Rebuilding a 3S.

[PearlWhiteMR2]

So I don't know if anybody knows this other than the folks I have on Facebook, but I've been in the process of rebuilding my 3S (well... mostly rebuilding). A little back story for those new to my car: I bought it at 300,000km and it ran great, but around 320k the turbo went out, cats got plugged, and inbetween that I had a whole whack of coolant hoses blow as well. Basically, everything that was going to go wrong started to. Since replacing all that, I put another 30,000 on the car for a total of 50,000km since I bought it. I delivered pizza in it, drove in the snow, traveled to Quesnel, Ocean Shores (had to replace an alternator on the I-5 with some help from some gracious fellow MR2 owners!), and had many more adventures. This past summer, I realized it was getting pretty rough with all the oil leaks and obvious lack of reliability, and although it still ran fine, I decided the time for a teardown and rebuild was in order. Especially since I am an apprentice tech at Toyota, I have access to all the tools, parts, help, and shop time that I need.

So I removed the engine with the help of Jordan, my boyfriend at the time, in our shop at home. This was fairly easy. After the engine was out, the transmission was removed. I inspected the clutch disc and figured now was as good a time as any to replace it.



A technician from work with a Tundra came out to pick up the engine for a case of beer, and brought it to the shop where I hooked her up to an engine stand and endured the abuse from everybody. "Have fun with that one!" "I think you have an oil leak!" "Hey where's the rest of the car?" "Is that thing done yet?" etc. etc...

So we started with taking off the manifolds, and all the bits and bobs all over the engine... harness, turbo piping, turbo, vacuum lines, coolant lines, throttle body, T-VIS, fuel rail, etc... to get to the head itself. The valve cover came off and then we undid the head bolts without removing the camshafts.

Once the head was off, was able to get a solid look at the condition of the engine. The pistons were a bit carboned up, but nothing too bad. The best news was the lack of a ridge on the top of the cylinder walls, and a visible crosshatch still on the bores. As long as they measured up, this would be a good sign!

The head once it came off:


The block:


The old head gasket:


Cylinder #2:


Cylinder #3:

[PearlWhiteMR2]

The wiring harness getting ready for cleaning and re-wrapping:


I then proceeded to order the full gasket overhaul kit from Toyota. At just shy of $300, this is an excellent deal. It unfortunately does not come with EVERY gasket/seal, but it covers the main ones.


The next step was tearing down the head. Took the head to a master technician's shop at home and pulled it apart there. Camshafts and caps came out, inspected the bearings to see they were all still in great shape. Buckets and shims out, valve springs and retainers, then the valves. All the valves were in amazing shape, not much pitting and they came clean with a wire wheel pretty easily. Didn't need to be ground, either. Here are some pictures of the head:

The intake ports:


Head BEFORE going to the machine shop to have the exhaust valve seats ground, head planed, and steam cleaning done:


Head AFTER machine shop/steam cleaning:


So back at work, the block still sat on its stand, all lonely for a few weeks. My parts boxes and collections of things were starting to take over my bay so I didn't want to get any further until the head was finished, but when putting it back together we realised we didn't have the correct size shims because the exhaust valves had receded into the head due to the machining. We didn't carry any thin enough, so right now it's waiting for me to decide if I want to order thinner shims or to order all new shimless buckets from a 1ZZ-FE, which incidentally fit the 3S-GTE as they are the same diameter/length.

My parts boxes and bolts organizers (just a sample!):



Last week I sent the flywheel in to be machined, then pulled the pistons out to find out what kind of shape they were really in. All were good.

Cleaned a de-ringed, sitting in their box. I have done the bore and piston measurements, and although my bores are a bit over standard now, they are still under maximum by a fair bit and due to financial reasons I have decided against boring/purchasing new pistons. This is a very expensive procedure, and hence why I said in my first post it wasn't quite a total rebuild. The cylinders will be honed and the pistons re-ringed, and it should be good for a long while yet.



Last but not least, the timing covers, oil pump, water pump, and crankshaft came off to leave the block bare. All new main and connecting rod bearings are going in, along with new thrust washers, and all the gaskets and seals on the pumps/covers as well.

[PearlWhiteMR2]

And that's it for now. I'm in the process of cleaning the parts while waiting for the new bearings, rings, clutch disc, pressure plate, and a few gaskets and seals to come in. Lots and lots of time at the solvent tank. I'm going to hopefully be powder coating a few bits, and getting it all back together soon. I want to have the car done by April/May, but we'll see!

If anybody has any questions, feel free to ask. I am working with a master technician who has worked for Toyota since '87, and has a lot of experience with these engines. I've learned tons from this experience and I'm happy to share.

Will post an update as soon as I have one!

[immorality]

Awesome pics Sarah! I can't wait to see this car back on the road with a shiny clean engine.

[PearlWhiteMR2]

Me either! I'm still deciding on a colour scheme but I've had a few good ideas.

[macatak]

Great stuff, Sarah.
Looking forward to the next installment.
D.

[PearlWhiteMR2]

My two oil pump seals came in today, $42!!! I hate that Toyota OEM parts cost so darn much... but it's worth it in the end.

Measured up the 1ZZ-FE shimless buckets and they will not fit my car. Stripped the head of a 5VZ that was sitting around for its shims and they are too thick. Looks like I'm going to have to order them! *sigh*

Toyota. Emptying your pocket one part at a time.

[immorality]

Sounds like it might be worth a trip to pick a part.

[PearlWhiteMR2]

Yeah wasn't sure they had anything that new but it's worth a look.

[immorality]

They are getting into the late 90's and early 2000's for import cars now. They have all their cars listed online. It doesn't tell you what's left, but you can get an idea of how new it is by looking at the stock number. 12-0179 is the 179th car that arrived in 2012.

http://parts.pickapart.ca/

[PearlWhiteMR2]

Well it's on my way home so I'll just stop in one of these afternoons and pick over them. Thanks for the idea, Russ!

[Fierce Dragoon]

sweet thread I'm glad to see an apprentice taking on a big project

[immorality]

It's probably better that pick a part isn't part of my regular commute. I'd always find reasons to leave early.

[dh4ever]

my borther moved just down the street from pick-a-part. a good thing and a bad thing

[PearlWhiteMR2]

Update:

Parts from Lithia are going to be in next week for pickup in Sumas. I ordered a new clutch disc, pressure plate, release bearing, all connecting rod and main bearings, both hoses from hell, and a set of piston rings.

Have to say, I just replaced the hoses from hell about 30,000kms ago and they aren't in the greatest shape already. Those two have to withstand a lot of heat in there and it shows.

After that, I'm looking at new ignition wires, spark plugs, and a few more coolant hoses and things. The car will be towed to Toyota at the end of the month to hopefully receive the engine... it will be SO NICE to do it on a hoist too. I still have to bring the transmission in as well, I'm thinking about pulling the passenger seat out of the Mark 1 and bringing it in that way. MR2 hauling MR2 parts. Boss.