Yes the rad is full and I've never noticed coolant coming out of the overflow tank.

I agree with the previous post that questioned the amount of blow-by to oil pressure fluctuations. My oil pressure drops at idle, and picks-up at driving, but this has to do with worn bearings, not excessive blow-by. I don't have excessive blow-by. And yes, I tested it.

As far as the cooling system problems, you may want to flush and fill the cooling system, and make sure you pull the radiator out and flush it completely. Crap, gunk and rusty scale could be blocking some of the tubes in the radiator, cutting it's efficiency. Replace the cap and thermostat. Fill with 50/50 coolant. Toyota red is best. Anything good for aluminum protection is OK. I use distilled water. Tap water can contain chemicals that may shorten the life of the anti-rust and water pump lubricating additives in the coolant.

Of course, this is if you rule out a need to re-build. That should be the first focus. If the turbo is leaking oil, it will get sucked through the intercooler on it's way to the engine. You should see oil in the piping. If that is OK, a leak-down test will reveal the condition of the valves and rings. Any shop should be able to do this. If it is out of spec, a rebuild will be required.

i stand corrected, thanks, however you mentioned that i was only partially right on the dipstick info. could you elaborate? on my 87 non-turbo when i stepped on the gas my dipstick would shoot out 2 inches and it was the piston rings and i had to do a re-build. as far as oil pressure rise when you step on the gas. i have the normal rise on my 91 turbo now with just normal operation. on my 87 non-turbo it was riduculous. my pressure would peg out. that is the differance i was talking about.

Well i say that because if the dipstick was being pushed out, piston rings would not be the first thing to assume bad. There is a pcv system that evacuates excess pressure in the crankcase via the intake, and if this system is clogged, the pressure will have nowhere to go, and will push out the dipstick. Although if you have excessive blowby and the amount of blow by exceeds the amount of air the pcv system can flow, you will also push out the dipstick. Basically im trying to say don't assume the worst right off the bat, and start off easy.

You must have also had a clog in the PVC system or a MAJOR ring failure. I had a friend's old GM V8 blowing the hose off the breather system for the same reasons. But, an oil pressure spike is not a real good diagnosis of a ring problem, but a symptom of a major problem.

cool, thanks guys

No oil under the car. And I wot'ed it down the road for half a kilometer or so; its got boost so te turbo is working.

What's the best way to get at the intercooler?

mine drops to about 5 at idle, and picks up to around 20-35 ish while driving around.

so now its not the rings, its the bearings. wooo :yum:

yes, use distilled water for those reasons. only use regular water if you DESPERATELY need to, and afterwards do a flush of your system. itll bite you in the ass in the long run.

Sidewinder, you can survive for a bit if you switch to 20W/50 oil, and use a bottle of STP with every change. This bumped my idle pressure to 10-15 psi, and has been holding there for a year. I'm planning on an engine rebuild. It will probably happen this winter or next spring.

I've been driving this way since i owned the car, which was a little over a year ago. No problems yet, so i dont wanna throw to 20w50 in there too soon lol :x: It might even be something else, hopefully.

Regardless, its getting a rebuild down the road.