Engine woes...

Drake69

Enjoyin' mah ride...
Aug 24, 2009
648
0
16
55
Richmond, Virginia, United States
Okay. I have a better idea of what I need to do to get this 7M-GTE up to par as a daily driver. I've had a few issues with the fluids, namely radiator and oil leaking, and I took it over to a stealership to take a look. I found a guy knowledgable with Supras and MR2s, and from spending a few minutes underneath the hood, he was able to point out several things I need to take care of quickly.

Symptom: Having to put radiator fluid into the reservoir frequently.
Problem: Evaporating radiator fluid from the front.
Possible fix: Water pump replacement. Will still do a coolant leak check to see if anything else is shot. Will go ahead and replace hoses and thermostat at the same time.

Symptom: Oil on the front undercarriage and dripping.
Problem: Oil slow leaking from front of engine sitting level and while cooling down.
Possible fix: Replace seals in the front of car (in reality, replace ALL seals with the exception of the HG for now!). No milky substance in the oil cap or on the dipstick (thankfully!). Guy who had the car before me switched to synthetic oil, and as such it's started leaking.

Symptom: Brake fluid very low.
Problem: Master cylinder visibly leaking.
Fix: Replace the Master cylinder. Got caught by surprise on this one, no idea how much it'll cost in parts, not sure if I can do this myself either!!!

Items to replace while engine is open: timing belt, all rubber, belt pulleys, A/C compressor belt, etc....

So, what am I looking at in cost for a new/used master cyminder? Yike. :cry:

EDIT: temp needle does not rise past the middle of the gauge, but engine really hot when the hood is up after running it awhile.
 

gaboonviper85

Supramania Contributor
Jan 13, 2008
3,236
0
0
39
Northeast Philly
Brake fluid being low is a sign that you need brakes generally......

Coolant leaks are a sign of leaking hoses or bhg...usually never a waterpump problem so don't expect that too cure your issue...the pump is the very last thing I'd look at replacing...just remember that you can have a bhg without the milkshake!

Oil leaks...it's a 20 year old car...what do you expect?...everything needs replaced

turbo cars always have extreamly hot underhood temps....has little relation to engine temps showed by the needle....this is not something too concern yourself with as it's just how turbo cars are as there is much more exhaust heat harnessed in the turbo workings which happens too be under the hood.
 

gaboonviper85

Supramania Contributor
Jan 13, 2008
3,236
0
0
39
Northeast Philly
As far as replacing a clutch master/slave/brake master it's stupid simple and can easily be done on your own just research how too bleed a hydrolic system properly.
 

Drake69

Enjoyin' mah ride...
Aug 24, 2009
648
0
16
55
Richmond, Virginia, United States
Well, I got some great news. I had put oil, brake fluid, and rad fluid in this morning and took the car out to pick up some groceries. When I got back to the car (after a few minutes), it was pissing coolant! I called D7MSupra and met him a a burger joint, then popped the hood and found the upper radiator hose squirting coolant from a nice sized hole. So I'll be quickly replacing the hose and doing a coolant leak check, and hopefully it'll be nothing more than that for now. This'll keep me from throwing parts at the problem, and I can save up for a proper full engine cleanup like I want to to extend the life of my 7m. Whew!!!
 

Drake69

Enjoyin' mah ride...
Aug 24, 2009
648
0
16
55
Richmond, Virginia, United States
Well, after replacing the upper and lower hoses, a coolant leak check, ANOTHER hose I didn't know was leaking, and a flush and fill, I finally got it all under control. After a few days, I'd drive it and start seeing the temp gauge more active than before, on one occasion it crept up close to the redline before the thermostat opened up! So, I went back under the hood and replaced the thermostat with a 160deg. performance one (the factory one is rated at 192deg.!!!).

Now it's even smoother than ever. Thanks again to D7MSupra for all his help!
 

mdr40z

New Member
Mar 31, 2005
612
0
0
65
arkansas
sounding like bhg more and more to me, one way to tell for sure, run it hard for a short time you'll know
 

mdr40z

New Member
Mar 31, 2005
612
0
0
65
arkansas
sure you can test for it, I think Autozone has the pressure test.
Another one tests for combustion gasses in the coolant. Combustion Leak Block Tester.