Just got my first car! Help needed...
Discussion
Hello guys, just bought my first ever car! (So please bare with me) It's a 1996 1.8 MX5 Merlot edition, love it! It's sitting in my sisters driveway right now though as I need insurance and parking permit for my place. Anyway, one of the windscreen wipers has some rust on it so I'd like to replace it, it's not the wiper itself but on the top of the metal arm that connects to the wiper, not had any luck finding where to get the part though, any help on that would be great!
As far as I know the car won't have a proper alarm? Is there any cheap alarm I can get to lower my insurance premium?
Thanks in advance guys, and sorry for the nooby questions!
Edit - Think I've solved one of my problems... this is what I need for the windscreen wiper?
As far as I know the car won't have a proper alarm? Is there any cheap alarm I can get to lower my insurance premium?
Thanks in advance guys, and sorry for the nooby questions!
Edit - Think I've solved one of my problems... this is what I need for the windscreen wiper?
Edited by FrozenShivers on Sunday 22 April 21:46
yer thats what you need for the wiper arm, although it is really overpriced. I would create an account on MX5OC and see if anyone is breaking a MK1 as you will get it much cheaper. I paid £14 quid for one about a month ago when mine needed replacing (mine is a MK2.5)
EDIT: just had a quick look for you and found this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Windscreen-Wiper-Arm-Maz...
EDIT: just had a quick look for you and found this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Windscreen-Wiper-Arm-Maz...
Nice one, good first car! And welcome to PistonHeads. Photos?
I don't know about alarms but I've had an immobiliser on both my 5s, which gives me a warm feeling even if they don't have much impact on insurance. They were fitted before I bought the cars but I imagine local ICE places do that kind of thing.
Whilst the car is on the drive have a read of the MX5 guides on here and the MX5OC website. There's stuff you can do now whilst you have time (once you're up and running all you'll want to do is drive!)
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Find yourself a decent local MX5 specialist: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
And before you do anything else grab a metal coat hangar, undo it so it's straight, and with the hood up (or half up) find the drain hole behind the seats in the bulkhead and shove the coat hangar down the hole until it hits the floor outside the car. Do this every few months to clear the build up of gunk and hopefully prevent rusting from the inside out...
There's probably a better guide with photos somewhere
I don't know about alarms but I've had an immobiliser on both my 5s, which gives me a warm feeling even if they don't have much impact on insurance. They were fitted before I bought the cars but I imagine local ICE places do that kind of thing.
Whilst the car is on the drive have a read of the MX5 guides on here and the MX5OC website. There's stuff you can do now whilst you have time (once you're up and running all you'll want to do is drive!)
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Find yourself a decent local MX5 specialist: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
And before you do anything else grab a metal coat hangar, undo it so it's straight, and with the hood up (or half up) find the drain hole behind the seats in the bulkhead and shove the coat hangar down the hole until it hits the floor outside the car. Do this every few months to clear the build up of gunk and hopefully prevent rusting from the inside out...
There's probably a better guide with photos somewhere
Good call on getting it changed. The one in my old car was rusty but I thought nothing of it. Then it broke while I was in the third lane of a motorway in heavy, heavy rain. Had to take the interior roads to my destination with just 1 wiper for visibility and the wiper arm (now with no wiper) lifted off the windscreen just moving about in the air.
An experience, but a totally unnecessary one.
An experience, but a totally unnecessary one.
Thanks for the replies guys and all the useful information!
Here are some pictures of the car for you! (Many being of the imperfections).
I'm going to take your advice and just refurb them first, then further down the line I'll just replace them, still unsure of what I need to buy to get the job done though, any help on that please? My friend also mentioned draining the car with a metal rod of somesort, never knew that I needed to do this so I'll get that done ASAP too just to be on the safe side...
My friend mentioned getting it undersealed just before winter to help with rust, is that good advice? Thanks again guys.
Here are some pictures of the car for you! (Many being of the imperfections).
I'm going to take your advice and just refurb them first, then further down the line I'll just replace them, still unsure of what I need to buy to get the job done though, any help on that please? My friend also mentioned draining the car with a metal rod of somesort, never knew that I needed to do this so I'll get that done ASAP too just to be on the safe side...
My friend mentioned getting it undersealed just before winter to help with rust, is that good advice? Thanks again guys.
Edited by FrozenShivers on Monday 23 April 11:35
FrozenShivers said:
Thanks for the replies guys and all the useful information!
https://plus.google.com/photos/1021371339455351122... Here are some pictures of the car for you! (Many being of the imperfections).
I'm going to take your advice and just refurb them first, then further down the line I'll just replace them, still unsure of what I need to buy to get the job done though, any help on that please? My friend also mentioned draining the car with a metal rod of somesort, never knew that I needed to do this so I'll get that done ASAP too just to be on the safe side...
My friend mentioned getting it undersealed just before winter to help with rust, is that good advice? Thanks again guys.
Address working now. https://plus.google.com/photos/1021371339455351122... Here are some pictures of the car for you! (Many being of the imperfections).
I'm going to take your advice and just refurb them first, then further down the line I'll just replace them, still unsure of what I need to buy to get the job done though, any help on that please? My friend also mentioned draining the car with a metal rod of somesort, never knew that I needed to do this so I'll get that done ASAP too just to be on the safe side...
My friend mentioned getting it undersealed just before winter to help with rust, is that good advice? Thanks again guys.
Enjoy the car!
FrozenShivers said:
My friend also mentioned draining the car with a metal rod of somesort, never knew that I needed to do this so I'll get that done ASAP too just to be on the safe side...
My friend mentioned getting it undersealed just before winter to help with rust, is that good advice? Thanks again guys.
The draining bit sounds like the drainage holes, they can get blocked up with leaves and stuff. They are underneath the carpet on the parcel shelf, just behind the seatbelt pillar. Not the easiest to get to with the hood down so you'll have to pull it up part way to get access. An old aerial does the trick; I bought a flexi drain unblocker from a pound shop to do the trick.My friend mentioned getting it undersealed just before winter to help with rust, is that good advice? Thanks again guys.
As for undersealing, yes, that is a good idea.
Thanks Claire, went around to my sisters today, didn't have any blooming coat hangers though so I'll do it next time 
.
Few things I want to do with the car, I want to get something to put over the softtop when it's down to cover it, some sort of black cover to put over it to neaten the back up, any idea where I could get this? My passenger window is also extremely stiff, not sure how I can do to fix it as I don't want to use that window incase I break it.
I also want to replace the light in the hardtop, as it's not working, here is the part I'm talking about, any idea where to get this? And also (the list is endless sorry, this is addictive though!) I want 4 new hubcaps for the alloys, not sure where to find those either so any help is much appreciated, thanks guys you've been a great help.
.Few things I want to do with the car, I want to get something to put over the softtop when it's down to cover it, some sort of black cover to put over it to neaten the back up, any idea where I could get this? My passenger window is also extremely stiff, not sure how I can do to fix it as I don't want to use that window incase I break it.
I also want to replace the light in the hardtop, as it's not working, here is the part I'm talking about, any idea where to get this? And also (the list is endless sorry, this is addictive though!) I want 4 new hubcaps for the alloys, not sure where to find those either so any help is much appreciated, thanks guys you've been a great help.
Edited by FrozenShivers on Monday 23 April 19:45
FrozenShivers said:
Thanks Claire, went around to my sisters today, didn't have any blooming coat hangers though so I'll do it next time .
Few things I want to do with the car, I want to get something to put over the softtop when it's down to cover it, some sort of black cover to put over it to neaten the back up, any idea where I could get this? My passenger window is also extremely stiff, not sure how I can do to fix it as I don't want to use that window incase I break it.
I also want to replace the light in the hardtop, as it's not working, [URL=
http://i40.tinypic.com/2e0lhsw.jpg]here[/URL] is the part I'm talking about, any idea where to get this? And also (the list is endless sorry, this is addictive though!) I want 4 new hubcaps for the alloys, not sure where to find those either so any help is much appreciated, thanks guys you've been a great help.
eBay is good for most of those parts..Few things I want to do with the car, I want to get something to put over the softtop when it's down to cover it, some sort of black cover to put over it to neaten the back up, any idea where I could get this? My passenger window is also extremely stiff, not sure how I can do to fix it as I don't want to use that window incase I break it.
I also want to replace the light in the hardtop, as it's not working, [URL=
http://i40.tinypic.com/2e0lhsw.jpg]here[/URL] is the part I'm talking about, any idea where to get this? And also (the list is endless sorry, this is addictive though!) I want 4 new hubcaps for the alloys, not sure where to find those either so any help is much appreciated, thanks guys you've been a great help.
FrozenShivers said:
Few things I want to do with the car, I want to get something to put over the softtop when it's down to cover it, some sort of black cover to put over it to neaten the back up, any idea where I could get this? My passenger window is also extremely stiff, not sure how I can do to fix it as I don't want to use that window incase I break it.
Looks like you already have a cover in one of the photos...is it something else you're referring to?The windows are a common problem. There is a detailed explanation on MX5 Nutz which shows exactly how to lubricate it all to get it working smoothly again.
Undersealing is a good idea but looks like you might need to get a bit of rust sorted first (sills). You don't want to seal in rust without treating / eradicating it first. At least you've got a bit of time before they start using salt on the roads again.
Centre caps for the alloys I'm sure are obvious in MX5parts. Just search for key words. You'll have to become pretty good at guessing at names for things when looking on ebay for car parts, they can be a bit obscure sometimes!
Car looks pretty good btw, to bring the head light covers into line with the bonnet just give them a little lift at the back, with the bonnet open.
Rocketman105 said:
Looks like you already have a cover in one of the photos...is it something else you're referring to?
The windows are a common problem. There is a detailed explanation on MX5 Nutz which shows exactly how to lubricate it all to get it working smoothly again.
Undersealing is a good idea but looks like you might need to get a bit of rust sorted first (sills). You don't want to seal in rust without treating / eradicating it first. At least you've got a bit of time before they start using salt on the roads again.
Centre caps for the alloys I'm sure are obvious in MX5parts. Just search for key words. You'll have to become pretty good at guessing at names for things when looking on ebay for car parts, they can be a bit obscure sometimes!
Car looks pretty good btw, to bring the head light covers into line with the bonnet just give them a little lift at the back, with the bonnet open.
Oops you're right it does look like I have a cover! Just need to locate it then, silly me. Ahh thanks, I'll have a hunt over at Nutz to fix the window then. Any advice on how to treat the rust at the sills?The windows are a common problem. There is a detailed explanation on MX5 Nutz which shows exactly how to lubricate it all to get it working smoothly again.
Undersealing is a good idea but looks like you might need to get a bit of rust sorted first (sills). You don't want to seal in rust without treating / eradicating it first. At least you've got a bit of time before they start using salt on the roads again.
Centre caps for the alloys I'm sure are obvious in MX5parts. Just search for key words. You'll have to become pretty good at guessing at names for things when looking on ebay for car parts, they can be a bit obscure sometimes!
Car looks pretty good btw, to bring the head light covers into line with the bonnet just give them a little lift at the back, with the bonnet open.
I've found centre caps on MX5parts but the problem is I'm not sure what size mines are, so I've not ordered any (the ones on MX5parts are shown with different alloys). Never knew that about the headlights, thanks a lot for the help Rocketman!
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