when the dealer started it up it was making a kind of ticking noise... the noise went away after it warmed up, dealer said it hadn't been started in a couple weeks and just needed to get oil circulating, said it wouldn't happen if it was driven regularly

the car ran strong after it warmed up and everything, other than the ticking it was a pretty nice car

are they trying to pull one on me

11/11/2005 2:50:24 PM

new or used?

11/11/2005 2:55:01 PM

used

[Edited on November 11, 2005 at 2:58 PM. Reason : guess I'll see if it ticks when I come back so my dad can take a look]

11/11/2005 2:57:57 PM

could be lifters ticking from sludge oil in them. just have them change the oil and see if it does the same thing after a week or so of sitting.

11/11/2005 3:05:01 PM

it can be normal for hydraulic lifters to do that in a car that hasn't been started in a while. how many miles? you say it did it till it got warm, so it did it for like 5-10 minutes?

11/11/2005 3:18:20 PM

131k miles

I dunno precisely how long it did it because I bounced and went up the road to the other used car lot that also had a Miata (but was not for sale!1 wtf why tease me like that)

coming back up the road him and his mechanic were sitting around and they were like hey it stopped ticking

I gather they added oil between the time I left and came back

thoughts?

11/11/2005 3:21:26 PM

i would not buy it sounds fishy. what is the price?

11/11/2005 3:25:46 PM

yeah, sounds sketchy. unless it's a hell of a deal, stay away. likely not a major mechanical problem, it's normal for lifters to tick some with age but still.

11/11/2005 3:28:59 PM

4250 was the sticker

what else could it be if it wasn't the oil?

my friend has a lot of spare innards for this engine laying around minus a few odds and ends (11:1 pistons, performance cams) that I'm probably gonna throw in whichever Miata I get eventually anyway, would this car make it a few tens of thousands of miles like this before I had to look at that?

if it doesn't tick when I come back Monday/Tuesday, will that be a good sign?

[Edited on November 11, 2005 at 3:33 PM. Reason : *]

[Edited on November 11, 2005 at 3:35 PM. Reason : it is a pretty good deal, particularly after I talk them down a couple hundred :p]

11/11/2005 3:31:09 PM

two likely scnarios-

1.) it was low in oil
2.) there is some sludge/buildup on the lifters, and it takes a while for them to "pump up" after it's been sitting

it's really a crapshoot, if it's been run low in oil there could be damage to the bottom end. if it's just buildup, then it's not a big deal. if you think it's a good enough deal that you won't be pissed it the motor blows up quickly, then go for it. if you want to feel confident in something that's going to last a while, look elsewhere.

11/11/2005 3:46:50 PM

Yeah, it's a good chance that the lifters are a little plugged up. This IS a hydraulic motor.

These engines are pretty tough, and if you don't hear any funny noises now, then it's a good chance that the lifters were a little sticky and just needed to be run at operating temp. A change of oil is highly recommended.

But that's too much money for one if it's older than say a '96 or so. There's NO way I would pay that much for one older than '94. It's gotta have the 1.8 in it for that kind of money.

11/11/2005 3:52:17 PM

have them pull the valve cover and look. if everything is sludged up, have em clean it out with kerosene or the like and knock a couple hundred off the price. have em change the oil and it should be alright as long as it wasn't run on low oil, but you could always have them do a leak down test if you're curious about damage like that. though, you could still spin a bearing or seize a wrist pin if those parts wore strangely due to low oil.

11/11/2005 3:56:23 PM

it is a '94

[Edited on November 11, 2005 at 4:01 PM. Reason : w/ the 1.8]

11/11/2005 4:01:23 PM

^^that's not really the best idea... sometimes it's better to leave well enough alone. doing such a cleaning could knock chunks off large enough to plug an oil galley, etc... plus the lifters wouldn't really benefit from an external cleaning.

11/11/2005 4:09:10 PM

I concur.

11/11/2005 4:23:11 PM

You don't know for certain that it has sat for 2 weeks. I'd go back tomorrow and have em start it again.

11/11/2005 4:25:48 PM

^^/^^^ ahh true true. you could always try the whole ATF trick. but pulling all those lifters and soaking them is no fun

11/11/2005 5:23:26 PM

I have never heard a miata engine of any age or milage not have louder than normal valve tick at some point. They all do it

11/11/2005 6:43:11 PM

correct me if I am wrong - miatas have solid lifters with shims for adjustments - not hydraulic lifters.... and would the valve chatter not be a result of a larger valve lash due to a cold engine, as compared to a warm engine - i.e. the metal expands and the lash is reduced?

11/11/2005 8:58:20 PM

94-98 is hydraulic, 99+ is mechanical

11/11/2005 9:04:14 PM

holy shit - i have enlightened myself - always funny to look back over something and read where it says "hydraulic"

I am now a loser

11/11/2005 9:05:57 PM

Quote :

"I have never heard a miata engine of any age or milage not have louder than normal valve tick at some point. They all do it"

agreed

11/12/2005 12:35:18 AM

You're right. My sister's did it until I took it out and ran the shit out of it. It might be back to ticking some, but it didn't after that episode.

11/12/2005 12:36:14 AM

ok thx a lot guys, I think I'm probably gonna get this Miata... I won't hold you guys responsible if it blows up, though, I promise

11/12/2005 12:46:40 AM

I like to work on 'em if you have any issues. And I am reasonably priced.

11/12/2005 12:47:47 AM

I'll almost certainly be contacting you, then, at some point

maybe even within the next few days to look it over and tell me how bad I got taken

11/12/2005 12:59:20 AM

^ Maybe you could get him to look at it before you buy it then?

11/12/2005 1:02:09 AM

^^GG, George...

[Edited on November 12, 2005 at 1:05 AM. Reason : emoticons, mang...]

11/12/2005 1:04:47 AM

I'm guessing his schedule is kinda full... but hey, if you'll be up at 10:30AM tomorrow morning, I'm stopping by there with my dad to start negotiating...

11/12/2005 1:04:49 AM

Quote :

"I have never heard a miata engine of any age or milage not have louder than normal valve tick at some point. They all do it"

yeah, mine definitely had an audible tick.


oh well...if you splatter it, it's time for forged internals and a big turbo.

11/12/2005 3:50:48 AM

Quote :

"I have never heard a miata engine of any age or milage not have louder than normal valve tick at some point. They all do it."

11/12/2005 4:20:08 AM

already got a line on half a set of forged internals

11/12/2005 9:20:33 AM

buy mine for 1500 instead

11/12/2005 3:25:01 PM

^Info?

11/12/2005 4:40:41 PM

miata's are too small

11/12/2005 4:47:37 PM

small is an asset, not a liability

[Edited on November 12, 2005 at 6:58 PM. Reason : for a sports car]

11/12/2005 6:58:40 PM

They are kinda cramped though... I mean, an FD is tight enough but I'm 5'9" and I feel a little uncomfortable in a Miata.

11/12/2005 7:04:19 PM

^^indeed it is

I'm about 5'10... it's pretty much just the right size for a scawny white boy

y'all weren't joking about nowhere to put a sub though

[Edited on November 12, 2005 at 7:04 PM. Reason : ^ not cramped at all, in fact the seat was too far back at the dealership for me ]

11/12/2005 7:04:19 PM

even my 1g Miata was at least as comfortable to me as my S2000. the seats aren't as supportive, but the door sill is a lot lower, so it's more comfortable to rest your arm on it in the Miata. the Miata was also MUCH easier to get in and out of than the S2000 is.

i mean, it's not spacious or anything, but it's no worse than any other sports car.

[Edited on November 12, 2005 at 7:14 PM. Reason : yeah, i think the Miata might've actually had more legroom than the S2000, too]

11/12/2005 7:14:38 PM

A Miata seems cramped compared to my FC. That's not surprising though, considering the FC was the largest and heaviest of the Rx-7's. An 89-91 turbo II is a real porker at almost 3000lbs. A good friend of mine who is 6'3" and can fit fine into his turbo II really complains about FD's and Miatas.

11/12/2005 8:11:01 PM

Assuming you didn't buy it... Dad say no?

11/13/2005 11:05:21 PM

HLA clatter is really common w/ miatas. It's no big deal. They usually do it after running the card really hard, or when starting it in cold weather. Mine does it after I race it. You can usually cure the hot-ticks by using heavier oil, and the cold-ticks by running something lighter. Some people also report getting clatter when the car is low on oil.

Also, you can usually stop it by turning the car off, and right back on again. Supposedly in miata magazine a few years ago they said that it is caused by an air bubble trapped between one of the lifters. They said you can unscrew the oil cap and wait for it to stop.... I've never tried, as mine usually only does it for a second anyways.

11/14/2005 2:52:58 AM

actually I just gotta wait until... well, today... for the credit union to open ... in an ideal world I'd have it in my possession today

11/14/2005 5:22:06 AM

Quote :

"even my 1g Miata was at least as comfortable to me as my S2000. the seats aren't as supportive, but the door sill is a lot lower, so it's more comfortable to rest your arm on it in the Miata. the Miata was also MUCH easier to get in and out of than the S2000 is."

I have only driven the later generation Miatae, but they seemed smaller to me for some reason than the S2000 that I drove. Weird.

11/14/2005 11:14:47 AM

they are smaller. i'm just saying that they are just as comfortable on the inside.

11/14/2005 7:23:49 PM

The 94+ have a little more room than the 90-93, as they removed the armrests from the door. You can take out the center console too, if you want a bit more room.

11/14/2005 11:52:20 PM

buy mine

its cheaper

11/15/2005 2:57:41 AM

this car is fun as fuck

11/16/2005 1:21:47 PM

its still a miata and u are still gay for owning it. duke was an exception cause his was fast.

11/16/2005 1:23:36 PM

will we get picts of ur new miata?

11/16/2005 1:24:22 PM