MR2 purchase - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

Apprentice972 · 05-05-2008, 03:17 PM

I am deciding whether or not to buy a 91 mr2 turbo. Apparently he has recently done a jdm motor swap that he got off of ebay. The motor has 57k miles. What are things that I should be looking at? I never owned a MR2 turbo nor even bought a turbo car. Any advice would be much appreciated.

varockr · 05-05-2008, 03:45 PM

well with a jdm swap you have to worry about the quality of the swap. also for the turbo you have to keep the motor oiled always! check the oil alot because if you dont you can get alot of problems and starve the turbo bearings. also what is it selling for? 57k mi on the motor is good but take it for a test drive next to a concrete wall and listen to the motor, the concrete will bounce the sounds back to your ears. look at the electronics and definitly the transmission, suspension, and brakes. then start with a basic checklist of things that could be wrong. anyone should be able to do this and im assuming your capable. ask for receipts for any work done to the car and what shop the engine swap was completed at unless the owner did that himself. plan on spending some money to fix minor things and do a tune up and radiatior flush to get any air bubbles out that may have formed. remember this is not a full checklist and just use common sense and your mr2 will be a great fun car to drive!

varockr · 05-05-2008, 03:51 PM

first of all, what is the price? remember its a 91 and there is bound to be a few problems. then the engine, where was the swap done? how well of a job didi they do? and also drive next to a concrete wall and listen for any bad noises coming from the engine. then do a basic checklist of chassis, electrical system, suspension, and brakes. then if you do buy it do a full oil change, get new spark plugs, and flush the radiator. remember this is just my reccomendation and some of these things may not need to be done. just take your time and use common sense and you should have a great car to drive! then post pics up here on tn!

varockr · 05-05-2008, 03:51 PM

my bad thought it diddnt post at first...

moogleX · 05-05-2008, 04:17 PM

grats on the triple post! edit button ftw :p

but seriously, he's right. as with ANY used car, check everything. if you know a shop you can trust, spend the 40ish bucks to have them do a full inspection. a lot of problems can be masked temprarly with heavy wieght oils or whatnot. also they can throw it on a lift and have a trianed eye for things. as far as a turbo is concerned, making sure everythings on right and that the turbo is in good condition. does it have a turbo timer? is the previous owner someone who looks like he trashed the car? bad maintenence? recipts for anything? could be lying about the milage. mine has 45k on it now, but the odometer reads 187k. and finally with the mr2, just spend time driving it and you'll soon fall in love and learn how they handle. just do a lil research about mr cars in general.

Apprentice972 · 05-05-2008, 04:18 PM

Its selling for 5k and the motor swap was done by him. I don't think he has any receipts except for the purchase of the motor. What should I be hearing while driving by the wall? Just any abnormalties? Also is it common that the water temp guage usually fails? And does the exhuast manifold usually warp? The thing I would probably expect already is the ball joints to wear out and other little minor things. Thanks for the info though.