My MKIII - My Project - Need a few answers

[Grandavi]

Woot.. this car is just too much fun. I hope that wears off after a while before I start killing the car by enjoying it.

Those wires you mentioned seem to be from the sub. I think he has it wired directly to the battery. Those go.. cause they bug me (the wires, amp and sub).

The wipers and side moldings by the windows definitely get painted. But I think I may hold off a bit to see if I repaint the car. If I do repaint the entire car, I will be going custom and I have a design for a monarch wing style side paint that I may use. (if i get the time, I will add it to the char via photoshop as that is what I do for a living... (digital imaging specialist).



And now.. the engine compartment (this is kinda the scary area)

First a little background. I am not sure if this is the original engine. Its hard to tell from the repair bills. In Jan. 04 he paid 5000+ for the engine replacement/rebuild and 5 months later paid 3000+ to rebuild that (they had to regrind the crank and redo the rods.. so I am assuming he ran it dry). At that time he also replaced the turbo. Following all those repairs, his dad found out about his tickets.. so from that point on, he was on his own. (therefore, couldnt afford to drive it).

The engine repairs were done 22k kms ago (not sure what that is in miles... 10k miles??). Who knows how much damage he did in that time. But I do know its seeping oil somewhere and it may be the turbo... ah well.. lets look at what I could show on camera as i try to plan upgrading/repairing it.

All the pictures come below the comments:

The engine compartment (my troubles seem to be mostly on this side)


Now.. what the heck is missing here???




Now... I am assuming there is a trick to servicing this air filter (is that what it is?) Also, I read in other posts that this may not be the most efficient air filter to run, and if so, I would like to upgrade it. My main concern in this engine is longevity and fuel economy and power (in that order). (pic below)

Also, in the pic above... I have read about changing that pipe on the left side I think... but am not familiar enough with this engine yet. I understand downpipes and turbo cutoff valves etc... in my head, but when looking at the engine, I feel I have to identify each component/hose before I start anything. I remember seeing some diagrams of this engine so I will hunt those down. Any upgrade suggestions are appreciated!

Oil is below.. cant tell if its leaking or from someone missing when filling the engine with oil (this is the top of the motor towards the back of the engine compartment). Should I be concerned?

close up of above picture below:


YIKES... look at the engine pic below.. who could love their car and leave it like this??? (I plan to replace the hose, unless there is a nifty fix somewhere that is better than factory)


After an hour run with the car, smoke (not lots) was coming from the area that you see this wet hose at... Im not sure what the hose is for yet, but again.. how can people leave the hose alone when its that obvious? (pic is below)


close up of the above area in the picture below:


Oil Dipstick - now I see why that post is stickied... I have no idea how much oil is in the car!! (this dipstick is dry btw...)


Wet...


Finally... there is some oil (I think) in here.. but may be spillage from filling the engine with oil.. hard to tell without ripping off everything on top of the motor...


So, any suggestions will be considered seriously. I plan to perfect this car over a 1 year period.. step by step as I can afford. Overall, I want to keep the engine modifications/repairs under 4k.

Oh yeah... I have the original warranty book and drivers manual that came with the car in excellent condition. Was happy about that!

Thanks for reading!

[Grandavi]

I read the manual entirely, cover to cover and still cant find what that black swing thingy on the door post is...



I also was reading thru the "Drifting" area. lol! Why would anyone want to drift one of these, I mean... I believe it can be done easily (I did one "burn-out" to see how well it can do them... I would say... it does it very well) but the car is so damn heavy, if you get swung back its likely gonna go the other way..

I also have a previous post here:http://www.toyota-supra.info/forums/...questions.html
as well my Show & Tell post was here: (just was my first post) http://www.toyota-supra.info/forums/...ew-forums.html

[mnewxv]

not sure about the latch but we all have it.

[Chambers]

I think the latch is for the seat belts, so they wind back up when the door is opened, the one on my car never worked, it was broken. I even replaced it and it broke again, so I find my self guiding the seat belt back up every time I leave my car.

You have a nice car there, rust and dents in all. If you plan to pull the door louvers you will have to pull some of the interior panels off to get the bolts holding them on, as for the rust in the rear, check under your spare tire as well, for now just get some WD-40 and hose every metal surface down in the rear, and in the valleys on the outside of the hatch weather stripping on the car side.

Good luck.

[Grandavi]

Originally Posted by Chambers

I think the latch is for the seat belts, so they wind back up when the door is opened, the one on my car never worked, it was broken. I even replaced it and it broke again, so I find my self guiding the seat belt back up every time I leave my car.

You have a nice car there, rust and dents in all. If you plan to pull the door louvers you will have to pull some of the interior panels off to get the bolts holding them on, as for the rust in the rear, check under your spare tire as well, for now just get some WD-40 and hose every metal surface down in the rear, and in the valleys on the outside of the hatch weather stripping on the car side.

Good luck.

Yeah, I think you may be right about the latch being for the seat belts. It gets pushed sideways everytime the door closes. Probably just releases the seat belt lock.

Found no rust anywhere except that one wheelwell (other is perfectly fine) and the one small spot on the front of the driver's side fender. Hoping that the paint can get matched relatively close once that is repaired.

Really wound this baby out this afternoon... it sure can move... but afterwards I got that smell of burning oil. I got some repairs to do on this motor without a doubt, so I think its probably smart to start purchasing all the parts I will need before I start replacing them (do it all in one shot). I am definitely doing a turbo timer, and will probably mod that downpipe (still dont totally understand what's what under the hood, but I'll get it all down pat soon... ). Now I sit and ponder... did they just throw a 5th gear in this puppy just for those that want to attempt 200 MPH? lol. Im having trouble keeping it at 100kph (60 MPH) in 5th...

[Scionguy]

haha very nice. after i get my 89 n/a all restored im selling it and buying a turbo model instead lol. if you wd-40 those rust spots, make sure to tell the painter, or he'll hate you for it, i work at a piant shop, wd-40,wax,oil is not our friend lol. the more you spool that turbo, the warmer its guna be, so that lil bit of oil on things is just burning off, you prob stop smelling it soon or if their are leaks keep an eye on your oil level then, dont wana burn that turbo up lol. i hear that replacing that downpipe makes you spool quit a bit quicker and pull alot harder, if you do the downipe youll probably want a boost controller to prevent spike too, im sure someone will back this up or correct me lol.

[Grandavi]

The whole turbo issue is going to be a "Read/Get Advice/Plan/get plan approved/do" issue as this is my first ever turbo vehicle. This forum is an excellent resource, but actually having parts in your hand is the best teacher. Its just not the area I want to make a mistake in.

I think to do it properly, i need to change the downpipe, add(?) a wastegate and blowoff valve?, putting on a timer (regardless, that is my first thing to do), and I dont know anything regarding spikes. (think the timer solves that, but not sure)

Its a learning curve

[suprakid91]

Originally Posted by Scionguy

haha very nice. after i get my 89 n/a all restored im selling it and buying a turbo model instead lol. if you wd-40 those rust spots, make sure to tell the painter, or he'll hate you for it, i work at a piant shop, wd-40,wax,oil is not our friend lol. the more you spool that turbo, the warmer its guna be, so that lil bit of oil on things is just burning off, you prob stop smelling it soon or if their are leaks keep an eye on your oil level then, dont wana burn that turbo up lol. i hear that replacing that downpipe makes you spool quit a bit quicker and pull alot harder, if you do the downipe youll probably want a boost controller to prevent spike too, im sure someone will back this up or correct me lol.

yes scionguy, i back you up. haha. get the controller to prevent spike cuz you will probably hit fuel cut if it spikes too high.

[Bru]

leaking valve covers has been a problem for everyone since Supras began. The way I solved it on mine is to use a drop of the red loctite on the threads. (only do this if you use allen head bolts because it's difficult to untighten) Get the oil out of the threaded hole with a clean pointed Q-tip and some solvent twisting in the direction of the threads only. I also got rid of the stock phillips screws and got stainless bolts with a allen cap on eBay. The metal washer under the cap was dome shaped. The original black rubber insulators which I think I were faucet washers melted. I replace those with fuel injector O-rings from a 1984 Chrysler laser turbo. Don't over crush the O-rings. If your valve cover rubber seals have gone too flat or stiff, replace it with a new Toyota made one. I use a thin layer of oil resistant silicone on both sides as an extra measure. The result is not much if any oil leakage and the bolts don't work loose. Use a pointed surgical tweezer or a small screwdriver and a bit of paper towel to soak up the oil around the spark plugs. Other oil leak problem areas are the cam position sensor O-ring and the camshaft front oil seals. Those are lectures all by themselves.

Update 5/27/10
Here is a MR2 web site that sells a few Supra parts as well. They have upgrade valve cover bolts / washers for $16 a set. I still recommend using a drop of the red locktite. They also have a cam position / distributor rebuilding kit for $24 that includes an internal shaft oil seal, outer housing O-ring, shaft bearing, and shaft pin. I plan on carefully drilling and or tapping out the old pin to reuse the drive gear. The old pin probably domed over or spread out in a v notch on one or both ends.

http://www.twosrus.com/catalog/produ...products_id=66

[corrosivecopper]

[QUOTE=Grandavi;62395]I read the manual entirely, cover to cover and still cant find what that black swing thingy on the door post is...



This to me looks the door switch.. tells the car whether or not the door is open. Haven't looked at my Supra for a bit (snow and all lol) but if I recall there are indicators on the dash for door open.. Hope that helps