Even after all this time, having such a great Explanation on how to adjust the Timing on your NA Miata Engine right, is sooo absolutely insane and Cool! Thank you Miata King for sharing your all mighty Knowledge! I am currently after 344500Km on the Clock on it to replace Water and Oilpump and doing aswell beside the Timing belt also the Cylinder Head Gasket. My Dear Natsumi (95' 90HP 1.6) deserves this after putting over 109K Km on the Clock since my ownage of her. (Got her in late 2018 with 225K Km on the Clock) :D
Just did a water pump and timing belt kit on my sons 2001. Buttoned it all back up wouldn't start. Took it apart to double check timing was set right. Rechecked all electrical connectors. Still wouldn't start. Just about at the end of my rope considering having it towed to a shop and God brought me to this video. After watching the video went out to check and sure enough I had put the plate on backwards. Thank you for your awesome tutorial. Saved me $. 5STARS
@@radsmack couldn't time it to factory and after the video I found my problem. Simple fix from knowledge from the video. When you mix two different gen I was off a tooth. Told the guy look this was rigged to run before engine blew. Now I have the 1.8 a true 1.8. for some reason the water pump and intake cam was off with tention. I watched this video and went by year to date of the car. Also don't go mad cheap on water pump. 14 thousands bigger from factory. I bought a direct or and everything is the money for the timing.
Can not thank you enough for your video and the fact that someone sent me your way. I watched every video about the miata timing job that I could find and the car wouldn't start. Stumbled upon another bloke's video thanking you for the solution to his no start after replacing the timing belt. Cheers, mate. Really appreciate your work.
Thanks Mike...My car had the Exhaust cam gear mounted wrong so if timing marks were proper the cam was wrong ( JDM replacement engine). as soon as I saw that the cam lobes oppose each other at TDC I knew what was wrong....Your video saved the day...Thank you again. Jim
Thank you Mike!! This was the sanity check i needed when diagnosing my 93 miata crank pulley, confirming the harmonic balancer spun. The crank pulley timing mark with the engine mechanically at TDC lined up PERFECT with the nub at 11oclock protruding from the lower timing cover. (That nub is for installing the timing belt when the cam springs are all at rest, ~1/6th of a turn from TDC if i recall). Hope you are doing well, i haven't heard anything from you in a while. Take care!
1994-2005 pulley, the yellow or red mark is TDC. If you line up the white at TDC, the crank will be 10 deg btdc. I just did a timing belt on a 1994 1.8, with the crank timing gear's notch lined up with the "V" on the block, the yellow mark is a TDC. Also verified with the screwdriver in the spark plug tube.
Noticed the same thing on my 2003, and worried it was set wrong based on what was shown in this vid.... I too found that when the screwdriver was at it's highest point on the compression stroke, the "T" lined up with the mark furthest to the left; or what he refers to as the "red or yellow" mark on the pulley. The "white" mark is actually rotated past the "T" when turning the crank clockwise.
Hey Mike, I just wanted to say thanks for this addendum. Using it solved my timing belt problem! I found out I was 1 tooth off on the exhaust cam. Take care and please continue to make videos! I promise I'll buy parts from your web store on anything you teach!
I did the timing belt job on my wife's 2000. Guess what? She wouldn't start no way no how. Your display of the reluctor plate (I think it's a crank angle sensor plate) got me thinking...hmmm did I install that backwards? I checked the video I made when I installed the plate and sure enough - I put it on backwards. I'll reinstall it tonight - here's hoping. Big props for making this vid....
Just out of curiosity, what did the car do when it wouldn't start? I just replaced my belt as well and wonder if this is what i did wrong. It would just crank and crank then start for a microsecond before shutting itself down.
I did my 1.6 and was purely terrified the first time. Then I forgot to tighten a bolt and had to go back in and redo it on the side of the road one day. It's amazing how fast you can get at this when you have to. It took a little while to learn how to get everything together and then finesse the belt over the pulley without chucking the timing all the way off by a mark, but you'll figure it out. I did. And do the water pump at the same time. It's eaiser.
Thanks, im still debating doing my own these vids help alot. Being able to see what people mean and have it explained is great. Keep making vids please!. Even if its something that is common place i would love to see it.
thank you Miata King, I have set and reset the timing. It seems that the cam gears and lower timing gear are correct. I saw somewhere else that there should be 19 teeth between the two cam gears and I am counting 18 teeth. is that a problem?
You are the KING! cool videos man. i'll be getting my mx5 here in london soon. hoping to get a mk2. these videos are gonna come in handy. keep making new ones cause i love to work on my own car.
So as far as finding a timing mark on the pulley I can pretty much look or feel for the smaller bolt on the boss hub and eye ball a mark to be somewhere around the 1 o'clock point on the pulley, right?
Miata was running great no issues , went to start it for work , no start ! I have gas and spark , changed trimming belt , still extremely low compression and no start !!! Any advice ? Have not lead down tested ,
Hi Mike, how can I purchase turbo for my 200o Miata LS and how to install it ? what you think is better for me ? to install it by myself or have some one to do it ? i am handy man and truck driver but I don't know how complicated it is to install turbo on my car ?
i have gotten a few mixed responses on this question but my car is at 120,000 miles so I need to do this and I am wondering if the motor is an interference or non-interference.....just incase I somehow screw it up bad I would rather not blow the motor up :) otherwise thanks for the great vids
Hello Mike! I'm in the process of changing out my timing belt on my 2001 but when I took off the valve cover, the belt wasn't broken as I previously thought. Two weeks ago when I tried to start my car, it sounded just like when a timing belt goes. The belt was stiff between the two cam gears but when I turned the crank shaft bolt to put it at top dead center, there was slack at the same location. Also, it appears the belt was rubbing on the backside because I found rubber powder on the top cover. The auto adjuster spring looks okay and the bolt is tight. What do you think may be the problem? Thanks!!!
Hello Sir Manny, Timing belt at this time does not seem to be the problem. Go ahead and proceed with the t-belt job. You may find another issue. Once back together start her up. If she still will not start look for spark and fuel. Good Luck with you Miata Mission. Mike. The King of Miatas.
These are great videos. Do you think replacing the cam and crank seals imperative? Same question for the tensioner and idler? I wish you could have shown how to remove the seals..maybe next time.
Hello Mike, So recently I was getting a P0304 misfire code and ended up replacing the plugs, wires, coil pack, fuel injectors with no luck from any of that. I ended up having low compression, so I swapped the head with a different one from a local Miata guy. About 2 weeks into the head swap. My car breaks down going up a small hill. The car starts making a weird exhaust note, somewhat like a 4 stroke dirt bike engine. I pull over and the car dies. I am able to start it up and drive it like 25 mph max speed, but will die on idle. My coolant and oil gauge are dead center. The coolant and oil look normal with no odd contaminants. I can't figure out what it can be. I read about fuel, so today I replaced the pump and fuel filter. It ran decent for about 20 seconds and it's back to the same problem. Summary: weird engine exhaust noise, very low power, dies at idle, flashing P0302 code. Any help will highly be appreciated. I am really stuck here. -Nick
Hello Damsel Nicky, The clue is two weeks after repair. You may have a crankshaft main pulley bolt that has loosened up. Check the bolt for tight and the pulley for wobble. If so take it back apart and inspection in needed. Good Luck with you Miata Mission. Mike. The King of Miatas. PS liked your videos.
Thank you Mike for replying to my message and I appreciate the comment. Looks like the pulley is on there tight. I know it's rare, but could it possibly be a bad ECU?
Hello Nicky, After two week of a major repair, the first place to look is at the Major repair. Engine compression check is a good start. You must make sure that the mechanicals are good before you go down the rabbit hole on the ECU. Good luck with your Miata Mission. Mike. The King of Miatas.
Hey Mike I'm not sure how frequent you check your comments but my baby mila is a 92 Miata and we just changed her timing belt. I think that we installed it or timed it wrong but I'm not sure how to tell or check.. if you could help me that would be great! The engine is running really loud
ThingCalledLife he actually is showing you exactly what to look at for your specific model in this video. I'll be checking mine as I just got mine changed by a mechanic and I want to double-check his work. I would suggest you to look at some forums on Miata.net for your model and see what you need to do to get to the point he is at in the video. Don't be afraid to mess up as there is no success without failure. if you need more help than that maybe pm me or something and I can see what I can find online for you as well
So I did my cam seals and I messed my timing all up. Iv been trying over and over with no luck. At idle the AFRs are around 16/17 and the the engine won't rev over 3000rpm its almost like it hits a rev limiter. I'm thinking maybe I 180 the cam when I was doing it I'm not sure.
I just did a belt on the 03...everything have been triple checked. when I go to start it, the engine just turns, doesn't even sound like there's any compression. any ideas? thanks!
Hello Sir Mike.Thank you for your concerns. Your next step Is a compression test. If that is low then the camshafts are out of time. Good Luck with your Miata Mission.The King of Miatas. Mike.
+BalledandJacked thanks for the reply! is it even possible to be a full revolution off on the crank? I don't see how it would matter...also, I dug back in and I think I'm 1 tooth off on the crank which in turn it looks like im 1 tooth off on both the intake and exhaust cams, both need to go clockwise 1 tooth...would that cause absolutely no compression? I marked the sprockets and belt before I took it off and transfered to the new belt so I could have swore it was right :(
+BalledandJacked ok, so the timing is right on...did a full rebuild...03 miata with 20.4k on car...I did everything going in the way it came out.. on the 03, are they hydrolic lifters? could they need to come out and be bleed? it's the only thing I can think of...if so, what's the best way to bleed them? appreciate your help!!
Hello Sir Mike,We will still need that compression test to know our next step. Watch the video How to do a compression and leak down test on You Tube. The King of Miatas. Mike.
+BalledandJacked I did one...not one single pound in any cylinder...I've rebuilt lots of engines... about a dozen vw jetta 1.8t's..but this guy's got me lol...I actually just got a car in yesterday and ordered parts today for another vw build and he's giving me a 93 miata on trade for the labor
atleast on NBs the crank pulley doesnt matter at all. if you do a timing belt change the crank nut has the marking and it cant be wrong. literally no reason to use a light
Even after all this time, having such a great Explanation on how to adjust the Timing on your NA Miata Engine right, is sooo absolutely insane and Cool! Thank you Miata King for sharing your all mighty Knowledge! I am currently after 344500Km on the Clock on it to replace Water and Oilpump and doing aswell beside the Timing belt also the Cylinder Head Gasket. My Dear Natsumi (95' 90HP 1.6) deserves this after putting over 109K Km on the Clock since my ownage of her. (Got her in late 2018 with 225K Km on the Clock) :D
12 and a half years later and still extremely useful to this day. Really appreciate you sharing some of your knowledge Miata King!
Just did a water pump and timing belt kit on my sons 2001. Buttoned it all back up wouldn't start. Took it apart to double check timing was set right. Rechecked all electrical connectors. Still wouldn't start. Just about at the end of my rope considering having it towed to a shop and God brought me to this video. After watching the video went out to check and sure enough I had put the plate on backwards. Thank you for your awesome tutorial. Saved me $. 5STARS
10 years later I watched the best video for a rebuild im doing with cam time issue. Yes you are the miata King!
Did you have an issue with the cam gear being off ?
@@radsmack couldn't time it to factory and after the video I found my problem. Simple fix from knowledge from the video. When you mix two different gen I was off a tooth. Told the guy look this was rigged to run before engine blew. Now I have the 1.8 a true 1.8. for some reason the water pump and intake cam was off with tention. I watched this video and went by year to date of the car. Also don't go mad cheap on water pump. 14 thousands bigger from factory. I bought a direct or and everything is the money for the timing.
Can not thank you enough for your video and the fact that someone sent me your way. I watched every video about the miata timing job that I could find and the car wouldn't start. Stumbled upon another bloke's video thanking you for the solution to his no start after replacing the timing belt. Cheers, mate. Really appreciate your work.
Z..Best video on Miata timing I've seen, clear explanation and clear voice, thanks Mike.
Thanks Mike...My car had the Exhaust cam gear mounted wrong so if timing marks were proper the cam was wrong ( JDM replacement engine). as soon as I saw that the cam lobes oppose each other at TDC I knew what was wrong....Your video saved the day...Thank you again. Jim
Just did this job and the car wouldn't start. Thanks to this video I realized that I installed the relucter plate on backward. Thank you Miata King!
Thank you Mike!! This was the sanity check i needed when diagnosing my 93 miata crank pulley, confirming the harmonic balancer spun. The crank pulley timing mark with the engine mechanically at TDC lined up PERFECT with the nub at 11oclock protruding from the lower timing cover. (That nub is for installing the timing belt when the cam springs are all at rest, ~1/6th of a turn from TDC if i recall).
Hope you are doing well, i haven't heard anything from you in a while. Take care!
Hello,
Thank you so much for your warm Commets. Mike, The King of Miatas.
Your majesty, thank you for all you provide to the Miata community and most importantly, thanks for saving my ass on my timing belt change 👑
1994-2005 pulley, the yellow or red mark is TDC. If you line up the white at TDC, the crank will be 10 deg btdc. I just did a timing belt on a 1994 1.8, with the crank timing gear's notch lined up with the "V" on the block, the yellow mark is a TDC. Also verified with the screwdriver in the spark plug tube.
Noticed the same thing on my 2003, and worried it was set wrong based on what was shown in this vid.... I too found that when the screwdriver was at it's highest point on the compression stroke, the "T" lined up with the mark furthest to the left; or what he refers to as the "red or yellow" mark on the pulley. The "white" mark is actually rotated past the "T" when turning the crank clockwise.
Hey Mike,
I just wanted to say thanks for this addendum. Using it solved my timing belt problem! I found out I was 1 tooth off on the exhaust cam.
Take care and please continue to make videos! I promise I'll buy parts from your web store on anything you teach!
wow, probably the best (most explanatory video) ive been able to find. thanks man! it really helped me
I did the timing belt job on my wife's 2000. Guess what? She wouldn't start no way no how. Your display of the reluctor plate (I think it's a crank angle sensor plate) got me thinking...hmmm did I install that backwards? I checked the video I made when I installed the plate and sure enough - I put it on backwards. I'll reinstall it tonight - here's hoping.
Big props for making this vid....
Jeff Roberts u ever figure it out?
Yes, I flipped the reluctor plate over and she started right up. What a relief.
Just out of curiosity, what did the car do when it wouldn't start? I just replaced my belt as well and wonder if this is what i did wrong. It would just crank and crank then start for a microsecond before shutting itself down.
Hello Sir Mega,
It does not matter which way because the top is the top. You can climb the Mountain from either side.
Mike.
The King of Miatas.
Good job on explaining this Mike. I don't even own a Miata and see this is useful.
Great video! Love the knowledge shared here!
I did my 1.6 and was purely terrified the first time. Then I forgot to tighten a bolt and had to go back in and redo it on the side of the road one day. It's amazing how fast you can get at this when you have to. It took a little while to learn how to get everything together and then finesse the belt over the pulley without chucking the timing all the way off by a mark, but you'll figure it out. I did. And do the water pump at the same time. It's eaiser.
Thanks, im still debating doing my own these vids help alot. Being able to see what people mean and have it explained is great. Keep making vids please!. Even if its something that is common place i would love to see it.
Why does my crankshaft pulley wobble and what are some diagnosis and solutions?
Great informative videos! thumbs up
thank you Miata King, I have set and reset the timing. It seems that the cam gears and lower timing gear are correct. I saw somewhere else that there should be 19 teeth between the two cam gears and I am counting 18 teeth. is that a problem?
You are the KING! cool videos man. i'll be getting my mx5 here in london soon. hoping to get a mk2. these videos are gonna come in handy. keep making new ones cause i love to work on my own car.
So as far as finding a timing mark on the pulley I can pretty much look or feel for the smaller bolt on the boss hub and eye ball a mark to be somewhere around the 1 o'clock point on the pulley, right?
Hello,
I will need History, year of miata, how low is the compression, you did the timing belt when before or after?
Mike,
The King of Miatas.
hey ming mike we might need to go even further detail in regards to the late nb model intake gears as far as reinstallation
Miata was running great no issues , went to start it for work , no start ! I have gas and spark , changed trimming belt , still extremely low compression and no start !!! Any advice ? Have not lead down tested ,
On the pully does it matter if you crank it clock wise or counter clockwise when cranking for #1 cylinder to be up?
Mike,
Thank you for making this video, very helpful.
Hi Mike, how can I purchase turbo for my 200o Miata LS and how to install it ? what you think is better for me ? to install it by myself or have some one to do it ? i am handy man and truck driver but I don't know how complicated it is to install turbo on my car ?
I have a 91 Miata if I look through the oil cap hole will I be able to see any of this moving or do you have to remove the valve cover?
Hello.
Yes, just pull the oil cap and look to see if the camshaft is moving. Good luck with your Miata mission. Mike, the king of Miata.
i have gotten a few mixed responses on this question but my car is at 120,000 miles so I need to do this and I am wondering if the motor is an interference or non-interference.....just incase I somehow screw it up bad I would rather not blow the motor up :) otherwise thanks for the great vids
That is genius... I mean you are the king!
Hello Mike! I'm in the process of changing out my timing belt on my 2001 but when I took off the valve cover, the belt wasn't broken as I previously thought. Two weeks ago when I tried to start my car, it sounded just like when a timing belt goes. The belt was stiff between the two cam gears but when I turned the crank shaft bolt to put it at top dead center, there was slack at the same location. Also, it appears the belt was rubbing on the backside because I found rubber powder on the top cover. The auto adjuster spring looks okay and the bolt is tight. What do you think may be the problem? Thanks!!!
Hello Sir Manny, Timing belt at this time does not seem to be the problem.
Go ahead and proceed with the t-belt job. You may find another issue. Once back together start her up. If she still will not start look for spark and fuel.
Good Luck with you Miata Mission. Mike. The King of Miatas.
This video saved my ass. Thank you!
These are great videos. Do you think replacing the cam and crank seals imperative? Same question for the tensioner and idler? I wish you could have shown how to remove the seals..maybe next time.
mike what about a cam with a vvt? which way do you turn the exhaust cam it to set it up properly thanks
oops i meant intake gear
Mike, I owe you a cold beverage! Reluctor plate on backwards. All better now... THANKS!
Incredibly helpful
Hello Mike, So recently I was getting a P0304 misfire code and ended up replacing the plugs, wires, coil pack, fuel injectors with no luck from any of that. I ended up having low compression, so I swapped the head with a different one from a local Miata guy. About 2 weeks into the head swap. My car breaks down going up a small hill. The car starts making a weird exhaust note, somewhat like a 4 stroke dirt bike engine. I pull over and the car dies. I am able to start it up and drive it like 25 mph max speed, but will die on idle. My coolant and oil gauge are dead center. The coolant and oil look normal with no odd contaminants. I can't figure out what it can be. I read about fuel, so today I replaced the pump and fuel filter. It ran decent for about 20 seconds and it's back to the same problem. Summary: weird engine exhaust noise, very low power, dies at idle, flashing P0302 code. Any help will highly be appreciated. I am really stuck here.
-Nick
Hello Damsel Nicky, The clue is two weeks after repair. You may have a crankshaft main pulley bolt that has loosened up. Check the bolt for tight and the pulley for wobble. If so take it back apart and inspection in needed.
Good Luck with you Miata Mission. Mike. The King of Miatas. PS liked your videos.
Thank you Mike for replying to my message and I appreciate the comment. Looks like the pulley is on there tight. I know it's rare, but could it possibly be a bad ECU?
Hello Nicky, After two week of a major repair, the first place to look is at the Major repair. Engine compression check is a good start. You must make sure that the mechanicals are good before you go down the rabbit hole on the ECU. Good luck with your Miata Mission. Mike. The King of Miatas.
Mike, does a 2005 have a belt or chain?
Thanks
Hello Sir Michael,
The 2005 has a belt. The 2006 also known as a N/C is the first to have a timing chain.
The King of Miatas.
Mike.
Thanks so much.
Hey Mike I'm not sure how frequent you check your comments but my baby mila is a 92 Miata and we just changed her timing belt. I think that we installed it or timed it wrong but I'm not sure how to tell or check.. if you could help me that would be great! The engine is running really loud
ThingCalledLife he actually is showing you exactly what to look at for your specific model in this video. I'll be checking mine as I just got mine changed by a mechanic and I want to double-check his work. I would suggest you to look at some forums on Miata.net for your model and see what you need to do to get to the point he is at in the video. Don't be afraid to mess up as there is no success without failure. if you need more help than that maybe pm me or something and I can see what I can find online for you as well
Daniel
Hey thanks man, at this point she is all good
ThingCalledLife oh awesome man! really good to hear :) just trying to help out haha
So I did my cam seals and I messed my timing all up. Iv been trying over and over with no luck. At idle the AFRs are around 16/17 and the the engine won't rev over 3000rpm its almost like it hits a rev limiter. I'm thinking maybe I 180 the cam when I was doing it I'm not sure.
I ment 180 the crank
Hello Sir Max,
Now is the time to use the triple check. Good luck with your Miata Mission.
MIke. The King of Miatas.
I just did a belt on the 03...everything have been triple checked. when I go to start it, the engine just turns, doesn't even sound like there's any compression. any ideas? thanks!
Hello Sir Mike.Thank you for your concerns. Your next step Is a compression test. If that is low then the camshafts are out of time. Good Luck with your Miata Mission.The King of Miatas. Mike.
+BalledandJacked thanks for the reply! is it even possible to be a full revolution off on the crank? I don't see how it would matter...also, I dug back in and I think I'm 1 tooth off on the crank which in turn it looks like im 1 tooth off on both the intake and exhaust cams, both need to go clockwise 1 tooth...would that cause absolutely no compression? I marked the sprockets and belt before I took it off and transfered to the new belt so I could have swore it was right :(
+BalledandJacked ok, so the timing is right on...did a full rebuild...03 miata with 20.4k on car...I did everything going in the way it came out.. on the 03, are they hydrolic lifters? could they need to come out and be bleed? it's the only thing I can think of...if so, what's the best way to bleed them? appreciate your help!!
Hello Sir Mike,We will still need that compression test to know our next step. Watch the video How to do a compression and leak down test on You Tube. The King of Miatas. Mike.
+BalledandJacked I did one...not one single pound in any cylinder...I've rebuilt lots of engines... about a dozen vw jetta 1.8t's..but this guy's got me lol...I actually just got a car in yesterday and ordered parts today for another vw build and he's giving me a 93 miata on trade for the labor
Great man thanks
WHERE THE HECK ARE THESE WRITTEN INSTRUCTIONS AT MX5 UNLEASHED ??? LOOKED EVERYWHERE MIKE
atleast on NBs the crank pulley doesnt matter at all. if you do a timing belt change the crank nut has the marking and it cant be wrong. literally no reason to use a light
best video, thank you
great stuff
thank you!!!!
Great video, big help, thank you for making this video
It's non interference. Well my o1 is for sure