My 1990 SW20 MR2 GT, DIY/Build/Repairs

[Alsw20]

Was a pretty awful day out there that is for sure. So many cars and so many tech problems means long times between runs.

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Hopefully These fit, just bought them on trademe, its going to be within around 2.1mm of touching the suspension


17X8 front +38
17x9 Rear +38

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[graphite]

The wheels came with tyres too wide for the MR2, well the back ones fit and I knew this as soon as they arrived, its a bit of a pity as they are like new these tyres, however cheapo brands, ie Radar but I had a play around test fitting them to see what they look like on the car.

Excuse how dirty the car and wheels are, I will make an effort to give the entire car a good clean soon, including a full clay bar and polish up etc.

They came with 235/40/17 (front) and 245/40/17 (Rear)

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Today I got some Bridgestone RE003's (215/40/17's) for the Front and all is well with no issues.

I fitted the wheels, so far I have only washed the car and cleaned the wheels using Dragons Breath.

Next up is to clay bar the entire car and polish then wax, pics to come.

[Alsw20]

Looking good

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Have now gone over it with the Clay Bar, Polish and Wax.

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My current mission is to work out whats causing parasitic drain.
If I leave the car a few days the battery drains, I check it and it was sitting at 150ma, which sure, doesn't sound a lot, but over 3 days that is going to add up.

I instantly blamed the head unit I installed / my installation, so I just removed that and disconnected the cables going to it, this lowered the parasitic drain to 110ma, which I think is still too high.
from what I remember 20-50ma is more of a normal range.
So this will be a case of trial and error

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Found that unplugging the factory amp (the larger one) reduced the power drain down to 50ma.

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So, now trying to work out the source of an oil leak.

[JasonFriday13]

Chances are it's the valve cover leaking. All 3S engines leak at some point in their lifetime. The alternator could use a clean too.

[GDII]

Chances are it's the valve cover leaking. All 3S engines leak at some point in their lifetime. The alternator could use a clean too.

+1. Or the oil pump shaft seal. That seems to be a common leak area.

[Benckj]

Could be coming from multiple areas including valve cover, crank seal, oil pump or even axle seal. Best to spray some degreaser on it, water blast off and watch for where the oil starts showing. Can be hard to locate after driving as it will get blown al over the place.

[GDII]

Jim is correct, could be anywhere but based on the amount of dirt everywhere it looks like it's coming from higher up the engine.
Might pay to pull out the alternator and clean that up before it gets hot from being caked in oily dirt that is blocking the ventilation paths.

[Benckj]

Once the oil gets into the alternator it doesn't have long to live. The oil combines with the cuttings from brushes & bearings and simply destroy's internals. Can degrease and blast away gunge but it may make worse inside.

[graphite]

Could be coming from multiple areas including valve cover, crank seal, oil pump or even axle seal. Best to spray some degreaser on it, water blast off and watch for where the oil starts showing. Can be hard to locate after driving as it will get blown al over the place.

Yeah, i'll have to clean it down, it could be the VCG, despite me changing it, the screws make it hard to torque correctly, I noticed I could tighten them up a bit, (the ones I can reach).