add enough small victories together, and you'll be there! good to hear things are improving, keep it up!
add enough small victories together, and you'll be there! good to hear things are improving, keep it up!
The content here may not be new, but the video sure is.
Really happy with the intro on this one actually, going for a different feel.
Well, good news today. The Dakota's have transitioned out of "The Cold Of Death" season, into "only serious frostbite". So I've been able to get into the garage.
Today was a highly uneventful event, final assembly and startup. Kicked right over after a dose of battery charger. Running kinda rough for the time being, but just the usual stumbly tone of an engine that needs a timing light. Unfortunately, it's a raging ice-storm outside, so I couldn't keep the garage open long enough to do any tuning.
BUT
It ran, didn't explode, no major leaks that I can see yet. So things are looking up.
-Hans
Holy hell did toyota make some hard to find timing markers in that era. Need to tape a fine paintbrush to a long dowel so I can paint the really small notch in the flywheel. Otherwise I can't even see the stinking thing.
But, once clearly marked, I'm off by a tooth with the distributor. Easy fix and explains the few minor things in regards to how the engine is currently running.
Tomorrow. I'm tired today.
It's been a fairly good morning so far. I got the distributor set back to the correct location, and timing put where it should be. Engine runs about the same as I remember it doing prior to all the escapades here. A bit of a stumble, but that's been there since I bought the car. Probably a vacuum leak somewhere.... it is a car from 1988 after all.
Exhaust has a lot of condensation in it, but nothing that has me concerned in the least. Doesn't smell like coolant when it's in the air, doesn't have any color to it when I wipe it up, doesn't smell like coolant when I wipe it up. Perfectly clear. Every indication is that it's normal post-winter-startup condensation.
The other good piece of news is that I had it KINDA warmed up yesterday. But I don't see any signs of a hot-leak on any fluids. I'll know more when I get a proper road-test, get it good and hot, and park it over some fresh cardboard. But for now I'm thinking things are looking decently positive for the project again. That road test will be a bit later today. Time for breakfast right now.
If I can move past this year long headache, then i can start talking about some of the other ideas I've been having in the off-season.
-Hans
Man, it's rare that a 5 minute un-eventful run to get gas feels this good. I'm expecting I'll still see an oil drip from a couple external sources, but I'll be happier than a 7 year old at a minecraft convention if this project is now back on track. All the condensation disappeared as soon as it warmed up. Ran well. I did forget how firm the suspension is now, but that's just a matter of myself getting used to it again.
If the trend continues, I'll soon be back at things like battery relocation, megasquirt, and remote mount turbos.
-Hans
Another Update. Yes, I know, I'm babbling a bit here. Mood is good, I'm semi-enjoying where the project status is right now, and finding very few issues of note.
I let the car cool down and checked the fluids. Coolant was down maybe 1/4 cup or so. Completely expected as it heat cycles and works out some air pockets, AW11's have plenty of them due to the cooling plumbing layout. No concern there at all but I will keep an eye on it.
Oil looks dark already, but again this is not unexpected. High detergent synthetic into a car with a questionable prior owner. There's going to be crud in the pan to clear out for quite some time. At 125k+ miles I'm sure there's some blowby contributing to that as well. What the oil DOESN'T show is any obvious signs of coolant. It's dark in color, not light, and it still looks/feels/smells like oil. Still not finding any concerns.
I did have oil leaking onto the garage floor, not a LOT, but I wanted to get at it while the mood was with me. Main suspect was/is the oil plug seal. It was just a temporary one I punched from a sheet of rubber until I could get to the parts store, so I had planned on replacing it anyway. Proper piece is in there now, and the rubber one looked as bad as I expected it to. However, what I did NOT see in the leak puddle was any coolant. Last time around I had both coolant and oil leaking externally. This time I don't. So.... progress?
hhaase said:This time I don't. So.... progress?
Yes, definitely!
Way to stay on course!
In reply to hhaase :
Years ago I built a trailer to haul around my stuff for autocrosses. I used the rear hubs from a Chrysler K-car. They bolt to a flat plate, are 4x100 PCD, but have 57 mm hubs , so you would need to turn them down or just run a spacer. VW hubs bolt on,too, but are 57mm.
Right now, the trailer is bumped down in priority a bit. I need to keep momentum and do something fun and new to the car.
Much of the upcoming ideas are going to revolve around a couple common themes based upon the projected use of the car. So time for an official “next stage” rundown.
#1: Clearing out room in the engine compartment. I need to find room for things that are power and reliability related. Lots of mid-80’s technology that I can replace, update, or relocate that will be smaller, lighter, simpler, and better.I also need to make the layout more mechanic friendly.
#2: setting up ancillaries for the future planned engine build. ECU and ignition improvements, improved oil cooling. Possibly sorting out forced induction at very low boost. All things I’d rather have working well before I’ll be risking a whole new mill at the same time.
#3: Aerodynamic and weight improvements. Need more lighter and more slippery. I have some rather..... unusual ideas in this regard.
The thing is, There is a lot of overlap in those three areas in planned changes to the car. So I’m going to look at this as a combined scope of work. I.E. relocating the battery with a smaller racing piece will both save weight and give me a huge chunk of the space I need for an intercooler. The planned new oil system will lay out the needed updates for the turbo oiling. A lighter and streamlined exhaust system will also give me area for tail end aero improvements in the undertray.
Look, Ma, no resonator!
Some low hanging fruit for gaining room. 1 square foot of intake noise suppression removed, things like that are for people who still have their hearing.
In reply to hhaase :
Huh? What?
LOL that big bread-loaf shaped box is a resonator in the intake lines. It's about a square foot of empty space, apparently it eliminates whistling noises in the intake. Just a hollow box, the size of a car battery. Takes up a lot of space, so I 3D printed a plug, and took the damn thing out.
Here's a random internet photo that shows what it looks like installed, at the bottom-left of the photo.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_N62jN4qlWY4/TKiONDrlvXI/AAAAAAAAEg8/coNyQDv33DA/s1600/mr2eng.jpeg
Eventually I'll be redoing the entire intake path, it's a long and convoluted mess. Wraps all the way around the car, to the passenger side inlet vent. About 15-20ft long.
-Hans
Took another drive today, weather was warm again for once. May be needing a battery. That's just fine with me, I was shopping for lightweight batteries anyway as I want to clear out all the room in the engine compartment between the battery and mounting frame, then move it to the rear trunk.
Oil leak is definitely less than last time with the new gasket on the oil plug. Still a bit of a leak though. Probably still haven't found the original leak that started this whole escapade. Thinking of doing the sandwich plate o-rings next. If I don't just do a remote filter and new oil cooler.
Either way, feels good to drive it again, and not yet having any signs of a serious issue.
sleepyhead said:In reply to hhaase :
Huh? What?
1 SQUARE FOOT OF INTAKE NOISE SUPPRESSION REMOVED. THINGS LIKE THAT ARE FOR PEOPLE THAT STILL HAVE THEIR HEARING.
Crackers said:sleepyhead said:In reply to hhaase :
Huh? What?
1 SQUARE FOOT OF INTAKE NOISE SUPPRESSION REMOVED. THINGS LIKE THAT ARE FOR PEOPLE THAT STILL HAVE THEIR HEARING.
NOW I get it.
hhaase said:Crackers said:sleepyhead said:In reply to hhaase :
Huh? What?
1 SQUARE FOOT OF INTAKE NOISE SUPPRESSION REMOVED. THINGS LIKE THAT ARE FOR PEOPLE THAT STILL HAVE THEIR HEARING.
NOW I get it.
Thanks for the assist Crackers!
I think about this concept anytime I read a comment... you know, elsewhere on the web... to the effect of "why would you want to change what some company has spent millions of R&D dollars making?"... with the answer being: "I prefer for my vehicle to address different compromises than what the 'general public' is willing to"
although, I reckon "Huh, what?" should probably be my go-to answer in the future
Keep it up! Watching you guys finish projects is what inspires me to tackle my... much smaller products.
Also if you could keep showing how MR2s suck that would help me not buy one.
ValourUnbound said:Keep it up! Watching you guys finish projects is what inspires me to tackle my... much smaller products.
Also if you could keep showing how MR2s suck that would help me not buy one.
Even big projects are just a LOT of small projects. Just a matter of knowing which order, and staying motivated. I'm also hoping my future chapters are NOT about the bad side of MR2's very often.
Just ordered a pile of stuff today related to the possibly dead/dying battery. Going to swap in a lighter battery, and move it to the rear trunk. I went more with a lineup of quality and functional parts for this swap, and less billet bling shiny shiny. We're talking marine battery box instead of aluminum hold-down, that kinda stuff. So we'll be shaving about 25lbs, and removing a big chunk from the engine compartment.
While I was planning this all out I also realized that the previous owner apparently removed the fusible link from the system at some point. I had cleaned up this little gem about 24 hours after bringing the car home, with a proper clamping terminal. But didn't realize the fusible link had been removed when they did that butcher job. So I'll be glad to have it back in shape.
My original plan for a plastic marine battery box didn't come out how I wanted, the sizing wasn't anywhere near as close as I had hoped for the Deka ETX20L battery I picked up. So I've commissioned a local metal shop to make a box to fit. Instead of measuring anything, I took the otherwise perfect sized cardboard box the battery came in, trimmed it to the height I want, and said "Make this please".
Just really waiting on that to continue.
Then we got hit with a blizzard, plus another big snow storm, and one of my business customers sent me a HUGE order.
Today, however, I'll be doing some new lights in the garage. Garage currently only has a few twist-in sockets at the ceiling, the amount of lighting is awful. Updates at 11.
You know, a hydraulic wire crimper makes so many things possible. Lets me do battery cables just the length and layout that I want.
Still waiting on the new battery box, should be done by Monday I'm told. Otherwise the rest of the new battery layout is all finished. Crimped some extensions and lugs onto the engine compartment battery lines, punched a couple holes for a pair of pass-through connectors, and made up a small panel to hold the new main fuse and mount the accessory fuse/relay box that I did a while back. I do hate how dusty everything looks in photos, compared to how NOT dusty it looks in person.
Once the new box gets here it'll mount where the battery is sitting right now, I'll get it all strapped down and connected, then can start driving again.
Also planning the new oiling system layout. Just not 100% sure on the oil cooler I'll be using in place of the factory unit. Looking at the Setrab F119M22I though I do wonder if it may be a bit under-sized at 16,000-19,000 BTU rating for engine oil.
Been going back and forth with oil cooler decisions. Finally decided on which one I'll be swapping to. Derale 15845. It's the smallest that Derale makes with -10AN fitting sizes and is fan driven. Bigger than originally planned, 37,000 BTU/HR rating, but that's what thermostats for the oil flow and the fans are for. If I wasn't looking at eventually going forced induction, I think the Setrab would be fine...... but man is the brand spendy.
Still need to get the battery relocate done, but never hurts to plan. More battery stuff coming up next couple days once the new box gets here.
-Hans
Darnit man. <runs off to find a hydraulic wire crimper>
Today. Today was a GOOD day.
Finished up the battery relocation, as the new battery box arrived yesterday. A few rivet nuts, to go along with all the previous work, and everything is properly secured now. For the time being, I'm disconnecting the negative lead when I'm not actively driving it. The shop that made it for me did a very nice little surprise touch in the laser cutting. So I just HAD to move the strap and show it off.
Then gave it a proper wash, got in, and drove it for about 15 minutes. Rolled the windows down and enjoyed every stinking minute of it. It really felt good. No surprises at all. Just the way it should be re-acquainting myself with an old friend. Not much time to spare either, first autocross of the season is in 3 weeks!
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