**UPDATED** 1991 Rev 1 (Beastly V6 1MZ-FE VVTI) **UPDATED**

[KarlBristol]

Well I had lots of issues finding the correct alternator especially as I need it as soon as possible. I've only recently found out but it's considered a particularly rare part and is usually only stocked in a few places in Japan or the States. There are several very similar alternators although only this model will fit due to the lengthened mounting brackets - it's never easy!! I found OEM stock in only one of six places that I phoned up which was lucky as even my local Toyota/Lexus dealers had to order it from Japan at huge cost.

So two days ago I ordered a brand new OEM unit, it's far far from cheap but it's going to be worth it for longevity purposes

Given the amount of money that this has cost me and hassle I've spent trying to source one I will probably store the current alternator so that should this one die in the future I can have one rebuilt. Technically it's still working as it throws out the right charge when the car is running.... It just leeches it all back when the cars off

The alternator should be with me tomorrow and I will fit it on Saturday
Even better news is that my new wheels should also be with me tomorrow, I can't wait. Expect a few updates/photos shortly!!

[KarlBristol]

Well there's been a few developments so far today:

First the postman delivered a new thing of engine oil as my oil was low. I bought it from Opie Oils and was very pleased with the service and price they provided... Not to mention they gave me a free air freshener



The postie also delivered the wheel nuts. These had been posted separately to ensure 100% that they can't damage the new wheels. I unpacked them to find they were a little dirty to the point of being almost black.... I soaked and boiled them all in cleaning fluid and this was the result:



Not quite the result I was hoping for and as sad as it is I want them to be clean if they are going on the car. So I hand scrubbed each one resulting in this:



Bit of a before and after:



I then did the time old classic of putting them in the dishwasher and I was finally happy with them (sad I know!)





Also delivered were the new lightweight TPI slimline locking nuts:



I'd just sat down when the door went and it was my new alternator!! Woohoo. roll on Saturday!!





So far so good.... I'm curtain twitching now waiting for the wheels to be delivered

[KarlBristol]

The wheels have turned up
My dog seems to be intrigued by the packing



And unwrapped







The centre caps are a slightly different shade of silver but it looks far more obvious in the photos than it does in real life

How the car was sitting before:



A side by side comparison:



I had issues fitting them as the rears have locating metal pins which were bent out of shape and wouldn't line up with the hubs. They were a pain in the ass but finally with some persuading I removed them:





The new wheels fitted (I couldn't get very good photos due to the angle and space of the driveway)





I've left the rears on the hubcentric spacers and the spacing front and rear looks perfect. All in all I'm very happy



I just need to fix the alternator so that I can drive the car and see how much of a difference it's made to the comfort. I imagine it will be a huge change. I like the fact that the car now appears relatively standard - it's a properly clean sleeper. It sits and looks far nicer being lowered and with the hubcentrics all things considered I'm well chuffed

I will endeavour to get some better photos on rest days to show exactly how the car is looking at the moment

[KarlBristol]

Firstly let me say that today the car has gone for a short drive and the new wheels/tyres make the handling far sharper and the ride is so so much comfier. It's transformed how the car feels and what it's like to be inside/behind the wheel. Definitely a good move


Today I planned to replace the alternator, so it was an early start to ensure that I could fix any problems that arose (as they usually do!) My fear was having enough space to remove it in the first place so I had my engine hoist and all relevant tools in place just in case I needed to lift the engine out to do it.

I unwrapped my alternator, stripped down all parts of the engine and car around it so that I could remove the alternator if needed.



As luck had it, it was surprisingly easy to remove... So much more than the 3sfe believe it or not. It was also quite a quick job. My only concern about the original was that it's only held in by two bolts and one of these was barely even hand tightness meaning that the alternator had been moving around a fair amount

I did a bit of old vs new comparison:







Luckily the company I bought this from sent the right one
Given the difficulties and cost of this unit I have decided to keep the old as a spare and to strip it down and replace the blown diode packs so that I won't encounter the issues of sourcing one again.

I couldn't take a photo of the new one in situe as my rubbish phone doesn't have a flash, but rest assured it was plumbed in properly and relatively quickly. You can just make out the top of its casing and the wiring coming from it (excuse the dirtiness of the car it's been early a week since it's been cleaned)



Then came the relevant electrical tests. Battery was holding voltage well and the alternator was throwing out 14.8V. Then came the dreaded ammeter test in line with the battery to measure what the battery discharge was. Previously with the old alternator it was 0.287A, now it's measuring.... 0.014A

Problem solved

I did come across an oil leak which appears to be from the rocker cover although this isn't something that I had time to sort out today. It's a job for another day

My main concern when the engine was being installed was that rain water would drain through the engine lid and get into the alternator and on the belt. Having inspected the alternator upon removal and where the rain water falls it goes directly into the alternator. This is what's caused the issue and so needed to be sorted so that this doesn't happen to my new alternator. This is an issue I've been planning the solution to and I fabricated a design that rectified this situation this afternoon.

I will stick another update on in a minute once the photos upload

[KarlBristol]

Right... We have already established that rain water and alternators are a bad mix! So I needed to stop those two mixing

I refused to drive the car out of my garage with my new expensive alternator fitted if there was a chance of it getting wet as I'd be right back to square one. I had been planning a solution to this since the car was returned to me and before the alternator even broke. I had decided on the best method to fix this after much deliberation and several drafts/mock versions... A mini custom rain tray.

I recently ordered some 1000mm x 500mm x 1mm sheet aluminium in order to fix this issue. This is what I decided upon:

A cardboard template draft version:



A rough cut out



Starting to drill, tap and trial fit









It needed some minor work and all of the edges got cleaned up





The nice face then got exposed and the more final work got underway





I made a custom 8.7mm spacer to ensure that the Ali sheet was held exactly parallel from the cross brace even at the deepest parts of cross brace dips



Then came another trial fit



I then rolled/arched the sheet a small amount to ensure that any rain water that entered that section of the engine bay ran down near to the wheel and straight out through the bottom of the engine bay. There is nothing in that area and so it will roll straight down onto the floor. This ensures that rain water does not enter any vital components, no electrics and certainly not the alternator

I wanted a fail safe to ensure that any rain water that landed close the the edge of the rain guard couldn't drip over the side. So I formed a raised lip









The design is so simple yet so effective.
It only covers a small amount of the layout of the engine bay, and doesn't cover any hot spots etc... All rain water will be removed to the floor and won't fowl anything of even any small importance. On top of that any amount of heat will travel upwards (as heat does) and be channeled directly to the SPAL fan. It works perfectly.

So what does it look like fully finished and fitted:











On top of being rather functional I think it looks cracking. I was very pleased with the progress today and it should improve the reliability of the car


That's not where today ended though

I came inside to find that the postie had delivered something that I had ordered earlier in the week...I had a small custom etched plate made up which I'm going to fix inside the frunk. As the car is a custom mixture of parts I felt it important to have all the pertinent details to hand (especially things like the alternator part no., engine donor vehicle reg etc...) Not only will this be a nice touch it's also very handy for when I don't have the documents to hand.

Unfortunately it's an early birthday present to myself and has been confiscated by the other half until my birthday on the 11th, when I will fit it



It's going to be fitted in the flat section of the frunk to the left hand side when I get it back

Those of you who know me will know that I like the interior of my cars deftly clean. As such today I also decided to wash my mats. They got done individually with a beating ball, and copious amounts of fabric softener and machine hand wash. I was rather pleased with the results...

Before:





After:



And a bit of a comparison:





Pretty impressive difference when you consider they get vacuumed every week and also get a regular beat down and wipe off. I thought that they were clean before

All in all a very good day

[HighwayStar]

You don't mean to say after all these mods you're still on rev1 brakes?
Nice work with the rain tray by the way fella.

R

[Donato]

Good idea on that rain tray. Just a thought though, would you not consider making it out of transparent Perspex. It's a shame that you've hidden half of that beautiful engine!

[KarlBristol]

You don't mean to say after all these mods your still on rev1 brakes?
Nice work with the rain tray by the way fella.

R

Yup - brand new Toyota Rev1 calipers, braided hoses, custom brake lines, cusco brake stopper, decent pads and discs, etc... I think people under estimate how good rev1 kit is on decent pads. Brand new rev1 kit with a few upgraded bits is actually pretty good especially if compared to old worn original rev3 stuff. I'm sure like for like (if both old and worn) rev3+ kit will win hands down but I'm pretty happy with what I've got for the time being. If I were to change again I think it would be for a full custom set up. Maybe in the future

Thanks mate - I'm well chuffed with how the rain tray turned out. It actually took longer to do than the alternator switch

[KarlBristol]

Good idea on that rain tray. Just a thought though, would you not consider making it out of transparent Perspex. It's a shame that you've hidden half of that beautiful engine!

Thanks - the car was in desperate need of one. I couldn't go through another alternator... I don't think I could afford it

It doesn't actually cover up much engine or nice/attractive bits of the engine bay tbh. Have a gander at the before and after photos - it's mainly covering the alternator, some bracket work and boring black electrical cables.

I did consider a Perspex one but as there's nothing underneath that looks at all trick I didn't see the point. Plus I figured that new shiny metal actually makes the engine bay look nicer (just my opinion). I hate to think how difficult a custom curved Perspex rain tray with a rain lip would be to make

[KarlBristol]

Well the car is still off the road... It worked fine for a day and then I went to fire it up the next day and it's got exactly the same issues as before. Dead battery and a parasitic drain

Well it clearly wasn't the alternator but at least it's fitted with a brand new one and I've got a fully working spare should it ever pack up

I've been doing numerous tests on the electrical systems to try and resolve the situation as I currently can't drive to work which is a fair distance away. So far I've established that the parasitic drain disappears if either of the alternator cables are removed, if the "alt sencing" fuse is removed or if the following large block of cables are removed:



Every single fuse has been removed in the car to trace this fault and it seems like between Peter and I we are homing in on the issue. It's probably a faulty relay or broken cable. Fingers crossed I can have the car up and running 100% this weekend

More updates to come

I've also now got my hands on a HKS grounding kit for the car. The earthing on the car is perfectly suitable but I consider this as more of a back up should they ever fail... Plus it's a small engine dress up. It's taken weeks and weeks to be delivered but here it is (excuse the very poor quality and dark photos)





All the cables connect to a small transfer bracket which bolts onto the chassis wherever I want...



I will install it once I've sorted out this electrical discharge issue.

[MRV6]

- Even further down the line a TRD supercharger

Good luck on that mate, would like to see the end results if you could track one down though.

[KarlBristol]

It will certainly be a nice project and something a bit different if I manage to find one and fit it... It's definitely a project for the far future though

The testing on the car continues but I think I'm homing in on the issue a bit more. We shall see soon.

I've also fitted the earthing cables today as I was kicking around the garage (excuse the poor photos but lighting wasn't exactly brilliant)









Whilst being a useful backup for the original earths I like how they look. I'm intrigued to see exactly how they will look with the engine cover back on. Another small job sorted on the car. It's getting there bit by bit

[ashley]

Maybe a dumb assed question (mine usually are ), but why don't you take it back to Peter to sort out the wiring issue? With his high levels of after market service I'm sure he'd sort it for you quick smart wouldn't he?

[Peter Gidden]

why don't you take it back to Peter to sort out the wiring issue? With his high levels of after market service I'm sure he'd sort it for you quick smart wouldn't he?

What Karl may not have mentioned is that I am working closely with him on this problem, mainly over the phone.

Geography is a pain (loosely translated as expensive with a V6 ), with him in Bristol and me in Yorkshire, but he is good with a (working ) meter and we are making progress.

We have now worked out the route of the parasitic draw, and found out how to (temporarily) disable it. What we are now confirming is whether the alternator/s is/are actually damaged, or whether something else is making them appear so.

[ashley]

Ahh....geography is to blame then

I figured you were helping Peter

[craig]

I have to say Karl, having seen this engine conversion develop over the time Peter had the car, and seeing the finished article, I personally think the rain cover and blue earth leads have cluttered the bay, and it looked much much better without them.

The earth leads won't be giving any advantage over the stock earth straps, and how many people have created a rain cover for the V6 conversion due to alternator water ingress. It's also questionable as to whether there is now anything wrong with your original alternator.

Also, regarding the wheels, I think it looked much much better on the 17s. Sorry to sound negative, just my thoughts.

End of the day, it's your car, your views are all that really matter. Just my 2p.

Best of luck with the electrical gremlins.

[PW@Woodsport]

I'm afraid i agree with Craig, the extra earths are not really doing anything over stock earths and make it look untidy, you could keep them but route them somewhere nicer. Also the rain tray is not needed, water ingress into a V6 Mr2 alternator is not an issue, it simply doesn't happen.... i have over 150 out there without rain trays fitted.

I think it spoils your engine bay mate, if you are concerned about water getting near the alternator, make a nice rounded stainless shield that just sits over the alt itself, much better in my opinion

My latest vvti 1mz (into double figures now lol) , keep it clean and simple, it looks much better uncluttered....



Like Craig, just my 2p, it's your car

[MR2O12]

The wheels have turned up
My dog seems to be intrigued by the packing



And unwrapped







The centre caps are a slightly different shade of silver but it looks far more obvious in the photos than it does in real life

How the car was sitting before:



A side by side comparison:



I had issues fitting them as the rears have locating metal pins which were bent out of shape and wouldn't line up with the hubs. They were a pain in the ass but finally with some persuading I removed them:





The new wheels fitted (I couldn't get very good photos due to the angle and space of the driveway)





I've left the rears on the hubcentric spacers and the spacing front and rear looks perfect. All in all I'm very happy



I just need to fix the alternator so that I can drive the car and see how much of a difference it's made to the comfort. I imagine it will be a huge change. I like the fact that the car now appears relatively standard - it's a properly clean sleeper. It sits and looks far nicer being lowered and with the hubcentrics all things considered I'm well chuffed

I will endeavour to get some better photos on rest days to show exactly how the car is looking at the moment

looking good. i found my mr2 was not happy on stock rims with the balooning sidewalls, stabality was poor and so was cornering. they were small and light though so accletation was good. looks like you have slimer tyres then standard how does it drive?

[Peter Gidden]

i found my mr2 was not happy on stock rims with the balooning sidewalls, stabality was poor and so was cornering.

You obviously had problems elsewhere in the chassis.

[KarlBristol]

How many people have created a rain cover for the V6 conversion due to alternator water ingress. It's also questionable as to whether there is now anything wrong with your original alternator.

Also, regarding the wheels, I think it looked much much better on the 17s. Sorry to sound negative, just my thoughts.

End of the day, it's your car, your views are all that really matter. Just my 2p.

Best of luck with the electrical gremlins.

Well I've been working hard on the electric gremlins and everything points towards the brand new alternator. When I installed it everything tested fine until I drove it the 9 miles home. So something within the wiring has destroyed my new alternator within that distance. Having done some work on the car it would suggest that this fault has been present since the new engine got dropped.... But quite where the fault is hiding and if it was there before the engine even got removed from the Lexus god only knows

I couriered the alternator to Peter on the 10th December and it's due to be looked at by a specialist on Monday. They will be able to say exactly what's wrong with it. Based on what's found to be wrong the question can then be asked what could cause it. I can then try to rectify it. Fingers crossed

In relation to the rain tray I really like it. At the huge expense of a new OEM alternator for this engine I can't afford to keep switching them out if they get rain ingress and break so it's worth a bit of engine bay clutter IMO. I can assure you that when it rains it goes straight through the tubby rain lid and into the alternator. There are probably a maximum of 15 of these engines in the MR2 now, but I'm not aware of another with a rogue dual engine lid fan attached to it. So this hasn't really been encountered before. That means that the engine bay is open to the elements unlike when standard rain trays are fitted. If I can do anything possible to prevent this happening again I will.

I intend to have a custom engine cover made, and that will fit I'm a lot better with the rain tray. The full design/plan behind that is staying under wraps for the time being though Trust me

I completely agree - the other wheels looked nicer. The ride with them was unbearable though especially as I use the car as a daily driver. The car is very comfortable now with these fitted and the rear end doesn't fish tail/loose traction when my foot plants a little. So it was definitely worth switching them out. Plus when striving for a full sleeper look what better than what is basically a brand new set of original wheels.

When I can afford it in a couple of years I may buy a set of Advan show wheels as well. We shall see

MR2012 - if your car wasn't happy on stock rims as Peter says I'd suggest there's something else going on. At best it would be an alignment issue. My car is more than happy on them