mr2 power steering pump on supra...
- Thread starter alloyguitar
- Start date
alloyguitar;975734 said:
I know I'm prolly jacking thread here, but I feel I should write this as it pertains, somewhat to the topic on hand.
As an avid MKII VW (85-92) fan, I know all about that lovely scenario of dimmed lights. It can be one or a slew of problem. The major one VW had, as does toyota is that 20yr old wires and connectors aren't what they used to be. I'm talking about corrosion. Corrosion is resistance in a circuit. The more resistance the "dimmer" you headlight, for example will be. Now if your alternator is crapping then your kinda stuck replacing it. But i've found 9 times out of 10 that faulty connections are to blame for ill operating electrical loads. Mainly grounds. Best way to clear this up is with a grounding kit, or if your cheap make one. It adds more paths for the current to flow. And since they are new fresh and clean, the will have little to no resistance. Now with the old grounds: get a multimeter, a cheaper one will do the job. Place the black lead onto the battery ground. set MM to milliamps. I use the 200 scale. begin probing all the factory ground points with the red lead (extend the black lead if needed just do not move it from B- !) while probing the grounds look at the MM if you see a reading of more than 50mA remove the ground and clean or re-terminate if needed. Once you spend many painful hours twisting your body into a pretzel finding the grounds, you will have a better functioning electrical system. If you still have dim headlights you have other problems (or bunked headlights) BTW: headlights do go bad not just burn out, they get weaker everytime you use them. Also your car will exhibit a slight performance increase due to the consant proper voltage. You may not feel it but a dyno would probably pick it up.
Hope this has helped someone. I am sorry for any spelling errors but i don't feel like spell checking this.
again, sorry if this is thread jacking.
veedubin;976689 said:
Well, in my case I know my alternator is good...I have an alternator tester in my garage (ya never know, right?), so in my case it probably is my connectors, which I'm sure have their fair share of crap built up in them. What I may end up doing is a) Build a grounding kit b) Get all of my plugs dielectric greased up and c) Replacing the alternator (...with the MR2 one for more power)
-Devon Goodspeed
Update: I just sourced an mr2 alternator (from the 3sgte) and the power steering pump for 110 shipped, as a backup if I can't use the one from our donor mr2...
...always good to have a backup plan, right?
...always good to have a backup plan, right?
welp, the pump is on it's way via someone on mr2oc.com for 70 shipped, and I think I'm just going to end up purchasing a new alternator, since the high output one's are 130 amps, which is kinda like added security on my eyes.
I have removed my old power steering pump, brackets, etc...however, in preperation for the swap. One thing I haven't figured out is where on earth I'm going to mount the thing.
I was thinking on the framerail closest to the steering box, since my fans are in front of my radiator, and I wouldn't need as long of a line. I'm open to suggestions, though.
-Devon Goodspeed
I have removed my old power steering pump, brackets, etc...however, in preperation for the swap. One thing I haven't figured out is where on earth I'm going to mount the thing.
I was thinking on the framerail closest to the steering box, since my fans are in front of my radiator, and I wouldn't need as long of a line. I'm open to suggestions, though.
-Devon Goodspeed
Got the power steering pump today. If you've never seen one it's about 3" around, 6 or so inches long, and looks awfully similar to a 7m starter. Should work perfect for my application.
I haven't really decided where I'm going to mount it as of yet, but the seller was nice enough to include the stock pressure hose with it, so I'm probably going to end up placing it somewhere under the intake manifold, with the reservoir(sp?) where the fuse box would go. I ditched my stock PS fluid reservoir a billion years ago for an N/A one, which is a plus for me. Not exactly ideal for you stock guys, but my fuse box is in my fender, so why the hell not?
Another note, the stock banjo bolt threads right in with no troubles, so if anybody's interested I'll see how hard it would be to mount it in the stock location via some sort of bracketry, if you want to make your lives easier....
I'll snap some pictures, compare weights, etc... at my earliest convenience.
-Devon Goodspeed
I haven't really decided where I'm going to mount it as of yet, but the seller was nice enough to include the stock pressure hose with it, so I'm probably going to end up placing it somewhere under the intake manifold, with the reservoir(sp?) where the fuse box would go. I ditched my stock PS fluid reservoir a billion years ago for an N/A one, which is a plus for me. Not exactly ideal for you stock guys, but my fuse box is in my fender, so why the hell not?
Another note, the stock banjo bolt threads right in with no troubles, so if anybody's interested I'll see how hard it would be to mount it in the stock location via some sort of bracketry, if you want to make your lives easier....
I'll snap some pictures, compare weights, etc... at my earliest convenience.
-Devon Goodspeed
I'm looking forward to the updates on this (pictures too!). Getting rid of one extra belt would be another plus in my eyes. I've never thought about doing something like this but now that I'm aware of it, even if you don't do it I'm going to!
Good luck! *waits for updates*
Good luck! *waits for updates*
the one thing I'm worried about is the extra noise from the motor, since running it in the fashion that an mr2 is would involve optical sensors mounted on the steering column, and all kinds of other stuff (that would be too much of a pain in the ass to do), so I'm just going to run it off a switch.
I'll keep you updated, though.
-Devon Goodspeed
I'll keep you updated, though.
-Devon Goodspeed
Alloy you realize writeups (and threads like this for that matter) are COMPLETELY USELESS WITHOUT PICS! Get some pics up 
Take pics of the pump and everything else haha. Gracias
Take pics of the pump and everything else haha. Gracias
Oh, I plan on it, but I'm pretty busy with work and such throughout the week.
I'll get some up as soon as possible.
-Devon Goodspeed
I'll get some up as soon as possible.
-Devon Goodspeed
I should be at my garage all next week, so you can expect them at some point around that time...
I just came across this and had some insight to this conversion. Though I dont know if its been done to a MKIII before, it has been done to a MKII a few years back. I had come up w/ this idea back when the MR-S came out; reading a magazine article on it, they pointed out that it used electric/hydro power steering which I thought was a great idea. After looking into it, I found you could get a '90+ complete pump for about $50. I never got around to doing it on my own car but discussed the idea w/ a friend who wanted to try it out on his MKII. We had already done a 7M-GTE swap and didnt have the power steering hooked up anyway.
We got the pump, mounted it in the area under the D/S headlight (in front of the wheel well), had new hi-pressure hoses made up and wired it up. Its only set up to be on or off, but had discussed having it be on an adjustable switch so that the response could be dialed in. BTW, he was just using the the stock 7M alt. and never had any issues.
Also, you questioned how loud its going to be... This one was just mounted right to the body of the car and it could be heard when running (nothing extreme - like a walbro); but I feel that much of that is due to the pump being mounted right to the sheet metal. If some rubber isolators were used, I think it would make it as quiet as it is in the MR2.
Also, some further food for thought to improve on this idea more. The SW20 pump is pretty heavy as its cast (like the stock 7M pump), but the one from the MR-S is aluminum. I've did spend a little bit of time looking into this and from what I understand, they are both similar set ups, just that the MR-S set up is lighter.
I think the ultimate way to improve the power steering is w/ trying to go w/ a true electric power steering set up (they are usually incorporated right into the steering column or the rack itself). This is what most of the newer cars are coming out w/ and it has numerous advantages - simplicity, weight, no parasitic power loss, and ability to control/ adjust amount of assist. I came across a write up from this guy in the UK that has an early '80s lotus who put an audi V-8 and 6spd in it (did this in his driveway - very impressive). Recently he has swapped in the electric column from a newer GM and it seems to have worked out amazingly.
Good luck w/ it.
We got the pump, mounted it in the area under the D/S headlight (in front of the wheel well), had new hi-pressure hoses made up and wired it up. Its only set up to be on or off, but had discussed having it be on an adjustable switch so that the response could be dialed in. BTW, he was just using the the stock 7M alt. and never had any issues.
Also, you questioned how loud its going to be... This one was just mounted right to the body of the car and it could be heard when running (nothing extreme - like a walbro); but I feel that much of that is due to the pump being mounted right to the sheet metal. If some rubber isolators were used, I think it would make it as quiet as it is in the MR2.
Also, some further food for thought to improve on this idea more. The SW20 pump is pretty heavy as its cast (like the stock 7M pump), but the one from the MR-S is aluminum. I've did spend a little bit of time looking into this and from what I understand, they are both similar set ups, just that the MR-S set up is lighter.
I think the ultimate way to improve the power steering is w/ trying to go w/ a true electric power steering set up (they are usually incorporated right into the steering column or the rack itself). This is what most of the newer cars are coming out w/ and it has numerous advantages - simplicity, weight, no parasitic power loss, and ability to control/ adjust amount of assist. I came across a write up from this guy in the UK that has an early '80s lotus who put an audi V-8 and 6spd in it (did this in his driveway - very impressive). Recently he has swapped in the electric column from a newer GM and it seems to have worked out amazingly.
Good luck w/ it.
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well, so far I've located a mounting place for mine (in the bay on the drivers side frame rail) and used the flexible part of one stock line, and two of the banjo bolt type ends to create my power steering line.
...It was less expensive, and still used stock parts.
Glad to hear that on the noise, though. I was kinda worried about that. Then again, I have open 4" downpipe and it's hard to hear the blow off valve over it.
lol.
...It was less expensive, and still used stock parts.
Glad to hear that on the noise, though. I was kinda worried about that. Then again, I have open 4" downpipe and it's hard to hear the blow off valve over it.
lol.
well, I mocked everything up, but the car has some slow spooling issues (my guess is due to an exhaust leak before the turbo), so I'm in the process of helicoiling the head and replacing every gasket before the downpipe...
...and considering that I'm a college kid with two jobs and live about 30 miles from the garage where my car is kept, I don't get to work on it as much as I'd like to.
That, and every time I make it down to the car I somehow forget to bring my camera...
lol.
...and considering that I'm a college kid with two jobs and live about 30 miles from the garage where my car is kept, I don't get to work on it as much as I'd like to.
That, and every time I make it down to the car I somehow forget to bring my camera...
lol.
lol...the addition of that camera comment made me laugh. Anyways, I was just asking because it's been a while. Don't forget about this thread, let us know when you make progress and don't forget that camera!
and don't forget that camera! well, the amusing part is that I'm a graphic designer/photographer for the school newspaper, so you'd think that I'd have my camera everywhere with me, but NOOOOO, whenever my car is involved, it magically disappears.
lol
lol