Diaries of the Noob Mechanic: Fuzzydunlop's '85 MR2

Page 6 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.

Eli

Super Moderator | Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
50,419
8
81
Yeah man I dunno, I've never seen anything like this, lol.

It's really inspirational though.
 

sontakke

Senior member
Aug 8, 2001
895
11
81
If those really call for 4 ft-lb, get the 1/4 inch-lb torque wrench which usually goes from 20-200 inch-lb range. Get a feel for how low 48 inch-lb torque is and make sure the click is audible. 4 ft-lb is essentially finger tight and is better off being done via a nut driver if you do not have the small torque wrench. As usual, Harbor Freight carries them and they are reasonably accurate for their intended purposes.

P.S. Did not realize you already purchased the Gearwrench one! Well, if you find HF for $10, pick it up and do a comparison with the Gearwrench. You might be surprised at the relative accuracy of HF as compared to GW.

P.P.S. I would still at least make sure that GW wrench passes your own "reasonable" test. For example, you can do back to back test with another torque wrench with the intersection point. Or use a fishing scale attached at known distance to the wrench to verify that wrench is in ballpark.
 
Last edited:

JCH13

Diamond Member
Sep 14, 2010
4,981
66
91
FWIW if your threads are dirty, dinged, or in any way messed up the torque wrench could be perfectly accurate and the clamping force of the bolt (which is what you REALLY care about) will be totally messed up. Just make sure your threads are clean and free of burrs before assembly, a set of taps and dies, and a wire brush on a bench grinder will clean out threads very nicely.

As always, de-rate torque by 35% (or so) if you're using anti-seize on what is normally a dry thread.
 

Eli

Super Moderator | Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
50,419
8
81
It's not 35% when using anti-sieze... is it? That's a lot.

I've never bothered to derate unless for high torque applications anyway, then I do -15%.
 

FuzzyDunlop

Diamond Member
Jan 30, 2008
3,260
12
81
jeez man how much free time do you have???

way too much… before I bought the mr2 I watched too much TV.
My job allows for alot of free time in the evenings, but I am on call 24 hours - so technically, im never not working lol!

Today I royally buggered up.
I tried to do a distributor rebuild following a guide I found here
http://www.aeu86.org/index/engine-diy-4age-distributor-rebuild_/cat/9/topic=4156/post=74211

Everything was going fine and even did the supposedly "hard'' parts with no hiccups, then I tried to install the new distributor shaft seal that came with my kit... as I was tapping it in place it friggen bent in half! wth? After that I looked at the rotor for inside the distributor and saw that it also was cracked in half . Ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff, I dont know how or when it even happened... just carelessness on my part.

IMAG0446.jpg


shit.
I’m a little frustrated and feeling like I’m in WAY over my head now.

A little e-research tells me that I should be able to find the shaft seal at some stores
U-seal: Specs: 20mm OD, 10mm ID, and anywhere from 5 to 7 mm Wide. It's not overly hard to find however as it is a standard seal size so call around and see where you can get it from. A good place to start is someone like Motor Traders.
- Plain encased seal, 10x20x7TC. Part no: TC12379VI
Ill do some searching tomorrow.

The other red plastic rotor I can buy from rock auto for $1.50 ( :) ) with $25.00 minimum shipping ( :( )

Geeeze. Maybe superglue would be enough to hold it together?! Haha! But seriously, you think so?


EDIT: Found the specific seal I needed at kbox . ca
http://kbox.ca/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/694
After a morning of phone calls, nobody could find this U-ring. But Kbox delivers!
 
Last edited:

FuzzyDunlop

Diamond Member
Jan 30, 2008
3,260
12
81
FWIW if your threads are dirty, dinged, or in any way messed up the torque wrench could be perfectly accurate and the clamping force of the bolt (which is what you REALLY care about) will be totally messed up. Just make sure your threads are clean and free of burrs before assembly, a set of taps and dies, and a wire brush on a bench grinder will clean out threads very nicely.

As always, de-rate torque by 35% (or so) if you're using anti-seize on what is normally a dry thread.

I plan on soaking them thoroughly in degreaser, scrubbing them down with a soft wire brush before before I put them back in. (with antiseize of course).
and -35%,,, so that would be 3ft-lb of force... wow. thats sensitive.
 

JCH13

Diamond Member
Sep 14, 2010
4,981
66
91
It's not 35% when using anti-sieze... is it? That's a lot.

I've never bothered to derate unless for high torque applications anyway, then I do -15%.

I plan on soaking them thoroughly in degreaser, scrubbing them down with a soft wire brush before before I put them back in. (with antiseize of course).
and -35%,,, so that would be 3ft-lb of force... wow. thats sensitive.

Yep, -35%, my source. The math with their example is ~31%, but that's a fruity number. Maybe 2/3 is better, so your 48 in-lb is now 32 in-lb fuzzyD.

I was lucky, I learned from someone else's mistake: they torqued a bolt to 15 ft-lbs with anti-seize instead of de-rating it. That torque translated ~75% of the bolt's proof load dry, and with anti-seize it became 115% (or so) of proof load, which broke the bolt.

shit.
I’m a little frustrated and feeling like I’m in WAY over my head now.

A little e-research tells me that I should be able to find the shaft seal at some stores

Ill do some searching tomorrow.

The other red plastic rotor I can buy from rock auto for $1.50 ( :) ) with $25.00 minimum shipping ( :( )

Geeeze. Maybe superglue would be enough to hold it together?! Haha! But seriously, you think so?

Now you're learning! I felt the same way banging my head against a wall for a couple weeks trying to figure out what the coolant leak was in my Miata. You'll be fine.

No, I don't think super glue will do the trick... I say that with some epoxy holding part of my MS3's intake together... but that's a real 'engineering adhesive' that I snagged from work.

If you want to glue it back together get some real epoxy with a good repeatable mixing process like 3M DP-420 (giggity) with an applicator gun, and mixing tips. It may be more expensive that "just 5 bucks for some jb-weld" but you'll get reliable, repeatable high-strength results. If you really take your time you can get a ton of strength out of the glue, and it can be fully cured in an oven in 1 hour. I built race car carbon fiber a-arms, pull rods, and a steering rack with this stuff, it is the real deal.
 
Last edited:

FuzzyDunlop

Diamond Member
Jan 30, 2008
3,260
12
81
My Jimi Throttle came in today. Takes the ugly stock throttle bracket and replaces it with a nice clean look. Im pretty happy with it. Was an easy install too. Found that I was missing an essential bolt in the process and will deffinently need to find a replacement before I even attempt starting the car again.

BEFORE
IMAG0450.jpg


AFTER
IMAG0455.jpg


Also, my new in-ft torque wrench came in - tested it using my ft-lb and it seemed to match up from what I could tell.
I took and rebuilt the oil filter adapter and replaced all the o-rings. While doing this I also swapped out the old crusty oil cooler lines and replaced them with braided stainless steel that shouldnt need heat covers. Things are starting to look way better under there... just needs a good wash.

Old crusty hoses beside the new beauty replacements. Also in photo is the soda blasted and brand new looking oil filter adapter pieces.
IMAG0456.jpg


And here it all is resealed with new o-rings, permatex, new filter and staineless lines - all torqued down to spec (-35% where I used antisieze, of course)
IMAG0468-1.jpg


EDIT: what is it that the red arrow is pointing at?
 
Last edited:

exdeath

Lifer
Jan 29, 2004
13,679
10
81
Oil pressure switch/sensor for the idiot light/crappy stock "hi-lo" gauge. Possibly also used by the ECU when cranking as a condition to start fuel injection.
 
Last edited:

roguerower

Diamond Member
Nov 18, 2004
4,563
0
76
Dude...wow...

I know it's been said, but this thread is frickin inspirational for people like me who have never worked on a car before.

Keep it up man, I can't wait to see what the MR2 ends up looking like.
 

5150MyU

Senior member
Jan 16, 2011
327
0
0
Red arrow- if it is just a single wire (one) it is for the idiot light for oil pressure.
When you lose oil pressure it shorts to ground and turns the light on.
 

5150MyU

Senior member
Jan 16, 2011
327
0
0
That is where you would hook up a real time pressure gauge-if the line blows you will lose pressure,get oil soaked ,and possibly do damage.
 

JCH13

Diamond Member
Sep 14, 2010
4,981
66
91
Red arrow- if it is just a single wire (one) it is for the idiot light for oil pressure.
When you lose oil pressure it shorts to ground and turns the light on.

My oil pressure sending unit is only 1 wire, goes to a real oil pressure gauge on the dash.
 

FuzzyDunlop

Diamond Member
Jan 30, 2008
3,260
12
81
That is where you would hook up a real time pressure gauge-if the line blows you will lose pressure,get oil soaked ,and possibly do damage.

ah isee. ya i need to replace this thing. I noticed before I parked that the guage in dash just goes to the same spot everytime the car starts, but the oil dropped significantly during the time I was driving it. are there better aftermarket guages I can buy, or should I keep it stock/toyota?
 

Zargon

Lifer
Nov 3, 2009
12,218
2
76
ah isee. ya i need to replace this thing. I noticed before I parked that the guage in dash just goes to the same spot everytime the car starts, but the oil dropped significantly during the time I was driving it. are there better aftermarket guages I can buy, or should I keep it stock/toyota?

yeah autometer is a popular one.

they have ones with remote sensors(what you want), so you dont run a friggin oil line all the way to the gauge
 

jlee

Lifer
Sep 12, 2001
48,518
223
106
ah isee. ya i need to replace this thing. I noticed before I parked that the guage in dash just goes to the same spot everytime the car starts, but the oil dropped significantly during the time I was driving it. are there better aftermarket guages I can buy, or should I keep it stock/toyota?

Your oil pressure gauge monitors oil pressure, not level - you'd need to be pretty low on oil for the pressure to drop. It should fluctuate a bit depending on RPM..i.e. higher oil pressure when you're running the RPM's up higher. Does it do that, or is it fixed in one position?
yeah autometer is a popular one.

they have ones with remote sensors(what you want), so you dont run a friggin oil line all the way to the gauge

Mk1 MR2s have an actual pressure gauge - I wouldn't use it in place of a "real" gauge for a high performance build, but if he's just going to run a mostly stock engine I'd just use the stock one.
 
Last edited:

Eli

Super Moderator | Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
50,419
8
81
ah isee. ya i need to replace this thing. I noticed before I parked that the guage in dash just goes to the same spot everytime the car starts, but the oil dropped significantly during the time I was driving it. are there better aftermarket guages I can buy, or should I keep it stock/toyota?

Er, Yeah.. As jlee said..

It's a pressure gauge. It essentially tells you that there is oil circulating through the oil pump. If the pump runs dry, pressure goes to zero.
 

FuzzyDunlop

Diamond Member
Jan 30, 2008
3,260
12
81
Your oil pressure gauge monitors oil pressure, not level - you'd need to be pretty low on oil for the pressure to drop. It should fluctuate a bit depending on RPM..i.e. higher oil pressure when you're running the RPM's up higher. Does it do that, or is it fixed in one position?

I see, i see: that would explain why it stayed at the same level, lol . And I never noticed it fluctuating - its not the usual dial I pay attention to while Im flooring the pedal :)
Ill keep this in mind for when I get the motor running again -which may be a while yet (1-2 weeks approx).

I have to work tomorrow all day and some of the afternoon, but I might get a little cranking in before I go to a b-day party tomorrow night.

On a side note, my suspension overhaul kit should be arriving in one business day.
Eagerly awaiting monday.
 

FuzzyDunlop

Diamond Member
Jan 30, 2008
3,260
12
81
Suspension overhaul package arrived today.
Koni Yellow Struts
Eibach Pro Kit springs
New KYB strut boots
New ball joints
New tie rod end joints (for the front)
New custom machined Tie rods (for the rear)
New sway bar end links
New bushings (courtesy of Jlee).

An expensive upgrade, but after seeing what I was initially driving on, Im suprised Im here to talk about it! Shipping dinged me for a large amount but the savings from buying bulk online overcame that expense.
Still waiting on SS Goodridge brakelines. should arrive tomorrow.
Ill be busy over the next few days (weeks). Wont bore you with details, but will post picks of the end results and before-afters.
Im jonesing so hard to get this thing running again.
 

jlee

Lifer
Sep 12, 2001
48,518
223
106
Haha - it's going to feel like such a different car..in a fantastic way :D
 

JCH13

Diamond Member
Sep 14, 2010
4,981
66
91
That is a hell of a suspension upgrade, you'll have fun!

Reminds me that I should get solid bushings for my Miata...