Hayden's 1990 SW20

[Haydz]

About time I made one of these!

I've owned my SW20 for about 6 months now, it's a basic G-spec hardtop with some extras (retro-fitted?) like power windows. I still get to live the G-spec life with no power steering or ABS though! (Not that it's much of an issue.)

It's been engine-swapped up to a Gen-3 3S-GE out of an ST202, which has been performing pretty nicely despite some issues.

Here's how it looked when I first bought it...

It was in desperate need of some work to the paint, it was pretty faded and almost matte-finished in some places. A cut and polish really did wonders to the paint which was absolutely fantastic, still not 100% happy with how the bumper doesn't quite match the rest of the car, but it's relatively minor compared to what it was!

Not too long after the cut and polish, I got some cobra lowering springs for a nice mild drop, and some 17" Impul R5 wheels (17x7 on the front and 17x8 on the rear)

I also discovered at the recent Dyno Day that it was running REALLY rich, making 130hp in the process! After some sleuthing by Phil, we realized the car was running on Gen2 electronics, while still having the Gen3 injectors (which are bigger). Only just recently have I finally got around to changing the injectors to what they should be (thanks to having to drill out an absolutely fudged stud that holds the ACIS plenum to the manifold) - and man, what a difference!

I haven't gotten it dyno'd again since changing the injectors, but the car feels much more 'alive' at low RPMs now, where previously you'd put your foot down and the whole car would seem to bog down and struggle until you got about 3K RPM or so.

It's also struggled with some overheating issues due to mostly my dumb ass not burping the system properly (read the BGB people!) and also the O-Ring on the radiator air drain plug being absolutely ballsed. I've replaced it and re-flushed, filled, and burped the coolant system and it seems to be stable, though I'll be fitting an auxiliary water temperature gauge just to help monitor things in the future.

Other than that, there's not many other mods done to the car (yet...) - though the only thing I'm planning right now is some pretty basic stuff (mild exhaust, coilovers, some mild body stuff, etc.)

[GDII]

Looks really good! Unfortunately the bumpers and other non metal parts on these cars look different even with the same paint. Even a brand new $100k Supra has mismatched bumper and body.

Glad to help, you are doing extremely well doing the work yourself, none of it is easy with the issues you've come across. Good to hear the car runs properly with the smaller injectors to suit the ECU. I think you were dumping about 20% more fuel in with the Gen3 3S-GE being 365cc vs the Gen2 3S-GE at 295cc.

[Trotbags]

What an amazing transformation. The wheels, stance and polish have made a huge difference. And the yellow looks pretty cool - I've just acquired a "Yellow" project MR2 - so seeing yours is inspiring!

[ClanFever]

Good stuff! It's come a long way since the freak meeting while waiting in my MR2 in the Crofton Downs car park

[Haydz]

Good stuff! It's come a long way since the freak meeting while waiting in my MR2 in the Crofton Downs car park

Yeah for sure! I'm planning on making sure it's reliable enough (mainly heat-wise is what I'm worried about) to do the Hawkes Bay/Whakatane run later next month

[Haydz]

I think the run up to Riversdale did a number on the MR2 - it died completely on the way home, just in between Totara Park and Upper Hutt. Lost all engine power and won't catch (it cranks, but won't 'catch')

Had to get it towed home - currently unsure what the issue is (suspecting something wrong with the fuel system, not 100% though).

Going to be some long diagnostics to figure out what went wrong and what the parts list is going to cost me to fix

It wasn't overheating when it broke down - so I didn't cook the motor - couldn't spot any fluids leaking out (or smell anything), so I don't think a hose/fuel line has split somewhere - only real damage I can see so far is the EFI fuse blew, but after replacing it, it still won't start.

I'll make a post in the Tech section when I'm close/find the problem.

[GDII]

I guess we need to determine why the EFI fuse blew. That powers your ECU so of course it would just die if the fuse blew. As for it not starting after replacing the fuse, not sure.

Checking the fuel pump with the diagnostics FP and +B pin will be a start. Then taking out a spark plug and touching it to the intake manifold while someone cranks will show if there is spark or not.

Cam belt can't have snapped but be good to check that. Does it sound normal when trying to crank?

As for air, it's not blocked up.

[ClanFever]

Ah yes, the classic "my mr2 is on a tow truck" photo. It's not a real mr2 ownership until that happens

As Phil above says, diagnosing and we can figure out what it is. There are possibly other fuses blown or could even be a ECU issue. Would either or my rev 1 or rev 2 NA MT ECUs be worth trying (both gen 2 3sge), as I understand it's already running a gen 2 3sge ECU?

[Haydz]

Ah yes, the classic "my mr2 is on a tow truck" photo. It's not a real mr2 ownership until that happens

As Phil above says, diagnosing and we can figure out what it is. There are possibly other fuses blown or could even be a ECU issue. Would either or my rev 1 or rev 2 NA MT ECUs be worth trying (both gen 2 3sge), as I understand it's already running a gen 2 3sge ECU?

Could be worth a go, yeah - it's already got a Gen2 ECU in it

[ClanFever]

Can you get a photo of your one and I'll match the numbers up to know which one to give you?

[GDII]

Can you get a photo of your one and I'll match the numbers up to know which one to give you?

89661-17280 is the ECU number he has. REV1 Manual GEN2 3SGE.

[ClanFever]

Can you get a photo of your one and I'll match the numbers up to know which one to give you?

89661-17280 is the ECU number he has. REV1 Manual GEN2 3SGE.

Cool, will see what I have and can get it to Hayden this weekend if I have one. Worth testing do you think? Would the plugs suit a gen 3 ECU, like is that something that may need to be pursued too? Possibly doesn't like the ECU anymore?

[GDII]

Can you get a photo of your one and I'll match the numbers up to know which one to give you?

89661-17280 is the ECU number he has. REV1 Manual GEN2 3SGE.

Cool, will see what I have and can get it to Hayden this weekend if I have one. Worth testing do you think? Would the plugs suit a gen 3 ECU, like is that something that may need to be pursued too? Possibly doesn't like the ECU anymore?

It's a GEN3 3SGE from an ST202 Ceilca running the early GEN2 3SGE MR2 electronics the car came with. The GEN3 3SGE wiring has 4 plugs so it's completely different.

[ClanFever]

It's a GEN3 3SGE from an ST202 Ceilca running the early GEN2 3SGE MR2 electronics the car came with. The GEN3 3SGE wiring has 4 plugs so it's completely different.

Roger, what can this mean to the stability of the engine performance, like what issues can be expected, is what Hayden had over the weekend one of them perhaps? Or it should work as expected even with technically the wrong ECU? Or is the engine close enough to the gen 2 that everything it controls is virtually the same? We already saw those issues with the wrong injectors

[GDII]

It's not this. The engine will work fine and the injectors are the only major thing causing issues that we sorted. It overheated before the injectors where changed.