Funny feeling Supra at start...

[Grandavi]

I wonder if any of you can point me in the right direction for this problem (if it is indeed a problem)

I am preparing to do a lot of work to my 88 Supra Turbo over the winter as I find that the previous owner, while doing some good stuff to the car, beat the hell out of the drive train. All the maintenance that you would expect to be done seems to be done half-assed and now I am the recipient of this.

Now, I dont just like my Supra.. I love it! I have wanted this car for almost 20 years and was just waiting for the right car at the right price. Anyway.. thats the background.. now to the problem...

I noticed when I start up the Supra and pull away it is jerky (that's the best way I can describe it). In first gear, holding at 2500 RPM it almost sounds like the fuel cuts in and out slightly. you can hear it but not feel it. At about 1500 RPM in second gear, you can feel it... like it surge/stops/surges. When the engine warms up, the problem disappears.

Also, additionally I have had trouble shifting. It has been very hard to shift from first to second, then back to first. I suspect poorly done speed shifting (the shifter is shortened) but it may be transmission lube as well, or bad syncromesh. I fixed a leaking clutch line recently and the clutch feels stronger, but that leads to what happened in the past 2 days.

The "jerky" start feel has always been there, but today was -5 Celsius (which is about 30 F i think) and never really warmed up too much. When I drove it this afternoon, while pulling out it felt like I had a flat spot on my rear wheels. Very odd... the tires are all at proper pressure and I have never felt this before. Also, the shifting is working very well.. which is odd.. lol. (hoping its not the calm before the storm) Is there a mechanical reason for the car to feel like it has a flat spot on the tire? (roll roll bump roll roll bump)

Again, the feeling disappears as the engine warms up.

Just wondered if anyone could identify what I need to fix so I can add it to my list. Otherwise, its off to a transmission shop and my fave wheel guy to check suspension out. (I am hoping to do 80% of the repairs myself so I can get really intimate with the car... just like my teen years)

 

[dumbo]

I wonder if any of you can point me in the right direction for this problem (if it is indeed a problem)

I am preparing to do a lot of work to my 88 Supra Turbo over the winter as I find that the previous owner, while doing some good stuff to the car, beat the hell out of the drive train. All the maintenance that you would expect to be done seems to be done half-assed and now I am the recipient of this.

Now, I dont just like my Supra.. I love it! I have wanted this car for almost 20 years and was just waiting for the right car at the right price. Anyway.. thats the background.. now to the problem...

I noticed when I start up the Supra and pull away it is jerky (that's the best way I can describe it). In first gear, holding at 2500 RPM it almost sounds like the fuel cuts in and out slightly. you can hear it but not feel it. At about 1500 RPM in second gear, you can feel it... like it surge/stops/surges. When the engine warms up, the problem disappears.

Also, additionally I have had trouble shifting. It has been very hard to shift from first to second, then back to first. I suspect poorly done speed shifting (the shifter is shortened) but it may be transmission lube as well, or bad syncromesh. I fixed a leaking clutch line recently and the clutch feels stronger, but that leads to what happened in the past 2 days.

The "jerky" start feel has always been there, but today was -5 Celsius (which is about 30 F i think) and never really warmed up too much. When I drove it this afternoon, while pulling out it felt like I had a flat spot on my rear wheels. Very odd... the tires are all at proper pressure and I have never felt this before. Also, the shifting is working very well.. which is odd.. lol. (hoping its not the calm before the storm) Is there a mechanical reason for the car to feel like it has a flat spot on the tire? (roll roll bump roll roll bump)

Again, the feeling disappears as the engine warms up.

Just wondered if anyone could identify what I need to fix so I can add it to my list. Otherwise, its off to a transmission shop and my fave wheel guy to check suspension out. (I am hoping to do 80% of the repairs myself so I can get really intimate with the car... just like my teen years)

so did you start it and drive immediatly at 5 below! thats my bet why it feels choppy, i know it isn't that cold but let her warm up

 

[Grandavi]

so did you start it and drive immediatly at 5 below! thats my bet why it feels choppy, i know it isn't that cold but let her warm up

No, it was probably 5 C when I started it, and let it run for about a min before I pulled out.

Getting very close to me pulling it off the road as I have a 88 Cresseda for my "cold weather" car.

 

[Cycoclown]

well. even here in cali its like 60F here and i let mine get up to normal operating temp. normally takes 4-5 minutes.

way i can tell is i light up a smoke and by the time im done with it the cars warm.

 

[Yblegal91t]

way i can tell is i light up a smoke and by the time im done with it the cars warm.

manual temp guage. nice!!!

you just can't be a chain smoker:biglaugh:
i should not even be posting. lol
too tired right now

 

[Poodles]

Cold start enrichment seems to make every car I've ever owned kinda bog a bit when cold...

 

[dumbo]

No, it was probably 5 C when I started it, and let it run for about a min before I pulled out.

Getting very close to me pulling it off the road as I have a 88 Cresseda for my "cold weather" car.

id let it warm up for atleast a few minutes, if not more.

yup i feel you pain-just put my 92 turdcell on the road

 

[Jaguar_5]

well. even here in cali its like 60F here and i let mine get up to normal operating temp. normally takes 4-5 minutes.

way i can tell is i light up a smoke and by the time im done with it the cars warm.

Hooray for washing down the cylinder walls!

I'll admit that I'm not an expert by any means, and I don't have time to look it up right now, but It's my understand (and practice) that when idling the efficiency of the engine is quite poor, and not all of the fuel is burned, especially under cold conditions where the system is adding cold start enrichment.

I start it, wait for oil pressure to stabilize, and a few seconds after that start driving slowly, never over 4k, never into boost, until at operating temp

 

[noel]

happy to know im not alone here lol turn it on it goes to 2k for like 10seconds and slower drops to about 900 i give her about 2 mins before i pull out! lol:evil2:

 

[Grandavi]

Good, from comments so far, I'm guessing its not a "serious" issue and will probably clear up a little when everything is upgraded, fixed, cured, and lovingly caressed.

I usually wait only a minute (and you can see the oil isn't moving as well as it should) and then pull out slowly and dont usualy go above 30 MPH (50 KPH) until the temp is up and the oil looks normal on that high tech - high performance oil pressure gauge that Toyota blessed us with. Car runs beautifully when warm so I will not fret about it.

Going a bit further on the "winter car" issue, do any of you have covers for your Supra? I have found links to places that sell them and they vary in price, but if I'm gonna buy one for the car (and I am) I want one that is as damn pretty as my Supra! Bad enough I wont be out there laying waste to Mustangs.... at least it should have nice bed sheets.

 

[Poodles]

Start up, wait for oil pressure, drive away.

 

[dumbo]

thats prolly fine in miami and texas, but try that at -10...-20...-30...-40celsius and see what happens, not that i would drive my supra in the winter neways, but engines are engines.

 

[Muzy]

I ordered a car cover a while back, should be in this week. Will post a pic and what I
think. and the price of course. Muzy

 

[Poodles]

thats prolly fine in miami and texas, but try that at -10...-20...-30...-40celsius and see what happens, not that i would drive my supra in the winter neways, but engines are engines.

Block heater in that case.

Excessive idling is bad for the car. Not to mention the rest of the drivetrain hasn't warmed up yet, so you can cause bad wear in the rest of the drivetrain thinking that it's warmed up enough to drive hard.

 

[shaeff]

Start up, wait for oil pressure, drive away.

This.

Block heater in that case.

If he's in that cold of an area, I'd recommend one of those oil pan heaters.

Do a search on jimi87t, he mentioned having one of those a few times.

 

[Who]

^(Poodles & Shaeff)^

I learn something everyday on SM, well almost everyday. My old school teaching and teacher, my father, taught me to wait till the car got up to temp before you hit the road. I know that the drivetrain has to warm up as you start your drive but I never knew excessive idling was bad.

 

[supradjza80]

As poodles and shaeff has sad, the correct procedure is to start and drive it at low load low engine speed until you get the vehicle up to temperature. Reading jdubs motor oil 101 article (by Dr. AE Haas) will teach you why this is the correct procedure.

With my winter vehicles I will start them and then begin cleaning snow off of them (might take a minute or two) and then drive away slowly. When it is really cold out I will not beat on a car for at least 15-20 min (just because water is up to temp does not mean the oil in the motor, trans and diff is ready to go).

 

[Poodles]

Not to forget tires and bearings...

Extreme temps can do some bad things.

 

[Jaguar_5]

as Jaguar_5, poodles and shaeff has sad, the correct procedure is to start and drive it at low load low engine speed until you get the vehicle up to temperature.

ftfy

 

[SUPRASTEVE]

Yeah like everyone says let the engine warm up I learned this by finally reading the owner manual LOL! Thats what I get for trying to show off on a cold start I was an idiot and not thinking It won't happen again. Its very bad for the engine to hit boost when its cold. So do us all a favor and let it warm up

P.S. do you know how to check your engine codes go to cygnussupra on your search engine. Never hurts to check your codes. Might as well check all your hoses. You never know.