Fed up :(

[Road_Rebel]

I haven't been driving my MR2 any longer than a total of 2 years (more likely 18 months) and this is the 4TH!!!!! TIME!!!! that i have gone through a set of shells.

The car is making that consistant knocking noise under acceloration.

Its a shame because i was planning on getting a rev 3 turbo engine fitted towards the end of the year when i turn 21, put a deposit down on it you know but now im in the dilema of having to yet pour more money into my NA engine again which i dont want to do because then it will take even longer for me to get the turbo lump fitted.

Last time this happened it cost about £500 to get the crank ground and conrods sorted then me and my dad did all the labour on it.

I dont know whether its gonna be better to get another crank since we can't be taking much more off the original...

All this has to happen before JAE...

What would you guys do?
Buy a new mr2 with a turbo lump already in it? bear in mind i might not be able to get insured on it til the end of the year
Pour more money into the NA lump and wait later til next year for the booster?
"Your cursed with MR2's, start looking at Honda CRX's or EP3's"?

[ashley]

4 sets of big ends in two years???!! WTF??!

What did the old bearings look like last time you swapped them out? Sounds like there's something else going on with your engine

[bri0905]

Buy a replacement rev 3 na engine and fit it. Don't rebuild the old one.

[ashley]

I've got a spare rev3 NA engine you could have at a reasonable cost, missing a few bits- but you could re-use them off your current engine, based near Gloucester

[jasongtr]

buy a cheap engine off ebay, theres always some on there cheap enough

[4ndee]

Have you advanced the timing?

[Road_Rebel]

These are 4 sets of shells across 2 engines....

If i buy a Rev 3 engine im afraid my toyosports manifold might not match up with the head. And i will have to get different loom also

[jon_st205]

Did you use the same crank in both engines? Sounds symptomatic of a crank out of true. I've seen Toyota engines opened at 150-200k and only minor wear to the bearings, 4 sets isn't normal.

[jasongtr]

These are 4 sets of shells across 2 engines....

If i buy a Rev 3 engine im afraid my toyosports manifold might not match up with the head. And i will have to get different loom also

look at the bigger picture though, sell the manifold as it will be no use to the turbo engine you ultimately want and the loom/ecu isnt going to be much anyway

[Road_Rebel]

These are 4 sets of shells across 2 engines....

If i buy a Rev 3 engine im afraid my toyosports manifold might not match up with the head. And i will have to get different loom also

look at the bigger picture though, sell the manifold as it will be no use to the turbo engine you ultimately want and the loom/ecu isnt going to be much anyway

Problem is finding engine, loom, ecu and exhaust and then fitting it all before jae!

[4ndee]

Have you advanced the timing?

?

[Road_Rebel]

the timing wasn't advanced no. when you advance the timing, you tend to make the engine go bang due to the vast increase in heat it generates in comparison to running it at the recommended settings.


I have a theory, it might be wrong but was wondering what you guys think.

This has all happened after my oil light flicked on whilst i went round a bend at high speed. Got home checked the oil and it was empty

Now these engines are not known for drinking oil and i can garantee this engine hasn't even done 10,000 miles since me and my father rebuilt it (for the record, my dad has been a mechanic for over 30 years, he knows what he's doing so it wouldn't of been his error)

After further inspection, we noticed oil leaking around the cam cover and possibly the head gasket, what weird though is that the water is not creamy in the slightest.

The car had been over heating 2 or 3 weeks after the build, this was due to the pipes from hell leaking which have been fixed now.

So is it possible that on both engines the head/cam cover gaskets got cooked, began to leak oil and in turn, run dry and then eat into my shells?

I hope this post makes sense to you guys, i have only had 6 hours sleep over the course of 3 days damn night shifts....

[Road_Rebel]

[ignore this post]

[Al-sw20]

Over here 3sge's run bearings when you run them low on oil. Every time a coconut. Seen so, so many.

You need to check the oil every week at minimum. If you know you are going to give the car a hard time, each time before that.

[vishpish]

Hope you get it sorted mate. been through my own fair share of hell with mine (3rd engine, 4th box and im only 23)

stick with it. at least you know its been cared for/not been rebuilt by a douche

[Peter Gidden]

So is it possible that on both engines the head/cam cover gaskets got cooked, began to leak oil and in turn, run dry and then eat into my shells?

You'd have to build two engines badly, and never check the oil until it's too late.

[Loque]

Over here 3sge's run bearings when you run them low on oil. Every time a coconut. Seen so, so many.

You need to check the oil every week at minimum. If you know you are going to give the car a hard time, each time before that.

Hmmmm, mine doesn't use a drop of oil? Gets checked every month and serviced every 9k. :S

[PW@Woodsport]

You haven't had a cam cover shot blasted/powder coated and used it on both engines by any chance? That would explain two sets of shells across two engines.

[gazrev1tubby]

You haven't had a cam cover shot blasted/powder coated and used it on both engines by any chance? That would explain two sets of shells across two engines.

Good thinking Paul, seems the most logical reason

[PW@Woodsport]

I'm speaking from experience over a decade ago gaz...It wouldn't be the first time someone has done that

Shot blast, even in tiny quantities, is a serial engine killer, i've seen people meticulously clean cam covers after having them blasted and still wiped a bottom end out weeks/months later.

If you haven't had any shot blasting/powder coating done ignore the above.