Ever since I bought my rev3 tubby back in May 2009, the car has been nothing but trouble. After just two months of ownership, I noticed that the engine was idling very rough so I decided to get it checked out. It was crushing news. Following a leak down test it was established that cylinder 3 was haemorrhaging air and that a potential rebuild was on the cards.
On the depressing journey to pick up my poorly tubby I was in two minds as to whether to repair the car or break it and sell it for spares. A glimmer of hope presented itself when we found out that the engine was rebuilt just over a year ago with forged pistons and that a head rebuild could potentially save the engine and get the tubby firing on all cylinders again.
Month after month the car sat in the garage gathering dust whilst I saved the pennies to get the budget together for the repair. Several months of scrimping and saving later I finally had enough for the repair. After speaking to several specialists, I came across a company called Japauto-Speed (based in Wolverhampton) owned by a very friendly and experienced chap called Roland. Roland and his company specialises in most Japanese cars, but in particular cars which contain the 3sgte/3sge engines (i.e. MR2s and Celicas). Following a lengthy phone call, Roland assured me he could get my car back on the road and offered a very competitive price for the head rebuild along with some other work that was needed.
So after agreeing a date, I took the car up to Japauto-Speed where I met Roland, who I must say is a top bloke. He gave the car a quick once over and was confident that he could get the car back to its best again. After discussing the work requirements and offering to take photos of the rebuild he even gave me a lift to the station!
Now its just a nail-biting waiting game as the diagnosis and work gets done - hopefully Ill be able to get the car back on the road for Christmas. Ill keep you posted
Finally getting the troublesome tubby back on the road (I hope)
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Re: Finally getting the troublesome tubby back on the road (I hope)
best of luck mate. hope its sorted as painlessley as possible,,,,
Re: Finally getting the troublesome tubby back on the road (I hope)
The tubby has just passed its MOT (before any work was done to the car) - which is a result. That's one hurdle complete, now onto the more serious stuff; the cylinder head removal and diagnosis. Fingers crossed it's repairable...
Re: Finally getting the troublesome tubby back on the road (I hope)
Fingers crossed fella
Re: Finally getting the troublesome tubby back on the road (I hope)
Well the cylinder head has now been removed from the car and it turns out that the rebuild that was previously completed was not done to a great standard - with one of the inlet valves isnt fully seated on compression so all the inlet valves have to be removed and re-lapped before being refitted.
Hopefully there are no more nasty surprises on the way as the cars turning out to be a bit of a nightmare!
Head work is due to be completed in the next day or two so now I have an anxious wait ahead of me. When that's completed and hopefully repaired I'm going to have a new metal head gasket fitted, a new timing belt and a new water pump fitted just to be on the safe side.
In the meantime here are some photos...
Pistons:
Head in the engine bay:
Head out ready for refurb:
Hopefully there are no more nasty surprises on the way as the cars turning out to be a bit of a nightmare!
Head work is due to be completed in the next day or two so now I have an anxious wait ahead of me. When that's completed and hopefully repaired I'm going to have a new metal head gasket fitted, a new timing belt and a new water pump fitted just to be on the safe side.
In the meantime here are some photos...
Pistons:
Head in the engine bay:
Head out ready for refurb:
Last edited by hkwc104 on Mon Jun 13, 2011 7:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Finally getting the troublesome tubby back on the road (I hope)
Double post
Last edited by hkwc104 on Mon Jun 13, 2011 7:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Finally getting the troublesome tubby back on the road (I hope)
Good luck with it fella.
R.
R.
Re: Finally getting the troublesome tubby back on the road (I hope)
Finally got the car back yesterday
First of all Id like to say a big thank you to Roland and co at JapAuto-Speed who worked tirelessly to diagnose the various foibles that the car had and get them fixed! First class workmanship and all round nice fellas.
The engine is now running super sweet and was an absolute pleasure to drive back. The old gal now pulls smoothly throughout the rev range, though I had to resist the temptation to put my foot down given that it was absolutely lashing it down. I cant wait to give it a thorough test drive when the conditions get a bit fairer (though I could be waiting a while).
Ill give the car a thorough clean and polish this weekend and get some photos up!
First of all Id like to say a big thank you to Roland and co at JapAuto-Speed who worked tirelessly to diagnose the various foibles that the car had and get them fixed! First class workmanship and all round nice fellas.
The engine is now running super sweet and was an absolute pleasure to drive back. The old gal now pulls smoothly throughout the rev range, though I had to resist the temptation to put my foot down given that it was absolutely lashing it down. I cant wait to give it a thorough test drive when the conditions get a bit fairer (though I could be waiting a while).
Ill give the car a thorough clean and polish this weekend and get some photos up!