MrMazda92's '92 GS - New daily

[Josh]

You can get them pretty flush, the very first set I had I ground the inside top edge of them to lay pretty flat, but unless you mold them they just dont look quite right. I like them better thicker across the top. I think they look better in pictures than they do on the car. the MS miata sides of those years might look cooler to modify and fit to the car. they would run down the sides of the door a bit further.

[MrMazda92]

I LOVE that car! OMG.

Same here, even the color works for me. It isn't my first choice of colors, but it looks damn good nonetheless.

[MrMazda92]

I'd be scared to modify them too much Josh, I think I may end up just sticking with the Euro Minis. They're a PERFECT fit(naturally), and I know I like the look already.

Are you still interested in my Euro front btw?

[MrMazda92]

Small update.

My new driver's side axle came in, and I'm waiting on the lower ball joint to get her road worthy again.
For the record, I didn't break my breaker bar removing the axle nut. Easy as pie with a 1/2" drive Craftsman breaker, a 4 foot cheater bar, and a helper to depress the brakes.

I've discovered a small leak from my sunroof, so I'll be needing to resolve that before fall comes around. I've got a car cover, but it's a little torn up from a long winter of constant use.

[MrMazda92]

Copied from Transmission section, I need to start writing things out here.

"Simple" Swap of stock parts for stock parts, so you'd think.

1. Driver's side jacked up, check.

2. Strut assembly removed entirely(had to adjust ride height anyways, 2 birds 1 stone), check.

3. Ball joint partially removed, nut on the steering knuckle stripped out. No biggie, grinder, penetrant, impact gun. Ball joint removed. New part shipped 2 days later, got it today.

4. Tie rod end... Seized tight, drove me nuts. Mushroomed the bolt when the castle nut twisted on a hammer blow. I started by smacking the steering knuckle on the side btw, out of frustration I smacked the nut a few times too. Lesson learned. New tie rod end, $10.99 was amazing compared to their $47 quote for a ball joint... No, I didn't pay $47.

5. The axle itself... Pried it free from the hub assembly, simply as can be. Transmission end... pain in the a--.
I ended up renting a puller($80) from AutoZone, which didn't grab well enough to pull it.... Out with the grinder, there goes my $10 core on the Axle. Ground the mo-fo down and the puller grabbed a little too well. I couldn't get the damn thing off without further destroying the axle. Admittedly, this was the most enjoyable part of the process.

6. Replacing the axle... The new one would NOT go past the little pinch ring. Simply ridiculous, I've NEVER had this much trouble with a simple task before. I kind of wanted to destroy something, so I had a little more fun with that broken, now worthless, axle. Once again, the highlight of my experience today.

In conclusion, next time I'll pay 2 hours shop rate, because this was fricken ridiculous. This was not worth saving $100 doing myself, I don't care what anybody says. -.-

Seriously though, how in the living hell do you force these things in? I turned it, twisted it, tried every single variable direction on the pinch ring(literally, changed it 15 degrees at a time, seeing if there was a "sweet spot" that the little bastard liked. No go, I spent over an hour trying to force an axle into the transmission. Help? Either you guys do it, or a shrink does, because I'm done. -.-

[MrMazda92]

Axle is pressed into the transmission! Bingo, 3 guys and a hell of a long time twisting, pushing, and whacking with a hammer got her into place. It's a miracle the thing took so much work to get in... Hopefully it'll be the last time I replace it for a long while.

Anyways, tomorrow I'll better budget my time, and hopefully get the front left corner put back together, adjust the ride height up a bit, and take the car for an alignment. Then I'll be 2 tires short of perfection(need to mount them, I snagged 2 for free! haha)

[mikeinaus]

thats odd you had so much trouble getting it in. every axle ive put into a tranny went in with relatively little effort, like 1 minute tops. maybe there was a bit of rust or debris ontop of the snap ring making it smaller then it should have been?

[MrMazda92]

The axle was brand new, the splines were clean, as was the opening in the trans. I used gear oil for lubricant.

[MrMazda92]

Washed, Buffed, and then Waxed my parked car today.

[MrMazda92]

I never thought I would go this route, but after checking it out myself, in person, I'm totally sold on these:



I'll definitely be looking into a pure white bulb for the backup light and turn signal, but other than that, I'm extremely pleased with them. I had been debating it for a long time, but I think the black tails add to the look of the red paint.

Too bad the paint is crap... It would look even better on clean red.

I did end up swapping the passenger side out as well, I just did this to compare the tails directly, both day and night.

What do you guys think?

Btw, don't hate on the 92/94 seats!

[mikeinaus]

good luck with the tails. i had mine on for less then 4 months before one of them decided to warp and crack (for no reason) and then decided to fill up with moisture. ive gone back to stock for now, and im playing with the idea of rebuilding them somehow. its a shame cuz they really update the look of the car. hope you have better luck then i did.

ps. fix your headliner you hobo.

[Mooneggs]

Axle is pressed into the transmission! It's a miracle the thing took so much work to get in... Hopefully it'll be the last time I replace it for a long while.

ummm... I have a bad feeling you will never get it back out It sounds like the snap ring got caught somewhere or was recycled? Are you sure it was the correct new axle??

Anyways I've always been a fan of the CF and black altezzas. I think they update the look of the car. You should do LEDs like Migueletto though!

[92StockMx3]

I was also on the fence when i was deciding if i wanted the altezzas or not but im glad i got them. Guess its just chance on getting a bad pair or not, have had mine for a few years now and still look brand new.

I also like the picture, its like a split before and after photo .

[MrMazda92]

Mike, they're used, so hopefully they've done all the changing that they'll be doing.

They came to me very clean, thanks to 2fazed, along with some other pieces I'd been wanting.

On the headliner topic, I'm currently waiting on a 94+ headliner w/ sunroof. I didn't want to leave half the power seatbelt track bolted in to keep my 92 A Pillars in place... It's weight, high up, that I'd like to avoid. I also have it as a constant reminder that my sunroof motor needs a good de-rusting. Good eye though!

Mark,
I had that exact same concern throughout the process... I kept pulling it back out to verify that the ring was undamaged. I think the problem was that I simply didn't have the right tools to do the job. It definitely took more effort than I enjoyed, but I think a few taps from a heavy hammer would've done the trick.

I love what he did with his LEDs, I'm a little scared to cut into mint taillights though... Maybe if I had another set to practice on... Scary to me!

Thank you 92StockMx3, I thought it looked pretty cool too!
My favorite thing about the tails is when I pull up behind the car in the dark, just that center reflector lit up... It looks like red eyes on the back of the car.

[MrMazda92]

Little update...

I've had the car back on the road for a while now, but I'm getting fed up with the suspension issues. I can't lower the car to the height I was hoping, because the spacers between my helper and primary springs collide with the strut. I will be removing the helper springs and setting the height where I had it before, hopefully that will resolve my issues.

Beyond that, I've put my complete interior back in finally(minus the hatch trim), and couldn't be much happier with the reduction in noise. I'd like to pick up some close celled foam, but it's still pretty far down the list right now to be honest.