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

[jlee]

Congratulations!! You're starting to get ahead of me as far as 'completed projects' go...I guess I'll have to blow my clutch up so I can learn how to replace it

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

Congratulations!! You're starting to get ahead of me as far as 'completed projects' go...I guess I'll have to blow my clutch up so I can learn how to replace it

haha! is there ever such a thing as a 'complete project'?

 

[manimal]

Old flywheel - something like 18.5 lbs. -check out all those hot spots and cracks!
New Flywheel. - 9 lbs.
ooooh yaaa!
Managed to get the new flywheel and clutch install last night. Even managed to lift and bolt on the transaxle by myself. Was sweating pretty hard and my knees and elbows are bruised. I straddled the transaxle between my legs and lifted up on the mounts with my knees while pushing from the back with my hands. After about half an hour of struggling like this I finally was able to get it aligned and wiggled into place. Big grin. Feel like a man. Now I just hope it works... but it should... i followed a very detailed guide from youtube about installing a new clutch in a Civic Si - everything pretty much looked exactly the same.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeo_Rm0O3gs

Dude your hard core!

I remember putting a clutch into my old mr2....my knuckles still show the scars..

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

Did a little cleaning and painting under the hood today. Replaced cam cover gaskets and painted covers, and plug valley cover. Replace leaking coolant overflow cap.

EDIT: hehe, this goes all the way back to post #26

Oh, the FIRST thing I'd do is get the battery secured for real... bailing wire is just ghetto.

I finally made a make shift bracket to hold the battery down (seen clearly in picture above). According to Alkemyst this would be Shade Tree mechanics skilz.

 

[JCH13]

:thumbsup:

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

Last night I was driving home from another town and was having problems seeing real well,
this may have been part of the issue.

The other part of the problem was that my headlights would occassionally cut out until I tapped/flicked/whacked the switch.
Today I openned up the switch to find the problem and low and behold, found the solution.
This li'l solder that Im pointing at had a hairline crack in it that allowed a disconnect whenever the switch was bumped/rotated.

Just heated up the soldering iron, zapped the existing solder and now it works like new! I resoldered all the connections just for good measure.
Never used a soldering iron before today, logged as something learned!
Now if I could only figure out why my fan only blows when set to high....

 

[3chordcharlie]

Now if I could only figure out why my fan only blows when set to high....

Is that a real question?
Blower motor resistor.

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

Is that a real question?
Blower motor resistor.

aw no way. Thanks man. I had no clue. Noob at his finest.

 

[3chordcharlie]

aw no way. Thanks man. I had no clue. Noob at his finest.

I thought anyone who ever owned any old car had done one of those - if it works on high only, it's fairly certain that's the problem.

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

I thought anyone who ever owned any old car had done one of those - if it works on high only, it's fairly certain that's the problem.

My old 89 cavalier had this problem, I just never bother to fix it. I think most people just dont bother it fix it thinking that its a bigger problem than it actually is.
Now that I know... no big deal.


EDIT:
And there you have it. My ancient, blown blower resistor! haha. Took me two seconds to pull it out.

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

Short update.
Awaiting a reply from Koni as one of my struts decided it was time to quit after only 1500miles of travel. Thread here about it with photos. http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2186087

Went for a short drive tonight and the car felt weird while I was releasing the clutch pedal. Lots of shimmer and violent shaking. I took off the engine lid and went for a drive so I could see what was happening back there. The engine was shaking erratically between shifts and on take off. My first thoughts - engine mounts. Tonight I ordered some new solid polyeurythane replacement engine mount bushings, (as well as some new shift linkage bushings to get faster shifting ) - hopefully this solves the problem.

On a side note my brother is now asking me to weld pieces on his motorbike - its a really neat and fulfilling feeling to be that guy.

Now to get some real gearheads going. I am seriosuly considering a 3SGTE swap for next summer. See what happens.

 

[jlee]

Drop a Gen3 3SGTE in there, add a little boost, and you'll be faster than all but very few cars on this board...something about 300+rwhp in a 2100lb package... :awe:

Did you check the motor mounts to see if the rubber is worn?

 

[JCH13]

What does he want you to weld exactly?

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

Drop a Gen3 3SGTE in there, add a little boost, and you'll be faster than all but very few cars on this board...something about 300+rwhp in a 2100lb package... :awe:

Did you check the motor mounts to see if the rubber is worn?

hmmmm. 3rd gen 3SGTE...hmmmmm. Havent found a guide for that yet - wouldnt I be dealing with a whole lot more electronics and BS that I wouldnt if I would get an 1st gen 3SGTE from a 91 -93?

And yes, I was noticing the mounts while I did the clutch job. I've had my suspicions about them for a while now. But ive never taken the lid off to watch the motor flop around like it was till yesterday.

What does he want you to weld exactly?

I welded a couple mounts together for a custom fender he bought. He's also cutting up that fender and wants me to weld the sheet metal back together in a couple places. Not a problem, pretty confident I can do that. Just bring out the Argon/CO2 with .025 wire. He wants me to do the exhaust on his truck sometime too.
Someday Ill learn to TIG weld. It looks so clean.

 

[3chordcharlie]

EDIT:
And there you have it. My ancient, blown blower resistor! haha. Took me two seconds to pull it out.

That's my kind of wrenching!

 

[jlee]

hmmmm. 3rd gen 3SGTE...hmmmmm. Havent found a guide for that yet - wouldnt I be dealing with a whole lot more electronics and BS that I wouldnt if I would get an 1st gen 3SGTE from a 91 -93?

And yes, I was noticing the mounts while I did the clutch job. I've had my suspicions about them for a while now. But ive never taken the lid off to watch the motor flop around like it was till yesterday.




I welded a couple mounts together for a custom fender he bought. He's also cutting up that fender and wants me to weld the sheet metal back together in a couple places. Not a problem, pretty confident I can do that. Just bring out the Argon/CO2 with .025 wire. He wants me to do the exhaust on his truck sometime too.
Someday Ill learn to TIG weld. It looks so clean.

91-95 USDM is a Gen2; 93+ JDM is a Gen3. You're going to have to do a lot of wiring stuff to swap the engine regardless, and the Gen3 will make a lot more power without fussing with it. It has 540cc injectors instead of 440cc, better cams/head, and is MAP based instead of AFM based. A Gen2 will run out of fuel around 275whp, and you can break 300whp with a Gen3 without too much hassle.

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

91-95 USDM is a Gen2; 93+ JDM is a Gen3. You're going to have to do a lot of wiring stuff to swap the engine regardless, and the Gen3 will make a lot more power without fussing with it. It has 540cc injectors instead of 440cc, better cams/head, and is MAP based instead of AFM based. A Gen2 will run out of fuel around 275whp, and you can break 300whp with a Gen3 without too much hassle.

wow. all too tempting. Some guys suggest going with a 2gr-fe from a camry. Its a six cylinder and has torque up the wazoo.
But realistically thinking - my car is probably not the best candidate for an engine swap of that magnitude. Maybe Ill search for another MR2 with a better unibody (less rust) and a blown engine for that project. - I would also need a larger garage if I ever decide to take on a project like that. a 12x20 just aint gonna cut it!

Still awaiting the Poly motor mounts and shift linkage bushings.
Im also going to replace the exhaust manifold gasket and bolts while Im working back there.
In the meantime I did a battery relocation to the trunk. Ill go take some pics and update this shortly.

For videos of the engine movement go to this thread http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2189258

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

The goal for the day: Relocate the battery from the engine bay to the trunk. This will allow more working space in the engine bay.

Here is a battery tray I made out of angle iron. I ran out of Mig wire so I had to use Flux Core wire, Hence the splatter and slag.

On the side of the try a welded on a nut

so that these threaded dowls would screw into them

I inlcuded an extra nut a the top to allow me to tighten down a piece of 1" iron

Ran the cables thru an existing rubber thinger majing in the firewall

and then I used solder to connect the ends of the extension to the existing cables. (Im not sure if this is proper solution? are there any problems that I may have with this?)

All said and done, works perfectly. That battery is much more secure now that it was with Bale twine! :awe:

 

[Howard]

and then I used solder to connect the ends of the extension to the existing cables. (Im not sure if this is proper solution? are there any problems that I may have with this?)

If you get a good hot joint, you should be OK, but to make extra sure, you should hold the cable near the joint so that physical stress can't be transferred to the joint. Could be as simple as a loop of wire held with a cable tie.

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

Bad news today.
I finally bought a compression tester. $15
Here are my results.
Cylinder: 1 ----- 2 ------ 3 ---- 4
Dry ----160 ---- 160 ---- 90 ---- 140
Wet ---180 ---- 175 ---- 120 --- - 175

Cylinder three is buggered. From what I understand, since during the wet test it raised pressure significantly, that means that the piston ring and or cylinder wall is toast. Its what I was suspecting.

So. This means one of two things.
1. Rebuild the engine over winter. - if Im having this much fun on only three cylinders, I wonder what four would be like?
2. Get a different engine and rebuild it... a bigger, better, more powerful engine? - so tempting but I dont know if I trust the car to put up with excess power.

Both thoughts are fun. Both thoughts are also expensive.

 

[Howard]

Last night I was driving home from another town and was having problems seeing real well,
this may have been part of the issue.

The other part of the problem was that my headlights would occassionally cut out until I tapped/flicked/whacked the switch.
Today I openned up the switch to find the problem and low and behold, found the solution.
This li'l solder that Im pointing at had a hairline crack in it that allowed a disconnect whenever the switch was bumped/rotated.

Just heated up the soldering iron, zapped the existing solder and now it works like new! I resoldered all the connections just for good measure.
Never used a soldering iron before today, logged as something learned!
Now if I could only figure out why my fan only blows when set to high....

BTW, next time you need to reheat a joint to fix a bad wetting, dab on a little bit of rosin flux paste - almost guarantees the hot joint.

 

[RocksteadyDotNet]

Bad news today.
I finally bought a compression tester. $15
Here are my results.
Cylinder: 1 ----- 2 ------ 3 ---- 4
Dry ----160 ---- 160 ---- 90 ---- 140
Wet ---180 ---- 175 ---- 120 --- - 175

Cylinder three is buggered. From what I understand, since during the wet test it raised pressure significantly, that means that the piston ring and or cylinder wall is toast. Its what I was suspecting.

So. This means one of two things.
1. Rebuild the engine over winter. - if Im having this much fun on only three cylinders, I wonder what four would be like?
2. Get a different engine and rebuild it... a bigger, better, more powerful engine? - so tempting but I dont know if I trust the car to put up with excess power.

Both thoughts are fun. Both thoughts are also expensive.

Definity opt for a better motor. 85kw isn't enough for that car.

I'd find a second gen 4A-GZE. 120kw stock. 150kw with a pully mod. (I think).

It will drop straight in and I'd imagine the harness would be simular too. If you go a 3S it's going to be a mission.

I wouldn't think a GZE would be that expensive either.

 

[exdeath]

20V swap!

Trying to stay realistic

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

20V swap!

Trying to stay realistic

20V's are over-rated according to the guys at MR2OC. They are incredibly reliable, but are actually less powerful and impressive than a 4A-GZE (supercharged 4AGE). Also they are illegal in North America and need to be shipped in from Japan.

1MZ-FE is not out of the question. They come from late 90's Camry's. Output is 168–190 hp @ 5200–5400 rpm with 183–193 ft·lbf of torque at 4400 rpm. A few guys have done the swap and said it was super easy.

Same goes for the 2GR-fe (current gen Camry's),
266 hp (198 kW) at 6200 rpm with 245 lb·ft (332 N·m) of torque at 4700 rpm. Same story here, a few guys have done the swap. Heres a video of one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dr5J3y_oGD4


In all honesty though, for simplicities sake, I may just stick with a N/A 4AGE. Im just worried that by the time I get done the rebuild Ill be saying "I should have done [this]"

Finding a good 4A-GZE block would be the ideal, so that I can prep it for a 4AGTE (Turbo 4AGE). My current block is the weak 3rib and cant handle the boost, while the GZE blocks are the 7rib (if Ive done my homework correctly) and can handle decent amount of boost. but Supercharged MR2's are super rare to find up here - and those guys that have them, treasure them.

EDIT: or a 3rd gen 3sgte - but I reiterate: not sure my car can handle the stress.

 

[RocksteadyDotNet]

20V's are over-rated according to the guys at MR2OC. They are incredibly reliable, but are actually less powerful and impressive than a 4A-GZE (supercharged 4AGE). Also they are illegal in North America and need to be shipped in from Japan.

1MZ-FE is not out of the question. They come from late 90's Camry's. Output is 168–190 hp @ 5200–5400 rpm with 183–193 ft·lbf of torque at 4400 rpm. A few guys have done the swap and said it was super easy.

Same goes for the 2GR-fe (current gen Camry's),
266 hp (198 kW) at 6200 rpm with 245 lb·ft (332 N·m) of torque at 4700 rpm. Same story here, a few guys have done the swap. Heres a video of one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dr5J3y_oGD4


In all honesty though, for simplicities sake, I may just stick with a N/A 4AGE. Im just worried that by the time I get done the rebuild Ill be saying "I should have done [this]"

Finding a good 4A-GZE block would be the ideal, so that I can prep it for a 4AGTE (Turbo 4AGE). My current block is the weak 3rib and cant handle the boost, while the GZE blocks are the 7rib (if Ive done my homework correctly) and can handle decent amount of boost. but Supercharged MR2's are super rare to find up here - and those guys that have them, treasure them.

EDIT: or a 3rd gen 3sgte - but I reiterate: not sure my car can handle the stress.

A V6 swap is NOT super easy. It takes a pro hundereds of hours.

You need to do stuff like

Fabricate engine mounts
Move the rear firewall
Fabricate different length axles
Run a whole new loom

And a whole bunch of other crazy shit.

Go the GZE route. It didnt just come in the MR2. Can't you get a corolla/sprinter front cut? It would be RHD but that wont matter.

Well, it might. But I seriously doubt it. Why do you crazy bastards have to drive on the wrong side of the road?