Buying a 1990

[news.swbell.net]

I'm about to buy a 1990 Miata clean automatic with 54K miles looks and
drives good. Is there anything special to look out for?
jo...@nagely.com

[Peter Owitz]

I'd look out for that automatic.

They tend to sap your will to live, and result in less fun than automatics!.

Seriously, I had a 90 and it was a great car. Good Luck and congrats.

P
"news.swbell.net" <jo...@nagely.com> wrote in message
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[Jerry Houston]

"news.swbell.net" <jo...@nagely.com> wrote in message
news:aEAd7.51$bU5....@nnrp1.sbc.net...

: I'm about to buy a 1990 Miata clean automatic with 54K miles looks and

: drives good. Is there anything special to look out for?

Mostly the comments from stick drivers, who consider an automatic somehow
less righteous than their 5- or 6-speeds.

There are plenty of good reasons to prefer an automatic, so don't let 'em
get to you. After all, it IS a Miata. And it DOES come with a "hold"
feature that will let you decide when it shifts.

Sounds like you're picking up a fine automobile that will give you years of
grins. 200K miles is pretty typical for Miatas, without serious repair, so
at 54K you should consider that someone has saved you all the trouble of
breaking it in.

Be sure you check into the required scheduled maintenance, though. There's
a major milestone coming up at 60K miles, and there was a potential problem
with the early Miata cranks/pulleys. Didn't affect 'em all, and I'm not
sure if it included automatics. My oldest one is a '96, so I haven't paid a
lot of attention to the details about that one.

You can find out nearly everything you need to know at www.miata.net, and
it's a good idea to join the mailing list you'll find there.

Jerry & Serrano
'96 Classic Red

[CBike]

We've got a 90 with 107K miles and looks/runs great. When checking the serial
numbers we found it low enough to have the crankshaft problem however it's
still running strong. Probably keep it around for another 100K!

Charlie

[Mike Schmidt]

All 90's have the "Questionable crankshaft" see
http://www.miata.net/garage/crankshaft.html

I have an early 91A with "The" crankshaft, and it has not been a problem
other than a few more grey hairs ;-)

"CBike" <cb...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20010812180244...@ng-bk1.aol.com...

[Cissy Brazil]

>Be sure you check into the required scheduled maintenance, though. There's
>a major milestone coming up at 60K miles, and there was a potential problem
>with the early Miata cranks/pulleys. Didn't affect 'em all, and I'm not
>sure if it included automatics.

I think for many '90s, if the front seal is NOT leaking, then when changing the
timing belt, the pulley need NOT be touched. If you have a garage or even Mazda
do the timing belt change, make sure they do not remove the pulley needlessly.
Like I said, ONLY if the front seal is leaking, does the pulley need to come
off.

Like Jerry said, go to miata.net for more details. Good luck! Miatas are
beautiful cars! I've had my 90 since July 89. Just turned over 79,000. Running
great. No crank/pulley problem because we didn't touch it during timing belt
change. No leaky seal :-)
Cissy
http://members.aol.com/expmiata/index2.html

[David Clarke]

Peter, I don't know if you got any responses regarding your inquiry into
the DRL module or not but here is the web site of my local dealer.

http://www.carlingmotors.ca

I'm sure they could ship you a module.

If you're on the west coast or if you want to find a closer dealer,
visit

http://www.mazda.ca

This should get you what you want.

good luck,
dave

[Peter Owitz]

Thanks Dave -

I know where to get one, I"m just too cheap to buy it.

P
"David Clarke" <david.a...@alcatel.com> wrote in message
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