Discussion
I've made a bit of progress recently, I had a good day on it today.
The air box is in with a new filter:
And connected up via the MAF sensor. That's the Toyota air box and VAG MAF sensor.
And this morning I got round to joining the VAG gear linkage cables with the MR2 gear linkage cables.
It's all covered and sealed now too. I few teething problems with plastic melting as I welded
but nothing too difficult to sort. Its by no means perfect, the Toyota gear stick was designed for only three rows of gears (with reverse being behind 5th), and now it has 4 rows (with revers being to the left of 1st gear). The travel of the cables is perfect, it's just takes a little practice to get the one you want (reverse, 1st, 3rd or 5th). I'll be fitting a quiet buzzer to warn when you've selected reverse. I'm pretty happy with it. I think it would be a dis-proportionate amount of work to make it a really slick gear change.
This meant I could drive the car around the driveway for the first time. It was running for about 3 hours, so I was able to test it a bit. Even so it only reached around 78 deg C. B***dy efficient diesels, I wasn't able to see if the cooling fan worked.
Here's a vid
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XR9Hp4XzfU8
I have found quite a few problems already though
There a clutch travel problem, well a lack of clutch travel. I thought I was getting away with it, push the pedal to the bottom and push it into reverse and there was no noise. But after a while it began to drag a little and grind into reverse gear. I'll try bleeding it again, but I might have to look into an alternative diameter master (Toyota) or slave (VW). I hope there is something that will fit.
Next, when I really loaded up the alternator, lights, fan, heated rear window, I think the belt area began to smoke, I'm not certain as there was a breeze, but I need to look into this a little further.
Mice have eaten part of the boot seal so I'll need to get another.
And there is a clunk when moving off in a different direction (forwards to reverse or vice versa), I think the third engine mount need looking at. As I was leaving I noticed that the exhaust flexi joint coming from the turbo elbow did not look "relaxed" as it did when I first made and fitted it, it seemed to be at a funny angle (not haha funny either!) So I think I might need to re-make or add too the third engine mount.
These fairly major issues put a bit of a downer on things this afternoon, having thought it was pretty much ready for MOT in the morning.
Oh well.
More to come
The air box is in with a new filter:
And connected up via the MAF sensor. That's the Toyota air box and VAG MAF sensor.
And this morning I got round to joining the VAG gear linkage cables with the MR2 gear linkage cables.
It's all covered and sealed now too. I few teething problems with plastic melting as I welded
but nothing too difficult to sort. Its by no means perfect, the Toyota gear stick was designed for only three rows of gears (with reverse being behind 5th), and now it has 4 rows (with revers being to the left of 1st gear). The travel of the cables is perfect, it's just takes a little practice to get the one you want (reverse, 1st, 3rd or 5th). I'll be fitting a quiet buzzer to warn when you've selected reverse. I'm pretty happy with it. I think it would be a dis-proportionate amount of work to make it a really slick gear change. This meant I could drive the car around the driveway for the first time. It was running for about 3 hours, so I was able to test it a bit. Even so it only reached around 78 deg C. B***dy efficient diesels, I wasn't able to see if the cooling fan worked.
Here's a vid
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XR9Hp4XzfU8
I have found quite a few problems already though
There a clutch travel problem, well a lack of clutch travel. I thought I was getting away with it, push the pedal to the bottom and push it into reverse and there was no noise. But after a while it began to drag a little and grind into reverse gear. I'll try bleeding it again, but I might have to look into an alternative diameter master (Toyota) or slave (VW). I hope there is something that will fit.
Next, when I really loaded up the alternator, lights, fan, heated rear window, I think the belt area began to smoke, I'm not certain as there was a breeze, but I need to look into this a little further.
Mice have eaten part of the boot seal so I'll need to get another.
And there is a clunk when moving off in a different direction (forwards to reverse or vice versa), I think the third engine mount need looking at. As I was leaving I noticed that the exhaust flexi joint coming from the turbo elbow did not look "relaxed" as it did when I first made and fitted it, it seemed to be at a funny angle (not haha funny either!) So I think I might need to re-make or add too the third engine mount.
These fairly major issues put a bit of a downer on things this afternoon, having thought it was pretty much ready for MOT in the morning.
Oh well.
More to come
Thanks Bearman, I'm back at it already!
I've had a couple of evenings on the car this week, and although a lot of it was spent looking and thinking, I feel I've made some good progress towards solving the issues found when driving around.
I think I've found a clutch master from a Toyota 4Runner/Hilux is the same and the MR2 cylinder but larger diameter. This should solve the clutch travel issue without a minimum of fuss (fingers crossed). The MR2 cylinder is 5/8 and this would be 3/4, a 20% increase in diameter, but more importantly a 40% ish increase in piston area! That's quite a lot! Watch this space.
The exhaust is off again (only a 5 bolt job ) and I'm hoping that the flexi will bend back into shape. The damage to the flexi was caused by the third engine mount failure when giving it some stick in 1st gear. The torque at the wheels (and therefore the torque needed to hold the engine in place) is massive in first gear. As a ball park figure (I've not looked it up for this gearbox) first is generally 3:1 and final drive is around that too, so you can multiply engine torque by 9!!! when in first gear, and that's the torque that the engine mount has to withstand to stop the engine spinning int he engine bay.
Anyway... I've straightened the broken engine mount, used much thicker steel for the mounting points to the engine, and added more steel to the structure:
Going form this:
To this:
But this is just the first part of the plan. I'm going to use some the position of the original mount, underneath the gearbox and make another section to join up with the bit pictured above. Strength in triangles.
More to come
I've had a couple of evenings on the car this week, and although a lot of it was spent looking and thinking, I feel I've made some good progress towards solving the issues found when driving around.
I think I've found a clutch master from a Toyota 4Runner/Hilux is the same and the MR2 cylinder but larger diameter. This should solve the clutch travel issue without a minimum of fuss (fingers crossed). The MR2 cylinder is 5/8 and this would be 3/4, a 20% increase in diameter, but more importantly a 40% ish increase in piston area! That's quite a lot! Watch this space.
The exhaust is off again (only a 5 bolt job
) and I'm hoping that the flexi will bend back into shape. The damage to the flexi was caused by the third engine mount failure when giving it some stick in 1st gear. The torque at the wheels (and therefore the torque needed to hold the engine in place) is massive in first gear. As a ball park figure (I've not looked it up for this gearbox) first is generally 3:1 and final drive is around that too, so you can multiply engine torque by 9!!! when in first gear, and that's the torque that the engine mount has to withstand to stop the engine spinning int he engine bay. Anyway... I've straightened the broken engine mount, used much thicker steel for the mounting points to the engine, and added more steel to the structure:
Going form this:
To this:
But this is just the first part of the plan. I'm going to use some the position of the original mount, underneath the gearbox and make another section to join up with the bit pictured above. Strength in triangles.
More to come
Thanks BrettMRC
A small update this evening. I've bent the exhaust back into shape and the 'uprated' engine mount is complete, it should take a little more punishment this one. You can see as well as strengthening the original section, there is now an additional section that extends to the bottom of the gearbox, its a little heavy but I'm sure its much stronger now
I took it for a fairly thorough trashing up and down the drive, plenty of clutch dumping and other such fun and it seems to be taking the punishment.
I left all the electrics on too and the alternator/belt is no longer smoking/steaming so I'm putting that down to some coolant steaming off as it warmed up.
Just the clutch to tackle now and a few small tidy up jobs. Its really getting there.
More to come
A small update this evening. I've bent the exhaust back into shape and the 'uprated' engine mount is complete, it should take a little more punishment this one. You can see as well as strengthening the original section, there is now an additional section that extends to the bottom of the gearbox, its a little heavy but I'm sure its much stronger now
I took it for a fairly thorough trashing up and down the drive, plenty of clutch dumping and other such fun and it seems to be taking the punishment.
I left all the electrics on too and the alternator/belt is no longer smoking/steaming so I'm putting that down to some coolant steaming off as it warmed up.
Just the clutch to tackle now and a few small tidy up jobs. Its really getting there.
More to come
simoid, Its quite strange isn't it It might end up turning a few heads
Thanks MrTwisty. The bit photographed bolts straight to the gearbox at the bottom, and through the bell housing into the block at the top. There is however a large rubber mount to the car's sub-frame.
It takes a while to get the feel of a car and know whether or not its going to be noisy and annoying, but my first thoughts after driving it about on the driveway are good, it doesn't seem much louder than the Toledo from where the engine originated. Well that's true when you're in the car, standing outside the car it is a bit noisy.
I couldn't agree more regarding the MR2 being cosy and comfortable, particularly at night with those big lights up in front of you The plan for this car is to be used all the time, sell my horrible 106 diesel and keep the crazy Scimitar as the weekend car. If the MR2 turns out well, not too noisy on a long run and reliable and if I can afford it I'll tune it a bit, but it was always intended to cover lots of commuting miles using my the biodiesel that I'm making. 30 ish ppl
It might end up turning a few heads Thanks MrTwisty. The bit photographed bolts straight to the gearbox at the bottom, and through the bell housing into the block at the top. There is however a large rubber mount to the car's sub-frame.
It takes a while to get the feel of a car and know whether or not its going to be noisy and annoying, but my first thoughts after driving it about on the driveway are good, it doesn't seem much louder than the Toledo from where the engine originated. Well that's true when you're in the car, standing outside the car it is a bit noisy.
I couldn't agree more regarding the MR2 being cosy and comfortable, particularly at night with those big lights up in front of you
The plan for this car is to be used all the time, sell my horrible 106 diesel and keep the crazy Scimitar as the weekend car. If the MR2 turns out well, not too noisy on a long run and reliable and if I can afford it I'll tune it a bit, but it was always intended to cover lots of commuting miles using my the biodiesel that I'm making. 30 ish ppl Making Bio this weekend was a right faff, it took ages! But when that was all done, I did a little more on the MR2.
I finally got round to timing the engine properly following the cam belt change. This was only to get the cam timing right, I've still got to get the injection pump timing done with VAG-com.
Then popped everything back together, put the cross brace in, and the edge covers.
Then finally the engine cover.
Then it was ready for a wash. At this point I realised how late it was and packed up
Before the MOT I've still got to get a couple of slow punctures fixed, and the injection timing right, then give it a good clean and polish.
There is a bigger set of wheels and tires to go on to get the gearing correct for the speedo and bring the revs down a touch, but I thought it worth giving it a try first.
Close now
More to come
I finally got round to timing the engine properly following the cam belt change. This was only to get the cam timing right, I've still got to get the injection pump timing done with VAG-com.
Then popped everything back together, put the cross brace in, and the edge covers.
Then finally the engine cover.
Then it was ready for a wash. At this point I realised how late it was and packed up
Before the MOT I've still got to get a couple of slow punctures fixed, and the injection timing right, then give it a good clean and polish.
There is a bigger set of wheels and tires to go on to get the gearing correct for the speedo and bring the revs down a touch, but I thought it worth giving it a try first.
Close now
More to come
Its amazing how long I've been telling people that "it's ready for MOT", yet I've spent another day working on it
I borrow VAG-Com from a friend of mine and timed the injection pump this morning. Got it well within the limits, but on the advanced side (good for Bio).
Checked on the error codes and had a good go at trying to stop the heater light from flashing (to no avail ). The EGR and throttle valve fault I'm not bothered about, they're not causing the heater light to flash. The ABS fault is inevitable as the ABS is still in the Seat Toledo (and doesn't work on wireless) but the brake implausibility thing is very annoying. I don't think I'll be able to fix it really so I'll get the black tape out and cover it up
I also activated the cruise control and am looking forward to trying that.
Found that the flexi joint in the exhaust is leaking oil, this is annoying firstly because I thought I'd got away with it, but it looks like I'll have to buy another one, but more to the point what the hell is oil doing in the exhaust!!!!! I guess the turbo might be tired, or perhaps this is normal??? (it has been idling for about 4 hours) After the injection timing didn't cure the smoke I tried ragging the hell out of it up and down the drive to get it nice and hot and it did stop smoking I'll have to see about the turbo when its on the road (watch for smoke and oil consumption).
I vacuum'd, cleaned and polished the paintwork with G10 finishing compound and normal car polish for hours to get rid of these very annoying stains, they did not want to shift!
The polishing is by no means finished, but here is a teaser
More to come
I borrow VAG-Com from a friend of mine and timed the injection pump this morning. Got it well within the limits, but on the advanced side (good for Bio).
Checked on the error codes and had a good go at trying to stop the heater light from flashing (to no avail
). The EGR and throttle valve fault I'm not bothered about, they're not causing the heater light to flash. The ABS fault is inevitable as the ABS is still in the Seat Toledo (and doesn't work on wireless) but the brake implausibility thing is very annoying. I don't think I'll be able to fix it really so I'll get the black tape out and cover it up I also activated the cruise control
and am looking forward to trying that. 
Found that the flexi joint in the exhaust is leaking oil, this is annoying firstly because I thought I'd got away with it, but it looks like I'll have to buy another one, but more to the point what the hell is oil doing in the exhaust!!!!! I guess the turbo might be tired, or perhaps this is normal??? (it has been idling for about 4 hours) After the injection timing didn't cure the smoke I tried ragging the hell out of it up and down the drive to get it nice and hot and it did stop smoking
I'll have to see about the turbo when its on the road (watch for smoke and oil consumption). 
I vacuum'd, cleaned and polished the paintwork with G10 finishing compound and normal car polish for hours to get rid of these very annoying stains, they did not want to shift!
The polishing is by no means finished, but here is a teaser
More to come
Thanks Folks, I've been very busy at work in the last months, hopefully this update will bring you up to speed
Right then, a very busy month at work is over, I have booked the MOT for Saturday, then off into Whales camping
if it fails then we're in the pug 106 no pressure then!
After literally months of considering the options (from time to time), the wheels are now shod in 205 50 16, and 225 50 16 at the rear. All four are on Honda accord 16" 7J wheels.
The PCD is the same as the Toyota but the offset and center bore are different. I needed a 10mm spacer to put the wheels in the right place. I went with 20mm ish on the rear though as the wheels did used to look very "inboard". I went with hubcentric on the rear as 20mm is a little long to be relying on the studs for location. This meant I needed new longer wheel studs. 63mm was the longest I could get. I shortened one set by 6mm for the front and left the rears are 63mm long.
I used a hammer to knock out the old-uns, and a Toyota wheel nut in a socket top pull the new studs in.
Unfortunately I snapped one of the studs so I'm hoping a replacement arrives before Saturday.
Then the brakes were put back on and the spacer fitted.
Fronts done, just the rears to go (the front had just been jacked up at this point so is a little high).
All done! and once again the dog features in the photo The reason for changing the wheels was to get the right overall diameter, to give the diesel engine the long gears it had in the Toledo, this means the speedo will read correctly and engine won't be revving to much on the motorway, it is a diesel after all. I didn't want the car to look too bling, slammed on 24" wheels but I admit I wanted it to look a little smarter than it does on those 14" Toyota wheels. So I think 16" OEM Honda was a good compromise.
I've still got to replace that busted stud on Saturday morning, try and adjust the rear tracking slightly and give it a quick wash then its fingers crossed that a good thrashing and a tank of real diesel cleans up the exhaust fumes oh and hopefully nothing else is wrong
More to come
Right then, a very busy month at work is over, I have booked the MOT for Saturday, then off into Whales camping
if it fails then we're in the pug 106
no pressure then!After literally months of considering the options (from time to time), the wheels are now shod in 205 50 16, and 225 50 16 at the rear. All four are on Honda accord 16" 7J wheels.
The PCD is the same as the Toyota but the offset and center bore are different. I needed a 10mm spacer to put the wheels in the right place. I went with 20mm ish on the rear though as the wheels did used to look very "inboard". I went with hubcentric on the rear as 20mm is a little long to be relying on the studs for location. This meant I needed new longer wheel studs. 63mm was the longest I could get. I shortened one set by 6mm for the front and left the rears are 63mm long.
I used a hammer to knock out the old-uns, and a Toyota wheel nut in a socket top pull the new studs in.
Unfortunately I snapped one of the studs
so I'm hoping a replacement arrives before Saturday. Then the brakes were put back on and the spacer fitted.
Fronts done, just the rears to go (the front had just been jacked up at this point so is a little high).
All done! and once again the dog features in the photo
The reason for changing the wheels was to get the right overall diameter, to give the diesel engine the long gears it had in the Toledo, this means the speedo will read correctly and engine won't be revving to much on the motorway, it is a diesel after all. I didn't want the car to look too bling, slammed on 24" wheels but I admit I wanted it to look a little smarter than it does on those 14" Toyota wheels. So I think 16" OEM Honda was a good compromise. 
I've still got to replace that busted stud on Saturday morning, try and adjust the rear tracking slightly and give it a quick wash then its fingers crossed that a good thrashing and a tank of real diesel cleans up the exhaust fumes
oh and hopefully nothing else is wrong More to come
There are a number of things still to do (things that I knew about) and a number of new minor issues to solve, so I’ll keep checking in here. I’d like to take it to the drag strip just once and put it against a standard MR2 petrol (NA) I’d like to see how far off it is. And of course, I’ll be doing some lorry chasing, normal driving, and crazy driving, and will report on the MPG figures.
I’ll write a little about the weekend for anyone interested.
I got up early and changed the last wheel stud, no dramas there really, got the rear tracking in spec, (front is already good) and gave it a clean. Then off to the MOT station. By the time I had got to the petrol station it was smoking pretty badly, I was in two minds about turning back, there was no way it would pass! I stuck with it, just in case it was the bio diesel.
It only took about 20L of fuel before it was full? Then I remembered I put load of bio in to see if the fuel gauge worked. I set off up the long hill through Bromyard and it was smoking like mad. Everyone was looking at me for all the wrong reasons it was thick blue smoke! I’d lost hope by this point, I was thinking of new injectors and turbo etc. My thinking was, I’m on the road and legal for now, lets just enjoy it for a few mins. I thrashed the hell out of it for a few more miles and as I approached the MOT station the smoke began to the reduce, so I went on a mile or two. By the time I got back to the garage, there was no visible smoke at all, even under full throttle.
I’m pretty sure now that this was as a result of the “MR2 turbo” exhaust I had bought off ebay, I imagine the previous owner had failed a turbo and put lots of engine oil into the exhaust. I had now finished burning it all off.
Anyway 40 mins later and a few comments from the MOT man, I was good to go. Went back for the missus and the tent and headed for Wales.
We went to the dams at Rhayader, then on to Aberystwyth via the really rather excellent “mountain road” or Elan Valley. Camped in Devils bridge and faffed around in Aber today, then home on the faster road, here are a few pics followed by my thoughts on the car.
This is an MR2 with a diesel engine! I can only take credit for engine transplant, everything else is standard. The handling can only be put down to the genius engineers from Japan. I knew this was the case and this is why I went with this car. I really love the way this thing drives, I would say that it doesn’t have the feedback and truly instant steering feel of the MX5, but it is very close. The most important thing here is the lack of weight at the front. It changes direction so dam quickly.
It “quite nice” at normal traffic speeds and there are no nasty traits what-so-ever, but when you press on a bit and push it through the corners that’s when it really shows its true colours and gives a feeling of confidence as if to say “is that all you’ve got!”. It is very precise and gives the feeling that there is plenty more grip on tap. It’s really very good fun. Having the roof off is fantastic, and once again really good fun, the noise can perhaps get a little tiring after a couple of hours.
Back to the engine. With the windows closed and the roof on, there is more noise than the petrol engine gives but not by a huge amount, its quietest between 1400 and 2500rpm which is spot on for everyday driving. There is plenty of power and torque for overtaking. It remains to be seem how fast it is against the standard car. However for normal everyday driving, the kind that you do on your way to work, I would argue that this is quicker. (unless you are someone who actually red-line’s it all the time).
I have given the “power booster” ebay special a go now and it seems to make a difference although the “35hp” claim might be a little generous. Watch this space for more info on that.
I did manage to hold back and see what MPG it would do this evening. I did 13miles and the destination was at a slightly lower altitude than the start point so its by no means gospel. But the figure of 78 mpg was on the dash when I arrived. The wheels are the correct diameter for the speedo to read correctly so it looks promising. I’ll be doing lots of actual measurements soon to get some real numbers.
You have my respect if you have managed to read this far, I think I would have put most people to sleep by now. I’ll be back, there is at least another couple of months of work to get it just right, but its been a good weekend for Mr Two TDI.
More to come
I’ll write a little about the weekend for anyone interested.
I got up early and changed the last wheel stud, no dramas there really, got the rear tracking in spec, (front is already good) and gave it a clean. Then off to the MOT station. By the time I had got to the petrol station it was smoking pretty badly, I was in two minds about turning back, there was no way it would pass! I stuck with it, just in case it was the bio diesel.
It only took about 20L of fuel before it was full? Then I remembered I put load of bio in to see if the fuel gauge worked. I set off up the long hill through Bromyard and it was smoking like mad. Everyone was looking at me for all the wrong reasons it was thick blue smoke! I’d lost hope by this point, I was thinking of new injectors and turbo etc. My thinking was, I’m on the road and legal for now, lets just enjoy it for a few mins. I thrashed the hell out of it for a few more miles and as I approached the MOT station the smoke began to the reduce, so I went on a mile or two. By the time I got back to the garage, there was no visible smoke at all, even under full throttle.
I’m pretty sure now that this was as a result of the “MR2 turbo” exhaust I had bought off ebay, I imagine the previous owner had failed a turbo and put lots of engine oil into the exhaust. I had now finished burning it all off.
Anyway 40 mins later and a few comments from the MOT man, I was good to go. Went back for the missus and the tent and headed for Wales.
We went to the dams at Rhayader, then on to Aberystwyth via the really rather excellent “mountain road” or Elan Valley. Camped in Devils bridge and faffed around in Aber today, then home on the faster road, here are a few pics followed by my thoughts on the car.
This is an MR2 with a diesel engine! I can only take credit for engine transplant, everything else is standard. The handling can only be put down to the genius engineers from Japan. I knew this was the case and this is why I went with this car. I really love the way this thing drives, I would say that it doesn’t have the feedback and truly instant steering feel of the MX5, but it is very close. The most important thing here is the lack of weight at the front. It changes direction so dam quickly.
It “quite nice” at normal traffic speeds and there are no nasty traits what-so-ever, but when you press on a bit and push it through the corners that’s when it really shows its true colours and gives a feeling of confidence as if to say “is that all you’ve got!”. It is very precise and gives the feeling that there is plenty more grip on tap. It’s really very good fun. Having the roof off is fantastic, and once again really good fun, the noise can perhaps get a little tiring after a couple of hours.
Back to the engine. With the windows closed and the roof on, there is more noise than the petrol engine gives but not by a huge amount, its quietest between 1400 and 2500rpm which is spot on for everyday driving. There is plenty of power and torque for overtaking. It remains to be seem how fast it is against the standard car. However for normal everyday driving, the kind that you do on your way to work, I would argue that this is quicker. (unless you are someone who actually red-line’s it all the time).
I have given the “power booster” ebay special a go now and it seems to make a difference although the “35hp” claim might be a little generous. Watch this space for more info on that.
I did manage to hold back and see what MPG it would do this evening. I did 13miles and the destination was at a slightly lower altitude than the start point so its by no means gospel. But the figure of 78 mpg was on the dash when I arrived. The wheels are the correct diameter for the speedo to read correctly so it looks promising. I’ll be doing lots of actual measurements soon to get some real numbers.
You have my respect if you have managed to read this far, I think I would have put most people to sleep by now. I’ll be back, there is at least another couple of months of work to get it just right, but its been a good weekend for Mr Two TDI.
More to come
Edited by lozzzzzz on Sunday 12th July 22:03
Thanks Simoid, MrTwisrty and Crossy67. All these kind comments leave me struggling to fit my head through the door
The misses is rather bland looking, hard to pick out in a crowd
I still haven't brimmed it for a proper calculated MPG yet, but this was the figure on the dash when I arrived home from work today. A 45 mile journey, the majority of which is motorway, but 1/3 of it is A roads, with some ques! (there was a bit of lorry chasing on the motorway mind )
More to come.
The misses is rather bland looking, hard to pick out in a crowd
I still haven't brimmed it for a proper calculated MPG yet, but this was the figure on the dash when I arrived home from work today. A 45 mile journey, the majority of which is motorway, but 1/3 of it is A roads, with some ques! (there was a bit of lorry chasing on the motorway mind
)
More to come.
Edited by lozzzzzz on Monday 13th July 17:56
MrTwisty, That was us Could you smell the Bio? Were you southbound too? what were you driving?
Well I've done well over 500 miles in Mr Two now and I'm falling in love with it. It really is exactly right! Fast, economical, loads of fun, and really quite tolerable on a long run. I love it (did I mention that).
I can now confidently say that I have accurately measured the MPG and compared it to the read out on the dial. Unfortunately the dials are a little optimistic, by 10% in fact. I was a little disappointed, however a 10% error means it was still able to do 80mpg on a long run behind a lorry. Still impressive I feel. The average for that tank of fuel was 70mpg, that's mostly motorway driving (slowly) but perhaps 1/3 of it was A roads. I've since tried driving it like a tool to see if the 10% error still stands in the region of 50mpg. I'll fill the car up again soon to test this.
The gauge suggests that the car can do 63mpg at a steady 70mph and this drops to 54mpg at 80mph (as I said I'll confirm these figures soon), this really makes me want to fit the 6 speed box. I don't know for sure if it'll bolt up to this engine and whether or not I would need new driveshafts again.
I think I can fairly safely confirm that its not as good as I previously suggested on MPG, but is certainly no worse a golf TDI.
Anyway, thats enough about MPG, at 30 to 35p/l fuel is cheap therefore motoring is very cheap!
In other news, I've now fitted a very lame stereo, soon to fit some speakers, nothing fancy, just normal stuff. I've messed about with and shortened the little gear lever on top of the gearbox (this has made a very small difference, it still needs a little adjustment) and I've cleaned up and "stone chipped" the rear arches and underside of the car. I feel happy that its weatherproof now
I can't get my head round how solid this car is underneath
To sum up, its friggin brilliant!! and I love it! oh and the front brake is binding a bit
More to come
Could you smell the Bio? Were you southbound too? what were you driving?Well I've done well over 500 miles in Mr Two now and I'm falling in love with it. It really is exactly right! Fast, economical, loads of fun, and really quite tolerable on a long run. I love it (did I mention that).
I can now confidently say that I have accurately measured the MPG and compared it to the read out on the dial. Unfortunately the dials are a little optimistic, by 10% in fact. I was a little disappointed, however a 10% error means it was still able to do 80mpg on a long run behind a lorry. Still impressive I feel. The average for that tank of fuel was 70mpg, that's mostly motorway driving (slowly) but perhaps 1/3 of it was A roads. I've since tried driving it like a tool to see if the 10% error still stands in the region of 50mpg. I'll fill the car up again soon to test this.
The gauge suggests that the car can do 63mpg at a steady 70mph and this drops to 54mpg at 80mph (as I said I'll confirm these figures soon), this really makes me want to fit the 6 speed box. I don't know for sure if it'll bolt up to this engine and whether or not I would need new driveshafts again.
I think I can fairly safely confirm that its not as good as I previously suggested on MPG, but is certainly no worse a golf TDI.
Anyway, thats enough about MPG, at 30 to 35p/l fuel is cheap therefore motoring is very cheap!
In other news, I've now fitted a very lame stereo, soon to fit some speakers, nothing fancy, just normal stuff. I've messed about with and shortened the little gear lever on top of the gearbox (this has made a very small difference, it still needs a little adjustment) and I've cleaned up and "stone chipped" the rear arches and underside of the car. I feel happy that its weatherproof now
I can't get my head round how solid this car is underneath
To sum up, its friggin brilliant!! and I love it!
oh and the front brake is binding a bit More to come
Are you in the Worcester area MrTwisty or were you passing through? I think the Mk2 has aged really well, its a shape that still looks at home among much younger cars.
I had thought about making extras, but its such a niche thing I'm not sure that any would be wanted. Plus the engine mounts were made with a tape measure rather than calipers It was a case of cut, tack weld, offer it up and see. I would need to take it to bits to copy it.
I had thought about making extras, but its such a niche thing I'm not sure that any would be wanted. Plus the engine mounts were made with a tape measure rather than calipers
It was a case of cut, tack weld, offer it up and see. I would need to take it to bits to copy it. Thanks bearman68
I had a Mk1 MR2 a few years back and thought I was a drift hero on a roundabout in the wet, I hit a lamp post to be honest I've always been a bit slow in the wet since then. I totally agree that the mid engine car is much harder to save if you've lost the back end, front engine rear drive is much easier to control in oversteer
I don't think I'll be pushing it too hard in the wet any time soon, cheap tires and the early rear suspension suggest it might be a bad idea.
MrTwisty, I'll post up on here if I do
Thanks Yonex, it's always nice to read comments like this.
More to come
I had a Mk1 MR2 a few years back and thought I was a drift hero on a roundabout in the wet, I hit a lamp post
to be honest I've always been a bit slow in the wet since then. I totally agree that the mid engine car is much harder to save if you've lost the back end, front engine rear drive is much easier to control in oversteer I don't think I'll be pushing it too hard in the wet any time soon, cheap tires and the early rear suspension suggest it might be a bad idea.
MrTwisty, I'll post up on here if I do
Thanks Yonex, it's always nice to read comments like this.
More to come
I've not written an update for a while and I've done a few bits over the weeks.
I've been driving in a much more normal way now (not lorry chasing). Like fury early on Sunday mornings and at least matching motorway traffic speeds on my long daily commute. The average figure over a few thousand miles has been 54.2mpg. I guess I was hoping for a little more but that has included a lot of of revving and "pressing on" so not too bad.
I've got a list of very small niggles that I've been working through and have recently tackled the one I considered to be the trickiest. The heater light was flashing on the dash board which suggests a the brake pedal switch problem and would not allow the cruise control to work. After much forum reading and head scratching I've finally stopped it and cleared the fault by connecting the MR2 brake lights through the TDI pedal switch. This means when the pedal is not pushed the ECU detects earth via the brake light bulbs and is now happy.
This means THE CRUISE CONTROL WORKS Very pleased I've yet to mount the switch properly but the tricky bit is done
I've fitted some speakers and a crappy radio for now, so it's been nice having the radio for the daily commute.
I've mounted some mini push switches for the MFA to work, it turns out it's still over estimating the MPG by 10% but all the other function are great.
I've had a play with the "tuning box" and found it's a 2K resistor (which expains why it didn't do much), this is way to much! so I've been messing about with a 69p 1k variable resistor and it seems to work all the way down to 500 ohms. It transforms the performance, in fact I would go as far as to say it makes the 110hp engine in the MR2 at least match the performance of the Fabia VRS which was my target for this car. I'd still like to drag race it and find out the difference with and without the resistor and it would be very interesting to get it on a rolling road and find out the numbers too.
I've "adjusted" the leverage ratio of the throttle pedal to accommodate the TDI throttle pot more suitably. The pedal required quite a bit of force to push and had very little travel. It's funny how much this has transformed the driving experience, I'm very pleased I pursued it and will be trying various things to improve the gear shift next
I've now driven the car several thousand miles and I'm still besotted with it! Its a joy to drive. With current fuel prices at around 1.10p locally and my fuel being 28.5p, the car is doing a cost equivalent of 209mpg. Can't complain really
More to come
I've been driving in a much more normal way now (not lorry chasing). Like fury early on Sunday mornings
and at least matching motorway traffic speeds on my long daily commute. The average figure over a few thousand miles has been 54.2mpg. I guess I was hoping for a little more but that has included a lot of of revving and "pressing on" so not too bad. I've got a list of very small niggles that I've been working through and have recently tackled the one I considered to be the trickiest. The heater light was flashing on the dash board which suggests a the brake pedal switch problem and would not allow the cruise control to work. After much forum reading and head scratching I've finally stopped it and cleared the fault by connecting the MR2 brake lights through the TDI pedal switch. This means when the pedal is not pushed the ECU detects earth via the brake light bulbs and is now happy.
This means THE CRUISE CONTROL WORKS
Very pleased I've yet to mount the switch properly but the tricky bit is done I've fitted some speakers and a crappy radio for now, so it's been nice having the radio for the daily commute.
I've mounted some mini push switches for the MFA to work, it turns out it's still over estimating the MPG by 10% but all the other function are great.
I've had a play with the "tuning box" and found it's a 2K resistor (which expains why it didn't do much), this is way to much! so I've been messing about with a 69p 1k variable resistor and it seems to work all the way down to 500 ohms. It transforms the performance, in fact I would go as far as to say it makes the 110hp engine in the MR2 at least match the performance of the Fabia VRS which was my target for this car. I'd still like to drag race it and find out the difference with and without the resistor and it would be very interesting to get it on a rolling road and find out the numbers too.
I've "adjusted" the leverage ratio of the throttle pedal to accommodate the TDI throttle pot more suitably. The pedal required quite a bit of force to push and had very little travel. It's funny how much this has transformed the driving experience, I'm very pleased I pursued it and will be trying various things to improve the gear shift next
I've now driven the car several thousand miles and I'm still besotted with it! Its a joy to drive. With current fuel prices at around 1.10p locally and my fuel being 28.5p, the car is doing a cost equivalent of 209mpg. Can't complain really
More to come
After a frustrating morning (set about fixing the missus brakes only to find the locking wheel nut key was missing), I went and fetched Mr Two and had a go at improving the gear shift. On the way back in the MR2 something went wrong for the first time One of the gear change cables broke (at my weld). So I repaired and reinforced that then set about improving the gear shift feel.
I've just moved the point at which the gear change cable attached to the gear stick, and it has improved the feel infinitely, I had sort of resigned myself to the fact it would not be a particularly nice shift feel as it was a 'mish-mash' of two different OEMs parts and as the gearbox lever had a big counter-weight mounted on it (that's now gone). But it's lovely, sideways movement is ok, still a little tricky to find 1st and 2nd for a new driver, but forwards and backwards movement is fantastic! A really nice click into gear!
It seems to take a long time cranking over before starting when the engine is up to temperature, from reading about a bit it seems others have had similar problems on the 110hp engines. I had thought that this might be something to do with the EGR and intake throttle solenoids being disconnected (it shows a fault in VAGCom). I connected them up again and they are now sat on the passenger seat clicking away I cleared the fault codes and warmed the car up with a spirited drive. I've only started it hot a few times, but 'fingers crossed' I think it is starting normally now. I might get a couple of resistors to replace the redundant solenoids and keep the ECU happy.
More to come
One of the gear change cables broke (at my weld). So I repaired and reinforced that then set about improving the gear shift feel. I've just moved the point at which the gear change cable attached to the gear stick, and it has improved the feel infinitely, I had sort of resigned myself to the fact it would not be a particularly nice shift feel as it was a 'mish-mash' of two different OEMs parts and as the gearbox lever had a big counter-weight mounted on it (that's now gone). But it's lovely, sideways movement is ok, still a little tricky to find 1st and 2nd for a new driver, but forwards and backwards movement is fantastic! A really nice click into gear!
It seems to take a long time cranking over before starting when the engine is up to temperature, from reading about a bit it seems others have had similar problems on the 110hp engines. I had thought that this might be something to do with the EGR and intake throttle solenoids being disconnected (it shows a fault in VAGCom). I connected them up again and they are now sat on the passenger seat clicking away
I cleared the fault codes and warmed the car up with a spirited drive. I've only started it hot a few times, but 'fingers crossed' I think it is starting normally now. I might get a couple of resistors to replace the redundant solenoids and keep the ECU happy. More to come
After spending several hours fixing the bio machine I finally got round to making some more adjustments to Mr Two. This one is to make the car a little more "get in and drive" when someone else uses it, rather than spending 10 minutes explaining the little nuances of the car.
I wanted the gearshift to work a little like the BMW I used to own. Push left for 1st and 2nd, push hard left for reverse. As it is, it can be difficult to decern between 1st and reverse. So I made this.
And welded it on to the base plate by the gear lever (note that when the gear lever is moved left or right, the lever in the left of the photo moves forwards and backwards).
Then finally got round to reducing the diameter of the Toledo gear stick top, and gluing it into the MR2 gear nob.
The finally test was to lend the car to the missus and see if she could find all the gears with no issues, and...... she can Although "it is a bit hard to get reverse"..... I can't b****y win!!!
More to come
I wanted the gearshift to work a little like the BMW I used to own. Push left for 1st and 2nd, push hard left for reverse. As it is, it can be difficult to decern between 1st and reverse. So I made this.
And welded it on to the base plate by the gear lever (note that when the gear lever is moved left or right, the lever in the left of the photo moves forwards and backwards).
Then finally got round to reducing the diameter of the Toledo gear stick top, and gluing it into the MR2 gear nob.
The finally test was to lend the car to the missus and see if she could find all the gears with no issues, and...... she can
Although "it is a bit hard to get reverse"..... I can't b****y win!!! More to come
Thanks Fastbike72, V8A*ndy and ZX10RNIN, you've very kind
Hi folks its been a while, I've done about 12000 miles in Mr Two now and its going very well. I have recently done a few little jobs to try and get it up to scratch.
Firstly I've painted up and cut the holes in spare MR2 dash that someone kindly gave me That's now fitted and doesn't have a huge crack across it
The sump plug seemed pretty loose last time I changed this oil, so this time I took it off and tapped an M15 thread in there and fitted an oversize plug. I cleaned it out too although I was very pleased to see how clean it was.
It seems to be smoking a little when cold, all clear after a mile or less but idling from fresh cold there is a fair bit of blue smoke. In addition the VNT seems to be getting pretty clogged and producing over-boost limp mode (nearly all the time recently). I took the Turbo off and cleaned it up. I attacked the VNT with oven cleaner then a little time in the ultrasonic cleaner at work, its now totally free. I replace the turbo cartridge with a new one and checked the oil supply.
I also replaced the heaters for cold starting and took the injector nozzles off and ultrasonically cleaned them too.
Finally got it all back together yesterday which was nice as my crappy 106 has given up and the Scimitar still waits patiently for Pre MOT prep in a few months.
Has it cured it.....
It seems not. I just went out to cold start it again and its still smoking away. Oh well, its got lots of new bits and works.
More to come.
Hi folks its been a while, I've done about 12000 miles in Mr Two now and its going very well. I have recently done a few little jobs to try and get it up to scratch.
Firstly I've painted up and cut the holes in spare MR2 dash that someone kindly gave me
That's now fitted and doesn't have a huge crack across it 
The sump plug seemed pretty loose last time I changed this oil, so this time I took it off and tapped an M15 thread in there and fitted an oversize plug. I cleaned it out too although I was very pleased to see how clean it was.
It seems to be smoking a little when cold, all clear after a mile or less but idling from fresh cold there is a fair bit of blue smoke. In addition the VNT seems to be getting pretty clogged and producing over-boost limp mode (nearly all the time recently). I took the Turbo off and cleaned it up. I attacked the VNT with oven cleaner then a little time in the ultrasonic cleaner at work, its now totally free. I replace the turbo cartridge with a new one and checked the oil supply.
I also replaced the heaters for cold starting and took the injector nozzles off and ultrasonically cleaned them too.
Finally got it all back together yesterday which was nice as my crappy 106 has given up and the Scimitar still waits patiently for Pre MOT prep in a few months.
Has it cured it.....
It seems not. I just went out to cold start it again and its still smoking away. Oh well, its got lots of new bits and works.
More to come.
Hi everybody.
I’ve done 55000 trouble free miles in the car now. And it seems the time has come for another project. I would like to go electric next, short range but serious acceleration for a nice little commute to work car. The MR2 is an ideal candidate......
However to start this project on my MR2 would mean undoing all of the work I have done turning into this quite unique Toyota/VAG MR2 TDI. As much as I’d love to keep it and add it to the museum of my projects I don’t have the room of time to keep another car. So my options are sell it or convert it to electric.
I’m writing on here to see if there is anyone interested in buying my White MR2 TDI. It will come with a fresh MOT, a full service including cambelt and water pump (stuff I won’t be doing if it is to become electric) and the knowledge that it’s done 55000 reliable miles in its current form.
It is a very well sorted car, I have relied on it as my only insured car for a few years, it’s been very reliable, fun and easy to live with much like an OEM car (Toyota should have made one). I should probably mention at this point that the smoke issue (in my last post) was due to my home made fuel. Anyone interested in the car will be able to see that it doesn’t smoke at all on pump diesel.
Rot free examples of these car’s are beginning to go up in value and the bodywork is in excellent, rust free condition! It’s a good example of early mk2, with a solid VAG TDI engine, it will be fully serviced, ready to be driven or tuned. It has featured in Practical Performance Car magazine and will come with a copy of that issue. I am looking for offers in the region of £3000. I am in a position to wait and see, and will simply start the electric conversion next year if there is no interest. If you are interested you’re welcome to come and view the car, we can go for a drive as it’s insured and taxed for another month or so. If someone wants to secure the car, I will need a non refundable deposit to cover the expense of the service work that I will carry out.
At this point I’m just looking to see if there is any interest. Thanks folks
I’ve done 55000 trouble free miles in the car now. And it seems the time has come for another project. I would like to go electric next, short range but serious acceleration for a nice little commute to work car. The MR2 is an ideal candidate......
However to start this project on my MR2 would mean undoing all of the work I have done turning into this quite unique Toyota/VAG MR2 TDI. As much as I’d love to keep it and add it to the museum of my projects I don’t have the room of time to keep another car. So my options are sell it or convert it to electric.
I’m writing on here to see if there is anyone interested in buying my White MR2 TDI. It will come with a fresh MOT, a full service including cambelt and water pump (stuff I won’t be doing if it is to become electric) and the knowledge that it’s done 55000 reliable miles in its current form.
It is a very well sorted car, I have relied on it as my only insured car for a few years, it’s been very reliable, fun and easy to live with much like an OEM car (Toyota should have made one). I should probably mention at this point that the smoke issue (in my last post) was due to my home made fuel. Anyone interested in the car will be able to see that it doesn’t smoke at all on pump diesel.
Rot free examples of these car’s are beginning to go up in value and the bodywork is in excellent, rust free condition! It’s a good example of early mk2, with a solid VAG TDI engine, it will be fully serviced, ready to be driven or tuned. It has featured in Practical Performance Car magazine and will come with a copy of that issue. I am looking for offers in the region of £3000. I am in a position to wait and see, and will simply start the electric conversion next year if there is no interest. If you are interested you’re welcome to come and view the car, we can go for a drive as it’s insured and taxed for another month or so. If someone wants to secure the car, I will need a non refundable deposit to cover the expense of the service work that I will carry out.
At this point I’m just looking to see if there is any interest. Thanks folks
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