if you take a straight edge to the manifold and run it on a table belt sander you can usually get them pretty true enough to seal.

After sanding I checked it with a straight edge and it was something like a .10 variance, which is within the specs the BGB gives (+-.14 I think). It wasn't as bad as it initially looked after scraping off the crusty rtv residue.

Update for today:

We started thinking about putting the motor in, but it wasn't going to happen until we got our hands on some orange drank, so we drove into town and got some Sunkist.

Had to go chasing a belt from the local auto parts stores. The alternator belt I got was too long, so we went and just got one about 7/8" shorter than what the computer said.

Got the transmission mounted up and the motor dropped in. Basically everything is done, short of the crossmember, exhaust, and axles. So we're back at it in the morning. Going to try and have it all done in the afternoon.


Pics:




And Mike likes his beer.

thankfully your engine and car are clean and rust free...sometime next week I have to strip one down to the fuel tank to replace the pressure line because its almost rusted through. the brace on the bulkhead to the frame in the left rear corner of the engine bay (drivers side) is rusted through!

ooookay. Today's update - worst. day. ever.


So we wake up around 10:00 (went to bed at 3am) and went outside to find that SURPRISE! The Pacific North West has decided to end the dry weather and start a downpour.

No worries. I'm a seasoned PNW Blue Tarp Camper. I did what I do best in these situations - cover what I'm doing with a mammoth sized tarp.



Started the day with installing the crossmember and rear motor mount. Easy as pie. Then came the exhaust.... and we realized we needed another exhaust gasket for the b-pipe to the muffler. I already had a belt I needed to take back because it was too big, so we load up into the WRX and head to town. We get back and continue working. Exhaust gets bolted up fine and while my friend was taking care of undercarriage misc things I went to clamp the heater hoses.... where I ran into another problem. We only had one hose clamp. We searched the garage and found nothing... soooooo back to town we go.. to get one clamp.


Get back, continue on. We popped the axles out of the hubs and re-greased the splines. Axles were installed, and then the knuckle was fitted up along with my Twos R Us solid rear endlinks. It was then that we ran into the problem that ended up stopping us for the night.
I threw a rotor on the rear passenger side and started lining up the caliper when I noticed some odd wear. One side of the outer pad was gone. When I popped the pads out I noticed that the piston was turned 90 degrees and the pad never sat down in the piston properly. So new pads were in order. The only problem is the auto parts stores in the area didn't have them. We ended up driving about 30 miles to a store that had them. We got those back and this is where I ran into another problem. Last night in my friend's attempt to check the gas pedal after attaching the throttle cable he hit the brakes, which blew the pistons out. Now I need a tool to reach down there and twist the piston back into place, which is where I ended up stopping because it was getting dark.

No real pictures, because nothing eventful happened. I'll be back on it in the morning.

honestly if you have more than 90k miles I'd just consider replacing the rear calipers with reman ones. those integral parking brake mechanisms tend to get stiff and seizy after a while.

>

you make it sound like that was something easy...... it only took 2 hours.....

>

i gave you a "tool" you just quit at half-time

how did you get out of the kitchen?

>

know how i know your gay?

your not outside screwing the pistons in before i show up

Live update: the mr2 is on its wheels. I need to roll it from under my blue tarp tent and into the garage to do the oil, coolant, and transmission fluid, then we're off on a test drive!

All done! Please excuse the dirt all over the car





Transmission is filled, oil is topped off, and coolant has been bled. First turnover to prime the motor resulted in a puddle of gas on the floor from a fuel line that didn't get attached at the filter. I popped the line back on and tightened up both top and bottom bolts for the filter and tried again... and it wasn't starting. Started screwing around with the starter when I stopped and realized I never plugged in the starter relay in the trunk. Plugged that in and success! Starts up perfectly. Timing is dead on and zero leaks. So I went out on a shakedown run around the block (out in the middle of the country = BIG blocks) and it was incredible!

Ay! What rims are those?! I am really digging that top picture! Glad you got it all squared away! So all in all, would you say it was well enough taking the motor out for such a vehicle? Or was it a nightmare you wouldn't wish upon your worst enemy?

Oh Hey! I found something I think you might like along with our other MR2 brothers. I also have found something for our Celica brothers too.


(Don't mean to threadjack, just thought it was worth mentioning)

MR2 People (Colors available for actual shirt: Light Gray, Charcoal, Black, Navy Blue and Font can be any color of choice!)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/TOYOTA-MR2-...=item414e0ede17

For my Celica people
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-TOYOTA-CELICA-CAR-...=item6fc26f482f

This post has been edited by Random_Stranger: Jun 20, 2010 - 11:01 PM

Rims are SSR Integral A2. They're around 15lbs per wheel. Super lightweight.


It was actually pretty straightforward. I mean, people make this crap out to be a nightmare, and some aspects of it were. Mike (nocashrider) and I spent a good while working on axles - getting them out of the transmission, getting them out of the hubs, and then getting them back together, but overall if you have the tools to do it and a knowledgeable friend to help I think it is an invaluable learning experience... an experience that costs a lot of money. I don't even want to know how much I have spend thus far on this whole thing, but I would venture a guess in the $700-$800 range.

And pretty sure I am going to order one of those shirts tomorrow after I get paid.




MR2 is going in for an alignment tomorrow, and then everything should be squared away.

Yeah I just ordered mine. I also talked to them and they said they sale flags as well. Oh, and they have Polos too.

Good job on the work.

Here is what it looks like when I pull mr2 motors. Takes me less than 2 hours to get it down like this.