miata engine cradle weakness?

P

p5stockr

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winning blue 'o6 Mazda3 GrandTouring
I was just wonderin if anyone has had a runin with the miata engine cradle as far as cracking near welds(crashes?!) We just fixed rear end damage ona 95 that the owner uses for autocros events and palns on entering some roadraces in VA( sweet car, immacualte blk/taninterior&top, cage, adjustable struts) after he hit a guardrail in a slide. We handled sending it out for alignmet( my dad is servicemgr at MAzda dealer next door!) to his specs and while there discovered it had previous( unknown to owner, used car) front end damage and could not be aligned. So we put it on the frame rack to pull it back square and on first pull at 5000 lbs. ( very low strenght for machine) the bodyman heard a loud pop, turned out cradle cracked at factory joint! He said it looked as if someone had attempted a bad repair( lotsa slag an bubbles) however boos said it was factory weld. I didnt see it myself so I was just wondering if anyone has had any trouble in that area, as i know SOME of you ahd to crash once in a while! I mconsidering buyoing a 97 from next door an was just wonderin if it sumtjhin to look out for!
sorry such a long boring post but maybe it wil end some of the confusion at work!
Brian
 
p5stockr said:
I was just wonderin if anyone has had a runin with the miata engine cradle as far as cracking near welds(crashes?!) We just fixed rear end damage ona 95 that the owner uses for autocros events and palns on entering some roadraces in VA( sweet car, immacualte blk/taninterior&top, cage, adjustable struts) after he hit a guardrail in a slide. We handled sending it out for alignmet( my dad is servicemgr at MAzda dealer next door!) to his specs and while there discovered it had previous( unknown to owner, used car) front end damage and could not be aligned. So we put it on the frame rack to pull it back square and on first pull at 5000 lbs. ( very low strenght for machine) the bodyman heard a loud pop, turned out cradle cracked at factory joint! He said it looked as if someone had attempted a bad repair( lotsa slag an bubbles) however boos said it was factory weld. I didnt see it myself so I was just wondering if anyone has had any trouble in that area, as i know SOME of you ahd to crash once in a while! I mconsidering buyoing a 97 from next door an was just wonderin if it sumtjhin to look out for!
sorry such a long boring post but maybe it wil end some of the confusion at work!
Brian
Click to expand...
I've never seen or heard anything like this. My second Miata which I just purchased has seen rather severe front and rear end damage in the past, yet the engine "cradle" is still perfect. The welds on the front sub frame should be smooth, no slag. If the body is in a fair and "aligned" shape, it's possible to just replace the damaged front sub frame. I've seen them go rather inexpensively on Ebay or you could acquire one from www.mazdarecycling.com, fairly inexpensively. However, shipping may be a different story. You may want to consult the folks at www.miataforum.com . There are a lot of knowledgabe folks there that may be able to assist you even further.
 
yea we got it fixed last night, one of the guys welded it and added a small gusset (I still dont know exactly what point of the cradle was broken) and sent it out for alignment, and it stil wouldnt meet his specs for positve camber , and after getting it back we discovered( noticed tag in back of fender ) that it had an aftermarket right front fender( not uncommon here in NC ..cheapass insurance co) and that right Apillar had been repaired ..soo it apppears she did take a healthy lick sometime in her dirty past...BUT it was a lovely car and hopefully the guy can get his setup together!
Brian
 
Good luck with the Miata. I hope they can mend her to an acceptible level. If you do get her near spec, she'll certainly be a fun car to drive. Keep us updated with the progress.
 
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