[MR2] I'm back (and working on cars) :) MKII

[Aaron Willis]

Welcome back!  By the way, Kevin isn't kidding about jumping into his
reintegration therapy.  The day after he got back he was on the phone
with me ordering up a bunch of parts to get the new turbo car into shape
(speaking of which, as thrifty as I am, I'd run a good thick synthetic
oil and leave that turbocharger alone until it popped outright, and then
spring for a nice upgrade).  Kevin and I had a nice long chat about his
current car and his older ones, and the enthusiasm is obvious.  I hadn't
spoken with him before so I can't tell if that's a product of being away
for so long, or just the fact that he's an MR2 owner, and we tend to get
a litle enthusiastic anyway!

The distributor pin shouldn't be as tough as all that, really, if you
have a drill press - if you have a punch to make a divot in the end of
the pin, the hard part is keeping the drill bit aligned as you drill
that pin out.  Everything after that is pretty much a cakewalk.  If you
don't have a drill press, this is a good excuse to buy one!


On Sun, 4 Nov 2007 09:31:30 -0600, "Kevin Parker"
<cavscoutmr2 at gmail.com> said:
> So, no kidding, there I was. Downtown Iraq, rockets and mortars flying
> everywhere..... Okay, maybe not. :)
> 
> It WAS, however, around lunch time on November 2nd when a Boeing 757
> touched
> down at Robert Gray Army Airfield at Fort Hood Texas with just over 100
> very
> happy soldiers who had spent 15 months in Iraq. In just about 30 minutes,
> we
> had turned in our weapons and other sensitive items and were bussed to
> the
> gym where the families of those soldiers were anxiously awaiting their
> arrival. The Fort Hood garrison commander spoke for about 45 seconds and
> we
> were released. We were finally home!! Good stuff.
> 
> So, yesterday, my first full day home, I engaged in some re-integration
> therapy. I worked on my MR2s. :) I had noticed this box of parts in the
> garage when I got home, so I was ready to dig in. I "Kreen"ed the turbo
> (a
> process I go through with every new car/engine I have obtained since I
> learned about the stuff in ~ 1997) and while it was soaking, for lack of
> a
> better term, I started to change the plugs in the NA. I couldn't complete
> that due to a mix-up with the plugs, so I pulled the distributor to
> change
> out all that stuff in the rebuild kit from KBox. Well, I don't have the
> necessary tools to get that stupid pin out, so I changed the o-rings and
> put
> it back in until I get a bead on how to finish it. It drips a
> nickel-sized
> spot every couple of days, so I'm not freaking out about it. I also
> changed
> the dizzy and cap on both cars. NOW, I'm about to go purchase the oil to
> change in both. I'm going to Austin to buy some Redline stuff to change
> out
> the oil in both trannies and that will complete the initial service.
> Whew...
> 
> A question about the turbo, I took the intake plumbing off and tried to
> move
> the compressor wheel. The book describes radial and axial play. While
> there
> is no axial play at all, there is some radial play. I don't have the
> gauge
> to measure it, but based on my understanding that there should be none, I
> was a bit surprised at how much there actually was. It boosts fine and
> there
> is no "death whine," so should I be worried? Should I start looking
> forward
> to a rebuild in the future?? Thanks for the input.
> 
> Sorry I ran long with words. I'm just excited to be home and getting
> dirty
> with my cars again. Understand that, except for two weeks in May, my
> exposure to vehicles has been M1114 HMMWVs. Of course, there are many
> non-tactical vehicles over there, but they are either full-sized
> SUVs/pick-ups or the BMW's and MB's that the Iraq Air Force guys that
> worked
> next to us drove. I called it re-integration therapy. That's not 100%
> joke.
> :)
> 
> -- 
> Sincerely,
> Kevin Parker
> ><>
>                  "Look, these people, they have no jobs, no food, no
> education, no future. I just figure that we have two things we can do.
> Help,
> or we can sit back and watch a country destroy itself on CNN. "
>                   -SSG Eversmann, Task Force Ranger
>                    "Blackhawk Down"
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-- 
Aaron Willis
'85 AW11 7A-GE hybrid
'77 TE51 3T/2T-G project