Toyota MR2 Message Board - View Single Post - 4A-GE MK1 Engine 1985 MR2 Burning Oil

fizbancor · 03-11-2009, 06:02 PM

Hi Everybody,
I have wanted a 1st gen MR2 for awhile now. I found one locally, a 85 with 184k in pretty decent cosmetic shape. Does not really seem to have much rust, all of running gear seems to be pretty good. Seems to run okay. Mechanic said steering/suspension/brakes/tires/body all seems okay.

The main problem I have noticed is just that it is burning oil. It burns under hard acceleration starting around 3-3.5k rpm on up. Can't tell if burns on the highway, as wasn't able to see. It did burn quite a bit when tested in first gear.

From looking on here, it appears this would be a broken piston ring or ring landing. Do the rings on these ever just wear out normally, or do they normally just break? Is the vehicle reasonably long-term driveable like this? Would driving it like this cause something major to fail? I know that alot of vehicles you can drive them with smoking and it won't get drastically worse quickly. I'd like to get at least 10,000 miles out of it before doing major work.

I am basically looking for a cheap and fun little around town, backroads and auto-x car. The guy is asking $1400. I offered $1200 which he accepted, whick I now believe is probably a mistake. We haven't finished the deal and I haven't paid yet. We will do that tomorrow morning. I would appreciate your feedback.

If I do go through with the purchase, what would be a reasonable price? I'm no looking to put over $2k into the car this year for a general budget.

Thanks, Ross

03-11-2009, 06:02 PM	#1 (permalink)
fizbancor No Skills Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 4 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	1985 MR2 Burning Oil Hi Everybody, I have wanted a 1st gen MR2 for awhile now. I found one locally, a 85 with 184k in pretty decent cosmetic shape. Does not really seem to have much rust, all of running gear seems to be pretty good. Seems to run okay. Mechanic said steering/suspension/brakes/tires/body all seems okay. The main problem I have noticed is just that it is burning oil. It burns under hard acceleration starting around 3-3.5k rpm on up. Can't tell if burns on the highway, as wasn't able to see. It did burn quite a bit when tested in first gear. From looking on here, it appears this would be a broken piston ring or ring landing. Do the rings on these ever just wear out normally, or do they normally just break? Is the vehicle reasonably long-term driveable like this? Would driving it like this cause something major to fail? I know that alot of vehicles you can drive them with smoking and it won't get drastically worse quickly. I'd like to get at least 10,000 miles out of it before doing major work. I am basically looking for a cheap and fun little around town, backroads and auto-x car. The guy is asking $1400. I offered $1200 which he accepted, whick I now believe is probably a mistake. We haven't finished the deal and I haven't paid yet. We will do that tomorrow morning. I would appreciate your feedback. If I do go through with the purchase, what would be a reasonable price? I'm no looking to put over $2k into the car this year for a general budget. Thanks, Ross