Mister Tew Note Log
1991 Toyota MR2
Property of BDC.
Added Sep 16 2012
Showing all notes
Jul 15 2015
Finally finished timing belt job. Car started up on first try and runs excellent. Total spent on parts was $177.88 as mentioned, which included a new timing belt, tensioner, valve cover gasket, Japanese oil filter and alternator belt. I also used the project as an excuse to buy an $80 impact gun, $14 crank pulley puller, and a $4 impact extension. Adding oil in (Mobil1 5w-30 full synthetic) the total cost came to $294.51.
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215,945
Added by BDC on Jul 15 2015 at 10:14 am
Apr 17 2015
Ordered timing belt parts: $178.88 incl shipping.
Added by BDC on Apr 17 2015 at 5:25 pm
Apr 8 2015
Long overdue for timing belt, so I parked it for the time being and started taking it apart. Plan to take my time and replace the timing belt and a few other maintenance items while I'm in there.
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215,931
Added by BDC on Apr 10 2015 at 9:38 am
Apr 4 2015
Windshield had an expanding crack, along with several scratches and gouges, so I had it replaced. Insurance covered it, but there was some minor surface rust under the seal which cost $90 to repair.
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215,930
Added by BDC on Apr 4 2015 at 10:55 am
Mar 29 2015
First autocross of season. 10 runs
Added by BDC on Mar 29 2015 at 11:00 am
Mar 26 2015
Swapped the race tires back on. Found one of them flat with a screw in it. Not sure how long it has been there since it looked ground down and had a slow leak basically since new. Fortunately my tire guy was able to patch it ($25). 18,130 miles on all seasons at this time. The fronts look hardly worn but the rears are down to about 1/8" tread.
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215,955
Added by BDC on Mar 26 2015 at 11:20 am
Feb 4 2015
Replaced fog light. Had a bulb left over, so didn't cost anything. Have been driving all week, coolant leak appears to be solved.
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215,382
Added by BDC on Feb 4 2015 at 10:54 pm
Jan 24 2015
Replaced a leaking coolant fitting along with the o-ring and a small coolant hose. A corroded hole in this fitting cause the pinhole leak this summer too. This time I replaced everything, so it shouldn't cause any more trouble.
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215,200
Added by BDC on Jan 24 2015 at 1:06 pm
Jan 14 2015
MR2 has been sitting for a while with a minor coolant leak. Finally found the part to fix it this week, which had been discontinued. Should be here by the weekend.
Added by BDC on Jan 14 2015 at 10:46 am
Nov 12 2014
Replaced rear pads and rotors, incl new shims. Also replaced air filter and both brake and clutch pedal covers.
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215,052
Added by BDC on Nov 12 2014 at 11:39 pm
Nov 3 2014
Discovered that one rear brake pad was wearing unevenly and had worn down to the metal. Ordered new rotors (NAPA) and pads/shims (OEM) as well as new brake/clutch pedal covers and an air filter. Also noticed a leak from a coolant fitting, caused by a corroded pipe which I believe is what caused the coolant leak earlier this year. Fitting is discontinued but I'm trying to source a used one. Ordered the O-ring for that part though, for a grand total of $167.45.
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214,945
Added by BDC on Nov 3 2014 at 10:39 am
Oct 26 2014
Swapped to all seasons, finally, about 250 miles into tank, making about 13,750 miles on the race tires, which were down to between 1 and 3 mm tread left. The rear all season tires are worn more than I thought though, only about 3mm tread left compared to 8mm on the fronts. Makes it very appealing to get non-staggered tires when you wear out the rears twice as fast as the fronts. In hindsight I definitely wouldn't have gotten 2 full seasons out of the racing tires if I couldn't have rotated them.
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214,800
Added by BDC on Oct 26 2014 at 9:59 pm
Oct 6 2014
Kumho tires have been past the wear bars for a couple months, so will remove them soon. May keep them around for part of next year, and possibly a night of drag racing later this month, but they won't last another season. Total mileage is ~13,000 miles over 2 summers. That includes 54 autocross runs (8 events) last season and 60 runs (7 events) this season for a total of 114 runs and 15 events, two of which I had a co-driver.
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214,000
Added by BDC on Oct 6 2014 at 12:06 pm
Jul 26 2014
Replaced turbocharger inlet hose, $58.59. Replaced dome light with used unit for $25, but the unit's buttons stick and I was refunded. I was later able to take the wiring out of the new one and wire it into the old one which had bad wiring but good buttons, so after much hassle this is finally working. Also, the rubber clutch pedal cover broke off, will order new one this week.
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211,150
Added by BDC on Jul 27 2014 at 11:54 pm
Jul 20 2014
Changed oil, Mobil1 5w-30 full synthetic and Toyota 90915-10004 oil filter. Flushed brake fluid and added ATE Type 200 DOT4 racing fluid. 4800 miles on this oil.
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210,858
Added by BDC on Jul 20 2014 at 8:35 pm
Apr 30 2014
Finally installed TRD rear sway bar that I bought last summer. It is 22mm diameter, tubular and weighed 4.3lbs. I have been using a 19mm bar from a 93+ Japanese turbo (stock was 18mm), which weighed 6.5lbs. The TRD bar is supposed to be 30-ish percent stiffer than stock, and if they were comparing it to the stock 18mm 1991 bar, then it is pretty much the same as the 19mm bar which is 24% stiffer than the 18. But either way it saves a couple pounds and came with the front bar which I installed last fall... and it is out of production.
Added by BDC on May 1 2014 at 2:49 am
Apr 9 2014
Installed new front pads and rotors. Brake squeak and vibration is gone. Weighed rotors and the new ones are about a half pound heavier per side for about a pound gain of unsprung weight.
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207,115
Added by BDC on Apr 10 2014 at 3:58 pm
Apr 7 2014
New front brakes arrived. $41.46 for Toyota pads and $70.31 for NAPA rotors.
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207,115
Added by BDC on Apr 8 2014 at 4:41 pm
Mar 26 2014
Changed oil filter, Toyota YZZF1, cost $6. I also put the sticky tires on for the first time this year. Put 5780 miles on the all seasons over this interval, for a total of 17,500.
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206,080
Added by BDC on Mar 27 2014 at 5:10 pm
Mar 15 2014
Changed oil. Mobil1 full synthetic, 1 quart of 15w-50 with 2.5 quarts of 5w-20. Oil filter wrench broke, could not get oil filter off with screwdriver method, so did not change at this time. 6,000 miles on this oil.
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204,950
Added by BDC on Mar 21 2014 at 6:15 am
Jan 17 2014
Installed single DIN pocket underneath radio ($9.95). Also removed rear speakers, factory subwoofers, and sub amp, as they were dead.
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2,021,400
Added by BDC on Jan 18 2014 at 9:11 am
Jan 10 2014
Replaced fog light bulbs, and rewired the fog lights to turn on without the flip-up headlights. Now the fogs will turn on solely with their switch as long as the key is in the "on" position. No need for new fog light screws as the originals were in good shape and didn't give me any trouble.
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202,063
Added by BDC on Jan 11 2014 at 10:25 am
Jan 7 2014
Finally installed new stereo head unit. It took a lot of extra time integrating a new head unit with the existing "premium" stereo including subwoofer and 2 factory amps. But after 2 weekends of work, everything ended up working out. I already had the stereo left over from another car, so no cost except for some wire and terminals for a ground I had to fix. Battery finally died, cost $89.97 to replace. :(
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201,700
Added by BDC on Jan 8 2014 at 4:29 am
Dec 31 2013
2013 recap: 15,823 miles at 13.6 cents/mile avg cost. 6,061 of those mileage were work trips which were reimbursed. 54 autocross runs over 8 events with no mechanical failures.
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201,700
Added by BDC on Sep 4 2014 at 4:32 pm
Nov 5 2013
Replaced intercooler hose ($72.89).
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200,700
Added by BDC on Nov 6 2013 at 2:31 am
Nov 2 2013
Replaced thermostat and changed coolant. Also removed and cleaned the throttle body and idle speed control valve, and calibrated the TPS on the work bench, trying to clear a code 51 for TPS idle switch. Replaced all throttle body/ISCV gaskets. Parts cost: $39.84. Tore an intercooler hose, new part in the mail. Reset ECU but still has not cleared the code 51. But, it definitely drives much smoother, warms up faster, and doesn't get stuck in low boost mode. Also replaced one indicator bulb, bought new fog light bulbs, will install later ($7.98).
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200,630
Added by BDC on Nov 3 2013 at 9:14 am
Sep 25 2013
Aired up tires to 38psi 100 mi into tank, they were all low and a couple were down to 20.
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199,460
Added by BDC on Sep 26 2013 at 5:08 pm
Sep 14 2013
Replaced driver's side window switch panel, which was broken before I bought the car ($22.61). Also replaced all 4 brake bleeder screw covers ($7.40)and oil (Mobil1 10w-30 full synthetic and Toyota made-in-Japan filter).
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199,000
Added by BDC on Sep 15 2013 at 10:48 am
Sep 8 2013
Installed TRD front bar. According to my luggage scale, the old 19mm bar weighs 7.1lbs, and the new tubular 22.5mm bar weighs 4.9lbs. Paid $200 shipped for both bars, but have only installed the front so far. Looked like I need to replace the other end link as well, unfortunately. Also flushed brake fluid and bled fronts (ran out of fluid before I could bleed rears).
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198,400
Added by BDC on Aug 5 2014 at 12:11 pm
Aug 24 2013
Put the all-season tires back on,189 miles into tank. Total miles on sticky tires: 3900.
Added by BDC on Aug 25 2013 at 12:02 pm
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