--Golli's MA71 build

[--Golli]

I purcahsed this car in October 2008, from a private seller across town. It's a '91 Australian sold MA71. When I got it, it was stock besides a 3inch dump pipe and a turbosmart dual stage boost controller.

The first thing I did was replace the stock BOV (which was leaking) to a HKS SSQV. I had a hard pipe made up for it to bolt to and spent hours trying to find a recurculating fitting.

A few months later, the power steering pressure hose split, so I replaced that with a driftmotion braided line. I also replaced the stock V/H cooler with a spare 7M oil cooler and replaced all other lines with braided lines. (Thread can be found here: http://www.supramania.com/forums/showthread.php?t=95798)

I then managed to get my hands on a HKS EVC III electonic boost controller and fitted that.

In between all that, its seen serveral services, plently of hills driving and a trackday.

It's current situation isn't to healthy. Thursday arvo I was carrying out compression tests to a mates car and decided that I may as well do another one on mine as it hadn't been done since I got it.

Numbers were all between 105-110psi on a dry compression test and 110-115psi on a wet, besides cylinder 1, which could only manage 80psi on a wet test.

Further tests last night and today with a leak tester has confirmed there is a rather large leaking coming from the intake valves of cylinder 1. There is also slight leaking from cylinders 2,3 and 4, however they are nothing compared to cylinder number 1.

At the moment, the car just has the valve covers off, but my next plan of attack is to get the turbo/turbo manifold and intake manifold off and carry out the tests again to pin point all the leaks properly.

Here are a few photos of the car over the year...

And this is how she is at the moment...

This build thread will run through the fixing of this motor and then the continual building of the car afterwards. I'll hopefully do both major and minor updates, along with any problems I come across in hope that someone else may have an idea or solution to it.

Hope you enjoy reading,
Cheers,
Dale

 

[IJ.]

Do the sleepy eyes thing again and I'll come smack ya silly Dale

 

[--Golli]

Ohhhhh, why not Ian?
It looKs fully sick... :3d_frown:

That was during the SA Supra clubs trip to Mt Gambier to visit a member... we attempted to fit in. :icon_razz

 

[LilMissMkIII]

Yay for a build thread!!!!!! :boobies::boobies::boobies::boobies::boobies:

 

[--Golli]

Woot!
I got a happy dance... :biglaugh:

I just wish I could've started a build thread on a happier note, but I suppose it's a 7M...

 

[--Golli]

Sooo... this is how the car looks at the moment...

Parts pile...

Followed the TSRM and got it like this today.
Tomorrow I'll be following one of the guides on here to get the head off, whether I get that far, I don't know. The girl and I have a BBQ tonight and a sleep in tomorrow would be good tomorrow as I've worked till 12 on Friday and Saturday night.

I managed to pull the wire out of the front knock sensor directly after disconnecting the rear one... *facepalms* So I'll be doing the rewire to both of them once the head is off.
Also found that one of the exhaust studs had half stripped the hole... helicoil time.....

Just a quick question... this is the whole for the CPS. Is this normal?

If not, I'm guessing more machining will be needed

Also... small game...
Guess what headgasket I got...

The first person that gets this correct gets "(screename) is my hero!!" in my signature... :icon_razz

 

[HKS_TRD]

Stock OEM gasket?

We still need to catch up one of these days, if theres anything you may need in the course of your build let me know. I may have a knock sensor plug for you if yours is cactus, I bought new connectors to run a loom to my MoTEC SKM but the old connectors were pretty good anyway

Also, as bad news as this is, you should take solace in the fact that you have probably one of the few 7M builds that did not start with a BHG or Rod Knock

 

[--Golli]

You're a winner Dan... signature edited. :biglaugh:
Fitting I spose as I check your build thread quite often.

Was sorta hoping that someone would tell me I had a MHG, was just a weird way to put out a noobie question. This isn't the motor that came with the car from factory. Guessing a previous owner blew it up good and proper and and got knock, so they just replaced the motor. It's also had a HG done since then too. I got paperwork saying the motor got transplanted roughly 80,000km ago and the HG job 50,000km ago.
I should have known that it wasn't done with a MHG when I took the cam covers off and saw the allen key holes of the stock bolts....:: wah ::

Cheers for the offer with the help, I'll definately keep it in mind. It would be good to meet up with you sometime and put a face to the name.


Anyway, here is a photo of a head, you know, for anyone what has never seen one before...........

Taking of the cams, valves, etc will happen either tomorrow or Wednesday.
These are the valves in question.

The block side of things looks quite good. There is a bit of carbon buildup on the pistons, however the cylinder walls haven't glazed over which is a relatively good sign my father tells me. I've squirted some CRC in the cylinders and cleaned them a bit to remove the small amount of coolant that was spilt when taking the head off the motor.

Sort of wondering what I should do headgasket wise as a replacement. Minimum I'll go OEM with ARP studs holding the head down, as I can't really afford a full strip and rebuild to machine the deck. (however, I'm yet to check flatness, so I may have no choice.) However, If people think that if it's flat enough and a lapping plate is all thats needed for the block, I'll definately look at the costs of getting that done. I do intend on tearing the motor down and putting in some goodies and reconditioning it all later down the track, however I just can't afford it at the moment (YAY for being university bum...:cry

What do people think? I know the stock HG with ARP studs is a strong combo for around 15psi, but if lapping is all thats required, should I take that route for piece of mind?

Also, is there anything else I should do while I have the motor like this? So far my list consists of:
- J-tube bypass
- Change as many gaskets as I can
- Oil filter relocation kit (not sure how far I'll go with this)
- Change of all water hoses
- Address my starter, as I still get a click every now and again, even after the relay mod...:cry:

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I do spend a lot of time reading on here, there are plenty of people out there with a ton load more then me and I'm sure I've forgotten some small but crutial information. If anyone thinks I'm going about something incorrectly, please speak out.

 

[HKS_TRD]

lol

I am now immortalised in Sig.

I may be wrong in my thinking, but I suggest if you are going to put a stock gasket back on, ARP bolts will suffice, you arent going to run the sort of head bolt tension that would require studs. I could be wrong though but I think studs is not necessary on stock HG ARP bolts will suffice

I guess you should get your deck check because if its smoothe enough may as well go with a MHG.

Some food for thought, your motor did 50,000km on the same headgasket andit was yet to blow, this gives a good indication that the mating surfaces are in good shape.

Hope you can get it going reasonably soon, its painful to have a SUpra in bits

 

[--Golli]

Yeah, after a discussion with my father, I think that would probably be a better way to go. I've decided that I'll just stay with the OEM headgasket, so bolts will probably do.

I already miss driving the car and its not even a week... I can't imagine what it would be like for you or Ian.


I managed to get all the valves, valve springs, buckets, etc, etc out today.
The seats of all the exhaust valves have carbon buildup, however cylinder 1 has considerably more on both exhaust and intake.
Will clean up the head over the next day or two, check specs to see what machining work needs to be done, then we will go from there.


Dan, which machinist has worked on your motor? I'm gonna need to take it somewhere and I got a few places on my list to check out and wouldn't mind some input. A place thats had some experience with the 7M would probably be a wise choice to take the head to.

 

[HKS_TRD]

In each build the head has gone to a different place to the bottom end

I hear Coulthards are really good for cylinder head work so might be worth going to see them

Sometimes the result of machine work is dependant on the person giving the instructions so what worked best for my engine builder in each case may not be the best result for someone else

 

[--Golli]

Well, I'm really in the shit at the moment.
Yesterday I checked the components of the head against the specs stated in the TSRM.
Visually, you can see that the 2nd and 3rd journal surfaces of both camshafts are toast. Same with the cam caps. However, the the journal section on the head is smooth.

Valve stem width is under by about 0.02 on the one in the best condition...
Valve springs are off square. However, taller then standard height.

Worst part is, I just got off the phone from Toyota and they can't get any of this stuff in. So aftermarket for me.

Time to get reamed... :cry:

 

[--Golli]

It's been a while since I did an update, and a lot has happened since then.

The head went off to the machinest about 2 days after the last update.
Talking over costs, it was going to be $400 cheaper if I supplied a gasket set, so they did the machine work until the kit to landed. I got the kit yesterday and dropped the valve stem seals to them straight away.

While I was waiting for the kit to land, I took off the oil pan, as it had a slight leak at the front of the motor. This then lead to the removal of the oil pump so it could be checked and shimmed. I also took out the oil squirters and ordered the replacement valves for them...
After thinking about it for a while, I realised it was going to be one hell of a job to put all this crap back in... so I just pulled the motor out and I'll re-assemble it out of the car. Or at least that was the plan....

Next thing I know, Dad comes over and pulls one of the pistons out. We see the pitting and the scratching on the bearing surfaces and decide that it’s now a full rebuild. Since then I've stripped down the motor, made sure everything was in the tolerances. Which they where, that fuck... and I dropped of the block, crank, rods and pistons off when I dropped off the valve stem seals.

Also decided to get a bit organised that sorted everything out into relative boxes and trays...

I got one of the bastard +89 7M motors that still had the 6M crank in it...

I was very disappointed when I saw this....

Anyway, the block is getting a deck, hone, acid bath, new welsh plugs and new oil driveshaft bearings. The crank is getting a polish and a thorough clean. Rods and pistons are getting a check over and cleaned. The shop are also going to sort out all the bearings and rings for me so that I can bring the motor home and assemble it.

Here is a new list of what I intend on doing before the motor goes back in...
-Shimmed oil pump (done)
-ARZ oil feed line
-New oil squirters (ordered)
-Filter relocation kit with full flow thermostat controller oil cooler
-New harmonic balancer
-Injector clean
-CPS rebuild
-ARP flywheel bolts
-ARP head stud
-Metal head gasket (suggestions for a stock bore??)
-IS300 coils and wire set
-Replacement of all hoses
-New spark plugs, coolant, etc, etc....

I'm pretty sure I'll do more, but we will see how funds go... I'd like to get a new bigger radiator and go thermo fans as well. (I got a set of falcon fans after digging through Ians thread, Just gotta figure out a way to control them...)
Essentially the aim is to get it so I can track it frequently in a reliable state.

Also, I splashed out on something that I may not have needed, but I really really wanted...
Clear front indicators...!

Just gotta source some clear side bubble indicators now.... If they exist.

 

[92TealSupra]

Nice build thread hope to see updates soon

 

[HKS_TRD]

Nice to see some progress!

First up, if you want to sell the original half clear indicators let me know

Regarding the crank, Aus delivered MA70s didnt get the 7M crank till the August 90 build cars which also had the 5 spoke wheels

I dont know why you are dissapointed, I have a spare 7M crank and my motor has a 6M crank in it. I am sticking with the 6M crank

Not a bad idea to do the full rebuild, make sure you are going to be able to get sufficient ring tension to use standard bore, otherwise you may need to go with 20 thou over, also if you can, get genuine Toyota rings.

Its probably good you saw the bearing issues now to save heartache down the road, it'll all be worth it trust me

Whats the bet you are back on the road beforeme, my motor has been apart for over a year lol

If you need any help with anything get in touch

 

[--Golli]

Yeah, I'd be keen on selling the old indicators if your interested in them. No idea on what they would be worth tho. You can have the bulbs too, as I replaced them with LED's.
I know the pro's and con's with the cranks, but the full balance of the 7M entices me more. It will just have to wait for a few years tho.

At this stage, my father is pushing me to get the car finished and back on the road before March... It's going to be one long arse haul. Uni doesn't go back till then so I got lots of time, it's mainly a money thing. I've managed to sort that problem out by selling myself as a lab rat... (I'm not kidding either)

Until I get the motor back, which should be 2 or so weeks, plans are to degrease and clean everything, sort out replacement hoses, and get the engine bay cleaned.

Dan, do you know much about sourcing clear side bubble indicators in Oz? I think its going to be a SF.AU dig through... *shudders*

 

[HKS_TRD]

Let me know on those indicators, its actually for my Brother as his have a few little chips/cracks in them and he has always been too lazy to replace them, till he saw my brand new ones and decided to do something about it

I am not sure but you may be able to get those bubble indicators from Yahoo, otherwise yeah may be a SF au thing, I'll keep it in mind when I do my usual trawl through the yahoo auctions

Hope it all goes well, having free time till March will be a big help, I wish I could get a few weeks off of work to knock off all this motor parts detailing but alas its not an option

 

[--Golli]

Well today was a busy day. Had a few things to do around the house, as well as let my turtle roam the backyard, which is a hole lot of chasing....:3d_frown:

Come 11, I was out the door to collect some parts.
First stop was the local Toyota dealership 10 minutes away for these..

Yep... new oil squirter valves. :icon_bigg

Next stop was the city to check some prices at the speed shop.
I ended up coming home with these....

Remote oil filter setup... permacool block adaptor, dual filter head and thermostat with an earls cooler. I wasn't ment to buy this today, but oh well...

Then it was off to another parts place for a friends car I'm fixing up (a commodore....) and then the pet shop to get some fish for turtle dinner... haha. I then had work then dinner at the girls place.

Also the gasket kit I got in last week.

Tomorrow I'll fit the filter head, thermostat and oil cooler, then I'll need to spend the rest of the day on my mates car.

 

[HKS_TRD]

Buying stuff when you dont need to makes you a good person :icon_bigg

 

[RazoE]

Dan, do you know much about sourcing clear side bubble indicators in Oz? I think its going to be a SF.AU dig through... *shudders*

clear bubble markers..?

I'm not sure such a thing exists..

just kidding, here are mine..:naughty:

i have good news and bad news...

good news is I have a single one left, bad news is ITS ONLY A SINGLE. The guy that made them told me I bought the last two, and threw in the 3rd for free since he no longer needed it...

if you can, for some strange reason, source another single one, I'll sell you the other. But for now I'm keeping it as a spare incase some idiot hits my car in a parking lot or something just as stupid..