Originally Posted by jaball77
It's something I couldn't really see when I bought the car. I knew the crank pulley was wobbling a little, but without tearing it off there was no way to tell why. So I gambled and lost.
Bummer, but it's definitely a
well-known Miata problem that you should have known about. You didn't do enough homework before you went shopping! The crank pulley visibly wobbling is an obvious sign of the problem.
But... before you go spending $2000 to have Stuart put a new crank in the car... you have options.
1. Go search Miata.net for info on the various fixes that have been successfully done for this problem. Everything from filling the keyway with JB Weld to loctite to outright WELDING the pulley in place. (obviously, that last one is a bit extreme, but with a fresh water pump and timing belt, you'd very likely get another 80k miles on it... plenty of time to source a new engine and have it ready)
2. Find a salvage 1.6 and spend a day swapping it. Complete engine should cost you between maybe $400 and $800.
3. Find a 1.8 and swap it in... might affect what class you can compete in, but Flyin' Miata makes a kit that has almost everything you need to do the swap. A 1.8 engine with the 1.6 gearing is pretty fun.