Oil Leak/over heating

[janelle422]

I'm a brand new MR2 owner...it's actually for my fiance who will be home from Iraq soon. It's an 87 automatic and I was told by a friend that he thinks the oil leak is coming from the torque converter. It seems to be leaking from the passenger side, but only when driven. It stops leaking once the car is cooled down. As for overheating, the temp gauge doesn't show any change in temp, but you can hear water boiling even before looking under the hood. Any suggestions for a girl who's only ever worked on simple American made cars?

[mr2tim]

1st off, A tip of my US Army Veterans hat to a lady in waiting for her soldier guy!!

I'm from Detroit originally, and like you, never owned an import till this 1989 SC car fell off the showroom floor and into my garage.

The leak.
Being noted on the pass side of the car MAY indicate a engine leak since it's on that side of the car. Some of the causes could be: cranksahft seal, camshafts seal, distributor "O" ring, bad sealing of the valve covers. All of which are not within the scope of your repairs as a novice. Just isolating these conditions takes time (or $)

To confirm it's not trannsmission fluid frequently check the dipstick for the transmission.

Overheating.
Here's something you probably can do with a little coaching. We hope.

These car/engines are prone to faulty removal of air from the cooling systems and as a result can show lots of screwy symptoms. I'm attaching pictures from the Service Manual that will assist you in finding these "bleeding" parts that allow air to be withdrawn from the coolant.

Once you've ripped thru this 1-2 hr procedure we may want to talk again if the problem is unresolved.

Go slow and be very careful, use gloves if you can, coolant is like boiling water on the stove and is very unforgiving and will leave permanent scars (been there done that!!)

Congradulations on your (M)idengined (R)unabout 2 purchase, your gonna like the 32+mpg as well as the precise turning and handling.

Happy Motoring

mr2tim
US Army Veteran
54th Military Police Co

Originally Posted by janelle422

I'm a brand new MR2 owner...it's actually for my fiance who will be home from Iraq soon. It's an 87 automatic and I was told by a friend that he thinks the oil leak is coming from the torque converter. It seems to be leaking from the passenger side, but only when driven. It stops leaking once the car is cooled down. As for overheating, the temp gauge doesn't show any change in temp, but you can hear water boiling even before looking under the hood. Any suggestions for a girl who's only ever worked on simple American made cars?