HELP! (Potential Supra Owner)

[darkandroid1234]

OK, I really don't want this to be my introduction to this forum, but I am very pressed for time. I have read a few posts but as the car has to be moved from where it is soon, I am BEGGING for advice, ordinarily I would search.

I am being offered an '87 N/A Supra, It looks decent and has a nice aftermarket exhaust on it and the price is VERY right (300$).

BUT, there is a catch...

Battery in car is dead and will not hold a charge. BUT while hooked to jumper cables on my '95 grand cherokee it will crank, and start if starting fluid is sprayed into the TB then promptly die out. It has sat for approx. 2-4 months (Prev. Owner is a moron) and it ran before then. Before cranking the engine I dumped a solution of 1 gallon of fresh gas and a bottle of sta-bil into the tank which is ~1/4 full now.

I will accept flaming if it comes with advice:icon_bigg , thanks VERY much in advance guy/gals.

-Mike (hopefully new owner of a Supra MKIII):1zhelp:

 

[GotToyota?]

I say get a new battery and test it out. If it runs good, take it for a test drive, and decide if you like it then.

-Matt

 

[darkandroid1234]

I know I like it, but it won't start or run without starting fluid being sprayed into the intake.

 

[s383mmber1]

Could this possibly be a fuel problem? Injectors? Fuel Pump?

 

[darkandroid1234]

Very good possibly, I need all the how-to advice possible to check it though, I posted this to speed things up I am researching the fuel system as we speak on the online tsrm.

 

[s383mmber1]

Try to explain how the car dies. Does it jsut start then turn off? Or does it kinnda sputter then die?

 

[darkandroid1234]

OK, the car cranks with no result when starting fluid is not sprayed, when a short burst is shot down the intake then the gas pedal pumped 1-2 times it fires right up. It dies azfter the fluid is combusted no matter what, but it will sputter if I spray a relatively large amount, if I spray only a little it catches, starts, then immediatly dies out. from the inside of the car I did not hear the fuel pump buzz/hum to pressurize the system, but since I used my jeep to jump start/power the car I can't hear much since it has a flowmaster exhaust setup. Would putting a charged battery in the car in lieu of jumping it make a difference?

 

[johnathan1]

try jumpering the fuel pump throuugh the daignostic block, that will tell you if you have a bad FPR (fuel pump relay) which sounds like a possibility.

http://www.cygnusx1.net/supra/techtip/engineerrorcodes.html

Jumper +B to FP (fuel Pump) and try to start the car, you can use a paper clip, or a little piece of wire...Also, check all of the fuses in the engine bay, and in the car...

 

[TRACKMKIII]

I have had a really similar problem when look at a car that I wanted to buy and it had been sitting for a while too it wasn't a Supra though. I was doing the samething you are with jumper cables and a can of starter fluid. In my case I got a new battery, cheap Duralast from Autozone, and a new set of spark plugs got it on the road. Hope that helps so you can join the MKIII family!!

 

[darkandroid1234]

thanks a lot for the info thus far folks it will help a bunch when I go back tommorrow

 

[Maroon88]

It may not be enough good gas to counter the bad. When mine says a 1/4 tank, it has about 6 gallons in it. If the worst it is is just a fuel pump then it is a steal.

 

[Toyota h8r]

Just a quick thought, do u have the whole intake hooked up? There was something about spraying starting fluid into the TB. I found out the hard way that if the afm (air flow meter) isnt hooked up, then the car wont run. It will kick like its going to run, then nothing. Just my .02

 

[jetjock]

Pretty tough to tell anything from here but I know one thing: I wouldn't buy a car I couldn't at least hear run. Who knows what evil lurks within.

 

[supramacist]

Keep in mind this is going to be a car you will need to be putting money into and soon, especially if you want to turn it for profit. If it starts and you can drive it......, it's worth the 300. Check all of the engine fluids. look at where it has been parked, make sure it has no oil leaks.

 

[supraman7mgte]

oh hell no on buying that car! if your going to get one,get one that at least runs! wassamatta wid u?

 

[s383mmber1]

Hell for 300 bucks its definatly worth it, even if it doesn't run. You could sell it for parts and double that. I would never turn down a supra for 300 bucks

 

[supramacist]

If you can start it and drive it, it's worth 3 bennjy's No doubt about it, hands down, any day of the weak. what's tha matter with you?

 

[1TuffSupra]

I think you should drain all the gas out of the car, if its been sitting for some months it may have gone bad. There is a drain plug on the bottom of the tank, so you dont even have to worry about syphoning the gas out. Though even when my celica was sitting for a couple of months with no additives in the tank it cranked on the first try with a good battery. I think you should get a new battery, or simply take the one out your truck and try hooking it up to it temporarily to see if that helps it crank.

Your also gonna have to have that afm hooked up for the car to run properly as well. Ive had quite a few D'oh moments when it came to forgetting about the AFM. I tried cranking my car after I first got it and sprayed starter fluid in it as well and didnt put the intake pipe back on so it would turn over and die. I forgot to plug it in one day after putting a filter on it and it wouldnt crank then either. If you want to spray some starter fluid in the car, spray it in one of the vacuum lines on the TB but for 300 u cant go wrong

 

[supradan22]

I say buy it for 300 bucks you cant go wrong. I got mine for 400 with rod knock.

 

[darkandroid1234]

Ok, UPDATE!

I bought the car. Turns out the fuel pump is dead, but the engine and trans are "promised" to be good, and my uncle, cousin, and I are just going to make a project of it. I had 3 mech. friends advise me to buy it. I don't normally buy cars that aren't immediatly driveable, but what can I say I'm a lover of I6's? I fell in love with it for the same reason I love my I6 powered jeep, the exhaust note.