hi, new mk1 b owner

[buzz88]

hi to all

i must confess, i`m an mr2 virgin, having bought my first mr2 two weeks ago!

its a 87 e reg mk1b t-bar

my first experience`s have been bad ones as driving it home from leeds (100 mile ) it broke down, then again and again and again, to the point now it wont tick over what so ever!

it does start with a jump, when cold and barely ticks over, but once hot it wont start nor tickover.

normally i would count my losses and get rid, but even limping it home waiting for next break down, i realised how fun this was to drive and its potential was huge, and i must admit i loved evry minute of driving it! and even just looking at, i think it is a stunning little car!

so, the fault finding process has begun! but, never owning an mr2 before is pushing my ability to the limits.

i have dabbled with mk2 escorts before but recently have ran alot of cavaliers (red tops)

anyways, sorry for waffling

speak to you guys soon and maybe salvage some of the summer driving my 2 instead of just looking at it!

shaun

[nik]

welcome shaun..
when you say it broke down, what exactly happened..did it just stop firing or was it gradual..?
how long had it been standing before you drove it and did it have fresh fuel in it..

[Paff]

Welcome mate, I'm sure it won't take long to sort out your bad running problems the 4a's are tough little buggers in reality, and if all else fails just shoehorn something bigger in there :-)

[superchargedsam]

Shaun it could be as simple as Nik says with stale fuel although for that milage I guess you put some fresh in ! I collected a tbar that hadnt been started in over 12 months, was expecting to have to call a truck to tkae it the 50 miles or so home, put jump leads on it and 4th turn of the key it fired up and I drove it home although had to leave it running at the garage whilke I filled her up as battery was dead so once turned off wouldnt start again ! drove really really well ! stopping was another issue mind !

[Sponge Bob]

Yeah - and don't forget to do an alternator check if you're having to use jump leads... if it's not charging enough I think that may lead to the above problems...

Get a Gunson's battery start checkery thing, they're great:
http://twobrutal.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2698

[buzz88]

hi again,

ill describe the problems as i can, its a bit long winded so bear with me

i bought the car knowing it had a hot tick over problem (although it was intermittent and the car fired up straight away)
the car was used dailly and had practically no fuel in when i bought it, and subsequently run out of fuel before i got the chance to fill. i got it too a garage and filled it up (30 quid) and flattened the battery trying to start it

i bought some jump leads and also had to put a fair bit of oil in as it was practically empty.

it started and i drove it away, about 10 miles later i went for 5th at about 75-80mph and heard a small bang, looked behind and there was a cloud of blue smoke and the engine died
checking the engine, i looked at the dipstick which was reading just over the max (i dont know how much oil was put in as i didnt do it, honest) but i presume it must have been too much!

anyway the car wouldn`t start, so i phoned the AA:-(
after waiting 20 mins or so, i hooked the jump leads up and it went. so me being a bloke i cancelled the aa and drove home, it drove fine at 70-75 all the way (90 mile) and the only problems were it cut out at every junction, so i resorted to knocking it out of gear and left foot braking whilst keeping the revs on which worked (also the smoke appeared to clear)

due to work i had to leave it a couple of days before i could look at it
these are the problems

when starting from cold, i need to put my foot to the floor and it tries and tries and then fires and with a couple of revs for 10 secs or so, it will tickover on choke. when it gets hot it cuts out
when starting from hot, again foot to the floor and it tries and tries for minutes before firing but cuts out as soon as you back off the throttle

when starting it (hot or cold), she starter motor turns quite quick then stops, hesitates, turns again, and so on (as if the ignition timing is advanced/retarded) it has done this from when i first saw the car

also when it fires the smell of petrol from the exhaust is emense (but i have had my foot to the floor for a while) theres also a hint of blue smoke when you rev it (3000 rpm+)
if you keep the revs (1500 rpm +) on it runs fine and smooth
but when dropping the revs it sounds like its dropping to 3 cylinders and cuts out, it also sounds like its on 3 when it first fires until you throttle it
this may be the exhaust note though as it has an after market custom made stainless twin box twin tail pipe exhaust on (load as hell, but quite nice), im wondering if by not having the car set up to run this exhaust, is this adding to the problem as the car will not be resignating correctly (just a thought)

ive since changed the cap, rotor arm, and leads (old cap was well knackered)
but to no avail
i also have a new coil/igniter and an ecu to change when i finish work, so fingers crossed

phew thats it

thanks for everyones time

shaun
p.s forgot to mention, i have now lost the clutch (peddle had no resistance at all) the reservoir was below minimum, so im hoping its just a bleed job, but i can i hell find the bleed nipple)

[lodgeman]

well now !!!! with all of those faults......... time to replace the engine with a bigger one!!!:whistle: turbo or v6 , you choose. :P oh and welcome to the site.!!! sounds like the perrenial problem with all 4age's ( not fast enough):)

[Sponge Bob]

Good point from Lodge there... why bother with all the hassle of fault finding and fixing it - just get to work on the swap!!

Come on, which way you going - turbo or V6...??

[Paff]

or the big V8 :-)

[superchargedsam]

here here !

[buzz88]

turbo was my first thought as i drive a diesel through the week as my work horse and as the 2 is our 3rd car, weekend toy and i deserve a bit of fun!

but, always a but, having never owned this type of car before i promised the missus we would use it through the summer and if i liked it i would pull it off the road over the winter and restore it (when i said restore i meant modify but dont tell her that)

so im reluctant to throw major money at, was just hoping to use it first of all and weigh up the options later

does anyone have a ballpark figure as to what a turbo conversion would cost so i can pitch to the missus, having previously owned a red top turbo`d astra i can certainly justify it

i keep hearing the name paul woods mentioned as a mk1 genius, is he the guy to talk too and if yes how do i get in touch?

thanks
shaun

[Paff]

it probly won't be long before pauls along on this thread mate, or drop him a pm,

The generaly cost of the turbo swap completly depends on how much of the work you can do yourself and how much you can source all the parts for. Some people are lucky and find a full car lying around so once all the bits you don't need are sold its often possible you are left with an engine and a bit of cash in the bottom of your pocket.

Have a browse around the forums a bit as the question of cost is one that has been mentioned quite often so you will get a better idea of everything swap related from cost to how to do it yourself.

[Paul Woods]

hi shaun,south shields eh! bandit country! :) how about you get that mk1 of yours to me (haswell plough,near peterlee) and i get it running for you,i'll do it for free as a big welcome to TB and who knows i may end up sticking the big dog in it for you sometime,anyway the offers there mate.... give me a ring 07951304712 if you are coming.

Straight off the bat i wouldnt be surprised if it as a code 4 ,ecu temp sensor failure,ive got lots spare so easy to sort no matter what it is.

[lodgeman]

careful though he likes to blow up 4a's lol lol nice offer though!! :thumbsup:

[Paul Woods]

only for fun though alan :) bout time we did that again for a larf!

[adamh]

welcome shaun :mrgreen: your in safe hands here ^ :shifty: ...
paul will have it running sweet very quickly. consider a turbo conversion, there are plenty threads detailing the costing, it can be anything from 500 - 2k! although, most members sit around the 6-1k mar for getitng the clip and most of the bits necessary.

[Marksman]

how about you get that mk1 of yours to me and i get it running for you, i'll do it for free as a big welcome to TB

:clap: :praise2: :beer:

Good man Paul.

Cheers 'n' all,

Owen.

[buzz88]

hi, paul, i`ll take you up on that offer, thankyou i really appreciate it!
(i think i should pay my membership fees then!)

ive been pulling my hair out that much, ive even considered a mk2 non turbo conversion (sorry for swearing!) just to get me back on the road!

ill give you a bell asap to arrange(it will be next week though as i have stupid shifts at work to do)

thanks again
shaun

[Peebs]

:welcome: Shaun

Hope you get your car sorted soon. (Woodsy will fix it, I'm sure)

[Paul Woods]

no probs shaun,give me a ring next week and lets get you sorted out.