A little bit more....

Ok... Well... for the last few week-ends, I didn't get the chance to do any work on the MR2... For the couple of week-ends after the engine install, I was extremely busy, and hence didn't get a chance to work on the MR2.

We did, however, manage to squeeze in some Hrs on Saturday, although Sean and myself were busy. We got some minimal work done, outlined below...

Installed the coolant lines and looks OK... not the best, but will do the job for now.


It took us a while, and it'll take us a while to fill her up... because there isn't much room between the body and the filler cap. But none-the-less.... how often will we be touching the coolant lines?

We also re-attached the Clutch slave cylinder, the gear selector cables, Electrical cables, etc...
Below is a picture of the MAP sensor, which I conveniently had a right angle mounting bracket and mounted in place as shown below...


We also ended up connecting the fuel lines...


We also attempted the installation of the airbox. The airbox comes in several parts, namely the base plate, the Velocity stacks (Rubber ones) and then the cover. The picture below show the installation of the base place and 3x (out of the 4x) velocity stacks....


This is where 1 of the problems became very apparent...
UNDOCUMENT PROBLEM: You can not use the 16v Altnerator if you want to use the Blacktop Air box. The 16 Alternator has one of it connectors (The main 12v connector) pointing straight up, which will allow you to still install the airbox, but the terminal will touch the the airbox. Please note the airbox is made out of metal and will short the system over time.... not recommended.

The 20v Alternator has this same connector pointing perpendicular to the box, and hence, why you should use the 20v alternator. Alternatively, you could use after market velocity stacks (AKA Ramtubes or flutes) ... I'm looking into what options I have.

The next problem we faced was the airbox and the AW11 latch position. I've already know this one, as some have indicated this to be a problem.... nothing that Murphy couldn't fix with a bit of a hammer action... but again, I'm still looking into what my options are...


So... this was pretty much what we had time for, as my flue didn't allow me to go any further... :-( Yes, the last week-end I was actually crook in bed for the week-end... I couldn't believe it!!!!! And I was still suffering a bit of this week-end... But it's getting better.

Anyway... Hopefully next week-end we'll be able to start her up... So stay tuned... :-)

New Engine is FINALLY in the MR2....

This week-end, we finally got the new engine installed. But prior to this we needed to do a few smallish things...

I had to go past Toyota to get a new Drive shaft seal, because, last week-end, when I pulled the drive shafts out from a test fit, I accidentially pulled the small spring that is insite the drive shaft seal... so when inserting and pullng drive shafts, be carefull, as they are spring loaded, and once it's out, you have to replace the whole seal... So anyway... the part number is there, and it's the same seal as the 1998 Toyota Corolla AE98


The next task that was required, was to drain the oil and replace the Oil Pressure sensor on the engine block and the Oil filter... I purchased a new oil pressure sensor from toyota, and got a K&N Oil filter... they come highly recommended...


Please NOTE: To install the oil pressure sensor, you need to purchase a special tool from toyota that has an open-ended hex on an angle to tighten the unit... don't tighten the unit by twisting the top... you won't be able to tighten it enough to create a seal... This tool cost about AUS$200+ from toyota... I decided to make my own from an old bicycle spanner...


OK... Now the engine was ready to be installed into the MR2... Shifted the engine + Gearbox onto a cardboard box sheet, so that when could slide under the MR2 once it's up in the air, without scratching the oil sump... The strap is so that one can pull from one side, while the other person pushes... it worked well.


I'll spare the details of the installation, as it's pretty much the reverse of the engine removal. Once the engine was in the car, and we attempted to install the drive shafts, we very fast realized that it won't fit... We just about tried everything, without success. Hence, we needed to remove the engine brace that sits undernieth the engine and attaches to the gearbox.

Sean actually pointed out a valid point... the 20v engine is in front wheel setup, and hence, a lot more dynamics going on in the front of a corolla, and hence, the requirement... but with the MR2, this might not be required. So anyway... it's common practice to remove it, so that we could use the AW11 Drive shafts. Also, when this piece was removed, the "4AFE" (Not 4AGE, or 7AFE) letter were printed on the inside... that is from a different variant of a corolla!!!!!

With a lot of jigging about, we finally gotten the engine in there... And it sure looks nice in the MR2... :-P


... Drive shafts are in, and front and back engine mounts have been fitted... They look nice... :-)


And, of course, Sean happy with the engine in... We both sure a looking forward to starting the engine... :D

Next week, I'll be going to Sydney, so most probably won't be working on the MR2 when I get back... But the following week-end, we will need to attach coolant lines and fill coolant, fill up oils, attach wiring harness, connect up fuel line, etc... Hopefully, we'll be able to get it started... ;-P

Getting Prepared...

Well... This week-end, we finally gotten around to preparing the engine for installation. Below is a breakdown of what was completed this weekend...

Attached the wiring harness...

This was pretty straight forward, attaching the harness, and shifting all the peripherals across from the old engine to the new engine. Things such as reverse shift engagement adaptor, Alternator & New belt.

Drive Shafts from AW11...

A bit of bad news... We tried bringing over the drive shaft tullips (The small piece that fits into the gearbox, to which the drive shaft attach), but noticed very quickly that they long shaft fouled the gearbox brace. So we decided when we install the engine + gearbox, we'll try to install the blacktop driveshafts, as they look very similar in length.

Selector shaft...

We actually manage to drill the Selector shaft hole on the opposite side of the gearbox housing successfully... there isn't much material to drill, and if you have a metal drill bit, this will go through like butter, as the casing is soft aluminium housing. We started with a 3mm hole, and double the size, until we gotten to the 12mm hole, where we then decided to go for the full 11/16" hole, as when we moved up in sized, it become harder to keep the drill bit centered. Sean was taking care of the horizontal and hold the gearbox, whereas I was keeping the vertical in check and drilling the hole. By the time we finished drilling the hole, we were off by about .5-1mm to the center. No biggi, as the seal will take care of this... the seal will allow for about 1-2mm offset.

We fit the adaptor with Loctite 422 Gasket seal, but that didn't seem to do the job very well...

...so I went hunting for the JB Weld... JB Weld is extremely tough, and is perfect for the job... it's a bit like liquid aluminium... but take a while to cure (24Hrs). It took me about 1/2 day to track it down, as it's not commonly found here in Perth.

ECU Installation...
Also managed to install the 20v ECU... There were a few minor differences, and 1 out of the 3x brackets had to be modified... All that was required was to cut the Tab off, and re-drill a couple of holes... Presto, perfect fit in the exactly the same location as my old ECU, including the Starter relay. The starter relay is a small black/yellow square on the bottom, left hand corner of the ECU.

That was pretty much it, on what we have completed, but getting ready for the installation next week-end...