heat on the right leg. exhaust heat protections??
 

Hi there,

This is my first post onto this newsgroup, since I have only had my mx-5 nb1
1.8 for two weeks now :)

I think there is no need to coment all the good things about the car, so I
will go straight to the point:

When I am driving for more than 30', the interior part, close to the
driver's right leg gets hot. It gets so hot that I have to put the AC for a
while, even if it's not hot outside. I guess this will be a 'plus' during
the extreme winter (which is rare around here in Spain!), but it's quite
unconfortable during the rest of the year...

I guess the heat comes from the engine, transmision, or more probable,
exhaust system, which sees to run just at the other side where I am being
baked...

1) Is this a common problem, or I have some heat protections broken?
2) has anybody deal with this problem in an easy and cheap manner?

thank you and regards

heat on the right leg. exhaust heat protections??
 

In article ews.net>,
"Joaquín Topiso" > wrote:

> When I am driving for more than 30', the interior part, close to the
> driver's right leg gets hot.

This is more than common--it's an inevitable part of owing an older
MX-5. Under the decorative vinyl outer shift boot, there are two rubber
inner boots: a lower one on the transmission to keep dirt out of the
shift turret, and an upper one to seal the hole in the floorpan where
the shift lever enters. The upper one is torn, allowing hot air around
the exhaust system to enter the interior. Chances are the lower boot is
torn as well, so plan on replacing both of them. Might as well clean and
refill the shift turret while you're in there. See
http://www.miata.net/garage/shiftboot.html

Another cause is an air mix door that doesn't close all the way, so the
heater cannot be shut off completely. To adjust the cable, remove the
glovebox and the rest will be obvious.

heat on the right leg. exhaust heat protections??
 

Lanny Chambers wrote:
> In article ews.net>,
> "Joaquín Topiso" > wrote:
>
>> When I am driving for more than 30', the interior part, close to the
>> driver's right leg gets hot.
>
> This is more than common--it's an inevitable part of owing an older
> MX-5. Under the decorative vinyl outer shift boot, there are two
> rubber inner boots: a lower one on the transmission to keep dirt out
> of the shift turret, and an upper one to seal the hole in the
> floorpan where the shift lever enters. The upper one is torn,
> allowing hot air around the exhaust system to enter the interior.
> Chances are the lower boot is torn as well, so plan on replacing both
> of them. Might as well clean and refill the shift turret while you're
> in there. See http://www.miata.net/garage/shiftboot.html
>

Ok, thank you for the info and the link. I'll have look when I find the time
(meanwhile winter is almost here, so I am not in a hurry really ;)

> Another cause is an air mix door that doesn't close all the way, so
> the heater cannot be shut off completely. To adjust the cable, remove
> the glovebox and the rest will be obvious.

Yes, I knew that one, but the heat is not coming from the venting
openings... so I guess the problem is not that.

Thank you!

heat on the right leg. exhaust heat protections??
 

In article >,
Carbon > wrote:

> This car is too new to have any kind of gasket-type
> problems, isn't it?

At a guess, three years is plenty of time for the rubber to split,
especially in Florida. You won't know until you check. Pulling the
console is easy.