New MR2 Owner

rayfast · 10-17-2007, 09:57 AM

Hello! My name is Ray and I live in Cartersville, GA. I'm buying a 1986 MR2 for $500 and I'm pretty excitied about it. I've never owned or driven one before. I looked it over yesterday, heard it run, and was very pleased.

The car is in pretty good condition cosmetically. The original paint is in good shape. No dings or dents stood out. There are a couple of places where the trim is cracked, but no missing pieces that I noticed. The interior is pretty good, too, although there is no radio.

What really impressed me was the engine. The 1.6 litre 4 cylinder hummed at 2100 rpm when it started. I was a little concered about the high tach, but the seller (a private party - not a dealer) assured me that it drops to 1000 rpm once it's warm. (Is this correct?) Anyway, I knew the engine was running because I could here it. But visually, there was very little indication. The motor did not vibrate at all. In fact, I had to look down at one of the pullies at an angle to see that the bolts were a blur before I was completely conviced the engine was running! I revved it up a little to see what it would do, and still the motor just sat still as if it was welded into place. It didn't roll at all. I've never seen one so well balanced.

I didn't drive it because it does have a small water pump leak and I didn't want to take any chances on getting it hot. (I let it run maybe five minutes, then asked him to turn it off.) But judging by the general appearance of the car, it seems to have been well taken care of. I'm anticipating a great deal of satisfaction. I'll be taking it home on November 2.

In the mean time (getting to the point), I'd like to ask some questions of you knowledgeable MR2 gurus ...

1.) Should I be concerned about the 2100 rpm cold idle, or is that normal?

2.) Are there any tricks to replacing the water pump? (I'll have a Haines manual in hand for the job.)

3.) Are there any quirks particular to owning, driving, or maintaining an '86 MR2 4-cyl 5-sp that I should know about?

Gairloch · 10-26-2007, 04:03 AM

Greetings!

1) 2100 RPM does seem kind of high, but I don't know the 4age very well.

2) Again, don't know the 4age very well. You might get better answers to this question and the prior if you put them in the Mk I forum.

3) If you haven't driven an mid-rear car before, you'll discover that the MR2 is quite a bit more prone to oversteer than you find with a front-front or front-rear chassis. Take it easy until you get comfortable with the car.

David48 · 10-28-2007, 09:54 PM

welcome, like Jeff, i dont know much about the mk1, but if you go into the mki section you would get much more help there.

Final13 · 10-28-2007, 10:13 PM

The water system is similar to the rest of the yota motors...Im not sure of the nuances but it seems to be pretty straight forward...I would think you would need to drop the motor or pull the wheel well out to access the the pump...

10-17-2007, 09:57 AM	#1 (permalink)
rayfast No Skills Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 1 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	New MR2 Owner Hello! My name is Ray and I live in Cartersville, GA. I'm buying a 1986 MR2 for $500 and I'm pretty excitied about it. I've never owned or driven one before. I looked it over yesterday, heard it run, and was very pleased. The car is in pretty good condition cosmetically. The original paint is in good shape. No dings or dents stood out. There are a couple of places where the trim is cracked, but no missing pieces that I noticed. The interior is pretty good, too, although there is no radio. What really impressed me was the engine. The 1.6 litre 4 cylinder hummed at 2100 rpm when it started. I was a little concered about the high tach, but the seller (a private party - not a dealer) assured me that it drops to 1000 rpm once it's warm. (Is this correct?) Anyway, I knew the engine was running because I could here it. But visually, there was very little indication. The motor did not vibrate at all. In fact, I had to look down at one of the pullies at an angle to see that the bolts were a blur before I was completely conviced the engine was running! I revved it up a little to see what it would do, and still the motor just sat still as if it was welded into place. It didn't roll at all. I've never seen one so well balanced. I didn't drive it because it does have a small water pump leak and I didn't want to take any chances on getting it hot. (I let it run maybe five minutes, then asked him to turn it off.) But judging by the general appearance of the car, it seems to have been well taken care of. I'm anticipating a great deal of satisfaction. I'll be taking it home on November 2. In the mean time (getting to the point), I'd like to ask some questions of you knowledgeable MR2 gurus ... 1.) Should I be concerned about the 2100 rpm cold idle, or is that normal? 2.) Are there any tricks to replacing the water pump? (I'll have a Haines manual in hand for the job.) 3.) Are there any quirks particular to owning, driving, or maintaining an '86 MR2 4-cyl 5-sp that I should know about?

10-26-2007, 04:03 AM	#2 (permalink)
Gairloch Dreaming of apexes Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Minneapolis, MN Posts: 4,468 Thanks: 115 Thanked 222 Times in 195 Posts My Google Map iTrader Rating: (7/100% )	Greetings! 1) 2100 RPM does seem kind of high, but I don't know the 4age very well. 2) Again, don't know the 4age very well. You might get better answers to this question and the prior if you put them in the Mk I forum. 3) If you haven't driven an mid-rear car before, you'll discover that the MR2 is quite a bit more prone to oversteer than you find with a front-front or front-rear chassis. Take it easy until you get comfortable with the car. __________________ "Inside the car, the world beyond the driver's immediate horizon ceases to exist. Alone with the solitude of his desire, survival sense numbed by the speed, he's outrun the mediocrity of the outside world, slipped the shackles it tries to clamp on us all. He is running free, chased only by a fear of failure, for failure is to risk ejection into the real world." ~Mark Hughes

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10-28-2007, 09:54 PM	#3 (permalink)
David48 The anti-rice Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Tampa, Fl. Posts: 444 Thanks: 63 Thanked 10 Times in 10 Posts My Google Map iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	welcome, like Jeff, i dont know much about the mk1, but if you go into the mki section you would get much more help there.

10-28-2007, 10:13 PM	#4 (permalink)
Final13 Cage Fighter Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Tennessee Posts: 381 Thanks: 6 Thanked 9 Times in 9 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	The water system is similar to the rest of the yota motors...Im not sure of the nuances but it seems to be pretty straight forward...I would think you would need to drop the motor or pull the wheel well out to access the the pump...