89 MR2 S/C Suspension & Brake Rebuild - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

***SuperchargedMR2*** · 08-12-2011, 01:28 AM

I just finished rebuilding my front suspension & brakes on my 89 Supercharged MR2. I installed new Koni yellow adjustable struts, strut covers, strut tops, JDM TRD springs, tie rods, ball joints, rotors, brake pads, & repainted calipers.

Torn apart & ready to rebuild.

Rebuilt strut ready to install.

New ball joint & tie rod.

Tie rod & ball joint installed.

I also removed the front lip & dropped it off to be repainted.

***MR2Jedi*** · 08-12-2011, 09:15 AM

Nice work!

***SuperchargedMR2*** · 08-17-2011, 06:57 PM

Got my repainted lip back today. I also had my older set of wheels repainted. I really like the style of them & I had them color matched to the car color. I was also thinking of painting my O.Z. wheels to match the the car color. Any feelings on the different wheel styles?

***MR2Jedi*** · 08-17-2011, 08:55 PM

Though I like them both, I lean alittle more towards the rims in the 1st pic of the car.
Tough call.

***SuperchargedMR2*** · 08-17-2011, 11:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MR2Jedi

Though I like them both, I lean alittle more towards the rims in the 1st pic of the car.
Tough call.

That was my feeling too, maybe I'll do a poll & see what others think.

***SuperchargedMR2*** · 08-24-2011, 02:33 AM

Update: here are some pics from my rear suspension so far.

Jacked up & starting the rebuild.

TRD JDM spring on left with 7.5 coils & Eibach on right with 9.5 coils.

New strut ready to go in.

New strut ready for install with Koni strut, new TRD spring, strut boot, & new strut top.

New tie rods from Twos-R-Us.

Even the tie rod nuts are a lot bigger!

New powder coated calipers!

New sway bar links from Twos-R-Us

I even took time to paint my RSB in TRD red.

***MR2Jedi*** · 08-24-2011, 07:50 AM

Oh wow! very cool.
Good job!

not12listen · 09-04-2011, 06:47 PM

i am entirely loving this Mr2.

the choice of springs, end links, struts, etc... all wonderful!!!

my only cautionary words are concerning the brake rotors. if you are just daily driving it, you'll be fine. if you intend on pushing (autox, track, etc) - keep a watchful eye on their condition.

i am abusive to my brakes, and this was the result of using slotted & cross drilled rotors that i bought off ebay.

again, i did not exactly 'daily drive' my Mr2 ever. basically, how most people would AutoX, is how i would daily drive.

oh, and this is the REAR driver's side rotor. it is common that the rear only does about 35% of the braking duty. i ran Axxis Metal Master pads at this time.

***SuperchargedMR2*** · 09-05-2011, 01:11 AM

^^^ Thanks for the info. I've been using slotted/drilled rotors off eBay for 9 years with great luck. When I decided that I was going to rebuild my entire suspension/brakes I decided to just by new rotors. I don't race my MR2, it's just a fun car on nice days but I was hard on the brakes at times when blasting canyons.

***SuperchargedMR2*** · 09-05-2011, 01:20 AM

UPDATE: I had to wait for a new gland nut from Koni since one of my rear struts was packaged with the wrong gland nut.

I was able to install my newly repainted lip today, new sway bar links from Twos R Us on the front & a master brake booster brace , bleed the brakes & get everything put back on. I did some really good cleaning & detailing with parts taken off.

New painted lip installed....

Up on jacks to bleed the brakes.....

Twos R Us front sway bar links installed....

Installed a Twos R Us master brake booster brace too.....

Re-installed the piping even though they said it wouldn't fit. A simple mod & on it went.