Suspension is taking me longer than expected...
1) Moog Rear Sway bar endlinks don't fit.
2) Moog front ball joints don't fit.
Both of which are a bit frustrating, given my past experiences with Moog. At least I was able to get the rear suspension installed while I wait for the Toyota front balljoints to come in:
As a reminder, the new setup is Koni yellows with Eibach Pro-Kit springs and Prothane bushings. So far, it looks like a very mild drop, though I do expect it to settle a bit more.
Which bushings are Prothane? I'd recommend not doing them in certain places on the MR2.
They're good on the strut rods, front and rear. These are the ones that 'pinch' the chassis on the front threaded strut rods. They're good for the rear strut rod to control arm pinch joint. They're good for swaybar mounts.
They're not good in control arms. A replacement control arm with OE rubber busing is better there.
Control arm bushings deform in two dimensions. Prothane bushings are too loose there.
Konis and Eibachs are great. Only use the camber bolts in the lower hole on the strut. Use new bolts and nuts. I knurled my upright a little and used a metric crapload of torque to keep them from slipping. When I used two 'crash' bolts, it would never hold an alignment.
Loved my V6 MR2. Keep up the good work!
Tyler H said:Which bushings are Prothane? I'd recommend not doing them in certain places on the MR2.
They're good on the strut rods, front and rear. These are the ones that 'pinch' the chassis on the front threaded strut rods. They're good for the rear strut rod to control arm pinch joint. They're good for swaybar mounts.
They're not good in control arms. A replacement control arm with OE rubber busing is better there.
Control arm bushings deform in two dimensions. Prothane bushings are too loose there.
Konis and Eibachs are great. Only use the camber bolts in the lower hole on the strut. Use new bolts and nuts. I knurled my upright a little and used a metric crapload of torque to keep them from slipping. When I used two 'crash' bolts, it would never hold an alignment.
Loved my V6 MR2. Keep up the good work!
OK, so I have two questions from this:
1) I'm running all of the bushings - strut rods/control arms both. I'm not understanding why you could possibly think they're too loose for the control arms. For one, the control arm should (in theory) just be a vertical movement, there shouldn't be any twisting or lateral play in them. Second, the Prothane bushings are tight - like hammer them in tight. I've also heard the exact opposite from what you said - that the strut rods are the place where you (in theory) shouldn't run them as they can be too stiff and not allow the proper movement of the rod. Can you elaborate?
2) With most other cars I've run the camber bolts in the upper strut hole, not the lower. Why do you recommend the lower for the MR2?
Weekend update:
First, picked up some new toys. The Earthquake impact was well received by AvE (YouTube reviewer) and so far has been an absolute monster. Honestly it takes some proper attention to use, otherwise you'll strip and cross thread bolts realllllll quick. The ratcheting breaker bar was a warranty replacement for my old one that broke. Best invention ever, makes tight spaces a breeze for higher torque stuff.
Then, more work on the suspension. No in-progress pictures because I'm lame and got tired (and forgot), but it's finally finished. My initial thoughts are - HUGE change. Stiffer ride, need to play with shock settings, but it's a massive improvement over what was there previously. No clunks or anything else either, which is nice. Alignment tomorrow!
New stance, which will probably settle more:
Pardon the dirty car, a detail/paint correction is on the short list. I'm moving this week, so the car is going back to the shop that did the swap to correct a few niggling issues that have cropped up after driving it for a bit. You'll also probably see a post or two in regards to refinishing my Advan wheels that I picked up - stay tuned!
I had a pretty serious defect in the Moog control arms I installed. I'm not sure what their deal is with quality issues in the past few years, but they've definitely gone downhill.
Small update - The car is back at the shop getting the speedometer issue worked out, as well as getting A/C installed for those hot summer days. I'm a believer that no swap is really complete until it has working A/C, so this will be the last of the big swap projects.
I also had them install some new horns since my OEM ones were dead:
Those should help get the attention of our terrible drivers in Colorado. I had both a set of Supertones and Sharptones lying around, decided to go with the Sharptones. We'll see if I like them, I've never heard a set in person.
come over and finish my swap! I would have went with an ooga horn, but that's just me.
Any update on the Canton oil pan? I don't want to reunite an oil accumulator if I don't have to and I have a track day coming up in 2 months. Also, ifits of any help, I'm driving distance to Canton racing.
revhard said:Any update on the Canton oil pan? I don't want to reunite an oil accumulator if I don't have to and I have a track day coming up in 2 months. Also, ifits of any help, I'm driving distance to Canton racing.
Honestly, I'm too busy right now to explore it more. Canton was certainly open to the idea, and I got the impression that having a car/pan at their shop would be massively helpful. That said, after doing more research, a baffled oil pan is only part of the solution. The accumulator is a necessity regardless of what pan you're running IMO.
Update on my car: Scary day today.
I've been troubleshooting a strange swishing noise under braking that was coming form my right hand side. Was in a parking lot with @krautastic when I noticed a wet spot on the ground. I popped the hood, only to find this:
Yes, that's fuel spewing out of the AN fitting that has been installed on the stock fuel filter. Not good, but at least I caught it before anything bad happened. Tightened the fitting down and all appears to be OK. That said, I'm buying a fire extinguisher for my car ASAP now, just in case. Project cars are projects, and even though this was done by a shop I suspect that some of the additional vibrations from my poly bushings managed to rattle this loose.
That said, I did pick up a set of '93+ Turbo brakes for the car, so those will be the next major step - plan is to rebuild & paint them to get everything looking fresh before they're installed. Otherwise, the car is driving well, runs reliably, and is generally a good time.
Just getting the last 5% of the kinks sorted is the part that takes 95% of the time it seems...
So umm....
I couldn't resist. Now I have a winter project (gotta plan ahead!)
Nice. I was watching a complete 5spd TRD Supercharged Camry on ebay a few months back, but passed on it because it was more than I wanted to spend. Then he parted the car out and had the SC setup listed at $2500. I didn't really need it, but still have regrets about not pursuing the whole car a bit more. Could have probably netted a nearly free swap once all was said and done.
Does Canton need an upper and lower pan, or just the steel lower? The latter would be easy for me to snag and send on your behalf. The former would take a bit of luck, finding a 1MZ car with the trans removed and disassembled.
This car is going to be the death of me.
It has turned out to be much more than a project than I thought. Some road noise developed above ~40mph, which I initially attributed to a worn wheel bearing. Well, all four of those have been replaced and the noise is only getting worse. That means it's something inside the transmission, as that's the only other logical culprit.
Speed dependent, not road material dependent, not load dependent. So, likely a differential bearing...which makes sense given that I (stupidly) didn't replace them when we did the LSD install. Looks like another ~$800 is getting thrown at the car since I STILL don't have a garage (But I will in a month!)
At least she looks pretty:
Looking good - love that gen. Should be a tail happy animal with the blower.
I need to get better about updating this thread...
The MR2 developed a bad diff bearing, which caused all sorts of noise while cruising at anything about 30mph. A quick trip to my friendly local transmission shop and a few hundred $$$ later, and we're all fixed! The car is now running solidly again, which is great because I JUST GOT A NEW HOUSE!
So now, the MR2 gets it's own little bay to sleep in. Just look at how content she is:
I also got my new vanity plates in - I was shocked that they were available. Next on the list is cosmetics - a detail, paint correction, and probably respraying the hood for rock chips. Photos to come!
Any updates?
Also did I miss why the car is wearing the FC wheels instead of the 3 spokes?
I was shocked that they were available.
Well if you'd asked for SUBARU I'm sure they would have laughed at you. Still, I'm shocked too! Congrats on the house!
mr2s2000elise said:Any updates?
Also did I miss why the car is wearing the FC wheels instead of the 3 spokes?
The FC wheels were picked up for cheap (trade for another random set that I had lying around), so I took them. The hub bore was very slightly too small (1mm IIRC), so I had a machine shop buddy mill them out to fit. They're uber, uber light - ~12lbs I believe.
As for updates, the car was driven through the end of summer and is now in the garage awaiting winter updates. The primary goals are as follows:
1) Trace the vaccum lines to correct for a CEL that has started to appear.
2) Continue refreshing the suspension with new swaybars/endlinks.
3) Get the A/C up and running.
4) Fix the intake
Logically, I got started on the last one first. The old intake was cobbled together via a bunch of pipes, clamps, and misc equipment. It was done on a budget and wasn't the ideal solution. The 1MZ has an odd intake diameter (2.75"), so we made do with what we had. My friend was touring through a junkyard and spotted an intake pipe on the ground. He also has a V6 MR2, and he thought it looked like the right size. For only a few dollars, it was worth taking a chance on. After some elbow grease and spit shine, this is what we have...
Old on the left, new on the right:
Should be a HUGE difference.
The A/C I'm a bit lost on. If anyone in Colorado has a good recommendation for a shop, let me know!
Makes sense on the FC wheels. So no more Advans?
Wish you were closer, would love to have a local MR2 friend! Enjoying your thread
Question on the A/C did you swap the whole system over from the donor or are you making a hybrid system. We are going to try to keep the ac for our challenge car (we live in FL so that is a nice option). My plan was to use the radiator and A/C condenser from our donor Solara, weld up new ends on the existing lines, just not sure how that will work with the MR2 controls.
mr2s2000elise said:Makes sense on the FC wheels. So no more Advans?
Wish you were closer, would love to have a local MR2 friend! Enjoying your thread
The Advans are still in the works. They're currently disassembled and I'm debating on what color to powdercoat them. I'm liking gold for the faces, but the barrels have me stumped. Re-polishing them is a TON of work, but I'm not sure if it will look weird to have the barrels the same color as the spokes...
Fladiver64 said:Question on the A/C did you swap the whole system over from the donor or are you making a hybrid system. We are going to try to keep the ac for our challenge car (we live in FL so that is a nice option). My plan was to use the radiator and A/C condenser from our donor Solara, weld up new ends on the existing lines, just not sure how that will work with the MR2 controls.
I'm running a new MR2 condenser, under-car lines, and pressure switch. The only non-MR2 parts are the compressor and the custom hard lines that connect the compressor to the car. In theory this all works, but I believe I may have a clogged evaporator, which is a bitch to replace under the dash.
Run an MR2 radiator, it has plenty of cooling. I'm using a Yonaka brand aluminum one and it has been rock solid. The MR2 has a LOT of coolant, so temps aren't usually a concern with a basic V6 build.
In reply to BTD :
We are planning to run the Solara radiator because the Mr2 one we have is clogged and the Solara one will fit with minor mods. with challenge cars every bit you can salvage off a car or parts car counts. From a pure race standpoint, we should be removing the a/c, but I would like this car to have a life after challenge so we are trying to keep it.
Gold advans would be gorgeous
After 18 years, I decided to add keyless entry to my MR2 today.
They're uber, uber light - ~12lbs I believe.
They're also super easy to bend. I ran some on one of my turbo caravans for a long time and out of the 6 or 7 i own, I can't make one complete set of 4 that doesn't include a bent wheel. But, not bad enough to vibrate terribly so I still run them, which is to say they're still on there and I havent driven it in over a year. 
There's been some good ac threads here in the past year or so. Is everything already hooked up? Do you own or can borrow/use a set of gauges and a vacuum pump? I'd pull a vacuum on the system first and see if it holds. If it does I try to charge it and see if it stays in there. If it does I would turn on or jump the compressor and see what the pressures do. The pressures will tell you if something is clogged.
Vigo said:They're uber, uber light - ~12lbs I believe.
They're also super easy to bend. I ran some on one of my turbo caravans for a long time and out of the 6 or 7 i own, I can't make one complete set of 4 that doesn't include a bent wheel. But, not bad enough to vibrate terribly so I still run them, which is to say they're still on there and I havent driven it in over a year.
There's been some good ac threads here in the past year or so. Is everything already hooked up? Do you own or can borrow/use a set of gauges and a vacuum pump? I'd pull a vacuum on the system first and see if it holds. If it does I try to charge it and see if it stays in there. If it does I would turn on or jump the compressor and see what the pressures do. The pressures will tell you if something is clogged.
Everything is hooked up. We charged the system, which it held just fine. Turned the compressor on, waited...waited...waited, then heard a loud "pop". No more pressure.
The pressure switch was tested and is functional, so something happened. My guess is the under-dash evaporator, since that's the only part that hasn't been replaced. I believe it also falls in between the compressor and the pressure switch, which is why the system didn't shut itself off. Either way, I'm not an expert on A/C and don't like dealing with the Freon, so I'll likely just find someone to look at it.
In regards to the Advans, this is the color scheme that is currently in the lead (not my wheels, not my photo):
I would love to hear the community's thoughts on the subject!
Found this video while I was looking through my old documentation...I figured you all might like it:
No idea why it won't embed properly...
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