New owner - advice needed

[mr2ho]

Hi there,

Picked her up on Saturday and I am really chuffed with the car. It is D reg red mk1 T bar with leather and only done 68,000 miles. Last owner for 16 years !!

Noticed a few things that will need sorting out:

a) aerial not connected up - wires left in boot. Any idea of how they should be connected up? I suspect the last owner had put back in the original radio but not connected up the aerial in the boot. There is power and I can get a few stations but the signals are generally poor.

b) a 'knocking/clonking' noise is heard coming from the wheel area - Is this a suspension problem?

c) Looking at getting the Mr T to service the car. Have been quoted £180 for a Service B - or Should I take her to a local specialist? - Any recommended garages for Mr2s in the Manchester/Northwest area?

I look forward to hearing from you guys.

[russthedude]

Hi, and welcome!

1) you can get a replacement electric aerial from Maplins for about £22 and it takes 10 mins to fit.

2) it's probably the bushes that are worn, I'm looking into getting mine replaced this month, but need to get prices from Toyota and compare to aftermarket uprated ones.

3) you could service it yourself to save some dosh, and also get to find your way around the car. Oil, oil filter, fuel filter, coolant, new plugs, air filter, bits 'n bobs greased up here and there and a good clean around engine bay shouldn't set you back much more than around £75 and a Sunay morning.

if you're looking to do some stuff yourself but not sure how, there are PLENTY of people around here who are willing to give advice and maybe pop along to help if you're not too far away from them...

[classic mk1]

Hi MR2HO sounds very nice is it red?. The Knocking is proberbly one or both of the drop links are worn,nothing too major theyre a common problem. They are an easy diy job if you like getting your hands dirty. shop and ask around as the price will vary alot.as for servicing im not sure about specialists in your area. Toyota could end up being very expencive if your noy very careful.. Hope this helps Colin .

[mr2ho]

Thanks for the welcom, russthedude.

At the moment, I just want to get Mr T to have the car serviced and to highlight any 'safety' iand major isues that I should be aware of etc...

I am not too hot on the mechanical side of things but I am really looking forward in doing a lot of research in the forum to get to know how to fix/cherish the car.

As the aerial is already there and if it just need connecting up then I will probably can do that myself (if I have wiring diagram).

Suspension bushes - I will see what they say when I take the car in.

Any local owners in Manchester area ? Where do you take you car for work to be done?

Cheers

[Lauren]

2) quite possibly the drop links. If you need to replace them, fit toyota ones.

Find a decent indy garage to do the work. Don't go to toyota. They don't generally know their way round Mk1s all that well anymore and will charge you stupid amounts of money. Avoid at all costs.

[System-G]

Welcome along to the forums

You will also find a lot of tech info on the club site here:
http://www.mr2mk1club.com/repairsindex.html

At the moment, I just want to get Mr T to have the car serviced and to highlight any 'safety' iand major isues that I should be aware of etc...

I am not too hot on the mechanical side of things but I am really looking forward in doing a lot of research in the forum to get to know how to fix/cherish the car.Any local owners in Manchester area ? Where do you take you car for work to be done?

Cheers

Unless the car is a really low milage, absolute original concourse example, I would avoid taking your car to MrT. Unless ofcourse, you want to remortgage your house
Some parts can be sourced through MrT for cheaper than most people think, but other parts are extortionate. MrT's Labour rate will make you very popular with your bank manager

Try find a local independant or wait for some members local to you to post up some recommendations

We have quite an active North West area. John Redmond is your area meets rep. He is a top bloke and very helpfull with technical matters too

[MartG]

Hi there

There are electrical diagrams on this site http://opc.mr2oc.com/ which include the wiring for the radio aerial

As mentioned above, knocking/clonking is normally the anti-roll bar droplinks. Although more expensive the Toyota ones are generally regarded as being more durable than the various cheap ones available ( e.g. ebay ) - just don't get Toyota to fit them unless you've just won the Lottery

Any decent independant garage should be able to do the service, though replacing the coolant and bleeding the system afterwards does require familiarity with the peculiarities of the MR2 cooling system - there are guides available for doing this online however. If you don't have a service record proving when the timing belt was last renewed I'd also recommend getting this done at the same time.

[reanimation]

Hiya, I'm in South Manchester but i stick to my mechanic back home in West Yorkshire, i usually come back on the train though...

As for the ariel, i swapped for one of these retro items from Halfrauds.

Whatever you do though, use the connecting wire if its still there, i made that mistake

[bburn13]

Mr2ho,
I only live spitting ditance away, in Bolton.
If you want a hand servicing your car, I would be glad to help.
I use to live in Salford myself (1989-1996 - I had a brand new mk1 then)
I had a mobile mechanic who always looked after my car (Top guy) and I mean everything.
He still does my best mates cars, in Irlam.
So If you really do want your car done professonally and want to have it checked out, pm me and I will get you his number.
Better than paying MrT prices and he is spot on.
Let me know either way
Dave

[Gordy]

b) a 'knocking/clonking' noise is heard coming from the wheel area - Is this a suspension problem?

When I had a clonk at the front of my early mk1 it turned out that the spare wheel had come loose ! Worth a quick check...

[mr2ho]

Thanks for all your helpful comments.

I know Mr T will be expensive when it comes to doing all the bits and pieces, but as it is a car that I have no idea on what has been done in terms of servicing. The service recod book is last stamped at Aug 05 by a MOT garage in Stockport. I will get Mr T to service the car just this once and see what they come back with, if any other items that need attention (droplinks). Then it will be done by a good independant garage. (bburn13 - I will pm you about your mobile mechanic).

Just another question - what was the original brand of tyres fitted to the mk1? Looking at replacing the tyres as the car has a combination of different cheap brands that I have never heard of!!

Thanks guys

[dazzz]

I sent you a pm, let me know if you need any work doing.