Thanks for the kind words. Ill keep you all posted through this thread as to what happens with the car on Tuesday. The guys at Al Palmers know their stuff. Out of curiosity DVSTurbo, what is a Gen 3 engine worth these days?
 

I've determined to come back with a caldina motor (one of the last 3stge's). The up front cost was small, the refinements impressive, but still off the road, while we work it out at my brother-in-law's workshop. Problems include a different ECU & wiring, replacing the top mounted intercooler and probably a world of pain we haven't thought much about yet. Terry at Road and Track (QLD) is very helpful and both knows these cars and does import bits on occasion. 

I think the short answer is no. Working on the engine in situ is difficult and getting it out is painful, so you want to do what you can while you are there. That probably involves the turbo, the oil and water pumps and most of the rubber consumables (hoses & belts). Redo the intercooler and then there is the clutch, gearbox and engine mounts to consider.

Yeah i didnt want to rebuild something that might not work out so well (possible cracked block or whatever).
So opted for the option with more potential in power gains as well as reliability. Not that I want to push 300KW+ or anything... (yet) Probably just get a proper dump, high flow CAT & turbo.  It's my daily driver and with this engine from the start I know it's been looked after...
3K was less then the amount I spent trying to fix the overheating engine in the first place.
Total engine swap was about 10K all up and If you love your MR2 as much as I love mine, it was all worth it.

DVSTurbo2
Hi Rob!  Love the work on your engine!

Thanks!
 

DVSTurbo2
I've been keeping myself well away from the MR2 Forums because every time I get on here I feel like buying more parts for my MR2 

haha yeah that's fair enough
 

DVSTurbo2
I still have her and all she really needs (besides a new spray) are some coil-overs and proper wheels.
Engine has been magical since PB put it in.

I'm pleased to hear it!

Rizo
If the engine was $3K how did you manage to get to $10k installed? Must be alot of labour involved in getting these engines in and out of the cars? Im in the same boat as you, I want my car to be a daily so I have to be able to trust it, hopefully there is nothing seriously wrong with the engine. BTW Who did the work on your car? Any recommendations (or people to keep away from) you can make?

When Tom mentioned 'PB', I think he was referring to Paul Brell doing the Gen 3 engine conversion. Paul Brell (BOSS tuning) is at Gladesville. He also did speedracer's Gen 3 engine conversion, so he knows what he's doing.
I think a big part of the labour cost would be due to sorting out the differences between the Gen 2 and Gen 3 wiring looms.

Know it might be a bit forward in asking but do you guys have an opinion of Al Palmers workshop? Im out of the toyota loop because I have spent the last few years mucking around with rotarys so I dont know where to take the Mr2.

Obviously not what you want to hear but all the symptoms you mentioned match with mine and it was head gasket twice (had a mechanic mess up the first time). Mine was sucking exhaust gasses into the cooling system and eventually it would cause an air lock and overheat. Majority of the time it would just bubble when i pulled up and the temp gauge would spike after a long drive when id pull up. In any case you should get a CO2 test done to rule it out.