Newbie from Edinburgh/Dunfermline

[mwmackenzie]

Hi Guys and Gals,

I picked up my MR2 on Monday, its a 2000 W plate Rev5 SW20 in red/pink lol. Anyway on the way home I found her a bit sluggish compared to my 110bhp Golf Diesel? a tad disappointing to be honest.

On Tuesday I woke up and took it to work and back and on my return home I noticed the front of the car covered in steaming coolant, not a great start to our relationship

Since then she's just sat outside the house taking up space until I get it fixed, gutted and I feel I've maybe been conned as I checked the service records on my return home to find it was serviced just a few days before I collected it but I remember the oil level was about 3/4 up the dipstick and it was pretty black so I'll give it a proper service myself

Having been hunting for a radiator I found an alloy number on E-Bay for just £96.00 has anyone had any experience with these?

Anyway though I'd say Hi Y'all!

Cheers
Mark

[synXero]

Hey Mark.

We have an Edinburgh MR2 owners facebook group if you're interested

Having a rev5 is a good thing, and 2000 plate ones are very hard to get hold of! First thing is first, though: is the car a turbo or an N/A? Is it an import or a UK car?

If the front of the car is covered in steaming coolant, you're probably right that it's the radiator, or possibly the bleed valves or coolant pipes... Either way it'll do no harm to change out your radiator as they are almost always fubar'd.

It does sound like the "recent service" must've been rubbish don't worry though as the oil change is super simple.

[mwmackenzie]

Hi,

What is the facebook page?

My car is a UK NA

I have spoken to the garage who serviced it and they enlightened me somewhat about the history of the car The guy I bought it of told me a few porkies lol.. the car was bought a week earlier and sold for profit which does not bother me but why lie about it, traders and dealers do this daily.

The service book was stamped as the garage who had the car in to sell were to service it but the buyer came in prior to the service and said he didn't want it serviced or MOT'd if they'd knock something off the price to reflect this, so they did, again fair enough but tell me about it so that I can get it serviced to keep it as it should be. The garage have actually looked after the car for the past 2-3 years and it was owned by a lady prior to the chutney I bought it off!

Anyway she's now with a loving owner and a new radiator is on it's way from MR2-Ben and I'll be doing a full coolant and oil change this weekend, probably change the plugs, dizzy cap, rotor arm too, I'll leave the air filter for now as I plan on either an induction of panel filter replacement and will be hunting a mongoose too lol..

Cheers
Mark

[hmltnangel]

Welcome along mate

Lots of us around teh area.

If its the front then its most likely the radiator. Have you read up how to change the coolant on the car and remember that you need around 12 litres.

[mwmackenzie]

Thanks,

I joined the facebook group

I'm going to spend a little time on the car this weekend tarting her up a bit with a machine polish and a good service if I can find the time.

12L of coolant is going to be expensive lol The water that came out was a bit dirty so I'll give her a good flush out too, same with the oil me thinks...

[Torero]

Hi Mark and welcome to IMOC,

We're a good crowd around here and pretty clued up and experienced enough to help you out.

I completely agree what you said about the OP being a bellend but at least you have peace of mind that the car has been looked after by the same garage for a few years and services have been done. I'm sure a bit of TLC from you will not only prove enjoyable but rewarding as well.

The radiator is just bad luck but easily resolved and not the end of the world. Just check to ensure that there is no adverse affect on the HG and seals as a result.

As for detailing, here's a good thread that gives an insight into how to do it http://www.mr2oc.co.uk/forums/171/153371.html. As I said, enjoy it these cars are a change in lifestyle when you get into them and the people you meet along the way make it all worthwhile.

John.

[mwmackenzie]

Thanks John!

Thankfully the car has never overheated as this happened outside my house, temp gauge has never risen above normal so I'm fairly sure there will be no damage other then the radiator itself, phew!

My car is red/pink so a good bit of detailing is required lol I have seen that thread before and it looks great there is also a red MR2 thread on detailing world which is interesting.

Lots of tasty tempting bits listed on the facebook page hmmmmmmmm...

[andy585]

hello welcome from ayrshire

[Rosssco]

Hi Mark, you're not Scottish Elises also are you?

[mwmackenzie]

I am indeed My Lotus days ended dew to a crap business move which saw me lose the shirt off my back So I came to the conclusion I wasn't going another summer without enjoying driving as I missed it dearly.

I had a Lotus in my life for the 14 years prior to trying to help someone out of a financial mess and rebuild their business without the same commitment from them I love driving and saw the MR2 as a fantastic way to get back behind the wheel and enjoy cars again, not to mention the community spirit that SE has and this forum also seems to have.

I spent this afternoon with a rotary polisher trying to de-pink my red car lol I think I still have a couple of days left on it but finding that time with a new addition to the family is kinda tough lol

Enjoying the tinkering, a new radiator is going in next week then I'll be doing a set of lowering springs and a set of 17s.. after that we'll be moving on to some subtle styling mods

Cheers
Mark