Just bought a mazda miata 1992 I have a couple of questions please.

First of all it is a manual transmission and have 117k on the original engine. Everything is stock except the radio. I paid $2200 for it and thought that was a good deal thoughts? It is in decent shape on the outside, and outstanding shape on the inside. Cruise, Power windows, AC. Is All I know right now.

1. I drove it 2 hours home. Found my lower back was hurting just a touch. Anything that can help that.

2. At 75 MPH it was swaying a bit. Is that normal something to worry about ?

3. Parked the car on a slight incline moved the vehicle 6 hours later found a 50 cent sized leak. Too dark to see where it was coming from. Smelled a little burned but not bad. Any idea what this would be

4. There are speakers in the seat heads is that a standard feature or was that an option?


Thanks again for all the help.

Frank

 

How big are you? The seats are sized for smaller people that's for sure

If the fluid is black/brown, that's engine oil....If it's reddish in color, it's trans fluid.

I'd recommend changing all of the fluids in any used car you buy. Pay attention to how the fluid looks as it comes out (Oil should be clear and brownish and free of debris.) You could also purchase magnetic drain plugs for your engine/trans that would replace the original plug so that if there is any metal in either case, you will get an indicator of that by the shavings collecting on your drain plug, that can be an indicator of the condition of the engine/trans. (metal shavings=bad)

Steering/tracking should be tight on a Miata. Grab the tie-rods and see if you can move them around. If they are loose, replace them. You can also jack each corner of the car up and try to shake the wheel to feel the tightness of the wheel bearings as well as the ball-joints. They should be good and tight.

You may want to look into an alignment (they would most likely check all of the above when doing the alignment because if any of these are bad, they won't be able to align your car.)

 

Thank you for your response. I wanted to check the color of the fluid, however could not due to being in the dark. I will do so today.

I will take the advise on changing all the fluids, and using the magnetic drain plugs (where do I get them)

I really do not know what I am "pulling on" in regards to the tie rods but I have an idea.

It needs tires badly in the front. So I will get a 4 wheel alignment when I get the tires.

The swaying I hear is a problem while at relatively high speeds. Just did not know to what extent I should expect.

Thanks for the help and advise.

Frank

 

The guy I purchased the vehicle from just called me. He said it never leaked, What he thinks is that the removed the valve cover, checked fluids, changed the oil etc. two days ago and he thinks they forgot the seal or gasket , something or might not have tightened something down. He had the vehicle checked before delivering it to me.

What do you all think?

 

My Mazda3 has a small ledge that oil collects on when I'm changing the oil and I typically get a small drip for a day or (2) after that.

Best bet is to pressure wash the engine clean, then run it for awhile and check for any fresh oil.

If you were actually missing a gasket, you'd have a bigger leak than what you described. (I would think)

Tie-rods are the parts that go from the steering box (or rack) to the spindles (what the wheels attach to). When you turn the wheel, they transmit the force from the steering system to the wheels. Grab these and yank them around (hard) in every direction possible. You shouldn't feel any kind of looseness in any direction.

If you do, it's not hard to change out the parts necessary, but you'll need an alignment after you replace the tie-rods, so be sure to check this before you go to have it aligned (or you may end up doing it twice)

I'm not sure why he would have had the valve cover off....you should be able to do all of the service you described above with the valve cover in-place.

 

1. Moss and M Moters sells an expandable kidney that fits into the seat that will help with lumbar support
2. Describe "sway" it my be an alignment which I have had trouble with in the past with some repair shops. Do agree that you can check wheel play and tie rods first.
3. Seems like you have enough answers on this on
4. Was standard on some models like the M-Edition that I own...I love this eature and don't know why they did away with it.