Working on MR2's sucks, All finished! Options

[95CelicaST]

Let me preface this entire thread with this:

I love my MR2. It's a total blast to drive, iconic image with a cult following, and on the off-chance that it isn't raining in the pacific north west it is nice to cruise with the tops off.


However, working on anything in the engine bay is a nightmare.

A couple weeks ago I was coming home from work and I noticed a strange sound coming from the engine bay. It was RPM dependent, but went away after ~ 3000 RPM's. It sounded similar to a wheel rubbing on a fender liner, but I wasn't moving. I got out and checked for smoke or leaks and found nothing, so I babied it home (roughly a mile from work). I pulled it into my garage and shut it off.... and immediately found the problem. I had coolant pouring out from the plastic timing belt cover. The noise I was hearing was the bearing in the water pump failing... and then fail completely.


So I ordered up a new water pump, timing belt, accessory belts, pulleys, valve cover and spark plug tube gaskets, etc. as well as new cap, rotor, wires, plugs and a new clutch kit.

This is where the problem is - there is about an inch between the timing cover and the frame. It's virtually impossible to get in there and replace everything. So after researching it seems the popular - and easier method of doing this work is to drop the motor, so I enlisted the help of a friend from school who also owns a MR2 and we tore into it this weekend. The BGB says the motor will come out the top of the car, but I say nay. After scratching our heads we tossed the BGB and dropped the cross member and lowered the motor to the ground, lifted the body up, and slid the motor out on a creeper.


So this week I will be stripping the motor down and cleaning everything up. I've got to drop the flywheel off for resurfacing and drop my injectors off at Witch Hunter to be cleaned and flowcharted. With any luck I'll get it all reinstalled on Friday.

I just moved and don't have internet yet, so I'm tethered to my cellphone.... which is not an effective way to upload photos. Here are a couple pictures. Hopefully I have internet by the end of the week and can post more pictures.

MR2 with my scoob







And in it's prime...



This post has been edited by 95CelicaST: Jun 20, 2010 - 10:24 PM

[95CelicaST]

Update from yesterday:

I spent over 3 hours prepping the valve cover for paint. 20 years of caked on grime does not like coming off. I sprayed the cover with a high temp silver (three coats). It was looking chrome-like, which I didn't like. I then sprayed on three coats of high temp clear and it took the chrome look away and now it look great. The firewall heat shields did not like the clear too much, so I am going to strip them and redo them.

That's about all I did yesterday. Today I am going to try and level the exhaust manifold and get the valve cover and heatshields reinstalled. I'll try and post a few pictures this evening.

Tomorrow I'll pick the flywheel up as well as new exhaust manifold heatshield bolts. They were so rusted I couldn't get a 12mm on them, so I pounded on a 7/16 socket and used a cheater bar to get them out. Needless to say I will coat the new ones in anti-sieze before installing. Not much will happen after that, as I am going to the Cage the Elephant concert in Seattle. Friday is the day it'll all go back in.

This post has been edited by 95CelicaST: Jun 16, 2010 - 11:20 AM

[samir0189]

Update from yesterday:

I spent over 3 hours prepping the valve cover for paint. 20 years of caked on grime does not like coming off. I sprayed the cover with a high temp silver (three coats). It was looking chrome-like, which I didn't like. I then sprayed on three coats of high temp clear and it took the chrome look away and now it look great. The firewall heat shields did not like the clear too much, so I am going to strip them and redo them.

That's about all I did yesterday. Today I am going to try and level the exhaust manifold and get the valve cover and heatshields reinstalled. I'll try and post a few pictures this evening.

Tomorrow I'll pick the flywheel up as well as new exhaust manifold heatshield bolts. They were so rusted I couldn't get a 12mm on them, so I pounded on a 7/16 socket and used a cheater bar to get them out. Needless to say I will coat the new ones in anti-sieze before installing. Not much will happen after that, as I am going to the Cage the Elephant concert in Seattle. Friday is the day it'll all go back in.

i can relate to that. gasoline seems to remove the crud from 20 years of baked and caked on dirt.