FAO MR2 owners - advice reqd!

[Mad Dave]

Hey all,

As you may have seen in my other posts, last night i bought a Mk1 MR2.

Basically ive noticed a whining noise coming from the engine bay, it rises with the revs - my Corrado did this and it was just a dried out Alternator belt - it sounds the same here, but could this be the case?

Im getting a little worried here!

Cheers

Dave

[icamm]

Could be any of the belts. Do you have full service history with bills to say when any where changed?

It's not something silly like feedback through the sound system is it? Don't forget these cars have speakers up by your ears as standard.

[dave_s13]

?????????

have an ask on www.mr2dc.com if u haven't already m8.

[Mad Dave]

Its not got full service history but it has got lots of history - certainly at least the last 4 years, plus MOTs for all its life. Ill have a look thru.

Ive asked on IMOC.co.uk and got mixed reactions - some same its the belt needs changing while one bloke said my alternator could be on the way out - and alternators are absolutely stupid money on MR2's by all accounts!

[Mr E]

I had a 2nd Gen 3S-GE lump in my old Celica. It got very noisy belts from time to time.

Worth £3 on some belt lube before buying a new altenator....

Fensport are good for toyota bits.
www.fensport.co.uk

[neilr]

Probably the alternator, could be on the way out. I had to replace it on all the mr2's ive owned. they get very hot where they are and tend to fail. to be fair it was really the only problem i had with any of them. Toymotor are NOT cheap, however, with the MK1 I had the first Lucas alternator I bought was DOA and the replacment didnt fit properly. I ended up paying through the nose at toymotor, however it fitted perfectly. It's an easy job on the MK1, even easier if you have an assistant!

Great chioce of car though, you'll enjoy it. the mk1 is so much better balanced than any of the other MR2's. IMO of course

[Mad Dave]

Cheers mate. How likely is it to be the alternator? With the Corrado i used to just spray some WD40 on it and it would be quiet for a couple of days!

How easy is it to change the alternator belt? Do you have to remove power steering stuff as well? (not sure if i have PAS to be honest, but....)

[dave_s13]

Get some of that rubber lubricant spray stuff from halfords and give all your belts a blast with it, you can also use it to clean and rejuvenate your T-bar seals.

[Mad Dave]

I went into Halfords before and asked for some belt dressing and noone there had ever heard of it. Bloody monkeys.

I hope to god it doesnt need a new alternator - ive spent all my money on buying the thing!!

[neilr]

I wouldnt go rushing into a toymotor dealer until your sure it needs replacing, on the Mk1's dash there is an (either volt/amp meter) it should be up near the top if the altrnator is charging correctly. The whining could just be being caused by it needing lubrication. PAS is all in the front and the alternator is of course in the back so no worries there. Don't think MK1's had PAS though. Possibly as an option maybe but they dont need it. The MK2's have the AC down there too, not sure about the MK1's though, chances are it wont have it. from what i remember, changing the belt isnt going to cause you too much grief, there's not masses of space down there but its OK.

[Mad Dave]

Excellent - well my voltmeter is at least 3 quarters of the way up.

I dont think its got PAS, but the guy gave me a copy of Classic Car from 2002 where they test the MR2 Mk1, CRX and MX5 (its a good read - also has a section on driving sideways!) and it said that the MR2 has PAS!

The reason i asked about PAS is that i tried to change the alternator belt on my Corrado and the PAS pulley was in the way!

Ive only driven about 70 miles in my MR2 - would that be enough to drain the battery if the alternator wasnt working properly? (just wondering if the guy might have charged the battery quick before i drove it away!)_Ive started the car maybe 10 times in that time - so id have thought that the battery would be dead by now if the alternator was goosed?!

Cheers mate

Dave

[Incorrigible]

neilr said: PAS is all in the front and the alternator is of course in the back so no worries there. Don't think MK1's had PAS though.

Unless it was very modern the pump would be on the engine n'es pas

MK Is didn't have PAS BTW

When you open the lid, where does the sound come from ?

If it's only when it's moving, I'd suspect the gearbox. Always keep the fluid topped up (something about oil starvation because of a slanting gearbox shaft, can't remember exactly)

Don't worry, an exchage alternator will be considerably less than a tank of fuel

[Mad Dave]

Its not only when its moving mate - i nearly shat myself when you said gearbox (Corrado munched its gearbox within a month of ownership!) - i can be sat stationary with the clutch down and it still does it - sounds exactly like a dry alternator belt.

less than a tank of fuel?!?! tank is only about £25/£30? is it really that cheap?! Ive been getting horror stories about alternator prices!

Cheers mate!

[Incorrigible]

Mad Dave said:less than a tank of fuel?!?! tank is only about £25/£30? is it really that cheap?! Ive been getting horror stories about alternator prices!

Most exchange units come in at about £30-40

Check the belt tension, and not much wrong with a SMALL squirt of WD40 either

Edited to say >> So where does the sound come from

>> Edited by Incorrigible on Wednesday 28th May 16:01

[Mad Dave]

Yeah WD40 was how i used to 'cure' the whiney noise on the Corrado! lol Only problem was the PAS would slip for a few minutes after id sprayed it! lol

[icamm]

Mk1 does not have PAS or aircon as officially imported into the UK. It's possible that imports from other markets do have them.

They certainly don't need PAS as the weight balance is such that the steering is pretty light anyway. It sometimes felt too light IRRC.

[Mad Dave]

Not sure where the sounds coming from yet - only got it last night and havent had a chance to investigate yet!

[Umar B]

is the whining noise coming from the speakers? if it is then you may have a problem with the radio system. i had a similer problem when i changed the radio on my MR2, once i changed the wiring the was no whiining at all. might want to check the earth points on the car, or te noise surpresser on the alternator, if its the surpresser then they are only a couple of quid to replace.

BTW whats your screen name on imoc?

>> Edited by Umar B on Wednesday 28th May 23:10

[Mad Dave]

Hey mate,

noise isnt coming from the speakers, ive checked that. I THINK the noise is coming from the area of the TVI-S unit - you can only hear it if you listen for the right sound, otherwise you dont notice it! Im starting to think its just a characteristic of the engine/TVI-S system??

I sprayed some WD40 on the alternator belt - so thats now making a funny whoosy sound (nowt to worry about tho!) lol

Cheers

Dave

PS name on IMOC is David Hambly

[mechsympathy]

Mad Dave said: Im starting to think its just a characteristic of the engine/TVI-S system??

There shouldn't be any whining noises, the only "extra" noise you should get is the ticking from the injectors, which gets drowned out fairly quickly by general engine noise. If its coming from the TVI-S area (ie inlet manifold) could you have a leak there?