The MR2 Repair Blog

A helpful tip

2010-09-13T02:54:00.002-04:00

I just got back from a late-night drive down my favorite road. It has many miles of tight twists and turns; it gives you and your car a workout.

As I was driving, I was reminded of one of the greatest pieces of driving advice I've ever received.

I was at a Mazda autocross event a few years back, waiting to take a Mazdaspeed6 through its paces when the track official shared this with us:

No matter how good your car is, or how good of a driver you are, remember that you are still bound by the laws of physics.

You have friction (traction). You need to balance out how you're using that friction.

The key to effective driving/autocrossing is always using 100% of the traction available at any time. It must be divided among accelerating, braking, and steering. You can't be using 90% on braking while attempting to steer with another 60%. It's not physically possible.

That piece of advice has since made me a much better (and smoother) driver. I respect the laws and limits of physics and have learned how to use them to my advantage.

Thought I'd share that piece of advice with anyone who still reads this blog.

PS. In case you were wondering, by applying that advice, I beat the target time in the Mazda (42.5 seconds) by .3 seconds - one of the few to do so on their first drive in the car.

What happened to the MR2?

2010-05-05T19:47:00.002-04:00

Don't worry, it's still doing fine. This semester was a tough one, plus nobody felt like hiring me for part-time work. So cash was quite scarce, meaning that the MR2 didn't get the love it deserved.

However, while digging through the State Street Junkyard, I came across an MR2, heaped on top of a Celica GT-S (a wonderful car, by the way.) Somebody had already taken most of the good stuff, but I did find a few valuable parts.

1) A trunk helper spring, to keep my rear trunk from falling down when open
2) The hard-to-find C-pillar speaker covers!

MR2's were originally sold with only two speakers, located on the dashboard just beneath the windshield. In later years, they were offered with two additional speakers, located just behind your head on the C-pillars. I believe it was an extra-cost option.

It looked like someone else had tried to pry them off, but I succeeded. Since my stereo is already wired for rear speakers, I just need to buy some and install them in the fall.

Total cost at the junkyard: $10

Right now, the MR2 is in Utah, anxiously awaiting my return in a top-secret, high security bunker. I do miss it, but there are good things in store for me here in NH. Stay tuned for more details.

2010 Update

2010-01-11T00:42:00.002-05:00

Being out of a job, there just isn't money to put towards my car right now. But for Christmas, my parents bought me two new rear tires. They're wonderful. I now have brand new rubber on all four corners, what a difference it makes! It's quieter, smoother, and handles great. Thanks, Mom & Dad!

Now, judging by the slowly decreasing fuel mileage here in Utah, methinks it is time for a major tune-up - the first I've done since buying the car. I'm sure that having the car stored for three years then driving cross-country for a week and a half didn't help much.

With the hope that I'll find a job soon, expect some details of a spring tune-up to appear on the blog. Items of business include the ignition system, valve clearance adjustment with a new valve cover gasket, air filter, transaxle fluid change, and a new throttle position sensor (as mine is dying), among other odds and ends.

Great news - the local car graveyard has an MR2 in a convenient location. Among other parts still on it, it has the C-pillar speakers available on post '87 MR2's. I'm more than a little excited to snag those before someone else does as my car is already wired for rear speakers.

That's the news. Until next time (when I have more $)!

Automobile update

2009-11-05T13:38:00.003-05:00

There haven't been any updates lately because I haven't had the time nor the money to drive, nor do any repairs. However, I did purchase a new set of front tires - Sumitomo HTR200s. They're doing well - good grip!

I also took the time/money to get a full alignment, and I guess three years of NH roads really took a toll on my alignment. It was ridiculously out of whack and took a meaty $120 to get it straight again.

Of course, that drained my bank account. Sadly, the job market in the valley is inbelievable. 50,000 college students > job opportunities. So for now, the gas in my tank right now is the last until I get a job. So long "personal stress-relieving drives."

The rest of the road trip pics...

2009-09-17T04:40:00.001-04:00

Are now uploaded. I haven't added captions so some might not make sense for the time being. But I'll get around to it. They're still cool to look at.

http://picasaweb.google.com/scgood7

Darn tariffs...

2009-09-15T06:38:00.002-04:00

So starting this Friday, the US is going to impose stronger tariffs on the importation of Chinese car tires. That doesn't really bother me, as Chinese tires are usually of shoddy quality.

However, because of this I do expect the prices of all tires to increase.

It is looking like I'll go ahead and purchase a pair of tires (Sumitomos - from Japan) that I was holding out on before the week's end. I'd rather be safe than sorry, and I need them anyways.

Oh man...new tires. I love new tires. Add two new performance tires with a desperately needed alignment and my car's handling is going to show a noticeable improvement. I'll take pics of the old tires before they're scrapped to show what bad alignment can do to good tires. (Hint...it's not pretty).

Day three's adventures!

2009-09-13T04:26:00.003-04:00

Because I'm such a nice guy, here are the pics from day three. With TWO videos!

This day was very much centered around LDS sites - hope you learn something interesting!

http://picasaweb.google.com/scgood7/Day3FayetteNYToKirtlandOH?feat=directlink

Pictures of day two!

2009-09-13T03:14:00.002-04:00

Slow and steady wins the race. Here's the batch for day two (with a video...since some of you seem to really like those.)

http://picasaweb.google.com/scgood7/Day2CooperstownNYToFayetteNY?feat=directlink

Pictures and Video from Day 1 of the Road Trip!

2009-09-07T02:45:00.001-04:00

Click here to check it all out! Sorry it took so long - college can be like that.

http://picasaweb.google.com/scgood7/Day1NHtoCoopNY?authkey=Gv1sRgCIPa7PD41sO9QQ&feat=directlink

I haven't died...I promise

2009-08-21T14:35:00.002-04:00

"Do you guys have 'wi-fi'?"

I might as well have been speaking a foreign language. Well, that's what I get for taking the rural routes throughout America.

Roadtrippin': Day 1

2009-08-14T14:07:00.003-04:00

Greenfield, NH to Cooperstown, NY
Miles traveled: 231 miles
Hills traveled over: 150,000

First thing you'll notice is that I'm a little behind on my posts. As I write this, I'm in the middle of day three's journey. It turns out that Avon, NY is the first place I've seen so far with advertised free wi-fi (minus a weak signal in downtown Cooperstown). And before I could write day 2, my battery died. So, perhaps tonight I'll get the time to upload my videos and post about day 2.

Day one was a great day. I left a little later than I had hoped from home due to some last minute details, but upon setting off, it felt great to be on the open road. The drive through New Hampshire was a tour through familiar territory. It was bittersweet that it was the last time my car would carve down New Hampshire's winding forest roads.

The jaunt across Vermont was cool and cloudy - perfect for taking pictures. Route 9 crosses through some incredible views. The dark green mountains, crystal lakes, and pristine scenery quickly filled my camera's memory stick. If you have a motorcycle or sports car, I strongly recommend making Route 9 a day trip.

New York brought more hills but less trees. Instead, fertile plains and farmlands replaced the Vermont's abundance of trees. The day concluded in Cooperstown, New York. If you're a baseball fan, you know exactly what I mean. For those of you who are less interested in the sport, Cooperstown is home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and is the location where baseball (as we know it today) was "invented". Baseball season is year-round in this town! Shops, signs, and sights line Main Street as baseball fans from around the country make the trek to pay respects to their personal heroes.

I spent the night at the Glimmerglass State Park which rests on the beautiful Lake Otswego on the border of Cooperstown, and that was the day.

Pictures and a video to follow shortly!

And I'm off!

2009-08-12T12:21:00.002-04:00

So long New Hampshire. It's been great. But now it's time to return to the west.

Thanks for joining me on my roadtrip. I'm sure it will be fun for both you and I. Check back often for pictures, videos, and the random thoughts that 40 hours alone in a car will inspire.

Today is a bit of a late start (certain circumstances prevented me from leaving earlier), but what the hey...better late than never.

And the unexpected theme of today's journey is...baseball. You'll understand it better when I report back.

Preparations

2009-08-10T00:43:00.006-04:00

Thankfully, the closer I get to departing, the more sure of this trip I feel. Whew! It helps that some of the issues with my car are fixing themselves. That coolant leak? It has decided to stop for the moment. Odd, I know. And my gas mileage has improved after reinflating my tires - I'm now at 39 miles per gallon in mixed conditions. I've decided to keep my anti-roll bar uninstalled until I reach Utah as the ride is much more comfortable over rough pavement. Handling has decreased, but this trip will cover many miles of open highway so I'll appreciate the increased comfort. So far, so good.

To update you on my planned departure date, it has been moved forward two days to Wednesday morning. Due to prior engagements, I was unable to do much preparing over the weekend, so I'll be using Monday and Tuesday to get myself and the car ready. It's still not a big deal, as I have 12 days to arrive in Utah - plenty of time to stop and see stuff.

Just so you know, I'll be using US-20 for most of the trip. It conveniently begins near Fenway Park in Boston and crosses the northern half of the country to Oregon. I'll hop off at or near Idaho Falls, Idaho, then head south on I-15 until reaching Provo. Estimated total distance (minus my sidetracks): ~2,600 miles
Map: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/US_20_map.png

As far as good news goes - my shopping list is going to be very short. My dad has been a great help in getting me prepared. He did this when he was in college, though he chose to ride his BMW motorcycle coast-to-coast through the back woods of Canada and back. Like father like son, I guess. I'll be using his tent (I think it's the same one he used for his own trip) and his gas stove, which will save me around $200 in prep costs. He's also offered to help pay for gas equivalent to the cost of flying me out to school, so that's another $200 in savings. Blessings? I think so.

I'm doing some shopping tomorrow at EMS (Eastern Mountain Sports). I've had a $100 gift card burning a hole in my wallet for about 3 years, so I might get a few little niceties for the trip.

As far as lodging goes, I've decided to purchase an annual National Park pass for $80. Many National Parks offer free camping for tenters, making it quite the bargain (vs. around $10 per night at a normal campsite). Plus, it waives all National Park entrance fees, allowing me more freedom to see the sites.

For food - the camp stove and a mess kit will allow me to avoid fast-food and take-out restaurants for the most part. A stop at Walmart every couple of days will keep my food stock replenished.

I'm very excited for this opportunity to enjoy the sights, smells, and tastes America has to offer. Plus, the time to myself for self-reflection will prove highly beneficial.

Visit the blog often for videos, pictures, and my experiences on the open road.

Oh my goodness...

2009-08-04T00:30:00.004-04:00

What a sexy bike. I want it!

But I can't always have what I want. Patience...it's a virtue.

Documenting the road trip

2009-08-03T00:04:00.003-04:00

So, uh, I figure that if I'm going to go through the odd experience of driving a little old car 3/4 of the way across the country, I might as well document it some how. But blogging with words can only express so much.

Therefore I have decided to give videoblogging a try and vlog my daily experiences, then post them up as soon as reasonably possible for everyone to watch.

As I make my way across the USA seeing the sights, meeting new people, and probably breaking down, you're all welcome to come along for the journey. In the next few days, I'll be figuring out the best way to take video, where and how to upload it, and get it on the site, so there might be some random videos between now and the time I leave. But I hope to get the kinks worked out before embarking to Utah.

This is going to be fun(ny).

More repairs

2009-07-28T14:52:00.003-04:00

With D-Day rapidly approaching, I'm trying to repair as many issues as finances will afford while still leaving money left over for the journey.

Of course...there's always the unexpected.

Today I decided to tackle a few things. Yesterday I patched up the two small exhaust leaks that were annoying me more than anything. It set really well, and is solid once again. Eventually I'll just replace the pipes, but just not right now.

I re-sealed the coolant drain plug, which was already leaking. I guess the silicone was temp-rated high enough for it. I put the hi-temp Ultra Copper and made a gasket out of material I had lying around, so it should do the trick.

I pulled the rear tires off the car to inspect the rear sway bar. In the process of loosening the end links, I broke a bolt (surprise, surprise...I should lay off the steroids for a while) so that means I'll go ahead and make the order today from Aaron in Oregon. Until then, I'll just run the car sans roll-bar. It will help me realize the difference in handling with and without a roll-bar (the '86 was produced without a roll bar, mine was retrofitted with the bar from the '85 for more balanced handling).

And I'm sure the list goes on. There are like six bolts I need to extract for plastic underbody pieces, but I'll do that a bit later.

Right now, I'm going to take the Mazda to Kimball's for some well-deserved ice cream.

If it's not one thing...

2009-07-17T20:19:00.005-04:00

Well, bad things come in pairs.

1. After work today, I peered under my car, and found a few drops of oil beneath the oil pan. So it looks like something didn't seal correctly (or some sealant was rubbed off when I mounted the oil pan). Boo...I'll just do an external patch from the source since it's leaking at about a drop per two hours. It could be one of the bolts as well, which is understandable.

2. My alternator/water pump (serpentine) belt snapped. Double boo! Hopefully it was just a freak accident, and not because of a frozen alternator or water pump. If my alternator seized, no big deal. I'll just replace it. If my water pump seized, I'm going to replace the timing belt at the same time since it's all in the same place. We'll find out when I look at it tomorrow.

Some pics from lunch

2009-07-15T21:07:00.004-04:00

Yesterday I decided to have lunch on the banks of the Merrimack River in Hooksett, since it was about 2 minutes from where I was having my motorcycle course. And since I had my camera on me, I took some pictures! Of the car, of course.

Great news!

2009-07-11T23:29:00.002-04:00

I won the PayPal case against the eBay scammer. Remember that speedometer cable I ordered two months ago that never arrived? Yep, it's been taken care of.

My money is being returned, and I won't have to deal the issue anymore.

My faith in PayPal has been renewed.

The oil pan project

2009-07-09T22:00:00.004-04:00

Yep - it looks great. But the metal sure is thick! I can't believe that the leaky oil pan rusted through all that metal. Oh well, it's right out in the open, and 23 years takes its toll on metal.

Here's the game plan for tomorrow morning's repair:

Put the car on the ramps.
Drain all the oil as if it were an oil change.
Wrestle with the bolts that hold the oil pan to the engine.
Take a break after it ticks me off.
Return and remove the oil pan, scrape off the old gasket.
Set the new gaskets, then bolt on the new oil pan.
Refill the car with new oil and a new oil filter.
Go for a drive and leak oil no more!

Estimated total time of repair...four hours. Actual time of repair...four hours and some change. Average skill level needed (1 being filling your tires with air, 10 being a complete engine rebuild): 5
Patience level required: 7.5

100 M&M's says that I break a few rusted bolts in the process (making step 4 a lot longer).

UPDATE: Everything has been disassembled in two hours. So I'm making good time (according to my estimate. I was right about step four, but thankfully no bolts broke. I was just angry that I might have had to uninstall my exhaust, but I squeezed the pan out with millimeters to spare. I've got to pick up some RTV hi-temp silicone or a similar product on the way to work to finish this job, so everything will have to wait until Saturday.

Pics!

The part that has to be replaced. If you have ever changed your oil before, this part will look familiar to you - it's where the oil is drained (from that bolt). It is held in place 19 bolts and two studs. They were only torqued to about 4 ft/lbs, so they came off unbelievably easy.

With the pan and baffle removed, you can see into the inner workings of the car. This is from below the cylinder block. You can see the crankshaft, the counterbalances, and the four individual cylinder bores. The MR2 fires two cylinders at a time, so the outer cylinders are right now at the top of their cycle, while the middle two are at the bottom.

You can see the bottom of cylinder #4 at the top of its cycle.

UPDATE: Project completed

Apply Ultra Copper RTV gasket maker to the parts...

And here it is all screwed back together!

Technical stuff: Performing a cylinder compression test

2009-07-06T12:52:00.006-04:00

Want to find out how solid your engine is? Perform a compression test. It's quick and easy!

Performing a compression test:

Obtain an engine compression tester kit (see below). Borrow one from a friend, buy one, or try renting one from Autozone (it might even be free, or they'll do it for you).
Open your hood and pull the wires from your spark plugs (all of them).
Remove one spark plug (using the proper tools) and screw in the compression tester.
Go try to start your car (it won't start) for a few seconds
Return to the engine compartment and record the reading on the gauge (____ psi).
Replace the spark plug and move to the next cylinder.
Repeat the above steps until all cylinders have been tested.

Calculating your cylinder compression:

Find out the standard compression ratio for your car when new (listed in your owner's manual, or online). For example, my MR2 has a compression ratio of 9.4:1. This varies by car model.
Estimate the atmospheric pressure of where you live. At sea-level, this is 14.7 psi. At a higher altitude, like in Provo, the atmospheric pressure is 12.46 psi.
Multiply your ideal compression ratio by the atmospheric pressure. For me, adjusted to my altitude this would be 9.4 x 14.43 psi = 135.64 psi. This is the ideal value that my cylinders should show when performing the compression test.
Do the math for where you live, then compare the results you found in your tests to your ideal number. Expect some variance due to your testing instrument, the tightness of the fit of the tester in the cylinder head (where the plugs screw-in to). I'd say that a variance of 15 psi between cylinders and the ideal compression is normal.

So now, what does all this mean?

Using my car as an example, I got a read of 130 psi on all four cylinders. Since my ideal compression is 135psi, I'd say that everything is looking good.

Low compression in one or all cylinders can mean a few things:
- You may not be doing the test right, or your meter is faulty. Get a second opinion with a different meter or have a friend give it a shot
- Bad news, low compression usually means that one or more of the following are faulty: bad piston seals, rings, valve seals, the piston itself, cylinder walls, head gasket. These are expensive repairs, usually requiring an engine overhaul.

If it's your car, you might want to start considering other options as it's only a matter of time before your car experiences a semi-catastrophic break down.

This is a great test to perform when purchasing a used car. It's quick and no seller worth his salt would refuse you performing the test. And it tells so much about the car's health that you can't see from a test drive or by looking at the engine. If you find a used car that fails the compression test, run like heck! Do not spend another minute with the car. And don't even think about buying it!

I just performed a compression check and all four cylinders are nice and tight at 130psi each (135psi is the ideal).

The mysterious oil leak has been solved!

2009-07-06T11:21:00.003-04:00

Well, at least one part of it. After a crawl under the engine, it seems that the oil pan has rusted through in one part, allowing collected oil to seep through and drip onto the pavement. It explains the lack of burning oil - it's below the whole engine.

Of course, I still think there is another leak (or a few) mainly due to the fact that a car sitting three years doesn't do wonders to gaskets and seals. But this was the major leak and I'm glad that I found it and it's quite easy to replace. I'll be making a new gasket for it, as well as replacing the drain plug gasket to ensure that everything is tight down there. Then I'll hunt for the next one.

Just ordered the parts on RockAuto.com

New oil pan + new oil pan gasket + shipping
Total repair cost: $62.00

Did you know...

2009-07-03T17:32:00.003-04:00

A white helmet reduces the chances of an accident with another vehicle by 24%?

It's true! But black helmets outsell white helmets 20-to-1.

It's silver, but it sure does look good. Don't worry, it's on the "To Buy" list.

Mileage vs. comfort

2009-07-01T20:06:00.004-04:00

Fuel economy wars: New school vs. old school

A great article by Automobile magazine comparing the fuel economy of the current model hybrids, the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight, to a compact from over 20 years ago, the Honda CRX HF.

Adjusted to modern fuel economy testing standards, the CRX HF would reach 40 miles-per-gallon (mpg) in the city, 48 on the highway.

The Honda Insight, with the assistance of supplemental batteries, regenerative braking, and other technological wonders can only reach 40 mpg in the city and 43 on the highway.

Now, the Insight does offer creature comforts such as LCD screens, ABS, airbags, air-conditioning, power accessories, and seating for five, but isn't the whole point of hybrids to maximize fuel efficiency? The original Insight was great at this - small and minimalistic with two doors, but it returned around 60 mpg on a regular basis.

Sadly, much like the average American, cars tend to grow wider and heavier with each passing year, and hybrids are no exception. How much do you actually need in a car, anyways? The more accessories we pack into cars, the more they weigh which is counterproductive to the hypermiler. You don't see marathon runners wearing backpacks, do you?

However, the CRX HF is toast in an accident. With only the seatbelts and a prayer to protect the occupants, being run down by a pickup truck will not end favorably for the CRX. Modern cars offer multiple systems and technologies to protect the driver and passengers, and such is the trade-off. Until technologies improve, safety and comfort will come at the cost of mileage.

PS, after my first full tank of gas the MR2 earned 35 miles per gallon in mixed conditions (freeway, city traffic, stop-and-go, and some idling).

Update: eBay Scam

2009-06-30T22:09:00.004-04:00

Well, it has been a while since I've brought up the scam in which I have become involved. As you remember, I purchased a used speedometer cable in mid-May from a seller. As time passed, no product was received. I filed a PayPal dispute two weeks ago, but decided to escalate that dispute to a claim.

Upon researching the seller's feedback history, it appears that I was not alone in the scam. Seven other MR2 owners purchased used parts in the last month and have yet to receive them. They are also seeking reimbursement.

Of course, this only strengthens my case, but exposes a few places where I could have been better prepared.

Here are some tips if you plan on making large purchases on eBay or eBayMotors:

Always pay with your credit card!
Consider using PayPal, especially if the auction is covered under their Buyer's Protection guarantee. Beware, not all auctions carry this guarantee.
Record all communications between you and the seller. Do not delete emails, as this will help strengthen your case if you need to make a claim against a fraudulent seller. Take a screenshot of the original auction page. If the seller deletes it, you will still have a record of the terms of service.
Do not agree to any additional fees or charges outside of those made clear in the auction's details. Winning an auction enters both you and the seller into a legally binding contract. You need to fulfill your responsibilities and so does the seller. Any additional fees must be included in the original auction's details (check the fine print as well). If the seller requires previously unmentioned additional fees to be paid before shipping the item, file a PayPal or eBay dispute, as he is in breach of contract.
Strongly consider NOT ordering "shipping insurance" if you doubt the seller's integrity. This doesn't protect you, it only protects the seller, the one who orders the insurance. If your item is broken in transit, the seller is the one who is refunded the value of the item. It is dependant on his good-will to refund your purchasing amount to you. If he's a scammer, he just made "x" dollars from you, plus another "x' dollars on the insurance you purchased.

Thankfully, I was smart about four out of five of the above listed tips. I made the mistake of breaking tip #3, and provided him with an extra $3 for a signature upon delivery option for my item, as I had to change my listed shipping address after paying him through PayPal. That is $3 I will not receive as a refund, as it is a seperate charge on my account, and I would have to file a seperate dispute and claim through PayPal.

So, like the Latin used to say, Caveat emptor - "Let the buyer beware."

As if one project car isn't enough...

2009-06-29T03:59:00.005-04:00

About a month ago, I was off on a bike ride. The thing I like about riding my bike is that it moves quick enough to keep me entertained (unlike jogging), but slow enough that I can pay attention to things in the landscape that I normally miss when driving.

While biking down the road that passes my church building, I looked off to the right and saw a car sitting in the woods, half-hidden by the foliage. I instantly recognized it as a silver Datsun Z. I kept on riding, then decided to turn around to get a better look.

Upon closer inspection, I found that it was a Datsun 260Z. While the earlier 240Z is more popular among restorers and buyers, the 260Z was a mid-model "upgrade" it retained the gorgeous body shape and simplistic styling, unlike the later 280ZX that retained the gorgeous body shape and simplistic styling, but added slight engine modifications; an increase in displacement from 2.4 to 2.6 liters but a decrease in horsepower due to emissions regulations.

I consider the 240/260Z to be one of the most beautiful cars to ever come from Japan. You can clearly see how it draws styling cues from the classic Jaguar E-Type, with it's long engine compartment and gently sloping roofline.

In a time when American cars were slow, ugly, and handled like the shipping barges, the Datsun was low-slung, fast, and incredibly attractive. Surprisingly, after over thirty years, it still looks stunning. My father owned a green 240Z during his college years and still considers it one of the best cars he's ever owned.

As I stood there admiring this neglected Datsun, my mind started racing with all the possibilites: a full restoration and repaint, engine modifications, body work, etc. I was ready to walk up to the guy's house and buy it right on the spot.

But of course, after a few minutes of fantasizing, reality took hold. First off, according to the license plates, the car hadn't been driven since 2000 (in Colorado). Meaning that it had been sitting for almost 10 years. I also know that it snows in Colorado, which means that road salt is probably used. These cars are highly susceptible to rust (it's how my Dad's 240Z died). Second, I'm heading off to Utah in a little over a month. I wouldn't get to work on it until next summer, so it would be sitting in the woods annoying my parents for a whole year. After a large amount of mental warfare, I mounted my bike and continued my ride, dismissing the whole idea as an irrational decision.

But you know that when it comes to cars, I'm highly irrational.

Datsun 260Z

Jaguar E-Type

Datsun 240Z with Nissan 350Z

Goal reached

2009-06-28T01:41:00.004-04:00

One goal I had was to take the MR2 to the seacoast after bringing it back to life. And today, I made it! Ice cream at York and a clambake in Kittery.

I love it when things go your way.

Funny enough, I didn't get any pics of it as proof. Darn...I guess I'll have to make another trip up there.

EDIT: But somebody else did snap a picture. And of course, I had to make a ridiculous face.

As promised...a video!

2009-06-25T00:54:00.004-04:00

Here it is. Two months of extensive, occasionally frustrating labor, some odd amount of money (I haven't added up the expenses yet), and quite a bit of prayer and divine intervention.

The result? Watch below!

Stretching its legs from Sean G. on Vimeo.

*Video notes: This is not my first drive in the car. I drove it for about an hour locally two days ago just to make sure that if it broke down, I was within range of home.

This is my usual commute to work. In the video, I drive alongside a river, then pass through a small town called Wilton. I didn't get to wind the motor up, mainly due to the people in front of me and the small town. The speed limit was obeyed at all times.

That buzzing is a vibrating storage compartment - a little green felt thingy fell off, and it's driving me crazy (it's right by my ear). So that'll be fixed shortly. The suspension sounds loud on the asphalt cracks due to my worn sway bar drop links. Those are slated to be replaced as well.

It passed inspection!

2009-06-23T10:12:00.002-04:00

Hurrah! He mentioned the rear sway bar drops as an area of concern, but I already had that on my shopping list. He said the oil pan might need a replacement soon as well. I'm not looking forward to that, as it requires removal of the exhaust system. Blah.

Well, I'm washing the pollen off of it, then taking it for a drive to break in the brake pads and make sure nothing falls apart on me.

Success!

2009-06-22T14:52:00.004-04:00

After four hours of wrestling wires, cables, and mice, the speedometer cable has been installed and is functional.

The dashboard is all back together.

And the car starts and runs (a blown fuse was the culprit).

UPDATE: I took advantage of the 1.5 hours the town clerk was open today to get the car registered. I got new license plates because apparently mine are "too old to re-register." It has only been 6 years since I got them. Oh well, they'll go on the wall on the shed. Vehicle registration fees (taxes) have increased considerably since I left on my mission. But once again, there's not much to do about it. I'll try to get Tom (my mechanic) to squeeze me in for an early morning inspection tomorrow, then hopefully I'll be done and legal.

Edit: I forgot to mention a small new problem - no temperature gauge. I'm guessing the connector in the engine worked itself loose, as I was checking it out not too long ago. So I'm off to troubleshoot that, and put on a new windshield wiper.

Monday's plan

2009-06-22T02:19:00.002-04:00

I'm putting it all back together.

But will it start? That's the $100 question.

And will it ever stop raining? I'm going to have to don scuba gear just to crawl under the car.

Best news

2009-06-19T14:51:00.002-04:00

The new cable from Oregon arrived today, a full day earlier than expected. Wow!

So guess what I'll be doing tomorrow morning before work. Yep, putting my car back together.

Now about that whole "it doesn't start" issue, let's hope that gets resolved quickly.

Today's repair (and a hunch)

2009-06-16T20:19:00.003-04:00

Having great faith in Aaron, I can expect the new cable at the end of this week, or on Monday depending on how fast (or slow) the delivery guy drives.

So I went ahead and removed the old speedometer cable. And oh what a feat it was. First off, my car is stranded in the shed (more on that in a second), so I can't work on it in my usual, level location. I couldn't jack it up because it sits too close to the ground for the jack to slide under it. Using the clutch interlock button behind the pedal, I used the starter motor to power the car up on ramps. Then began the real fun.

Using twine as a trail of bread crumbs, I pulled the cable out from front to back, the twine acting as a reminder to me of where the cable is supposed to go. It dips under and over, around and around through underbody pieces and between unidentified tubes. After about an hour of being under the car, wriggling my arm between the engine and firewall (covering my arm in grease), it was all done. Putting it back together should actually be a bit easier - knock on wood.

EDIT: I'm going to hold out on my hunch about the fuel pump. There's just too many other variables right now, especially without an instrument panel. Once I get that re-installed, I'll be able to see if there are any check engine codes or if my fuel gauge is just on "E".

Connections rock

2009-06-12T18:00:00.005-04:00

I knew Aaron from Lithia Toyota would come through for me. Because I'm an MR2 Owner's Club member, he can get me a $210 part for $160 shipped. And customer service is the best as well.

UPDATE 1: So James in PA has probably left the country with my $65 by now. Note to everyone who uses eBay - pay with a credit card. Should something like this happen, it is much easier to contest and/or reverse charges like this. Thankfully I put this on my Mastercard, so if it isn't resolved through eBay/PayPal, my bank will be on them like a fat kid on cake.

UPDATE 2: I called Lithia Toyota in Springfield, Oregon and ordered the part for $161 shipped. As a comparison, the quote given to me at Toyota of Keene was $210 for the part alone, so I made off pretty good. Delivery is expected Saturday or Monday, so this could mean my car will be useable next week (assuming that it's only out of gas and not something more serious).

And I opened a PayPal dispute with James, hoping to get my $65 back for this non-nonexistent part of his. We'll see how that goes.

More updates when the part is received.

Plan B

2009-06-10T19:06:00.003-04:00

It has now been nearly a month since I won the bidding on the speedometer cable, and still nothing. So I've already begun plan B (we can call it "Operation Get My Money Back"). I emailed Lithia Toyota in Oregon asking for a price quote on the part, hoping that it will undercut my local Toyota dealer by a significant amount. There's a guy in the service department out there who cuts good deals for members of the MR2 Owner's Club, of which I am a part. I'm currently awaiting his reply.

And tonight I'm giving the eBay seller one last shot to contact me before I request a refund, file a claim on eBay, or refute the charge through my credit card. You can't say that I haven't been patient. Looking at the small print, he said himself on the eBay listing (which is part of a binding contract), "Items will be shipped 1 day after payment clears."

He himself admitted that he was late in shipping the item, which in itself is a breach of contract. The fact that one month has passed and I have yet to receive the item is unacceptable. In fact, I still have not received proof that it was shipped in the first place - he has not provided me with a shipment tracking number which I requested a week and a half ago.

I'll keep you all informed on the developing story. I just don't want to be out over $70 with nothing to show for it.

A funny thing happened to me on the way to...

2009-06-06T18:41:00.002-04:00

I think I ran out of gas. In my driveway.

I was just about to park it in the shed before it rained, and it died on me. Of course, my instrument panel is in the dining room so I won't find out how much gas I don't have until I reattach it. Until then, I guess I'll just have to push it to cover.

Haha, watch it be something serious that will require more $$ to fix. That'd be my luck, of course.

Rust repair, continued

2009-06-04T20:30:00.004-04:00

Well what do you know - I'm finished with the floorboards. Having today off, I spent the whole day working on my hands and knees getting things taken care of. So here are the before, during, and after pictures.

The damage after punching out the rust.

All traces of rust cut out with a jigsaw, then sanded to bare metal.

Fiberglass cloth cut to size

Fiberglass resin jelly mixed, fiberglass cloth coated on both sides and shaped to fit the hole

The patch dried and sanded

The other patches smoothed over with body filler and sanded in preparation for painting

The finished product. It doesn't look all that great, but who cares? It's all underneath my carpet and will probably never be seen by the naked eye. But as you notice, you can't see the ground anymore. On the bottom, I used body filler to smooth out the underbody and painted it black. I will spray on some undercoating tomorrow morning after it has had time to dry overnight.

For crying out loud...

2009-06-04T13:17:00.002-04:00

I could have crawled on my hands and knees to Pennsylvania and back to retrieve that speedometer cable by now.

The FedEx truck came by, and I got all excited. But it was for my Dad.

So I'm still waiting. Impatiently. While the weather keeps getting nicer and nicer.

Grr...

What a mess

2009-06-04T01:05:00.002-04:00

I sealed one of the holes in the floorboards yesterday. It went alright, if not a little tiring on my back and knees. But boy was it messy! I had to figure out a way to provide a layer of insulation between my steel floor boards and the aluminum patch (because these two metals will corrode if touching each other) so I chose to use rubberized undercoating. I chose it because it would provide a thin, soft layer which would eliminate vibration and prevent road noise from entering.

Too bad it has the consistancy of maple syrup until it dries. And it is so hard to get off your hands. Geez...and I still have two more holes to patch. But the rivets are working wonderfully - it really creates a tight seal.

Piecing the interior together

2009-06-01T18:00:00.003-04:00

It is somewhat good news to announce that I started putting the interior of the car back together. That's a lot better than taking it apart, although to be honest, there's just not much left to remove.

The center tunnel has been "reupholstered" with some new vinyl and reinstalled. Let me be the first to say that it looks fantastic. Before I go on, here's a shout-out to my mother, who's a seamstress, for doing the sewing.

The shift boot is made from one piece of vinyl with faux-stitches to replicate four separate pieces. And the armrest was modified from a solid piece of vinyl to three pieces sewn together. All seams have running stitches for an added luxury feel.

Total cost of supplies: around $12

Before:

After:

New toy for the car

2009-06-01T14:16:00.003-04:00

(This sounds like a commercial, but it isn't. I only wish I got paid to say stuff like this.)

My dad emailed me a deal I couldn't pass up, and since I'm starting to think about driving back to college instead of flying, I went ahead and made the purchase. It's a TomTom GPS - it looks well equipped. It has a touch screen, preloaded maps and points-of-interest, voice commands, traffic updates, and it fits in your pocket.

Just so you know, they're on sale for $64 each at http://www.1saleaday.com/

It's a one-day sale that could end early if they run out of their stock, so if you're interested go pay them a visit.

I'll let you know how it works when it arrives.

Timing belts and other important parts

2009-05-29T11:27:00.002-04:00

So I was extremely bored yesterday and I got to thinking about my timing belt. After doing some math (since my odometer stopped turning when my speedometer cable broke years ago), I figured that I'm probably right around 100,000 miles.

And we know what that means - time to replace the timing belt.

Now I could take it into a shop to do it, but MR2's sometimes require ridiculously long labor to accomplish the simplest job. A timing belt change would be one of them. The belt only costs around $20, but then add $250 dollars just to install it. No thanks...I've always wanted to learn how to do it anyways.

But since I'm going to be pulling things out of the engine, I'm starting to make a list of other small jobs I can take care of while I'm monkeying around.

- Timing belt
- Crank pulley belt (has a tendency to break, leaving a part in the crank)
- A new water pump
- And now I'm wondering if I want to replace a few parts of my ignition system, like the distributor, rotor, wires, etc. I can get a good deal on the parts, and just to avoid a breakdown later.
- And this is just speculation right now, but why don't I also pull off the valve cover to adjust my valve clearance, which would definitely quiet them down on acceleration/decceleration and to replace the valve cover gasket, which I'm starting to suspect of leaking.

The cost of all these repairs is actually quite decent, around $150, but would pay off great benefits: Increased reliability, better fuel economy, and hopefully an improvement in performance. It is only a matter of whether I have the time to do it.

Car Detailing Step #4 - Wheels and Tires

2009-05-28T00:02:00.003-04:00

Nothing stands out about a set of dry-looking tires and dusty wheels. To get the attention you want, you've got to make them shine.

Like I mentioned earlier, you should have already soaped and rinsed the tires when you were pre-washing the car. This removed excess brake dust (black), mud, dirt, etc. from the surfaces. They should be clean, just not sparkling. Now it's time to add the bling.

For the wheels (the metal part), there are various substances that are very good at removing even stubborn brake dust from alloy and steel wheels. This step is important if you have alloy or chrome wheels. Since they are of a silver-color, dark brake dust dulls the shine and just looks messy. If you have gunmetal alloy (like me) or black steel wheels, you don't have to worry as much.

I have been using Turtle Wax Foaming Wheel Cleaner for years and I'm very pleased with the results. I'm not sure if they still make it though. It probably goes by another name. You just spray it liberally on your wheels, then attack it with a brush. It foams as you scrub, and when you rinse it off with a hose, your wheels are incredibly clean. It might be handy to invest in a brush tool especially for this job (if you are very picky about the look of your rims). They make them with tough bristles to scrub away dirt without damaging the finish. Plus, examples like mine have bendable heads to help scrub in tight spaces and behind spokes.

Notice the difference:

(*ignore the text in the image - I borrowed it from an ad)

For the actual rubber part, many products advertise high-shine and gloss, but really it also depends on the age and style of the tire. I recommend borrowing different brands from your friends and testing them out on your ride. Then go buy the one you like. I used to use Armor-All for mine, but I found that the rich, black effect wasn't long-lasting. Regular Armor-All is too thin of a solution for tires; it is better suited for interior pieces.

I used Black Magic Tire Wet and was OK with the results. The consistency is like that of olive oil, meaning that it goes on thicker. I just sprayed it on the rubber sidewall of my tire (no need to dress the treads), let it soak in for a minute, then rubbed off the excess and evened out the application with a rag. The results were darker, healthier-looking tires, but not really any shine.

Hmm... this is more like the end result that I was looking for:

I've got a bad feeling about this...(UPDATE - A ray of sunshine)

2009-05-27T17:23:00.003-04:00

It's been exactly two weeks since I won the auction on the speedometer cable, and still no cable. I've emailed the seller various times, but still no response. My car is almost ready to get on the road, but it's still sitting in the shed.

First, I highly doubt the seller ripped me off. He has been a member of eBay since 2001 and has a perfect score. I don't know why he'd choose to throw it all away over a used car part. I'm really hoping it wasn't lost in the mail, since that'd be it.

I just don't want to be out $200 to purchase a new cable from Toyota, plus $70 for the used one. But if it doesn't appear, I don't have much choice. I'll be waiting until the end of the month to make a move.

Here's to hoping that it shows up!

IMPORTANT UPDATE:
"Sorry, I ran into some problems, and I know thats not youre fault, next purchase ill give you 25 percent off
Im really sorry man, you should see it anyday now
thanks
-James"

WHEW - I feel better already. It looks like things will turn out alright. I'm just glad he finally got back to me.

Car Detailing Step #3 - Wax

2009-05-25T22:21:00.004-04:00

After you've done all you feel necessary for the rejuvenation of your paint job, it is time to seal in the results with a quality wax.

I began using a red-tinted wax to cover up my sandblasted air dam, but I found that it wasn't buffing off as glossy as I liked, so I switched to Meguiar's Step 3 - Carnauba Wax.

A little more wax-on, wax-off, and it was complete. Well, at least part of it. There's still the trim and the interior, but that's for another day.

Important Notes:
- Always wax your car in the shade.
- Rub it into the paint in circular motion, let it dry to a haze, then buff it off with a clean cotton or microfiber cloth until smooth and shiny.
- Don't miss anything! You'll be embarrassed later on if you find a non-waxed spot on your car, or worse - a spot you forgot to buff off.

Rust repair

2009-05-22T13:48:00.004-04:00

So I went out to Home Depot yesterday and found some supplies to repair the small rust holes on my passenger floorboard.

First up is to cut out the "infected" steel and chip away the undercoating and sound-reducing tar. Once it all looks cleaned up, I'll spray the bare metal with rust converter to stop any further damage then top it off with a coat of paint.

After doing some research (including reading through the NH "Official Motor Vehicle Inspection Requirements - SafC 2000), I found that there are no restrictions on rust repair on non-structural elements such as a floorboard. So instead of trying to figure out the logistics of bringing someone to welding a patch, I'm going to use pop-rivets to secure a patch.

For the patch, I purchased 5"x7" sheets of aluminum, as they didn't have steel at Home Depot. It will be riveted to my floor board and sealed with silicone, then painted from above and undercoated from below. The nice thing is that the aluminum is easy to shape to fit the exact shape of the floor panels. That'll make everything easier.

UPDATE for May 30th:
I got some time to work on the spot today. I used something like a Sawzall to cut out some of the affected sheetmetal. Underneath the car, there was some surface rust beneath the undercoating that I found. Instead of having to do all this again in a year, I pulled off the undercoating, sanded down the rust, and treated it with rust converter. I applied black rust converter to the bottom of the car and orange above (not enough black) which I then painted red to match. Then the sun went down and the mosquitos came out. So that was the day. More to come shortly (perhaps Monday)!

Before:

After:
To be posted when I finish.

Car Detailing Progress Report

2009-05-19T23:46:00.005-04:00

(Click thumbnails for detailed images)

My frunk, after the pre-wash but before anything else:

*Note the oxidation (the cloudy haze on the paint) - usually caused by exposure to the sun, air, and water.

During the paint cleaner stage (left side cleaned, right side untouched):

After the paint cleaner:

After the polish:

*Note the smooth, clear, highly-reflective paint now that the imperfections have been removed and oils restored.

Car Detailing Step #2 - Cleaning/Rejuvenating the Paint

2009-05-19T23:21:00.003-04:00

After washing off the foreign matter from your car, it's time to clean the paint. Over time, stuff gets embedded into your paint job such as dirt, oxidation, or mildew. Then you have swirl marks, water spots, and surface scratches. Just washing your car won't solve this, you need to actually remove all these things from the paint.

There are many products that serve different cleaning purposes. Clay bars lift imperfections from the surface whereas other solutions buff a microscopic layer of paint off, taking dirt and scratches with it.

I will be using Meguiar's Three-Step Deep Crystal Polish System (minus step three, for reasons that I will explain later).

Step one is a dedicated paint cleaner that buffs and lifts oxidation and dirt off the paint job. Working in small sections, I would wax-on the solution, then buff it off before it dried. Then moved on. It worked really well - three years of oxidation and mildew (believe it or not) easily came right off. The cloudiness of my red paint was cleared right up.

Step two is doing the same thing over again, but with their paint polisher. Much like a lotion moisturizes dry hands, the polish adds necessary oils for a rich, deep paint surface. And let me tell you, my car feels as smooth as glass. The application process is identical to the paint cleaner. Wax on, wax off.

By this point, your arms might be tired. Either take a break before moving on or save step three for the next day, like I did. Just make sure that you either cover your car or park it in the garage. A rainstorm won't help your cause as you still need to seal the results with a quality wax.

*Note: These two steps don't have to be competed every time you wash your car. Twice a year will suffice.

Car Detailing Step #1 - Pre-wash

2009-05-18T17:17:00.005-04:00

Before an intense detailing job, you've got to get the surface prepared. Pollen, mud, dust, dirt, bird poo, etc. all needs to come off.

This is a simple step: just wash the car.

Get a bucket, your favorite car washing tool (like a sponge), and some car washing detergent. The cheap stuff is fine for this step, just make sure it's environmentally-safe.

If it is really dirty, like mine was, just add a bit more of the car wash detergent than normal and scrub more vigorously.

DO NOT ever use hand soap, dish soap, saddle soap, or any soap that is not meant for automotive usage. It will harm your paint job and clearcoat.

Work from top to bottom. I prefer to work in sections, starting with the roof, to prevent the soap from drying in the sun. If you're in the shade, it's not such a big deal. Be careful not to drop the sponge on the ground! If you do, either rinse it out very thoroughly with a hose or just toss it out. You don't want to be rubbing dirt into your paint. Keep an eye on your hose as well - don't let it brush against your car as it could have dirt on it as well.

If you're paranoid about water spots while your car is drying, use a leather chamois*, California blade, or microfiber towel to dry the car immediately after the final rinse. It's best to do this in the shade. *Leather chamois work best when they are a little wet.

When you are done, either before or after drying, use this time to clean the wheels with the detergent and a sturdy brush. Do your best to get any caked-on dirt/mud/brake pad dust off because it will cleaning them easier later on.

Random Checklist

2009-05-18T14:24:00.004-04:00

Still no parts, so I'm just jumping from job to job as they come to mind.

- Patched a very small exhaust leak with some handy paste, as well as the joints. Might as well prevent future issues, right? Did you know that my exhaust system costs more to replace than a normal car's? And it's about 1/4 the length!

- Polished my resonator and exhaust tip - using silver polish!

- Finished vacuuming the carpet.

- Blew some debris from behind the front 1/4-panels. I'm going to need to pull those off and rust-proof the insides - debris falls down into them and just sits there. What a dumb design.

- Pre-washed the car. Step 1 of the Meguiar 3-Step.

- Added some oil additive that will increase the viscosity as well as rejuvenate my seals and gaskets. I'm hoping that this will stop the veeeery slow oil leak.

Pictures:
- Before and after of the tip
- During the polishing of the resonator (only 1/2 cleaned at that point)
- One example of my very professional exhaust repair. At least the leak has been stopped!

Car Detailing Series

2009-05-16T19:44:00.003-04:00

I was going to call it the "50 Not-so-easy Steps to Having a Clean Car (While Saving Yourself $200)", but that's a mouthful and a half.

Since my car is getting ready to hit the road again, it's time to wax-on/wax-off the damage three years of sitting has done. Over time, dirt, pollen, the sun, tree gunk, mouse droppings, and spider webs have camouflaged the bright red paint, and it's time to take it back from nature.

I figured that it would be worthwhile to give a decent step-by-step of a comprehensive auto detailing job, as well as provide product suggestions for getting the best results. Car detailing used to be a side job of mine, so I've acquired quite the collection of cleaning products and tools. I think that between my Dad and I, we have more car washing products in our basement than you will find stocked in your typical Super WalMart. He's even more intense than I am!

But beware: it is labor intensive! But the results are worth it, and you typically will only have to do an intensive detail twice a year.

Yes, you can pay $5 and go to the automatic drive-thru car wash, but only if you like the idea of your car being mercilessly beaten by giant dirt-filled towels. Swirl marks, scratches, broken antennas. I think they do more harm than good. But since when did hurt to spend some quality time with your car?

*Some apartment complexes prohibit hose-washing a car on their premises. Visit a friend or go to a touchless self-serve carwash (bring your own supplies if you wish) for washing.

MR2-itis

2009-05-15T15:26:00.005-04:00

It's a beautiful day. Tomorrow my dad and I are going to make a 1.5 hour trip out to Exeter in the Mazda, but I would really rather do it in the MR2. It gets just as much attention as the MX-5, despite being 20 years older. I doubt I'll ever get tired of the thumbs up, craning necks, and random conversations in gas stations or parking lots.

In any case, the plan is that sometime next week I'll be able to get an inspection and have it on the road. But we'll see about that.

Today, I got the instrument panel disconnected and removed. I'll wait until the speedometer cable arrives to see what else needs to be uninstalled and replaced.

Until then, I polished some plastic pieces using Meguiar's PlastX. It buffed the cloudiness right off of my headlights and taillights! I was surprised it worked so well.

And I have this replacement part that I don't know what it goes to. I got it from the previous owner who said that it was a coolant temp sensor. But it's not. I'm surfing the web but can't match a name to the part. Ugh...even though it's not important, it's still bothersome to not know what it is for.

EVENING UPDATE: So I got bored and kept on working on the car. I decided to start cleaning the carpet and looking at the small rust hole on my floorboards from a different angle. Out went the seats and up went the carpet. The floorboards look really good for being 23 years old, but the isolated rust hole was a little larger than I originally expected. It takes up about the area of 1/2 a sheet of paper, but not all in the same place. I'll take a pic and post it later. I think that either riveting or welding a basic piece of sheet metal should do the trick (as that's all it is anyways).

Pictures!
- During the "extraction"
- After
- And the cockpit minus two seats*. I'm going to vaccuum and shampoo them before putting them back in (the same will happen to the carpet)
*Interesting MR2 fact: As there is no transmission tunnel in the MR2 (it's all behind the driver), that hump between the seats is actually the gas tank. Talk about using space wisely, as well as moving some of the car's mass forward.

My poor little credit card

2009-05-14T16:36:00.001-04:00

It's gotten a workout lately. Kohl's better hurry the heck up and hire me, or I'm in deep trouble come next month's credit card bill. And I still need a pair of tires.

Thankfully, I ordered the speedometer cable yesterday, one last brake caliper today, and probably tires tonight.

Then I'm done! Put it all together, get a state inspection, and I'm back on the road (assuming there's nothing else wrong that would cause me to fail. Everybody knock on wood!

Interior pieces everywhere!

2009-05-13T17:15:00.001-04:00

My car looks like it's in shambles. But I know where each bolt goes, so it'll all get put back together.

My dashboard has a crack (that's new), so I'll see what I can do.

My door open light only had a burned out LED. I'll be replacing that today.

And my door open buzzer...haha! I reconnected it, and it sounds so 1980's. It's hilarious. I'd equate it to that electronic sound when someone flatlines. I'll try to record it for you. I'm debating whether to keep it for nostalgia, or disconnect it right away.

I won the bid

2009-05-13T06:20:00.002-04:00

Instead of having to buy a $220 speedometer cable from Toyota, I won it on eBay for $70.

But...the hitch: my shipping address was listed incorrectly. So I'm working on that with the seller right now. Darn it all. Luckily he's real nice. Stinking Paypal.

Progress Report

2009-05-13T00:37:00.006-04:00

1. I'll be purchasing a remanufactured rear caliper vs. having it rebuilt.
2. Still bidding on that speedometer cable. I will not lose!
3. I bought liquid weld for repairing a small hole in my exhaust.
4. I found equipment for redoing my center console and shifter boot. I took it all apart yesterday, and today went to Keene and found some really nice, soft vinyl. So I've been measuring, tracing, and cutting. I'll outsource the sewing to my Mom; she's the expert.
5. I'll pour some Bar's Leaks to help rejuvenate my dry gaskets. I hope that will stop the very slow oil drip coming from who knows where. Otherwise I'll get to learn how to replace gaskets. Oh joy of joys.

Pictures:
1. These were the biggest defects of my interior - the shift boot and arm rest cover (doesn't that look like a comfortable place to rest your arm?).
2. This is my center console in it's disassembled state.
3. And these are the new pieces of vinyl that are going to form the new shift boot and armrest cover. For durability the seams will be double stitched. I'm debating on whether to have the visible seams in a gray color to match my black/gray seats. The armrest will be made of three pieces, instead of one, with matching double stitching.

I'm in love...

2009-05-12T12:00:00.007-04:00

Obviously, not to a girl. Otherwise, I would be posting this on my other blog.

I went to the Honda/Kawasaki/Suzuki dealer this afternoon to try some motorcycles on for size. And...I've pretty much settled on one in particular.

I tried the GS500F, but it was a bit small for me. It's typically a popular choice with women riders, so the seat is a bit lower to the ground for their benefit. Too bad I'm just under six feet, because it's cheap.

The Vulcan felt a size too small, especially for a sport cruiser. The Honda Shadow felt like the right size, but I'm not a cruiser fan anyways. The seating sure was comfortable - laid back and relaxed.

The one that caught my heart was the SV650S. It fit just right, and it looks incredible in person. A great blend of edges, angles, and curves. I had already marked the SV as one to look at, but I want it even more.

PS I got a space in the MSF course. They'll be sending me my assigned dates later on.

Oh happy day!

2009-05-11T14:59:00.003-04:00

If you could see me now, I'd be doing a jig. (Ashley knows what the dance looks like).

This is the best news I've got thus far:

I went in to check out my speedometer problem. I don't think I've mentioned the details, but about four years ago my speedometer and odometer stopped working. I took it in to get looked at, and Tom said that the speedometer cable had snapped (cost: $235 w/ labor). He also mentioned that the gear that enters the transmission might be faulty (take to Toyota dealer = $$$). Because of that, I didn't get it fixed and eventually let my inspection and registration run out.

Fast forward to today. After some web browsing, I found out where the speedometer cable is located. Instead of it being in front of the engine like I guessed, it was on the other end, easily accessible from above. I saw where the cable had snapped, and where it enters the transmission.

I said to myself, "Self, how am I going to find out if the gear works before I pay to have the transmission cracked open?"

I tried twisting it with pliers, no luck.

Then, the 20-watt lightbulb in my head went off. "Self, why don't you start the car and put it in gear? If the exposed part spins, then it works!"

And sure enough, I was successful.

Basically, this epiphany will save me between $200 and $500 dollars in expected costs. I can buy a new cable for around $50 and install it myself in a few hours. And problem solved.

This was the biggest issue I was going to face with my restoration, and it was solved in a few seconds. I feel good!

UPDATE: I'm bidding on a used cable from an '89. Let's hope I win!

New vs. Used

2009-05-11T11:49:00.002-04:00

I'll be honest: as much as I love my car, sometimes I get a little depressed with the amount of money I have to put into it to keep it running.

New tires here, new belts there. $50 here, $150 there.

On occasion I dream of owning a car with a warranty. When a part breaks, all I would have to do is take it to the dealer and they'd fix it for free. What a dream.

Well, until I look at the actual numbers. When I learned just how much my Dad pays per month on his 2006 MX-5, I realized that it is cheaper to continue paying to keep my car on the road. It may be old, but it is very reliable. It gets good gas mileage, and insurance is quite cheap. While I don't have a warranty, nor does it have that delicious new-car scent, I sure don't want to spend hundreds of dollars a month for a handful of years for it!

So, even if I spend an average of $100 a month on repairs, I'm way ahead of somebody with a car payment.

And if I were to spend the price of a car payment on my car every month, in a year it'd probably be in show-car condition.

So I guess I consider myself quite lucky to own a used car and I'll probably drive it until it's dead, then buy another classic.

Son of a gun!

2009-05-11T11:30:00.002-04:00

That brake was incredible! I got it off the car and took it to the basement. I sprayed it with oil...no luck. I put it in the clamp and started beating on it. No luck.

I heat up the caliper with the propane torch and beat it again. No luck

More oil. More beating. No luck

More fire, more beating. Luck!

It finally came off. I feel like a caveman, except now my arms are tired. Too bad I bent the sliding pin when trying to beat it out, so that'll cost me a whole new bracket. But perhaps my caliper is salvagable, saving me $80. I'll take the trade-off.

Ugh, I'm going to take a break before making some calls. I'll see if Tom, my mechanic, can rebuild the caliper, and I'm going to get a quote from Toyota to fix my speedometer cable and gear. I am just wondering how to get my MR2 to the dealership if it's not registered. It looks like I'll need to borrow/rent a trailer. Oh what fun.

Good news (with pics)

2009-05-09T17:31:00.005-04:00

The front brakes are completely done (knock on wood).

I've now proceeded to the rear brake, and boy is it a pain!

Pictures:

- Step 1- mount the bracket
- Step 2- install the brake pads
- Step 3- mount the caliper

The end!

Work Report

2009-05-08T01:56:00.004-04:00

I learned today that my Dad has a propane torch. Hello! That bolt is getting scorched off!

Here's to hoping that it's a quick solution, so I can get on with the rest of the show. All my brake parts have arrived, so I just need to solve this little issue, then get to the reassembling. Pictures will be forthcoming.

By the way, here's to having the right tool at the right moment. Combining my small collection of tools with my Dad's variety means that except for that center punch, I have yet to find myself lacking the proper tool for the job.

It's amazing!

UPDATE:
Lots of things got checked off the to-do list today.
- Calipers cleaned and painted
- Brackets cleaned and painted
- Heat shields rust-treated/painted
- Rotors cleaned and mounted
- Brackets prepared for mounting of pads

It looks like tomorrow will be the final day for the front brakes. I'll be mounting the bracket, pads, and calipers, and then that'll be it. Then it will be on to the right rear caliper, which is frozen. I hope it'll just take some cleaner and elbow grease, because I don't want to have to order another caliper.

Pictures:
- The Brembo rotor mounted
- The bracket pulled off the car, uncleaned and unpainted
- The unpainted calipers

Update

2009-05-06T14:12:00.005-04:00

The calipers are in. Now I'm just waiting on those darn brake pads to arrive from Nevada. And I need some anti-seize for the nuts and bolts.

Until then, I'm gonna spray down the calipers with some hi-temp paint. I will not let rust beat me this time!

UPDATE: Rust has beaten me again. Remember when I was removing the calipers and I broke a bolt on a bracket. Yeah, I forgot about that one. So when I was grinding down the surface rust from the brackets on the bench grinder, I found it again. And it is NOT COMING OUT! So...that put my painting plans on hold.

Instead, I cleaned out my throttle body; it was gunked up just like I read it would be. I also cleaned my spark plugs (oil on plug #4 - I hope it's not my valve cover gasket) and repaired my hood release mechanism.

And huffed a bunch of chemicals: carb cleaner, penetrating oil, lubricating spray...

UPDATE #2: A little box arrived this morning (May 7th)- my carbon ceramic brake pads. Oooh boy...I feel like a kid on Christmas morning. I still have to take care of the that bolt and the painting before I can reassemble my brakes though. And it's too humid and rainy today to spray, so I guess it'll have to wait until the weekend.

I'm going to go give the DMV a call (it's a secret why).

For your viewing pleasure...

2009-05-06T02:33:00.002-04:00

Just how 80's is my car? Here is an original commercial. If the music doesn't give it away, perhaps the aviators will.

I wish I could go off a jump...

K&N, or not K&N...that is the question.

2009-05-05T02:41:00.003-04:00

I've heard very good things about K&N's high-flow filters. But I've also heard of some not-so-good things: reduced filtering vs. paper filters, oil on the MAF, increased engine wear due to particulates passing the cotton, etc. I'm trying to determine what's myth and what is truth, and that'll help me decide if I want to drop $45 on a replacement filter.

EDIT: After posing the question to my friends at CarSpin.net, it seems that quite the vicious debate broke out among mechanics and bystanders alike. It's looking like K&N isn't worth the premium over paper air filters, especially when it comes to actually filtering the air. I'll just need to find a way to attach a paper air filter to what I already have (sans air filter box).

Good news...

2009-05-04T11:05:00.004-04:00

My Brembos arrived today! I'm heading to Nashua for work, so if I have time on the way back I'll be buying a few necessary items:

- 3 re-manufactured calipers
- a center punch for extracting bolts
- Liquid steel for my exhaust
- brake fluid
- Hi-temp paint
- Air filter

I think that's it.

UPDATE:
Two calipers have been ordered, and I can go pick them up on Wednesday. That's probably when my pads will come in. I'm thinking of painting the calipers and bracket (red and black, respectively) but not as much for the looks but for corrosion protection. They'll be behind the stock alloys, so you won't even really see them, but we all know what rust can do to a perfectly good part...

I guess if I ever get around to upgrading the wheel/tire package, it'll come in handy. But until then, I want these brakes to last.

Repair 4: The brakes

2009-05-02T19:55:00.007-04:00

Okay, so earlier I said that I was going to repair the parking brake cable, thinking that it was just binding due to rust. Well, upon checking things out, it appears that the right rear caliper is frozen shut. Obviously, some WD-40 and elbow grease probably won't repair things. After checking everything else out, all I will need is a new caliper (as rebuilding calipers isn't worth the effort), and at the same time I'll replace the brake pads with a new pair that I have lying around. That'll make both rear pads at nearly the same condition (my left rear pads were changed just before my mission due to a locked caliper).

In the meantime, I decided to get to work disassembling the front brake assemblies so that when my parts arrive, I can quickly bolt them on.

It took about 30 minutes per side, minus the time I used to take pictures or find a breaker bar. Unfortunately, I broke one of the sliding bolts to the caliper. So that will take some extracting a bit later.

Otherwise, things went surprisingly well, and now I'm just waiting for the UPS guy to bring me the goodies.

Pictures:
1. The troublesome RF brake
2. Compress the piston, remove the two long slider bolts, and the caliper slides off the pads with a little pry.
3. The two bolts securing the rotor assembly. Remove them and then beat the rotor vigorously with a rubber mallet while simultaneously grunting like your caveman ancestors.
4. Everything disassembled.
5. My old brake pads: worn, rusty, looking like they were used to stop Roman chariots.

Repair 3, part 3: Refill the coolant system

2009-05-02T14:58:00.004-04:00

Finally - done! The coolant trilogy is finished. And it turns out that about 1/3 of the total fluid wasn't flushed when I did it. It's probably because I didn't want to spend a whole day filling and draining, screwing and unscrewing all four drain points over and over again. It'll be fine.

So check another job off the to-do list. Up next...the parking brake. As a basic synopsis: there are two parking brake cables that are actuated when I lift up on the lever, each one goes to a rear wheel. One cable appears to be frozen, so that a rear brake isn't engaged, and my lever binds.

Instead of just yanking until something breaks, I'll just dive under and see which rusty part I need to spray down/replace. Thankfully my Dad is back from a business trip, since this will require two people (one to move the lever, the other to figure out where the problem is at).

Here's a photo of just how hard one of the coolant drain points is to locate (the rubber drain tube is already attached). It's a tight squeeze up between the firewall and the engine block.

The "Enthusiast's Dilemma"

2009-05-01T03:13:00.001-04:00

While under the car, I had a huge mental argument about just how much time and money I'm willing to spend on the car. On one hand, it's in really good shape considering that it is 23 years old. Thanks to the first owner, who sprayed about 500 pounds of undercoating upon purchasing the car, the frame is in perfect condition. However, everything attached to the frame is suffering from New England rust. And it NEVER stops. As hard as I might try to stop it, I can only slow down it's rapid progress. And that is depressing to me. Were this my second car, or track vehicle, I could afford to take all the time I would need to properly restore it. I could joyfully dedicate the occasional weekend and evenings to my repairs without rush, and then drive a reliable commuter car the rest of the week. But, that's just not economically feasible right now, nor will it be in the future.

As I got to thinking, the only moment I have with this car is right now (so I might as well enjoy it). I'm single, living with my family over the summer, and have no dependents. If there comes a time that I get married and start having kids, this car will most likely have to go (unless I can convince the misses that it makes a reasonable commuter in itself). And then I'll have to wait until I'm an empty nester or I've reached my mid-life crisis to get another red sports car.

This is part of the reason why I'm currently making plans to purchase a motorcycle - my window of opportunity is small and only getting smaller.

It's amazing what your mind will turn to when you are waiting for water to dribble out of drain holes.

The answer: I'm not certain. If you know me, you know that I'm a rational, factual sort of person. Except when it comes to cars, then it's about 95% emotional. And there is a lot of emotion between my MR2 and me, which is why it's sometimes a love/hate relationship. Some days I feel like selling it before it crumbles into a small pile of oxidized steel. Other days I want to treat it to the finer things in life, like stainless-steel braided brake lines. Today, I'll keep it. The goal is still to have it street-legal. Tomorrow, I guess we'll wait and see what I feel is worth in.

Repair 3, part 2: Flush the coolant system

2009-05-01T02:59:00.002-04:00

Day two of the ridiculously difficult coolant flushing process. Today, I managed to finish draining from the four drain points, as well as flushed the system with spring water (what naturally comes out of our hose).

In the process of getting at the two radiator hoses located under the frunk, I managed to break all four bolts holding the plastic fuel tank protector. Yes, rust does not sleep. So now I need to find a bolt extractor, pull out all four pieces, find new bolts, and reinstall the plastic protector. Awesome.

At least it's easier to access the parking brake cables (probably repair #4).

Tomorrow, I purchase more coolant (and probably some front brake calipers) while I'm up in Amherst picking up my Dad from the airport rideshare. And we'll go from there.

Repair 3: Flush the coolant system

2009-04-29T19:29:00.002-04:00

Want to make me upset? Take my stuff, move it, and then don't tell me. I spent about six hours looking for a set of tubes used for flushing the coolant in the MR2, and I couldn't find them anywhere!

I found them after emailing the family, and I guess I shouldn't be upset - I have been gone for a long time. But I lost a really beautiful day to get stuff done. It was 6o and sunny - and the bugs were non-existent.

In any case, I found the tubes and got started on draining the coolant. Get this: it takes 12.8 gallons of coolant/water! That's because the radiator is in front, and the engine is in back. That makes for a lot of pipes to fill with fluid. And instead of there being just one drain plug, there are four. One back by the engine, one on the bottom of the radiator, and two on the front to back radiator pipes. Flushing this things is going to be a pain!

It's currently draining its dirty fluid, but I need to go out and buy another gallon of coolant - I don't have enough on me. Pics will come shortly of the drain positions.

Brakes

2009-04-28T17:19:00.003-04:00

I spent the afternoon getting under the car and checking how things have held up over the past three years. The rust work I did has held up really well - the converter and undercoating has stopped any further damage.

There are some ugly looking parts for sure, but it's mostly surface rust on suspension components. Thankfully, the frame looks great.

My anti-roll bar is in pretty bad shape, and thin to boot! The bushings are all but worn out leading to that rattling sound on bumpy roads. But I'll save that upgrade for a little later.

I checked out my left-front brake system and just like the I figured, it is partially frozen shut. And it's quite rusted. So, I've been doing some searching on brake products to use to replace both front brake systems.

UPDATE: I just purchased a pair of Brembo OE brake rotors along with a set of Satisfied Gransport 6 carbon ceramic brakes. I've heard lots of great things about both products - I look forward to setting them and seeing their performance. They should be delivered the first week of May. In the meantime - I've got to get me some calipers.

As for another future upgrade, I plan on upgrading my brakelines from rubber to stainless steel for increased brake feel. More on that later.

Repair 2: Give up on the antenna, rust repair

2009-04-28T11:43:00.000-04:00

Warm weather and sun means lots of time to spend with the car. Sadly, the mosquitos and black flies have the same idea.

I continued looking at my broken antenna, and it looks like a lot more work than I want to dedicate at this time. Remember, the first goal is to get the car registered and inspected, and a working antenna isn't part of the requirements for a car to be street-legal. I'll get to it later this summer. So I just put the kick panels under the dashboard back together.

While I was looking at the roof, I noticed some rust bubbling under the paint at the point where the windshield meets the sheetmetal on the roof. Oh fun. I started searching under the headliner, and sure enough, there was rust. That would explain the wet driver's seat on rainy days.

I began by scrubbing away the rust using a wire brush. I'll spray it with rust converter when I spin by the auto parts store - I ran out the other day. Then I started on the exterior, pulling of the sealing goo from the windshield seal, then chipping away the rust, and going at it with the wire brush. Trust me, nothing feels worse than using that thing on my paint job. But rust doesn't sleep, so I'd rather take care of it now before it attacks my whole roof.

I need to find our drill sander bits to better prepare the roof for rust converter, body filler, sanding, and eventually painting. One of these days, I'm going to get a quote from Maaco for spot painting - mainly because I don't think I can match the paint color on my own. It's the factory paint job, called "Super Red" by Toyota, and it's like a very vibrant red/orange. It looks so sharp when waxed, but most red paint is too dark. I'd rather have professionals mix, paint, and blend with the original since they have tools and experience that I lack. When I'm in Nashua, I'll be sure to do that.

I also need to get a quote from the Toyota dealer if I can't fix the speedometer cable myself. Tom, my mechanic, already said that he doesn't have the tools to work on my transmission (where the speedo gear broke) so I'd have to take it to a dealer. Ouch - that sounds expensive, and complicated, since that would require trailering my car over there since it's not street legal. Fun stuff. But remember, all this will still come out cheaper than a car payment.

Remember, if it weren't for my engine running so well, I wouldn't even bother with all this. But that engine still has abour 15o,000 miles of life on it, as does the frame (rust-free, by the way), so I want to get my full use out of this little ride. Plus, it's gonna make a mean track-car one day.

Repair 1: Replacing battery terminal connectors

2009-04-25T22:22:00.000-04:00

Basically, it was easier than I thought it would be, it took all of 10 minutes, and anybody could do it (with the proper tools, of course). On top, we have the new terminals. Down below - the old ones.

Day 1: Bringing it back to life

2009-04-25T21:34:00.000-04:00

It's hard to believe that my car has been off the road for nearly three years. Around June of 2006, it was time to make a decision - register my car for a year, even though I would be leaving for a two-year mission in November, or let my registration expire.

Due to the costs of registering the car, as well as the needed repairs, I chose to let my car rest under the shade of some coniferous trees while I served a mission. Before departing for Argentina, I prepared the car for long term storage: rust-proofing and undercoating the frame, changing the fluids, and finding a suitable spot.

Surprisingly, upon returning in November of 2008, the MR2 was still in good condition. After checking the fluids, it sprung to life with the aid of jumper cables. I found time to change the oil and start working on fixing a few minor issues, but then it was time to return to college.

Fast forward to today - I just returned from BYU, and the weather is perfect for a two-door sports car. So, I got straight to work on getting the MR2 ready to get on the roads again.

The car cover had been ripped by the wind, but still did a good job protecting the car from sap, bird excrement, and other dangers.

Pulling off the cover revealed a very well preserved car (considering its three-year slumber).

Unfortunately, a mouse had entered my cabin, but was caught by the mouse trap. In an odd twist, something else had entered my car and eaten the dead mouse carcass, but left no other signs of mischief.

The first step was to, once again, check all the vital fluids. Apparently, it had been leaking oil drop-by-drop from the drain plug. I'm guessing that I didn't tighten it completely when I finished the oil change this past winter. Otherwise, everything checked out fine.

I had to replace the "decroded" battery terminal connectors to ensure a better fit with the battery. In the winter, they had popped off while I was doing a short test-drive, stranding me at the bottom of our driveway with no electrical power (and therefore a dead engine).

And of course, the moment of truth was starting the car - and it worked! Now the list of things to-do in order to get the MR2 back on the road has been made (mentally), and hopefully within a month I'll have my car in working order. The rest of the summer will be a continuation of the on-going restoration project to make it a better car.

A random thought

2009-04-23T02:59:00.001-04:00

Because the MR2 has two trunks, I have always wondered how to differentiate the two.

Solution proposed by other MR2 owners:

Rear storage compartment - the trunk
Front storage compartment - the "frunk"