Lemons Car needs your help.

Double_Down · 09-30-2009, 09:40 AM

We are Team MRD2 and are competing in the Lemons race this weekend at Nelson Ledges in Ohio.

We've also got a bit of an oil leak and I'm hoping you guys could help out with diagnosis. We've got 2 days to get the car ready and more than a little work to do. Some electrical and some mechanical, kill switch and coolant flush (any pointers on this would be greatly appreciated).

Flickr link to gallery
24 hours of Lemons - a set on Flickr

Anyway. Could somebody from the community advise on where the leak could be coming from? I have little data as I wasn't working on this part of the car, I've been otherwise engaged. But I have a couple pics of the problem area and am hoping your collective wisdom can discern which part needs replacing?

jsnod25 · 10-01-2009, 07:41 AM

i dont know if thats leaks to the extent that if you cleaned that up it would take another 20 years to look like that again... i mean it could have been build up of many many years, and some idiot pouring oil in and not using a funnel and letting it spill off the side, or residual oil left when they take of the filter.

Of course it could be bad gaskets, but i would take a degreaser and spray it off, then take a steam cleaner and steam off the last bits of whats left. Then i would whipe it down and see if any oil is coming out. If it can sit or run for a couple days and no new oil, then it should be ok.

Its not uncommon for a 20 +/- year old car to have a build up of oil in that area... it does look like its really old oil too. I say just clean it really well and then start from there and see if "new" oil is coming out anywhere, and that will help narrow it down to which gasket needs replacing.

ToyotaTechGeek · 10-01-2009, 08:05 AM

could be the sandwich plate adapter 'o' rings. sheesh in that area it could be just about any/everything! you can also r&r the copper washers and inspect the oil cooler hose.

dirocyn · 10-01-2009, 01:33 PM

Be careful with steam cleaning, keep water well away from the distributor & coil. You haven't got time to dry those out. Coolant flush procedure is in the bgb and numerous other threads on this forum, also described in the BGB:

Free File Hosting Made Simple - MediaFire

Note, the most important thing in coolant flush is removing all the air. On my car, most of the air actually came out of the valve that's on top of the thermostat, it was also necessary to run the engine with the valves open to get the air out. I just ran the engine with the rad cap open until I got no more bubbles.

My biggest, best piece of advice to anyone running an MR2 in the Lemons race--you need to know how old your coolant hoses are. If you're looking for somewhere you need to spend another $20 in preventative maintenance, this is it. Good luck.

toyotaspeed90 · 10-01-2009, 05:45 PM

just remove the cooler.... it's a lemons car.... when you pit, just make sure you have oil.... if it burns, put more in.

i have n/a and gze cars that don't have problems and I've removed the coolers... they always leak.

when we build our chumps car (if I decide to use my junk 86 hardtop chasis) I won't use a cooler.

anyways... to remove it... pull the lines... pull the oil filter... there will be a 24?mm bolt that goes through... remove it... if it's a 1 piece cooler then it will just all come off... if it's a 2 piece (can't remember between aw11 and ae86) then you will have to unbolt the 2nd section as well... either way... go to a pull-a-part junkard, pull the oil filter off of any late 80's or mid 90's toyota that doesn't have a cooler, and unbolt the adapter... screw that into your block (best bet... find a corolla with a 4afe)

abarks · 10-02-2009, 09:07 PM

Double Down,

I am eager to hear how your race went. A friend of mine and I bought an '87 MK1 last weekend that we are building for LeMons / ChumpCar. The car has 120k miles and hasn't run for several years.

Here's our blog if anyone is interested: Trophy Wife Racing

Did the car hold together? How competitive was it?

traintech86 · 10-03-2009, 04:15 PM

the best of luck to you guys lemons' these bad boys haha

09-30-2009, 09:40 AM	#1 (permalink)
Double_Down No Skills Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 1 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	Lemons Car needs your help. We are Team MRD2 and are competing in the Lemons race this weekend at Nelson Ledges in Ohio. We've also got a bit of an oil leak and I'm hoping you guys could help out with diagnosis. We've got 2 days to get the car ready and more than a little work to do. Some electrical and some mechanical, kill switch and coolant flush (any pointers on this would be greatly appreciated). Flickr link to gallery 24 hours of Lemons - a set on Flickr Anyway. Could somebody from the community advise on where the leak could be coming from? I have little data as I wasn't working on this part of the car, I've been otherwise engaged. But I have a couple pics of the problem area and am hoping your collective wisdom can discern which part needs replacing?

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10-01-2009, 07:41 AM	#2 (permalink)
jsnod25 How did this get changed? Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Va beach, va Posts: 133 Thanks: 6 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	i dont know if thats leaks to the extent that if you cleaned that up it would take another 20 years to look like that again... i mean it could have been build up of many many years, and some idiot pouring oil in and not using a funnel and letting it spill off the side, or residual oil left when they take of the filter. Of course it could be bad gaskets, but i would take a degreaser and spray it off, then take a steam cleaner and steam off the last bits of whats left. Then i would whipe it down and see if any oil is coming out. If it can sit or run for a couple days and no new oil, then it should be ok. Its not uncommon for a 20 +/- year old car to have a build up of oil in that area... it does look like its really old oil too. I say just clean it really well and then start from there and see if "new" oil is coming out anywhere, and that will help narrow it down to which gasket needs replacing.

10-01-2009, 08:05 AM	#3 (permalink)
ToyotaTechGeek resident GEEK! Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: ...boosting mid-corner Posts: 995 Thanks: 14 Thanked 31 Times in 31 Posts My Google Map iTrader Rating: (2/100% )	could be the sandwich plate adapter 'o' rings. sheesh in that area it could be just about any/everything! you can also r&r the copper washers and inspect the oil cooler hose.

10-01-2009, 01:33 PM	#4 (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% )	Be careful with steam cleaning, keep water well away from the distributor & coil. You haven't got time to dry those out. Coolant flush procedure is in the bgb and numerous other threads on this forum, also described in the BGB: Free File Hosting Made Simple - MediaFire Note, the most important thing in coolant flush is removing all the air. On my car, most of the air actually came out of the valve that's on top of the thermostat, it was also necessary to run the engine with the valves open to get the air out. I just ran the engine with the rad cap open until I got no more bubbles. My biggest, best piece of advice to anyone running an MR2 in the Lemons race--you need to know how old your coolant hoses are. If you're looking for somewhere you need to spend another $20 in preventative maintenance, this is it. Good luck.

10-01-2009, 05:45 PM	#5 (permalink)
toyotaspeed90 No Skills Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Bellingham, WA Posts: 2,407 Thanks: 0 Thanked 149 Times in 144 Posts My Google Map iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	just remove the cooler.... it's a lemons car.... when you pit, just make sure you have oil.... if it burns, put more in. i have n/a and gze cars that don't have problems and I've removed the coolers... they always leak. when we build our chumps car (if I decide to use my junk 86 hardtop chasis) I won't use a cooler. anyways... to remove it... pull the lines... pull the oil filter... there will be a 24?mm bolt that goes through... remove it... if it's a 1 piece cooler then it will just all come off... if it's a 2 piece (can't remember between aw11 and ae86) then you will have to unbolt the 2nd section as well... either way... go to a pull-a-part junkard, pull the oil filter off of any late 80's or mid 90's toyota that doesn't have a cooler, and unbolt the adapter... screw that into your block (best bet... find a corolla with a 4afe)

10-02-2009, 09:07 PM	#6 (permalink)
abarks No Skills Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 9 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	Double Down, I am eager to hear how your race went. A friend of mine and I bought an '87 MK1 last weekend that we are building for LeMons / ChumpCar. The car has 120k miles and hasn't run for several years. Here's our blog if anyone is interested: Trophy Wife Racing Did the car hold together? How competitive was it?

10-03-2009, 04:15 PM	#7 (permalink)
traintech86 Cage Fighter Join Date: May 2009 Location: Yokosuka, Kanagawa Japan Posts: 1,802 Thanks: 27 Thanked 47 Times in 43 Posts My Google Map iTrader Rating: (3/100% )	the best of luck to you guys lemons' these bad boys haha