Mazda Dismantling – Part I

/ MX-5 Dismantling / By

Working from the world’s smallest garage (without power or lights…) I have started to dismantle the MX-5. Pretty straightforward so far – just following the MKS guide seems to be working well, and no penetrating oil required as yet!

Days 1 & 2

Removal of the bonnet, doors, boot lid, front wings and bumpers was straightforward – just a lot of nuts and bolts to work through. The front wings were a little stubborn especially the lower bolts near the sills, which were pretty well rusted in.

Image of soft top hood ready folded down ready for removal
Soft top hood ready folded down ready for removal
Image showing interior with seats removed
Seats Out!
Image showing heated seat connectors on floor of interior once seats removed.
Heated seat connectors on floor of interior once seats removed.
Image showing rear parcel shelf cover removed revealing top of fuel tank.
Fuel tank sender & pump access
Image showing parcel shelf covers
Access covers to remove for access to looms and fuel tank.
Image of front offside without wing, bonnet or front bumper.
Front offside without wing, bonnet or front bumper.
Image of soft top hood ready folded down ready for removal
Soft top hood ready folded down ready for removal
Image showing interior with seats removed
Seats Out!
Image showing heated seat connectors on floor of interior once seats removed.
Heated seat connectors on floor of interior once seats removed.
Image showing rear parcel shelf cover removed revealing top of fuel tank.
Fuel tank sender & pump access
Image showing parcel shelf covers
Access covers to remove for access to looms and fuel tank.
Image of front offside without wing, bonnet or front bumper.
Front offside without wing, bonnet or front bumper.
Image of soft top hood ready folded down ready for removal
Image showing interior with seats removed
Image showing heated seat connectors on floor of interior once seats removed.
Image showing rear parcel shelf cover removed revealing top of fuel tank.
Image showing parcel shelf covers
Image of front offside without wing, bonnet or front bumper.

Days 3 to 5

Continued with interior removal: centre console, carpets, dash etc., dilgently labelling every connector as I disconnected them (who knew there were so many!). No real issues to mention other than removal of the dash was a little challenging and I had to deviate away from the MKS guide and refer to the Haynes manual to resolve the problem – basically remove the passenger side airbag, steering column mounting bolts and windscreen internal trim. Once that was done, out it came.

Otherwise, all images are self-explanatory (I hope!)

Image of key fob receiver unit under dash on passenger side.
Key fob receiver unit under dash on passenger side.
Image of fan unit under dash on passenger side
Fan unit under dash on passenger side
Image of passenger air bag connector under dash
Passenger air bag connector under dash
Image of interior of car showing labelled dash loom connectors.
Labelled dash loom connectors.
Image of removed glove box being used as a tool box!
Removed glove box makes a great tool box!
Image of rear of passenger area showing all looms have been removed
All looms removed from middle of car rearwards.
Image of immobilser located near to fuse box under dash on driver's side.
Immobilser located near to fuse box under dash on driver’s side.
Image of wiring loom in and around the area under the dash on the driver's side.
Dash loom connector chaos!
Image of dash removed.
Finally removed dash.
Image of airbag and seatbelt tensioner control unit.
Airbag and seatbelt tensioner control unit.
Image showing space where airbox was to give access to radiator lower hose.
Space where airbox was after removal to give access to radiator lower hose.
Image of N/S front loom after disconnection from engine bay ancillaries.
N/S front loom after disconnection from engine bay ancillaries.
Image of space where airbox was after removal to give access to radiator lower hose.
Space where airbox was after removal to give access to radiator lower hose.
Image of key fob receiver unit under dash on passenger side.
Key fob receiver unit under dash on passenger side.
Image of fan unit under dash on passenger side
Fan unit under dash on passenger side
Image of passenger air bag connector under dash
Passenger air bag connector under dash
Image of interior of car showing labelled dash loom connectors.
Labelled dash loom connectors.
Image of removed glove box being used as a tool box!
Removed glove box makes a great tool box!
Image of rear of passenger area showing all looms have been removed
All looms removed from middle of car rearwards.
Image of immobilser located near to fuse box under dash on driver's side.
Immobilser located near to fuse box under dash on driver’s side.
Image of wiring loom in and around the area under the dash on the driver's side.
Dash loom connector chaos!
Image of dash removed.
Finally removed dash.
Image of airbag and seatbelt tensioner control unit.
Airbag and seatbelt tensioner control unit.
Image showing space where airbox was to give access to radiator lower hose.
Space where airbox was after removal to give access to radiator lower hose.
Image of N/S front loom after disconnection from engine bay ancillaries.
N/S front loom after disconnection from engine bay ancillaries.
Image of space where airbox was after removal to give access to radiator lower hose.
Space where airbox was after removal to give access to radiator lower hose.
Image of key fob receiver unit under dash on passenger side.
Image of fan unit under dash on passenger side
Image of passenger air bag connector under dash
Image of interior of car showing labelled dash loom connectors.
Image of removed glove box being used as a tool box!
Image of rear of passenger area showing all looms have been removed
Image of immobilser located near to fuse box under dash on driver's side.
Image of wiring loom in and around the area under the dash on the driver's side.
Image of dash removed.
Image of airbag and seatbelt tensioner control unit.
Image showing space where airbox was to give access to radiator lower hose.
Image of N/S front loom after disconnection from engine bay ancillaries.
Image of space where airbox was after removal to give access to radiator lower hose.

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