My MR2, Knuckles61

[knuckles61]

Have you checked the BGB/service manual for how to do a coolant refill/bleed? This shows you exactly how to do it.

It says to have the car off. I was just worried that it would cause lots of bubbles to be trapped in. Thanks for reminding me to look before asking - I was getting lazy!

[GDII]

Once you have finished flushing the system turn the engine off to refill. I have never flushed the car using Jims method as I am not sure how it works so I've done it with the car off.
Fill with the car off then run it like what the manual says. Bubbles will come out the filler neck, this is normal as the air wants to get to the highest point. Make sure your radiator and heat bleed tubes also fill up with coolant while doing this process. If they don't it's not bled properly. After the car appear to be fully bled let the engine cool. You will then be able to add more coolant over the next few days as water shrinks as it cools down.

[Benckj]

When flushing it's fine to circulate clean water through for flushing. It will get warm but not hot. When satisfied it's running clear stop engine and let remainder drain out, close rad valve then fill up & bleed according to BGB with 50/50 coolant & water.

[JasonFriday13]

Once you have finished flushing the system turn the engine off to refill. I have never flushed the car using Jims method as I am not sure how it works so I've done it with the car off.
Fill with the car off then run it like what the manual says. Bubbles will come out the filler neck, this is normal as the air wants to get to the highest point. Make sure your radiator and heat bleed tubes also fill up with coolant while doing this process. If they don't it's not bled properly. After the car appear to be fully bled let the engine cool. You will then be able to add more coolant over the next few days as water shrinks as it cools down.

Basically this. I've learned a couple of tricks to help the process along and reduce the number of days it takes to completely bleed it.

Put the heater on hot first before doing the bleed. While the engine is warming up, put the radiator cap on and close the bleed valves, leave for a couple of minutes to build some pressure, then open up the heater bleed valve, coolant should come flowing out of it. Top up at the cap again. When you don't see any more air bubbles the heater is bled and the valve can stay closed.

After the heater is bled, do the same for the radiator. Another tip, while the bleed valve is open, give the radiator a few thumps with your fist, this helps move the air out.

On my car I did the bleed in one day, let it cool overnight and filled up again the following day, I also filled up the overflow bottle and ran the car up to operating temp, and that's it. I haven't had to top it up after this.

[knuckles61]

I've started to fill but it's going pretty slow, is it okay that my bleeder is leaking? I got the heater bleed up to the right height but radiator is less than half. I closed the heater one and now I'm just working with radiator.

[knuckles61]

I've started to fill but it's going pretty slow, is it okay that my bleeder is leaking? I got the heater bleed up to the right height but radiator is less than half. I closed the heater one and now I'm just working with radiator.

I managed to get the radiator bleed to the right level! still a fair amount of brown in the system so I'll dump it one more time then set to fill it all up

[GDII]

I took my radiator right out and ran a hose through it both ways. Still had some brown coming out even after 15mins. My cooling system had been neglected by the previous owners including myself.

Good to hear you are able to bleed it properly.

[knuckles61]

Alrighty so part one of the bleed was done well, I added about 10L of coolant, I think 1L or perhaps a bit more dripped out from the bleeder valves. I took it for a short drive and the temp gauge didn't go above the usual spot. After the drive I noticed the engine bay fan still hadn't turned on so I guess it was cool enough. I will top it up again tomorrow and then take it for a longer drive.

Thanks for all the advice and help from everyone!

[knuckles61]

Once I change my oil I will be looking at making the car look a bit more presentable, I've been having a lot of fog light envy... I've been looking around on trademe and asking for parts but if I can't find anything local would this be an option http://www.carid.com/1992-toyota-mr2-fo ... 21252.html . Alternatively ebay fog lights would do the trick. There's just a really large space at the front of the car where fog lights need to be!

I did another small bleed after driving the car and letting the radiator fan turn on, it took quite a while for it to turn on and so far I haven't been able to get the engine fan on, but I'm hoping that's a good thing! Also it might just be a mental thing but the car doesn't smell as hot as it did before.


Loving the weather, driving with the top off is something else.

[knuckles61]

Small update, over the weekend I managed to do my first oil change, went and got some 10w-50 pentrite oil and a ryco filter. It was quite hard to get the filter off but with the right combination of tools I manged to get there! The car is still leaking oil from somewhere. Previous owner said it was the tappet cover, and mechanic said it would be okay for now. The oil level was only just under full but I would rather have no oil leak so I will hopefully get that fixed next time. I think it's a bigger job than I can tackle so I will leave it for the mechanic.

Since the oil change pretty much finished up the list of 'what to do with your new sw-20' I could finally get onto the cosmetic stuff. I did a wash and it still looked pretty bad, I think I might look into getting some clay. The thought of getting a proper detail did cross my mind but the flaking clear coat made me think it wouldn't be worth it, so I just want to make it tidy before I do a respray.

I started with removing my front lip as it was falling apart and looked horrible. This was a much greater task than I originally thought! Took me a fair amount of time to get them both off. Most bolts were rusted on and just broke off when I applied force. So I will replace these when reinstalling. The next step for me will be to sand down/ fill and repair the lip to make it look good, I was also toying with the idea to make it a bit bigger and make it all one piece. But I am thinking it might be more cost effective to just go out and buy one rather than buying clay and fiberglass components.

[Benckj]

Common place for oil leak is on the RH corner of valve cover just above alternator. Grab a 10mm spanner and tighten the VC bolts which will help control oil loss. May not fix the problem but will certainly slow it down.

Make sure you keep oil level topped up, even 1/2 litre over full. Gen 2's are known for oil starvation and once it drops low you will be replacing the engine.

[knuckles61]

Common place for oil leak is on the RH corner of valve cover just above alternator. Grab a 10mm spanner and tighten the VC bolts which will help control oil loss. May not fix the problem but will certainly slow it down.

Make sure you keep oil level topped up, even 1/2 litre over full. Gen 2's are known for oil starvation and once it drops low you will be replacing the engine.

Will do, so far I haven't noticed any oil drops either, but when I got underneath the car there was a lot of oil running around. Not around the drain bolt though. Will see how tightening it up goes. I plan to wash the engine bay soon and then I can get a proper idea of how much I'm leaking.

[Spykerwolf]

Great progress man

[knuckles61]

Common place for oil leak is on the RH corner of valve cover just above alternator. Grab a 10mm spanner and tighten the VC bolts which will help control oil loss. May not fix the problem but will certainly slow it down.

Make sure you keep oil level topped up, even 1/2 litre over full. Gen 2's are known for oil starvation and once it drops low you will be replacing the engine.

This helped quite a lot, much less smell coming from the car now. I still check the oil levels regularly and so far I haven't seen a noticeable drop. I also put the front lip back on without a jack and that was tough! But everything looks better now. I would love to get a new nose cone though, so many things are broken on mine!

I finally got around to sorting out a new (second hand) head unit as I hated the old one. Managed to source power from the battery and cigarette lighter and just grounded it to chassis. I have a strong urge to upgrade the speakers but I will hold off for something cheap or just not do it at all.

Besides that my day to day driving is getting better, manual driving takes much more attention and I've noticed driving is a lot more fun when you have a car that's eager to go (and no roof!). Over the holidays I plan to clean it up and take some good photos.

[Benckj]

I have a strong urge to upgrade the speakers but I will hold off for something cheap or just not do it at all.

On the speaker front it is a really good idea to upgrade as the stock ones are very poor and often falling to bits. Can get a decent set of component Fussions for under $50 for the front and smiliar 6" ones for rear (check Repco & SC). Not a hard job to do but allow plenty of fiddle time to remove plastics and mount speakers. There are a couple of write-ups floating around on how do if you need some help.

Glad my advice on VC and oil was helpful. Best to keep on top of these little problems before they esculate to big issues.