i wanted the toyota 4 age and ive managed to find an mr2 1986 with 160k miles on the clock.

when running the engine there is a large squeaking noise thats pretty much constant. its could be a belt thats rubbing, the owner thinks its the alternator thats screwed and makes the noise. apart from that the engine sounds like it runs well, what you can hear above the sceech.

it does put out some smoke, the smoke is white not black. also there is some smoke coming out of the engine bay but not much. the oil level is fine and its not discoloured.

it runs though the rev range fine.

the question is... do i buy it. and what cost do you reckon. any ideas on how to cure the problems or does it just need a rebuild. has anybody used an engine that wasnt perfect and had good results.

help appreciated

thinking about it know.... what looked like smoke may well have been water vapour. im not sure. it was frosty theis morning but i wen tot view it at lunch...

if it was smoking then would a minor rebuild cure that???

My recommendation would be to research the cost of a complete rebuild then add that to the purchase price and decide. 160,000 miles is plenty, even for a Toyota. Could be that the total price would take you near the cost of a decent bike engine.

Having said that, if it was cheap enough and you had a bit of time to spend on it then it might be worth buying it, have the head off for a look, fit a new head gasket and cam belt and hope for the best. It's a time thing as much as a cost thing

John

if its still smokin white smoke when the airs not so damp i would bank on the headgasket

now i dont no anythin bout the toyota engine but if theres smoke from the engine bay it could be from the crankase breathers which at worst could mean that the rings and bores are worn and the preaure is goin past them .........OR.................

it could be just one of the breather pipes blocked with gunge and no where for the fumes to go..................but dont tell him that

The screaching noise could be the alternator, I've known the bearings to fail on MR2s before. BUT, it could be so many other things.......
Personally, unless its going for peanuts, I would steer clear. Just sounds like a bit of a dog to me. I guess by your post that you are not to sure, even a bit of smoke from the engine bay on a Jap is something to be concerned about. Johnston could be right, a blocked breather would cause this, but if this is the case then more often and not it is caused by not changing the oil regularly which means neglect.

Dunno about the mechanical aspect of it, but as for price; there's a MK1 MR2 engine+'box in this weeks autotrader for £140, condition is OK but mileage is unknown..

HTH

well thats the thin with buying an engine thats out of the car, dont know what the milage is and dont even know it runs. even with the screech i know the mr2 runs.

Well Lets think about this, Mr2 160k(is it original speedo) on clock. Mr2 = sports car wanabe = thrashed 160k (likely). dont sound good. 160k on most modern engines if not thrashed is probably not to bad, but.

Squeak, could be alternator, best check methods = switch on all electrics and leave for a few seconds with key on engine off.
then start engine leaving full load on. if alternatator then it should squeal like there is no tomorow as the alternator tries to make up the defecit. also could get long (about 2ft/60cm) listening stick and listen up and down block for noise.

Oh other check is to get engine hot, whilst check for cooling system presurizing by feeling how solid the hose go, (Oil could have been changed to make it look good) then stop engine and restart listening carefully for any noises.

if rebuild required then I think that you might find parts very expensive.

other than that you make your choice and you pays your money remembering the old chestnut buyer beware.