Used Car Tune Up

Unfortunately, the low price of the MKI MR2 has caused it to become more of a beater car rather than the nimble runabout for the sports enthusiast.  As a result, it is rather difficult to find one in  good shape these days. It can be done however, but whether you get one in good shape or not, many first time MKI owners would like to know what to replace to help turn their new pride and joy back into its former glory. This is a list of the things I have done to my car along with suggestions of other common stuff that should be done.

If you plan to do the work on the car yourself, the first thing you should do is to Buy the Toyota service Manual. It is VERY informative and has been invaluable so far.

First things to do:

  • Change the oil. (I like synthetic, but putting it in may spring an oil  leak)
  • Change the Coolant  (follow the procedure in the Service Manual)
  • Change the fuel filter 
  • Put in new wiper blades
  • New rotor, cap, and o-ring for distributor, new cables too if the old are bad.
  • Change the transaxle fluid (Redline MT-90 is the suggested, MTL if ambient temp will be low)
  • Change the spark plugs (I say put in copper plugs, most platinums are made for longevity, not performance, and it is easy as heck to replace the plugs in an inline 4)
  • New accessory drive belts
  • Flush the old Clutch and Brake fluid and put in Hi-temp.
  • Set the ignition timing.
  • Change the air filter, or put in the powermax setup.
  • Adjust the pedals.  They will usually be loose and sloppy.
  • Have a four wheel alignment performed.
Doing just these few things can totally transform an AW11 and should be done as soon as possible after buying a used MR2.  After these things have been done, feel free to do the things listed below
 

Secondary:

  • Replace all of the suspension bushings
  • Replace Struts
  • Put on a new timing belt if you don't know the history of the old belt. (the engine is non-interference though if it does snap)
  • Valve cover gaskets, and the little rubber o-rings.
  • New brake pads
  • Rebuild Brake Calipers
  • New Floormats (the ones for the AW11 are no longer made, but the ones for the MKII fit better than the rest of the alternatives)
  • Install new shift boot
  • New tires
  • Replace the clutch master and slave cylinders in your spare time, as they are almost guaranteed to go out sooner or later.
  • Change out the wheel bearings if you feel it is needed.

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