Fix, sell, or junk?

[pwpanas]

Originally Posted by MattS

I have a 97 TT auto with 266,000 miles (was stupid driving it all over the West Coast). Up to this point it hasn't had any major problems--hardly any problems at all. Need some help with issues it has started having:

Has started dying more and more coming to a stop and always dying coming to a stop after a downhill(too much air and not enough fuel I am guessing)???

Idles low, and sometimes rough, after warming up and generally need the AC on to keep it from dying while stopping--the higher I turn the AC on the higher the rpms when stopping. I assume vacuum leak and/or ICV? What does AC have to do with this issue?

When I turn overdrive off when slowing down the rpm needle drops 1000 then back up a few hundred which is when I know it will die--runs perfect on the highway with fairly strong engine.

Replaced VSS, but check engine came back on with same code.

Had oil change and they said major engine leak and small tranny leak. Put sealer in both to see if that would work. Left car in garage for a week and no
Big leaks.

Should I junk the car, engine swap, rebuild, sell to somebody for project? Needs new suspension but don't want to spend money on cosmetics for a car that wont run soon--would rather just move on to a new car.

Any answers/suggestions?

Thanks!

Have you followed the maintenance schedule for all 266,000 miles as specified in the user manual? If not, that's step#1: get all maintenance items current.

Step#2: Check for boost leaks. Agreed the stalling likely has to do with your air-fuel mixture, and a vaccum/boost leak is the most likely culprit. If I had to guess, I'd guess that at least one of your hoses has gotten so hard from age&heat that it has cracked and is leaking boost/vacuum. Should be an easy fix. (When the computer detects your a/c on, it gives the engine a bit more air+fuel (to compensate for the additional load) so it doesn't stall at low idle). One or more new rubber hoses and the stalling will likely be fixed.

Step#3: Post a list of any/all codes stored in the ecu.

Step#4: OMG flush that sealer out of your engine and tranny! This is a $75K GT sportscar (in today's $) - would you gum up a Ferrari with "sealer"? Your engine leak(s) are likely due to your front main seal and/or your rear main seal. They can be replaced without too much effort (see your TSRM). The (auto) tranny leak is probably the same (rear seal).

Step#5: Compression test the engine. If the #s are still good, *definitely* keep the car!

Step#6: Putting in a set of new shocks is so easy it's almost child's play. Since they're coilover shocks (i.e. not struts), you don't even need a new alignment after the swap:
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ky...ta/model/supra
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ky...ta/model/supra