[slide]

I had an 1986 before so Im pretty familiar what the basic things to lookout for when buying an MR2, but I've come across a 1985 MR2 that has been sitting in someone garage for the past 2 years. No startups or casual driving AT ALL.

Seems like a great deal, $1000 for the car, has a brand new engine with about 30k replaced about 3 years ago, and 90k on the chassis. What should I lookout for and repair if I buy this vehicle? What should I look for when I go to check it out? Do you think its possible to drive with the old fuel in there because I won't be able to tow it, nor do I think I could empty the tank at the owner's driveway.

Thanks

 

[ITA-MR2]

I've started cars up that had been sitting for 1 year+.

Take a battery and jumper cables (obviously). With battery applied, jumper the B+ and Fp terminals on the check connector - turn the key to "on" (not "start") and see if the fuel pump is working (probably 50-50 chance after sitting that long). If it is, add a can of injector cleaner and about 3 gallons of premium gas to the tank. Start it up.

 

[toymdngn]

my 89na sat for around 2 years, and when i got to it, i put a new battery in it, and some fresh gas. started up after holding the ignition in the start position for only 3-4 seconds. hasnt stopped since.

fire it up, make sure it doesnt leak after its warmed up. you should be ok.

oh, and by the way. change the oil and fill the tank with fresh gas and a decent injector/fuel system cleaner.

 

[slide]

This brings a smile to my face

Anyhow, would I have to empty the fuel tank out before driving it away? Or should I be okay just putting in a few gallons of premium fuel mixed with the old fuel?

 

[ITA-MR2]

Assuming it starts up OK - take it to the gas station and fill it up with premium. It should be OK with that and a coupl'a bottles of injector cleaner (like we said in the previous posts). The exhaust will smell like crap for the first 500 miles or so, but assuming everything else is OK it should be fine after that.

 

[slide]

Ah great! I'll prob check it out this weekend and hopefully by next week I can be a proud deuce owner once again

 

[bloodshot]

i don't understand why someone would put a new engine in and then not drive it for 2 yrs. sounds like the seller is hiding something

 

[toyotaspeed90]

my 87 (n/a at the time) sat for 4 years..... i took a battery with me and after about 30 seconds of cranking it fired over (had a bad motor.... owners didn't even think it would start.... had a nasty rod knock).... the most difficult part about old gas is getting the car to start.... once it does you're good to go

also, my old 86 n/a sat for 2 years and it ran awesome

 

[Cyclone]

I have a hard enough time letting mine sit for a day...but who would have an MR2 and not drive it for 2 years?

At least it was garage kept though!! :thumbup

 

[slide]

i don't understand why someone would put a new engine in and then not drive it for 2 yrs. sounds like the seller is hiding something

Yeah thats what I thought as first too, but he had put 30k on the motor before garaging it. So it is completely brand new. Im going to try to find out why

 

[cfspinner]

Mine sat for over a year without being started. Bought it for my daughter...she trashed the tranny. I took it back and took it on as a project. See my MK1 thread.

I would definitely replace all the fluids. It looked like the water pump was leaking, so we decided to replace it. When we took it off the engine, the inlet was clogged with gunk. We poped a freeze plug, and the sludge was everywhere. We wound up poping all the freeze plugs and cleanining out all of the water passages. Many of the hoses, especially the smaller diameter ones were in the same condition and brittle, so they were replaced.

We actually tore the engine down and replaced every gasket, seal and o-ring. Found the same thing when we went to replace the fuel pump. Nasty sludge at the bottom of the tank. Cleaned that out also. Better safe than sorry. Figure since this is going to be my daily driver, I want to make sure everything is right.

Just my two cents

 

[Rickman]

Same here. My first MKI sat for about two years before I bought it. It started right up. It had been moved once in the two years from the father to the son's house.

 

[azmr2]

Good find. As to what else to check for?...........rust, rust, and rust.

 

[toymdngn]

Good find. As to what else to check for?...........rust, rust, and rust.

and dont forget body corrosion.

 

[TOYOTA]

I had an 1986 before so Im pretty familiar what the basic things to lookout for when buying an MR2, but I've come across a 1985 MR2 that has been sitting in someone garage for the past 2 years. No startups or casual driving AT ALL.

Seems like a great deal, $1000 for the car, has a brand new engine with about 30k replaced about 2 years ago, and 90k on the chassis. What should I lookout for and repair if I buy this vehicle? What should I look for when I go to check it out? Do you think its possible to drive with the old fuel in there because I won't be able to tow it, nor do I think I could empty the tank at the owner's driveway.

Thanks

Hmm, I dont know if its just me, because no one else has said anything but... the engine got replaced 2 years ago... and the car sat for 2 years... where did 30,000 miles come from? Even if the engine got replaced a little over 2 years ago, 30,000 miles in a few months is a lot...

 

[slide]

Hmm, I dont know if its just me, because no one else has said anything but... the engine got replaced 2 years ago... and the car sat for 2 years... where did 30,000 miles come from? Even if the engine got replaced a little over 2 years ago, 30,000 miles in a few months is a lot...

Actually that was a typo on my part, it was replaced 3 years ago, so it would have been driven for a year. The owner wrote me back and said he purchased a new car at the time, and his father used it for one year and then bought a new car of his own. From that point the car has been sitting in the garage ever since.

 

[TOYOTA]

Ok, that makes more sense. 30K in a couple of months in outrageous. Although 30,000 in one year is still a lot of driving.

 

[Kimchi604]

i found my mr2 that was sitting for about 6 years.. got a new fuel tank, rings, fuel pump, brakes, and now its good to go.. these engines are toughhh

 

[slide]

Ok, that makes more sense. 30K in a couple of months in outrageous. Although 30,000 in one year is still a lot of driving.

I used to put on 3k a month on my previous mr2. Commuting around LA takes up a lot of mileage, especially to work and back

 

[dino_racer]

3k a month? im a pizza man i put 5k in a mont almost 2 oil changes a month it sux.... i need a new job