Mk1 MR2 Engine - about to die?

[Sy355]

Hi All,

I'm relatively new to the world of the MR2 but would appreciate some input from anyone out there to this:

My 1989 Mk1 MR2 (N/A) sends quite a lot of blue smoke out the exhaust when revved hard - full throttle above 6k revs sends out loads - but doesn't seem to give any out under 5k.

She's 'only' done about 95k miles and I've seen examples round with 140k on the clock, are there any well known piston ring/valve stem problems with these engines?

I intend to compression test pretty soon in the hope of finding some answers.

Any help much appreciated,

Sy

[JMR_AW11]

If looked after with regular oil/filter changes the engine should last well beyond 150k miles.

My daily driver mk1b MR2 has also covered 95k miles. I never have to top up the oil between changes and the only time I see any smoke is if I leave the car unused for several days. On first starting, the car then sometimes emits a small blue puff of smoke as it starts.

I should also add I drive this car very hard once warmed up. I bought it as a second MR2 which I treat as 'disposable' and therefore I aim to get the most fun out of it that I can.

I've owned/thrashed it for three years now and it still doesn't use oil.

It may be more cost effective to replace the whole engine on your car rather than waste time/money on compression tests etc. you can get low mileage replacement engines from reliable places like Fensport.

Fensport import low mileage engines from Japan and they have a good reputation for providing low mileage, low cost replacement engines for mk1 MR2s.

If you try and rebuild a tired 4A-GE engine you will probably end up paying much more than the cost of the replacement engine.

[JMR_AW11]

Just noticed welly_59 is selling a 72k mile engine as he is doing a supercharger engine swap.

Check his thread on this forum about 'how much will I get for these'

Maybe you could buy his engine. He might even fit it for you...

[System-G]

My 1985 engine with 116k on the clock landed up having piston ring failure, but I think this was down to poor maintenance by previous owner.

Regular servicing should allow the engine to be relatively bullet-proof. The engines are designed for constant heavy revving. Blue smoke is never a good sign regardless of revs.

I got a replacement engine from a fellow IMOC member which is now installed in the car and running fine

[pkmr2]

My car is well known for chucking out a bit of smoke now and then,i took it to a local garage and he claimed it was the valve stem oil seals. I had the whole top end rebuilt including new valve guides and the bloody thing still does it!!!! My engine runs sweet, the compressions are excellent there is not more than 2psi between cylinders and there is no crank knocking at the moment so i have been recommended by other mk1 technical members to carry on using it but i now put in 15-50 oil just to help things run smoothly.

When it finally goes bang i have been told you can get a low mileage engine from a company called API for around £600.

Sorry it was a bit of a long post but i hope it might help you to make your mind up one way or another!

[welly_59]

yep sy, i've got an engine available if you would be looking to purchase. No smoke at all, lovely condition. Could have compression test done if you wanted.

Let me know what you think