MR2 Owners Club

...As in the first one I have personally undertaken.

I have the following items sorted:
Spark Plugs (NGK Standard copper)
Panel Air Filter (Crosland, from MR2 Ben)
Oil Filter (Crosland, MR2 Ben)
Castrol GT Magnatec 5w30
STP Engine Flush.

All tools ready. Any words of advice before I start? Looking forward to a job well done.

Colinjb84 wrote: ↑31/01/19 17:11 All tools ready. Any words of advice before I start? Looking forward to a job well done.

STP Engine Flush.

What is/are your specific reason/s for using this product?

^^ as above there isnt really any need to run engine flush through on a regular service. although it cant hurt to do it.
If you do run it through then you will want another oil filter as you should change it after flushing.
I prefer running a 10w40 on these engines as they are all getting on a bit, you shouldnt have any issues with 5w30 but might find it buns it a little bit.

Something thats not strictly necessary would be a magnetic sump plug they can be great at catching any bits the filter doesnt.

make sure you have plenty of cleaning rags ready
warm the car up first makes life a bit easier
a good oil filter removal tool is a godsend on these engines with the filter under the manifold

TonyleFrog wrote: ↑01/02/19 1:46

Colinjb84 wrote: ↑31/01/19 17:11 All tools ready. Any words of advice before I start? Looking forward to a job well done.

STP Engine Flush.

What is/are your specific reason/s for using this product?

A fair question.

I'm unsure of the car's exact history. No proof of servicing and it feels.... sluggish. So I feel it cannot hurt to try, give myself a baseline to build from in future maintenance.

I don't 'have' to use it, but I want the give her a good clean out.

Also, 5w30 rather then 10w40.... so much conflicting information on what oil would be good, and as I use her infrequently decided to prioritise something that would be lower viscosity on startup to allow for better low temp lubrication.

The sump plug, is that M12?

Personally I'm not fan of such products. I don't know of any car manufacturer which endorses their use.
Have a read of this - http://blog.greenflag.com/2015/are-engi ... the-money/

This is the safety sheet for STP Engine Flush - https://www.workshopwarehouse.co.uk/dow ... /vc151.pdf.
Compare the ingredients with this - http://www4.total.fr/asia-oceania/malay ... )-MSDS.pdf
Note the first item on list. The Total product is a fuel additive!

Not sure I would be putting such a chemical composition anywhere near the lubrication system of my car.
If the engine is well crudded up do you really want a cocktail of suddenly loosened sludge circulating around it?

I would change the oil and fiter and do it again after a couple of hundred miles. Less than the cost of a tank of fuel. Modern lubricants have all the detergent properties you need.

More info about your car would be useful. Mk1/Mk2/Mk3? How many miles has it done?

TonyleFrog wrote: ↑02/02/19 2:28 Personally I'm not fan of such products. I don't know of any car manufacturer which endorses their use.
Have a read of this - http://blog.greenflag.com/2015/are-engi ... the-money/

This is the safety sheet for STP Engine Flush - https://www.workshopwarehouse.co.uk/dow ... /vc151.pdf.
Compare the ingredients with this - http://www4.total.fr/asia-oceania/malay ... )-MSDS.pdf
Note the first item on list. The Total product is a fuel additive!

Not sure I would be putting such a chemical composition anywhere near the lubrication system of my car.
If the engine is well crudded up do you really want a cocktail of suddenly loosened sludge circulating around it?

I would change the oil and fiter and do it again after a couple of hundred miles. Less than the cost of a tank of fuel. Modern lubricants have all the detergent properties you need.

More info about your car would be useful. Mk1/Mk2/Mk3? How many miles has it done?

Tony its in MK3 so I am guessing thats the model.

I would use a good quality cheaper oil like a "Halfords" for 500/1000 miles then change again for a good quality oil for 4000 miles or 1 year depending . As Tony said, detergents in modern oils are to help clean, but not harsh like a full engine flush with those ingredients.
obviously filter change at each change.
did this on a mk2 3sge that had the black death build up at 120k miles and it was still running sweet at 174k when car was scrapped with terminal body tin worm (head was clean as whistle after 500 miles, 1500 mile and a 4000 mile set of oil changes)

peteV6R5 wrote: ↑02/02/19 11:39 Tony its in MK3 so I am guessing thats the model.

Time I had another check up at the opticians...

The origin of many of these flushing compounds is the USA.
Where back in the 19th century patent medicine peddlers made fortunes from the gullible.

OP, you might be interested in reading this.
https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/loca ... vices.html

To clarify, yes it's a mk3, from 2003 (So one of the early facelifts) and has done 105,000 miles.

Not a lot of love for the engine flush idea. It's not a 'have to do' so i could just leave it. The engine flush only cost 5 pounds so i'm hardly losing much.

For future reference, genuine Toyota filters are just as cheap (if not cheaper) than aftermarket ones.

Does the car still have its precats? If so, are they intact?

Also, you don't want to have too thick an oil as part of the oil burning problems in these cars are when the oil control rings get "gummed up". The update on these cars which appears to have fixed the problem was late 55 reg, I believe, and added more holes and also some kind of Teflon covering although I've never looked to see. Some people have "retro fitted" these holes.

An interesting process, only stopped last night due to fading light and a stubborn oil filter.

Changing the spark plugs, easy. The old ones looked ok, just a little brown, no significant wear to the ignition tips.
Draining the oil..... My cunning all-in-one drip tray and container couldn't cope with the flow rate from the sump! So I have a slight spillage issue on my garage floor. Mostly contained but makes it tricky to get to the oil filter without covering myself in used semi-synthetic.

The panel filter. Took the chance to take the battery out and look at the pipework leading from the filter to the throttle body. Interesting the it features a 'blanked off' section with a U-bent pipe attached, signs that this is an item from the Toyota parts bin? Also, what is the airline valve attached to it? One of the rubber tubes was disconnected (one that leads along the top of the engine bay) so took the chance to re-attach.

Also, while under the car saw a very loose exhaust heat shield, it was missing a bolt/screw and seems to have some broken welds. The car had suffered from an exhaust 'rattle' so hopefully this is the cause. Will be securing this before re-assembly.

And Caroline, yes, it still has intact pre-cats.

Get the pre cats out and do away with the heat shield. andy

Service finished. Cannot emphasise my elation at the result. The car is noticeably smoother, throttle response at higher speeds is a revelation, she pulls above '60' in a way I hadn't previously thought possible.

Smoothness on idle is just fantastic, and curing the lose heat shield with just one screw? It's solved the rattle.

In the end.... I did use the engine flush, considered that I had little to lose. Is it snake oil? Almost certainly. Is the change more primarily due to the fresh oil and new air filter? Without doubt. Does it seem to have done any harm? I will soon see.

Now I have the tools and infrastructure to support it, I shall never take my car to a garage for a service like this again. Just a pleasure to see the benefit and also have a chance to look around the car to check it's general condition and see further areas for improvement. Surface rust on the suspension components is something I want to correct, removing and shot blasting/wirebrush and hammerite (similar rust resistant hard wearing coating) could be in order?

Pre-cats. I know the process for removal, but right now all seems fine. Would the car still pass UK emissions regulations with the pre-cats removed? (I think I know the answer...... But attacking a ceramic structure with a screwdriver just doesn't feel right to me.)

well done its always better to d.i.y unless you know it is out of your comfort or timezone.