After many months of trying to silence a very annoying rattle behind the seats of my 3.75 targetting any obvious places with no success I decided to fix the problem today regardless! So, I have stuck umpteen sticky backed pads anywhere in the area where that the plastic panels might cause the problem.
After a good test drive I seem to have succeeded. Unfortunately for anyone else who may have this problem I cannot pinpoint which of these pads has done the deed.
I hope I haven’t spoken too soon but I was really happy with the rattle free drive after my efforts.
Spent an inordinate amount of time over the weekend washing, cleaning, polishing and detailing the NC in readiness for the Spring Rally. Very pleased with the result. Glorious weather on Sunday and I should have been out with the top down enjoying myself but didn’t want to have to wash it again before next week. How sad is that!
Did the opposite Pete. Spent the weekend with the Clarkes on a trip to Somerset. Top down all weekend with a pleasant evening wining and dining at The Duke of York, Shepton Beauchamp. (which I highly recommend for B&B)
Great driving roads down and back. South of the A303 going and North of it coming home. A342 Devizes to Andover is a wonderful road to play on!!
Will have to clean the car up at the end of the week for Goodwood.
Well, I’ve bitten the bullet and taken off the rear brake discs and pads etc. It was a lot easier than I expected from having read some of the horror stories on here.
All the bolts were nice and easy with the correct tools, clean threads and no rust, just some of the usual blue thread lock. The discs came off cleanly with patience and some light tapping around the edge with the plastic hammer for a few turns of the hub.
The pads were evenly worn down to about 3mm on each of the four so definitely time for a change, all the clips and shims are in perfect nick, the sliders are nice and free, and the discs although beginning to have rust scores on the outer surfaces still measure at 10mm.
So new pads and a piston compressor are on order, and the discs are going round to a friend who has a lathe (and the ability to make a proper hub clamp) to dress the slight scoring and rust lines on the outer surfaces. The inner surfaces are free of scoring, but a light dressing to remove the tarnish will be good for the new pads.
And while I wait for the new pads to arrive (“before Friday” apparently) I’ll put some pale blue paint on the calipers and pad carriers.
The front brakes had new pads only three thousand miles ago at the last service, so they will not get the pale blue paint just yet.
With the kind help of my next door neighbour, i did the best 350 mile round trip I’ve ever done and picked up my new (to me) MK3.5 Sport Tech Coupe in silver. So in the true spirit of “What have you done to your MX5 today” i got it back home and have been admiring it ever since, going out for a blast tonight with the biggest grin on my face i think, happy days
How much have you lowered it? Mine was lowered by 35mm (Eibach) and nearly 18 months later I’ve not yet had any problem with kerbs or speed bumps etc. and I’m not the most sedate of drivers…!
Cleaned and waxed rhe NC and changed the front fog bulbs for Osram yellow* ones for that JDM look (and I like yellow fogs…they cheer me up when it’s cold). Not a hard job on a Mk3.75 - two bolts and a pushfit fastener each side. You have to do most of it by feel but you can guide the new bulb in by looking through the lens.
*they’re not actual Selective Yellow - no-one makes good ones any more - but they’re still very yellow
Job done. Clean discs, new Brembo pads, and painted calipers fitted.
I reused the unmarked Mazda shims because the Brembo shims had a less good match to the contact points for piston and caliper.
The piston winder kit from Az had a 4pin adaptor to wind the piston, perfect. I was prepared for a struggle, but they were dead easy and smooth, with just a touch of brake fluid to lubricate the boot-to-piston seal of the bellows.
Robbie’s guide in the Downloads is excellent, torque settings very helpful. The only addition I’ve made was to apply fresh Loctite blue thread-lock to the bolts to keep any future rust out.
The discs before
Cleaned outer faces, about 10 thou taken off the worst one (L below, R above), the other three faces just needed an emery block, and the new pads will do the rest for me so long as I keep it dry…
Cleaned inner faces
A freshly painted caliper assembled to the hub that had the worst disc
Tried changing the dipped beam bulbs. Best to have a practice run at these things while the car is clean and you don’t actually need to do the job. Anyway, on a Mk3.75, with the more angular headlamps, it’s not possible from underneath with my size hands - the owners’ manual is probably still talking about a Mk3 as it also gives the wrong instructions for the type of wheel arch fasteners.
It’s easier from above; I could just about manage as it is, but moving the washer bottle and fuse box an inch would make things a lot easier. This seems to be a preferred method by owners anyway. Ran out of time tonight but will have a go in the week.
Bulbs now changed. Driver’s side trivially easy once you swing the washer bottle out of the way. Passenger side is a total nightmare. Fuse box can barely be moved so you have to ignore the pain and go in through the wheel arch. Biggest problem was hooking the spring clip back “blind” and at an odd angle - there’s a real knack to this, which took me two evenings to figure out. Osram longlife bulbs fitted. I don’t want more light but I do want never to do the n/s bulb again! It’s a terrible design.
