunday.
 
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I sit here at my local Mazda dealership waiting for them to pop the transmission apart from the engine. I hopped in the car on Saturday to head to a soccer game and as soon as the I pushed in the clutch to put the car in reverse, I heard an odd whirring noise. My friend with the blue MX-5 had the same noise a few months ago, just after he bought the car, so I have a pretty strong idea that my throwout bearing failed. The noise only happens when the clutch is depressed, and goes away after the engine and transmission have warmed up. That will make this dealership trying to reproduce the issue awfully interesting, to say the least.

The bad news is that, in all likelihood, a $58 part failed that requires a fair amount of labor to get to. The good news is that, in all likelihood, I'm covered by the Zurich warranty I bought when I bought my used car. If the following website is to be believed, my Standard Coverage will cover "all internally lubricated parts including main shaft, ... internal linkages, and bearing." So hopefully this is a no-cost repair to me, as it was to my friend.

While they've got the transmission and engine apart, though, I'm going to likely have them replace the clutch, at my cost. I've got 75,000 miles on the car, and if I can get the labor to unmarry the engine and transmission paid for by my warranty, it seems like smart preventative maintenance to have a new clutch installed.
 
Update:

There's no update. They couldn't reproduce the noise (which makes sense, because the engine and transmission have to be cold for it to happen), so I've got a 2019 CX-5 loaner. It's a nice mid-sized SUV, but goodness, a mid-sized SUV is totally not my jam. I'd have been a lot happier with a 3 hatchback.
 
Sound was reproduced. Warranty company refuses to cover the repair because the throwout bearing is not classified as an internally lubricated bearing.

So I'm trying to figure out where to come up with the money to get the bearing replaced, as my savings account was wiped out from wedding deposit payments. Still gonna have a new clutch installed because the Exedy kit I found for a clutch includes a throwout bearing. Tomorrow, I'll call around various transmission shops to get prices. If they can come in at less than the $768 (6 hours at $128/hour) plus tax Mazda is quoting me, I'll take my business elsewhere and eat the $100 or $130 in diagnostic fees.
 
The clutch has come in, the car is at Mazda, and I hope to have my little car back soon. This CX-5 loaner is way, way big. And I miss my convertible very much.
 
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