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Hi All,

My NA6 engine went kaploot and will need a new engine.

I believe engines range between 500-1000.

Anyone with experience can comment on the expected labor costs to get it all replaced and running?

Thanks!

How long is a piece of string? This is because there are plenty of things which may or may not need changing whilst you're at it - timing belt, water pump, radiator, other stuff you discover.
Maybe ask for recommendations of a good mechanic and get a quote.

When I had my NA-6 (this is probably 8 years ago now) I queried a well known local Adelaide wreckers who supplied, fitted and warrantied replacement engines and they quoted around $3,000 to $3,500 for a low (?) mileage engine fitted driveway with 3 months warranty. At that time a 1.6 replacement on the forum cost about $600 - $800 ( ish ) plus freight ...

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I agree with Kev - repairing cars is expensive with some charging $100 an hour. The way to find out is get an assessment of the existing engine and if it's in need of a lot of work get a quote for a replacement engine and labour to remove and fit. Wreckers will give a price for an engine.

Where are you going to find a decent B6? I would have thought that these days they are in the same category as rocking horse sh!t ... ? I am sure there are a few around, but 'decent' ones might require a lot of looking. And search here for 'small nose crank' problem, something that has killed a lot of the early B6 engines and which may not be easily identifiable on a non-running engine. The best option for finding a 'decent' engine would be to talk to ALL the MX5 workshops you can find across the country (literally) and see if they have, or know of, engines that have been pulled to replace with BPs (or even another B6). You will pay a premium , but the chances of getting an engine with a known history are improved, and you can still fall back on the junkyard option if that doesn't work out.

You don't want to be paying someone a $k or so every so often to slot in a another one, even if you get them cheap, and DIY will get tedious quickly. As well as purchase price, a timing belt service (~$1k) would be requirement if no service history was available for the engine.

I'd suggest your minimum budget would be price of engine (no idea, say $250-$1K), $1k labour to fit, and $1k for timing belt service (may be a little cheaper if the engine is out of the car) if required. So ballpark estimate, low $1250, high $3000.

If the car is to be a keeper or long term ownership, I'd look for engines without woodruff key damage (aka short nose problem) first, then pick the one that looked the best buy for a rebuild, and do a rings, bearings, valves job. That should do you for another 300,000kms and add (guessing) ~$2k to the bill, but you haven't paid a premium for a 'decent' engine, so the price would be around $4.25k all up.

You could save the cost of the 'new' engine by rebuilding the one in the car, but without knowing what condition the crank, rods, etc are in, I am hesitant to suggest that. Buying a good rebuild engine is likely to be quicker and cheaper than spending money to find out the blown engine is not suitable, and then chasing the rebuild candidate.

In regard to where to find a B6 in Sydney/NSW, try the wrecker at Yennora, who advertises on Gumtree, or SSS Automotive at Giraween.

When my NA6 engine was on it's dying legs many years ago when I had one, I bought an import engine from MX5 Plus.

An NB6 engine (1.6L B6 from 1998 onwards NB MX-5 in Japan) with a claimed 33,000 kilometres on it. A machined slot in the back of the inlet camshaft was also pre done by MX-5 Plus to fit original NA6 camshaft sensor.

Had it couriered directly to the mechanic workshop for transplant. It was fitted using the original NA6 electronics, manifolds, coolant pipes etc. Timing belt/waterpump, coolant hose kit also done at same time. The original NA6 alternator was changed out as the pulley that was included by MX5 Plus didn't fit the original alternator shaft. An alternator from a Ford Laser KH was used that had the correct shaft size.

They even dyno'd it too & it made the same kilowatt reading as the original engine did when it was working properly. It drove fine too, but didn't feel as easy revving. I put it down to being hardly worn in. But being from an NB6, it had the benefit of having quiet solid lifters too.

Found one my original threads about it at https://mx5cartalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=31023&p=396554#p396554 , the main thread with more details & costs seems to be lost to time

appreciate all the responses, will be getting some quotes after the tax man comes

1.5k to 2.5k.

SuperMazdaKart wrote:When my NA6 engine was on it's dying legs many years ago when I had one, I bought an import engine from MX5 Plus.

An NB6 engine (1.6L B6 from 1998 onwards NB MX-5 in Japan) with a claimed 33,000 kilometres on it. A machined slot in the back of the inlet camshaft was also pre done by MX-5 Plus to fit original NA6 camshaft sensor.

Had it couriered directly to the mechanic workshop for transplant. It was fitted using the original NA6 electronics, manifolds, coolant pipes etc. Timing belt/waterpump, coolant hose kit also done at same time. The original NA6 alternator was changed out as the pulley that was included by MX5 Plus didn't fit the original alternator shaft. An alternator from a Ford Laser KH was used that had the correct shaft size.

They even dyno'd it too & it made the same kilowatt reading as the original engine did when it was working properly. It drove fine too, but didn't feel as easy revving. I put it down to being hardly worn in. But being from an NB6, it had the benefit of having quiet solid lifters too.

Found one my original threads about it at https://mx5cartalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=31023&p=396554#p396554 , the main thread with more details & costs seems to be lost to time

Great info.
I'll be doing what he did when mine finally gives up the ghost.....unless I get all sensitive about original Malibu Gold engine numbers.

What was the cost to do this all up?

Jules

It was many years ago & I can't remember exactly, this was like 9 years ago. The engine costed more then any other local NA6 B6 as it was imported from Japan & had such low kilometres on it. The thread with all those cost details doesn't seem to be around anymore & the car was also sold along with all the paperwork too. Might of been approx 3K all up?

You could always do a engine mix up, use your (by then, reconditioned) block with the crank/head of an NB6 maybe. If combining the engine swap with an aftermarket ECU, could also use the NB6 camshaft sensor & MAF instead too. Parts importers like JDM Rupewrecht can always be asked to look for & bring in one of these engines.

A local engine rebuild is always an option as well. Even if you need to buy a cheapo $500 car to temporarily get to work & back.

jules wrote:

SuperMazdaKart wrote:When my NA6 engine was on it's dying legs many years ago when I had one, I bought an import engine from MX5 Plus.

An NB6 engine (1.6L B6 from 1998 onwards NB MX-5 in Japan) with a claimed 33,000 kilometres on it. A machined slot in the back of the inlet camshaft was also pre done by MX-5 Plus to fit original NA6 camshaft sensor.

Had it couriered directly to the mechanic workshop for transplant. It was fitted using the original NA6 electronics, manifolds, coolant pipes etc. Timing belt/waterpump, coolant hose kit also done at same time. The original NA6 alternator was changed out as the pulley that was included by MX5 Plus didn't fit the original alternator shaft. An alternator from a Ford Laser KH was used that had the correct shaft size.

They even dyno'd it too & it made the same kilowatt reading as the original engine did when it was working properly. It drove fine too, but didn't feel as easy revving. I put it down to being hardly worn in. But being from an NB6, it had the benefit of having quiet solid lifters too.

Found one my original threads about it at https://mx5cartalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=31023&p=396554#p396554 , the main thread with more details & costs seems to be lost to time

Great info.
I'll be doing what he did when mine finally gives up the ghost.....unless I get all sensitive about original Malibu Gold engine numbers.

What was the cost to do this all up?

Jules

Morrally yours cant be anything but a total rebuild on the original engine, $6-$10K

I've always rebuilt my own engines. My thinking is I can get a better engine than a new one if I do it myself. If I was budgeting now I'd say $3,000 in machining and parts (excluding new clutch) and 30-40 hours labour to get a quality balanced motor. Add another 20 hours to virtually blueprint it, plus a few tweaks.

manga_blue wrote:I've always rebuilt my own engines. My thinking is I can get a better engine than a new one if I do it myself. If I was budgeting now I'd say $3,000 in machining and parts (excluding new clutch) and 30-40 hours labour to get a quality balanced motor. Add another 20 hours to virtually blueprint it, plus a few tweaks.

Not everyone has your skillz.

StanTheMan wrote:

manga_blue wrote:I've always rebuilt my own engines. My thinking is I can get a better engine than a new one if I do it myself. If I was budgeting now I'd say $3,000 in machining and parts (excluding new clutch) and 30-40 hours labour to get a quality balanced motor. Add another 20 hours to virtually blueprint it, plus a few tweaks.

Not everyone has your skillz.

Yh but this gives an idea of what's involved. A good mechanic would be almost twice as fast as me and contacts to get the machining costs down 10-15%