The never ending battle with the MR2 Spyder continues on, this time a another coolant leak sprung up while doing an engine warm up. I thought I had this whipped during the last episode of leaking coolant, but this time it’s coming from the cold side of the engine, above the supercharger. At first it appeared to be coming from the rubber hose going from the thermostat housing to the body-mounted tubing or possibly the thermostat to block seal. A thorough inspection of the rubber hose once removed revealed no damage. A little dried coolant on the t-stat housing made me question the seal, so I went ahead and preemptively replaced both the thermostat and the gasket. Neither of these parts are easy to remove or reinstall, the confines between the firewall and the front of the 2ZZ engine are ridiculously tight, but it’s manageable from the bottom-side. Unfortunately, another warm-up to operating temps revealed coolant leaking from the same general area. At this point I’m seriously suspect of the coolant bypass to block seal, which is a simple one-use metal gasket. I wouldn’t be surprised to find that the gasket was reused… by yours truly. Remember, if the manual says not to reuse, they probably have good reason. At this point I’ve given up, you can’t access that gasket from the bottom or top, at least not without some serious deconstruction. The best bet is to do something I should have done long ago; cut an access hole in the firewall. Many other supercharged or performance setup Spyder owners have done the same. It just makes repairs and inspections so much easier. So at least I know what’s next on the to-do list…. no it’s not done yet!
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