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The Night Rider's 1986 Toyota MR-2 AW11 - Discussion


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what's wrong with the engine currently? surely it could just be something like a blocked radiator, stuck thermostat or at worst a BHG? hardly necessary to replace a whole engine for that.

 

Sorry I didn't explain it properly. I was driving back home and happened to look down at the temp gauge and it was red hot... I don't really know for how long but by this point I noticed lack of power so definitely head gasket is gone. As for the other components I don't know. I've never overheated an engine before so not sure about bearings, cylinders, warping etc. Probably wont till its disassembled. 

 

Also when I was first got it the temp started to climb, luckily I caught it before it got too hot. The previous owners mechanic did not follow the unusual bleeding procedure at all and therefore a lot of air was trapped inside. I thought I fixed it by bleeding the system but I think the head gasket had already been damaged and was probably using some water. 

 

It still started the day after but was quite noisy, so I didn't run it long. 

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Sorry I didn't explain it properly. I was driving back home and happened to look down at the temp gauge and it was red hot... I don't really know for how long but by this point I noticed lack of power so definitely head gasket is gone. As for the other components I don't know. I've never overheated an engine before so not sure about bearings, cylinders, warping etc. Probably wont till its disassembled. 

 

Also when I was first got it the temp started to climb, luckily I caught it before it got too hot. The previous owners mechanic did not follow the unusual bleeding procedure at all and therefore a lot of air was trapped inside. I thought I fixed it by bleeding the system but I think the head gasket had already been damaged and was probably using some water. 

 

It still started the day after but was quite noisy, so I didn't run it long. 

 

Strip it down and check for damage. As Fuel has said it shouldn't require a complete engine swap.

Plus once it's apart you can go through it systematically, fix whatever requires fixing, learn a bunch of stuff along the way and have a sweet car that you fixed yourself.

 

Edit: That is such a tidy example too. Looks beaut.

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Wow, thats a really nice looking example. Shame about the engine, but will be worth it when youre done! I really miss my AW11 even though it was also an auto and tried to kill me a few times.

 

is the paint original?

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Pity about the overheating, but it looks really clean and tidy.

 

Thanks!

 

Strip it down and check for damage. As Fuel has said it shouldn't require a complete engine swap.

Plus once it's apart you can go through it systematically, fix whatever requires fixing, learn a bunch of stuff along the way and have a sweet car that you fixed yourself.

 

Edit: That is such a tidy example too. Looks beaut.

 

Yeah sounds like a good plan. Like I mentioned in build thread, I was keeping the engine anyway because I wanted to rebuild it sometime in the future. I think I'm just a little unsure because I've never rebuilt or had an engine rebuilt before, so don't want to end up spending a lot and then it not working properly. I'm sure it would be a whole lot of fun though.

 

Wow, thats a really nice looking example. Shame about the engine, but will be worth it when youre done! I really miss my AW11 even though it was also an auto and tried to kill me a few times.

 

is the paint original?

 

Thanks! The previous owner told me the paint is all original apart from one of the front fenders which was resprayed. Seems like that is correct to me but I'm not an expert. 

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I really like the factory storage box in the frunk and have been searching after one for years. If you ever feel like selling it, let me know.

 

Sorry to hear about the head gasket, one of my old AW11s did the exact same thing and the culprit turned out to be a bung waterpump. If you do strip down the engine for a rebuild I would recommend inspecting and replacing that first.

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I really like the factory storage box in the frunk and have been searching after one for years. If you ever feel like selling it, let me know.

 

Sorry to hear about the head gasket, one of my old AW11s did the exact same thing and the culprit turned out to be a bung waterpump. If you do strip down the engine for a rebuild I would recommend inspecting and replacing that first.

 

Hey, just saw your build thread. Very nice AW and you even have the ski racks! The blown head gasket isn't bothering me too much as I really wanted to make it a manual anyway; luckily I have another daily driver so can spend time working on it rather than rushing to just throw it all back together. 

 

I doubt I'll be selling the storage box just because I also like the original accessories. But for some reason if I do I'll let you know first. 

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Hey dude nice build! Attention to detail is on point!

Just make sure the clutch slave is from an AW11.

They are different to all other FF C and E series gear box slaves.

I found this out when I crapped it self and I couldn't find another.

Ended up getting a stainless sleeve put in it

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Hey dude nice build! Attention to detail is on point!

Just make sure the clutch slave is from an AW11.

They are different to all other FF C and E series gear box slaves.

I found this out when I crapped it self and I couldn't find another.

Ended up getting a stainless sleeve put in it

 

Thanks for the tip appreciate it. Luckily I got the slave cylinder with the transmission, which was from another AW so all should be good. I also rebuilt the slave cylinder. 

I just need a clutch master now so I can complete the auto to manual swap. 

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That is one hell of a build thread you've got going on there.

I sat down and read it from start to finish and it reminds me of a couple of threads that swayed me from sitting on the fence to actually joining an online forum, such was their attention to detail.

I don't know much about the AW series MR2 but reading your build thread has actually educated me, which is a feat in itself.

Keep up the good work, not only regarding the work on the car but also the great photos and excellent write up!

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That is one hell of a build thread you've got going on there.

I sat down and read it from start to finish and it reminds me of a couple of threads that swayed me from sitting on the fence to actually joining an online forum, such was their attention to detail.

I don't know much about the AW series MR2 but reading your build thread has actually educated me, which is a feat in itself.

Keep up the good work, not only regarding the work on the car but also the great photos and excellent write up!

 

Wow, such kind words, thank you! Really appreciate it, especially considering that there are so many insanely talented people on this forum, I'm amazed at the work being done here.

 

To be honest I feel like there is still a lot I could be doing better. This is my second large (large for me) car project and I'm trying to improve from last time. Even a simple manual and re-power swap like mine can get so involved as I'm sure you know; Just trying to catch up on neglected/overdue maintenance is a big enough challenge in most cases.

 

If I was more sensible I should have avoided spending all that money on the ITB adapter. But its all for fun and learning, always can improve. Plus ITB's are too cool to deny. 

 

Anyway thanks again. 

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