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

1/10/11ITS 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

1/16/11got 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

1/25/10ha 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

2/2/11re-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.
_____________________________________________________
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

2/20/11got 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

2/22/11it 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

3/5/11OK 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.

3/16/11Toyota 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

3/20/11rod 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=
__________________________________________________________ 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

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

3/28/11it'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.

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

4/1/11TwosrUs 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)

AW11 MR2 Build - "Akemi" Part 13

7/30
I now have my wheel, hub, and spacer....but the guy forgot to send the part of the hub that lets the horn work!!! so that will be here later. I'm assuming I'll just get it all on after I get back from FL week after next.

8/9 Big thanks to Mike. Might need you to do two more for me coming up here if that's cool.

So now my current tire setup is:
Front - Yokohama ES100 - 195/50/15
Rear - Kumho Ecsta ASX - 205/50/15

8/13 stupid rattling heat shield removed, ebrake tightened up a bit, and replaced the valvecover seal washers i screwed up by overtorquing them last time

8/15 momo steering wheel installed. just gotta figure out the horn. i think i need to put a ground wire on the other tab of the horn button for it to work. shouldnt be too hard.

8/23 using uber amounts of solder and help from my dad, my horn works now

9/1 moar paint now a question....i painted my parts car trunk and put it on my car. my factory trunklid has "supercharged" and "toyota mr2" on it. i can get those to put on my new black lid, OR i can leave it blank and debadged. what should I do?

9/6 flushed the coolant today with Brandon's help. pretty much followed these directions
http://padandwheels.com/mr2/waterpump/coolant.html

did not use Toyota coolant because the day I spend $25/gallon on PREMIXED coolant is the day i die

9/9 the paint on my hood/front bumper has started to fade a little bit so I figured I'd put some matte clear coat on it. yea BAD idea. it now looks like my car is covered in dust. its awful. worst. shit. ever. I finally said fuck it and I'm gonna take all day tomorrow and sand off the matte clear, respray the satin black, and just do the rest of the car.

9/10 sooooo yea check this out

in front of RR wheel. was hiding under the side skirt this whole time patch panel costs $90
http://www.twosrus.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=382

behind LR wheel. have patch panel for this one in front of LR wheel. sanded, treated, underbody-coated
RR wheel arch treated, will be bondo'd and painted over

9/11 it's pretty much done other than the mudflaps. only other thing is that when i was removing the tape around the tail lights it took a little spot of paint off the trunk lid. i miss the orange already

9/13

9/24
just weighed one of my silver wheels. OK so it was my understanding that if you can get 1lb for every inch diameter you are doing ok (ie: 15" wheel 15lb).
my silver PCW 15x7 +38 wheels weigh in at....20lbs. wow. heavy as SHIT. so much for using those for the track..... >.<>SC belt started slipping again today. went full throttle and after 6500rpm the boost was dropping. turned down the music and listened and tried again....all i could here was BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA SQUEEEEEEEEEKK

luckally its easy to fix, but i need light and about 2 feet of extensions lol. cant go to autocross without max boost now can we

11/7 After my findings at both VIR and Summit, I have decided the design of the airflow thru the radiator is not sufficient. I am thinking about taking my old crappy hood and doing this:
There is literally nowhere for air to go behind the rad stock, but this will help a TON with airflow at high speed. only problem is losing frunk storage space.

11/21 did the compression test.
Cylinder 1 - 140psi
Cylinder 2 - 135psi
Cylinder 3 - 140psi
Cylinder 4 - 145psi

BGB says optimal for a GZE is 156, minimum is 121, so I think my numbers are pretty good.

in other news, i was driving around all day yesterday with no problems, but after one 30 min drive on the interstate (around 70mph) it overheated once I got off the interstate. I have no idea if my fans work or not, but if my fans aren't working could it be that once I slowed down the coolant boiled in the system and that's where the steam came from?

11/26 Changed oil/filter and spark plugs today. Valvoline conventional 5w30, K&N filter, and NGK copper plugs
Odometer reads 231,088
conversion -64,214
actual mileage =166,874

next oil change = 169,000 or 170,000
odometer = 234,874

11/29 just ordered new o-rings for all the bleeder valves (t-stat, heater, radiator) because it looks kinda like there may be a leak around my t-stat. the gasket on the t-stat housing got replaced when i replaced the thermostat itself.
interesting....just went to bleed the coolant post-drive and noticed that the firewall behind the radiator had coolant sprayed on it.....and steam was very slowly seeping from the rad bleeder valve.....interesting....maybe the seal in the bleeder valve is bad. I ordered new o-rings for all 3 bleeder valves from Kbox.

12/1
just a quick update - i drove my car kinda hard on the way home from class tonight and did a quick under-car check to check for coolant. Bleeder valve is dry, BUT it looks like there is a VERY slow leak in the general area of the thermostat. I can't see where because the IC is in the way, but its not the t-stat bleeder or anywhere on top of the t-stat. It could be the bottom of a hose, or the bottom half of the t-stat gasket or something.....kinda hard to tell. I'll have to look with the IC off sometime after a hard drive.

12/4 FOUND IT (i think)
the hose that connects to the front side of the t-stat housing....the bottom of it feels wet. I think that's where it's leaking onto the top of the trans. now about finding a new hose...........

12/6 new air filter for my HKS intake came in, as well as o-rings for all 3 bleeder valves on my car: radiator, heater, and thermostat

12/7
replaced all the o-rings on the bleeder valves. the ones on the radiator were FUBAR as were the ones on the t-stat. Heater wasn't bad, but still replaced them. Also put in a new red HKS filter element.

AW11 MR2 Build - "Akemi" Part 12

4/24
Dyke couldnt do it this morning so I ended up going to my mechanic in Mechanicsville (go figure) and got my car done to TRD Stage 1.....wow. going from a bad alignment (i never realigned the car after i switched springs from ST to TRD) to the TRD alignment......the change is unbelievable.
also on another note I highly recommend Jim & Glenn's Auto in Mechanicsville. Great people and great workgot the passenger side fender painted and installed today. I also painted the driver's side fender, but haven't replaced it yet. List remaining:
1. install driver's side fender
2. remove, sand, paint, reinstall front lip
3. ", ", ", " front valence pieces
4. paint front bumper..... this one i may just do on the car
5. contemplate painting the rest of the car

5/1
pics of black front end




now some people want me to paint the whole thing black, some people want me to leave it the way it is.....what do you think???


5/28
Seafoamed my car again today. There was next to NO smoke at all, just a tiny little bit. Goes to show how clean the inside of my motor is (seeeeee changing your oil ever 2500-3000 miles is a good thing.) Then I changed the oil. Put in Valvoline instead of Mobil1 because they were having a special deal on it at Advance (something like buy 5 qts and a K&N filter for like $27). While the car was up in the air I took a look at the rust hole in my bottom left corner and took off my mud flap to get a better look. NEVER "take a better look" cuz you will just be dissapointed. I need some real body work done.....

6/8hooray! my massively expensive scoop doesnt fit right! gonna have to sand the ass off it just to let the engine lid close......sooooo pissed off

6/28just bought this off a guy on the forums. Its for automatic transmissions only, but i will use it to replace the dummy button on my dash and will eventually wire it up to something or other.
7/5
Pics of scoop




7/12
ok so Billy did some work on my rear right fender dent today. it has gone from "seriously bad" to "meh ok"found a guy on the forums getting rid of his Momo steering setup, and bought his hub for $50 (they go for $75 or more new) and I'm buying a steering wheel (Momo Monte Carlo 320mm) from a guy on VADriven for $135 ($165 new). I'll probably need a $20 spacer for it to fit right but i'm pretty excited for a QUALITY steering wheel setup.

7/15 Still waiting on the hub...and will probably need a spacer but still anyway YAY

Cool Links

Speedhunters
-covers the auto scene all over the world, all kinds of cars but mostly Japanese or Euro.

AutoBlog
-talks about the automotive industry as a whole

Japanese Nostalgic Car
-a blog specifically devoted to vintage JDM

Jalopnik
-car enthusiast blog

RVA Mitchell
-my Okinawa-based friend's blog

Personality

It's no secret that I love old cars, while I couldn't care less about most new cars. One of the things that makes old cars special is that each individual car, not even each make and model, but individual cars have personalities....little foibles that turn a soulless machine into something more. I just thought I would share things that I feel give my car personality.
-intermediate wipers are broken
-rear visor has rubber plumbing washers shoved in it to keep it from buzzing
-steering wheel squeaks
-really, really slow electric windows
-oddly spaced pedals
-front left running light sometimes needs to be hit to turn on
-right headlight squeaks when opening/closing
-hood, bumper, slam panel, headlight covers, both front fenders, front lip, and spoiler are from other cars
-fuel door doesn't like to open easily
-antenna doesn't go up, so you don't get many radio stations
-shift boot squeaks
-steering shakes at 70mph
-windows like to fog up
-t-tops leak a little bit sometimes, not at all some other times
-oil pressure gauge is broken and reads naught
-speedo needle shakes at anything under 25mph
-odometer reads 64,213.9 miles more than the car actually has gone

No other car has those exact same little niggles and that helps make my car unique and gives it personality. I love my car.

Free Candy Photoshoot #1

A few weeks ago Pierce, Mike, and I did a little mini-photoshoot. Click for full res.
*all photos by Pierce Ford*













Here are some pics I edited

New Source of Inspiration

So in my internet travels today I stumbled upon a link someone posted on Facebook to a blog I had never read. Hyperbole and a Half is the best thing I have read in years, possibly ever. On the surface it appears to be humorous ranting just to get a laugh out of people (which it does because it's freaking hilarious) but if you read a lot of it (and I have read A LOT) you start to see the person down under the comedy. A person who's mindset I can strongly identify with. I know it sounds stupid but this dumb "comedy" blog has reached me very deeply and somehow made me feel.....normal? Like my frustrations and problems that no one else (or very few people) seems to share are not just me. It has been really uplifting to me in an unexpectedly significant way. Go check it out.