1989 Toyota MR2 Supercharged review from North America

Leaked oil on exhaust side from blown head gasket. Coolant had glazed cylinders & caused excessive oil blow by & consumption. Dropped pan & pistons during head gasket fix & honed cylinders with new rings. Engine now is great & no oil consumption.

Bearing in supercharger went at 155,000km-was strange size and unable to source replacement bearing. Replaced with J-spec S/C. Suggest frequent checks of S/C oil as they do use it up-I use Ford synthetic supercharger oil-it's a fraction of the cost of the same product at Toyota. I sourced two used superchargers on the net as spares as they will eventually become hard to find.

Otherwise very reliable as most Toyotas are!

Lots of fun to drive. I found the stock shift throw a bit long and made a short shift with plate, which really quickens things up. Gearbox action was a bit notchy. I replaced the gearbox oil with a good synthetic 75-90W which helped smooth changes.

Stock worn suspension bushings would squeak. I replaced them all with a Prothane kit from Twos R Us which made a huge difference in ride quality.

An HKS crank pulley with the J-spec S/C is a great performance upgrade-ups boost to an honest 11 lbls. A pusher fan under the intercooler made from a doner MR2 rad fan helps cool the intake charge. (use rear window defogger switch to activate from cabin)

Where else can you find 4 valve DOHC, supercharged & intercooled gem like this with adjustable 4 wheel independent suspension & 4 wheel disc brakes.