Ok, so don't get tooo technical on me.  I've have used the same mechanic shop for my cars for the last 5 years, so they know I really don't have a clue, lol. 
 
Baby is due for a service (204,000).  Just wondering if there is anything special I should mention to my mechanic.
Timing belt was done at 199,000.  Apparently the guy that did the timing belt was swearing at baby most of the day, so they might get one of the others to work on her this time (altho apparently he swears at lots of cars, lol). He said it didn't need to much else done at that stage.  Basic tune, oil filter, etc.  The oil they used was Max Life 20W50 - is that ok, or should it be something else?  He did say that next time I would probably need back bearings.  Is that an expensive fix?
I have noticed a few oil drips on the garage floor, not too much, but when I check the oil, I don't need to top up?
I have also noticed lately that when I'm in traffic & she is a bit warm, there is sometimes a sort of rattle when I start to accelerate.  I visited a friend a few weeks ago & when I started the car to leave her husband, who used to work as a mechanic, said that it sounded like I might need a new cam belt soon.  Never hear of one of those??  Easy or expensive??
Hey Gatesy if he needs parts from Toyota, are you able to give good price if he says it's for my car?
 
Like I said........... not toooo technical........... don't want to get befuddled again.  

Hey shaz
Parts are not expensive it's the labour ahaha

Honestly if you can't do it yourself take it to toyota
I would never trust a mechanic with one of these cars.
Especially one who never has worked on one, timing belt can be done without engine out by mechanic who is experienced with twos

Toyota know what they are doing
We have two come in regularly
A yellow turbo one
And last Friday one like yours came in.

Your leak could be either
Rear main seal or a crank seal?
Or a tranny fluid leak?
If crank or rear main=expensive 6-800 buck job,
What colour is the oil?

20-50 is a but thick but if it is leaking engine oil I would stay with 20-50
I would buy your own synthetic oil however, and give it for them to use
Like penrite or nulon
Or if you want to spend big dollars Mobil one or royal purple.
Will run a lot smoother and extend oil changes.

Could well be a cam belt, but that's the same as a timing belt? Is it not a timing belt controls the timing of the cams?
Could be an ac belt.
Rattle could be rear bearings or ball joints.
Again not very expensive
Bring it to toyota for a check over then let me know what you need we will look after you.

:)

Thanks Gatesy,
 
Yeah I know it's the labour that's a killer.  The mechanic I've used for ages has always been good to me.  When they did the timing belt the girl in the office said it had taken them most of the day, but they only charged me 5 hrs.  As far as I know they did it with motor in.  I would have hought they'd want it for longer than the day if they were taking motor out.
The oil has become pretty dirty in the last few weeks. Almost black.  Looks like the right consistency, but wrong   colour.  She is still running well.  He said the bearing would probably need replacing so I guess that is what the rattle is.  
Having taken some of our work vehicles to Toyota, I know the hourly rate is a bit more expensive that where I usually go, but, yeah 2's aren't like other cars,................ 

That's pretty long,
Only takes toyota a few hours at the most to do a timing belt on a mr2

The turbo had a major service which included timing belt,fuel pump normal service and coolant flush and fill and plugs and was only 1100$ parts and labour
And a fuel pump is a 3 hour job aswell so a timing belt by itself wouldn't be much

But pay a little more for a trusted place to know what they are doing

Yeah
Be wheel bearings I would say.

Just bring it in for a check over shouldn't take long hour?

Oil goes black because it would have been mineral oil,
And it goes black pretty quick, especially if the inside of your engine isn't the cleanest, I would recommend a engine flush and synthetic oil

But that could do a lot of harm, create more leaks by removing gunk that's blocking leaks and you flush that away it could leak badly.

So just run it till you need to do the rear main, do that and all the other seals, then fill with synthetic :)

Hhmmm, ok.  Might give you or the service section a call tomorrow.
Yeah don't want to risk flushing out stuff that could be sealing bits.  Probly look at doing more after tax time.  Paying extra tax every week, so hoping to get enough back to add to what i've got & get gearbox done.  So will do other bits then I guess while gearbox is out.

Defiantly do the rear main seal when you get the gear box done, as that needs to come out to do it.

Shaz
Hhmmm, ok.  Might give you or the service section a call tomorrow.Yeah don't want to risk flushing out stuff that could be sealing bits.  Probly look at doing more after tax time.  Paying extra tax every week, so hoping to get enough back to add to what i've got & get gearbox done.  So will do other bits then I guess while gearbox is out.

Hi Shaz,

Just had the 200k service on my baby in January at Toyota.....they know exactly what needs to be checked for each major service. Just to let you know there are a number of other external drive belts that should be done at the same time as the timing belt.

My Service was only supposed to take a day, but Toyota requested to keep it in over night, and it was finished by 10am the next morning. I would never trust any other mechanics with my stock standard baby......just because they are 20+ years old, doesn't mean Toyota stop servicing them. The tiny bit more you pay for labour is worth it because they have access to all manuals and all-model standard parts and will always look after you if something's not right.

They will also help you with identifying anything that looks like it needs replacing, without ripping you off for unnecessary stuff!

Our baby's are worth the extra $$ :-)

Cheers, M

Monika
Just had the 200k service on my baby in January at Toyota.....they know exactly what needs to be checked for each major service. Just to let you know there are a number of other external drive belts that should be done at the same time as the timing belt.

My Service was only supposed to take a day, but Toyota requested to keep it in over night, and it was finished by 10am the next morning. I would never trust any other mechanics with my stock standard baby......just because they are 20+ years old, doesn't mean Toyota stop servicing them. The tiny bit more you pay for labour is worth it because they have access to all manuals and all-model standard parts and will always look after you if something's not right.

They will also help you with identifying anything that looks like it needs replacing, without ripping you off for unnecessary stuff!

Not all Toyota dealerships are created equally. PM PT_Steve about the botch job that a Toyota dealership did to his car. IIRC, it ran him about $1200, they buggered up the timing belt twice and it had to go back to the dealership 3 times....

Knightrous
Not all Toyota dealerships are created equally. PM PT_Steve about the botch job that a Toyota dealership did to his car. IIRC, it ran him about $1200, they buggered up the timing belt twice and it had to go back to the dealership 3 times....

I'm sorry to hear about PT_Steve's experience......was his car stock standard??

I must have been lucky since 1994 and nearly 8 Toyota dealerships NT, QLD, NSW and back to QLD (I moved around a lot when I first owned my baby) ........that, or my Blonde bimbo act always gets me good service!!! HeHe ;-)

M

Monika

Knightrous
Not all Toyota dealerships are created equally. PM PT_Steve about the botch job that a Toyota dealership did to his car. IIRC, it ran him about $1200, they buggered up the timing belt twice and it had to go back to the dealership 3 times....

I'm sorry to hear about PT_Steve's experience......was his car stock standard??

I must have been lucky since 1994 and nearly 8 Toyota dealerships NT, QLD, NSW and back to QLD (I moved around a lot when I first owned my baby) ........that, or my Blonde bimbo act always gets me good service!!! HeHe ;-)

M

Thanks, Monika for the tip about other belts, etc.  All they did was the timing belt & not much else......
lol, "blonde bimbo act"  don't think that would work for me, but I could try the clueless female act, hehe......................... oh hang on............ that's not an act, lol