Heart transplant...Third time's a charm

JPJeep23

New member
(MY POSTS ARE ABOUT MY ST184 GTS, I COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND IF THEY ARE REMOVED)

Hey all!

It's been a long time since i've posted anything (by which I mean mu like three posts in the newbie forum on my same thread) but I wanted to give you all a progress report and SITREP on one of the last unmolested dragons in Fairborn, Ohio. Since my newbie post two years ago my poor car has had no luck with motors. The donor motor I put in and foolishly did not check only lasted 3 months and maybe 800 miles with no spirited driving. I was lucky enough to get the motor (another 5s) out of an MR2 and spent a few months rebuilding that. Everything was replaced, resurfaced, bored over, checked, and then double checked again. Finally she was back! I could drive my car again. Now this is when things get strangely ironic. My roommate blew up his maxima from being neglectful and more or less a punk. I helped him find a new car and after much convincing, an MR2. It's an AT crust bucket that needs love but it runs and drives and since we picked it up he's grown to respect the car way more than he ever did the maxima. The car was in Indiana so we planned a drive out the next weekend. The day before we leave a friend that was doing a 3s swap into a 184 posts everything for sale. He couldn't do the wiring and was tired of it. So, my brother and I hopped in the wrangler and picked up a GEN 2 3s (motor, turbo, downpipe, manifold, sensors, igniter, Fuel pump relay, and 185 alternator bracket) and an S54 for $300. I drove back with a huge grin. The motor sat in the back of the jeep making the leaf springs frown and we parked it finally at home awaiting the adventure the next day. So, I took my roommate to the Ohio/Indiana border and we got his MR2 for $800. Very pleased we drove home. Not more than 15 minutes from the house we do a spirited pull to see which 5s was faster. It wasn't a hard run, no gas mashing. I downshifted to 4th as I rev matched and began to peel away from him. I won. We pull off to take our exit and and put her in neutral to coast in to the light, gauges all go dead. Car won't turn over. I pulled her off to the side and jumped in the MR2 and got back to the house. Grabbing my "Go bag" (Emergency tools) I fired up my 4 cylinder wrangler and sagged to where the body of my car lay. With the 3s weighing down the rear of the jeep I used my winch and towed the Celica in reverse back to the house. I put a car cover on her, gave a sad look, and then went inside to see if Jesus would tell me why my car doesn't want to live. The next day I get in her and sit with the key on for a few minutes, dreading what noise I might hear. She turns over and I can hear a knock begin to start. I turn it off. Total runtime: 10 seconds.
So fast forward to now, I pulled the pan and swapped the rod bearings, (number 2 had a flat spot) and it's only been driven maybe 14 miles. There's a faint knock around 3-4k but I won't risk ruining it to get food or run errands.
 

JPJeep23

New member
So now The work on the 3s has finally begun. Being a broke veteran/college student doesn't make things entirely easy when it comes to loving your cars. The block is apart, the head is apart and yesterday I measured for warpage, .0015 in (.0381 mm) wouldn't go under the straight edge. It seems that the block and head are good! Everything internally looks great with this motor. My plans are to finish cleaning and measuring, ARP studs, cometic or GEN 3 head gasket, new seals and gaskets (valve stems included), new gaskets for the turbo, and then reassembly. I'll be running a Microsquirt as my ECM since I don't have a harness or computer.

I'll keep posting progress here as it comes along. One day the thread will change and it'll be me outside crying staring at my first All-Trac, but until then I'll keep playing doctor for my car's hearts.
 

underscore

Well-known member
If the motor is already damaged and you're going to be replacing it why not run it til it pops? Or have you got plans for it?
 
Top