MR2 Forum?

Any recommended MK2 MR2 forums that aren't mr2oc.com?

While mr2oc has some good stuff, I'm getting kind of nauseated by the attitude of some of its members.

Self-righteous moderation is what turned me off to mr2oc. The only alternative used to be www.mr2.com/vba_cmps.php

I haven't visited in a long time, so I can't vouch for what it's like now.

There are several MR2 / Toyota specialists here if have questions.

Thanks. I don't have anything specific right now, I was just browsing the internet realizing all the MR2 discussion boards I could find weren't that great.

Yeah, this is always my first stop. A lot of times, as you pointed out, the self-righteousness of other car forums make this my only stop.

Amusingly enough....

If it's an SW20, you will find knowledgeable people on celicatech.com. It's the "sister" forum to MR2oc, but with people that actually help. There's all kinds of cars on there now, and obviously the celica shared the engines.

Amusingly enough, the owner of Celica owns a very nice SW20 Turbo.

Interesting... I'm a member of mr2oc and don't see the attitudes that you see. I mean, the first thing that you have to realize that it's a bunch of 20 somethings and they interact with people differently than this forum.

And the only moderation that I've seen is the enforcement of the rules - no kill stories, no alcohol/drug references, no politics, etc.

If you can't sit around, drink beer and bash commies in an OT section, what good is that board then? Oh well. I gave up on MR2 "forums" back when it was still a mailing list and 95% of the traffic started to be "How big of a sub woofer can I put in my car?"

When I blew up my engine in my MR2 in an autocross in 04 is when I gave up, I found the knowledge base to be decent though

RobL wrote: Interesting... I'm a member of mr2oc and don't see the attitudes that you see. I mean, the first thing that you have to realize that it's a bunch of 20 somethings and they interact with people differently than this forum. And the only moderation that I've seen is the enforcement of the rules - no kill stories, no alcohol/drug references, no politics, etc.

I'm on there too, don't get me wrong, i appreciate the knowledge base.... but i'm really just there to buy parts.

The few times i've tried to help out someone, with the 5sfe in particular, it immediately got shot down with "OMG 3sgte!!!!" which gets REALLY old after fighting it for 5+ years on various forums. I fight it enough on my "home board" i don't need to go elsewhere to do it. It's the same reason i tend to stay away from AllTrac.net unless i need something to do with exterior. They have a terrible elitist mentality and it's really just too bad, because now as the FWD celica community is starting to really take off, aftermarket IS developing, and soon they're going to be outclassed in everything except for rally conditions, which maybe 3 of them do in the first place. :P

I didn't mean to bash mr2oc or anything.... just voicing opinion. Celicatech is pretty much a home for anyone that has a Toyota, celicas/5sfe/3sgtes just happen to be their specialty.

Hey, 93celicaGT2, Just curious if the oil pump O ring on a 5SFE has been discussed. I almost lost a motor to one of those and another guy on the board here has one that did lose the motor because of that O ring. Just sayin'.

Dr. Hess knows how to do everything on an AW11 the right way, and I know how to do it all the wrong way, so you should be covered.

Dr. Hess wrote: Hey, 93celicaGT2, Just curious if the oil pump O ring on a 5SFE has been discussed. I almost lost a motor to one of those and another guy on the board here has one that did lose the motor because of that O ring. Just sayin'.

Yeah... it's not just the o-ring that tends to go in the high mileage 5sfes, either... They start to leak almost everything like a sieve after 150k miles or so. Luckily it's all rather cheap to fix. That goes, the actual gasket there goes, the rear main seal goes, valve cover gasket goes, power steering starts leaking on the early ones (toyota decided it'd be fun to use plastic fittings off the pump on rev1 5sfes), etc....

I've gotten lucky on mine... My last one went to 218k miles before i sold it, and it still runs strong. Only leaked from the oil pan gasket, and the high pressure ps line leaked a little.

My current one has unknown miles (at least 165k) and doesn't leak a drop. Of anything.

People have been known to drive them leaking for years, just top it off, it's an easy motor to keep happy. But god forbid you run low.... S-series motors in general LOVE to spin bearings in low oil conditions. Couple that with the weak rod bolts in the 5sfe, it's no wonder i see ventilated blocks in camrys all the time in junkyards.

It's not my intent to sling mud. If anyone wants to take the Pepsi Challenge, they can go register, do a thread search for posts made by moderators and come to their own conclusion.

My personal experience was that some of the moderators are real shiny happy people. And like Dr. Hess, I have been around since it began...almost a decade...maybe it has changed recently? I don't know. I rarely visit anymore.

MR2OC is infinitely better technical resource than say NASIOC is for Subaru. But if you want to take an active role in their online community, realize that it is THEIR playground, and be prepared to kowtow.

(oh...and the MR2 Turbo is God's Own Chariot)

Tyler H wrote: (oh...and the MR2 Turbo is God's Own Chariot)

And if it's not 3sgte or V6 powered, it can get the hell out!

93celicaGT2 wrote:

Tyler H wrote: (oh...and the MR2 Turbo is God's Own Chariot)

And if it's not 3sgte or V6 powered, it can get the hell out!

...and that to me is because it's a board full of 20 somethings. I mainly hang out in the autox/road racing sections where the people are more mature and helpful. I've been on that board for about 10 years now too. :shrug:

RobL wrote:

93celicaGT2 wrote:

Tyler H wrote: (oh...and the MR2 Turbo is God's Own Chariot)

And if it's not 3sgte or V6 powered, it can get the hell out!

...and that to me is because it's a board full of 20 somethings. I mainly hang out in the autox/road racing sections where the people are more mature and helpful. I've been on that board for about 10 years now too. :shrug:

Yeah.... i understand that, and i'm really trying to to turn this into "my forum is better than your forum" :P but average active age of Celicatech is like... 20. If that. And we don't really run into that.

I wish i had a reason to go into the autox/road racing forum.... but i can't help anyone there, i don't have and have never owned an MR2. :( (which sucks, because it truly IS one of god's chariots)

I use MR2oc for the knowledge base and parts, and for that, it excels. That's all i need it for, so in my case, it does get a stamp of approval. :D

Yeah, I've done the valve cover gasket. The pan I fixed by just tightening up the pan bolts. I blew a power steering hose once, and a seal in the rack a different time. The real biatch was that O ring. It was leaking some but not too bad and I was just keeping an eye on it. Then I took it to work one day and the oil light came on 2 blocks from my office. I killed the motor and coasted into the parking lot. Dumped a gallon of oil in, stopped half way home to dump another gallon of oil in and made it home. That would be, ah, 20 miles per gallon (US) of oil. I think that's a bit excessive. It was that damn O ring. It was time for a timing belt anyway (170K, 100K on the last one). There's still a small leak from somewhere near the top, back, probably from the valve cover.

A woman at my office just bought a 2K5 Camry to replace her daughter's 96 5sfe Camry. The daughter had it at school and was coming home for the holidays. It had been leaking oil. She hadn't been checking it. It ran out on the interstate. Poof.

I almost bought a low miles 5SFE MR2 for 4 large about 3 years ago. I still kick myself for not jumping on that one. I really wanted a FWD DD car for winter days anyway. Not that we get a lot of snow/ice, but when we do, my 20v AE92 with snow tires will run down Subarus.

Dr. Hess wrote: Yeah, I've done the valve cover gasket. The pan I fixed by just tightening up the pan bolts. I blew a power steering hose once, and a seal in the rack a different time. The real biatch was that O ring. It was leaking some but not too bad and I was just keeping an eye on it. Then I took it to work one day and the oil light came on 2 blocks from my office. I killed the motor and coasted into the parking lot. Dumped a gallon of oil in, stopped half way home to dump another gallon of oil in and made it home. That would be, ah, 20 miles per gallon (US) of oil. I think that's a bit excessive. It was that damn O ring. It was time for a timing belt anyway (170K, 100K on the last one). There's still a small leak from somewhere near the top, back, probably from the valve cover. A woman at my office just bought a 2K5 Camry to replace her daughter's 96 5sfe Camry. The daughter had it at school and was coming home for the holidays. It had been leaking oil. She hadn't been checking it. It ran out on the interstate. Poof. I almost bought a low miles 5SFE MR2 for 4 large about 3 years ago. I still kick myself for not jumping on that one. I really wanted a FWD DD car for winter days anyway. Not that we get a lot of snow/ice, but when we do, my 20v AE92 with snow tires will run down Subarus.

Mmmmmmmmm delicious 20v AE92.... one of my dream projects.

I think i'm one of the few people that likes the 5sfe. A lot. Ridiculously torquey, and it's actually extremely gratifying after mods. :)

There's an n/a SW20 that keeps popping up on CL here for $700. Seems to have some nasty, but easily reversable bodywork, and a rod knock. But i've always wanted to actually BUILD a 5sfe, so this could be the chance.

I would actually imagine that the O-ring in question though... is probably the cause of most of the shot motors in junkyards. It tends to go without warning, and most people don't notice idiot lights. (if they even work on cars this old).

Count me out on the 5s, but I'm not a hater. They are cheap and plentiful at least. No sporting engine should run out of breath under 5k rpm. They are torquey.

I always thought the ae92 was a underappreciated car, though.

Its sounds like the MR2 forums mirror the Ford Probe forums I was on when I owned that car. A bunch of fools trying to paint their interior and figure out how to install headerz and the occasional person who can help and build a turboed megasquirted KL.

RobL wrote: I mean, the first thing that you have to realize that it's a bunch of 20 somethings and they interact with people differently than this forum.

Hey! I'm a 20 something (I turned 23 last week) and I interact with people on this board!

My recent purchase is a SW21 that needs a clutch. I went on mr2oc to ask about tips, etc. for a clutch install and I got a lot of "oh that job is E36 M3, pay someone to do it, seriously, it'll be the best $850 you've ever spent." I guess that was really what frustrated me the most. I'm a member of GRM, take it to a shop? What does that even mean?

Anyway, I'm not against mr2oc, I just was wondering if there were other sites.

I do have a real question now for the SW20 know-it-alls:

Mine is a T-Bar car, I want to know where the drains for the top are supposed to empty. On the passenger side, the water comes out of the quarter window vent louver. It doesn't do this on the driver's side. Normal? Seems strange to me.

Carson wrote: My recent purchase is a SW21 that needs a clutch. I went on mr2oc to ask about tips, etc. for a clutch install and I got a lot of "oh that job is E36 M3, pay someone to do it, seriously, it'll be the best $850 you've ever spent." I guess that was really what frustrated me the most. I'm a member of GRM, take it to a shop? What does that even mean? Anyway, I'm not against mr2oc, I just was wondering if there were other sites.

LOL. The MKII engine bay is tight. Most instructions for working on anything in the engine bay start with "remove engine and tranny from car." This is also part of the "swap in a 3SGTE" mentality since the engine is already out of the car to change the clutch. A $900 clutch job is within range of a $2000 engine swap...

FYI, there are no tips/tricks - that job is E36 M3. You are going to end up with most of the engine compartment strewn around your garage. Even if you don't drop the whole drivetrain, you will need to remove the exhaust, axles, disconnect coolent lines, remove the rear cross member, remove some suspension pieces, support the engine, etc. Then once you have the tranny out, you will be on your back under the middle of the car for an hour doing the clutch swap, and then another hour getting the transmission lined back up to the engine. And god help you if you didn't have the clutch alignment tool exactly centered when you tightened down the pressure plate. If you have a lift and real tools, it makes the job much easier.

Is it any worse than doing a clutch on a MK1? That wasn't too bad at all.

Dr. Hess wrote: Is it any worse than doing a clutch on a MK1? That wasn't too bad at all.

It's worse. The drivetrain on the MKII sits on a subframe that has to be removed to remove the transmission to get to the clutch. Attached to the subframe is an engine mount and suspension components (swaybar and lower control arms) - so not only do you have to remove and reattach the suspension, you really should get the car realigned when it's all said and done. Since there is an engine mount on the subframe, with the transmission and that mount removed, the engine needs to be supported. The MKI doesn't have this subframe and the suspension attaches directly to the body out of the way of the transmission. I believe that the MKI, I would have to go to the garage to check, has the engine on three mounts that connect directly to the body so the engine doesn't need to be supported when the tranny is out.

So yeah, it's a bit worse.

The Mk1 has to have the engine supported too. It only connects to the frame by the front mount, which will rotate up and down on you. The other 3 powertrain mounts are on the transmission. I could do a Mk1 in a day if I tried, or 2 days of easy wrenchin', which I prefer.

Still, I'm used to working on an Esprit. Building a ship in a bottle while hanging upside down and working behind your back would be easy by comparison, so I don't really see a MK2 clutch job as that big of a deal, but I haven't done a MK2.