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It's ATE SuperBlue which I think is DOT4.  It's not the synthetic stuff for show cars if that's what you're asking.  It's a budget racing fluid - last I checked it had the highest boiling point per dollar ratio out there.

Actually I should have been more clear since the MK2 is a mystery to this group .  The ABS actuator has metal plates/covers attached to it on the underside, and the location of the unit means you can't remove the covers without removing the whole unit.  I'm reluctant to do that for fear a new leak from the fittings will crop up or something (not to mention the mess it will make!).  The under-covers are shaped in a way that they control the flow of leaking fluid like an irrigation system.  The source is hiding.

I suppose for now I'll just let the leak be and hope it doesn't get worse. 

Hey thanks Kevin.  I should try to do the brake bleed myself but if I run into trouble I'll know who to call. 

I kindof want to get the ABS actuator leak fixed before flushing the brakes, you know, so I don't have to do it again if the leak gets worse.

I checked the pipe fittings which are all tight and dry. As best I could determine by diving head first into the frunk () the leak is coming from the bottom of the unit, possibly in the middle or towards the front. Where could the leak be coming from if not from a fitting? The BGB doesn't show me anything useful really. I would imagine something important like an ABS actuator would be very well sealed as a unit, with any leaks most likely coming from the fittings but that doesn't appear to be the case. Unless there's a tiny fitting on the bottom that can't be seen.

I haven't found any photos of the underside of a 93-95 MR2 ABS actuator...

The braking system and ABS function normally (or at least they did last time I drove the car). I'm just tired of wiping up fluid from the frunk floor.  The leak was faster any time I used the ABS, like at an autocross.  Just sitting there or driving around town the leak was slower.

Those look like the phone dial wheels, which are 4-lug, which means this is a base model car.  I forget what all the differences are.  Smaller wheels (and brakes) for sure.  Probably no LSD.  Umm... oh yeah, base seats which I hated (my friend Matt had an 86 GXL with those seats for a while). 

Looks like quite a project. 

FWIW, my RX-7 had three cats in a row (or maybe it was two, but I know it was more than one) in the pipe that ran from the header to the split at the rear axle.  I don't know if welding in one generic cat is smog legal or if it has to be the OEM cats.  That's why I ran the RB test pipe all the time and just swapped the stock pipe in every 2 years.  Wanted to preserve the cats for as long as possible, just in case.

Ha, that one's great!

Didn't know you were a Senna fan Mike.  Will you be going to see the Senna documentary when it comes out next year? 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9SJYmFi0m0

Arctic Silver. :)

Now it's Arctic Oxidation.    But still going strong last I checked.

I think I brought it by the shop when I got it.  I know Kevin drove it once or twice. 

Anyway here's some pics I have handy: 








Can't beat blue shag style carpet!




Superbly balanced suspension.  Mine had the TurboII suspension/brakes/seats and a clutch-type LSD, and was the lightest NA model you could get (crank windows, no cruise, etc).  It was the best handling FC of them all.  Handling is remarkably similar to the first gen RX-8 actually, which is still the best-handling car I've ever driven (the FC is a close 2nd).


Great cruiser!  Tall 5th gear, stunning wind noise control and smoothness on the highway for a 1980s car.  I caught myself doing 90 a couple times on the drive home.  In an AW11 you could tell the difference between 68 and 70 just based on the wind noise.    In the RX-7, 90 felt just like 60.

Some really amazing things about this car's engineering.  One of the coolest things, to me, was the driving position.  It was perfect.  But not just for me - the current 6'4" owner loves it, and a guy I know back east who is probably 5'4" at best loves it too.   Best seats ever. 

Another cool thing - the headlights.  Even in the down position the lights themselves pointed forward.  You could flash your lights through those clear lenses above the turn signals, without having to raise the light assemblies.  Mazda used a neat pivot system to keep the lights level as the housings went up or down.  Kind of fun to stand in front of the car and watch.

Oh yeah the use of aluminum in the car was pretty trick for the 80s, too.  Some suspension parts were aluminum, I forget what else.  Aluminum hoods were optional - mine was steel though. 

It was actually pretty easy to work on, too.  Much easier than MR2s.  I remember having the intake manifold and fuel rail off to replace a coolant hose (the toughest one to access on the whole car - which is why the previous owner's mechanic overlooked it probably).  But all the nuts and bolts were easy to get to and didn't give me any trouble.  Did some cooling system maintenance on the car (since that's pretty critical on a rotary) and it was so much easier.  Thermostat was right there.  Coolant replacement was cake.   I think that's all I did to it in the year and a half I owned it.

I definitely want another one someday.  It might be tough to find one as nice as mine was, at least in that trim level.  The '88 GTU was unique in a number of ways from other FCs. 

More from the awesome (rwd) side of Honda world:

http://www.youtube.com/v/mHc6ODh7oRI?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999

I also want to fix the leak at the ABS actuator.  It's tough to get access in there though and I can't tell where the leak is coming from.  I'm guessing it's more likely a fitting than part of the unit itself but I don't know. 

It's a slow leak, so I can still drive and race the car but it's still annoying.  Stripping paint off the frunk and requiring top-ups every month or so.

Blargh... haven't touched it since I last posted here.  I hate working on cars!   

I bought some SpeedBleeders so I could do a one man brake fluid flush and then I got confused with the wording in the BGB.  In the brake bleeding section it says something like:  "Bleed master cylinder if it has been removed or has become empty." 

Well, um... define "empty!" 

From page 1:


The fluid level was below the MIN line but not completely gone.  Looks like there's a front and rear chamber in the MC reservoir and the front chamber did go empty.  I filled it right after taking that photo. 

If I have to bleed the MC I'll need help from an expert.  I checked and I can't stand by the door and operate the brake and reach my hand to the MC at the same time.  :p 


During the brake bleed I'm going to change the oil as well.  Once the brakes are back to life I'm driving the car straight to the gas station with a bottle of Techron fuel system cleaner.  Need to put good fuel in and keep the fuel system happy.    Will need to pump up the tires at the gas station too - got to remember to bring quarters.  One tire will likely not hold air so that one will have to get patched.

After all of that, I need to get the AC fixed.  Hopefully just a re-charge of Freon will do it. 

The car's due for smog/registration next week.  Hopefully with fresh oil and purging the old fuel from the system, it can still pass after sitting for 18 months.  Poor car.   

A lap around Laguna Seca in a Can-Am car:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEmHpTSACSg

http://www.youtube.com/v/GEmHpTSACSg?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0

One of my favorite commercials:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8p1wa35QDs8

http://www.youtube.com/v/8p1wa35QDs8?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0

The awesome insanity of Group B rallying:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozntieZs8Bg

http://www.youtube.com/v/ozntieZs8Bg?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0

Tribute to the NSX.  Best watched in HD.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53c6o_cNPEo

http://www.youtube.com/v/53c6o_cNPEo?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0

That's a Zagato styling exercise.  It must have come out shortly after the MR2 Spyder, as the windshield, mirrors, seats and doors are from the production model (with some bodywork to the doors of course).

I think it looks goofy myself.   

I'd drink milk from those. 

Didn't read the whole thread but F1 engines have very, very short strokes.  They do rev to 18,000rpm (used to be 20k rpm until they imposed a rev limit).

Starting in 2013 F1 will be using 1.6L 4cyl engines (I kid you not!) with turbocharging and direct injection.  Max revs will be 12,000rpm I believe.

Isn't the non-painted, thinner diameter part in the foreground the one in question?  That picture was taken from under the back bumper.

That control arm is stock, just painted and with Prothane bushings. :)

Someone put a MK2 MR2 side vent in the quarter panel.  So there's still an MR2 connection.

I've always liked the StarQuests.