How reliable is the 7mgte?

[jcarlson73]

I am new to the Supra world. I recently bought an 89 turbo 5-speed. The car does not run, the owner before possibly threw a rod. I am currently trying to decide to rebuild or buy another engine. But all the research on the 7mgte makes me hesitant to keep this car. I live in CA and a 1jz would never pass. The 2jz is way to expensive to swap. I see that blown head gaskets and thrown rods are common, also a guy at a car yard told me the 7mgte's only last for about 100,000 miles no matter how you take care of them. Is there any hope for me to make this a reliable daily driver? The biggest issue is I am tight on money. Rebuilding the 7mgte is in my price range, but not if it's gonna bust in a couple years. I would really appreciate some opinions and advice.

 

[Backlash2032]

Rebuild it, pay attention to bearing clearances, buy a new pump and a mhg. Reliable.

Also, fix all electrical gremlins.

 

[S.A. supra]

idk.... I've had 3 with bhg and personally know of 6 friends that have had bhg or rod knock. To deny that the 7m is problematic engine would be naive. To use the supra for a daily driver is a gamble. If you need a daily I would sell what you have and take the money you where gonna put into the car to make it reliable, and buy a decent cash car. just my opinion, and ive messed with these cars for 8 years.

 

[91Supra313]

While the 7M is a problematic motor from the factory, as long as you put the right parts in there and not skimp on some of them, likethe water pump, oil pump, headgasket, and headstuds, you will have a good strong motor for years to come. Everything fails at some point when it is ragged on enough.

 

[JDMMA70]

Problematic huh??? Take care of them like any other engine and it will last. 7Ms don't just decide on their own to randomly throw a rod or have a bhg. My 7M has 161,000 miles on it I guess I'm just special. The only unreliable part of the whole engine will be the old baked electronics and the harness.

 

[S.A. supra]

I guess they made this for no reason at all. Let me guess you don't know anyone thats ever had one either?
::bhg::::bhg::::bhg::::bhg::::bhg::::bhg::

 

[jetjock]

It's very reliable. Daily drove mine for nearly 23 years without a single major problem. It never let me down, not once. The secret is proper maintenance and keeping it away from snot nosed kids who have NFI what they're doing...

 

[91Supra313]

Problematic huh???

Yes problematic....from the factory. Like I said the first time. Head gasket not tightened enough from the factory. Basically with your special car, you're telling me that you or a previous owner never retorqued the head bolts? Unless grandma drove it, and then gave it to you, and you never "got on it" which there isn't an owner on this forum that can say that without being stoned for lying......

I guess they made this for no reason at all. Let me guess you don't know anyone thats ever had one either?
::bhg::::bhg::::bhg::::bhg::::bhg::::bhg::

I completely agree with you on this one. If the motor was a good as JDMMA70 makes it out to be, then there wouldn't be so many threads about 7M blown head gaskets, or fried parts here and there. Toyota fingered it out later in the years and remedied it with the JZ series engines with proper gaskets and torque values.
To make it more clear, how many threads about JZ engines are there with BHG, and then take the time to count the threads with 7M BHG........go ahead, we'll wait.

 

[91Supra313]

The secret is proper maintenance and keeping it away from snot nosed kids who have NFI what they're doing...

We need an "exactamundo" award! I would so demand you get one for this.

 

[Supracentral]

It's very reliable. Daily drove mine for nearly 23 years without a single major problem. It never let me down, not once. The secret is proper maintenance and keeping it away from snot nosed kids who have NFI what they're doing...

I've had 7M-GTE's go 230K miles. What JJ said.

 

[Supracentral]

It's very reliable. Daily drove mine for nearly 23 years without a single major problem. It never let me down, not once. The secret is proper maintenance and keeping it away from snot nosed kids who have NFI what they're doing...

I've had 7M-GTE's go 230K miles. What JJ said.

 

[jcarlson73]

What's a good place I can by a rebuild kit, hoses, etc

 

[91Supra313]

buy a felpro gasket set, don't use the head gasket. get a metal head gasket ( cometic, hks, titan, whatever floats your sinking ship), arp head studs, get it decked and skimmed. don't forget the timing plate withthe block. grab new vac lines and other random hoses from autozone like most do and you will be ok. pistons, and rings you can get npr on ebay for cheap ( if the pistons need tobe replaced and you don't care to go forged ) most everything can be purchased on either fleabay, autozone, or driftmotion.

 

[S.A. supra]

don't forget water, and oil pump. Add it all up and then see if its worth it to go forward. Hows your turbo?

 

[91Supra313]

don't forget water, and oil pump. Add it all up and then see if its worth it to go forward. Hows your turbo?

Thanks for adding that...pain killers make me forget some things. My turbo is good. I am pushing 18psi through it right now on the 2J.....oh wait......you meant the OP.....

 

[jcarlson73]

I'm not sure what condition my turbo is in. I'm just in the brainstorming process right now cause I'm pretty busy with work and school

Thanks for adding that...pain killers make me forget some things. My turbo is good. I am pushing 18psi through it right now on the 2J.....oh wait......you meant the OP.....

How much was it to convert to the 2jz?

 

[91Supra313]

You can have driftmotion do the whole thing for about 5500, or you can piece it all together yourself for about the same price maybe a few bucks less. Depends on how you get all of your parts ie; new or used. I got this car from another member on here and it was a pure nightmare to get it running. Had to buy a brand new custom harness from Dr. Tweak. Would be cheaper overall to rebuild the 7M. But if you want a different motor, go 2J....I will never go back to 7M. Grant it, it was a torque monster, but I wanted more. More parts available for the 2J and not as pricey.

 

[S.A. supra]

5-6 grand easy. Definitely cheaper going 7m.

 

[jcarlson73]

Agreed. I'll definitely stick with the 7m, I just hope the turbo and tranny and everything else is good after I fix the block. This car could turn into a money pit real fast. If the block isn't any good I was looking into JDM, but some of those sites are pretty shady

 

[91Supra313]

Those are hit and miss. More miss then hit though. I ordered one from Japan when I was stationed in Germany. Cylinder 1 and 2 has seized valves in there and 5 had bent valve stems. You could always buy mine. lol. 7500 and it is yours. Only needs paint and a few small pieces to be complete. Mainly interior pieces that were broken.