I'm living in Thailand, and I bought my SW20 turbo about 5 years ago
in Bangkok. A lot of cars in Thailand are not what they appear to be (we actually have some extremely skilled mechanics here, most modified cars are well built) so it's hard to know exactly what's what.To give an example my previous car was a Subaru WRX STI
- but it was bought as a bottom-of-the-range model and converted straight from the showroom. The dealers actually help organize it to save money. The conversions are done by Prodrive, who built all Subaru's factory rally cars and are based in Bangkok.My MR2 has a rev.
3 3sgte and a turbo interior but is registered as 1992 and was probably an NA model ex factory. I suspect this because a lot of interior trim has purple ID codes hand-written on the back - a hallmark of parts shipped out of Japan. Until recently I was unsure if my engine was a Rev3 or a Rev2 with some bolted-on modifications
(MAP for the old MAF etc) but I now know exactly because I'm in the process of some major modifications in the engine bay, including swapping the exhaust manifold for a set of stainless headers. (I have read all the posts that say don't do it, but it's happening anyway) The ports and manifold bolts are significantly different on the Rev3, which surprised me & I now have to change the flanges on my new headers.I do have some
'what the heck is this' questions.A Rev2 block has the oil filter tucked in under the exhaust manifold
& accessed from above but the Rev3 filter is under the car, next to the sump & downpipe. What is the strange looking mushroom that's fitted where the oil filter used to be? I saw one website that described it as
"that oil cooler thingy". It's def not a cooler - stuck between the turbo and the manifold and directly over the CAT would make it an oil heater. I had to move it a bit to get to the downpipe/turbo bolts
- I'm hoping it's sealed with an O ring much like a filter & I can re-fit it without making problems leaking oil.When I took the CAT off I realized the previous owner had gutted it, so I've been driving it
(and getting annual checks done to register it) for 5 years with no CAT and not had an issue. I should replace it with a stainless downpipe which I can efficiently lag and save many many kilograms.The question is, is the bolt pattern for a CT26 turbo waste pipe the same as my CT20B?
In the vent cowling for the intercooler there is a small black rubber pipe that passes clean through the middle of it.
It looks like a small vacuum hose or a water hose (as you may find on windscreen washers for example) but it's not connected to anything, it terminates over the RHS shock tower about where the cruise control would be if I had it... which I don't.What is it for?
Last question!
I know that the suspension geometry was changed between Rev1
& Rev2 cars to try to reduce 'snap oversteer', does anyone know exactly what was changed and give me a measurement to check on my car so I can know whether I have a Rev1 or Rev2 chassis?Thanks for reading to the end.
Adrian
