1987 supra non turbo
 

Help please. i have a 87 non turbo supra with 90k miles. the heat recently stopped blowing out hot air and i have to keep adding radiator fluid to it after drives over 30 miles or so. there is no leaking underneath the car and the thermostat has been replaced. the temp gauge fluctuates between meduim and high. i have had a few mechanics look at it and they seem to think its the head gasket. the engine has also recently began to make a ping sound when i step on the gas which they think are the rods going bad. my question is it sounds like i may need to rebuild or replace the engine. since i love these cars and its in great shape otherwise iam willing to do that. my question is what price can i expect for a rebuild of my current engine? and if i buy a rebuilt engine can i trust one from say ebay? and what should be the cost of installing it? finally if i have a rebuilt engine put in can i expect some money back from the engine being pulled out? thank for any and all suggestions on this :werd: p.s.i live in denver so if anyone out there knows of a good shop and or mechanic i would appreciate there info as well

Wsup, and welcome to the Supra life! Tricky thing with buying any used engines are that you never know what condition they are in externally and internally. Especially with used low mileage engines. But I`ve had 2 friends buy 1Jz engines from ebay and they`ve had a good engine given to them. I myself have bought a 7mgte low mileage engine from the website http://www.jdmenginezone.com/
I took the risk cause it was just about my best option, and I got a pretty solid engine, rust was minimal and all I`ve done was change all the seals, gaskets, and basic maintenance. And I did the swap myself over the summer so no labor costs on that, just time I had to fork up, but it was really fun! Keep in mind this was back in 2012 and its still running strong with all my mods till present day, putting on about 25k miles total so far. So its kind of hit or miss with these kind of purchases. But for rebuilds it really depends on the shops around you, cause of parts + labor can really add up. So that I would not be able to give you insight on. Hope this helps

May be this a bit late reply, but do a compression test to see if you have a blown gasket ( check harborfreight), second it happened to me, the radiator was leaking around the corner on top of the tank, of course it was steam coming out when the engine was at the operating temp, and you could not see any leak when the engine had cooled down. you also can get radiator pressure tested. check the hoses and flush the radiator and flush by garden hose from the bottom., then add new fresh coolant, notice most leaks occur when the pressure built up inside the cooling system, look for steam from pin holes, you should remove the belt to prevent the fan from turn, of course for a short while to see where the leak is. Mine has 157K on it still going strong, don't give up on the engine yet, at 90K it has not even broken in. If you decide to go with JZ engine get 2JZ, made for US not JDMs . supraforums,com is where the guys with turbo and engine swapping are, get advice there is alot to it then engine swap. good luck

Sounds like a head gasket or perhaps a crack in the block. If you are feeding water into it but can't spot a puddle anywhere then it is ending up in the crankcase.
Check the following:
- What color is the oil? Light brown, milky looking? Water is in there.
- Is the engine beginning to miss? If so check the plugs and look for one that is wet (water). Your leak is near there.
- Compression test. Rent a tester from Autozone if nearby. Should be 140+ in each cylinder, with only a slight variance between them.