MR2 AW111 Project

Long time no Update...

2010-04-12T02:47:00.000-07:00

Wow... It certainly has been a long time since there hasn't been an update... Many things have happened since the last update in my personal life, so yeah, the MR2 took a backseat for a while.
Anyway... As promised, some updates on the MR2... :-)

MR2 has been running for a while now, and on average, I get about 350Km per tank, which is roughly about 8.5Ltr/100 Km, which was a huge improvement over the 10 or 11Ltr/100Km from my previous 4age, but with the added bonus of more power... :D

Engine runns very nicely, and is well suited to the MR2 from a power to weight ratio, although it is no speed monster. If this engine would have been in the MR2 since day one, it would have been a nice package.

New Tyres... :-D

2009-08-31T04:55:00.000-07:00

Time for new Tyres...
Well... finally decided to purchase a new set of tyres for the MR2... The current set were on the MR2 since 2002 and they were starting to show their ages... as whenever it rained, it was like driving on butter...

So far, the tyres I had on the Mr2 were....

Pirelli P0 - Great tyre... but not that great in wet, but better than most. Very grippy tho in the dry. Rating - Dry 9/10 and Wet 7.5/10

Dunlop W10 - Great tyre too... awsome on the dry, but terrible in the wet. Rating - Dry 8/10 and Wet 4/10

Goodyear Eagles F1 - Great tyre... Awsome when new, but they don't age that well... but in new tyres, Rating - Dry 8/10 and Wet 6/10

Yokohama S.Drive - Now out of all the tyres, I'm really impressed with these... They grip in the wet, just as well in the dry... of very close. Rating - Dry 9/10 and Wet 8.5/10.

Info for the Yoki tyres... http://www.yokohama.com.au/ourtyres/tyre.aspx?tyreid=206

These tyres come highly recommended...

Stay tuned for further updates... ;-)

Finally... Another update... after a few KMs...

2009-06-26T21:32:00.000-07:00

Well... been driving the MR2 a few time, and have noticed a few things...

1) Engine is running rich - under medium and high RPMs, you can feel the engine a bit sluggish, and at TOP RPMs, it feels like it is being sufficated. This has also been confirmed by Sean.

2) A fair amount of backfire when running at various High RPMs levels - When starting to hammer the mr2 around corners/track, and when you are sitting at coninuous high RPMs, the engine starts to backfire a bit.

3) Between 1100 - 2000RPMs vibration - The engine vibrates rather vigurously between 1100-2000RPMs, under load or not, which can be readily seen when lifting the bonnect. I think this was why we hated the Urethane bushing, probably.

4) Fuel consumption is high - I've had the opportunity to drive the MR2 through several cycles / Fuel tanks. Typically, I get about 300-340Kms per tank. Taking everything into account, I'm getting about 10-11Ltr/100Km. To provide you an example, my wife's Forester gets about 10.5-11Ltr/100Km, which is a Flat 4, 2.5Ltr AWD, 1.4Ton car!!!!!! That means that either the Mr2 is extremely thirsty, or I have a very economical Forester!!!! I think the initial is true... and the forester is tuned on the rich side, due to it's bad head design.

So... what do all these points outline... the 20v BT Engine is not running at it's Optimum, and is running extremely rich!!!!! :-(

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Anyway... it was recommended by Warren, my mechanic, to check the synchronizing the Throttle body, and possibly clean them out. Was Warren right... Definitly. Warren lent me his throttle body sync tool. So... what did I do...

Well, first off, you have to remove all the induction boxes and Velocity stacks (V-Stacks)...

Then before I started the cleaning, I measured how much air each throttle body was sucking in... it wasn't even registering!!!!!!!! Eeeeek... So I decided to clean them out, and sure enough, I was getting a reading... 2Kg/cm^2... Of course, each throttle body had a different reading, so I used a adjustment screw to adjust the idle induction, and then start measuring at each RPM point... sure enough, once the idle was adjust, the rest was in sync too... thank goodness. By the way, the blacktop Manuals, which are readily available on the internet, outlines the procedure to perform this, so I won't be repeating it here again...

Anyway... took the MR2 for a test drive, and was there a difference... You bet... the difference was enormous... but it still did not cure some of the problems... it still had the virbration, not as sever, but it was still there, and fuel consumption has improved a little, but not much.

So... I've checked the timing, it was spot on 10Deg BDC

I've checked Ignition Leads, and it was OK.

I've checked TPS, and although a bit suspect, it still had measurements within check, although some of the pins didn't read anything!!!! I need to come back to this again.

Spark Plugs... Now, let me tell you something... Use Plantinum or Iridium plugs... DO NOT USE COPPER Plugs... This has also made a huge difference, from a lot of backfire, etc, to a nice clean burn without backfire, and less noise. The engine feels a lot smoother with Iridium plugs, but those nigly problems are still there.

So the search continues. Alas, I have no pics and other updates, as I'm starting to fix up some stuff on the inside... But hopefully, I will put some more updates soon.

Engine Mounts + OverFlow bottle.... + Eng Cert.

2009-03-09T05:55:00.000-07:00

Well... After clocking about 250Km on the new engine, I'm rather impressed with it... But the engine mounts are just nagging me way too much. I always end up being a nervous reck by the time I arrive at the destination.

Similar to when I used to have 2x JL 10" Sub in my supra... they didn't last very long, as I'm very sensitive to vibrations, especially when they are not harmonic. IE: Constant drone from Airplane engine is OK, but variable vibration from Subs or engine, just drives me nuts. None the less... a ticking clock or a dripping tap gets me annoyed!!!!! Mistery to me.

Anyway... I found out that the engine mounts for the MR2 are still available from Toyota, as Gary Yates @ Grand Toyota has found and supplied me with a set... Thanks Gary.

I've analysed them, with regards to why so many people who changed to Urethan mounts tore them out from the chassis... and I've come to an interesting conclusion... Because the Drive shaft attachement is off-set from the center and does not line up with the engine mounts, this will give the engine a twisting motion inside the engine bay... When I analysed the front engine mounts, I realised that they are very easy to twist as can be seen in the picture... The side mounts to give much support other than holding the engine in place. With the urethan mounts they don't allow for the twisting... hence, they tear out the engine bolts that hold them in place, due to it's twisting motion.... anyway... check out the pics... one of them, I have the center easly twisted with my thumb....

Also had a chance to re-fit the overflow coolant bottle... I reused the 20v unit for now, but I'm still not quiet happy with it.

Anyway... tomorrow she's going it to get her checked out... Warren at Precision Auto shop... So stay tuned on the outcome of this...

Another test drive & Fitting Trim Pieces

2009-02-03T05:03:00.000-08:00

Well... Last night, Sean came over, as he was eager to take the MR2 for a test drive... So we both went out and gave it a bit more stick... Both Sean and myself liked the feeling of the engine, although it is in an untuned state.

It is interesting. It definitly isn't a speed machine, but comparing the Supra and the Mr2. Although both these cars can't really be compared, it will give you an idea of what it is like. The Supra, in stock trim performed low 15sec on 1/4 miles (15.0 - 15.3). The MR2 is definitly much faster than the Supra on standard boost & trim. But keep in mind, it is in an untuned state at this stage. I think in a tuned state, it will definitly be going from mid to high 14sec on the 1/4mile... which is good enough for me... :D

The back end feels wobbly... Due to requiring wheel alignment

The engine has a flat spot... around the 2000-2500RPMs... needs a tune

The engine has a hickup... on steady rev, you can occasionally feel a miss-fire... Maybe new plugs will do the trick.

The intake has bad air-pickup (Warm air) and the filter might be a bit restrictive... this will be changed soon.

Sooooo... these are just a few things that need to be investigated... In the mean time, I decided to fit the new trim pieces which I purchased from Toyota... some pics below...

I promised MPOT that I will be bringing the car to the office, so he can have a look, so hopefully, I'll be able to do that this week... ;-)

More updates to follow soon... :D

WhoooooHoooo... She's been completed... Sorta!

2009-02-02T03:19:00.000-08:00

WhoooHooooo!!!!!!... Got the MR2 on the road, and today was the first test drive....

But first off... a couple of pics...

Pretty much a 2.5" system, mandrel bent, from extractors onwards... All stainless steel, with a Highflow, 2.5" CAT (Need to keep it legal), and a straight through custom Muffler... I'll let the pics tell the rest... ;-)

OK... Probably by now you want to have some driving impressions... Ok, before I start, first off, she is untuned, and she needs a wheel alignment, as she feels a bit wobbly...

So... How does it compare to my old 16v? It is tremendously different, like chalk and cheese... If you don't give it full stick, she pretty much feels & sounds like the old 16v... but wait until you put your full down... there is a bit of a lag, and then all of a sudden you hear the note change (VVT kicks in) and she starts pulling... I've tried a couple of hard runs from 4000-6000RPMs... and they will come and go in a blink of an eye. Below 4000RPMs she feels a bit more potent than the 16v, but pretty much same characteristics... but wait until you hit the 3000-3500RPMs and then stomp your foot... it thinks for a minute, and then starts pulling hard, all the way to 7500RPMs... I wasn't daring to pull higher.

But taking into consideration that she isn't tuned yet, and in dire need for a wheel alignment (we tried to fit the 20v Drive shaft... :-\), she feels nice and smooth.

There was one moment from the workshop driving to office... she started blowing real smoke... gray smoke, to the point that the car behind me reversed... Initially, I went into panic mode, as I thought she was on fire or something... but then I started checking, and it was coming out the exhaust, so I'm suspecting she was blowing out all the cobwebs from the long standing, and of course the new exhaust.... That was a fright!!!! :-( Mental note: Get a fire estinguisher.

OK... Next thing on the agenda... finish off some of the nigly bits, such as intake system, and clean up some of the cabling (Make it look stock... ;-)... More on that to follow....

Transport to Exhaust Shop...

2009-01-27T13:28:00.000-08:00

Well... as per my last update, she was ready to go to the exhaust shop, so here she is on the RAC truck to be transported to the shop.

Realistically, I had 3 choices... 1) Get the RAC truck, cost was AUS$60, 2) Hire a trailer for $75 for minimum of 4hrs or 3) drive it there without exhaust... (And hope not to get caught.)

I thought I'd choose the #1 option as it was the safest, the legal and the easiest.

Anyway... Spoke to Norm, and he will be fitting a stainless steel, 2.5", mandrel bent, custom muffler, 2.5" cat system from the extractors onwards... can's wait to see the end results!!!! ;-) It's now been 2 days, and I'm getting impatient... But none the less, I'm refraining from calling, as good craftsmanship takes time, and I don't want to put the pressure on him... but I'm still curious... :D

None the less, been contemplating about HPC couting or exhaust wraps for the exhaust system... I would prefer the HPC couting... but at this point in time, have no contacts or pricing regarding this. Any ideas, please let me know...

Hopefully, the next update will be on the exhaust system...

Car is finally ready... Only exhaust required...

2009-01-26T01:36:00.000-08:00

Well... it's been a while since I did an update to this blog... probably because for the last few weeks, it was touch and go, with holiday and family do's, house renovations, and planning what is going into the house, and getting sick, etc, etc, etc. Anyway... managed to squeeze in the completion of the car, and I'm glad to say, it's booked into the exhaust shop tomorrow...

Anyway... Finally put all the panels on again (IE: Boot, Engine Lid, etc), but I refrained from putting the C-Pillar trim on, although very tempting... But none-the-less, I didn't spend AUD$700 for somebody to break them... Now more than likely, it won't be on purpose, but either way, I won't take chances... Heck... it might even happen to me!!!! ;-)

Here is are a coule of pictures of the engine installed & running.... Completed purging the air from the cooling system yesterday, as I had the engine running for about 30-40mins, reving a few times to about 4000Rpms... it's sweet. Double checked the coolant this avo, and no more air.

As you can see... I sawed away part of the engine cover latch, and simply connected up a POD filter for now. If I had my way, it would be individual Air-Stacks... but then I can't get it engineered... So need to figure out how to make it legal, so I can get it engineered... Further updates on this later... ;-)

As you can see... not much of an exhaust system.... Simply used the exhaust B-Pipe, with the O2 sensor, so that I can get it started and running for a while to bleed the air out of the cooling system, so that I can drive it home after the exhaust shop, and so the exhaust shop can fit the O2 Sensor in the right place... Nice pic of the Whiteline sway Bars too.... ;-)

Don't worry... the cable it not going to be attached there... it's only temporary, until I get the exhaust fitted... ;-)

Hopefully tomorrow, I'll be able to take pics of the MR2 on the RAC Flatbed truck, on it's way to the exhaust shop... Further updates will follow...

Not this week-end... But my old Supra... ;-)

2009-01-04T15:08:00.000-08:00

Well... Didn't get around to doing any work on the MR2... The Boss (Wife) demanded that I finish off some renovations that I have started a while back (a year or so ago), so I was busy preparing that last week-end. But next week-end, I will definitly be finishing the MR2 off, so that she is ready for the exhaust...

But in the mean time... A bit of history on my previous car... (By Popular request) I used to own a Toyota Supra 89 Turbo, while my wife was happy owning the current MR2. The Supra was fast, and had awsome acceleration, with quater miles of low 13 and high 12sec, but it just didn't handle... My wife and myself we used to occasionally race, and I would leave her in the dust... but sure enough, on the next corner, she was up behind me... :-)

When I was looking for a car, I was looking at all sorts, such as the Nissan GTR (Too Pricey), GTsT (Too common), RX7 (Too abused), MR2 SW20 (not enough and too pricey)... but none got my appeal. Then, one day when I got home, my wife pointed out this Toyota Supra, Australian delivered, 1 Lady Owner, Low Kms, and a good price (Affordable)... My initial thought was... Yep, probably full of dents and a rust bucket... but decided to check it out anyway... It was a fair drive away, about 1hr up in the hills, so we took my wife's MR2 for a spin up the hills.

We got to the place, and knocked on the door, and a guy answered, and indicated that the Supra wasn't here yet, as the lady was coming back from work... she was only a few minutes away, so we decided to wait. Sure enough, she showed up, and as it was driving up the hill... My mind was going... "That's it... that one is going to be mine" (The car... not the lady ;-) Of course, I had her checked out by Jan & Alex, 2 close friends of mine who I trusted... they gave me the OK, so I bought it.... :D This car was as stock as a rock... nothing modified, with exception to coolant.

So once bought and ownership took over, it didn't take long to start modification... Of course, the first thing that happened was suspension... King Springs and Tokico adjustable shocks

Then followed by a 3" exhaust all the way from Turbo Elbow back, with a new High flow 3" CAT. And then, of course, the rest...

Anyway... Some pics... Supra as she was...

The engine has been rebuild, and some modification performed to her was Inspected, cleaned up block, and O-ring, New Head, Shot Pinged Conrods, Lightened Pistons, Chrome Molly Piston Rings, Balance Crank, 1.8T Clamping clutch, High flow Turbo (T04 trim) and clipped exhaust wheel and Intercooler. Some pics below... At the time of rebuilding this engine, I didn't have much mechanical know how, although I did understand what was being performed. The engine rebuild was performed by Alex, with advise from Jan & Sean.

Once the engine was completed, I put the engine on the dyno, just out of curiosity, and it produced 292RWHP at 14PSI Boost, and 210RWHP at standard Boost of 8PSI... and that was still on my old intercooler setup. But as you all know, the old intercooler is not very good, as at about 5800RPMs, I could see boost dropping off quick, and it was like hitting a brick wall... No it was fuel cut... it was the intercooler, so I decided to install a new intercooler.

At this point in time, with the old intercooler, I thought it was pretty WILD... Then came the intercooler upgrade...

Of course, with the Intercooler upgrade... it went from WILD to SYCHO... it was just a chalk and cheese difference, and it was sooooo responsive after that. Boost was pretty much instant, on tap, and it lasted all the way to redline, of 6800rpms... full boost was available at pretty much 2500RPMs, and lasted all the way. This was a Spearco Intercooler, and are probably the best you could get... More info at http://www.racetep.com/tneticatoaic.htm.

After that, I decided to leave the engine as is for a while, and focus on Stereo... Of course, most of my items were purchased overseas, as I couldnt' justify the price inflation here in Australia... Basically, the system consisted all of Alpine gear... Alphine Head unit, Amp, Front Split (1" tweeters & 6" Mids) and rear end Splits (1" Tweeters, 3" mids and 8" subs)... It sounded pretty awsome, and cost me about AUS$2500 all up. I got a quote from one of the shop, and they quoted the system about $4500, excluding installation cost.

At this point in time, things started getting a bit difficult, and the cost of maintaining and running the supra got a bit heavy... Also, the next set of modification would have been just to expensive so I decided to sell her, and buy a more sedate 4 door car for my wife, and take over the MR2 as my hobby car. The MR2 was cheaper to run, maintain and modify compared to the next stage of the supra.

To give you an idea... Supra used to consume 70Ltr of fuel over 400Kms, compared to 40Ltr for 550Kms in the MR2... To get a replacement engine for the Supra, I was looking at AUS$4500, compared to AUS$1200 for the MR2... To get a replacement gearbox for the Supra, I was looking at AUS$1500, compared to AUS$300 for the MR2... Please keep in mind that this was back in 1999/2000... I'm sure that you can get it way cheaper now. If I had the Supra now, I wouldn't have sold it, but alas, that is not the case. The Supra was not going to be a good daily driver...

Besides... the Supra was fast, but couldn't handle... the MR2 could handle, but wasn't fast... and in a state in which 110Km/hr is the max speed limit... the MR2 was a more sensible choice...

Hence, where I am tody... What better choice of having an MR2 with a BT engine... once she's finished of course... :D

The MR2 AW11 is a great car to own... It's cheap maintenance, and it's handling characteristics, begging you to push it harder and harder as you get close to it's limits. It's economical, and due to it's lightness, is easy on fuel, and on the tyres. But don't get me wrong... I do miss the Supra, due to it's cheer brute force in acceleration...

Rare-to-Find pieces from Ex-Japan have arrived....

2008-12-29T17:01:00.001-08:00

Well... Although I could have worked on the MR2 today, I think it's a little bit too hot at the moment... coming in at about 38degree Celcius today... (That is about 102 Degree Fahrenheit for you US guys... ;-) )

But about 2 weeks ago, I did have the chance to pick up my delivery from Ex-Japan. You see... My outside trim pieces on my MR2 have started to break up pretty badly... cracks, screw holes dissappearing, etc. So, I was faced with several options...

1) Make my own out of Fiberglass... Hmmmm... Considering, I have no experience with FG, this might not be such a good idea, and will cost me a lot of $$$... after my math and enquiry about parts required... about AUS$380...

2) Purchase FG units from http://toyota-mr2-aw11-reproduction-parts.com/cpillartrim.aspx, but when it was all costed up, with freight to Perth, Western Australia, it was about AUS$500, and although perfect fit, still would require some minor work to fit them.

3) Find 2nd hand units... Now this is like trying to find hen's teeth... (Chicken Teeth... ;-} ) They are very hard to find, and especially in some decent shape. And when you do find them, they are either in the US (Delivered to US only) or the seller wants an Gold mine for it... IE: I've seen some sales go as high as $600 on ebay for these, and although used, were in good shape (Apparently)... I don't consider 2nd units worth that much, I would not be paying anymore than $300.

4) From #2, they indicated that these can be purchased from Toyota again... Hmmmm... Well, I thought I might as well give it a try and see... So I called Toyota, expecting them to be AUS$1000+++... To my suprise, they came back at about AUS$712...

Hmmmm... Up to now, my best option was #2... but at only AUS$200 difference... I might as well go for the geniune Toyota Product... So I put my order in. The ETA for them was about 10 Business days, which is just about 1 week before Christmas break, soooooo... OK.... AUS$712 poorer... Besides... They lasted about 20years on the MR2... I'm not going to expect the MR2 to last another 20years, so that might be good investment... ;-)

So... Instead of babling on about these... Here are some pics...

Top Piece... As you can see, they do come with 6x Special attachement screws...

Side Pieces... All with Rubber trim and mounting screws in place...

Side Mounting screw attachement... Looks like they are drilled in, and then glued in too... whereas the old ones had no trace of glue!!!!! Hmmmm... Improvement?... !!!!!!

Old Piece compared to new... (Old on left, new on right)

The whole new set... The sheets that it's lying on are the wrappers they are delivered with... ;-)

This is becoming more of a restoration project than a 20v AE111 conversion project... Hmmmm... :-/... But that is OK... ;-P

Festive Season... Definitly no work done...

2008-12-27T20:22:00.001-08:00

Well... it's that time of the year where all adults will go broke, and the youngsters can't stay in bed for a good sleepin.... :-)

Lucky for me, we don't have any kids yet... ;-) But, none-the-less, we still get busy with family and friends during Christmas period, and all the festive season for this month... Several good festivities for us....

1) It's Christmas.... So ...

Merry Christmas

... to all who are following this blog.... :-)

2) on the 28th of December... My parents anniversary... So...

Happy 45th anniversary... :-)

3) also on the 28th of December... Sean's Wife's Birthday, Melanie... So... Melanie, if you are watching this thread...

Happy Birthday, Melanie... :-)

4) And finally... New year, when 2009 begins and 2008 comes to a beautiful closure. Sooooo... Wishing all of you a

Happy and Prosperous New Year... :-)

Unfortunetly... Due to the festive season, we decided not work on the MR2 during this period, and decided to get some RnR (IE: Relax for a change).

This also gave me a chance to do some reading up and also hunt for a few things on the net... So... This week, nothing much has happened. but hopefully, next week, we'll be working on it again, so stay tuned... But in the mean time...

* * * * Merry Christmas * * * *

* * * * Happy New Year * * * *

What a nice Tune... Quad Thottle bodies... :D

2008-12-20T03:56:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, we decided to replace the Coolant lines on the AW11... the old stock heater coolant lines, just gave me a bad itch, so I decided to replace them with NEW generic heater lines. That was a bit of a job, and took us a while... If only we had a car Hoist... :D

Anyway... got the hoses replaced, and started filling up the coolant.... ALL 14Litres OF IT... !!!!
Yes, you heard right... ONE-FOUR as in FORTEEN.... It's a lot of coolant, and hence, why I wanted to replace the heater hoses, because I really don't feel like doing it in a hurry again... or for at least another 2 or maybe 3 years.

My old 89 Supra, I used to change it religiously every year... coolant and new thermo. It's a common weakness with the 7MGTE engines, and because of the bad design of the thermo, when it fails, it fails shut, and hence, it blows the head gasket.... of course most people just torque the bejesus out of the head, but that is not a good idea, as will distort and give an uneven surface, which will make things worse. Don't underestimate a 7MGTE engine... they have great potential.

We ran out of time, so we decided to leave it for now, and let the engine cool down... we did get about 10ltr in there so far, but I think the heater hoses aren't filling up, even though we have the heater full bore hot and fan going... but it just ain't getting hot... :-\
Next time....

I had the oportunity to look around for some ideas... Since the BT Airbox doesn't fit into the MR2, I was thinking maybe the 20v ST Airbox could... Hmmmm.... I've spotted one on Ebay and decided to go for that idea. Got it at a good price, so see how it works, and what mods are required to fit a BT engine.

Also had to do some reading up on how to purge the air from the MR2.... Now would be the best time to say that the Haynes Manual is abosulately CRAP!!!!! If you doing this kind of work, do yourself a favour... get the Mr2 BGB from Toyota or download it from the internet.

Anyway.... that is just about it for this time... see how we go on next week-end, or maybe during the week....

SHE'S ALIVE, SHE'S ALIVE.... :D

2008-12-13T17:02:00.000-08:00

Whhhhooooohoooooo... SHE's ALIVE.... :D

Well... we finally gotten around to playing with the MR2 again, to fault find why she ain't starting. Last week-end, we attempted to start her up several time, and she just wouldn't.

So, during the week, I posted a lot of question on the forums (MR2OC.com and Toymods.net), and quiet a few suggestions have come up. One of them was to rig up an LED+Resister (1Kohm), which I did...

At work, they were getting rid of some of the Status Lights for the DELL servers, and these were pretty good, as they are uni-directional current LED... IE: If you have positive and negative mixed about, it will either indicate amber or blue... :), so that is what I used.

So... here is what we did...
1) We connected up the LED, and sure enough, the ECU was sending signal.... !!!!!! So it can't be ECU.

2) We connected the Fuel pump in the diag plug, and sure enough the fuel pump was going. We sqeezed the return line, and there was definitly pressure there. We sqeezed the line so that we could build pressure, and she still ain't starting.

3) OK... we connected the Diagnostics pins, and the ECU didn't give any error codes!!!!!!

...... Ok.... we know it's not the fuel pump, and we know it's not the ECU. We are getting pressure in the fuel line!!!!! It must be stuck injectors!!!!

So we consultant some of the guys on the forum, and we all concluded that it was stuck injectors.... one of the recommendation was to apply 24v to the injectors (Cycling) to un-stuck them... Hmmm... I wasn't too keen on this.... but...

4) we decided to pull the injectors from my 16v engine and plug it into the socket... sure enough it was clicking...

5) So we decided to perform the battery test on the 16v injector, and sure enough we heard it click... Now we knew exactly what we were looking for.... so....

6) We applied the same principal to the 20v Injectors... Hmmmm.... Bugger, no clicking.

7) but, in a little bit of frustration, I decided to tap the -ve terminal of the injector in a pulsation method, and sure enough after about 5-6 taps, the injector started clicking.... Hmmmm....

8) move to the next injector.... Tap, Tap, Tap, Tap, Click, Click, click.... Cool.... we did 2x injectors and tried starting her up... Yep... PuTT, PuTT, PuTT, she came to life, and only running on 2x injectors... Cooooooooooll! :D

9) move onto doing the other 2x injectors, and although #3 took a bit more persuation, she started clicking eventually...

10) She fired right up....... Whoooohoooo!!!!!

None-the-less.... By now, my back was really giving me stop-work sign, as it was agony just to stand up straight.... (I need to loose weight!!!!)

She idled nicely, and although I didn' t have the exhaust attached, she wasn't so noisy... Mind you, at 10:30pm, I didn't think the neighbours would appreciate it, so we only did a couple of starts, and left it at that. The induction sound of the 20v is way more than the exhaust sound, until you blimp the accelerator.

Anyway... Some members on the forums as well as some of my work collegues have requested a video for proof... so here it is... ;-P

(My appologies for the video being so dark... but it was late @ night, and when my wife heard her start up, she ran out with the Kodak camera... :D)

So... Next week, or possibly in the new year, it's off to the exhaust shop... bur first I need to cleanup the wiring mess... (IE: Attach the ignitor, put induction socks on, etc.)

PS: By the way... Thottle bodies on the 20v BT are actually 49mm in diameter... They do taper off into a 48mm as you move towards the Throttle plate (Personally measured with a set of Calipers). So if somebody tells you it is 45mm... be assured they don't know what they are talking about, and they are desktop engineers.

Stay tuned for further updates... :D

Crank, Crank, Crank... Ohhhhh, Bugger!!!!!

2008-12-07T05:22:00.000-08:00

Well... Yesterday and today, we focused on getting everything hooked up and connected, and filled up, etc.

Did somebody say somewhere that if you have the back end up, that you can only get less than 1.4Ltr of oil in the gearbox!!!!! Well... Yep... we only got about 1.4ltr in, and we assumed because the back end is on ramps. Need to investigate this later.

Anyway... Coolant filled up, only got about 10Ltr in there, and oil is filled up, checked all connectors and grounding... Yep....

Connected the battery, and she cranks alright... but she ain't firing up... Arrrgh! (Well, what was I expecting!!!!!)

We started fault finding various parts, and we discovered that the injectors aren't firing... there is fuel, there is spark, but injectors staying mute... :-/

Well... Injectors have 2x wiring coming to it... 1 going to constant 12v when IGN is on, and the other from the ECU to fire the injectors... well, the ECU wire is OK and has connectivity all the way from the ECU to the Injector, and there is a 12V when IGN is on!!!! Why are they Mute!!!! Don't they know who is boss!!!

I hate doing this to you... but stay tuned to find out more... :-D (No, I haven't figured it out yet)

Some pics of the wiring harness we were checking on...

This is the plug in the boot, when closed and each side when opened...

(So.... if you have an idea what the problem could be, please drop me an e-mail... )

A little bit more....

2008-11-28T03:56:00.000-08:00

Ok... Well... for the last few week-ends, I didn't get the chance to do any work on the MR2... For the couple of week-ends after the engine install, I was extremely busy, and hence didn't get a chance to work on the MR2.

We did, however, manage to squeeze in some Hrs on Saturday, although Sean and myself were busy. We got some minimal work done, outlined below...

Installed the coolant lines and looks OK... not the best, but will do the job for now.

It took us a while, and it'll take us a while to fill her up... because there isn't much room between the body and the filler cap. But none-the-less.... how often will we be touching the coolant lines?

We also re-attached the Clutch slave cylinder, the gear selector cables, Electrical cables, etc...
Below is a picture of the MAP sensor, which I conveniently had a right angle mounting bracket and mounted in place as shown below...

We also ended up connecting the fuel lines...

We also attempted the installation of the airbox. The airbox comes in several parts, namely the base plate, the Velocity stacks (Rubber ones) and then the cover. The picture below show the installation of the base place and 3x (out of the 4x) velocity stacks....

This is where 1 of the problems became very apparent...
UNDOCUMENT PROBLEM: You can not use the 16v Altnerator if you want to use the Blacktop Air box. The 16 Alternator has one of it connectors (The main 12v connector) pointing straight up, which will allow you to still install the airbox, but the terminal will touch the the airbox. Please note the airbox is made out of metal and will short the system over time.... not recommended.

The 20v Alternator has this same connector pointing perpendicular to the box, and hence, why you should use the 20v alternator. Alternatively, you could use after market velocity stacks (AKA Ramtubes or flutes) ... I'm looking into what options I have.

The next problem we faced was the airbox and the AW11 latch position. I've already know this one, as some have indicated this to be a problem.... nothing that Murphy couldn't fix with a bit of a hammer action... but again, I'm still looking into what my options are...

So... this was pretty much what we had time for, as my flue didn't allow me to go any further... :-( Yes, the last week-end I was actually crook in bed for the week-end... I couldn't believe it!!!!! And I was still suffering a bit of this week-end... But it's getting better.

Anyway... Hopefully next week-end we'll be able to start her up... So stay tuned... :-)

New Engine is FINALLY in the MR2....

2008-11-09T03:51:00.000-08:00

This week-end, we finally got the new engine installed. But prior to this we needed to do a few smallish things...

I had to go past Toyota to get a new Drive shaft seal, because, last week-end, when I pulled the drive shafts out from a test fit, I accidentially pulled the small spring that is insite the drive shaft seal... so when inserting and pullng drive shafts, be carefull, as they are spring loaded, and once it's out, you have to replace the whole seal... So anyway... the part number is there, and it's the same seal as the 1998 Toyota Corolla AE98

The next task that was required, was to drain the oil and replace the Oil Pressure sensor on the engine block and the Oil filter... I purchased a new oil pressure sensor from toyota, and got a K&N Oil filter... they come highly recommended...

Please NOTE: To install the oil pressure sensor, you need to purchase a special tool from toyota that has an open-ended hex on an angle to tighten the unit... don't tighten the unit by twisting the top... you won't be able to tighten it enough to create a seal... This tool cost about AUS$200+ from toyota... I decided to make my own from an old bicycle spanner...

OK... Now the engine was ready to be installed into the MR2... Shifted the engine + Gearbox onto a cardboard box sheet, so that when could slide under the MR2 once it's up in the air, without scratching the oil sump... The strap is so that one can pull from one side, while the other person pushes... it worked well.

I'll spare the details of the installation, as it's pretty much the reverse of the engine removal. Once the engine was in the car, and we attempted to install the drive shafts, we very fast realized that it won't fit... We just about tried everything, without success. Hence, we needed to remove the engine brace that sits undernieth the engine and attaches to the gearbox.

Sean actually pointed out a valid point... the 20v engine is in front wheel setup, and hence, a lot more dynamics going on in the front of a corolla, and hence, the requirement... but with the MR2, this might not be required. So anyway... it's common practice to remove it, so that we could use the AW11 Drive shafts. Also, when this piece was removed, the "4AFE" (Not 4AGE, or 7AFE) letter were printed on the inside... that is from a different variant of a corolla!!!!!

With a lot of jigging about, we finally gotten the engine in there... And it sure looks nice in the MR2... :-P

... Drive shafts are in, and front and back engine mounts have been fitted... They look nice... :-)

And, of course, Sean happy with the engine in... We both sure a looking forward to starting the engine... :D

Next week, I'll be going to Sydney, so most probably won't be working on the MR2 when I get back... But the following week-end, we will need to attach coolant lines and fill coolant, fill up oils, attach wiring harness, connect up fuel line, etc... Hopefully, we'll be able to get it started... ;-P

Getting Prepared...

2008-11-01T02:59:00.000-07:00

Well... This week-end, we finally gotten around to preparing the engine for installation. Below is a breakdown of what was completed this weekend...

Attached the wiring harness...

This was pretty straight forward, attaching the harness, and shifting all the peripherals across from the old engine to the new engine. Things such as reverse shift engagement adaptor, Alternator & New belt.

Drive Shafts from AW11...

A bit of bad news... We tried bringing over the drive shaft tullips (The small piece that fits into the gearbox, to which the drive shaft attach), but noticed very quickly that they long shaft fouled the gearbox brace. So we decided when we install the engine + gearbox, we'll try to install the blacktop driveshafts, as they look very similar in length.

Selector shaft...

We actually manage to drill the Selector shaft hole on the opposite side of the gearbox housing successfully... there isn't much material to drill, and if you have a metal drill bit, this will go through like butter, as the casing is soft aluminium housing. We started with a 3mm hole, and double the size, until we gotten to the 12mm hole, where we then decided to go for the full 11/16" hole, as when we moved up in sized, it become harder to keep the drill bit centered. Sean was taking care of the horizontal and hold the gearbox, whereas I was keeping the vertical in check and drilling the hole. By the time we finished drilling the hole, we were off by about .5-1mm to the center. No biggi, as the seal will take care of this... the seal will allow for about 1-2mm offset.

We fit the adaptor with Loctite 422 Gasket seal, but that didn't seem to do the job very well...

...so I went hunting for the JB Weld... JB Weld is extremely tough, and is perfect for the job... it's a bit like liquid aluminium... but take a while to cure (24Hrs). It took me about 1/2 day to track it down, as it's not commonly found here in Perth.

ECU Installation...
Also managed to install the 20v ECU... There were a few minor differences, and 1 out of the 3x brackets had to be modified... All that was required was to cut the Tab off, and re-drill a couple of holes... Presto, perfect fit in the exactly the same location as my old ECU, including the Starter relay. The starter relay is a small black/yellow square on the bottom, left hand corner of the ECU.

That was pretty much it, on what we have completed, but getting ready for the installation next week-end...

No... Not this week-end... :-(

2008-10-26T04:58:00.000-07:00

Week-end of the 19th of Oct... Couldn't get around to doing anything on the Mr2... Had to help out my brother-in-law to pull down my Mum's patio, as it wasn't in very good shape. My Mum had just ordered a new Patio, so we only had this week-end to pull it down.... In the process, my injury got a little infected... So I gave it a rest for this week-end. Decided to paint the Battery bracket that I had the small accident from last week-end.

Week-end of the 26th of Oct... Just when I wanted to work on the Mr2 again, I had to fix up a few things in the house that had just failed... Great... Arrgh! Besides... I much rather wait for Sean to come around...

21st of October... Oh... And by the way... Sean's Wife has give birth to a Healthy Baby Girl, SCARLETT on the 21st of October... Both, Mum & Scarlett are doing well... :-D
Congrats to Mel & Sean...

But... Plans are to work and get the engine prepared to go in next week-end... Soon too follow.

A Little Accident... :-(

2008-10-12T04:39:00.000-07:00

Well... I'm actually writing this post on the 3rd of Nov, although I have the original date... But regardless, it's been a while since any update...

Anyway... On the 12th Oct, I decided to use a wire brush on a drill to clean the battery holder bracket. I managed to cut away most of the rubberish coating, but still needed to use the Steel brush to remove majority of the rust, and clean it before repainting it...

It was a bit of windy day, and I didn't have a workbench, so I pretty much decided to work infront of my double garage, outside. Loose t-Shirt on, and a make shift bench... protective gear on (Gloves, and safety glasses, etc)... but alas, you guessed it, by t-shirt got caught into the drill bit. Lucky for me, I caught it in time, and it didn't cause too much damage... it was only skin deep, and a bit of exposed flesh, and mostly bruising along the left side of my torso.

.... I was extremely lucky... So, please, if you using power tools, please use a vice to hold the item solidly, or mount the power tool to the bench... I certainly won't be doing this in a hurry again... But I have to admit... I've never gotten my t-shirt torn off that fast... ;-P

PS: Yes, I do have pictures of the injuries.... No I won't be posting them...
Anyway...

Some more painting & Cleanup....

2008-10-05T07:20:00.000-07:00

Today, I only had about a couple of hours to spend working on the MR2... so basically, some very minor work can be done...

So I took the opportunity to sand back the Battery support tray, as it was fairly badly rusted, and to give it a new coat of paint.

As you can see... I also decided to remove the outside C-Pillar trims. I don't know if this was a good or bad thing, as I discovered that just about 75% of all my tabs on the trim have snapped off.... Hmmm... Dunno what my options are there, as toyota don't have them anymore... Need to find part # for these, and do the same... :-)

While removing the 16v engine, we caused a bit of damage to the rear/back wall of the engine bay, so I gave it a quick sand back using the metal brush, and also gave it a coat of paint. (The whites don't quiet match, but hey!!!!)

But as promised in my last post, I would load up some of the 20v engine mounts pics...

So, here they are.... These engine mounts are only the east-west engine mounts, and are about twice the size of the MR2 engine mounts. Please note the metal sleeving around the rubber on some of these mounts!!!! They are actually thicker than the actual engine mount!!!

Stay tuned... Hopefully, next time (Session) we'll be able to prepare the gearbox, fix the harness, and maybe mount the engine the following time...

Some painting....

2008-10-05T06:42:00.000-07:00

OK... Well... don't have the time to do much today, so I thought I'd do a few smallish things today... Besides, Sean isn't around, and I know he's dying to help me re-attach the harness, and start the assembly... :-) So, I'll wait for him.

Today, I mainly cleaned off the engine mounts of any rust or flacking paint. This was done by using a metal brush that can be attached to the drill... makes this job a 10mins job.

Since I had the TwoRUs engine mounts inserts, I decided to remove the rubber pieces that are located inside the engine mounts (Check out previous threads)... Now, WORD OF WARNING: READ THE INSTRUCTIONS before you start the work... :-} I was supposed to use a Hack saw to remove the inner Metal sleeve that holds the rubber in the mounts... this was about a 10mins job, and a log easier. The only thing I don't like about it, is that it will remove some of the strength in these mounts... But then again, if you think about it from a geometric point of view, with a twist of physics... you will realise that the old OEM mounts are not full rubber, and hence the requirement for additional strength... but with the new Full Urethen mounts, the engine mounts are going to be more solid, and hence, don't require the same amount of strength. (Similar to an egg) Pictures to follow....

Mounts sanded back, to remove rust spots and flaking paint....

And some pics of the mounts painted... (Following day...)

Side mount, gearbox below the battery tray....

Rear/back engine mount....

Front engine mount....

And... Of course both inspectors had to come out to inspect.... (The real boss and the fur-ball!!!)

Fur ball looking into the garage and thinking "Sacre Blue, wat-e-Mess!!!!"

... "Are we going for a car-ride after this!!!!!"

Also... As you probably have read from previous posts, I was supposed to send of my injectors to get cleaned, and totally forgot about it.... So, decided to remove the injectors and get them ready to bring to Warren @ Precision Automotive. Removing injectors is an easy task on these engines... Simply 2x bolts, and presto, all 4x injectors can be removed. Unlike the 16v engine, the injectors on the 20v are side feen injectors, and they sit inside the fuel rail. When removing injectors, great care needs to be taken, as they are fragile units. Pic below...

Anyway... that's it for today... Tomorrow, again, will only be a couple of hours...

Parts have arrived back from the US...

2008-10-04T06:09:00.000-07:00

Well... during the week, I have received the package from the US, which contained the new Harness, the Coolant kit for 20v BT, the Vacuum Kit for 20v BT, and the new fuel line... So... I'll show pics of the kits below...

MR220v Harness...
This is the picture of the 16v Harness, with the 20v Plugs fitted, as per MR220v's magic. It certainly looks nice, and job well done... none-the-less, the real test comes when it's installed. But I have my faith in MR220v's work... after all, he's done more than 60 harnesses, and he tests all of them prior to dispatching... :-)

When I initially unpacked the harness, and inspected it, I saw the Alternator connector (Similar to the picture below), and thought... "What the..."... but after thinking for a while, I realised that this was brilliant idea... basically it allows me to use my 16v Alternator (Which has a round plug) or I could use the 20v Alternator (Which has an oval plug). Doug has done the same for the Starter... Pics of the alternator plug below....

Coolant Kit for 20v into AW11...
This kit basically includes 4x Silicon hoses, a metal pipe, a Filler cap, a Filler Cap bracket to mount the original MR2 filler assembly along with it's nuts & bolts, an optional coolant Juego, and some recirculating piples for the Juego. All is shown in picture below....

The Vacuum Line Kit...
This kit is supposed to replace most / all vacuum lines in the 20v BT engine. I would strongly recommend this, as hunting down a vacuum leak in the 20v BT is not easy task... replace these 10-15 year old lines before fitting the engine. The kit basically arrives in a small box, with about 19x small plactic bags, all of which are nicely labeled according to their placement. (You can download the pics and possibly zoom in, so you can vaguely make out the text.)

The New Fuel Line...
Obviously, if you are reading this thread, you will know a few things about it. One of the biggest problems is that the 16v fuel line is waaaay to long, and the 20v Fuel line is about a tiny-weeny too short... the best option is to get a custom fuel line... hence the Side to Side fuel line was purchased as part of the package... Pics below...

Well... these are the parts that have just arrived from the US... They look good, and the ultimate test will be when they are on the car, so stay tuned to hear about this... :-)

Location of new Part....

2008-10-03T05:47:00.000-07:00

I e-mailed just about all the Toyota Dealers in Perth, Western Australia, all up, about 11 of them, and only 2 replied. 1 Toyota dealer, just by chance, had one of the replacement item in stock locally, the other had to have it delivered from Sydney. Apparently, only 2x items in all of Australia!!!!!!! Anyway... didn't waste any time, and indicated that I'll pick it up immediatly the following day early in the morning...

Phew!!!!! saved..... Anyway... Piece looks nice & new... and out of place in the old raggy, greassy 20v gearbox... I might just have to degrease it... :-)... Pics below...

The new and old pieces, side by side. You can see where it has been snapped off....
(Also shown is the original part #)

If you look at the toyota part #s, they actually have 3 part # for this item... one being the outer sleeve, one for the inner shaft & Wheel and one for clip. Simply remove the clip, and the shaft will slide out nice & easy... Use the air-gun to simply blow out any dirt in the new shaft, insert the new shaft and clip on the clip that keep it into place.

Then insert the whole assembly into the gearbox.... Simple... :-)

Arrrrgh!!!!!!

2008-09-29T06:36:00.000-07:00

Well... Yesterday, I gave it a miss, and helped out Sean to prepare his room for the new arrival into his family... So I was over at his place to help him out for the preparation.

Today, though, I decided to do some more cleaning, and the odd bits and bobs around... most of the engine mounts were covered in oil, and hence, the required cleaning...

So here I come with another bucket of soapy water... :-)... removed the engine mounts from the engine, and started cleaning them. Also, cleaned the engine mounts which connect to the chassis, and inspected them all in details...

On initial inspection, the engine mounts looked OK... but after a wash and closer inspection, it was obvious that they started showing their age... I could see minute tears in the rubber.

Also, after cleaning it in soapy water, the paint simply started pealing off freely, which was a bit of a worry...

I've also had a closer look at the 20v Engine mounts... that was the other reason why I decided to go with solid filled urethane mounts... The 20v Engine mounts are absolutely rock hard and solid!!!!! Those engine mounts make the 16v engine mounts look like chop-sticks!!!!! Alas, I forgot to take pictures, but maybe next week-end I will do so, just for documentation purposes.

Anyway... also took the chance to remove the inside. Many people indicated that it was going to be very hard!!!! I didn't think so... it only took about 10-15 each to get to the picture below!!!! I used a pair of Tin-Snips to remove the center piece... then used an electric saw to remove the majority of the remaining rubber to get as close to the edge as possible. Alas, when I was looking for my wire brush, I couldn't find it, so it'll be until next week-end... :-( (I was searching for my wire brush for about 1 hr, and couldn't find it)

I also decided to give the aircon compressor a quick clean down, as you can see from my previous pics... it was UUuugly! It looked like new once I finished... ;-)

And removed and cleaned the engine mounts that were still attached to the old 16v engine... They still looked in pretty good shape...

Decided to call it the day... but wait... I still remember that I needed to remove the Speedo gearbox adaptor... OK... Well, I put plenty of CRC last week so that is could sink into the mounting. Nope... still wouldn't budge.... Put some more CRC and gave it another 30-40mins...

Nope still wouldn't budge.... performed this several more time, and finally managed to start turning (After remove the bolt and plate that was holding it in place) around in it's socket, using a blunt screw driver and a hammer...

Wait... one of those moments of my Super-Genius time... I should have stayed in bed this morning!!!!!

I looked at the thread and realised it's the same size as the Hub nut... Hmmm... Ok, super-genius goes and grabs it... and hey... I was right... it's a perfect fit... I screwed it in a couple of threads.. perfect... Put the bar to it, and it should just pop out, right!!!!!

It poped out all right!!!! matter of fact, instead of a pop, it went snap... Blink!!!!! Oh crap! I had snapped most of the thread off the speedo adaptor.... Arrrgh! So now I have a speedo unit that only has about 4-5 threads... and guess what... me super-genius had to do it again, and again snapped another 2 threads off... so now I only have 2x threads!!!!! Arrrgh!

After a lot of cursing and swearing, and slowly nudging it loose, back and forth with the screw driver and hammer, I finally managed to get it out.... but just... and it sure was dirty... and now ruined. First thing I did, was to check if it fit onto the speedo cable... Sure does, but only 2-3 threads / turns deep... dunno if this will do the trick... But boy, do I feel stupid!!!!

End result...

Might need to take a trip down to the wreckers next week-end instead!!!!!
&&^#%$^&*^%$&)(*!#%$^*&^%&^ (<== No translation required, I hope!!!)

Stay tuned, and the saga continues...

PS: Considering this is the first goofy mistake, we still not going too bad... :-)

Cleaning..... :-\

2008-09-27T05:57:00.000-07:00

Sean and myself decided to do some cleaning today... I've done some last week, but this week, we've decided to do a coolant flush and wash/clean down the engine back to get rid of all the oil.

I started a bit earlier, so I decided to assemble the selector shaft control arms... It came out pretty good. Greased up all the internals of the components. I've also dropped the part once or twice... No, not on purpose!!!!! And the paint is on there pretty strong.

Once Sean got here, we started by moving the car out into the drive way. It's amazing how easy it was to simply push the car out, as it's sooooo light!

First off, we started by flushing the coolant and heating lines, so we got out the long water hose, and simply ran water through the system for about 5-10mins for both systems. Obviously we needed to block and protect the aircon pipes, so that no humidity or water goes into these pipes. A couple of plastic bags and lots of tape... ;-)

After that, we proceed with cleaning the engine bay... Basically used simple washing liquid... I was not too keen on using degreaser, as degreaser could potentially attack the paint... that is what happened last time, and hence. A couple of brushes, and in I went. Without the engine in the car, the backend of the car sits considerably higher... making it more difficult to jump in.

Unfortunetly, my wife wasn't home, so no pictures... :-(

But we ended up taking pictures after all the work has been completed, as dark clouds starting showing, so we called it the day... Finished product for the day... A much nicer and cleaner engine bay... :-)