HORRIBLE SHOCKING NEWS EVERYONE!
Restoration Update

I found a puddle of coolant under my car the other day and thought we'll maybe one of the rasiator / cooling system hoses are loose. After all the car is so low at the moment I thought maybe a hose had been hit on a drive.

On closer inspection over the weekend I found the leek to be coming from the engine bay. After a bit of searching I found the leak. Its coming from the engine block. A steam of water no wider the a pin is squirting out of the left side of the block just above the gear box housing. It only seems to be doing so under load or when raving the engine.

To me this looks like a head gasket. This is a big disappointment for me as I thought the mechanics of the car were OK, looks Iike the seller and myself were wrong :(.

Unfortunately I don't have the tools to pull of a job like this and will need to get the thing looked at. This has slowed down my progress a bit.

I'll post a video of the leak soon and let the forum confirm my deepest fears.

Hang in there mate, don't despair.
 
As my PM's suggest, it's quite possibly just the rear cooling outlet, not a BHG.
 
Once you clear the area, two 12mm bolts are all that's needed, just need to be careful as these bolts usually slightly corrode so might get stuck, plenty of WD40 or a penetrating oil helps.
 
Then just a gasket scraper or careful with a stanley knife blade, and give it a clean up with 240grit emery paper. New gaskets are metal whereas the old ones are some kind of crappy cork/cardboard.
 
Will await the video to confirm where it's coming from.

Thanks for the positive support maj
 
Ill see if I can get a good shot tonight let the forum know.
 
On another topic I need another part. One of the nose support arms that help give the body kit support is badly damaged.
 
Does anyone have a replacement part lying around that they can spare.

Welcome to MR2 life. Don't worry, it'll be worth it. Hang in there.

There's always light at the end of the tunnel with these cars.....followed by more tunnels & lights.....hehehe

Here is the promised video of my leaky MR2. I found that the issue occurs at startup and as you can see its influenced by the load the engine is under.
 
To me it looks like the head gasket but ill let the forum confirm this for me. Just watch the vid at the below link.
 
https://www.dropbox.com/s...xv015/MOV_0172_000.mp4

Definitely looks like a head gasket :(

Yep BHG :( I know your pain dude.
 
Get the head off and inspect the bores, with any luck you might just need a head deck (might as well get it properly reconditioned while you're at it), new gasket and away you go.
 
Worst case you might end up like mine; water damaging the bores and needing a whole engine refresh.

GOOD NEWS EVERYONE!
 
Over the weekend I decided to pull down my engine and have a look at the head gasket. As you all could see from the Vid the leak was an odd one. I compression tested all cylinders and found no issues at all. All cylinders were on or just beyond ideal compression, not bad for an old girl.
 
I knew then there was no head gasket issues at least around the cylinders. I next thought I would check the torque/ tension of all bolts and fasters as I had noticed many loose bits around the car previously. Top of the engine was fine till I got to the engine head bolts. The bolts on the leaky side of the engine were not tight enough, at least by the BGB ratings.
 
I proceeded to use my trusty torque wrench to pull out and once again install the bolts to the correct tension. I put the rest of the engine back together and cranked it. To my joy and surprise the leak was GONE! I ran the car at idle for about 30 minutes without an issue.
 
I was so happy latter that night I took the car for a spin around Wisemans Ferry with some mates and a support MX5 following. Checking the engine every so often I found still no leak, this was with some heavy driving as well. Here is a link to a photo of the car during it triumphant problem free drive.
 
https://plus.google.com/u...7480647365/posts 
 
At this time I can say the leak has been solved. In the next couple of weeks after I run the car for a bit I will once again check the tension on the bolts. I want to make sure there isn't an issue with the block or head. 
 
Now that the leak issue has been fixed for now its back onto the hard core interior and exterior restoration.
 
Wish Me luck

Great news!

Just FYI new head bolts specify you need to torque them to 60NM, then run an additional 90 degree pass over them in correct order, then another 90 degree pass.
 
If you've torqued them higher than this, it'll be with the old method but if they are original factory head bolts, this should be fine, and yep good idea to check in a few weeks time, wouldn't hurt just giving them an extra one eighth turn if you feel they need it.
 
Great to hear you sorted a dreaded issue so easily :)