[MR2] My typical DIY job

[BARRY S DAVIES]

Its not often you have to replace the O2 sensor, so yeah, just cut out the connector, run some new wire down there and heat shrink it. Repat in another 5 years!
That O ring in the distributor does just go hard. Last one I replaced actually had a square cross section!
Good luck and stay out of those bars!
cheers
Barry

 


From: wbrandt1 at sbcglobal.net
To: bsdavies at q.com; mr2 at mr2.com
Subject: Re: [MR2] My typical DIY job
Date: Tue, 8 Feb 2011 22:05:57 -0800





Thanks Barry - I will resume looking tomorrow. It was the damnest  thing - I certainly was smart enough to not pull on the wire but the connectors (I hate those Toyota plastic connectors ) - and suddenly I had a completely free wire. 
 
It had to have been weak at the top. 
 
At the very worst I thought I could go to the wrecking yard and take an old harness off - but in tracing it back to the other side of the engine - it seems to be wrapped in "something" - it would probably be a job. And after all that work I'd still have an old 25 year old wiring harness. 
 
It would probably be a lot easier just soldering the broken wire and putting some heat shrinking tubing around it. 
 
As an aside the original connector to the O2 sensor is still on - as tight as a tick - Of course now I know I didn't have to touch it ;-) 
 
Got the distributor off and the O-Ring on the shaft wasn't broken but hard and brittle - I am wondering if a good O-Ring expands to block the oil - hard and brittle ones do not expand, of course.  Years ago I had an auto transmission leaking from the bell housing - on disassembly the 8" diameter O-Ring was so brittle you could snap it into pieces - 
 
I remember the last time I put in the distributor it too seemed to be difficult - even though I had the hole on the shaft aligned with the mark on the cam and at TDC - like trying to put the transaxle back on the spline - 
 
Oh well, this keeps me off the streets and out of the bars - working on Mr. 2! 
 
Thanks for your input! 
 
Bill
 

----- Original Message ----- 
From: BARRY S DAVIES 
To: wbrandt1 at sbcglobal.net ; MR2 
Sent: Tuesday, February 08, 2011 5:58 PM
Subject: RE: [MR2] My typical DIY job

Hi Bill,
I've repaired a few of those cooked O2 wires.
The wire exits from the exhaust side of the wiring loom retainer (for want of a better description) which runs along the top of the upper timing case cover. It then dangles down to a pale yellowish white connector about 8 inches down the engine, round about the level of the oil sender.
cheers
Barry
 
> From: wbrandt1 at sbcglobal.net
> To: mr2 at mr2.com
> Date: Tue, 8 Feb 2011 16:56:05 -0800
> Subject: [MR2] My typical DIY job
> 
> Well, had an interesting MR2 day today. Since I couldn't buy a new passenger side seat belt (old one wouldn't retract; unavailable at dealer now) 
> 
> Car was throwing oil; it seems to have come from the distributor - not leaking internally so I ordered a new O-Ring. 
> 
> Pulled distributor and in doing so managed to break the wire that the O2 sensor connects to - I suspect all the oil coming out of the distributor onto the wire + the exhaust manifold cooked the wire. 
> 
> So I am trying to figure out where that wire from the O2 sensor went - hopefully I can solder it back together with some heat shrinked (what do they call that stuff?) - 
> 
> Whatever a pro can do in 1 hour I can do in a week ;-) 
> 
> I'll bet a lot of those 1st gen cars have cooked wiring harnesses - I see one wire going right under the exhaust manifold - 
> 
> Bill
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