Mr2 tdi

lozzzzzz

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 31, 2014
Location
UK
TDI
MR2 (AHF engine)
Thats very kind, but I'm happy enough with the way it looks now :)

Thanks a lot m1ketdi, I'll have a read through that lot :)
 

lozzzzzz

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 31, 2014
Location
UK
TDI
MR2 (AHF engine)
I've been busy with lots of other car related stuff, so haven't had any time on the MR2 for a while. But this weekend I did get some done, and with some help too :) (cheers Matt)

The exhaust is fitted, I've bled the brakes and clutch, starred for hours at the gear linkage, finished the coolant hoses (just the expansion tank to go now), trimmed the subframe where the driveshaft was looking a little close and even found a way to connect the Toyota air box to the TDI MAF sensor (not yet fitted but I know how :) )

I've done away with all the resonance chambers (turbo means far less pulsing in the inlet pipe). No need for all these:


Found a new cold air feed for the filter housing :) (without the massive resonance chamber):


And I even managed to find the air box mount that I had previously thrown away :)


Then to top it all off, I got the diesel filter mounted and managed to start it for the first time with the exhaust on :) The video isn't very informative but the cut down long story is that the exhaust is very quiet :) but the engine is very loud!!! (I think I'm going to need to sound deadening under the engine cover)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ke2LAJtPCc&feature=youtu.be

The first start is with an empty filter so it runs out of diesel pretty quick, second is after we'd primed the filter.

More to come
 

lozzzzzz

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 31, 2014
Location
UK
TDI
MR2 (AHF engine)
I've had a very productive morning on the MR2 although my success has been accompanied by some new problems to solve. The fuel lines are all in now and the engine runs with the simple connecting of the battery and turning of the key :)


The vacuum feed to the brake servo is now connected up.


And the expansion tank is finally mounted and I've filled the system with coolant and bled it, although its not got fully hot yet, so there might be more bubbles to remove.



There are however a couple of issues. The coil light flashes after a minute or so of running, I'm not sure really what that means. And more concerning, it smokes! a lot! blue smoke, I think its unburnt fuel.

I messed around a little with the timing before the engine went in, I advanced it knowing that this can be a god idea with Bio, This morning I retarded it again to see if it cured the smoke. It made lots less combustion noise, but still smoked plenty. I thought this might just be down to it being on bio, but that can't be right, my 106 doesn't smoke at all. It could be that an injector or two is contaminated? I did run it a couple of times without a filter1 :(

Any ideas welcome? I've love to hear what you think about the smoke or the flashing coil light?

More to come
 

m1ketdi

Veteran Member
Joined
May 18, 2009
Location
Leam
TDI
Leon BKD
Coil light could be a number of things. But basically these cars just flash that light instead of lighting up a MIL light. Need to connect with something to read the fault codes to narrow it down easily...
 

lozzzzzz

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 31, 2014
Location
UK
TDI
MR2 (AHF engine)
Cool, I have a friend with VAG Com hopefully it'll be something I can fix :)
 

lozzzzzz

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 31, 2014
Location
UK
TDI
MR2 (AHF engine)
I've made a bit of progress recently, I had a good day on it today.

The air box is in with a new filter:



And connected up via the MAF sensor. That's the Toyota air box and VAG MAF sensor.


And this morning I got round to joining the VAG gear linkage cables with the MR2 gear linkage cables.


It's all covered and sealed now too. I few teething problems with plastic melting as I welded :) but nothing too difficult to sort. Its by no means perfect, the Toyota gear stick was designed for only three rows of gears (with reverse being behind 5th), and now it has 4 rows (with revers being to the left of 1st gear). The travel of the cables is perfect, it's just takes a little practice to get the one you want (reverse, 1st, 3rd or 5th). I'll be fitting a quiet buzzer to warn when you've selected reverse. I'm pretty happy with it. I think it would be a dis-proportionate amount of work to make it a really slick gear change.

This meant I could drive the car around the driveway for the first time. It was running for about 3 hours, so I was able to test it a bit. Even so it only reached around 78 deg C. B***dy efficient diesels, I wasn't able to see if the cooling fan worked.

Here's a vid :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XR9Hp4XzfU8

I have found quite a few problems already though :(

There a clutch travel problem, well a lack of clutch travel. I thought I was getting away with it, push the pedal to the bottom and push it into reverse and there was no noise. But after a while it began to drag a little and grind into reverse gear. I'll try bleeding it again, but I might have to look into an alternative diameter master (Toyota) or slave (VW). I hope there is something that will fit.

Next, when I really loaded up the alternator, lights, fan, heated rear window, I think the belt area began to smoke, I'm not certain as there was a breeze, but I need to look into this a little further.

Mice have eaten part of the boot seal so I'll need to get another.

And there is a clunk when moving off in a different direction (forwards to reverse or vice versa), I think the third engine mount need looking at. As I was leaving I noticed that the exhaust flexi joint coming from the turbo elbow did not look "relaxed" as it did when I first made and fitted it, it seemed to be at a funny angle (not haha funny either!) So I think I might need to re-make or add too the third engine mount.

These fairly major issues put a bit of a downer on things this afternoon, having thought it was pretty much ready for MOT in the morning.

Oh well.

More to come
 

dremd

Veteran Member
Joined
May 31, 2007
Location
South Louisiana
TDI
06 sprinter. 03 jetta wagon premium with 6 speed ALH swap, 14 JSW
Giant giant Congrats!!

You make me want to put an ALH in something never intended just for that feeling.
 

ATR

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jun 18, 2005
Location
Baltimore
TDI
2011 Golf TDI 6MT
Should've put a K20 in it. Like in 1320videos
K20 with boost would be a fun time... but this is tdi club ;)
I'm interested to see how it compares to the stock na engine in both performance and handling :cool:
 
Last edited:

lozzzzzz

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 31, 2014
Location
UK
TDI
MR2 (AHF engine)
Thanks folks :) I'm not sure about power yet, but judging by the suspension, I think I might have added lightness? ? I would love to put the "cat amoung the pigeons" so to speak and try it along side some NA petrol versions



I've had a couple of evenings on the car this week, and although a lot of it was spent looking and thinking, I feel I've made some good progress towards solving the issues found when driving around.

I think I've found a clutch master from a Toyota 4Runner/Hilux is the same and the MR2 cylinder but larger diameter. This should solve the clutch travel issue without a minimum of fuss (fingers crossed). The MR2 cylinder is 5/8 and this would be 3/4, a 20% increase in diameter, but more importantly a 40% ish increase in piston area! That's quite a lot! Watch this space.

The exhaust is off again (only a 5 bolt job :) ) and I'm hoping that the flexi will bend back into shape. The damage to the flexi was caused by the third engine mount failure when giving it some stick in 1st gear. The torque at the wheels (and therefore the torque needed to hold the engine in place) is massive in first gear. As a ball park figure (I've not looked it up for this gearbox) first is generally 3:1 and final drive is around that too, so you can multiply engine torque by 9!!! when in first gear, and that's the torque that the engine mount has to withstand to stop the engine spinning int he engine bay.

Anyway... I've straightened the broken engine mount, used much thicker steel for the mounting points to the engine, and added more steel to the structure:
Going form this:


To this:



But this is just the first part of the plan. I'm going to use some the position of the original mount, underneath the gearbox and make another section to join up with the bit pictured above. Strength in triangles.

More to come
 

lozzzzzz

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 31, 2014
Location
UK
TDI
MR2 (AHF engine)
A small update this evening. I've bent the exhaust back into shape and the 'uprated' engine mount is complete, it should take a little more punishment this one. You can see as well as strengthening the original section, there is now an additional section that extends to the bottom of the gearbox, its a little heavy but I'm sure its much stronger now :)



I took it for a fairly thorough trashing up and down the drive, plenty of clutch dumping and other such fun and it seems to be taking the punishment.

I left all the electrics on too and the alternator/belt is no longer smoking/steaming so I'm putting that down to some coolant steaming off as it warmed up.

Just the clutch to tackle now and a few small tidy up jobs. Its really getting there. :)

More to come
 

lozzzzzz

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 31, 2014
Location
UK
TDI
MR2 (AHF engine)
Making Bio this weekend was a right faff, it took ages! But when that was all done, I did a little more on the MR2.

I finally got round to timing the engine properly following the cam belt change. This was only to get the cam timing right, I've still got to get the injection pump timing done with VAG-com.


Then popped everything back together, put the cross brace in, and the edge covers.


Then finally the engine cover.


Then it was ready for a wash. At this point I realised how late it was and packed up :(

Before the MOT I've still got to get a couple of slow punctures fixed, and the injection timing right, then give it a good clean and polish.

There is a bigger set of wheels and tires to go on to get the gearing correct for the speedo and bring the revs down a touch, but I thought it worth giving it a try first.

Close now :) :) :) :)

More to come
 

lozzzzzz

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 31, 2014
Location
UK
TDI
MR2 (AHF engine)
Its amazing how long I've been telling people that "it's ready for MOT", yet I've spent another day working on it :)

I borrow VAG-Com from a friend of mine and timed the injection pump this morning. Got it well within the limits, but on the advanced side (good for Bio).


Checked on the error codes and had a good go at trying to stop the heater light from flashing (to no avail :( ). The EGR and throttle valve fault I'm not bothered about, they're not causing the heater light to flash. The ABS fault is inevitable as the ABS is still in the Seat Toledo (and doesn't work on wireless) but the brake implausibility thing is very annoying. I don't think I'll be able to fix it really so I'll get the black tape out and cover it up :)

I also activated the cruise control :) and am looking forward to trying that.


Found that the flexi joint in the exhaust is leaking oil, this is annoying firstly because I thought I'd got away with it, but it looks like I'll have to buy another one, but more to the point what the hell is oil doing in the exhaust!!!!! I guess the turbo might be tired, or perhaps this is normal??? (it has been idling for about 4 hours) After the injection timing didn't cure the smoke I tried ragging the hell out of it up and down the drive to get it nice and hot and it did stop smoking :) :) :) I'll have to see about the turbo when its on the road (watch for smoke and oil consumption).
 

lozzzzzz

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 31, 2014
Location
UK
TDI
MR2 (AHF engine)
I vacuum'd, cleaned and polished the paintwork with G10 finishing compound and normal car polish for hours to get rid of these very annoying stains, they did not want to shift!


The polishing is by no means finished, but here is a teaser :)


More to come
 

m1ketdi

Veteran Member
Joined
May 18, 2009
Location
Leam
TDI
Leon BKD
Its amazing how long I've been telling people that "it's ready for MOT", yet I've spent another day working on it :)

I borrow VAG-Com from a friend of mine and timed the injection pump this morning. Got it well within the limits, but on the advanced side (good for Bio).


Checked on the error codes and had a good go at trying to stop the heater light from flashing (to no avail :( ). The EGR and throttle valve fault I'm not bothered about, they're not causing the heater light to flash. The ABS fault is inevitable as the ABS is still in the Seat Toledo (and doesn't work on wireless) but the brake implausibility thing is very annoying. I don't think I'll be able to fix it really so I'll get the black tape out and cover it up :)

I also activated the cruise control :) and am looking forward to trying that.


Found that the flexi joint in the exhaust is leaking oil, this is annoying firstly because I thought I'd got away with it, but it looks like I'll have to buy another one, but more to the point what the hell is oil doing in the exhaust!!!!! I guess the turbo might be tired, or perhaps this is normal??? (it has been idling for about 4 hours) After the injection timing didn't cure the smoke I tried ragging the hell out of it up and down the drive to get it nice and hot and it did stop smoking :) :) :) I'll have to see about the turbo when its on the road (watch for smoke and oil consumption).
Have you got the brake and clutch switches from the toledo installed?

I think that fault about the brake switch may stop your cruise working....
 

Lug_Nut

TDIClub Enthusiast, Pre-Forum Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 20, 1998
Location
Sterling, Massachusetts. USA
TDI
idi: 1988 Bolens DGT1700H, the other oil burner: 1967 Saab Sonett II two stroke
re: timing chart and fuel.
The timing charts temporarily turns "off" the ECU automatic re-centering so that the basic setting can be seen. Once you leave this 'page' the ECU takes control again and re-centers the timing, regardless of fuel.
Having the basic setting near center means the ECU has to apply less 'offset' to re-center, that's all.
I used to think that a slightly retarded basic setting was environmentally better (lower peak pressure at injection, so less NOx formation) until I realized that fact.

Now I don't worry. If it's between the upper and lower bounds the ECU has enough adjustment range to cope and bring it centered.
 

lozzzzzz

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 31, 2014
Location
UK
TDI
MR2 (AHF engine)
Very informative indeed! I'll have a good study of that when its on the road and try to get to the bottom of it. It seems the cruise won't work with that light flashing so I have to sort it.
 

lozzzzzz

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 31, 2014
Location
UK
TDI
MR2 (AHF engine)
Right then, a very busy month at work is over, I have booked the MOT for Saturday, then off into Whales camping :) :)

if it fails then we're in the pug 106 :( no pressure then!

After literally months of considering the options (from time to time), the wheels are now shod in 205 50 16, and 225 50 16 at the rear. All four are on Honda accord 16" 7J wheels.


The PCD is the same as the Toyota but the offset and center bore are different. I needed a 10mm spacer to put the wheels in the right place. I went with 20mm ish on the rear though as the wheels did used to look very "inboard". I went with hubcentric on the rear as 20mm is a little long to be relying on the studs for location. This meant I needed new longer wheel studs. 63mm was the longest I could get. I shortened one set by 6mm for the front and left the rears are 63mm long.


I used a hammer to knock out the old-uns, and a Toyota wheel nut in a socket top pull the new studs in.
 

lozzzzzz

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 31, 2014
Location
UK
TDI
MR2 (AHF engine)
Unfortunately I snapped one of the studs :( so I'm hoping a replacement arrives before Saturday.

Then the brakes were put back on and the spacer fitted.


Fronts done, just the rears to go (the front had just been jacked up at this point so is a little high).


All done! and once again the dog features in the photo :) The reason for changing the wheels was to get the right overall diameter, to give the diesel engine the long gears it had in the Toledo, this means the speedo will read correctly and engine won't be revving to much on the motorway, it is a diesel after all. I didn't want the car to look too bling, slammed on 24" wheels :) but I admit I wanted it to look a little smarter than it does on those 14" Toyota wheels. So I think 16" OEM Honda was a good compromise.


I've still got to replace that busted stud on Saturday morning, try and adjust the rear tracking slightly and give it a quick wash then its fingers crossed that a good thrashing and a tank of real diesel cleans up the exhaust fumes :) oh and hopefully nothing else is wrong :)

More to come :)
 

lozzzzzz

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 31, 2014
Location
UK
TDI
MR2 (AHF engine)
The smoke cleared on the way to the MOT station :) i think it must have been oil in the exhaust (bought from ebay). The brakes cleaned up and passed ok and i have had an absolutely awesome day driving through Wales with her indoors, in Mr Two :) we are now canping ready for more MR2 TDI fun tomorrow :)

More to come
 

lozzzzzz

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 31, 2014
Location
UK
TDI
MR2 (AHF engine)
Thanks

There are a number of things still to do (things that I knew about) and a number of new minor issues to solve, so I’ll keep checking in here. I’d like to take it to the drag strip just once and put it against a standard MR2 petrol (NA) I’d like to see how far off it is. And of course, I’ll be doing some lorry chasing, normal driving, and crazy driving, and will report on the MPG figures.

I’ll write a little about the weekend for anyone interested.

I got up early and changed the last wheel stud, no dramas there really, got the rear tracking in spec, (front is already good) and gave it a clean. Then off to the MOT station. By the time I had got to the petrol station it was smoking pretty badly, I was in two minds about turning back, there was no way it would pass! I stuck with it, just in case it was the bio diesel.
It only took about 20L of fuel before it was full? Then I remembered I put load of bio in to see if the fuel gauge worked. I set off up the long hill through Bromyard and it was smoking like mad. Everyone was looking at me for all the wrong reasons it was thick blue smoke! I’d lost hope by this point, I was thinking of new injectors and turbo etc. My thinking was, I’m on the road and legal for now, lets just enjoy it for a few mins. I thrashed the hell out of it for a few more miles and as I approached the MOT station the smoke began to the reduce, so I went on a mile or two. By the time I got back to the garage, there was no visible smoke at all, even under full throttle.
I’m pretty sure now that this was as a result of the “MR2 turbo” exhaust I had bought off ebay, I imagine the previous owner had failed a turbo and put lots of engine oil into the exhaust. I had now finished burning it all off.

Anyway 40 mins later and a few comments from the MOT man, I was good to go. Went back for the missus and the tent and headed for Wales.

We went to the dams at Rhayader, then on to Aberystwyth via the really rather excellent “mountain road” or Elan Valley. Camped in Devils bridge and faffed around in Aber today, then home on the faster road, here are a few pics followed by my thoughts on the car.






This is an MR2 with a diesel engine! I can only take credit for engine transplant, everything else is standard. The handling can only be put down to the genius engineers from Japan. I knew this was the case and this is why I went with this car. I really love the way this thing drives, I would say that it doesn’t have the feedback and truly instant steering feel of the MX5, but it is very close. The most important thing here is the lack of weight at the front. It changes direction so dam quickly.

It “quite nice” at normal traffic speeds and there are no nasty traits what-so-ever, but when you press on a bit and push it through the corners that’s when it really shows its true colours and gives a feeling of confidence as if to say “is that all you’ve got!”. It is very precise and gives the feeling that there is plenty more grip on tap. It’s really very good fun. Having the roof off is fantastic, and once again really good fun, the noise can perhaps get a little tiring after a couple of hours.

Back to the engine. With the windows closed and the roof on, there is more noise than the petrol engine gives but not by a huge amount, its quietest between 1400 and 2500rpm which is spot on for everyday driving. There is plenty of power and torque for overtaking. It remains to be seem how fast it is against the standard car. However for normal everyday driving, the kind that you do on your way to work, I would argue that this is quicker. (unless you are someone who actually red-line’s it all the time).

I have given the “power booster” ebay special a go now and it seems to make a difference although the “35hp” claim might be a little generous. Watch this space for more info on that.

I did manage to hold back and see what MPG it would do this evening. I did 13miles and the destination was at a slightly lower altitude than the start point so its by no means gospel. But the figure of 78 mpg was on the dash when I arrived. The wheels are the correct diameter for the speedo to read correctly so it looks promising. I’ll be doing lots of actual measurements soon to get some real numbers.

You have my respect if you have managed to read this far, I think I would have put most people to sleep by now. I’ll be back, there is at least another couple of months of work to get it just right, but its been a good weekend for Mr Two TDI.

More to come
 

nicklockard

Torque Dorque
Joined
Aug 15, 2004
Location
Arizona
TDI
SOLD 2010 Touareg Tdi w/factory Tow PCKG
Great job. I think we're all looking forward to your longer term driving impressions and fuel economy figures. Ditch the silly power booster and get a proper chip from one of the respected vendors here, and watch that thing really wake up.
 
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