Well there is good news and there is not so good news.. and basically crappy news..
The good news is:
I have FINALLY fixed the annoying rattle in the back left. It turns out that when I had the rear quarter panel replaced a couple of years back one of the bolts was tight but when the car was cold it had some kind of play in it, this would go away as the engine bay heated up. The fix is a nice rubber washer :-) was blissfull this morning..

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The not so good news is:

Topped up with 1 litre of oil :-/ nevermind... I enjoy thrashing it, and there's no way I'm swapping engines again.. for now at least.

Also topped up the coolant, might have a leak somewhere..

Discovered that my new cats2u is now missing an exhaust hanger..
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The crappy news is:
Whilst paying for some fuel this morning the Ford transit van behind my car rolled into mine shoving it forward by half a meter.. bumper cracked, right exhaust tip cracked, insert fell out and won't stay in and there are scuffs on the bumper down to the black plastic..

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The possible silver lining:
Insurance company will provide a "like" courtesy car i.e. 2 seater convertible.. they wouldn't go with the whole "it has to be mid engined and rear wheel drive" though... will see what they come up with!

Hard lines John but it will be ok.

Cheers Scott... so far they've said they've got a mini cooper S convertible 2L turbo.. in automatic..

The cat was no doubt damaged in the accident!

Hope it is not too stressful getting it fixed.

Quote from: Topdownman on July 23, 2019, 11:01The cat was no doubt damaged in the accident!

Hope it is not too stressful getting it fixed.

Cheers Simon - yeah no the cat stuff was last night.. accident was this morning.
I shall be writing to Cats2u to ask what they want to do about it..

That's all a bit crap.

How many miles to the litre of oil? 

Quote from: Carolyn on July 23, 2019, 11:45That's all a bit crap.

How many miles to the litre of oil? 

Cheers..
About 4000 miles I think... Might have added a tiny bit in a while back so it's an approximate guess.

That's bugger all!  Keep a better eye on it, though.  That's dangerously low.

Quote from: jvanzyl on July 23, 2019, 10:49Cheers Scott... so far they've said they've got a mini cooper S convertible 2L turbo.. in automatic..

Don't think they understand like for like.
Could be a giggle for a week mind.

Quote from: Carolyn on July 23, 2019, 12:40That's bugger all!  Keep a better eye on it, though.  That's dangerously low.

Yeah I know, I've been doing a LOT of motorway driving up and down to dorset which I think is a big consumer.. I shall check it monthly then.

Quote from: 1979scotte on July 23, 2019, 13:20

Quote from: jvanzyl on July 23, 2019, 10:49Cheers Scott... so far they've said they've got a mini cooper S convertible 2L turbo.. in automatic..

No they certainly don't... it's being delivered tomorrow morning. Ah well.. the wife will be happy at least I reckon she'll like it.

Don't think they understand like for like.
Could be a giggle for a week mind.

Quote from: jvanzyl on July 23, 2019, 13:26

Quote from: Carolyn on July 23, 2019, 12:40That's bugger all!  Keep a better eye on it, though.  That's dangerously low.

Yeah I know, I've been doing a LOT of motorway driving up and down to dorset which I think is a big consumer.. I shall check it monthly then.

Quote from: 1979scotte on July 23, 2019, 13:20

Quote from: jvanzyl on July 23, 2019, 10:49Cheers Scott... so far they've said they've got a mini cooper S convertible 2L turbo.. in automatic..

Ah well.. the wife will be happy at least I reckon she'll like it.

John that's a terribly sexist comment. 🤫
Not quite as bad as Petrus 😂

eh? I'm not being sexist, I'm being honest. My wife doesn't like my car! But I know that she WILL like the Mini... I'm not a massive fan of them, but happy to try it out.

Quote from: jvanzyl on July 23, 2019, 15:46eh? I'm not being sexist, I'm being honest. My wife doesn't like my car! But I know that she WILL like the Mini... I'm not a massive fan of them, but happy to try it out.

There's a smiley face in there John twas a bit of humour.

Quote from: 1979scotte on July 23, 2019, 15:58

Quote from: jvanzyl on July 23, 2019, 15:46eh? I'm not being sexist, I'm being honest. My wife doesn't like my car! But I know that she WILL like the Mini... I'm not a massive fan of them, but happy to try it out.

There's a smiley face in there John twas a bit of humour.

AH.. sorry... in other news cats2u just emailed back saying they are sending out a replacement cat out for tomorrow and when I've gotten the old one off I can contact them and they'll pick it up! Not bad!

Quote from: jvanzyl on July 23, 2019, 16:01

Quote from: 1979scotte on July 23, 2019, 15:58

Quote from: jvanzyl on July 23, 2019, 15:46eh? I'm not being sexist, I'm being honest. My wife doesn't like my car! But I know that she WILL like the Mini... I'm not a massive fan of them, but happy to try it out.

There's a smiley face in there John twas a bit of humour.

AH.. sorry... in other news cats2u just emailed back saying they are sending out a replacement cat out for tomorrow and when I've gotten the old one off I can contact them and they'll pick it up! Not bad!

they sending fitting kit too?

Quote from: Carolyn on July 23, 2019, 16:41

Quote from: jvanzyl on July 23, 2019, 16:01

Quote from: 1979scotte on July 23, 2019, 15:58

Quote from: jvanzyl on July 23, 2019, 15:46eh? I'm not being sexist, I'm being honest. My wife doesn't like my car! But I know that she WILL like the Mini... I'm not a massive fan of them, but happy to try it out.

There's a smiley face in there John twas a bit of humour.

AH.. sorry... in other news cats2u just emailed back saying they are sending out a replacement cat out for tomorrow and when I've gotten the old one off I can contact them and they'll pick it up! Not bad!

they sending fitting kit too?

Ooh... Erm... Don't know about that.. Surely I can just reuse the old one??

Quote from: jvanzyl on July 23, 2019, 16:55

Quote from: Carolyn on July 23, 2019, 16:41

Quote from: jvanzyl on July 23, 2019, 16:01

Quote from: 1979scotte on July 23, 2019, 15:58

Quote from: jvanzyl on July 23, 2019, 15:46eh? I'm not being sexist, I'm being honest. My wife doesn't like my car! But I know that she WILL like the Mini... I'm not a massive fan of them, but happy to try it out.

There's a smiley face in there John twas a bit of humour.

AH.. sorry... in other news cats2u just emailed back saying they are sending out a replacement cat out for tomorrow and when I've gotten the old one off I can contact them and they'll pick it up! Not bad!

they sending fitting kit too?

Ooh... Erm... Don't know about that.. Surely I can just reuse the old one??

Not really for the crush rings....

So last night I decided to fit the replacement Cat that Cats2U sent to me - the new one has much more welding on the hanger connection.

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A decent gap achieved..
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I also had the car up on the ramp at the local garage and it looks like I've got a leaky sump.. but aside from that the bump I had earlier was purely cosmetic which is nice I guess.

As an aside guess which gaskets are supplied by Cats2u and which are genuine toyota one's (both used for a few months at least!)

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Leaky sump would explain the moderate oil consumption.  Easy enough to fix eh?

Yes the Cats2U crush rings are pants.  I just put OEM ones in mine too.

All, in all, looking good, John Boy!

Quote from: Carolyn on July 30, 2019, 09:14Leaky sump would explain the moderate oil consumption.  Easy enough to fix eh?

Yes the Cats2U crush rings are pants.  I just put OEM ones in mine too.

All, in all, looking good, John Boy!

Thanks Carolyn, Yeah - I'll try and do it when I do the next oil change in a couple of months. Need to have a root through all the stuff from last time to see if I have any sealant left, I know there was a bit left over! Would be nice if there was a gasket instead that'd be easier..

Still need to fit my oil pressure monitor actually..

Here's a bit of a summary of the recent events..
Decat - definitely feel the extra power, definitely hear the extra noise. The only minor thing to be aware of is that the engine light will come on occasionally but I have a handy little plug in to reset it. (P0420)

Rear right light went a week or so ago, replaced it promptly and then yesterday when the wife took the car to work I saw that it was out AGAIN!... had a look this morning to discover that the bulb had actually fallen out into the light cluster! fished it out and plugged it back in again and all is good... must have hit a proper bump or something.

Anyway, today I decided to swap to the winter wheels and managed to snap a hub nut! :-(

A quick call to the help center @Carolyn to ask what on earth you're supposed to do has put my mind at ease and also the car to the back of the garage till I get a chance to work on it!

I found the part number here (90942-02049)
https://www.toyodiy.com/parts/p_E_2001_TOYOTA_MR2_ZZW30R-AKMQHW_4303.html

and discovered the cheapest place I could order from online was roughtrax4x4 and ordered a few as this might be the start of something new..

Anywho.. at least with the work starting on the front right hub I can get to the brake system and check it's all ok and get rid of my "clunk".

And finally I've managed to sort my alarm "problem" - turns out the passenger door just wasn't shutting like it was before with the extra cold and damp. So sorted! :-) Thank you to all for your sage contributions!

Oh and I'm probably going to sell my hardtop with fitting kit and cut plastics if anyone wants a silver one..

Bit of a milestone today! Odometer passed 140 000!

Everything is going well... no more oil consumption (have no idea how to explain it, but after that initial "gulp" of oil it's been rock solid for a couple of months now) hoooray!

Replacement of the right from wheel stud went on without issue - the biggest delay was me trying to find stuff to do the work. But in short the "clunk" is gone and I can now attach the wheel with all 4 studs. Many thanks to @Carolyn for the guidance!

I regreased the slider pins with the silicone based lubricant, I copper greased the backs of the brake pads and the seats, I replaced the clips with new ones, and I pumped out the piston a few times and shoved a bunch of red grease under the piston cover for good measure... I am now able to pivot the car on the front right wheel under hard braking (just kidding).

But it would be good to do the same to the front left I suppose..

not dealt with the sump leak yet... I don't really have the energy/motivation. But I know I do need to do an oil change soon and that would mean I might as well fit the oil pressure gauge..

Today I got a chance to give it a clean! It was literally half mud half machine...

Happy that it looks better now..
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ok - SO! It's done 7000 miles since it's last oil change so I reckon it's time..

Going for shell oil this time round, and am getting a bog standard filter and sump plug and washer from eurocarparts.

The only difference this time being is that I'm going hopefully get round to fitting my oil pressure gauge! :-) There seems to be about 1 year waiting time for when I get stuff to when I actually fit things..

Going to go for a single gauge pop that's actually part of triple setup as I think it looks better and gives a bit of upgrade space in the event I think of something else I want to track.

It looks like I'll be feeding off the wiring that goes to the back of the where the clock was (now EDFC2 controller) as it'll supply my illumination, 12V & ground...

So that means in terms of routing the wiring I shall likely be coming down under one of the side scuff panels.

Maybe I'll tighten the handbrake cable at the same time...

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OK so equipped with some time off today I tackled the oil change and Oil pressure monitor.

The good news is that the car is filled with nice fresh shell 10w40 oil, the oil pressure monitor works and no one got hurt.

The bad news was that one of the spare bolts for the sandwich plate wouldn't create sufficient seal and so oil was dripping out. Tightening as far as possible didn't work and it then proceeded to become rounded. SO... I made another bolt - found a right sized brass one (angle ground it down to a more suitable length) and then used my Irwin grip nuts to take out the rubbish bolt. I replaced it with the new bolt and added a tiny bit of plumbers tape for good measure. Picture below shows original bolts pre-leak.
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Obviously lost some oil in the process, but the initial test showed no leaks as before so I'll check on it again later. I also need to finish off the wiring for the gauge as I took off the heater dials to get to my nice EDFC wiring. I think I'm going to mount it onto the middle cubby thing... the only issue is that when you open the lid, the gauge fouls on the windshield.. but I dont wan't to mount it directly into the dash..

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So yeah - I'll put some holes into the central cubby lid, and then drill through the under section to give access to the area behind the heater controls.

Then I'm guessing I'm going to have to give it a proper run when it's dry so that I can check to see if it's still leaking, and then put the middle nappy back on.