Toyota MR2 Mk2
Discussion
If you're going to put a new engine in (and I have been in this situation just recently, and decided to change my engine), just change the cam belt for now, and hoon it around for a while. It's down on power, but it won't make much difference,and you'll understand what the other problems are then. (rad would be a primary concern). When you swap the engine, swap the cam belt as well. The only additional cost is that of fitting, which is not so riduclious
Thanks for all the comments guys, I feel I should add a bit more detail:
Although I had arranged for a specialist to carry out all the work, if the engine was to be replaced I would do that myself, so labour costs aren't an issue. I would also change the timing belt on the new engine as suggested. I've decided that as tempting as a V6 or a BEAMS engine is, a standard 3SGE is probably the way to go. As a bit of background info, I'm only 20, and while I like to think I know my way round an engine, the most complex job I've ever done on a car was changing the Ibiza's clutch. That took me about 30 hours on my driveway with the help of a friend, so I think a complete engine conversion would be a step too far. A simple engine replacement will be a big enough learning experience!
As I said, this all hinges on me finding somewhere to keep it, which needs to happen in the next week or so ideally. Rest assured, the decision to fix or sell will be made soon.
sc0tt - if I do end up having to sell it, I'll be in touch.
Although I had arranged for a specialist to carry out all the work, if the engine was to be replaced I would do that myself, so labour costs aren't an issue. I would also change the timing belt on the new engine as suggested. I've decided that as tempting as a V6 or a BEAMS engine is, a standard 3SGE is probably the way to go. As a bit of background info, I'm only 20, and while I like to think I know my way round an engine, the most complex job I've ever done on a car was changing the Ibiza's clutch. That took me about 30 hours on my driveway with the help of a friend, so I think a complete engine conversion would be a step too far. A simple engine replacement will be a big enough learning experience!
As I said, this all hinges on me finding somewhere to keep it, which needs to happen in the next week or so ideally. Rest assured, the decision to fix or sell will be made soon.
sc0tt - if I do end up having to sell it, I'll be in touch.
Quick update, just as I was about to give up and sell the damn thing, I've finally found somewhere to keep it. Over the next few months I'll be spending most weekends working on it, I'm going to have the sills replaced soon and then I can make a start on replacing the engine and generally tidying it up. I've always wanted a project car, so I'm actually really looking forward to it; I just hope it doesn't throw any more nasty surprises at me, I've had enough of those already!
Wish me luck!
Wish me luck!
Good luck, projects are always nice when you have a second car to give yourself the time to do things at your leisure. If it hasnt crossed your mind yet think about engine crane hire to keep costs down. With some planning I managed to get an engine out and a new one in within a morning meaning i only had to rent the crane for a couple of houes so it only cost £20. All the prep work was done days before and took longer than I expected. Really fancied a mr2 a couple years back so will be interested to see how you get along.
kellys hero said:
This is like the UK version of Roadkill.
Unfortunately I'm nowhere near as skilled as those guys, although I hope the MR2 will be more reliable than some of the stuff they've got! 
Thanks for the advice about the fuel pump. I'm not spending any more than I have to at the moment but I'll add it to the list of future jobs.
There's been a bit of progress over the weekend. I haven't got the car back yet but I have seen it and all that's left to be done is the painting and sealing of the new sills, I'm hoping to collect the car and start on the engine next weekend. I've taken the old clutch off the new engine, just to save time next weekend, and spent part of this afternoon cleaning up the throttle body.
I've been told the engine I've bought doesn't idle too well, so I've taken the idle air control valve off the throttle body and cleaned it up as best I can. That way if the engine does idle badly, I'll know the valve isn't the cause.
I've already got most of the stuff I'll need for the engine change, I collected the new oil, oil filter, fuel filter, clutch and water pump yesterday. Now I just need to order the timing belt kit, driveshaft seals and coolant and I think I'll be ready!
Some good progress this weekend. I picked the car up on Friday, with the sills now made of actual metal, which is nice!
A couple of friends came to help, and the work began. A few sheared bolts (and quite a lot of swearing) later, the subframe was out:
Followed by the exhaust:
And finally, twelve hours after we started:
A small bit of welding will be done in the engine bay this week, while I buy some bolts to replace the ones that broke and a new front engine mount, which was so perished it wasn't actually supporting the engine at all. On Friday I'll be painting the welded part of the engine bay and preparing the new engine to be installed (new clutch, water pump, timing belt etc.), then on Saturday it should all go back together. I must be mad!
A couple of friends came to help, and the work began. A few sheared bolts (and quite a lot of swearing) later, the subframe was out:
Followed by the exhaust:
And finally, twelve hours after we started:
A small bit of welding will be done in the engine bay this week, while I buy some bolts to replace the ones that broke and a new front engine mount, which was so perished it wasn't actually supporting the engine at all. On Friday I'll be painting the welded part of the engine bay and preparing the new engine to be installed (new clutch, water pump, timing belt etc.), then on Saturday it should all go back together. I must be mad!
Cylinder 8 said:
Thanks for the advice about the fuel pump. I'm not spending any more than I have to at the moment but I'll add it to the list of future jobs.
A friend and I bought a White MR2 T Bar in 2012 for a road trip to Italy, it was cheap on E Bay (need I go any further) after weeks and weeks of welding, making up sills, more welding, and for a change welding a bit more rear inner arches to a freshly welded floor, rebuilding the brakes, replacing the radiator that was crumbling with rust (from a Citroen- it fits in road kill style-honest) and other assorted nightmarish tasks...We finally turned the key again (it always started) to discover that the fuel pump had failed....
That was the final straw, we realised that it was beyond hope and certainly would not get us to Dover let alone Italy and that was the project abandoned.
To be honest ours was a lot worse than we realised and it had obviously been parked in the see (obvious once it was on ramps)
I am following yours with interest (and a little friendly envy!) Good luck and keep going.
Here is the one we had, it looks ok on the face of it...
Edited by kellys hero on Monday 10th July 18:22
Looks good! Hopefully once the new engine is in, you can really enjoy the car!
My wife drove a Rev 2 daily for nearly 4 years, in all conditions, all over the country. She never had any issues with wet weather handling, I used to love "borrowing" it to nip to the shops in the wet, I thought it was a very well balanced car.
Certainly better than the car that replaced it, a Mk3 Mazda Mx5 sport, which compared to the MR2 is disappointing in pretty much every way, but its the closest modern equivalent we could find that she "liked". Would have the old MR2 back in a heartbeat if she didnt have a little niece to take out and about daily.
My wife drove a Rev 2 daily for nearly 4 years, in all conditions, all over the country. She never had any issues with wet weather handling, I used to love "borrowing" it to nip to the shops in the wet, I thought it was a very well balanced car.
Certainly better than the car that replaced it, a Mk3 Mazda Mx5 sport, which compared to the MR2 is disappointing in pretty much every way, but its the closest modern equivalent we could find that she "liked". Would have the old MR2 back in a heartbeat if she didnt have a little niece to take out and about daily.
Sorry for the lack of updates, I've been spending all my free time working on the car recently. The new engine was given a new timing belt, water pump, clutch, oil filter and distributor cap the weekend before last. Once the gearbox had been bolted on, it was ready to go back in.
On Monday evening everything was reconnected and we tried to start it for the first time. Initially I just turned it over on the starter motor with the coil disconnected to check everything sounded OK, which it did. I then reconnected the coil and...it started first time!
I didn't run it for long but noticed a slight rattle from the top of the engine. I should have looked into it but it was getting late by then so we packed up and went home. I spent the majority of last week worrying that I'd somehow messed up the timing belt and bent all the valves. On Friday afternoon I went back and started it again and thankfully it sounded fine. I guess the top of the engine was just a bit dry from being sat for a while. We spent a few hours putting the exhaust and subframe back on and reassembling the suspension, then another few hours trying to bleed the f
king stupid clutch! 
Eventually it was done and I had a quick test drive up and down the farm track outside the workshop.
I sorted out the insurance yesterday and took it on its maiden voyage, which just so happened to be a 200 mile journey down to Cornwall on holiday. I've not been that nervous about a car journey in a long time! After stopping several times just to check everything over, I made it without incident. So, the good points: it drives really nicely, I'd forgotten how much fun it is and how good it sounds! Everyone seems to like it, I've already had positive comments and it's only been back on the road for a day! The bad points: it still doesn't idle very well. Whatever it is that's causing it to idle at about 500RPM sometimes is obviously still there, the difference is that this engine can cope with that (just) rather than cutting out like the old one did. Also the gearbox is still leaking, despite us replacing both driveshaft seals. We obviously damaged one when we fitted it.
There's also a screeching noise above 4.5k revs that rises with engine speed. The old engine did the same thing, so it must be the alternator (either a bearing or the drive belt) as that's the only component I moved from the old engine to the new one.
I'll keep the updates coming as I tidy it up over the coming months.
On Monday evening everything was reconnected and we tried to start it for the first time. Initially I just turned it over on the starter motor with the coil disconnected to check everything sounded OK, which it did. I then reconnected the coil and...it started first time!
I didn't run it for long but noticed a slight rattle from the top of the engine. I should have looked into it but it was getting late by then so we packed up and went home. I spent the majority of last week worrying that I'd somehow messed up the timing belt and bent all the valves. On Friday afternoon I went back and started it again and thankfully it sounded fine. I guess the top of the engine was just a bit dry from being sat for a while. We spent a few hours putting the exhaust and subframe back on and reassembling the suspension, then another few hours trying to bleed the fking stupid clutch! Eventually it was done and I had a quick test drive up and down the farm track outside the workshop.I sorted out the insurance yesterday and took it on its maiden voyage, which just so happened to be a 200 mile journey down to Cornwall on holiday. I've not been that nervous about a car journey in a long time! After stopping several times just to check everything over, I made it without incident. So, the good points: it drives really nicely, I'd forgotten how much fun it is and how good it sounds! Everyone seems to like it, I've already had positive comments and it's only been back on the road for a day! The bad points: it still doesn't idle very well. Whatever it is that's causing it to idle at about 500RPM sometimes is obviously still there, the difference is that this engine can cope with that (just) rather than cutting out like the old one did. Also the gearbox is still leaking, despite us replacing both driveshaft seals. We obviously damaged one when we fitted it.
There's also a screeching noise above 4.5k revs that rises with engine speed. The old engine did the same thing, so it must be the alternator (either a bearing or the drive belt) as that's the only component I moved from the old engine to the new one.I'll keep the updates coming as I tidy it up over the coming months.
Alex C2 said:
Likely seized alternator, just had the same on the good lady's car.
MR2 Ben good source of bits if you don't have a go-to place already.
MR2-Ben's been very useful recently! In fact I should have another delivery from them in the next few days. I do as much work as I can on my cars but after trying and failing to remove the driveshaft earlier this week (I don't have access to the workshop at the moment) I gave in and took it to the garage. The driveshaft seal has been replaced and the alternator looked at. Apparently the bearings are fine but I hadn't put enough tension on the belt. Now it's been tightened and the screeching's gone away, so that was a pleasant surprise.MR2 Ben good source of bits if you don't have a go-to place already.
I've been slowly working through my list of jobs this week, starting with the rust on the engine lid. I didn't think to take a picture of the rust patch but I sanded it down to bare metal and repainted it:
Next up was the rust inside the doors. I'd noticed the rust when I changed the speakers and wanted to stop it before it rotted all the way through to the outside. First up was some rust treatment, followed by some white primer and then some top coat:
Someone's clearly been in there before. I'm not quite sure what the previous rust repair is, it looks like a gel that's hardened and then had tin foil put over the top. It's keeping water off the rust though, so it can stay there for now!
The grill below the rear bumper was looking a little worse for wear; a quick coat of Hammerite smartened it up quite well I think:
Finally, I was going to sort this out, which is under the bonnet:
I was going to take the front wing off so I could see just how bad it was, but some of the nuts and bolts are so rusted it was just never going to happen. All I succeeded in doing was taking the wheel arch liner off and finding this:
Oh good, more rust!
Brilliant...
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