runnig poor in the cold

[MR-Deuce]

This is my first winter in my mr2. I bought the car living in oklahoma city and moved to Indiana. Its a 91 n/a. So far it has been an excellent car and a lot of fun. But when the weather started getting cold I noticed a few problems. #1 The idle is about 3k till it warms up then 1500 when its warm.
#2 The motor has a tic. I can't pin point it but it sound like mabee a lifter.
#3 The window fog up very easily and it is difficult the defrost them.


The temp here has been anywhere from -10 degrees to 30 degrees. however we had one day with about 50 degrees. I noticed on the one warm day we had that the car ran great. no noise, normal idle and of course the window weren't a problem. Also one day I noticed a pretty good sized oil spot under my car. no one ever parks in my spot so I know it came from my car. but That was the only time it ever leaked. Has anyone ever heard of a car leaking oil just once? I'm not by any means a mechanic, My field is in residential and commercial security alarms. Any advice or thoughts would be helpful and appriciated. Thanx

[ToyotaTechGeek]

idle sounds about right. it's cold out there! make sure you use something like stp gas treatment or heet or something to keep your lines from freezing and keep your fuel topped-off.

as far as your tick, make sure your oil leak is addressed and also while you have a leak (sounds like you do) make sure your oil is toppped-off also. in cold weather like that i would seriously suggest a really light oil viscosity (or even a synthetic blend if your seals are up to task)..

as for your windows, keep them clean for starters. dirty windows have issues with defrosting for some reason. also allow ample time for defrosting! keeping the hvac controls in recirculation mode helps on initial defrost but sometimes it's necessary to go to fresh air.

oh! and you don't have a gen3 btw.

[MR-Deuce]

the oil stays full with the exception of the one time. It seems odd to me that it would leak only the one time so I hav kept a close eye on it. the windows seem to always fog no matter what setting even on long trips. I drive alot for work. somtimes 2 or 3 hour trips and its a real hastle. The defrost seems to blow hot and steady. could it be a moisture leak? and I didn't me to put generation 3 it was an accident.

[ToyotaTechGeek]

if you have 'frost' on your glass on the edges, then that might be indicative of a leak. on long trips then you might keep it on fresh although it won't stay quite as warm. you might try some 0W-20 in your crankcase.

[MR2Jedi]

Try Rain X on the inside of your windshield. At least until you figure out what's going on.The stuff works