Great vid! Highly recommend all NC owners to get on top of this before yours ends up like my car!

This is actually a very useful video. Not something most people would expect a rust exist. Thank you!

Nicely done! Thought the NC was relatively rust resistant so it's good to know about that area, cheers!

2:35 that vent is there to led the air (pressure) out when you close the door. Or else your roof and windows will shake when you close the door

I did this to my 2010 20th anniversary edition a few weeks ago.. you should also remove the rear arch liners and check & treat the rear arches. then remove the front bumper and check out the state of the metal behind that too!

I love your vids so much, I always look forward to the new ones

This is one thing that puts me off buying an NC

Great video Dom, think I’ll wait for winter now I’m projected out. Stay safe fella

it helps a lot if you add a squirt of cavity wax protection to both metal surfaces before re assembly , making sure the painted surfaces are fully dry as tightening of the bolts too quick can cause the surfaces to stick together and pull paint off ,and a sqirt of stone chip to the lower edge and the inside on the exhaust side also helps stop the paint being chipped from the wheels kicking up loose gravel.

Thanks for these great videos. I am looking for an MX5 soon so really helpful. Keep up the good work 👍

Helpful info and video, keep up the great content. Cheers from Greece.

Small thing, but some copper grease on the nuts & bolts will keep them from seizing or corroding, especially useful where torquing them up will wear off the new paint...

Just bought myself an NC and your videos are very helpful and informative. Your careful and calculated approach works for me and makes for very detailed videos! Will tackle this bumper issue over the next few weeknights.

Great video I will be doing this to my 2006 NC, thank you!

Loads, arches, sills, rails. Nice job

Great video thanks, I’ve just bought my 2006 NC and will have a look at some stage when it stops raining!

Thank you for this video. I have a 2012 that was graciously given to me. I'm in East Texas and we get a lot of rain. I'm putting this on my maintenance list great video

Nice save!

Just did that this weekend. It was quicker than I'd thought it'd take. Having done a bit with it Mazda NC is very pleasant to work on I must say.

@CarThought

2 жыл бұрын

They are nice and simple with large spaces in the engine bay!

@basileczajkowski3236

2 жыл бұрын

​@@CarThought I saw that too, yes. Plenty of room for swapping / rearranging. And maybe more space to make up for that tiny boot.

Nice work there. Just bought a 2006 NC with 13,800 on the clock. Your videos were helpful in checking the car out. I will review the rear bumper in the summer and follow your video.

Great video... i would also recommend some paint one rust killer or rust converter as well as painting and kill off any left over rust you miss from sanding or grinding

There are 2 small white plastic clips inside the trunk on both sides. You can see them in the video. They help hold on the sides of the bumper where the large plastic white piece is that you leave hanging to the car when pulling the bumper. Those 2 clips can leak water into the trunk. You should get a silicone sealant of some type and just cover the entire piece over from inside the trunk. You don't need to remove the bumper, just the trunk plastic liners.

Great camerawork, done thoughtfully, very pleasant to watch. I've had my nc for 4 years now and it's a constant battle against rust. I started with Hammerite and moved onto epoxy mastic, now I use Bilthamber zinc primer and epoxy mastic on top. Hopefully come the spring I'll have my first rust free winter, though that might be more to do with wfh :)

@jamesgregory2865

2 жыл бұрын

one thing i have learned in my old age, rust never sleeps, the best you can do is slow it down a little

Thank,s ....for looking ! PS. von am Bumper rostet es auch !!!

Brilliant help-. Thanks!

I also removed the front side indicators and the scruff panels on the door sills. This exposes holes which can be used to spray Dinitrol cavity wax with a plastic wand. Very easy and quick to do at the roadside without tools.

Nice one Dom! Just doing mine now. 2009 model and surprisingly good condition under there. Wire brush, Jenolite, Hammerite and Waxoil should sort it. I hope.....

Just done this today , inspired from your videos

Excellent video, thank you. I own an 08 NC. I'm lucky in having a near but not quite double garage, the previous home owner built classic cars meaning I can open all my doors fully. In September I'm garaging it for the winter again. It's videos like yours that will make my work so much easier when I come to take the car apart looking for rust. I've done the shocks, springs and other stuff. I see no surface rust under the doors or the sills. But now's the time to dig deeper. You keep posting and I'll keep watching.

@CarThought

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the comment. Very jealous of a garage where you can open doors!

Great video. Very informative.

Nice video, enjoyed this one!

Great vid ! I might do the same process soon then !

Another good video Dom. Don’t worry about hairdressers comments, I get it with Boxster too. Usually people that don’t know about cars anyway.

Nice Job👍

Nice one, you're building experience, confidence and familiarity as you go. Have you ever thought about an RX8 anti-roll bar change out?

@CarThought

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks Wayne. Love learning about my cars. Feel I can trust them more when I understand how they’re built! I have looked into it, and I actually had a whole handling mod month but it all went up in the air when the world turned upside down. Hoping to get it on track soon... pun intended 🤘

I had rust underneath the drivers seat at the back there where the drain plug is, I just cleaned it up and painted it.. some of the soft metal was removed making the drain hole bigger so the drain plug no longer fit there. Also found a big missing piece underneath where the heat shield mounts to the frame, near the mid part of the car. That looks like a 2"x4" hole.. will have to get that welded up, but for now its clean and painted.

Really useful videos

Good informative video. I'm certain my 06 will be bad in that area as it's a real rust box underneath. I've already had to repair the rear of the sills and the boot floor. Its had a hard life mine, it's my daily driver and is no stranger to salt and snow on my daily commute over the Cat and Fiddle. I'm going to keep patching it until it becomes uneconomical to repair and then get a good low mileage example like yours.

@mikeb9569

4 жыл бұрын

Try Fluid Film. I use it every fall before the snow hits. It stays wet and looks nasty and will smell terrible for a half hour and smoke if you get any on your exhaust, but it will prevent new corrosion and will halt old corrosion. It will prevent salt and oxygen from affecting your undercarriage.

I like your mug.👍

Nice work and strangely absorbing given I don't own one !

the nc is my fav mx5 to be honest ! i bought one last year had it for a year loved it but the worst thing about all mx5s is they seem to have zero rust protection it was a 2009 underneath was just rusting away couldn't believe it ! so part-ex for a 2002 mr2 roadster with zero rust on it just as good to drive !!!

Really glad I found your vid. My 2009 pre-facelift 2.0L NC has always been garaged, done less than 41k and only gets used on dry salt-free days. Yup, the rust was scarily bad. All the captive washer self tappers were also rusty so I got a price for the 'dirty dozen' from my local dealer. ALMOST £50! Found a pack of 20 identical, equally well zinc plated for under a tenner on Ebay. Lesson - NEVER buy Mazda trim and panel fixings or you'll get 'screwed'.

@CarThought

3 жыл бұрын

MX5 is a brilliant diy car as it’s not too complex. Thanks for the comment, good to hear from another MX5 owner 👍

@geoffhudson5017

3 жыл бұрын

@@CarThought Hi, yes the car is pretty basic but some aspects, such as this, were designed by a man who had lost his guide dog. I spent several years working for McLaren Cars and this 'design' moron would not have qualified to clean their bogs. Crash structure is being grit blasted, phosphated and primed for the princely sum of £40. Rust patches on bodyshell are soaking in EvapoRust Gel prior to Dremel finishing and coating. Will apply HD silicone around the base of the studs and then seal the four edges of the assembled joint with the same material. Can send you stills if you wish.

Hi, nice instructional video. Although the procedure for the final removal of the bumper from the plastic clips is not correct. You should strip the trunk trim to get access to plastic pins from inside so you can squeeze them and easily push outside. I broke one of the pins following your method.

Great video, most people won't know about this. Did you check your sill end panels in the rear arches yet? That's the number one rust area on mk3 Mx-5's. BTW, for the screws you couldn't get off, you just need to grab the square nut with some pliers to stop it spinning, then use your socket to get the nut off. Mine was the same, but easy to remove.

@CarThought

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks David, Not yet, will do it! Had a poke around when it was dry and will be doing a full under body seal too at some point.

Great Job - clear instructions and now I feel confident to work on my own car so thank you. The question I have is - is there a similar crash bar/chassis attachment at the front of the car? Does this also need to be inspected and dealt with? If the answer is "Yes", another very helpful video like this one would be most welcome to all MX5 owners I'm sure.

@CarThought

3 жыл бұрын

Hello! Thanks for the kind words. Yes, there is a similar one on the front which I will look into filming for you at some point. Appreciate the support 🤘

Also the underneath of the bonnet and boot the paint bubbles up then flakes off and goes all white with it being aluminium

Thanks to you and that guy, now I'll have to check and how about all the comments below?!?!??!!!

I used to own an 06 plate NC. I had it for six years, lovely car, but when I took it to a local garage for an MOT, the examiner called me over to see the state of the underside. There were hols in the cills that you could put your fist through, the rear suspension was so badly corroded that it had all the mechanical integrity of weetabix. It was so bad that it was dangerous to drive, and was beyond economical repair. Obviously you take care of your car so I would urge you to go to a specialist and get the car properly undersealed with Dinitrol. A specialist should steam clean the underside after removing the wheel arch liners and allowing it to dry thoroughly before applying Dinitrol. Don't go to Joe Soap around the corner to get it Waxoyled "cos he will probably "water" it down, and the stuff isn't a patch on Dinitrol. I ended up buying an ND with 200 miles on the clock and the first thing I did was to get it undersealed. Their ongoing quest to save weight seems to include savings on paint! Oh, and another thing. I had a rear number plate made which fitted the whole of the number plate area. I had it made by Daemon Plates and if memory serves me well, the yellow backing was for a Jaguar. It will make a huge improvement to the look of the rear end of the car.

@rickjones8883

4 жыл бұрын

My 06 is exactly the same, a real rot box. I've bought myself a welder and just keep patching until it becomes uneconomical and I replace it for another NC which has had an easier life. Definitely take it to a decent place for under sealing. I had a previous mk 2.5 done at Paul Sheards and wasn't impressed, when I get a decent example I will take it to CBS autos up in Nelson as heard nothing but good stuff about them in the forums.

I love your videos, they are really helping me look for a nice mk3. What i dont like is you drinking Tea.. ha

@CarThought

4 жыл бұрын

Britain was built on tea!

good job :-)

Clever cleaning dirt off as easy way to help lighten rear end weight concern

the rust behind the bumper looks like surface rust and the metal is thick there.. it preserved itself, I'm not gonna touch mine :) I would check your floors, the water builds up there and I had plenty of rust around the rubber plugs behind the seat (under the carpet)

Well done. New to me too. One tip is to put a piece of carpet on the floor to protect the bumper if you drop it. Also were you not tempted to put some grease between the contact surfaces before you put the crash bar back on.? Ps I had to watch no sound so apologies if you covered these. It's making me worry about mine now although it's a dry weather car.

@CarThought

4 жыл бұрын

Hi Ricardo, thanks for the comment! No problem, I did have a cover for protection when I first took it off, but trusted myself when putting it back on. The grease I didn’t think about to be honest, I’m going to take the beam off again in a year or so and re-evaluate (will also probably film it) haha

@ricardoroberto100

4 жыл бұрын

@@CarThought Cheers mate. I may pluck up the courage to try it one day!

look underneath were the suspension struts are and under the tank my 2009 had flacks of rust everywhere that were almost holes !!

@CarThought

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the comment! The whole underside of my car is now actually rust treated and under sealed, video going live tomorrow 5pm gmt ☕️

Handled.

Nice one. I wasn't aware of this potential rust area and am now worried to check mine! I took it over 100k recently, it is used as a daily driver (55 plate) and I have had it over 6 years. I have had a couple of minor rust issues with the inner lip of the rear wheel arches and will check the sills. Also under the aluminium boot lid where the number plate lights are is a spot to keep an eye on - I had to rub down and spray mine. The wheels started going slightly on mine again even though I got them powder coated a few years back. Make sure you keep your roof drains clear using a trombone cleaner, or you will end up with a flooded boot. Subscribing to see what else I need to check! Edit: I forgot to mention another area that should be dealt with for leaks and I had to seal up on mine. There is a foam gasket that perishes under the windscreen cowl cover and allows water to leak into the car under the dashboard which won't be good for the metal or electrics! Please see here: mx5vic.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/NC-water-cowl-leak.pdf

@CarThought

4 жыл бұрын

Love this. Long term daily driver, and it’s a 5!

@mchand8

4 жыл бұрын

@@CarThought Thanks, I have put over 40k on it. Please see my edited response with another issue you should check on yours. You should make a video on this too!

Hidden rust = recessed anxiety!

You can remove rust best using Rust and Blue remover made for guns. You can also use brush on Bluing used for guns to prevent rust at metal level. It stabilizes metal to prevent rust.

@CarThought

3 жыл бұрын

Interesting! Guns don’t really exist in the UK so intriguing to see how you would do it 👍

@Soravia

3 жыл бұрын

@@CarThought order online. Guns in UK like old shotgun are the ones who use Bluing most

@DWS1435

3 жыл бұрын

@@CarThought Dom Rust & Blue Remover works great. If you can't get it there let me know and I will send you some.

Low quality steel or lack of proper rust protection (or both). My NC had bolts completely rusted on at only 2 years old and it seems years later it's still an issue. The Toyotas I've owned never had this problem.

@CarThought

4 жыл бұрын

Yes MX5’s are renowned for it!

Great video, what wheels do you have? Are they stock?

@CarThought

4 жыл бұрын

Stock 17 inch sport wheels painted anthracite grey 👍

@matthew9847

4 жыл бұрын

@@CarThought looking good 👍

Can you leave a link to where you get your talk settings 👍

@CarThought

Жыл бұрын

Sorry mate, I would love to but the old site mellens.net got taken down 2 years ago I think!

Are you going to take a look at your NC crash structure now?

@jackdavies1718

4 жыл бұрын

Great video as always, although every time a video of yours pops up my job list gets longer! I dread to think what mine looks like, it’s lived outdoors all of its life.

@CarThought

4 жыл бұрын

Sorry! Might not be as bad as you think, better knowing than not though!

@pedro7401

4 жыл бұрын

ill try ,thats a spot no one would though of ,nice tip was it a NC Facebook group?

@CarThought

4 жыл бұрын

Hello Pedro, it’s called NC Mazda MX-5 Mk3s (2006-2015) www.nc-Europe.club on Facebook 👍

@pedro7401

4 жыл бұрын

@@CarThought thanks 👍

Where i can find the pdf manual you used from your iPhone?

@CarThought

4 жыл бұрын

www.mellens.net/mazda/ 👍

Mine’s a ‘57 roadster done 53k so slap bang on needing this looked at. Any way to tell without disassembling the back end?

@CarThought

4 жыл бұрын

You could try an oscilloscope or similar under the bumper with a light from the bottom, but so easy to take off, wouldn’t say it’s worth it!

@mikeb9569

4 жыл бұрын

@@CarThought You probably mean to say "borescope". Some can be had inexpensively.

I'm sorry to say that you probably just scratched the surface :( I too have an NC and made a video (my video is pants compared to yours) but I removed everything in the rear and needles to say, I had to learn how to weld.

@CarThought

4 жыл бұрын

Yes, they’re a bit rusty all over! But what can you do? 🤷‍♂️ More vids coming for rust proofing before this winter!

wym your license plate is hold on by tape? how? is it legal? cause i hate mine

@CarThought

4 жыл бұрын

Pedro Simões pretty common, most manufacturers will ship cars to dealerships across the world with no plates. Up to the dealership how they fix them to the car. As long as the plate is secured and visible, pc plod is happy.

When I bought my 2006 MX5 mk3 I was surprised just how little rust there was after reading some horror stories about the dreaded metal eater, turns out it's an import from Japan and now it's still not showing any serious rust four years later.

why does rust here even matter ? good video by the way :)

@CarThought

2 жыл бұрын

It doesn’t really. Over the course of 20 years it’d become more of a problem. Best to treat it now though!

Is this something that was fixed with the nc2 gen?

@CarThought

2 жыл бұрын

No, same crash bar. Even ND’s are prone to suffering from rust.

@vgama

2 ай бұрын

@@CarThought that's absurd. How can mazda not fix this issues???

where did you check those torque specs? i heard "mellons.com" but obviously that's not it :D

@CarThought

4 жыл бұрын

Hello, it’s usually on www.mellens.net but the site seems very slow at the moment!

how come no one ever applies rust coverter like phosphoric or tannic acid? All the "dark metal" after you wirebrush is still rust - its called magnetite.

@CarThought

3 жыл бұрын

Lots of people use Jenolite which I think has acid content 🤷‍♂️. Full restorations usually completely disassemble the car and acid dip chassis. But on cheaper and more common cars such as the 5 I don’t think it’s worth it as the cost of the process would outweigh the vehicle value. Just my guess as to why nobody does it 🤷‍♂️

@andrewbaluk1663

3 жыл бұрын

@@CarThought i just paint on a bit of phosphoric acid solution onto the bit i was working on, you dont dip the whole car. Got 4 litres for about $50, been lasting for ever that lot. Its not expensive

@CarThought

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah sounds like a good way of doing it! 👍

So glad i dont live in England, rusty cars all the time, plus the steering wheel is on the wrong side, lol.

Bau mal die Radkastenverkleidung aus ! Rundherum !!!.....Mit Poor 15 aus der USA behandeln !.....

Your registration number does not seem to exist!!!!

@CarThought

3 жыл бұрын

Car sold months ago and has a new owner on a private plate!!!!

I am scared of checking that on my NC...

@CarThought

4 жыл бұрын

I was too, but worth a look! 👀

You do know that rust will come back right ?

@CarThought

4 жыл бұрын

So far so good! Will let you know in a year 👌

@FiveCurmudgeon9

4 жыл бұрын

@@CarThought please do! I work as an automotive refinisher and bodyguy so rust is no stranger to me :)

Great you're caring for your car but care for your lungs too dude. The chemicals in those spray cans is really nasty so worth getting a good mask (i.e. not a dust mask lol)

@CarThought

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks man, appreciate the concern.

Danke Lausebengel...Rost vorn am NC mazda ....l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tanamu.pw%2Fablage%2Fmx-5-mx%2FAufpralltraeger_entrosten_v1_1.pdf

The jokes about ALL mx5s are from people who have NEVER sat in one Yet alone EVER driven one . . Just jealous idiots who would crash one in seconds on a rainy day cus they are crap drivers who rely on computer aided mods to make them drive better . . Plain and simple TRUTH 👍

This video was deceptive and useless.He just went to a lot of trouble for nothing..