88 Blue Turbo restoration/upgrade story

[boostcraver]

so true... last time I went they said I needed a new steering COLUMN... looking at my problem I don't the column is an issue... its the gears and the whole horizontal structure that needs overhauling... so... toyota for tune-up... got one vote for yes... any others?? LoL

I say you can't get any better than Toyota Service. They do have hard copies of the TSRM's for reference as well as TIS, and other net based reference and repair manuals and the tech's there deal with (wait for it...) TOYOTA's all day long. I might be a little biased though since I myself work in a local Toyota service bay...take it for what you will. You never know, though. You might get lucky and find a tech there that drives a mkIII that would work on it for you off the clock for less than actually putting it through the bay. I would do it for you if you brought it here BTW, we are not told or encouraged at our service center to "push" ANYTHING simply for the sake of a sale. We see something during an inspection of a vehicle and make a recommendation for the repair. It's the customer's decision whether or not to have it done. Again, take it for what you will. My father in law won't bring his Camry in to the "stealership" for so much as an oil change, even with me working there. He says I'm "one of them now". What ever...They should def. be able to tell you what is wrong with your trans. while you have it there, and YES they will charge you for diag. time. If you wish to save that money, you can get most of the diag. procedures straight outta the TSRM and do most of it yourself. Look for it on Cygnus' online TSRM. Sorry no link ATM.

 

[lithium14]

Thanks for the info!!! I have the tsrm bookmarked... I'm in the midst of studying the transmission section now... I 'm wondering if I should get her tuned up once I get to Austin that way the dealership there can get a first look at a supra that's gonna be showin up ALOT LoL... wonder if there's a way to search the forums for member's in a specific city...

 

[boostcraver]

Thanks for the info!!! I have the tsrm bookmarked... I'm in the midst of studying the transmission section now... I 'm wondering if I should get her tuned up once I get to Austin that way the dealership there can get a first look at a supra that's gonna be showin up ALOT LoL... wonder if there's a way to search the forums for member's in a specific city...

Look in the regional forums on the main page. I think that's about as narrowed down as you can get it.

If you can afford it, you might save yourself a ton of headache to just rent a small moving van of some kind for your other possessions and a dolly to put the car on behind it for the 2,000 miles trip. Nothing blows harder than being broke down with major troubles hundreds of miles from home or anyone familiar and friendly. I know from personal experience. You'll kick yourself in the ass if the worst happens on the road and you shit your trans or lose a tie rod and bite the concrete wall somewhere, or worse, hit someone head-on and there's a fatality.

 

[lithium14]

hmm good advice, I will Look into it... I don't have that much stuff (it all fits in the supra) so just any sedan will work just fine... but one that can pull a supra that most likely outweighs it... meeehhhh LoL

 

[SupraTurbo_MK3]

I say you can't get any better than Toyota Service. They do have hard copies of the TSRM's for reference as well as TIS, and other net based reference and repair manuals and the tech's there deal with (wait for it...) TOYOTA's all day long. I might be a little biased though since I myself work in a local Toyota service bay...take it for what you will. You never know, though. You might get lucky and find a tech there that drives a mkIII that would work on it for you off the clock for less than actually putting it through the bay. I would do it for you if you brought it here BTW, we are not told or encouraged at our service center to "push" ANYTHING simply for the sake of a sale. We see something during an inspection of a vehicle and make a recommendation for the repair. It's the customer's decision whether or not to have it done. Again, take it for what you will. My father in law won't bring his Camry in to the "stealership" for so much as an oil change, even with me working there. He says I'm "one of them now". What ever...They should def. be able to tell you what is wrong with your trans. while you have it there, and YES they will charge you for diag. time. If you wish to save that money, you can get most of the diag. procedures straight outta the TSRM and do most of it yourself. Look for it on Cygnus' online TSRM. Sorry no link ATM.

You should come help the Toyota techs in Amherst, Ohio because I know more about the MK3 then they did......I asked if there was anyway I could get a key code for my supra I was told no and that I needed to have a lock smith make me a key for my ignition....So I call the Toyota tech line from the Toyota website. He tells me there is a key code on the cylinder lock housing on the passenger side door. So I call my local dealership and ask if I were to provide the key code if they could cut me the key, he asked how I was going to do that so I explained to him what the other guy told me and he said he had never heard of it.....So I pre pay for the key get it back a couple days later and it's a lazy shit job that didn't work. I ended up buying a new ignition cylinder lock and two keys and installed it myself.

 

[boostcraver]

You should come help the Toyota techs in Amherst, Ohio because I know more about the MK3 then they did......I asked if there was anyway I could get a key code for my supra I was told no and that I needed to have a lock smith make me a key for my ignition....So I call the Toyota tech line from the Toyota website. He tells me there is a key code on the cylinder lock housing on the passenger side door. So I call my local dealership and ask if I were to provide the key code if they could cut me the key, he asked how I was going to do that so I explained to him what the other guy told me and he said he had never heard of it.....So I pre pay for the key get it back a couple days later and it's a lazy shit job that didn't work. I ended up buying a new ignition cylinder lock and two keys and installed it myself.

Sounds like you talked to some FNG who just didn't know his shit. I had them cut a key at my job, and all I had to do was 1). Prove ownership, and 2). provide parts with the VIN. They should have been able to look up the key code that way. The only way it should have been a problem is if someone had already switched the lock cyl for another one in it's previous ownership, and the two codes didn't match. Hell, when they did mine, they gave ME the lock code after they cut it so I had it for future reference.

 

[lithium14]

It seems toyota service is really really dependent on who helps you lmao, then again it's the same deal anywhere so. Anyways pics from yesterday:

no engine oil leak, just more powersteering

Lights installed... looks kinda out of place because the lights are shinier than the rest of the car :3d_frown:... I need a paint job haha

gosh I can't remember what part this is, but what caught my attention was how it doesn't look like it's connected properly?? or is it supposed to be like that??

another missing bushing perhaps?

I decided to install the panel... driving through the desert is gonna require any cooling help I can get

 

[lithium14]

HUh... when it comes to steering, there isn't much aftermarket stiff for that is there? besides tie-rods etc. I'm talking about the rack/pinion assembly, and the whole front bar thing... So i take it the best thing I can do is to have toyota order the parts and replace them...

---------- Post added at 11:17 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:15 AM ----------

And i think im going to save up 4k to get the performance a340e from ipt... so costly but before that I think I'll get a tranny cooler from B&M and install that... somewhere LoL

 

[mobes]

You can get an aftermarket rack, try http://www.rockauto.com, they are a forum vendor and have great deals. See here: http://www.supramania.com/forums/showthread.php?131276-RockAuto-New-Discount-Code

Also Advance Auto Parts has some pretty good coupon codes right now if there is one nearby. http://www.advanceautoparts.com

Make sure you get the correct PPS or Non-PPS rack (PPS has a wire going to it).

Installation isn't too hard if you follow the TSRM, but you will need to go get an alignment done afterward.

Personally I wouldn't trust that transmission to get you across the country while making that noise. Good idea to go get it looked at.

 

[Supra28]

You can get an aftermarket rack, try http://www.rockauto.com, they are a forum sponsor and have great deals. See here: http://www.supramania.com/forums/showthread.php?131276-RockAuto-New-Discount-Code

I didn't know an aftermarket rack existed for our cars. I may be looking in the wrong section, but is it the "Rack and Pinion Complete Unit"?

lithium14; No offense, but it looks like you just threw on some black covers on from Auto Zone or something on your tails. Post 89 tails is the way to go, I suggest the JDM's since you seem to like the tinted/smoked look. The car looks really good though man, hope you get your steering and tranny issue resolved.

Oh and speaking of tranny, I actually have A340E with about 108K miles that I'm not using, PM me if interested.

 

[mobes]

I suppose the proper term for the rack would be "remanufactured" rather than "aftermarket", but it is at least a more affordable source than the dealer.

"Rack and Pinion Complete Unit" is correct, should be just over $200.

Oh and for the pictures of the suspension stuff, it looks fine from the pics. The biggest concern is that there is no play and no binding. It's not an urgent fix if there's a little play, but will throw your alignment off and cause odd tire wear.

 

[lithium14]

I didn't know an aftermarket rack existed for our cars. I may be looking in the wrong section, but is it the "Rack and Pinion Complete Unit"?

lithium14; No offense, but it looks like you just threw on some black covers on from Auto Zone or something on your tails. Post 89 tails is the way to go, I suggest the JDM's since you seem to like the tinted/smoked look. The car looks really good though man, hope you get your steering and tranny issue resolved.

Oh and speaking of tranny, I actually have A340E with about 108K miles that I'm not using, PM me if interested.

PM sent!!, and about the lights, I have to agree, due to some errors I had made while painting them, I ended up with a much darker result than I had hoped for. Looking at them now, I also feel they are somewhat overboard and add just that much more rice to my car A set of JDM would be very very nice indeed, but as you all know I need to save up my money as much as possible for said steering and transmission issues... I ought to make a video for you guys, but I get so discouraged when my car is running, and that tranny whine kicks in... ugh

As of now, I really have no choice but to continue as planned and leave on monday. I will be babying the car the whole way there, so I expect to be on the road at least a week. I am experiencing a classic case of horrible planning and lack of foresight *facepalm

anyways, today I washed my car while deep in thought, and I just finished, so too dark for pics... they will come tomorrow.

 

[D.J.T.]

Id like to see these "JDM" tail lights. Ive also been looking for Euro Pre 89 turn signals but they're way too expensive.

 

[boostcraver]

GL on your trip. You never know, it might make it. I was working as a traveling welder a few summers ago and drove an '89 Park Ave. over 5k miles over the course of the summer to get to the different job sites. Over the course of about 14 wks, I was in ten different states and did a lot of interstate driving (obviously) and the trans was slipping and making funny noises the whole time. It had to be warmed up for about 5 minutes before it would pull when it was started cold (fluid level was not low and was checked daily). Also, that car had a two piece crank pulley that was trying to come apart and it chattered somethin' awful as long as the engine was running. The alignment was off, tires were bald, shocks were gone, and with all those problems, in all the miles I drove that summer, the worst thing that happened was a popped upper rad hose that had me down for about 45 minutes to patch. So it could happen for you too...

 

[lithium14]

Gota7mgte, check em out here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...0680731995&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK:MEWAX:IT... I was hoping to get these guys, but my money is needed elsewhere, so for the sake of the community, here they are

boostcraver, golly after hearing all your stuff, I feel lucky!! =O If I had a choice, I would NOT start my trip so soon, since I have just found the parts I need for pretty cheap (thank you mobes for reminding me about rockauto and supra28 for the trans)

I do have one question for you boostcraver... you said you're a toyota tech right? For things like replacing the steering and trans, toyota should be the best to handle that correct? now the next question is, if I bring in my own parts that I ordered, will toyota install them for me? or do they have a policy where they will only install parts that they ordered direct from toyota? The reason I ask is because the parts I am replacing with aren't modded aftermarket parts, but identical to stock or just are stock... anyways thanks for your feedback!!

As for the rental car idea, I was really hoping I could, but for a car that can tow mine, it's at least 700-1000 for a week, and I will be more than a week... and since I'm not 25 yet, I will have to pay extra. Just more lessons for me to learn *sigh

 

[D.J.T.]

Gota7mgte, check em out here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...0680731995&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK:MEWAX:IT... I was hoping to get these guys, but my money is needed elsewhere, so for the sake of the community, here they

I fail to see the difference to USDM Tail lights.... Maybe if they were pre 89 id catch it. lol

 

[RazoE]

JDM tail lights are the same design as USDMs, except they're dark cherry and all 3 pieces are the same dark shade, compared to the 2 toned USDM tail lights..

 

[lithium14]

JDM tail lights are the same design as USDMs, except they're dark cherry and all 3 pieces are the same dark shade, compared to the 2 toned USDM tail lights..

Which is why I want em sooooo bad LoL (but of course, if i get them that means i need new mouldings... and i doubt anyone has the nice sparkly blue moulding that my car has right now... and i don't think the lights come with sparkly moulding hahaha.. but then I do plan on getting them painted over if and when I get paint job...

 

[Supra28]

I fail to see the difference to USDM Tail lights.... Maybe if they were pre 89 id catch it. lol

LOL, the JDM's are just slightly darker. Need a comparison pic?

*Edit* Razoe beat me to it lol

 

[RazoE]

I have the JDMs on my 89 and they're great...

I'm also looking for 89+ blue trim for my 86.5, so I know how hard it is..