Haloruler64's 2000 MR2 Spyder build thread

Thanks for showing us a smart way of diagnosing. In time all of these little plastic and rubber fittings will fail and I always thought diagnosis in this area is a nightmare.

Haha the gasket is cheap. I'm just trying not to throw money at parts that aren't bad. Plus the smoke machine can be used in the future, borrowed by other local Spyder owners, etc. 

$60 or so on eBay. Want a link? It's done a good job so far despite being a little "homemade." Well made though! I considered inviting some weed smokers over but... all the smoke might have hurt my diagnostic abilities. Or improved them. I haven't decided. 

Yes on the ebay link, one tool that would be nice to have. For that price if I buy and never need it will be money well spent. Like voodoo you do something’s to ward of other things from happening.

Sure thing, here ya go. Uses baby oil https://www.ebay.com/itm/EVAP-Smoke-Machine-Diagnostic-Emissions-Vacuum-Leak-Detection-Tester-NEW/221913989725

RIA, I did exactly as you said. Hopefully this works! 

I grabbed a $7 gas cap from O'Reilly Auto along with a $5 set of hose barbs. I took the cap apart: The white part is what actually seals, while the black part is just the cap that ratchets on the white part. There is no seal between the black and white parts. First I gutted the seal from the inside of the white part so there's a hole in it.  

Then I drilled a hole in the cap and inserted the correct size barb. 

Then I threw on some tape and reinforced the top with JB Weld.

I filled the area around the barb inside with black RTV, since it should be fairly chemical resistant. I then laid down a bead of the stuff into the black cap and reinstalled the white section. Afterwards I filled the area with RTV. 

Final result! Sealed gas cap that will let smoke into the fuel tank without venting it out. Yes the ratcheting mechanism doesn't work anymore, so installation will have to be careful. It's only held together with RTV. But it only needs to seal well enough to hold a couple PSI at most, the smoke tester self regulates to one PSI. I'm excited to try it! $13 total.

The cap seems to have been a waste of time, leaked around the edges. 

@haloruler64 Ahhh I was so hype too! Sorry to hear it didn't work out. Another idea, maybe buy a large diameter cork from ace hardware and put a hole through it? Or, you could get a flat rubber gasket and put it on under the cap. Idk. Hope you get this smoke test thing sorted out soon.

In my quest to spend even MORE money on this, because I'm not broke enough, I picked up this. It's relatively cheap. https://amzn.to/3dOGtwK

Thanks RIA

It just amazes me the kind of stuff you find on Amazon these days.  I never know some speciality items even  existed. 

@haloruler64 hahahaha that's perfect. If you have leak issues still, try putting some grease on it or wrapping teflon tape around it before pressure fitting it into the opening. Looks promising. Hopefully it is the advertised size 

I dunno if y'all been following me in my other thread about the EVAP stuff, but I'm still popping a P0440 and not really working on it. The car is finally smogged and registered (smogged it between emissions monitors setting and the code popping, short little window!). The Lexus has been at the shop for 2 weeks awaiting its fate, totaled or not, and the rental is a Nissan Rogue. Not a bad car besides the trans. But of course I'd rather be driving this. So it's racking up miles, going on drives with friends, just hit 153351. 

I'll fix it soon. Just not now. Not the time. She runs and drives, good enough.

The MR2 has sat for over two months, life has been busy and I never got around to throwing the almost $200 worth of OEM hoses into the EVAP system. However, I drove it today. And it's such a blast. After my Mazda's long clutch throw and soft clutch, the on/off switch of a clutch on the 2 feels so satisfying. 

However, it has a new issue. The clutch pedal has long been a bit squeaky but not it's a shriek and there's a rough feeling to the bottom of the travel. And the noise is coming from the engine bay. I'm guessing a bad slave? Could also be a clutch fork pivot point but oh god I hope not. 

If I’m not mistaken, you live within 5 miles of the ocean. I would start the diagnosis with washing the engine bay down and dressing mechanical parts. The salt in mist is tough on everything.  I would think the slave cylinder would be soft pedal, engagement issues and maybe a leak. 

Glad to hear you got your permagrin back on for a moment and hope you are able to sort things out quickly and inexpensively.

Posted by: @ispy

If I’m not mistaken, you live within 5 miles of the ocean. I would start the diagnosis with washing the engine bay down and dressing mechanical parts. The salt in mist is tough on everything.  I would think the slave cylinder would be soft pedal, engagement issues and maybe a leak. 

I am near the ocean yes, but nothing really rusts here. My car is even free of surface rust. No bolts rust either. Kinda odd huh?

I am thinking it's the pushrod of the slave cylinder to be clear, not the hydraulics. The hydraulics still feel good. Either that or the fork.