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Hello all! I made a short introduction a few days ago in the 1stGear section, but I am planning a build thread here for some of the fun I will have with it.
A little back story; I grew up in Washington, and now attend college at Arizona State University, Polytechnic campus, for automotive/mechanical engineering. I own a 1973 Toyota Celica and drove it through high school/summers I have returned, but you know, it didn't seem like the most efficient ad easiest car to drive back down . I bought the R50 last week after test driving a few more, and looking for a while. Details are as followed:
-2002, "Pure Silver"
-137k miles, two owners
-9/10 interior, 8/10 exterior. The car itself is in very good condition
-9/10 drivetrain (Or so I thought...)
When I first dealt with the test drive, the car had an oil light on. It was only on idle, and I felt that it wasn't oil pump. Changed the oil filter and oil, light went away. False hope, though, as I had realized earlier today that the sensor was unplugged. I am going to change it out, as I have a new one on order and can pick it up tomorrow. Is teflon tape suggested? Yes or no.
Now the big worry that I have. I did a compression test earlier today (Yes, after I bought the car. I had the confidence not to do it at the dealer because the engine itself felt, and still feels, very tight.). The results were along the lines of 170-165-160-140. This doesn't seem like the end of the world, but I am going to double check tomorrow after work and make sure I did it correct.
Now for the fun part, the details:
Now, going to school for getting a degree in engineering has its perks - access to machining labs (CNC and waterject, too!), welding of all arrays, and many many digital tools to have fun with. I don't have a certain direction I want to go yet, but in any case, expect some chips to be made! Part of me wants to convert the rear to wheels to an electric drivetrain, geared for takeoff and regenerative braking. This would only require a small battery array, and could potentially be charged from a swapped alternator. It could also be used for a short term AWD set up. This would not require too much modification to the rear end, namely just new hubs in the rear.
Plan B is a rally setup, but this will require more hands on than the previous idea.
I also am going to start designing my own splitter and wing to waterjet out and install, something similar to the GP setup.
I currently have no "Nice" Pictures of the car(Coming tomorrow), so here are some of the Celica:
Exhaust will be decided on later, as well as other engine tuning. Obviously stabilizing the 137k compression test is first priority.
That's all I have to post right now, expect a picture update tomorrow!
I for one look forward to seeing what you do either way...
Thanks!
So I retested the compression. This time, I got 230-230-230-235? This was after about 7 cranks, when the needle stopped bouncing. I thought that seemed quite high, but I guess it's better than the numbers I got before. I am going to get another compression tester to compare.
Here are the pictures, first ones online:
Last edited by Tanner Stinson; 06-01-2017 at 09:38 PM.
So I retested the compression. This time, I got 230-230-230-235? This was after about 7 cranks, when the needle stopped bouncing. I thought that seemed quite high, but I guess it's better than the numbers I got before. I am going to get another compression tester to compare.
Here are the pictures, first ones online:
Congratulations on you compression re-test. When I saw your first set of numbers, I thought that was no good. Welcome, by the way the the very special Mini family.
Just a little update for the week. I have a strong distaste towards the fake chrome. It has a niche, but it's not with me. Purchasing a new bumper is a little out of my current budget, however Bondo and fiberglass is!
The idea is is/was to pull the bumper, pull the chrome bumpettes, cut the plastic out, then glass and Bondo the holes flush with the plastic. So far I have had no problems, and one of them is finished up. The second should be done tomorrow morning. I also need to pick up some Krylon spray paint to paint match the color.
Off hand, does anyone know any of the color codes for the "Pure Silver" color, other than the factory color code? Thanks! I will probably end up getting it matched at my local Ace Hardware.
If you visit your local auto paint shop and they can mix you a spray bomb that is the exact original color for very reasonable price. I get my auto paint from Sherwin Automotive paint store as they are very helpful for DIYer. Just look up on Google.
What does the connector look like (how many pins)? How much length is there in the cable? Is it possible it got rerouted funny when the battery was removed once and now doesn't reach? I have an R53, but I imagine there aren't that many differences over there in the engine bay...there isn't much stuff with connectors like that up there in mine.
Do all of the turn bulbs work (2 on each side of front bumper, one on each side scuttle)?
What does the connector look like (how many pins)? How much length is there in the cable? Is it possible it got rerouted funny when the battery was removed once and now doesn't reach? I have an R53, but I imagine there aren't that many differences over there in the engine bay...there isn't much stuff with connectors like that up there in mine.
Do all of the turn bulbs work (2 on each side of front bumper, one on each side scuttle)?
Sorry, just saw this now. Been pretty busy between finishing up working and getting back into college. all lights work, everything works(well...did work... see below ) which confuses me about the plug. But that's the least of my worries now.
9/23/17
I have now been in Phoenix for a good month and a half. Car has been running fine but now I'm having clutch slipping problems. My guess is the notorious rear main seal, bummer. Quotes of 1600 up for whole job, just gonna do it myself, I am confident enough to be able to do it with a few friends. Other than the full clutch kit (going with LUK; on amazon prime and I have heard good reviews on it, cant go single mass Valeo sadly), rear main seal, sensor o ring, input shaft sleeve and fluids, is there anything I should be doing as well? Oh, and a refinished/new flywheel.
The answer to your question is probably going to be the "as long as your in there you might as well do..." and then the long list of nearly everything under the bonnet. My take is if it aint broke, don't fix it - having said that, I have been tinkering with the idea of putting R53 internals in my car but maybe head my own advice and wait until the engine actually needs a rebuild.
If it all looks good, no leaks, nothing that is clearly in need of repair I say leave it. Though it seems strange giving advise to a student of automotive engineering... feel free to laugh at me all you want... most do... loudly and often. I am full if incredibly great terrible ideas.
I'd honestly just give everything a thorough check when you drop the subframe, but what you replace depends entirely on your budget.
It'd be a perfect opportunity to do the control arm bushing and inner/outer ball joints at minimum. Parts for those can be had for ~$100-150 depending on what you go with. Other common things would be power steering pressure line, and power steering lines to reservoir. Find the 160k maintenance thread and he'll give you a pretty solid overview of everything that could/should be done on a high mileage mini with the subframe dropped.
I bought my r50 with 80k on it and have replaced most, if not all, of the parts prone to failure....including the lovely midways box. Close to 140k on it now and still love the car.
Poly CABs would be my number one recommendation if dropping the subframe. Looking forward to your progress. Good luck.
Sorry, just saw this now. Been pretty busy between finishing up working and getting back into college. all lights work, everything works(well...did work... see below ) which confuses me about the plug. But that's the least of my worries now.
9/23/17
I have now been in Phoenix for a good month and a half. Car has been running fine but now I'm having clutch slipping problems. My guess is the notorious rear main seal, bummer. Quotes of 1600 up for whole job, just gonna do it myself, I am confident enough to be able to do it with a few friends. Other than the full clutch kit (going with LUK; on amazon prime and I have heard good reviews on it, cant go single mass Valeo sadly), rear main seal, sensor o ring, input shaft sleeve and fluids, is there anything I should be doing as well? Oh, and a refinished/new flywheel.
Thanks!
-Tanner
Hey man, just saw this thread again. Everything CSP said above is correct--when you drop the subframe and the front end, you'll see that you have really easy access to well...basically everything. Axles, motor mounts, steering rack/lines/bushings, every sensor that leaks, oil pan gasket, supercharger, water pump, thermostat, etc, are all fairly quick to add on if you already have everything else out of the way. Huge +1 on LCA bushings, adding PowerFlex ones will transform the car and ensure you never have to drop subframe again. Also for transmission fluid, go with two quarts of Redline 75W80. A little hard to shift on cold mornings, but once it's warmed up, shifts feel fantastic.
Welcome to the Phoenix area, by the way! I'm literally going to be swapping my transmission, clutch, flywheel, master cylinder, and whatever else gets recommended as part of a clutch job in a month or so. Just gotta find a decent 05-06 replacement trans for a good price first. I go to ASU Tempe, and I'm always down to help a fellow NAM member wrench! PM me if you need some help/want to do the replacements at the same time, in the interest of having R53-familiar help. Also, if having a place to wrench is an issue, I know a guy out in Chandler who lets people store and work on their cars for $30 a month.
Hey thanks everyone for the tips. For some reason I didn't get any alerts for the posts, but I managed to get the clutch done. Took a solid day once I had all the parts! Unfortunately I didn't do any of the bushings, being in the place where this is my only car (Girlfriend works across the valley) I needed it as soon as possible! Going to do everything else soon
Originally Posted by sarom058
......
Welcome to the Phoenix area, by the way! I'm literally going to be swapping my transmission, clutch, flywheel, master cylinder, and whatever else gets recommended as part of a clutch job in a month or so. Just gotta find a decent 05-06 replacement trans for a good price first. I go to ASU Tempe, and I'm always down to help a fellow NAM member wrench! PM me if you need some help/want to do the replacements at the same time, in the interest of having R53-familiar help. Also, if having a place to wrench is an issue, I know a guy out in Chandler who lets people store and work on their cars for $30 a month.
Good luck!!
Glad to see another ASU student here! I can't remember if I posted, but I go to class down at Polytech. I come around Tempe every so often, and in a few months I'll be on Mill more Space isn't too big a problem for me, I just kick my housemates out of the garage for the weekend
Update as far as 11/13/2017
So about a hundred miles after I replaced my clutch I stated to get a whine or a groan somewhere in my drivetrain. I figured i'd give it a few more miles to work itself out before I made a rash decision to tear it apart again. I first thought it was the famous "Chewbacca Growl" until I found out that was purely for 53's. Turns out it's the transmission, oh well.
Right now I am at about 142k miles and 800 since clutch job. I keep flip flopping between the 6 speed swap vs rebuilding it. My thoughts on the swap are that if I can find a donor 53 for cheap, I will do the full conversion.
I really want to do the rebuild, however I have the worry that when I tear into it I am going to find something worse than bearings/bushings and and going to be SOL for a while.
Only time will tell, I just wish there were more wrecking yards around here.
I know of one in North Phoenix, but they want to sell a 6 speed for almost 4 grand and 80k miles. Yikes, at that point i'd just get another r50!
Hopefully more updates soon. I also still need to get out and shoot my car!!!
Looks like I just impulse bought a rebuild kit. should be getting it soon here!
Last edited by Tanner Stinson; 11-13-2017 at 11:35 AM.
My transmission lasted a good long time with it whining away making all kinds of straight cut racing gear sounds. It was about 6 months to a year before I actually had the Midlands rebuilt. It started out quite and got louder as time went on. My clutch was slipping something fierce so I had that done and had the shop rebuild the transmission. I cannot stress enough nor can I adequately express my regret on the rebuild. Yes it was half the price. But just three years on, the slight sound of the gear whine is starting back up. DO THE 6SPEED SWAP AND BE DONE WITH IT!
In a year or two, I will need another transmission. It will be the 6 speed.
Here is a link to another thread about a swap. https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-upgrades.html
My transmission lasted a good long time with it whining away making all kinds of straight cut racing gear sounds. It was about 6 months to a year before I actually had the Midlands rebuilt. It started out quite and got louder as time went on. My clutch was slipping something fierce so I had that done and had the shop rebuild the transmission. I cannot stress enough nor can I adequately express my regret on the rebuild. Yes it was half the price. But just three years on, the slight sound of the gear whine is starting back up. DO THE 6SPEED SWAP AND BE DONE WITH IT!
In a year or two, I will need another transmission. It will be the 6 speed.
Here is a link to another thread about a swap. https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-upgrades.html
I'm going to rebuild the transmission right now, have it get me through college at least. I have big plans for this bugger and don't want to spend the $$$$ on a transmission that I will most likely be taking out soon any ways. I only drive 15 ish miles a day on average anyways. I bought the kit and plan on rebuilding it when I get a free weekend, but no hurry.
I'd LOVE LOVE LOVE more than anything to swap in the 6 speed, but right now I am just not financially there. Rebuilding it myself means less money I have to spend, and I have full shop access whenever I need it. Thanks for the link!
I have plans for my car as well. I am thinking of calling it P160 for Project 160hp. I have talked to Revolution Mini Works a few times and he said that 160hp at the flywheel is very easy with parts that they have on the shelf. Con-rods, pistons, head, cam, header and a tune. All very simple... or so he says... like you, not really the right time to do it. But with 160hp, the Midlands transmission will not survive long and it's death would cause more problems as well. I, too, would be doing the work myself... though I have never taken an engine apart before... in the mortal words of Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond - How hard could it be?
I have plans for my car as well. I am thinking of calling it P160 for Project 160hp. I have talked to Revolution Mini Works a few times and he said that 160hp at the flywheel is very easy with parts that they have on the shelf. Con-rods, pistons, head, cam, header and a tune. All very simple... or so he says... like you, not really the right time to do it. But with 160hp, the Midlands transmission will not survive long and it's death would cause more problems as well. I, too, would be doing the work myself... though I have never taken an engine apart before... in the mortal words of Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond - How hard could it be?
Hit it with a hammer! It will all work out!
In all honesty, engine work is not that difficult. What trips most people up is the availability tools and a "cleanish" shop, and the confidence. Head bolts are a great example. On most cars those bolts stretch as you torque, and you cannot pull them off and put them back on after saying "Hey, I might have torqued that one down wrong" or "Did I forget ____." I had to teach this to my dad, sometimes it's best to go in gung-ho with confidence rather than worrying about something that might go wrong.
And if it does, you learn, right? Hopefully it's just not an expensive learning experience.
Glad to see another ASU student here! I can't remember if I posted, but I go to class down at Polytech. I come around Tempe every so often, and in a few months I'll be on Mill more Space isn't too big a problem for me, I just kick my housemates out of the garage for the weekend
Still haven't been to Mill--heard it's pretty raucous though!! You're lucky to have access to a good garage, I have to either wrench in an apartment parking lot or tow my car to a friend's shop. Good times.
I just wish there were more wrecking yards around here. I know of one in North Phoenix, but they want to sell a 6 speed for almost 4 grand and 80k miles. Yikes, at that point i'd just get another r50!
Stay away from the wrecking yards, honestly. Look around on here, you'll get a much better deal. I recently picked up a Getrag for $500, and I know that bahman has two, one of pre-facelift and one of post-facelift (shorter and stronger gears), both under the $600 mark in Texas. Before finding the one locally, I was going to make the road trip out to pick it up. Also keep your eyes peeled on the auto parts sections of OfferUp and Craigslist.
Side note: Do you know how to rebuild transmissions? I have my blown Getrag (same chewbacca noises for ~10k miles before I started losing gears) just sitting at my place. You can have it for cheap/free if you show me how to rebuild it!
Still haven't been to Mill--heard it's pretty raucous though!! You're lucky to have access to a good garage, I have to either wrench in an apartment parking lot or tow my car to a friend's shop. Good times.
Stay away from the wrecking yards, honestly. Look around on here, you'll get a much better deal. I recently picked up a Getrag for $500, and I know that bahman has two, one of pre-facelift and one of post-facelift (shorter and stronger gears), both under the $600 mark in Texas. Before finding the one locally, I was going to make the road trip out to pick it up. Also keep your eyes peeled on the auto parts sections of OfferUp and Craigslist.
Side note: Do you know how to rebuild transmissions? I have my blown Getrag (same chewbacca noises for ~10k miles before I started losing gears) just sitting at my place. You can have it for cheap/free if you show me how to rebuild it!
Let me know if you ever need access to a lift for a day. over at the Poly campus we have a shop lift that we are pretty lenient about the use of, as long as it is not under use for much more than a day.
Yeah, I ordered a rebuild kit for my Midlands and it can't be that much different. Once you rebuild one transmission, you've rebuilt them all! If you've lost gears than you may have synchro/gear damage, and would have to get a new transmission anyways. Would possibly be interested, I'll messaged you when I tear into mine. It will probably be the beginning of the year, next semester for me should be pretty easy now that Thermodynamics is over!!!!
I'd definitely be interested in a cheap/free transmission, I'd probably model it in cad in my free time.
AND speaking of cad...
Does anyone know if there is a suspension point model yet?
I'd love to start designing RWD hubs but I don't want to tear my rear suspension apart yet. Too much focus is on the front!!
Just got done with my fall semester and now I have some free time to do what I want. Had to start rendering how I want the car to look once I finish. Ride height is about where I want it, same with style of the rear bumper. Obviously I have no suspension on here, as well as no exhaust, but it's still a work in progress, especially the front bumper.
So I just spent all of yesterday tearing the car apart. Transmission came out in 3 hours with breaks, but too the rest of the day to take it apart. My recommendation for ANYONE trying to do this, is to get an impact. I had a couple stuck bolts, one of them with a now stripped head. It's the Torx ones that wil get you!
Anyways, no damage to the gears except the reverse idler! Definitely could tell the bearings were shot, however, especially on the input shaft. I only have on of the 4 bearings off of both shafts, going to get the rest off today, and should be back up and running early this week.
So I just spent all of yesterday tearing the car apart. Transmission came out in 3 hours with breaks, but too the rest of the day to take it apart. My recommendation for ANYONE trying to do this, is to get an impact. I had a couple stuck bolts, one of them with a now stripped head. It's the Torx ones that wil get you!
Anyways, no damage to the gears except the reverse idler! Definitely could tell the bearings were shot, however, especially on the input shaft. I only have on of the 4 bearings off of both shafts, going to get the rest off today, and should be back up and running early this week.
Cool beans.
-Tanner
Rad!! Good on you for starting and just getting it done. Did you take any photos of the transmission internals? It would be really interesting to see what shot bearings look like.
05-31-2017, 11:17 PM
