Mrs (japanese Import) - Engine Trouble?

[Patch_uk]

Hello - I'm new around here, so please be gentle... ;)

I bought an imported MRS at the beginning of summer (the model with the sweet body kit - man, I love this car!), but I've had nothing but trouble with the engine! It's been in the UK for a while, I'm the 4th owner, and it's now done 67,000miles. I bought the car from a garage in Swansea, and drove it back to Bristol in one go. That VVTi engine sounds wicked when you put your foot down! When I got back to Bristol, after the car had sat idle for an hour, I started it up and it sounded like ***** - I checked the oil and it was empty. (It looked like oil was spraying out of the engine and the whole engine bay was soaked). So I went to get it looked at. They told me I needed new pistons and rings - so I paid up for that (£1500!) and went about my way. The engine SEEMED to stop burning as much oil. All was well until I tried another motorway trip. Same problem - oil everywhere. So I went back and the garage told me I'd need the rear crankshaft oil seal replaced. So I forked out for that too (£250). Then, the day I picked up my car, I could hear a high pitched "whistling" sound when I accelerated. I've taken it back and they are gonna look at it tomorrow. They are hoping that it's something to do with the airbox(?) - as this is the only thing they disconnected when doing the rear crankcase seal that they think can be causing the "whistling". (The whistling is really high pitch, and is hard to hear if you are standing near the engine with the lid up. It is much easier to hear the whistling when you are sat in the car pressing the accelerator).

I'm at my wits end - I cannot possible spend anymore on this car! It looks amazing, though. It's black and the bodywork is immaculate!

This is my point (finally!) - do you think it is worth keeping the car? Or do you think it is only going to get worse? I'm also a little worried about some of the wiring in the engine. One of the wires that is connected to the heat shield is showing some bare wire. I'm tempted just to put some tape around it and hope for the best. Is this a good (!) idea?

[Jinxed]

This is my point (finally!) - do you think it is worth keeping the car? Or do you think it is only going to get worse?

i can empathise with your dilemma having been in a very similar situation when i got my mk2....

I guess by my way of thinking....

its not going to get worse as jobs get done on her only better...

i very much doubt your going to recoup the money you've already spent so far if you bail out now...

maybe ... just maybe youve had the worst of it and bar small things your getting on top of it now...

you sound happy about the idea of owning the car, minus problems ofc, maybe get it inspected and safety checked then see where you stand with it before making a decision?

best of luck sorting and enjoying her

[cfc1]

Get the garage to check the Pre-Cats, these are located in the manifold.. take out the O2 sensor, you should see a honeycomb formation.. if this is damaged then you will need a new engine. The pre-cats are made of a ceramic material and if the brake up the bits get sucked into the chamber ruining the engine.

More can be read here http://www.mr2roc.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=11393 (site is down atm.. but check it asap)

If you do get the engine replaced you would also need to change the main cat aswell.

If this is the cause of your problems, then you either get rid of the car or take the opportunity to fit a 2ZZ engine and put a bigger smile back on your face.

Edit:

If you can't get that link to work.. a Google search of pre-cat failure mr2/mrs will give a lot of results..

[Patch_uk]

What's a 2ZZ engine? And how much will one set me back?

I got the car back today - whistling is gone and the engine sounds sweet. I'm happy. But still the doubt is there whether I should get rid of it or not...

Regarding the ceramic pre-cats - if they fail, do all the broken peices of ceramic shoot into the engine and go BANG! Engine ****** for good? Or do they break down gradually and cause wear/damage to the engine in that way?

Thanks for the tip on the other MRS site - it's still playing up , but I'll definitely take a look when it's back up. If the pre-cats have already deteriorated and caused damge to the engine, would removing them only limit any further damage? If I tale it to my local garage and ask them to take out the pre-cats, will they be able to tell if there is any damage to the engine that has already been caused? (Bearing in mind they've already had the car once for servicing and onc for an MOT...)

Nice site you guys have here - I think I'll stick around. I'll stick up some pics of my '2 soon... (I'm giving it a good polish this weekend - so I'll post it up then).

[cfc1]

IF your pre-cars HAVE failed.. it's goodbye engine, the ceramic gradually brakes up and the engine drinks oil, basically it can be fixed by getting a new short block and main cat.. but unless it's under warranty, then forget it as you could get a good 2nd hand 2ZZ-GE engine for cheaper.

The 2ZZ engine is fitted to quite a few cars.. Celica, Corolla T-Sport to name two Toyota's I know of (could be others) and also fitted in the Lotus Exige and Exige S.

The link I posted above is back online now... however 90% of the information seems to have gone. I have sent a message to the original poster asking if it can be put back.

[Black Knight]

Engine in your current car is a 1ZZ - 1.8L VVTi (variable valve timing) - 140bhp

2ZZ is a 1.8L VVTLi (Variable valve timing and lift) - 190bhp

[Patch_uk]

Hey all - I have another engine problem... I've got a slight rattle coming from the engine when I'm pulling away, and when the revs are quite low. It's a low, dull kind of rattle. Has anyone had any experience of this?

Also - my car is really suffering from the wet getting in, and condensation. I've tracked down the water leak to the passenger side window. There is a little peice of plastic that sticks out on the angled side of the window. This is missing on the passenger side and water is getting in - causing my car to smell like a pond! Does anyone have a part no. for the peice of plastic? Is it available as a spare (nd easy to fit), or will I have to get a whole new seal set?

The engines running fine now (besides the rattle!) - but I've still got the fear that the pre-cats are gonna fail. I want to have them taken out. Does it effect the emissions enough that the car will fail the MOT? I know the pre-cats are there for when the engine is cold...

I'm buying some 17" alloys for the car soon (black - I'll post pics). Will I want wider tyres on the back? (The tyres that come with the wheels are 205/40/17). Also - is there enough clearance for 17 wheels, bearing in mind my MR-S has been lowered?

Phew - sorry about the long post guys!

[cfc1]

I can't help with the window issue.. sorry, but... removing the pre-cats will slightly affect the emissions, but not enough for it to fail the MOT (at least not on their own.. perhaps in conjunction with other problems) The pre-cats were put in so that the car would pass the American emissions tests which are more stringent than ours... or at least thats what I'm led to beleive.

Don't know if you noticed this on here....

http://toyotaownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=70844

It all the info on the pre-cat issue.

17" wheels.. DO NOT put 4 tyres of the same size on the car.. it will lead to handling problems. The car is standard with a staggered set up with wider tyres on the back.. and the reason is the handling. A staggered setup is essential unless you want the possibilty of ending up in a ditch.

I have 17" on mine.. I have 205/40x17 on the front and 215/40x17 on the rear. After I fitted them I noticed that the car was very light at the front and became unstable at high speed... upon further investigation I found that this was caused by too much air getting under the car and the little wind deflectors that sit just infront of the front wheels couldn't cope with it... more air getting under the car was caused by the 17" wheels as they raised the overall height of the car.. to solve this I fitted a set of lowering springs (I opted for Tiens) and this made the car feel as planted as it was before, so IF you go for 17", get a staggered setup and lower the car by about 30mm.

[Patch_uk]

Thanks for the response, cfc1. My car is already slammed to the ground. I've parked up next to an MR2 the same reg as mine in the past, and mine is MUCH lower. Some good advice re: the staggered tyres, I'll surely be getting the wider tyres on the back now!

I'm sure I'll get the pre-cats taken out now. It looks like the closest place top Bristol I can get them done is Bridgewater - so I'll be getting that done soon.

Guess I'll be bodging a fix with marine adhesive for the window/seal/tab...

[Patch_uk]

I'm worried about the rattle from the engine when I pull away at low revs. Are there any common faults (covers coming loose, etc, etc...) that I should know about?

[GIDDLEPIN]

You could check the heat shields on your exhaust system as they are prone to coming loose ;)

WATER LEAK INFO

Les