Since the last update, a lot has happened.
Most of the parts needed to do the transplant came in. Unfortunately the clutch slave cylinder is on national back order, so the car doesn't yet move as a manual transmissioned car yet, but....
As noted before, I had to order a new differential mount (the arms portion - for those that don't know, the NC has a separate pumpkin and arms) because there were different part numbers for the automatic vs. the manual. I assumed the difference to be a minor front/rear relocation of where the pumpkin was in relation to the transmission. Well, when I received the new one and did some rough comparing of the two arms, it appears that they are the same with the exception of one being stamped MT and the other being stamped AT. In fact the part numbers on the arms themselves are the same. In talking to Mazdaspeed Motorsports, they said that sometimes the only difference is the durometer of the bushings. So, it turns out I could have probably used the existing one. On the plus side, I now have new bushings in this new mount vs. the 99,000 mile ones in the old one. Plus I have a spare. For a Prepared level car, spares are always good. So, I paired the LSD pumpkin with the new mount and put it in the car.
A couple of the other differences between the automatic and manual cars were the radiator and pilot bearing in the end of the crank. Again, thanks to fellow forum member Jim Boemler for the radiator from his car. The fan unit mounted right up, and all of the hoses still mount the same. The pilot bearing was a fairly simple install, just needing a similar size socket to use to "push" it into the crank with the help of a hammer....
With these items done, I installed the transmission along with the corresponding drive shaft (again, there are different drive shafts for the automatic, 5 speed, and 6 speed transmissions since the lengths needed are all different,) the power plant frame, and the remainder of the exhaust. I previously installed a Goodwin Racing header, but currently only have the stock midpipe to mount between that and the Goodwin Racing muffler. Since I will be well under weight, I'm not as worried about how heavy the exhaust components are since the weight will be down low. Also, I'll probably need more weight in the rear of the car, so having a full size muffler will help in this regard while also keeping the sound hopefully low enough to pass sound at any site.
A bit of a shocker was when I received the parts and noticed that I didn't receive the brake pedal assembly that I'd ordered. The paperwork/invoice I received had a handwritten notation next to the part number that read “O/S.” My worry was that this meant out of stock. I called Mazda the next morning and they did some research and informed me that it really meant “offsite.” This was a good thing because it was supposedly the last one in the country. Of course the bigger issue was that it was supposedly delivered before the other parts were and I never saw it. So, more research showed that for some reason it went to an old address. I sent my wife over to that address and fortunately it was still sitting outside. Whew.
Pulling out the automatic brake pedal cluster was fairly easy, with just one cotter pin and four nuts. The new one went in just as easy and the clutch pedal went in smoothly as well. The hole is already in the firewall for the clutch setup, so all that was required was putting the clutch master cylinder through and mating it to the clutch pedal assembly.
Now is where another difference was noted. The brake master cylinder (which houses the fluid for the brakes and clutch in a manual transmissioned car) has a different reservoir for the automatic. Missing is the nub to attach the fluid line that goes to the clutch master cylinder. Fortunately the rest of the brake master cylinder is the same, since a new reservoir is only about a quarter of the cost of a full master cylinder. So that will need to be ordered.
Next up was to install all of the clutch lines. I went with all stock stuff except for the flexible line that is in the middle of the setup. For that line I purchased a stainless braided line from Thompson Automotive. The cost of that versus the stock rubber unit was comparable, and this will avoid possible flexing of the line that the stock rubber one might have had. I did unfortunately order one part wrong. There are two brackets that are used for the mating points between the hard lines and flexible line. For whatever reason, I ordered two of the top one rather than one top and one bottom. So, that’s now added to the parts cart.
So, the car theoretically is only this bracket, the master cylinder reservoir and a slave cylinder away from moving on it’s own. Obviously it will require putting all new brake fluid in and lots of bleeding.
Now is where it gets interesting…
After putting the “new” radiator in and installing everything else, I decided to try starting the car to see if it ran with the automatic ECU despite not having an automatic transmission. So, ignition on, check. Engage starter, DENIED! It wouldn’t turn over at all, no clicking, no nothing. Yikes. Did I finally do something to kick the immobilizer into effect (even though I thought I already removed that portion?) Oh, I know, let me check to make sure all the wiring is attached to the starter still. Oh, look at that, I forgot to reattach the bracket that had the Ground. Okay, so reattach that. Huh, still won’t turn over.
The automatic transmission had a “transmission range switch” in it that told the ECU if the car was in either Park or Neutral. When I took out the transmission, obviously this went away. It’s similar to the clutch switch on manual transmissioned cars. The computer doesn’t want you to try to start the car when it can move under the power of the starter. Great for street cars, not necessary for race cars where the driver is hopefully smart enough to have the car in neutral anyway.
I wasn’t positive that this was the reason for the car not turning over, but I decided to try another route to start the car. Since the clutch isn’t yet functioning in the car, I couldn’t bump start the car. That left engaging the starter directly as the next course of action. The starter on the NC is pretty much the same as every other Miata, with a big wire coming directly from the battery for main power and then a smaller wire going to the solenoid that is switched power. My timing light kit that I had bought a long time ago had a remote starter included, so that looked like the logical next step. The remote starter has one end attach to the battery or other power, and the other to the solenoid on the starter. You then push a button to (hopefully) engage the starter. Sounds easy, but, it didn’t turn out quite so easy. I assumed that pulling that switched power wire off would be easy. Problem was, I couldn’t find the release on the end. It’s also right above the main power wire. I unbolted the main power wire hoping that I could find the release, but that didn’t help. I finally gave up and pulled the starter out of the car altogether in order to pull it off. With that done, I hooked up the remote starter, bolted the starter back in and reattached the main power wire. I crossed my fingers, reconnected the battery, turned the key to the “on” position and hit the remote starter button. Wala! It started right up.
As near as I can tell, the car runs perfectly, even though I currently have the O2 sensors hanging since they don’t have any holes to bolt into yet. They originally bolted into the stock header, one before and one after the cat. I will likely be getting a Goodwin Racing midpipe which has the bungs, so that will solve that. Once I can get the car back on the ground and can drive it around our complex, I’ll know a little more.
This was great news that I could start the car directly. I decided to order up an ignition and starter switch panel from Longacre Racing. The piece I purchased is weather tight which will obviously be needed in an open car. It has a toggle switch for the ignition and a button for the starter.
My next big hope was to be able to run the ignition through this switch and therefore eliminate the need for the the key and ignition assembly. After studying the wiring diagrams, I determined the wires that were necessary to run the ignition through the switch. After some cutting and splicing the moment of truth came. I turned the switch on and the instrument cluster lit up, pushed the start button and Woohoo, the car started right up.
Of course as I was writing this, I realized that when I had done this, the key was still in the ignition. Oh crap. I pulled the key out, and now the car turns over but doesn’t start. Put the key back in, it starts. Okay, back to the wiring diagrams.
I’ll do some research and see if I can figure this out. Obviously the keys are coded to the car, but I’d really like to get rid of the key. I even purchased hood pins from Longacre so that I don’t need the key for the trunk lid.
To be continued…..
Most of the parts needed to do the transplant came in. Unfortunately the clutch slave cylinder is on national back order, so the car doesn't yet move as a manual transmissioned car yet, but....
As noted before, I had to order a new differential mount (the arms portion - for those that don't know, the NC has a separate pumpkin and arms) because there were different part numbers for the automatic vs. the manual. I assumed the difference to be a minor front/rear relocation of where the pumpkin was in relation to the transmission. Well, when I received the new one and did some rough comparing of the two arms, it appears that they are the same with the exception of one being stamped MT and the other being stamped AT. In fact the part numbers on the arms themselves are the same. In talking to Mazdaspeed Motorsports, they said that sometimes the only difference is the durometer of the bushings. So, it turns out I could have probably used the existing one. On the plus side, I now have new bushings in this new mount vs. the 99,000 mile ones in the old one. Plus I have a spare. For a Prepared level car, spares are always good. So, I paired the LSD pumpkin with the new mount and put it in the car.
A couple of the other differences between the automatic and manual cars were the radiator and pilot bearing in the end of the crank. Again, thanks to fellow forum member Jim Boemler for the radiator from his car. The fan unit mounted right up, and all of the hoses still mount the same. The pilot bearing was a fairly simple install, just needing a similar size socket to use to "push" it into the crank with the help of a hammer....
With these items done, I installed the transmission along with the corresponding drive shaft (again, there are different drive shafts for the automatic, 5 speed, and 6 speed transmissions since the lengths needed are all different,) the power plant frame, and the remainder of the exhaust. I previously installed a Goodwin Racing header, but currently only have the stock midpipe to mount between that and the Goodwin Racing muffler. Since I will be well under weight, I'm not as worried about how heavy the exhaust components are since the weight will be down low. Also, I'll probably need more weight in the rear of the car, so having a full size muffler will help in this regard while also keeping the sound hopefully low enough to pass sound at any site.
A bit of a shocker was when I received the parts and noticed that I didn't receive the brake pedal assembly that I'd ordered. The paperwork/invoice I received had a handwritten notation next to the part number that read “O/S.” My worry was that this meant out of stock. I called Mazda the next morning and they did some research and informed me that it really meant “offsite.” This was a good thing because it was supposedly the last one in the country. Of course the bigger issue was that it was supposedly delivered before the other parts were and I never saw it. So, more research showed that for some reason it went to an old address. I sent my wife over to that address and fortunately it was still sitting outside. Whew.
Pulling out the automatic brake pedal cluster was fairly easy, with just one cotter pin and four nuts. The new one went in just as easy and the clutch pedal went in smoothly as well. The hole is already in the firewall for the clutch setup, so all that was required was putting the clutch master cylinder through and mating it to the clutch pedal assembly.
Now is where another difference was noted. The brake master cylinder (which houses the fluid for the brakes and clutch in a manual transmissioned car) has a different reservoir for the automatic. Missing is the nub to attach the fluid line that goes to the clutch master cylinder. Fortunately the rest of the brake master cylinder is the same, since a new reservoir is only about a quarter of the cost of a full master cylinder. So that will need to be ordered.
Next up was to install all of the clutch lines. I went with all stock stuff except for the flexible line that is in the middle of the setup. For that line I purchased a stainless braided line from Thompson Automotive. The cost of that versus the stock rubber unit was comparable, and this will avoid possible flexing of the line that the stock rubber one might have had. I did unfortunately order one part wrong. There are two brackets that are used for the mating points between the hard lines and flexible line. For whatever reason, I ordered two of the top one rather than one top and one bottom. So, that’s now added to the parts cart.
So, the car theoretically is only this bracket, the master cylinder reservoir and a slave cylinder away from moving on it’s own. Obviously it will require putting all new brake fluid in and lots of bleeding.
Now is where it gets interesting…
After putting the “new” radiator in and installing everything else, I decided to try starting the car to see if it ran with the automatic ECU despite not having an automatic transmission. So, ignition on, check. Engage starter, DENIED! It wouldn’t turn over at all, no clicking, no nothing. Yikes. Did I finally do something to kick the immobilizer into effect (even though I thought I already removed that portion?) Oh, I know, let me check to make sure all the wiring is attached to the starter still. Oh, look at that, I forgot to reattach the bracket that had the Ground. Okay, so reattach that. Huh, still won’t turn over.
The automatic transmission had a “transmission range switch” in it that told the ECU if the car was in either Park or Neutral. When I took out the transmission, obviously this went away. It’s similar to the clutch switch on manual transmissioned cars. The computer doesn’t want you to try to start the car when it can move under the power of the starter. Great for street cars, not necessary for race cars where the driver is hopefully smart enough to have the car in neutral anyway.
I wasn’t positive that this was the reason for the car not turning over, but I decided to try another route to start the car. Since the clutch isn’t yet functioning in the car, I couldn’t bump start the car. That left engaging the starter directly as the next course of action. The starter on the NC is pretty much the same as every other Miata, with a big wire coming directly from the battery for main power and then a smaller wire going to the solenoid that is switched power. My timing light kit that I had bought a long time ago had a remote starter included, so that looked like the logical next step. The remote starter has one end attach to the battery or other power, and the other to the solenoid on the starter. You then push a button to (hopefully) engage the starter. Sounds easy, but, it didn’t turn out quite so easy. I assumed that pulling that switched power wire off would be easy. Problem was, I couldn’t find the release on the end. It’s also right above the main power wire. I unbolted the main power wire hoping that I could find the release, but that didn’t help. I finally gave up and pulled the starter out of the car altogether in order to pull it off. With that done, I hooked up the remote starter, bolted the starter back in and reattached the main power wire. I crossed my fingers, reconnected the battery, turned the key to the “on” position and hit the remote starter button. Wala! It started right up.
As near as I can tell, the car runs perfectly, even though I currently have the O2 sensors hanging since they don’t have any holes to bolt into yet. They originally bolted into the stock header, one before and one after the cat. I will likely be getting a Goodwin Racing midpipe which has the bungs, so that will solve that. Once I can get the car back on the ground and can drive it around our complex, I’ll know a little more.
This was great news that I could start the car directly. I decided to order up an ignition and starter switch panel from Longacre Racing. The piece I purchased is weather tight which will obviously be needed in an open car. It has a toggle switch for the ignition and a button for the starter.
My next big hope was to be able to run the ignition through this switch and therefore eliminate the need for the the key and ignition assembly. After studying the wiring diagrams, I determined the wires that were necessary to run the ignition through the switch. After some cutting and splicing the moment of truth came. I turned the switch on and the instrument cluster lit up, pushed the start button and Woohoo, the car started right up.
Of course as I was writing this, I realized that when I had done this, the key was still in the ignition. Oh crap. I pulled the key out, and now the car turns over but doesn’t start. Put the key back in, it starts. Okay, back to the wiring diagrams.
I’ll do some research and see if I can figure this out. Obviously the keys are coded to the car, but I’d really like to get rid of the key. I even purchased hood pins from Longacre so that I don’t need the key for the trunk lid.
To be continued…..
No comments:
Post a Comment