Just got a 1989 Supra! Have an easy Question!

[V1P3R]

I recently purchased a 1989 Supra 5spd, unfortunately it has 189K but only one owner and it was an old lady who babied the car.

Anyways, everything seems to work fine on the car. All the power features amazingly work great.

It had been sitting for the past 5 years and somehow still started up, needed a tune-up badly.

Just finished the spark plugs and boy was that a pain to get to!

Replaced the air filter and thermostat. Thermostat was causing it to overheat. Also had an oil leak so the gasket was replaced.

Another funny thing, the oil was clean after 5 years of sitting. Gas was dirty as could be though.


It still isnt running perfectly. I just replaced the water pump and there is some type of leak in the line somewhere, not near the pump itself though, that is causing steam, which at first I thought was oil burning, but luckily not.

Also there is an orange dash warning light to the far left of the dash board. It looks like a filter of some sort. Not sure exactly what it is though, I also have a 94 eagle talon and the same warning light is on that too and light up as well. Obviously it is nothing imperative but I couldnt find any info anywhere I have searched!


Any help comments or suggestions are apprecaited!

[TONY!]

Hi V1P3R, welcome to this site.
The reason you see that light on your dash is because your coolant reservoir has a sensor in it that activates the dash light when the coolant gets low.
If you fill up your reservoir, you should be fine.
Fill up your radiator if it is low also.

I think that light is supposed to represent the radiator

Tell us how you make out--and if it fixes it for good.
Keep an eye on your coolant level and tell us if that continues to drop. If it does....well, fill it up first and see how it goes.


Btw, are you in central CT, western, northern, southern, eastern CT?
Just asking because I know some people in that area.

Post pics of it if you can. It reminds me of my MKIII when I bought it...

-TM


EDIT IN BLUE for Clarity.

[dcrusupra]

O NO!! THE BIRDCAGE!!! No problem. Lol. Fill up the radiator overflow bottle to the full line with some water.

[Strannik]

if i were you i'd double check that oil
i also thought my oil is nice and clean when i got my car from Japan
then after a week or so i realised that there was no oil - thats why it looked like it's clean

if i were you i would change all the liquids, oil filter, spark plugs, every piece of rubber hose you can get your hands on

[V1P3R]

Thanks guys!


I will check the coolant level, I know the radiator is full, but the resevoir may not be as it was all drained when doing the water pump.

I will try to get some pics up asap. Once its ready and running it needs new paint since the old paint is faded, but amazingly now rust or body rot on this car even though it sat for 5 years outside!

Going through a complete tuneup right now, just about EVERYTHING, want to give the car a fresh start and hopefully another 100,000 miles to its name

[V1P3R]

I have another simple question. Im new to a 5-spd car, my first car was automatic. I picked it up pretty quick, within 30 mins I was driving around without stalling it out, only still need to smooth out the start a bit.

It must just be the car, but the engine is loud so around 2-3 rpms it feels like its overrevving the engine, but its actually prime shift rpms I assume? I mean redline is around 7 correct?

What are the normal shift rpms for each gear?

I just want some type of guideline to go by, just to be sure as im not familiar with a 5-spd and especially not with this specific car. Seems like it has tall gears, 1st gear needs to be drawn out a bit more than most cars.

Any help is greatly apprecaited! Thanks!

[mrnickleye]

If you shift at 3k rpm regularly, that will be a normal shift. Going to 4-5k when in a hurry, like getting on a fwy. And 6k when you're racing. The stock motor's torque peaks at about 5500 rpm.

[V1P3R]

Thanks I appreciate it!

ONE more question !


I just found out.......the car has an alarm lol

It went off and I am not sure how to re-set it. Now the car wont start. The way I stopped the alarm was simply by putting in the key. I didnt know the car had an alarm! Is this a stock feature for a 1989? I have to say the car itself is amazing how many features and power options it has! And all work great!

[Burn N' Up]

The alarm kills the engine and you can disarm it by putting the key in the door and locking, then un locking. Very common for the disarm switch built into the door to be broken on the drivers side so give the passenger a shot also then try starting, should be the problem. Congrats on the buy, don't forget your tranny and rear diff have fluid that needs changing too, and your filters (air, fuel, oil).

[V1P3R]

Originally Posted by Burn N' Up

The alarm kills the engine and you can disarm it by putting the key in the door and locking, then un locking. Very common for the disarm switch built into the door to be broken on the drivers side so give the passenger a shot also then try starting, should be the problem. Congrats on the buy, don't forget your tranny and rear diff have fluid that needs changing too, and your filters (air, fuel, oil).

Thanks for the help, alarm problem solved!

Filters and fluids all already changed, those were first priority. Just another quick question? Is the fuel filter easy to get to? I have the car's book but they dont really explain how to get to the filter, just says its near the gas tank? The car is low and needs to be jacked up to get to the filter correct?