Monday, May 16, 2011

AW11 MR2 Build - "Akemi" Part 15

4/5/11
New issue of Modified....look who is on the last page!!
4/7/11
OK here we go
exhaust off. funny story....forgot to unplug the (brand new) o2 sensor when I dropped it (onto myself so it didnt fall too far to put stress on the wire thankfully) so I had to like rotate myself under this (very very heavy) exhaust to get to it. that was fun


gasket looks faaaaantastic. glad I got new ones for when I do my headgasket!


flywheel cover off


oil cooler line off

oil cooler line tied up out of the way
oil pan off

oil baffle and pickup

oil pickup/strainer

behold my crankshaft!

2222 = bearing numbers for rod bearings from the factory (supposedly)

33332 = main bearing numbers from the factory (supposedly)

rod bearing #1 = 2

rod bearing #2 = 2

rod bearing #3 = 4. this is different from the numbers on the block, meaning this one has probably been changed at some point

rod bearing #4 = 2

after i tried wiggling stuff around I couldn't see any noticable play in any of them. since it started to get dark, I put the oil pan back on with just 4 bolts to just hold it there so crap doesnt get up in my bottom end till i work on it again this weekend.

4/8/11
started it up for a sec while the exhaust was off earlier today

4/9/11
I got the rod ends and bearings out. All of them say the number 3 on the flat side. Also, the crank is super shiny and smooth, no scratches or anything. Bearings dont really have any scratching either, but the top ones (the ones in the rod) look like they have some wear in the middle. Once I figure out if the "3" really is the size I need, I will order the new bearings. Hopefully everything will be back together next weekendCylinder 1 - most of them look like this more or less. very clean, not gouged or anything.


this is the only marking on the bearings themselves

number on the side. all of them say 3

super clean crank journals

Cylinder 1 - notice one 12-point and one 6-point nut....very weird. will probably have to order another 12 point from Toyota so they are all the same

Cylinder 2

Cylinder 3

Cylinder 4
4/10/11sent the bearings with Pierce so he can measure them so I can have an idea as to what size I need to be looking at.

4/11/11

MR2_FTW wrote:

2222 = bearing numbers for rod bearings from the factory

te51levin wrote:
Those numbers have nothing to do with the rod bearings. I suspect they indicate the standard piston size, though I couldn't find any solid evidence of that.

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killer_siller wrote:

NO! Those numbers cast into the end caps are not the numbers you're looking for. These will be stamped into one flat side of the rod big ends.

te51levin wrote:
Exactly right. Just as the BGB says. You (MR2_FTW) need to have that BGB handy and pay careful attention to it.

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MR2_FTW wrote:
number on the side. all of them say 3

te51levin wrote:
So the factory originally fitted size 3 bearings in all of those connecting rods.

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MR2_FTW wrote:

Yeah I know, I just don't know which ones to get....the 3 on the cap suggests I get #3's, but the block says 2's...

te51levin wrote:
Again, just to be clear, ignore the numbers stamped into block. They are NOT for the connecting rod bearings.

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MR2_FTW wrote:

..should I just get 2's and measure the clearence on those then get either 1's or 3's depending on the clearences?

te51levin wrote:
Get #3 bearings if the crank looks cherry and feels perfectly smooth and confirm the correct clearance with Plastigage.

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MR2_FTW wrote:

I sent my old bearings with my friend to measure at their least-worn spots so I can have a (vague) idea as to what they are supposed to be since no one knows...and the measurements dont really say much either way...

te51levin wrote:
Let's not worry about measuring bearing shell thickness. There is far too much room for error and misinterpretation there.

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mk1noob wrote:

Maybe it was just an exhaust leak from that one donut gasket? If you didnt have any metal shavings in the oil, plus those bearings dont look too bad......

te51levin wrote:
I'm with mk1noob here. Exhaust leaks and poor state of tune can make a very convincing clunk or knock sound on these cars.

4/20/11
good news
new bearings are in, oil pan stuff is sealed and on. still need to fill with oil, put exhaust back on, and start it up.

bad news
the chassis where my front motor mount mounts is cracking and starting to tear away. this is apparently common on AW11's because its a pretty weak point on teh chassis to be taking all the forces from the engine. Mine is just starting, but this is what could happen:


so I need someone to weld on some 1/8" steel like this

more examples of torn mounts and repairs

4/20/11
tonight I added copious amounts of JB Weld to my exhaust crack, found a great way to route a ground wire for the alternator, and filled the car w cheap oil (wal mart supertec is like $11 for 5 quarts) cuz im just gonna have to change it after 500 miles of breaking in the new bearings anyway. tomorrow night I'll add another layer of JB Weld and Friday I'll put the exhaust back on the car and hopefully start her up.

still need to find a place to do my engine mount

4/21/11
emailed Delta V and they referred me to the guys they use for building roll cages and stuff
http://www.goroadracing.com/

I sent Carlos an email and I'm hoping to hear back from him soon
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ok i called him and he's gonna have a look at my pics tonight and gimme a call back tomorrow. I could take it in as early as Monday!

also my Urethane kit came in from McMaster. 60A urethane base and activator so I can fill my side mounts at some point as well. FOR THE WIN

4/24/11
car runs smooth with no problems. even drove it to Billy's house. Still not heard back from Carlos about the welding

4/25/11
forgot my camera AND left my phone in my car (it was on the lift) so i have no pics of the torn mount, but it was getting worse. I'll take pics of the repair tomorrow probably, since I have to be under there to put under coating on it anyway. So tomorrow morning I'm gonna go bright and early to get an inspection and then I gotta do said underbody coating and put the plastic undertray back on and wash the car then it's good to go.

4/26/11


pics are before I added the rubber undercoating.

4/28/11
need front tires to pass inspection. ordered two Dunlop Direzza DZ101 205/50/15 from TireRack.....so I will be driving an expired inspection for a few days >.<

5/2/11
Front tires just came in. Dunlop Direzza DZ101 205/50/15. Treadwear 300, directional, summer tires. I decided on these because (1) its summer (2) they will probably help get rid of my understeer at autocross (4) the Kumho's have gone up in price by like $10/tire so these are now cheaper AND better

also I've never had 205's on the front before so this will be interesting.

5/5/11
put the stock shift lever back in, kept the drop plate. Got tired of notcheyness/tearing up center console.
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took a drive on Old Gun this afternoon. My new 205's up front rub on the plastic fender liners very slightly when I hit a bump in the middle of a turn. I don't think its a big deal since its not the metal of the fender, and its only under that instance, but I think my shocks play a big roll in that. I already know my Tokico Blues are woefully inadequate to properly dampen the TRD springs, so maybe better shocks can become a higher priority.

AW11 MR2 Build - "Akemi" Part 14

12/9/10
replaced all the bleeder valve o-rings. now they are super hard to turn but i guess that means its a good seal. However now I'm noticing that when I'm not on a downhill surface the RPM's drop sporadicaly. Like it will be fine then the RPM's will drop and maybe even kill the car if I don't blip the throttle. This will happen anywhere from every 5-20 seconds or not at all. Is this a bubble in my coolant still? I've been bleeding this shit every fucking day and I'm still getting air out of the system every time. Not alot, but some. It's not as bad with the lights off/blower fan off but it still happens. WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

12/10/10
OK so as I was burping my coolant today, I left my cap off and bleeder valves open (to purge air and yes I was keeping it topped up) to see if i could see bubbles while the car was running. interestingly it was like one bubble.....................one bubble....................one bubble ....................one bubble ........................one bubble........ and it stopped when i turned the car off. This is leading me to think that I do in fact have a blown head gasket that is leaking combustion gases into the coolant. So is there any way to confirm that without, you know, removing 50% of the contents of my engine bay? Cuz that would be FANTASTIC. Besides, if I do end up having to replace the HG I will probably just drop the motor and do the water pump, cam seals, distributor seals, timing belt, etc all at the same time.

12/14/10
so last night i noticed my ebrake was frozen when i stopped at a light on the way to dollar burger night and my left rear wheel was smoking and smelled like death. I've known that this is like THE most common problem with AW11's but it had never happened to me yet so here we go. I guess I'll just have to leave the ebrake off when I park. good to know. I guess im now in the club lol.

12/25/10

Santa brought me new recreation floormats and H&T rear sway bar end links!


12/28/10
WHELP......when I replaced the air bleeder valve o-ring on the radiator I noticed that it wouldn't let me close it all the way without massive force. and like a dumbass I forced it. turns out i messed up the o-ring pretty bad and it gave out today as I was bleeding it. FAAAAANTASTIC so now its leaking. I ordered another one....but now its leaking......FML

1/10/11
ITS ALIIIIVEEEE BWAHAHAHAHAHA

1/15/11
did the tester thing to see if i have combustion gases in my coolant and the result was "not really". I left it on for longer than it said just to be sure and it never turned yellow, so thats good.

also bought a new brake MC. will probably put it on tomorrow

1/16/11
got the new MS installed. haven't driven it yet. Couldn't bleed at first but Pierce told me about "bench bleeding?" and I was all *facepalm*.
guess i failed at bench bleeding or whatever so now the pedal goes all the way to the floor. also there were little things that came with the MC for bleeding that i didnt notice till AFTER everything was on......so i guess i will do that tomorrow

1/25/10
ha never updated this....MC works great no problems

also after the autocross, I can say that repositioning the rear sway bar end link mountings may have helped a bit, the car felt less prone to understeer, with nice controlable oversteer sometimes, and quick direction changing. pretty awesome

2/2/11
re-installed my check engine light, jumpered the terminals and got this


looks to me like 12 and 71....71 is EGR something (which is supposedly CA car only which I'm 99% sure mine isn't)...had that for a while...12 is "RPM signal"?? asking around on MR2OC for advice right now...

Also put my nifty new button in there AND re-soldered the connections in my wiper switch while everything was out.

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response on MR2OC
Papo J wrote:
No Ne or G signal to the ECU from the distributor within 2 seconds of engine cranking. Make sure the connectors between the distributor and igniter and wire harness are secured and clean, also make sure the distributor pickups are clean and the spacing is withing spec.


I will check those things when I change the oil next (this weekend or next). Is the ignitor the square thing that looks like a heatsink on the right hand side of the engine bay?

Weird thing - after hooking everything back up I went to the auto parts store to get oil/filter (around 30 min of driving total) and the CEL never came on. Shouldn't it be on if I have codes?


2/7/11
used Pierces timing light gun thingy and checked my timing.....it looks all good according to BGB specs

2/20/11
got the grounding kit in....wires are like MONDO long...idk if i want to use it....I guess I could get the ends and heat shrink wrap stuff and make them the length I need i guess....

2/21/11
also my alternator is acting up again.....it started overcharging sporadically again yesterday accompanied by the 3 lights of doom......i just changed it like 10 months ago.... it may be because i leak oil from my distributor which is RIGHT above it......idk its just seriously annoying. BUT if I DO have to replace it again, I can finally fix my oil pressure gauge lol
gonna try and clean up the + cable/battery terminals today, as well as re-clean the - cable connections on the battery, chassis, and trans and see if that helps

2/22/11
it wasn't overcharging at all this morning on the way to and from work, but then on the way to class this afternoon it was BAD....so i turned around, pulled out the alt, and ordered a new one. should be here sometime near the end of the week.
Also I found the wire that goes to the oil pressure gauge! it was hiding behind the AC compressor

3/5/11
OK I talked to the forum Toyota guy and here are the parts with prices for everything
Toyota Stuff
11115-16070 HEAD GASKET - $49.82
16341-16020 WATER OUTLET GASKET - $3.55
96761-24035 O-RING, WATER OUTLET - $2.34
96711-24013 O-RING, WATER OUTLET - $2.05
11182-16020 WATER OUTLET GASKET - $2.83
90311-35040 CAM SEAL (2 req’d) - $5.16ea, $10.32 total
23291-41010 INJECTOR INSULATOR, BOTTOM (4 req’d) - $2.65ea, $10.60 total
90480-13005 INJECTOR GROMMET, TOP (4 req’d) - $2.65ea, $10.60 total
90301-07001 O-RING, INJECTOR, TOP (4 req’d) - $2.43ea, $9.72 total
17177-16012 GASKET, INTAKE MANIFOLD - $7.98
17173-16011 GASKET, EXHAUST MANIFOLD - $12.57
90917-06039 GASKET, EXHAUST DONUT (2 req’d) - $3.55ea, 7.10 total
17849-16010 GASKET, THROTTLE BODY INLET - $1.90
22271-16030 GASKET, THROTTLE BODY OUTLET - $2.12
17857-16010 GASKET, SUPERCHARGER INLET - $2.68
17858-16010 GASKET, SUPERCHARGER OUTLET - $2.65
17859-16010 GASKET, AIR OUTLET TO INTAKE MANIFOLD - $2.28
16100-19115-83 WATER PUMP - $93.81
Toyota total = $234.92

TwosRUs Stuff

ARP Headstuds - $130
Distributor seal rebuild kit - $24.99
total = $154.99

TOTAL PARTS COST = $389.91 (not including shipping)
this also does not include new coolant, oil, and SC oil which I will need, OR machine shop bill.

3/16/11
Toyota is now $277.22 richer. had to add manifold-to-head bolts/studs/nuts/washers AND manifold-to-downpipe studs/nuts.

next paycheck is ARP headstuds and dizzy seals


3/20/11
rod knock is getting worse. still not BAD but its there. looking into rod bearings. Apparently it's not that bad to do with the engine in the car. I just gotta make sure I get the right bearings for what the clearances are. I was told to use this stuff to figure out what size I need (toyota makes 3 different sizes)
http://www.jhps.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=PL&Product_Code=PLARP&Category_Code=
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ordered some plastigauge. probably gonna have to wait until i get everything taken apart (prob next weekend) before I can get bearings. There is supposedly a number stamped in the cap, and that number corrosponds to the size bearing i need. I hope they'll have them in stock at Toyota, otherwise I'll have to wait until they come in the mail.....which would REALLY suck

3/23/11
check it, yo
http://www.imoc.co.uk/forums/kb.php?mode=article&k=99&page_num=1&start=0
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plastigauge came in today

3/28/11
it's like Christmas morning from Toyota over here right now

3/29/11
Well out of sheer curiosity, I unplugged my EGR gas temp sensor (the thing that was tripping my CEL) just to see what would happen......in 5 min of letting it run in the driveway the CEL never came on......this makes me wonder if removing the EGR altogether would throw a CEL....I'm gonna drive it tomorrow with it unplugged and see what happens.

3/31/11
just got paid and just ordered the ARP headstuds, distributor rebuild kit, and O2 sensor. $234. >.<

4/1/11
TwosrUs ships so stinking fast.....
4/5/11
front engine mount was squeaking like a mofo (urethane inserts remember) so i changed how it sits and now it only squeaks when I shift. i wonder if my drivers side mount is going and thats why....

also installed new O2 sensor yesterday. went WAY smoother than I expected (note: PB blaster is THE shit)