Over heating

[Danh287]

Hi, I've just bought my first mr2, it's a 1993 g-limited and has over heating issues. I knew this when I bought it which is why I got it cheap.

The bloke I bought it off said he'd driven less than a mile and it over heated, called the AA who did a block test which gave a green result and he was told it was the radiator. Looking at the radiator it's pretty shot, big blocks of cooling fins missing. There is little to no oil in the car as it's not registering on the dip stick and there was a bit of sludge in the over flow, the oil cap has no creamy deposits. It's been sat for over a year.

What's the best way to attack this? New radiator, coolant and oil plus a good bleed? Or maybe go straight for the head gasket?

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Cheers, Dan

[craig]

If the rad is clearly shot, I'd replace that first. New coolant/bleed. See how you get on.

Get some fresh oil in there & filter too.

I'd also give it a good ignition service - plugs/leads/dizzy/rotor arm.

[Draven]

First things first. I would be empty all of the coolant out of the car and remove the radiator

Use a hose with some decent pressure to blast some water through the system. I would get a new alloy radiator.

http://www.mr2-ben.co.uk/products/view/ ... -1989-1999

I had an issue with the oil cooler getting all gunked up. Check all the hoses for the cooling system for splits or wear replace them if required.

Head gasket would cause either mayo under the oil cap. white / blue smoke out of the exhaust.

[Draven]

Plus what Red says about ignition components

[mr2garageswindon]

I would check the thermostat condition as one of the first items. if overheating so quickly usually the thermostat is to blame as the radiator wont be cooling the engine until its open and the coolant flowing.

[Judderman]

All good sound advice in the above posts.

Sounds like the cooling system may have been quite neglected. You may also want to check some of the pipes running around the engine bay for sludge / rust etc.
I'm in the process of giving my rev1 an overhaul, and although I have always kept the coolant topped up etc, over the 25 years of usage, some of my pipes were totally blocked up with c**p. Luckily it didn't cause the engine to overheat as they were going to the TB.

Good luck

[killerferret666]

100% drain and replace thermostat.

If radiator is shot replace as well. Refill and see how cooling is.

Once that's sorted I'd move on checking over ignition if required.

[Andy_MR2_Rev2]

Hi All,

I am currently embarking on the same mission, my car looks like the coolant and fluids where not looked after by previous owner, currently ordering

Radiator
Pipes
Coolant
Thermostat
Dizzy Cap
Rotar Arm
Ignition Leads


Anything Im missing??