tw2's mr2 - the journey to a clean 2

[tw2]

More progress, took the seats out to get the rest of the rubbish out, found a piece of popcorn in the process.

Decided to attack the leaking valve cover, lots of cleaning, degreasing and trying to prevent rubbish going into the engine.

Progress004.jpg (280.79 KiB) Viewed 2182 times

[tw2]

Before and after. I just wanted it sealed and a bit tidier so it is nowhere as nice a finish compared to if I had actually sanded and prepped it properly. Colour is "cast iron", my "painting things red" days are gone.

All new gaskets and I decided to replace the two O rings for the distributor while I was at it. New cap and rotor too. One day I will also check the static timing.

It was not pretty before cleaning.

For some reason I also replaced the air filter (easy) and the fuel filter (easy but still not fun). Next stage is buying stuff from twosrus. And I still don't know whether 3sge and 3sgte ignition leads are the same? Anyone?

[voxson]

Inspirational to watch your progress!

There is post on the UK forum somewhere showing they are the same, I'm sorry I can't link it as am at work.

I ordered a reasonably priced set from RockAuto yesterday (turbo ones), so I'll let you know if they work when they arrive

[Benckj]

The difference between Ign leads is the terminal end st distributor. Some are simply boots and others have clips depending on year & model.

[tw2]

Inspirational to watch your progress!

There is post on the UK forum somewhere showing they are the same, I'm sorry I can't link it as am at work.

I ordered a reasonably priced set from RockAuto yesterday (turbo ones), so I'll let you know if they work when they arrive

Glad you are enjoying it. This stuff is so much easier to do than on the other car. Thanks for that, sounds like a good plan. I took the car for a spin tonight, adjusted the throttle cable so I don't keep redlining it with the slightest touch. No leaks, runs well after its ordeal yesterday. Tomorrow in to the alarm shop as the current alarm is toast and won't lock at all and un-emobilising requires the right pull from the planets alignment in our solar system.

The difference between Ign leads is the terminal end st distributor. Some are simply boots and others have clips depending on year & model.

Yep I definitely have earlier push on ones. And I know the length etc are the same. I just didn't know if the construction and resistance etc was different for some reason. I will order some from overseas (Toyota said $180 here) and some iridium plugs, they seem to all be gapped at 1.1mm. Do you guys use 0.8 or 1.1mm in the 3sge? edit- finally found it in the separate engine repair manual. 1.1 is the 5sfe which is the confusing part for me. 0.8mm is listed specifically for the 3sge.

Looks a bit better now. I would love to sand and paint that horrendous heatshield but in my experience if you even look at it funny, all the bolts will shear right off.

[tw2]

Just had a new AVS alarm installed yesterday. Now I can stop in public places and be assured that I can leave again later. Good stuff. The fusion head unit still works (poorly), I think they should have stuck to manufacturing amplifiers. Hopefully I can replace that in the next month or two. Boot lid mechanism should be at Toyota next week sometime. I am starting to get used to not slowing down for corners again.

[Alsw20]

You don’t need expensive Iridium plugs. You could get a set of four copper plugs for sub $20.

[tw2]

You don’t need expensive Iridium plugs. You could get a set of four copper plugs for sub $20.

Yep I know. I also know that copper is technically better until they need replacing. I just like the iridium as they last 20 x longer and I rather set and forget. The iridiums are $12.50 each.

[tw2]

Small update, replaced the spark plugs, changed transmission fluid and will make a couple of extra ground wires from the engine to body as the 1-2 crusty originals don't look the best.

I think they look like original platinum's? No more oil in the spark plug wells since changing the gasket which is good. Torque is 18Nm if anyone wants to know.

Luckily I found my old 24mm 6 side socket that had the lip run off with a lathe. I had it made years ago for my st185. Everyone should have one for those crappy drain plugs that love to round. And the fact they take 49Nm also...

All my searching has lead me to go with the redline MT-90. Being a S54 it only took about 2.6L before it poured out the fill hole. I will report back with any improvements noticed. The fluid that came out was light brown which makes me think it might be original also. I replaced all 5 bolts that hold that plastic undercover guard. I was very happy to see there was very little rust on the whole. Just the clutch line assembly which looks to be part of the front engine mount.

[mknz]

Non-original spark plugs as they're NGK platinums not Denso. But, NGK is just as good

[tw2]

Non-original spark plugs as they're NGK platinums not Denso. But, NGK is just as good

Good point, I didn't even stop to consider the brand. I assumed not many people would put platinums back in. A couple were worn to the point the gap was out so probably not a bad idea to change them.

[tw2]

Transmission fluid change made a very noticeable improvement to shifting. I didn't think it would make any difference. I would guess it gets rid of 50-60% of the "notchiness" I was experiencing. Hopefully the bush replacement will help with the rest.

Spark plugs made no difference to anything as expected but makes me feel better. Ignition timing is spot on, painting the crank notch with twink helps enormously.

[tw2]

Just ordered inner, outer tie rods and boots from toyota. My vin shows power steering so undercovers come off...definitely manual.
Also ordered the steering rack boots from powerflex on ebay. They are on trademe now but they want $10 more. Sure I would happily support a NZ business for that until I see that they just order it from the UK for you if they are out of stock. I don't think I need to pay a middle man for that.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/222617013962

Also saw these chassis braces are a bit rusty. Could someone please tell me, does the red arrow point to the bolt where the aftermarket swaybar mounts bolt on?

Also what are the two lines with blue arrows?

I am considering getting the ultra racing underbody brace to replace these. (UR-LA4-963) I think a lot of their braces feature very poor design, ignore the forces present and select poor mounting points (especially the rear strut brace and front under body which mounts to radiator supports). But this one uses the stock points that Toyota deemed important and also bridges them side to side too.

[tw2]

Images all jumbled again, nevermind.

[GDII]

Red arrow does point to the additional front bolt for these swaybar mount reinforcement brackets.

Blue arrows, small is accelerator cable and big is speedo cable.

What's your plate number? If there are no big round things in the frunk under the spare wheel and cover then there is no powersteering but based on your photos from underneath there are no hydraulic lines.

Just be careful with adding in these bars. It affects the crumple zone of the car so in an accident it could end up hurting you more than it normally would.

If you upload all your images in one go they should stay in place when you post it.