My first posting, need help ?

[BOB7255KHZ]

Greetings ....
Just found this message board....shake'n everyones hand.
Got a question for u all.
Hey I've been a Toyota Celica user for many years....musta went thru 5 or 6 celicas ....love em.
But heres my question about the Supra....
After reading the many pages about all the HG problems.....geee, do I really want to get a supra ?
Got my eye on a mint 88 supra turbo...123 k miles and the t belt and HG were both changed by the Toyota dealer at about 100k , so they probably used the factory HG and belt....duhh.
Do u think this will hold up to normal use if the Toyota dealer did it .....or is this HG problem an ongoing thing that should be on my mind everytime I drive the car....like a bomb ready to go off again? Are these engines like never ending problems.....by some of the threads I read , seems like it's a never ending battle with these HG problems. 10 to 30 k they pop again?
Really I'm gentle on the pedal.....I'm a 58 year old teenager........STOP LAFF ' N.
Seriously gang.....do these HG go if u baby the car or not ?
I just don't want to buy a never ending money pit.
Hey , glad I found this Supra gang.....
BOB in Pa

[h8z2luze]

Im not a expert or anything but sounds like you found a pretty good deal and if it does go all you need to do is put the metal head gasket in with arp studs and your set!

[mkiiisupra]

constant problems are ussually do to people not doing the work right the first time

If i remember right toyota changed the specs on the head torque so yours should last....

[Pretaco]

If it was replaced right, and the head was machined the factory gasket will last you a long time. Especially if you baby it.

Most of the time on these type of boards you will get the worst out of the cars, because thats what people talk about the most. Kinda the squeaky wheel gets the grease (attention) type of thing.

I have a factory head gasket in my JDM 50,000 mile engine and I don't baby it, but I'm not worried about the gasket. If it goes it goes, but I'm not going to change my mind about the car, or change my driving style because of a stupid gasket problem. That and I'm a tech, so its not a big deal to replace it if it does start to leak.

x2 on people having problems due to bad workmanship, ie: not machining the head, not torquing the head correctly, or having an ongoing overheating problem not related to the headgasket (fan clutch, radiator, etc...)

I figure if you like the car, get it. If you're still not sure about the work, get a copy of the receipt, the part numbers will all be listed, along with any subletted machine work that the dealer did.

Ray.