Been at the Doctors

Well.... after much poking about under the bonnet, I decided that it was time to take her to the car doctor. I figured that the oil leak was most likely coming from the cam shaft and crank oil seals. To get to these, you have to remove the cam belt... and most importantly, get it back just right.

So, she went to the local garage. I'm up for most things on a car, but the innards of engines are still a bit of a no-go area. It's something I clearly need to get sorted, as we'll need to change the one on Katy's car soon. I'd like to 'help' someone who knows what they are doing change theirs: any takers?

I've had a call from the garage today. Everything seems to be much improved. She has decent oil pressure, isn't leaking oil like a sieve and the sound of the engine is fine. That'll be due to oil being able to reach the tappets...! I'm picking her up tomorrow, so here's hoping we're much closer to our first track day...

Update: Today, we picked her up. While my wallet is much lighter, the car seems to sound much more like an MX-5 should! I reckon a decent service will smooth out some of the remaining issues. The idle is a little lumpy, but I've already found advice on how easy it is to mess with that.


I took her for a ten mile run. Let's say she went like a train. Ahem. Big smiles. I don't think I've ever been that aggressive with my Mk2... and I'm still grinning. That engine, although a little abused, will stand up to what we want her to do. :-)


Here we are on the way home...