How To Spot 130bhp Or 170bhp Mr2?

[Fidgits]

I've just been to test drive a Mk2 MR2, K-reg Uk car.

Now the car was in reasonable condition, didnt appear to be accident damaged/repaired

BUT

the two major problems were:

1. The clutch was slipping, quite severley, so much so, more than 25% throttle and the engine would spool freely

2. Under braking, there was a horrible judder through the pedal

Now, because of #1, i could gauge its performance, so im not sure whether is the 130bhp or the 170bhp one.

My question is, is there an obvious way of telling?

Also, the alloys werent in great condition, and some idiot had fitted Nankook tyres, and the interior has seen better days, but overall, it seemed okay.. thoughts?

[Bobby-H]

I've just been to test drive a Mk2 MR2, K-reg Uk car.

Now the car was in reasonable condition, didnt appear to be accident damaged/repaired

BUT

the two major problems were:

1. The clutch was slipping, quite severley, so much so, more than 25% throttle and the engine would spool freely

2. Under braking, there was a horrible judder through the pedal

Now, because of #1, i could gauge its performance, so im not sure whether is the 130bhp or the 170bhp one.

My question is, is there an obvious way of telling?

Also, the alloys werent in great condition, and some idiot had fitted Nankook tyres, and the interior has seen better days, but overall, it seemed okay.. thoughts?

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Just look under the engine cover, the 170bhp engine will look similar to the tubby engine but without all the pipes and stuff for the turbo and the 130 bhp engine will look different.

[islade]

OK it is easy:

first origanaly it must have cristal clear front repeters and 94+ model of tail lamps

in case somebody change it You will need to open engine trunk and see intake is not sqered it is mostly rounded, different intake system it is easily to spoted

[Bibbs]

I've just been to test drive a Mk2 MR2, K-reg Uk car.

Now the car was in reasonable condition, didnt appear to be accident damaged/repaired

BUT

the two major problems were:

1. The clutch was slipping, quite severley, so much so, more than 25% throttle and the engine would spool freely

2. Under braking, there was a horrible judder through the pedal

Now, because of #1, i could gauge its performance, so im not sure whether is the 130bhp or the 170bhp one.

My question is, is there an obvious way of telling?

Also, the alloys werent in great condition, and some idiot had fitted Nankook tyres, and the interior has seen better days, but overall, it seemed okay.. thoughts?

←

Accident damage? Catch me on MSN one evening and I'll explain where to look.

Clutch - about £100 for a kit, and a days labour.

Braking - warped disks. I've just spent about £150 a corner for good disks and pads.

Look at the engine, on the drivers side there will be a engine code (on the cam cover).

3S-GE - 154bhp (rev2) 174bhp (rev3)

3S-FE - 121bhp

The GE is a twin cam engine where the FE is single cam.

[Fidgits]

cheers Ben, the clutch (and cambelt) will be changed before purcahse.

I checked under the spare wheel and the suspension mounts in the front, and the boot/engine in the rear.

It was a '93 K (I think), and im sure it said 'twin cam' on the engine..

[Bibbs]

cheers Ben, the clutch (and cambelt) will be changed before purcahse.

I checked under the spare wheel and the suspension mounts in the front, and the boot/engine in the rear.

It was a '93 K (I think), and im sure it said 'twin cam' on the engine..

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Other sure fire way .. take the carpet off the boot wall that is on the engine side. There will be the ECU on the left side .. on the cover in nice big red letters "3S-?E"

Have a look at the chassis number (on the wheel well between the head lights) and etched into the part under the bonnet near the washer jets.

Compare it to the lists in the sticky threads, it'll tell you the revision.

[Fidgits]

the engine looked more like:

than

But yeah, i will check the labels etc if I go back. (i told them to call me when the clutch is fixed)

Lets just hope i remember... Ill catch you on MSN over the weekend Bibbs

[Fidgits]

so anyway, after your replies and giving it some thought, it would seem this one was probably the 154bhp version...

it had 140,000 miles - should i worry about this?

[EarL]

Judder under heavy breaking can also be caused by worn ball joints. A damn site easier to replace and a sh1te load cheaper too (£18 per end).

[alex_93gtuk]

140'000 is ok if its got FSH. When I was looking there were plenty of high-milers for sale.

Let me know if you want to come and see mine over the weekend if this one doesn't work out. Ill be around Sunday afternoon.

Alex

[Fidgits]

by the way Alex, which engine does yours have?

[Bibbs]

The top engine looks like a gen3 3s-GE, the bottom is defo 3s-FE ..

(sad isn't it)

[Fidgits]

The top engine looks like a gen3 3s-GE, the bottom is defo 3s-FE ..

(sad isn't it)

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no more sad than me posting pics to show which engine the car had :D :P

[Bibbs]

The top engine looks like a gen3 3s-GE, the bottom is defo 3s-FE ..

(sad isn't it)

←

no more sad than me posting pics to show which engine the car had :D :P

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It's scary how much stuff about MR2s I know .. Can't remember any A'Level/Degree level maths though ..

[Fidgits]

well, thats okay - when i drag you along to look at MR2's I dont want you to work out the cost per mile co-efficent ;)

Mind you, the insurance is interesting, from a 'straw poll', a N/A import is about twice the cost of a UK version.. but more interestingly, the Turbo is only slightly more than the N/A import....

hmmmm....

[Fizz]

well, thats okay - when i drag you along to look at MR2's I dont want you to work out the cost per mile co-efficent ;)

Mind you, the insurance is interesting, from a 'straw poll', a N/A import is about twice the cost of a UK version.. but more interestingly, the Turbo is only slightly more than the N/A import....

hmmmm....

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:!Removed!:

[mr2nut123]

yeah i noticed that aswel. i was on fone yesturday and reason imports are so high is because the parts have to come from japan so what?? and something to do with a rear fog light. they really dont know what the hell theyre on about

[Fitz]

didn't I read in the pinned section that the 130 basic model didn't have a rear spoiler or stereo or centre console? I know these can be added later though.

[m4rk scotland]

I've just been to test drive a Mk2 MR2, K-reg Uk car.

Now the car was in reasonable condition, didnt appear to be accident damaged/repaired

BUT

the two major problems were:

1. The clutch was slipping, quite severley, so much so, more than 25% throttle and the engine would spool freely

2. Under braking, there was a horrible judder through the pedal

Now, because of #1, i could gauge its performance, so im not sure whether is the 130bhp or the 170bhp one.

My question is, is there an obvious way of telling?

Also, the alloys werent in great condition, and some idiot had fitted Nankook tyres, and the interior has seen better days, but overall, it seemed okay.. thoughts?

←

im no expert on mr2s but by what your saying it doesnt sound as if the owner has looked after the car... dodgy brakes.. letting the clutch get into a terrible state ******* tyres.. i know most folk on here would take good care of their car but i recon some folk not on here really dont look after them. tell me if im speaking rubbish though, just looking out for you

[dawolf]

Hmm, that's not necessarily true. I have budget Nankang tyres on mine but I still look after it in every sense. Maybe the owner hasn't had the money to get the jobs done. Just make sure you check it over thoroughly before you buy.

[m4rk scotland]

Hmm, that's not necessarily true. I have budget Nankang tyres on mine but I still look after it in every sense. Maybe the owner hasn't had the money to get the jobs done. Just make sure you check it over thoroughly before you buy.

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well it does set alarm bells ringing though. mite well be a perfectly good car but just looks a little suspisious imo, but obviously i havnt seen the car and am just going on what Fidgits posted

[Stef Derner]

It's scary how much stuff about MR2s I know .. Can't remember any A'Level/Degree level maths though ..

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You don't know that the 3S-FE engine is a twin cam tho chap.

It's a twin cam 16 valve unit, just like the 3S-GE. The difference is that the valves sit at a different angle, relative to the head face. On the GE head they sit at about 50 degrees and the FE is more like 20. This means the air/fuel intake flow is restricted in the FE head as the gases follow a much more restrictive path than the GE. The FE is more like a flat head compared to the GE crossflow. The GE has the combustion chamber in the head with the cutouts for the valves in the piston crown and the FE has a combustion chamber dish in the piston. The cranks and rods are different too. It all results in the GE being more efficient at producing power.

GE FE differences

[Fidgits]

yeah, i did have a slight concern over the previous owner, but it was the first i looked at, and it was okay...