Tool needed-

Phillips screwdriver

Parts needed-

New airfilter

Begin.

1.Open the hood

2.Disconnect maf. (push down on clip and pull wire harness to your right)

3.Unscrew your hose clamp.

4.Pull coolant line off of box:

here

and here

5.For more maneuverability you can pull up on these two small hoses to dissconnect

them from the rubber intake tube.

6.Push forward on these two brass clips that hold the airbox lid on from the front.

They will swing forward and remain on the bottom of the airbox so no need to worry

about them falling off.

Here on the right side

and here on the left side

Optional step:

If you want to remove the top of the airbox completely then you will have to

unscrew the screw to the left (be careful that little bugger is easy to lose) and either

unclip the wire to the right (leaving the clip on the box) or use a pair of needle nose

pliers or flat head screwdriver to get the clip off of the airbox. (leaving it on the wire)

btw you may have to take the top rear strut top bar off to get it out if you have

heat shields still.

7.Now pull up on the front of the airbox (by maf sensor) and rubber tube.

Then while holding airbox up push down on rubber tube, like this.

8.Now slide the box forward to release the back retainers for the airbox.

Here’s what they look like.

9.Now your airbox should be free to pull up and expose your filter. You may have

to lift up on it enough to get your old filter out and then try to slip your new one in.

I’m able to slide the box over to the right since I don’t have any heat shields in.

Just make sure the filter fits in flush with the box and your in good shape.

[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=spydercam;492097]10.Now make sure when you put your box back on to slide the back retainers in

like they were. Make sure they line up like my pic in step 8.

11.Now slide your rubber intake tube to the right side like this:

12.Then slide it over the top of the airbox. Now lift the front of the airbox (by the maf)

and line it up with the bottom of the rubber intake tube. Now you should be able to push

down on the airbox and tube to form this:

13.Now just push down and pull the tube tight to form a good seal.

14.Tighten your hose clamp down.

15.Clip both brass hooks back.

Here on the right side

and here on the left side

16.Plug maf wire harness back into maf.

17.Put coolant line back into place:

here

and here

18.Reconnect two small tubes back to rubber intake tube.

(if you did the optional step make sure to screw your left screw back in and

wire and clamp on the right side back to box)

19.Clean up and your ready to go.

Tools necessary:
-10mm, 12mm, 14mm, 17mm wrenches (ratcheting kind is super handy)
-10mm, 12mm, 14mm, 17mm, 19mm sockets
-ratchets and extensions for said sockets (the air variety will save time)
-channel lock pliers (handy for removing spring clips)
-cable, wire or string (for tieing stuff out of your way)
-clean table top or other horizontal surface, so you can
place the parts out of the way and not lose them
-cherry picker or lift (to pick the car up off of the engine)
-dolly of some kind (to roll the drivetrain out from under the car)
-catch can for coolant (you can drain this at any time, I choose
to do it when I first lift the car up over my head because its
convenient.
-catch can for transmission oil (if you take the axles out, I do
not take them out of the transmission in this walk through. If
I did, I would drain the transmission first to avoid a mess.)
-flathead screw driver
-common sense (please do not be a booger eating moron and get
yourself killed, people will laugh at your obituary.)

Suggested Tools:
-impact wrench (with one of these the tight bolts you encounter
do not pose as much of a threat to your knuckles and your cereal
will taste better the next day.)
-bright portable lights (if I have to explain why, you should not be
reading this and you are a booger eating moron.)
-plenty of room to work (will also make your cereal taste better
the next day.)

Time Needed to Drop:
This was done in 3 hours and 45 minutes of actual wrench time. That includes the 15-20 minute call I had to make to Blitzo because I got stuck and also includes doing several things out of order and needlessly raising and lowering the car. If I were to do this again in the order laid out in this document, I could have this joker out in 1.5 – 2 hours without breaking a sweat from the halogen lights.

Another handy thing to have is a cushy place for your butt. I don’t know about the rest of the world but I enjoy sitting on mine. Especially when I’m “working”.

btw – I also suggest not doing this in the FREAKING cold. It required me to wear gloves because I can’t work when my hands go numb. I generally hate using gloves because I lose a lot of fine dexterity with my fingers, but given my choices I think I picked the better option. I wholeheartedly suggest you invest in a pair if it is FREAKING cold where you plan to do this swap.

Before you get started, I suggest removing the battery. As you can see, I didn’t do that immediately – however I do recomend it first priority as far as safety for the mobile goes.

All setup on the lift, ready to work. I do not condone this type of action with one of these lifts. It is not designed to have the ass end of a car hanging off of it like I did. However, I didn’t see why it wouldn’t work so I did it anyway.

Gratuitous butt shot.

Off with the wheels. The lug wrench that came with the Spyder will do, but the impact made it nicer. 21mm socket, if anyone is curious.

Both rear wheels need to be removed.

As you can see the two 10mm bolts holding the license plate have been removed along with the plate. Do not forget about these small electrical clips. Leaving them on when you pull the bumper skin off will embarass you in front of your friends.

Hit all three 10mm screws that are on each side of the bumper skin. Two are where I have my ratchet placed, one is hiding up in the wheel well but is easy enough to spot.

This needs to be done on both sides.

Pop the hood

While hard to see, I’m removing one of the two 10mm bolts that secure the tail light in place.

This needs to be done for both lights.

Removing the electrical clip that is attached to the tail light housing.

This needs to be done for both lights.

Removing the two 10mm bolts that secure the bumper skin to some actual metal under the tail lights.

This needs to be done for both sides.

Using a flathead screwdriver to pop up the five (less if you tend to lose them like me) plastic clips that secure the bumper skin along the top.

Carefully pulling the bumper skin off. Make sure you have an adequate space already lined up for this joker to sit. Basically, its flimsy, oddly shaped and is something you do NOT want to scratch up. I ended up putting it on the roof of my Two Door.

Removing the two vertical bars behind the bumper skin that are held on with a 10mm bolt and 10mm nut.

Removing the rear strut brace. This is held on by two 14mm nuts at the struts and two 14mm bolts at the body. Once you have them out, it lifts up and you can set it aside out of the way.

Don’t forget about these little clip things that secure the third brake light wiring when you go to remove the hood. Also embarassing in front of your friends if you forget.

Removing the four 10mm bolts that hold the rear deck lid to the hinges. Don’t be a dumbass, get a friend to help you with this. Have them hold up one side while you remove the bolts from the other. It is possible to lay a towel out and work one side at a time but its easier to have a buddy hold up one side while you do the other. They can help you put the rear deck lid on a clear horizontal space as well. Be easy, scratching this piece will hurt your feelings.

Just taking a step back to admire the handy work…of the disassembly…the exhaust work is nothing to write home about and I’m glad that I’m finally getting rid of it. It used to be two mufflers, but I blew one out and had to cut it out and weld a piece of pipe in its place. I had to do this pronto because the muffler gave on a Thursday evening and I needed to be at work Friday morning. btw – This nastiness was what I learned to weld on. I expect the next exhaust system will reflect my improved metal sticking abilities (grin).

Popping the clips that secure the wires for the license plate lights.

Removing the rear bumper from the sub frame rails. There are three 14mm bolts holding this on each side.

Removing the O2 sensor. 2zz’s only use one for A/F ratios, plus its common to do a custom exhaust when you put one in your Spyder.

The exhaust for a 1zz would look nothing like the one pictured in this project.

After 30 minutes you too can have a spyder as light as this one.

Using a 19mm socket, loosen the accessory belt tensioner so you can take the belt off while you have the car on the ground.

Lift the car and pop the coolant drain plugs. There are two 12mm bolts. One on each coolant line. As an aside, the draining is helped if you pull the resevoir cap off the tank in the back of the car. As you can see from all the mud under my car, I hate dirt roads. Mine is finally paved but not before a few weeks of extremely nasty rainy weather got to visit and decorate the underside of my car.

Have a catch can of some sort for when the plugs come out.

Pictured here is me removing the two 12mm bolts that hold the clutch slave cylinder to the bellhousing. I used a ratcheting wrench to get these as my air ratchet wouldn’t clear very easily.

Using the impact to zip the transmission mount by the clutch slave cylinder apart. As I recall, that was a 17mm. It may seem strange that I am taking this bolt out, but it needs to come out anyway because it keeps the mount bracket out of your way when you finally lower the engine from the car.

Removing the two 14mm bolts that secure the mount bracket to the bellhousing.

What I ended up with after I removed all that stuff. (one mount down, two to go – the fourth is left on, you’ll see)

Tie the slave cylinder up out of the way so its not stressing the clutch line.

Basically – there are four 12mm bolts that are holding the compressor on. Well that and an electrical clip. Don’t forget about the clip or you will embarass yourself in front of your friends. When removing the bolts, remove the two that are above the compressor first. The bolts are long and thin, so if you do the bottoms first, they won’t come off entirely and simply get in the way when you try to unbolt the top ones.

Untied the slave cylinder and tied the compressor in place. I then used the left over on the wire to secure the slave cylinder to the compressor.

This is the fuel line. More specifically, this is the spot where you should disconnect the fuel line if you intend to pull a 1zz/2zz engine from a Spyder. I simply pressed the white plastic thing together and the rubber line easily lifted off and out of the way.

Keep a rag handy for the little bit of gasoline that will pour out.

Yes, this white plastic thing.

Using a 10mm wrench to remove the bracket that keeps the hydraulic brake line from moving too much.

This is the ABS sensor for the wheel. There is a 10mm bolt that is holding it in place.

Actually removing said 10mm bolt and tucking the sensor up out of my way.

Some random bracket that is held on by a 10mm bolt. Since the hub assembly is coming off, this guy must stay with the car. So I’m taking it loose.

Using Mr. Impact again to zip off the lower 17mm (maybe 14mm, I forget at the moment) bolt that is holding the caliper on.

Removing the upper 17mm (maybe 14mm, I forget at the moment) bolt that is holding the caliper on.

Pulling the caliper off. At which point I balanced it on the forward locator bar for the hub.

Pulling the rotor off. I laid it on the floor out of the way.

Tied the caliper up out of the way so I could unbolt the forward locator bar for the hub.

Unbolting the two 19mm bolts that hold the cup to the strut. Incidentally, this is how you adjust your camber alignment if you’re curious. You buy different diameter sized bolts that allow the cup to tilt in or out a specified number of degrees and tighten them up while holding the hub assembly tilted one way or the other. My friends tried to explain to me that there was rocket science involved in automobile alignments…if they only knew.
btw – caster is not adjustable on these cars, if you have adjusted it you are not concerned with your alignment so much as the butt pillaging that the insurance company is going to give you for wrecking your car.

Removing the 17mm bolt that holds the forward locator bar to the hub. At this point the hub moves really easily.

As you can see.

Every detail shown regarding the hub must be duplicated for the other side of the car.

Removing the three 12mm bolts that hold the battery holder in place. The third one is way down low next to the strut. Its hobbies include making you go find a magnadoodle pen so you can retrieve it when it drops out of sight.

Removed the intake that was behind the battery. I am running a Pelican Racing style intake on my car. Stock intakes will need a little different finagling so I didn’t even go into it here…just remove your entire intake if you would still like to keep up.

Make sure this ground wire comes off the transmission. You will embarass yourself in front of your friends if you don’t when you go to lower the engine out of the car. Its a 10mm or 12mm as I recall.

Remove the 10mm nut holding the starter wire to the fuse panel.

Then take this wire loose and lay it over onto the engine.

All plugs to the ECM have been removed including the four wires that are necessary to integrate to the body harness if you are running a 2zz motor in your Spyder. These wires have to do with the O2 sensor if you’re curious because the Celica GTS keeps its O2 sensor so far away from the engine that it is wired in with the body harness. There are three plugs to the right of the two wiring bundles pictured that must also be removed. They come out with the engine wiring harness.

The scene just before I yank the engine harness through the firewall and lay it on the engine.

Said engine harness yanked through the firewall and laying on the engine.
btw – there are a few little clips for the harness to attach to the transmission that I have not mentioned here, they are pretty obvious when you see them in person and they simply require a flathead screw driver to disconnect.

Right after I laid everything up on the engine and made sure all the wiring junk was separated and out of the way.

The are the shift linkage connections. Just pull the little pin and the washer pops off along with the linkage head. Do not lose those parts.

These little clips tried to hurt my feelings. Basically I pushed the little metal piece down (circled) and forced the linkage (arrow points to it) up with a screwdriver. It popped out. I seem to recall there being a more convenient trick for this, but I don’t know what it is.

Using the impact wrench I zipped the driver’s side transmission mount loose. This was a 17mm I think. 17 or 14… I expect it will be pretty obvious when you start wrenching on it.

This is the modified celica mount used to keep the passenger side of the motor connected. I highly recomend to anyone using a 2zz in their Spyder to get a custom mount. Modifying the celica mount will let you get by, but the other three mounts tend to twist a little because its impossible to elongate the bolt hole enough to sit correctly.

I forget what this looks like on a 1zz, on the 2zz its just a 17mm bolt on the body side, two 14mm bolts on the motor side along with two 14mm nuts on the underside of the bridge mount toward the motor.

I used an old engine stand and laid a board across its legs. Then I placed two tires on the boards to let the motor and transmission sit on. This worked pretty darn well. Once I had the drive train sitting on this, I removed the two 17mm bolts holding the crossmember to the subframe rails and also the 12mm bolt that was holding some kind of bracket for the brake lines. Ignore the detail of the rear sway bar being disconnected. It was not necessary and I put the bolt back right after I took this picture.

Each side of the crossmember has two 17mm bolts and a 12mm bolt that need to be removed.

This is a pic of me lifting the car up from the drivetrain. I don’t recall moving, but apparently I was having some sort of epileptic fit when I pressed the button. Notice how I twisted the motor a bit to better clear the passenger side frame rail. It was at this point that I disconnected the throttle cable. If you forget about the throttle cable you will embarass yourself in front of your friends when you lift the car from the drivetrain.

Another pic to illustrate the twist I put on the drivetrain to clear the passenger subframe rail. BTW – something not pointed out during this is that the 2zz’s have a ground wire connected to the body above the valve cover towards the pullies. If you forget about this, you will embarass yourself in front of your friends when you lift the car from the drivetrain.

Voila – No more engine.

Still no more engine.

Everything that came out with the engine.

Everything I laid on one of my work tables. I keep the related bolts grouped together and move from a top to bottom, left to right motion as I put another pile of bolts on it. This way its easier for me to work backwards and put everything back in its place while I am reassembling.

Thats the whole show as far as I’m aware. The most important tool to use for this task is common sense. Yes that bears repeating. If you have any questions, please direct them to someone who cares.

Photos by Marilyn Murray – Copywrong 2005 my rights reserved and all that jazz.

The engine should be cool for this procedure, or you are likely to get burned.

First, you need to remove the ECU fuse or the positive battery terminal clamp. This allows the ECU to “reset” itself.

Seen here

What you’ll need to clean the MAF:MAF cleaner (the magazine article says choke & carb cleaner is OK too, but I just bought the dedicated stuff), Phillips head screwdriver

So, pop the hood and let’s see where this puppy lives.

Oh! There he is! (blue arrow)

Let’s get a little closer. Now he’s boxed in.

OK, now we know where he is. Let’s get started.

There’s a tab on the top of the MAF sensor wire harness. Push the tab down and pull the harness away from the MAF

There are 2 Phillips head screws to be removed, as indicated by the blue arrows. They’re little, so don’t lose them when you remove them!

Loosen the screws:

Remove the screws and put them somewhere safe.

Now the MAF will lift out:

You’re ready to clean it.

Here’s what you’re aiming for–the platinum wires in there. They can be damaged, so don’t put the spray nozzle directly in contact with them.

Spray the cleaner into the MAF to spray the platinum wires.

There is a little rubber O ring (blue arrow). The SpyderMagazine article mentions you might want to remove it on the chance the cleaner might make it brittle. I didn’t see the spray getting much on there, but you can also spray it with the MAF at an angle so the spray doesn’t get near the O ring.

Put the MAF back in the way it came out (there’s only one way it will fit), and tighten the screws.

Reconnect the MAF sensor wire harness by pushing it back into place.

…and VOILA! You’re done. Go have a beer, and pat yourself on the back for a job well done. Or better yet, take the Spyder for a drive, THEN have that pat and beer.

When you clean the MAF, you should “reset” the Engine Control Unit (ECU) to put it through a “re-learning” process. You should do this when you clean the air filter, MAF, get new O2 sensors, spark plugs, injectors, a CAI, or exhaust and/or cat back system. Anything that affects the motor.

What you’ll need:

A Spyder! (year and color vary)

The engine should be cool when you perform this procedure, or you are likely to get burned.

–and a 10 mm wrench if you’re going to remove the negative battery terminal clamp.

You have 2 options: 1) remove the ECU fuse for 20+ minutes (preferred); or 2) remove the negative battery terminal for 20+ minutes. Although less time might be required for reset, it seems that 20+ minutes is the common method. For best results, remove the terminal or ECU fuse before you clean the MAF (or do whatever you’re doing to the car that necessitates the reset).

OPTION 1 (PREFERRED): Removing the ECU fuse. This method has less “collateral damage”–it will not lead to the loss of your radio presets or clock setting.

Where is it? It’s in the fuse box on the forward driver’s side portion of the engine bay, next to the battery.

There’s a small ‘catch’ on the front (frunk side) of the fuse box cover–push it in with your finger and lift up on that end of the cover. The cover will lift off. The rear catches are like hinges, so you pivot the cover and it will disengage from that side.

When you lift the cover off, it will be ‘upside down’–turn it 180 degrees so the diagram on the inside of the cover matches up with the fuses.

Examining the fuse diagram on the fuse box inside cover, you’ll see the ECU fuse as the 2nd one from the bottom on the left side (in the third slot–the lowest slot is empty in a stock Spyder). In this photo, the ECU fuse is outlined in blue boxes on the cover diagram and the fuse box itself. In the rear right corner of the box, there is a pair of plastic fuse pullers (they look like plastic tweezers) designed to safely remove the fuses (yellow arrow).

Remove the fuse pullers, squeeze the top together to separate the forks, and lower the forks over the fuse. Relax your grip on the top, and let the fuse pullers grasp the fuse. They will click into place.

Pull up gently on the fuse pullers (but don’t squeeze the top together, or they will let go of the fuse) to remove the ECU fuse.

Here is a view of the fuse box from the driver’s side of the car, with the ECU fuse removed.

Put it in a safe place.

Leave the fuse out for at least 20 minutes for the “reset” procedure.

To reinsert the fuse, use the fuse pullers to gently reinsert it into its proper receptacle. NOTE: the numbers on the top of the fuse will be upside down to you when inserted correctly (look at all of the fuses–the numbers face opposite your direction). Make sure you put it back in the same direction you removed it. It will click into place.

Release the fuse pullers’ grip on the fuse by pinching the top together and pulling upward. Put the fuse pullers back in their place.

Replace the cover by turning it back around (so the diagram is now upside down to you), hook the two catches on the rear end on the ‘hinges,’ and push down on the front of the cover until it clicks into place.

OPTION 2: Removing the NEGATIVE battery terminal clamp.

**NOTE: this will result in the loss of your radio presets and clock setting.

The battery is on the driver’s side of the engine bay. Here’s a hint–the positive battery terminal is the one with the red cover with the big PLUS sign on it.

Using a 10mm wrench, loosen (but do not remove) the nut on the negative terminal clamp.

When the clamp is sufficiently loose, grasp both sides of the clamp. Wiggle it back and forth and pull up gently, and it will come off the terminal.

To protect the terminal clamp while you work on other things (like the MAF sensor cleaning), you can wrap it in a cloth.

Leave the terminal disconnected for 20 minutes. To reconnect, simply place the terminal clamp back over the battery terminal and gently push it downward until it is firmly seated on the terminal. Using the 10 mm wrench, tighten the nut so the terminal clamp is firmly secured. If you have an SMT, you may hear the accumulator pump start up when you reconnect the terminal–it can be startling, so just be prepared.

So, now that THAT’S done, let’s move on to the nitty gritty. You can clean the MAF while the ECU fuse or battery terminal clamp is disconnected, to make the most efficient use of your time. See the separate page for cleaning the MAF.

Also if you’re unsure what the issue with your fan is check out my idiots guide to diagnosing a bad cooling fan.

Tools required:
1) 10mm wrench.
2) 8mm wrench/socket.
3) Medium sized Phillips screwdriver.

Optional:
1) Flat headed screwdriver

Now onto the install. Once you remove the frunk plastics you will be greeted with this site.

You’ll need to take off the two bolts (10mm) which have a red arrow going to them and remove the two bars they are holding. Then you will need to remove the two bolts that hold the fan assembly in. These are circled in green above and I have a close up picture with a red arrow pointing at one below.

^^This is why you need a 10mm wrench and not just a socket.
Next pull the wire out from all of the clips holding it in place. Two examples of these are circled in green below. Once that’s done push down on the black connector with a red arrow going to it so it pops off of it’s holder.

Now you can disconnect the plugs on the drivers side motor (pink arrow above) and the black plug that has a red arrow going to it. Below is a picture attempting to show where to push on the connector so you can pull it off. If you’ve ever worked with the other electrical connectors on this car these are no different. Basically you have to wrestle with it a little bit but eventually the thing will pop off. Just keep trying.

Now pull up on the whole fan assembly which will fully remove it (more on why that is in a bit). Once you can move the whole assembly around freely you can get the last connector shown in the picture below. Just put your fingernail or flat headed screw driver where mine is and pull that tab out and it should release quite easily.

Now you can also examine what it was that held in the fan assembly up until now. I have a picture of one of the connectors that slips in a slot on the assembly. This is useful information as you will need to make sure you get the slots lined up so the bottom is secured when you put the assembly back in at the end.

Next remove the nut holding on the fan blades (circled in red below) with a 8mm wrench/socket.

Once the blades are removed you can get to the three screws which are holding the motor in place (circled in red below).

The motor just slips right out at this point and it’s just a matter of doing the reverse of this whole process.

I also have a video to show how much extra resistance my old motor had compared to the one that still worked.

http://s20.photobucket.com/albums/b221/dar…es6-24-0830.flv

As for difficulty, on a scale of 1-10 (1 being cleaning your MAF) this is a 1.5 I would say. A very easy task which looks hard but probably would only take 15 minutes to half an hour.

Feel free to ask any questions or make comments!

By: Brett Robertson (97 Supra)

You will need:

1.) Bottle of Meguiar’s PlastX

2.) Sandpaper grit depends on the severity of your lens damage. Which ever grit you choose to start with, you must also purchase 1 sheet of the higher number grit paper – up to what ever grit you are comfortable with to complete the restoration process. (I stopped at 2500.)

Example: If you start with 1000, you must also buy 1500 2000 and 2500.

2a.) 1 sheet of 1000 grit (to start with when working on severely oxidized and yellow lenses.)

2b.) 1 sheet of 1500 grit (to start on not so yellow, but very cloudy / faded and or lightly swirled/scratched lenses.)

2c.) 1 sheet of 2000 grit (starting with mostly clear, or barely cloudy lenses)

2d.) 1 sheet of 25000 grit to finish off with (or continue on to 3000 if it makes you happy.)

3.) Any # pack of microfiber towels.

4.) 1 flannel cloth – any size, just make sure it’s easy to fold up and work on your headlight with.

5.) 1 roll of your favorite masking tape, I chose 3M blue 1″ masking tape.

6.) 1 bucket your size and color choice don’t matter so much as long as the container is large enough to soak your sheets of sand paper in, it will work.

The Process:

1.) Gather your supplies.

2.) Mask off the light you choose to work with first using the masking tape. Be generous, you do not want to accidentally slip and sand your precious paint job.

3.) Cut your different grit papers (1000, 1500, 2000, 2500) into workable sizes. Allow them all to soak in your bucket for 8-10 minutes to make sure they are saturated.

4.) Remove your first lowest grit paper from the water (I started with 2000) and fold it in half. Choose 1 direction to sand in to start with, vertically or horizontally. (I chose vertical to start.) do NOT sand in a circle. Sand the lens until it is uniform, and looks evenly worked.

4a.) Be sure to keep applying water to the working area via spray bottle, cup, or other method to ensure adequate water is being supplied to the paper which working with it.

4b.) Be sure to dip your sanding hand, along with the sand paper you are working with into the bucket often as to flush the debris off of you and the paper.

5.) Using 1 of your many microfiber cloths, dry the lens off to check for consistency in your work. Feel free to do this as many times as necessary to ensure you are getting a uniform surface.

6.) Once you have dried the lens, and checked for a uniform surface, go ahead and change the water in your bucket. Place your other papers back in the clean water, and select the next grit paper. (I used 2500 now.)

6a.) Fold the new paper in half, and soak the lens before applying the higher grit wet sand paper to the lens.

6.b) Sand in the opposite direction as you did previously. (every time you switch grit paper.) If you started out sanding vertically as I did, you will now be sanding horizontally.

7.) Sand in the opposite direction with your next higher grit paper as I previously mentioned. Keep rinsing off your working hand, and working paper. As well, be sure to keep wetting the lens as you are working as I previously mentioned.

8.) Once you have sanded in the opposite direction with your higher grit paper, make sure the surface is evenly worked by drying the lens off with a new microfiber cloth. If necessary re-sand until the surface is evenly sanded.

9.) At this point the lens is going to look cloudy from sanding, but not as cloudy as the previous grit left the lens. (see previous photo compared to this one.)

9a.) Repeat the previous steps with higher grit sandpaper if you choose to for a finer finish before the following steps. (I did not, I finished with 2500.)

10.) Heres where that oddball flannel cloth I told you to get comes in. Get out your Meguiar’s PlastX and put a dime size on the flannel cloth. Apply firm pressure to the cloth against the the lens and in a circular motion work small areas at a time, maintaining firm pressure. Do not press so hard you crack or damage your lens, use good judgment, the more firm you press the better the polish works. Once you have worked one area, allow the PlastX to dry there, and work another area – repeat until you have worked the entire lens surface.

11.) Once you have finished working in your PlastX, use another one of your fresh microfiber cloths and remove the plastX from the lens.

11a.) To obtain the best possible clarity, you will need to repeat steps 10 and 11 until you have the the clarity you desire. This may get tedious, but the results are well worth it.

12.) Once the desired clarity has been reached, remove your masking tape.

13.) Once the tape has been removed, go ahead and place a generous amount of PlastX on your hand and work it in real good. Once the lens is completely covered, stop and allow the product to dry on the lens. This may take a few minutes depending on the temperature and humidity around you. (You may also work the PlastX around with a fresh microfiber cloth if you fear you might be allergic to any chemicals.)

14.) Man we love some microfiber. With a fresh microfiber cloth, polish the lens clean using a fresh side of the cloth for your final swipe.

15.) Make sure you have cleaned off any excess product, or sanding materials from the lens and stand back to take a look at the results.

15a.) Repeat this process for the other headlight lens.

16.) If you want to seal the headlights, choose the Meguiar’s product of your choice and apply it at this time. I will be using some NXT liquid on my light to keep the newly refinished surface sealed and better protected.

Disclaimer:

This “how to” was my own personal experience. I am sharing it with you because I was very satisfied with the results. I can not guarantee your results will be the same, as your workman ship may differ from my own. As well, every lens damage is NOT identical. Some may turn out for better or worse. You just watched me do this to my 1997 Toyota Supra (It’s 1 of 55.) New headlights would have cost me about $800.00. I spent about $15.00 on the supplies to end up with these results following the process I described above. Take that for what it’s worth, and always detail using your best judgment.

Thanks for looking, I can’t wait to go for a night drive! Often the results of this (depending on the condition of your lenses prior to the process) light output and night visibility can be improved as much as 50%.

While having my tyres replaced I noticed the rear discs & pads were getting worn/corroded and as the MOT is due next month I thought it best to replace them to give time for bedding in.

Here again is a picture record of how it was done (showing rust and all) using tools not necessarily recommended by the manufacturer

JACK UP
SUPPORT CAR
REMOVE WHEEL

REMOVE SLIDER BOLT (12mm RING SPANNER)

ONCE BOLT IS REMOVED
PIVOT UP THE PISTON ASSEMBLY AND SLIDE OFF TOP PIN (This can be a little awkward but it is doable)

YOU CAN NOW REMOVE THE PADS WITH ANTI SQUEAL SHIMS

REMOVE TOP & BOTTOM CALIPER SUPPORT BOLTS (17mm RING SPANNER)

THE OLD DISC CAN NOW BE REMOVED 9There are two drawing holes if needed)

I USED A “WIND BACK” TOOL PURCHASED FROM HALFORDS FOR £19
THIS WAS MORE THAN ADEQUATE FOR THE JOB
WHEN DOING THIS REMOVE THE BRAKE RESERVOIR CAP AND DRAIN OFF THE EXCESS FLUID (As shown in the front brake replacement)

AFTER WINDING BACK THE PISTONS
ROTATE THE SLOTS AS IN PICTURE TO ACCOMMODATE DOWEL IN BRAKE PAD

CLEAN OFF AND LIGHTLY COAT ANTI SQUEAL SHIMS WITH COPPER GREASE

SQUEEZE SPRING CLIPS ON TOP AND BOTTOM OF CARRIER TO LOCATE SLOTS ON PAD NEAREST TO YOU

THE REAR PAD JUST SLOTS IN TO CARRIER (Note that I put a nut on the new disc to hold in place while assembling)

SLOT THE PISTON ASSEMBLY ON TO SLIDER (Again this is a bit awkward but doable)

REPLACE SLIDER BOLT AND JOB IS DONE

BEFORE MOVING OFF START THE ENGINE, PRESS HARD ON THE BRAKE PEDAL THREE OR FOUR TIMES THEN APPLY THE HANDBRAKE THREE OR FOUR TIMES (This should take up the adjustment)

Hope this helps

1. disconnect the cable from the tranny. It’s a garden hose type of screw on connector. Small vise grips helped to turn it. Then just pull it out.

2. take out 7 screws on the dash, 5 up and 2 on the side. Take off top dash plate. Take off 2 nuts (10mm socket) and take off the metal bracket (just pull it up and out).

3. Now you can get to the speedo connector. Use a small screwdriver to pry the white plastic tab on the right out a little and at the same time push in the longer tab on the left and with your third hand pull the connector out.

4. In the fronk take off the plastic shield and pop out the two rubber grommets on the cable, then just pull the cable out into the fronk.

5. under the car pull the cable down and after taking off the plastic protectors unclip the cable from the three clips. Pull the cable out and you’re half way done.

6. Shove the new cable down from the fronk and route it back, pay attention going over the tranny, but everything is easy.

7.Shove the front of the cable into the hole. Get under the dash with a light and after three tries you will find where it is supposed to go. Just shove it onto the connector at the speedo and button up the dash.

8. The tranny has a slot and the cable has a tit on the side, make sure the tit slides in and screw on the cap and you are done.

If you can get your old inner cable out of the old sheath, then all you have to do is pull the cable out at the tranny end. Grease the new cable and slide it all the way in. You may have to twist it some and you may have to lightly use vise grips to shove it in, but it will go. My cable was broken 2 feet from the tranny end and no amount of twisting and pulling would allow it to come out the front. The cable can be had for $60 and the whole thing can be had for $120. Luckily, my parts car had a perfect one.

You can use a drill on the cable to test if the speedometer is working.
If you need to pull out the speedo “sub-assembly” from the tranny, use a 12mm socket on the bolt next to the speedo cable. The bolt holds a flat piece of metal that fits into a slot in the sub-assembly. Once those are out of the way, just wobble the sub around and it will come out. There is an o-ring on it and it has been setting in there for 20 years, so yep it may be tough to pull out. Mine however came out easily.

Okay, so what are the main differences between the two engines, and how/why are relevant to wedging a dual VVTI engine into that MR2 engine bay?

(Note… any time I say ‘fwd’, I mean ‘transverse’, as in east west configuration. Any time I say ‘RWD’ I mean north/south)

engine power/benefits
Firstly, I think that this is the most important thing to consider here.
To put a RWD engine into a FWD car, you need FWD beams bits anyway (Which arent cheap/easy to get!), will have a lot harder time with wiring etc, will be hugely more expensive. For what gains? A measly 10hp, and exhaust side VVTI which is more trouble than it’s worth.
Adjusting the cam profile on the exhaust side has a negligible effect on power output… It’s primary function is to increase fuel efficiency.
So what other benefits does the RWD engine get, that make it worth all of the hassle?
It’s got 11.5:1 compression; FWD engine has 11:1
The Altezza dual VVTI engine has Titanium valves on the intake side, sodium filled valves on the exhaust side.
The FWD engine has the sodium cooled exhaust valves, but not the titanium valves on the intake side.
The cam profiles are more than likely different too, but I cant confirm that.
Higher rev limit: RWD engine goes to 7800, FWD goes to 7400.

So the million dollar question still remains: Are these features worth all of the extra struggle and pain, compared to fitting a FWD engine instead?
Not in my opinion, but some disagree.
I’m doing exactly the opposite to this; fitting a FWD engine into a RWD setup.
I’d rather have the RWD engine; but I’ve already got a rebuilt redtop sitting in the garage that’s looking for a home, and the RWD engines are still expensive and hard to come by. It’s far more economical, for me to convert the FWD engine to RWD instead.
Which is how I’ve come across most of this information, as I need to know which RWD bits I need to buy/steal/make/etc.
At this point, I’d just like to say a huge thanks to Glenn AKA CelicaRA45, who has been a huge help, and has shared with me the majority of this information.

Okay, so here’s the basic differences that you need to know about:

Sump/dipstick
On the Altezza engine, the sump is waaay at the front of the engine, to clear the RWD cross member. It’s also on the wrong angle, as the RWD engine stands upright, instead of leaned over. To make this work in a transverse setup, you’ll need a FWD sump, dipstick, and oil pickup. These bolt straight on either engine, so no problems there.

Intake manifold.
A RWD intake manifold faces away from the engine; the FWD one wraps over the top.
A FWD intake manifold on a RWD car will want to stick through the top of the bonnet;
A RWD manifold on a FWD car will want to stick through the firewall. (Into the boot on the MR2)
It’s also worth noting, that the throttle body is on the other end of the plenum… The FWD one faces the gearbox, and will basically be touching the firewall in a RWD setup, and the RWD one in a FWD setup will point into the right rear corner of the engine bay, (Or more to the point, into the boot!) Where it isnt really practical to have an air intake setup.
So you really need the correct manifold for either situation.
They are interchangable, but you’ll definitely want to run the throttle body to suit the ECU that you’re using, if factory. You’ll need to make custom mounts to fit the altezza throttle body onto the FWD intake manifold, or vice versa.

Exhaust Manifold
The FWD exhaust manifold faces directly down, and goes under the sump, and out the back. Whereas the RWD one runs down the length of the engine, and exits at the bottom rear. Obviously not suitable for a FWD setup.
The redtop exhaust manifold will bolt directly onto an Altezza engine, or vice versa.

Cam covers, RHS/front engine mount
The Altezza engine only uses two engine mounts, which are on either side of the engine block. In a FWD setup, the only mount that’s on the engine is at the ‘front’. I dont know for sure if the FWD engine mount will fit to the Altezza block, from memory I believe that the Altezza cam belt setup interferes with the FWD mount position. I believe that using the FWD cam belt tensioner, and a few other FWD bits alleviates this problem, but I cant comment for sure.
Also, the RWD cam belt cover sticks a considerable distance further away from the engine block than the FWD one, and wont physically fit inside the engine bay. It’s often said that the exhaust side VVTI clashes with the strut tower, this isnt true. The exhaust side VVTI wheel is strangely huge, but it is actually clear of the tower. It’s the cam belt cover that’s bigger, on account of the exhaust side VVTI.
The intake side VVTI wheel appears identical to the FWD equivilent, and therefore shouldnt be problematic to fit.
From personal experience, my cam belt cover is HARD up against the strut tower running a FWD engine, so I know that you’d have no chance of fitting a RWD cam belt cover on it. I’d imagine that using a FWD cover and notching the exhaust side for the oversized wheel would be the way to go.
Running a FWD in RWD configuration gives no problems here, using the FWD covers etc is fine.

Water lines/galleries/etc
The FWD rear water outlet is different between the MR2 and Celica. The MR2 one has two hoses on it, one for the radiator hose to the radiator, and one for the filler cap. The Celica one obviously only needs one hose, as the filler is on the radiator itself.
I’ve studied the RWD water lines a little so far, and I’d say that you wont have much of a problem running them in a FWD configuration with some creative running of waterlines.
If you want to run the FWD waterlines, you need to run a FWD headgasket. The Altezza gasket has the water outlet at the other end of the engine, so it has different holes in it for the galleries.
Conversely, you need to run a RWD gasket to suit the RWD water outlet etc.
It’s a bit harder the other way around though, as the FWD outlet wants to stick through your firewall.
It’s also worth noting, that despite what I thought earlier, the RWD engine only has one oil gallery from the block through to the head for VVTI, despite having dual VVTI. It’s in the same place as the FWD one, but is a larger diameter. If you wanted to run the FWD head gasket on the RWD engine, you’d want to oversize the hole on the gasket there, or at least check it to see what size it is.
I cant see why you couldnt run a dual VVTI head on the FWD engine, however you’d need a stand alone ECU to do it.

Oil drain from the head
The Altezza engine runs an oil drain down from the head, that the FWD engine doesnt have.
The FWD engine has something similar, but it’s at the top of the rocker cover; the RWD one is down lower.
The FWD engine obviously uses gravity to drain the oil back out of the head, as it’s on a lean.
If you wish to use a FWD engine in a RWD setup, this is potentially important. You could get oil drain back issues, where the head fills up with oil, and the oil pickup sucks dry, which usually results in your bearings giving up.
If you use the Altezza rear water outlet, (Which has the oil drain integrated) and tap a hole into the FWD head to suit, you can run this oil return to the sump.
The FWD engine has a big pipe running from the rear of the rocker cover back down to the sump, it leads to the same place in the sump as the RWD one.
You’d want to block this off, if you’re using the RWD oil drainback.

Wiring issues
Well… I cant comment too much here, as I have never attempted this.
All I can say, is that someone got as far as getting the engine in with all of the FWD bits needed, and ground to a halt when they got to the wiring required.
One thing I can say for sure, is that running the Altezza dash unit is necessary. The FWD beams computer outputs the signal to the dash unit in the traditional way…
One wire for water temperature, one wire for speedo, one wire for tacho, etc.
However the Altezza system runs differently. It only runs one wire to the dash for all of these, called ‘MMC’ or ‘MMX’ if I recall.
I cant remember what it stands for, but basically it sends this one signal to the dash with all of the information imbedded in it; this signal is interpreted by the circuitry in the altezza dash; and sent to the appropriate gauges etc.
I dont know if it’s possible to split the MMX signal back into traditional ones, you could probably get the factory MR2 dash working, using the circuitry from the Altezza dash as the inputs. I’m not sure about that one.
I’ll be trying to wire an Automatic Celica loom into my Carina, which since it currently has a carby engine, doesnt have much wiring to integrate to at all. So it should be an interesting (read: nightmarish) experience.

All Roadsters are made the same and when they arrive at their final destination, various parts are added. These include for the UK MR2, Stereo unit, Thatcham 1 alarm, Roadster badge on rear and lots of extra little bits to boot.

Had Toyota had their standard stereo available as a part, I would have bought it, but it is not on any of the part lists.

You will need to order the following parts from a Toyota dealer.

55521 -16030 : Tray / Storage slot
55423 – 17040 : Surrounding trim
86221 -52050 : Left hand spacer
86221 – 52060 : Right hand spacer
86211 – 17050 : Left hand mounting bracket
86212 – 17050 : Right hand mounting bracket

When you pick them up, be cheeky and ask the parts department for 10 or 12 self tapping screws, as you will need a few extra. NB: If you a replacing the existing stereo you will not need the last two parts (L & R Mounting brackets) as they are already attached to the installed strereo.

This is how my central console looked after taking delivery of my Roadster. Very bare and not much happening in the entertainment zones, but I must admit a nice finishing on the two upright pillars.

The two inner covers are the easiest to remove, with your index finger run your finger up the back of the inner cover until you find the recess. Pull the cover forward and it will clip off.

The larger outer covers need slightly more effort to remove. The lower, light grey, cover needs to be pulled away from the central console, to expose two screws and a single bolt. Undo the two screws bur NOT the bolt.

Pull down on the outer cover and it should come away easily.

The next job is to remove the heating / Air Con control facia.

Remove the slider handle and the three control knobs. Behind the left and right controllers are two screws, remove these. The panel should now be free to be removed. Pulling from the bottom, ease the panel away from the dash, you may find it necessary to give extra leverage at the top edge with a small screw diver inserted above the control facia and the main dash

Be careful when removing facia as there are still wires connected to the rear of the unit, to power the clock.

Fix the left and right mounting brackets to the head unit. Modern stereos have a standard set of locating dimples and screw points, so (nearly) all units should mount easily. It may take two, three or four screws per side to suitably fix the unit to the brackets.

The craftiest part of all, the Celica storage tray. Yes this part is intended for a new Celica.

There a numerous mounting points on the unit, but it needs to be slotted in-between the newly attached brackets on the head unit. The mounting hole on the top of the unit just behind the first hole is the one we need to get aligned with one of the holes on the brackets. Only 1 self tapping screw is needed per side, as the brackets have locating points which match up with some of the other holes on the tray.

Hook up the stereo and test to see if everything works. There are various places to get the wiring looms to connect the stereo to the vehicle, but I got mine from

www.basesystems.com

The hard part to find is the antenna…..

The hardest part was locating the antenna connector, it was eventually found tucked down beneath the carpeting on the drivers side. The coverings behind the central console pull back very easily and after a bit of investigation you should spot a cable running over the side and away under the carpet. There is about 15 to 20cm of cable terminated in a standard aerial connector. Fold the carpeting back round behind the console and fasten the Velcro tabs.

Now for the clever bits. As the standard head units available are a predefined size, these is going to be a gap at the edges of the stereo, since the Toyota unit is about 15mm wider on each side.

Fear not, Mr. Toyota has already though of that, the two plastic spacers are fitted to the front edge of each bracket to fill the gap. They just clip on over a small meta tab in the bracket. I had to undo two of the stereo / tray mounting screws, fix on the spacer then refit the screws.

Screw the hole assembly into the central console with four self tapping screws.

Clip over the surround trip (not shown on this image for some bizarre reason), before refitting the heating / Air Con facia, as the surround clips behind it on its top edge.

This is how, it should look when it’s all finished.

To fit the stereo from scratch took about 30 minutes.

For those who are interested, the unit is a Pioneer DEH-P6100R CD Tuner see here for more details.

I have found a US only supplier of a plastic vacuum formed adapter to hold standard DIN size stereo in the MR2 roadster, Part number TA2047 from

www.scosche.com

Unfortunately they can only ship to the US, so if you live there or have friends who can send it on, it may be an easier option, but from what I can see, you still have to do most of the hard work of removing the facia and column covers anyway.