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The Miata broke! We drove it all weekend, put about 250 miles on it. Audra and I got 8 autocross runs each with it this morning. On the way home, 3 miles from home it quit with no warning and won't restart. It rocks and rolls like it has compression but it won't even try to to kick over. We had to have it TOWED!!!
Stupid flipping Miata!
I'll give you a hundred bucks for the damned thing, sight unseen.
'99 Miata,'03 CooperS,'91 GTI 16V, '96 Astro
are you ranting or looking for a cause?
pinion shaft? uh-oh
DeadSkunk wrote: I'll give you a hundred bucks for the damned thing, sight unseen.
$150.
I love adjustable wrenches. They make a great hammer for hitting screwdrivers being used as chisels.
Wowak wrote:DeadSkunk wrote: I'll give you a hundred bucks for the damned thing, sight unseen.$150.
$175 and a case of Stella Artois.
$175, and I'll throw in a 1992 Mazda 323.
$176.00 a button, a Lee Oscar harmonica, a burned wooden match, and a whisker I found in the hallway this morning from my cat. Thats all that is in my pocket at the moment.
I worry about reincarnation. What if I’m not hung as well next time around? The Buddha said Not to grasp- life is transitory. Damn it some things a man gets used to grasping.
Lolz! Sorry buckos, not selling my hardtop-equipped, Rota-shod Miata for any amount of loose change and pocket lint. ;)
I'm fishing for ideas on where to look first when I try to fix it tomorrow. I'm 95% sure it's not the timing belt. It ran like champ all damn weekend too!
Michael Pinto - 73 AMC Hornet / 93 Miata STS / 01 P71 Interceptor
Describe what it is doing or not doing. Is the fuel pump running? Check to see if you are getting any spark(my guess is the coil packs). Good luck and if you cant get it running, I will take it off your hands for $200.00.
Wayne Henry
I just checked my other pocket and found $25.00 that I will add to my generous offer.
Sorry I have nothing constructive to add other than fuel, spark all at the correct time.
I worry about reincarnation. What if I’m not hung as well next time around? The Buddha said Not to grasp- life is transitory. Damn it some things a man gets used to grasping.
Maybe it's not stupid. Maybe it's clairvoyant. Perhaps somewhere in that last three miles, a drunk teenager in a Civic (or a harried soccer mom in an SUV) ran a stop sign through an intersection. One that would have been full of You & Audra & Rotas & Miata if it had not kindly decided to deposit you safely upon the shoulder.
If it fires up tomorrow, I was right. And if it doesn't..I'll take it for the towing bill. 
How can it be a midlife crisis, when I've driven sportscars my entire life?
porksboy wrote: $176.00 a button, a Lee Oscar harmonica, a burned wooden match, and a whisker I found in the hallway this morning from my cat. Thats all that is in my pocket at the moment.
You saved the whisker?
Joey
Joey "all you are to me is talking ballast" Blatchford
Cam position sensor connection? I've had that happen to me on a car or two and give the same symptoms.
Texas A&M Racing
Everything in my house for the Miata. 
I love adjustable wrenches. They make a great hammer for hitting screwdrivers being used as chisels.
whats in your house??
pinion shaft? uh-oh
grimmelshanks wrote: whats in your house??
probably mold.
I love adjustable wrenches. They make a great hammer for hitting screwdrivers being used as chisels.
Does it crank? "Doesn't try to kick over" isn't clear to my brain.
Square left in 50 caution ocean!
It cranks (hit the key, starter goes whiiiirrrr, engine goes boink-boink and shakes/rattles/rolls, nothing tries to actually "fire" though).
Michael Pinto - 73 AMC Hornet / 93 Miata STS / 01 P71 Interceptor
check for spark, check for fuel pressure?
formerly known as hotstang
P71 wrote: It cranks (hit the key, starter goes whiiiirrrr, engine goes boink-boink and shakes/rattles/rolls, nothing tries to actually "fire" though).
Cranks, but no pops from the lump? Try just turning the key to "on" without turnint all the way to "start" (let the lil' lights flash, they won't steal that much voltage). You should be able to hear the fuel pump pressuring up. If not, well..there's a start.
Apologies in advance if you've already done this.
How can it be a midlife crisis, when I've driven sportscars my entire life?
Sounds like the coil packs -- we had the same issue on my wife's. Timing belt isn't a bad guess, either. Are the cams turning when the engine cranks (look through the 710 access hole on the valve cover)?
1990 Miata, 1998 M3, Locost in progress
If it tries to crank it probably isn't the timing belt. It would simply spin on endlessly if the timing belt broke. I would start with the coil pack first, but Keith would probably be better equipped to say that. Mine did do that once and it was the coil pack though.
There are a few things that can cause a Miata to just stop. It's almost impossible to stop a Miata from cranking, though. That's a pretty fundamental ability.
Coils tend to go individually, which makes the car run like a tractor but won't kill it. Fuel, no spark on two cylinders (1-4 or 2-3).
A break in the wires at the cam angle sensor will kill 'em dead like this. If that's the case, no fuel, no spark.
Main relay. More typically, this is a "the car was running fine until I turned it off, now it won't fire" kind of failure. I haven't heard of one cutting out when the car was running. The main relay is in the fusebox under the hood, you might be able to see burned contacts if that's the problem. No fuel, no spark, no power on any white wires with red stripes.
Fuel pump failure is pretty obvious. No fuel, spark.
Timing belts tend to break when pulling away from a start or starting the car. The car might crank funny. Pull the oil fill cap and watch the exhaust cam as you crank. This one isn't common, but it can happen.
Square left in 50 caution ocean!
Any check engine lights? When my miata did that, it was the crank angle sensor, but there was a check engine light associated with it. We did the "jumper the test connector" test and read the code and were in business.
Other than that, I'm going with Coil pack. With either case, start by checking for spark.
1 Mazda == Good. 4 Mazdas == More Gooder.
You do have gas ...right? Wouldn't be the first time that after a fun weekend, the gas guage was ignored.
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