Just got my 1st Mr2. I may need an engine.What should I expect?

ChaoticDave · 04-12-2009, 08:42 PM

Hello everyone. I got this car on a super deal. I knew it had engine issues. Its an 89 Mr2,119k,4cyl,5spd with t tops.Body really good,Little rust on the wheel wells but nothing major. Everything works like it should and it does run now. But not very well.

Right now its blowing pure blue smoke after it warms up and has a top end tap,noise etc. Seems like it is misfiring also. I am not going to try to invest in this engine. I know it has low miles (119k) but somewhere in its life before me something went wrong.

I am most likely going to try and buy a used engine from a junkyard or somewhere reputable that has decent miles and its complete.

I dont have a ton of money but would love to run this car this summer.How much are engines usually for this? and how hard is it to change it out? I am mechanically inclined but I have never worked on one of these.It looks like the entire engine and trans would drop out with the cradle? Any info on what I should look for and what kinda price range I should be looking to spend.Again.Trying to do it on a budget for now.Besides the engine the car is ready to go.

Thanks!

btw the engine is the 1600 twin cam non turbo or supercharged.Plain jane 4 banger.

Key-Lay · 04-12-2009, 11:07 PM

Blue smoke is most likely you burning oil, The knocking on the top could be a floated valve or a bad valve spring, something like that, misfire could be bad timing belt. You may also Have a fouled Spark plug.

ChaoticDave · 04-12-2009, 11:20 PM

ok so possibly the engine in it is worth looking into? I will pull the plugs tomorrow and see what I find.

Key-Lay · 04-13-2009, 12:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChaoticDave

ok so possibly the engine in it is worth looking into? I will pull the plugs tomorrow and see what I find.

Pulling the plugs wont do much to check for a fouled plug you'll have to remove the sparks themselves and look at the diodes, but when you pull the plugs look for, pardon the term but this is the best I can come up with at 1am, "boogers" on the plugs the "boogers" are crystallized oil and that can tell you if you have leaking grommets or a valve cover gasket. You may also have a blown head gasket, but doubtful.

As for the engine it's self, it could probably benefit from a gasket kit a cleaning and some TLC but in general Toyota Engines take lickin' and keep kickin', it's probably cheaper to repair your engine than buy a another one not to mention the one you pull out of a junk yard will probably be in similar condition and is pretty serious work to swap engines, but if you can do all labor your self try and fix what you got but you may want a better diagnosis, I'm not a fledged tech, yet...

ChaoticDave · 04-13-2009, 03:51 PM

Ok I pulled the plugs and changed them all. The first 2 cylinders from (if facing the rear of the car) left to right had some oily crap on them. The 1st plug had oil on it but not soaked. I put the plugs in after i made sure they were gapped correctly and The number 1 cylinder still is not firing.I can remove the wire,It has good spark but it does not change

The noise I posted in my original post seems to be there.Right below the valve cover. It smokes very blue pretty good when warmer.But the temp stays fine,Oil is clean and antifreeze is clean.

I priced used engines today and they are insane. I may take it to a reputable foreign specific shop and have them diagnose it.

My thoughts are and I am kinda of a noob. Something with a valve (knocking noise) or spring of some sort is preventing that chamber from combusting. Allowing the oil just to burn through. Again I suppose a bad ring would do the same.

Any other thoughts I would appeciate it.I may have it towed soon.

dirocyn · 04-14-2009, 08:10 PM

Borrow a compression tester and test that cylinder, along with the one next to it. You'll see a huge difference between the two--and low compression would keep it from firing. Next, squirt a tablespoon or so of motor oil down the spark plug hole, and re-test the compression. If the pressure comes up when you do that, your problem is a ring and the noise you're hearing is piston slap. If that does not change the compression, the problem is a hole elsewhere--likely a valve that's stuck open or messed up.

wolfamongsheep88 · 04-15-2009, 01:40 AM

you also might want to look into the valve adjustment. it should be done every 60k or so and if the valves are wrong it will sound like clicking or ticking and it will seriously mess up the cylinder function. the oil on the spark plugs means the seals on the valve cover for the spark plug tunnels are bad. are there any other leaks coming from the valve cover?

Jackstand Queen · 04-15-2009, 09:32 PM

In almost every case of blue smoke and high oil consumption . . . the motor is toast. There's a thread called "why are rebuilts crap?".

Have you looked into used Japanese engine imports? If mine went South, that's probably where I'd look for a replacement.

Swapping out an engine is a big ass job. Taken bolt by bolt, its nothing you haven't already done. Its just the size of the total job is on a whole other scale.

04-12-2009, 08:42 PM	#1 (permalink)
ChaoticDave No Skills Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Simpson PA Posts: 3 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	Just got my 1st Mr2. I may need an engine.What should I expect? Hello everyone. I got this car on a super deal. I knew it had engine issues. Its an 89 Mr2,119k,4cyl,5spd with t tops.Body really good,Little rust on the wheel wells but nothing major. Everything works like it should and it does run now. But not very well. Right now its blowing pure blue smoke after it warms up and has a top end tap,noise etc. Seems like it is misfiring also. I am not going to try to invest in this engine. I know it has low miles (119k) but somewhere in its life before me something went wrong. I am most likely going to try and buy a used engine from a junkyard or somewhere reputable that has decent miles and its complete. I dont have a ton of money but would love to run this car this summer.How much are engines usually for this? and how hard is it to change it out? I am mechanically inclined but I have never worked on one of these.It looks like the entire engine and trans would drop out with the cradle? Any info on what I should look for and what kinda price range I should be looking to spend.Again.Trying to do it on a budget for now.Besides the engine the car is ready to go. Thanks! btw the engine is the 1600 twin cam non turbo or supercharged.Plain jane 4 banger.

04-13-2009, 03:51 PM	#5 (permalink)
ChaoticDave No Skills Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Simpson PA Posts: 3 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	UPDATE Ok I pulled the plugs and changed them all. The first 2 cylinders from (if facing the rear of the car) left to right had some oily crap on them. The 1st plug had oil on it but not soaked. I put the plugs in after i made sure they were gapped correctly and The number 1 cylinder still is not firing.I can remove the wire,It has good spark but it does not change The noise I posted in my original post seems to be there.Right below the valve cover. It smokes very blue pretty good when warmer.But the temp stays fine,Oil is clean and antifreeze is clean. I priced used engines today and they are insane. I may take it to a reputable foreign specific shop and have them diagnose it. My thoughts are and I am kinda of a noob. Something with a valve (knocking noise) or spring of some sort is preventing that chamber from combusting. Allowing the oil just to burn through. Again I suppose a bad ring would do the same. Any other thoughts I would appeciate it.I may have it towed soon.

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04-12-2009, 11:07 PM	#2 (permalink)
Key-Lay Tecky Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Orlando FLA Posts: 234 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	Blue smoke is most likely you burning oil, The knocking on the top could be a floated valve or a bad valve spring, something like that, misfire could be bad timing belt. You may also Have a fouled Spark plug.

04-12-2009, 11:20 PM	#3 (permalink)
ChaoticDave No Skills Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Simpson PA Posts: 3 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	ok so possibly the engine in it is worth looking into? I will pull the plugs tomorrow and see what I find.

04-14-2009, 08:10 PM	#6 (permalink)
dirocyn Cage Fighter Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Murfreesboro, TN Posts: 1,181 Thanks: 14 Thanked 110 Times in 108 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	Borrow a compression tester and test that cylinder, along with the one next to it. You'll see a huge difference between the two--and low compression would keep it from firing. Next, squirt a tablespoon or so of motor oil down the spark plug hole, and re-test the compression. If the pressure comes up when you do that, your problem is a ring and the noise you're hearing is piston slap. If that does not change the compression, the problem is a hole elsewhere--likely a valve that's stuck open or messed up.

04-15-2009, 01:40 AM	#7 (permalink)
wolfamongsheep88 No Skills Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 2 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	you also might want to look into the valve adjustment. it should be done every 60k or so and if the valves are wrong it will sound like clicking or ticking and it will seriously mess up the cylinder function. the oil on the spark plugs means the seals on the valve cover for the spark plug tunnels are bad. are there any other leaks coming from the valve cover?

04-15-2009, 09:32 PM	#8 (permalink)
Jackstand Queen Cage Fighter Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 840 Thanks: 75 Thanked 64 Times in 60 Posts iTrader Rating: (1/100% )	In almost every case of blue smoke and high oil consumption . . . the motor is toast. There's a thread called "why are rebuilts crap?". Have you looked into used Japanese engine imports? If mine went South, that's probably where I'd look for a replacement. Swapping out an engine is a big ass job. Taken bolt by bolt, its nothing you haven't already done. Its just the size of the total job is on a whole other scale.