This website will be shut doan and the content changed shortly. If your an email subscriber and wish to be removed from this website, feel free to rmove yourself from subscription. You most likely joined the email list because of all the cool MR2 stuff i was doing, LOL. Since my time has been devoted to new interests DMDstudent.com, and school, this webste will be changing it’s content soon. As far as all the MR2 stuff…I have not yet decided.
Thanks,
I haven’t added anything in a while and it is mainly because my car has broken down. I guess the crankshaft decided to take a trip into other areas of the block. The mechanic who qouted me gave me second hand information and seemed to not quite know what was going on. I didn’t ask him to elaborate because I was thinking of the amount of money he was qouting me to have it fixed. $2400 just for the crank, $4000 for a total rebuild. I quickly told him to tow it back to my place because for that amount I could find 2-3 shinier MR2’s than the one I have.
So right now it is sitting out in the snow giving me a pang in the back of my mind everytime I look at it. I would really like to fix it up, but i am in graduate school and all my time is eaten up. Anyway, sorry about the rant, but I wanted to add that I want to keep the site up and running. i have devoted a considerable amount of time into it and I know of many people who have used it for their own projects.
I have just added an e-mail list subscription form, located in the sidebar on the right side of the page. Simply anter your address and confirm it in the email provided and you are all set to recieve an e-mail everytime this website is updated. I would like to express at this time my hatred for spam and promise that the service I use is 100% spam free. The only time you get an e-mail is when a new article is posted. In fact, I never even see your e-mail address. So to those of you who have already signed up:
Stay tuned for some things that I want to add to the site:
-Obviously to keep the car it needs a rebuilt engine or a new engine
-A DIY on re-leathering your steering wheel (with real leather, factory spec)
-Re-upholster the front seat (Probably professionally done)
-Fix my window gear with one from twosrus.com
-Cold air intake
-Fix the sunroof rattle (a good write up already at padandwheels.com)
-ET CETERA
So sign up today and please feel free to donate your suggestions, comments, or money (help me with my engine 
:), or just use the site.
To say the least, WELCOME!
With so many cool cars (old and new) out on the road today it is easy to compare and contrast the vast amount of features that are available for each one. There are luxury vehicles, SUV’s, trucks, compact, eco-friendly, etc. and all of them have at least one cool thing that we would all love to have in our car.
The next article will be various segments of the innovative features of today and yesteryear that can be added to your car to make it better than your neighbors. 
Last summer I was able to drive my mom’s BMW a couple of times. The one aspect of her 5 series I couldn’t stop talking about was the heads up display (hud). It’s not like it really helps out a lot, it’s the fact that it is so darn cool that excited me. It really isn’t hard to adjust your eyes a few more inches to look at the dash than it is to see it on the windshield. Millions of people a day with out HUD drive perfectly fine to and from work, school, or play. It does make it convenient though when, lets say, you are driving your mom’s BMW at 100 mph through some back country twisting roads. If you read this mom, don’t worry, I didn’t go 100. The light turned yellow when I topped out at 95 and I had to start slowing down to stop for the red… 
All kidding aside, the HUD is a very practical upgrade. Is it necessary? No. Could it be helpful? Yes. Is it really cool? Yes. What better car then the MR2 to put it on? MR2’s are famous for their quickness and the nimble way they move in and out of (traffic, cones, twisties, track, etc.) < --PICK ONE or MORE. Many people use the MR2 for autocrossing. Would it be convenient to see your speed and RPM's up on your windshield as you navigate through the cones? What about on the race track? I know I would love a HUD cruising through busy Philadelphia traffic after a long day in school.
Enough 'convincing' (you should have already wanted it before you read my blog).
Where can you get one? Here are a few suggestions:
The swap is VERY similar to Replacing the FRONT strut Inserts. Please use both of these write ups as a guide for replacing the rears. The tools used to replace the rear inserts are the same tools used to replace the front inserts.
The first thing to do is to pop the engine lid and prop it open. Find the strut cover and lift it off like so:
This is perhaps one of the easier suspension replacements. I ordered my front outer tie rod ends from twosrus.com
along with all four balljoints. I replaced the front outer tie rod ends when I changed my balljoints. This is recommended as both procedures will require an alignment afterwards.
Here is the front outer tie rod end on the right side:
Tools needed:
pliers
wrenches
hammer
lock pliers
jack and jack stands
The first thing to do is loosen the wheel lug nuts, but do not remove them.
After changing my ball joints, rear tie rods, and front outer tie rod ends I was in need of an alignment. After the alignment my car was very wobbly. Every corner or dip in the road felt ten times worse than it really was. It was really bad every time I pressed on the gas pedal. It would throw the car to the left. The car was thrown to the right when I took my foot off the gas. These ’swayings’ were worse at higher RPM’s. The gys at the alignment shop told me the first thing to do was to change my struts.
They were right. Check out the picture of my struts:
The first thing I did was was start looking for some OEM struts. The one that I really wanted were a little out of my price range. There are better ones out there, but these are perfect for what i would like for my MR2 at this point. They are the 5 way adjustable Koni Sports. Seen at the previous link, they are about 300 bucks a pair. Well, my cash flow being restricted I opted for a decent alternative. I went to tirerack.com and ordered four STRUT INSERTS. I bought the KYB GR2’s which replace the OEM ones. Keep in mind that if you will be using any aftermarket performance springs (like ST Spring’s) then KYB GR2’s are not the best decision.
One of the neatest new products offered by twosrus.com has to be their Rear Tie Rods. They are built stronger, look cool, and are designed to make the alignment adjustment a snap for you or your mechanic.
This install is very easy and can be done in less than an hour. Make sure to schedule some time for an alignment when you are done because changing the tie rods will change the toe of the car among other things. If you plan on doing many things to your suspension over the course of a year find a shop that will charge you a flat rate for unlimited alignments. This way if you feel like changing the ball joints or struts in the next 2 weeks or 6 months, you won’t have to keep paying for alignments.
I ordered a set of ball joints from twosrus.com along with the front outer tie rods. I also went to the local Autozone and rented a 3 prong puller and a torque wrench. You must pay a deposit but every dime is returned to you when you return the tools. I used the credit card as cash is not readily available…LOL.
List of needed tools and things that helped:
Stock jack from my MR2
2 ton jack and 2 jack stands (4 would be better)
Various wrenches, sockets, screwdrivers, etc.
Hammer
Torque wrench (free from Autozone)
3 prong puller (free from Autozone)
A whole lot of sweat, tears and muscle!
The clutch master cylinder in your toyota mr2 is located in the frunk. The reason that you may have to change it is most likely due to a leak. Some people just rebuild the clutch master cylinder by taking it apart and putting in a new spring and plunger and washer. The kits I found to rebuild my clutch master assembly cost the same as buying a whole new assembly. I chose to replace the whole thing. If you choose to rebuild your clutch master then visit Eric Southers MK1 Write Up Page where he explains in detail how to accomplish this.
Materials needed:
Clutch master cylinder: $45.00-55.00 depending on the place. I would check out AutoZone
-OR-
Rebuild kit: $30.00-50.00 depending on the place. I only looked at a Toyota Dealership.
wrenches
brake fluid
jack and jack stands
pliers
vinyl tubing
BEGIN:
For those of you who don’t know the master cylinder is located in the frunk. To see it clearly you need to remove the spare tire, spare tire rack and the plastic frunk cover. If you have a strut bar, remove this too. You can see the master cylinder in the following picture:
Its the whole unit bolted onto the firewall next to the strut tower including the resevoir. In this picture there are two yellow lines pointing to it. The unit goes through the firewall and connects to your clutch pedal.
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