rattly MR2, Opinions??
Discussion
Wonder if any one can shed any light on this one for me... My MR2's bottom end nackered up recently (a shell picked up on piston 2) and seen as the crank seem to survive and was hardly touched, i thought it would be best to polish out the fine scratches by hand and fit a new set of shells (i had heard of a few other ppl doin this and everything worked fine for them). I assumed, as i found the left overs of a dissintergrated oil level sensor in the sump, that this is what caused the bearing failure.
The engine ran ok (ish) after but still seemed to be a little noisy and rattled like hell for the first few seconds after starting. Today i had another look and checked the oil channels and they all seem to be ok, no debry in the sump either. I had the engine cranking with a tub of oil under the oil pickup pipe and oil did come out of all the holes it should come out of, but not with any pace.
So my question is.. does the car have oil pressure/feeding problems or was i just beeing a bit hopefull thinking i could fix a crank by polishing it?? Car is a 1993 Mr2 GT 2.0 rev 2 with 3s-ge engine.
Any pics anyone has of what i should be looking for would be great!
The engine ran ok (ish) after but still seemed to be a little noisy and rattled like hell for the first few seconds after starting. Today i had another look and checked the oil channels and they all seem to be ok, no debry in the sump either. I had the engine cranking with a tub of oil under the oil pickup pipe and oil did come out of all the holes it should come out of, but not with any pace.
So my question is.. does the car have oil pressure/feeding problems or was i just beeing a bit hopefull thinking i could fix a crank by polishing it?? Car is a 1993 Mr2 GT 2.0 rev 2 with 3s-ge engine.
Any pics anyone has of what i should be looking for would be great!
Big ends are a common problem on these. Ive heard of a few fail, but never actually had to carry out that repair myself ( although I have changed shells when doing pistons on a GT4 )
God these are hateful cars to work on.
But with regards changing shells....if the old shells had spun in the rod....if you simply fitted new bearings. Then be prepared for another rebuild. If the bearing had spun, the rod will be damaged, and its only a matter of time before it happens again...
God these are hateful cars to work on.
But with regards changing shells....if the old shells had spun in the rod....if you simply fitted new bearings. Then be prepared for another rebuild. If the bearing had spun, the rod will be damaged, and its only a matter of time before it happens again...
i think your right on that one, its really gonna take the fun out of driving it too because im always going to be worried about giving some right foot if the engine is weak. I think i might as well just change the engine rather than just replace the crank, at least that will give me peace of mind! thanks for the advice mate.
The 3S series engine is a cracking engine. All the bottom end needs is a good, clean oil supply.
We, like the other well known MR2 specialists have built dozens of 350+ BHP engines, and if properly built, they are bullet proof.
The N/A cranks and rods are the exact same items as the turbo variety, and the rods are good for 300+ BHP. Crank breakage is almost unheard of.
Not difficult to work on once you learn your way around the engine bay.
Advice is free - if i can help PM me your contact number.
Build it right and you should never have to worry about using your right foot
We, like the other well known MR2 specialists have built dozens of 350+ BHP engines, and if properly built, they are bullet proof.
The N/A cranks and rods are the exact same items as the turbo variety, and the rods are good for 300+ BHP. Crank breakage is almost unheard of.
Not difficult to work on once you learn your way around the engine bay.
Advice is free - if i can help PM me your contact number.
Build it right and you should never have to worry about using your right foot

peterguk V6 KWK said:
Not difficult to work on once you learn your way around the engine bay.
Yes, timing belts are easy.Head Gaskets are easy.
Turbo removal/fitting are easy.
And I can be a little sarcastic from time to time.
I worked on a few of them years ago. Now I simply refuse. Not difficult in my eyes, would see any of the above items done in a couple of hours.
engine probably would of rattled if you started it up straight after you rebuilt it, should of cranked the engine over first with the fuel and ignition circuits shut off to build up oil pressure,
normaly the the light going out on the dash is a good sign that the oil pressure is up to spec, if your still worried remove the oil pressure switch and put a oil pressure guage in its place see what its running at.
if you have spun a shell and its only lightly marked the crank, and polishing it looks ok long as if there is no deep gouges/scores left behind should be ok. if worried messure it using vernier same again with the connecting rod, after all the shell has done its job and worn away as its supposed to so if all of the above are ok it should be fine to just fit new shells.
hanes manuall if good place to start for info on measurements etc.
normaly the the light going out on the dash is a good sign that the oil pressure is up to spec, if your still worried remove the oil pressure switch and put a oil pressure guage in its place see what its running at.
if you have spun a shell and its only lightly marked the crank, and polishing it looks ok long as if there is no deep gouges/scores left behind should be ok. if worried messure it using vernier same again with the connecting rod, after all the shell has done its job and worn away as its supposed to so if all of the above are ok it should be fine to just fit new shells.
hanes manuall if good place to start for info on measurements etc.
Thanks for the advice peterguk. I will see how i get on but may be giving you a call soon! I have got an oil pressure gauge laying around somewhere so next step is check the oil pressure as skid-marks says. The rattling is everytime you start it, regardless of if you crank over first. Just checked and the oil light never comes on, checked bulb and that is ok so i think the pressure switch may be duff, which would prob explain a few things!! Think a new oil pump could maybe be the answer.
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