AW11 Tech Questions. RE: Steering & engine check light.

[Devils]

Hey guys,

As some of you will have worked out by now, i'm looking at buying an AW11 again. I've just had one looked at for me and there are a couple of things been noted that i just want to ask you guys/gals about.

1) Going up a hill the engine check light came on, ideas? Went off again and didnt come on for the rest of the test drive.

2) Some oil pooling around the crank pulley, do 4AGZE's have known leak areas? If worst case it is the crank seal gone, how hard are they to change on these cars?

3) Brake rotors are on the limits, how much are new ones roughly (checking the net for this too).

4) Steering seemed 'loose'. I.E. Had play in the steering wheel, not enough for the car to be unstable on the test drive. Just wondering what this could be, the bush in the pinion knuckle, or could it be warn bushes on the tie rod ends? (I dont have much knowledge in this area).

5) When cruising along and put in neutral there was a slight whirring noise like when a wheel bearing is gone. Would this be a front wheel bearing (noise seemed to come from front) or do the AW11 4AGZEs have some noises that they make? If it's a wheel bearing how much are they normally, to have done?

6) From descriptions of problems above, do you think this car will drive 2700kms ok?

Cheers,
Devs.

EDIT: And when a compression test is done, what are acceptable results? 4AGZE AW11 '87.

[dsjoyce]

Compression should be within 121 to 156 psi

[Drifty Midship]

1. Only way to be really sure is check logged error codes from the ECU.
2. Dizzy and cam covers are the usual areas that leak 1st. NO experience changing front main seal but I'm 99% it can be done in-car.
3. appprox $150/180 standard/slotted each
4. Steering rack mounting bushes, steering rack, a little rubber bush at end of steering col that the spline slots into near the uni., tie ends or ball joints any possibility or a combo of the above lol.
5. Sounds like a wheel bearing max $250 a corner to have done... do it yourself for the cost of a bearing (approx $70-85.)
6. It's a toyota... but google how to check error codes and get the codes for the AW. Just check that a major sensor/afm/tps is not failing.

[samoo]

1) Going up a hill the engine check light came on, ideas? Went off again and didnt come on for the rest of the test drive.

http://www.mr2oc.com/showpost.php?p=1004845&postcount=6

that should help. Afaik it remembers all the times the check light has come on until the ecu is reset, so just get car warm then give it a shot.

[Devils]

Cheers, just signing up now so i can look at the link you posted.

Problem being the car is in SA and i'm in WA!!!

[McFly 11]

Hi Devils - spent a while writing a reply (rambler's syndrome) but Drifty has pretty well nailed it

The AW you are looking at sounds like it may have some problems that may have you waiting for another one to come along depending on the cause... It would be good to know if:
- you checked the coolant/fluids for level, age or quality?
- was it thrashed long/hard before or during the drive uphill?

1) Shorting the test connector pins (pin E1 to pin T of check connector) and reading the check light flash codes if you can is the go. Some issues (eg cooling) could mean "do not buy" in my language but some problems are of less consequence and may be just a PITA to fix.
2) Without working backwards it is a bit hard to say. Most seals and gaskets need replacement by now in all AW11s - you could also be looking at tappet cover(s), cam seal(s) or a distributor seal as the culprit too.
3) Budget about $440 for a full set of slotted RDA rotors to your door. Talk to Damien at midnightmods.com.au - he deals in them regularly and can give a firm quote.
4) I totally agree with Drifty. Mechanical problems with the steering gear/yoke are rare. Likely ball joints, tie rod ends are gone but a bad wheel bearing definitely could be the culprit
5) You should check the bearings if you have a jack handy. It isn't a big job.
6) Personally, I would only take a car that was 100% on a long trip away from civilisation

2700K is more than half of one service interval so the engine will require at least one oil top up along the way. For safety's sake the plugs, belts, coolant, brake and clutch fluids should all be checked or replaced, for extra insurance! If the wheel bearing is damaged then I would say the trip is definitely not wise.

[Devils]

Thanks for the reply mate. I'm too far away to check it myself and dont want to bother the kind person again that had a look at it for me this morning.

I'm starting to think spending a bit extra to have it carried over would be better than saving money by driving it over but risking problems.

The other 'worry' i'm having is that once the car gets over here i need to take it over the pits to get it registered for WA roads. To do this i will need to find all oil leaks, there is a clutch fluid leak on the back of the pedal and will need to sort out the steering slackness and possible wheel bearing noise. It's all pretty costly, when i could just buy Mullets for a few K more and not have to worry about taking it over the pits.

Man... all this thinking is giving me a headache. I'm gonna go back outside and pull a engine out of a pulsar *thats my kind of relaxation therapy

[McFly 11]

No wuz
A poorly chosen emotional attachment can be very costly
Any 'new' AW may easily cost more in maintenance than the purchase price if it hasn't been looked after.

If the clutch master is gone in this example (bet it is) then the slave and clutch itself haven't recently had any attention. Obviously the brakes haven't either (the OEMs seem to last forever!) so may also need rebuilding soon. If the tie rods and ball joints are worn the shocks are too - a lot of time and/or money may need to be spent on replacing various suspension components. Realistically a track MR2 would need these replaced anyway but for a daily driver you could buy a model with these already done and save a bucket of cash.

It could still be a good deal depending on: the price, body condition, interior, the engine k's and condition and a cooling system that has been kept on toyota red (especially if flushed every 100K Km or so). All the known problems so far are not terminal If you do buy the car, it can at least be driven to and from freight depots which will save you a few hundred with some car carriers. The delivery cost would be partly insurance and partly convenience but probably worth it in the end.

[Adsport]

sounds expensive. theres one on jspec for 5k ..

[mullett]

First up...I'd never pay four hundred for RDA rotors! For my MR2 (without trade price at the time) they were $120 each from Auto One, slotted...but I wouldn't buy RDA again either. DBAs should be around $150 each, and are a far superiour product, to my mind anyway

I did all the ball joints in mine, and I've got the tierods in the shed, budget $200 for parts for that, and a few hours to do it unless you have a hoist. (you'll need access to a hydraulic press, NEVER hammer them out of the rod...) Not sure about the MR2, but on most cars the actual steering box itself has external backlash adjustment. This won't help if there's a failed component, of course, but if the box is shagging out...On the other hand, I'd be surprised if it had, toyota make good gear

The oil seal could be anything, the dizzy 'O' went on mine, it was a few dollars and ten minutes to change. The front main seal CAN be done in the car, but it wouldn't be a fun job...The hard part is getting the bottom timing gear off...

Bit of a simplistic question, but the uphill-engine light problem, did he check the oil before he drove it? If the car looses oil pressure I'm 99%sure that the light will come on...

The whirring could be a wheel bearing, or the worn rotors rubbing...normally that'll be more of a 'whir whir whir' noise than a constant whine though. Wheel bearings for MR2s (and a lot of modern cars) are far more of a bastard than the stub-axle kind. The hub has to come out of the car, and pressed apart into a few different peices, and a whole new bearing assembly ($100-$150, get the genuine ones from NTN bearings), has to be pressed back in with new seals. Not a really hard job, but time consuming...BGB can help you out with all this

As far as driving 2700km goes...I'd bet that it would, but the old 'shit happens' phrase stands true...I know a guy who had a really nice SSS pulsar, drove it daily for a year or so and never had a problem, sold it, and less than a week later it spun a bearing...If something is going to fail, fail it shall. Grab yourself some top-level RAC cover before you leave. $150, gives you emergency accomodation, towing, free hire cars...etc. And it's not restricted to your car, anything you're in or driving is covered for the year...

Rant! RM.

[McFly 11]

First up...I'd never pay four hundred for RDA rotors! For my MR2 (without trade price at the time) they were $120 each from Auto One, slotted...but I wouldn't buy RDA again either. DBAs should be around $150 each, and are a far superiour product, to my mind anyway

Hi Mullett

The price I mentioned was for a set of four rotors and was about the going rate. I got in with a group buy and paid a bit less but As the price suggests with $400 RDA rotors vs $600 DBA rotors the latter should be better. Have you experienced the difference? A few others here have them and there haven't been any other complaints so far as I know.

[mullett]

My mistake! I was working on pricing for just the front two rotors...As far as DBA/RDA goes, it depends on what you're doing to them. My RDAs were fine for street and a little autokhana for about 18 months, but the first time I took the car to barbagallo, the heat warped the bastards out of them...I'm about to get some DBA 4000 series, so we'll see how they go

RM.

[Devils]

Hey guys,

Just an update on this.

The engine check light has been coming on and off since the owner had purchased the car himself, the codes were for O2 sensor & speed sensor. He had both these items replaced but the light still kept coming on every now and again. Anyone agree to bad wiring, or have any other ideas of what it could be?

The Steering problem seems to be due to the LHS tie rod end being loose. Has anyone had this problem before, know the fix?

The noise that was thought to be a wheel bearing could be from that loose part but we'll see.

Getting a compression test done tomorrow arvo and also having the oil leak looked at to at least know where it's coming from!

Gonna cost me $779 to get the car from Adelaide to Perth on the train!

[mullett]

Depends what you mean by the tie rod being 'loose'. If the lock nut which holds it in place has come loose, it'll rattle (I guess) a tiny bit, but it can't move that far. On the other hand, if it HAS done that, there's a very good chance it has also damaged the thread...and that's bad...Get it looked at. If it's loose like shagged out, then it's about $40 for the part and a bit of labour to fit it...

RM.

[Devils]

Yeh not sure... Think i'm just gonna have to find out!

Compression test came back, 155,145,150,150.

Leak appears to be from the dissy.