Just bought a 1987 Turbo with a couple of noises/problems- Advice appreciated!

[solei]

Hi there!
I just purchased a 1987 Turbo Targa top with 265,00 miles on it ( http://www.supramania.com/forums/showthread.php?t=37903 ), and it's doing three things that I may have nailed down, but I thought I'd ask the experts before looking deeper.


When driving it home, I noticed it would occasionally "hiccup"- as if, when I pushed the pedal down, it wouldn't get any gas for a moment before springing back to life as if nothing was wrong. This happens sparatically- and not very often (seemed to be around once every 10 times I started hitting boost). My thoughts- bad plugs and/or wires and/or coil packs?

Also, possibly related, every other time I've started it so far, it's choked and failed to idle- The engine turns over, but then sputters and dies. When I push down on the gas pedal lightly when starting, it turns over, runs roughly for a moment or two, then clears up and runs perfectly again.

Last and most detrimentally, when backing up and/or turning slowly at sharp angles, I hear a clanking sound coming from the back of the car. My ears tell me it's a metal bar, which makes me think drive shaft. Does that sound right? So far, I've only been able to reproduce the sound by turning the car in one direction (turning the steering wheel to the right going forward, and to the left backing up).

I'm mainly looking for suggestions on places to look at once I get under and into the car- I intend to work this over both tomorrow and on Monday- so I can figure out what I need to do to it to make it happy.

Any help and/or suggestions are appreciated!

 

[plaaya69]

Is your engine light on or do you have any codes?

 

[solei]

Is your engine light on or do you have any codes?

I don't have anything to read codes with as of yet- but the whole way home it had an error light on- it's the one with the picture of the car with what appears to have break lights on- I'm guessing it might be warning me that there are a few lights out (which is true- I haven't replaced the bad bulbs yet).

 

[Supraboy89]

you need to check all of your intake piping from turbo to TB for leaks.

 

[solei]

you need to check all of your intake piping from turbo to TB for leaks.

Turbo to TB? What do you mean by TB?

I'll definitely take a look at the intakes tomorrow. Thanks for the tip!

 

[themadhatter]

sounds like a vac/boost leak to me and maybe a bad universal joint also you don't need any special tools to read the check engine lights only a paperclip http://www.cygnusx1.net/Supra/TechTips/engine_error_codes.aspx

 

[87CandyBlueT]

Yea what he said about codes, and TB = Throttle Body
Clean your ISC valve, replace the check valve, gasket and new seal.

 

[ForcedTorque]

That light you see is probably your tail light gasket failure warning............water in the tail lights. Once the water evaporates, it will go out...........til it rains again.

 

[1988SupraDreams]

Sounds like something in your fuel system to me (I have a similar problem). If the noise your hearing when you turn is a clanking then that is uncharacteristc of the problem that you are describing. The problem you are describing is a differential whine. If you have an LSD, put the car on jacks with the e-brake off and turn one of the back wheels, the other back wheel should spin the opposite direction IIRC. I may be wrong about the direction though, anyone wanna confirm that?

 

[xanatos]

Actually, I was going to say it sounds like a CV joint to me. If he's getting it in going opposite turning directions depending on whether he's going forward or reverse, that'd be the place I'd look first. Especially if you're hearing it even louder when going over a bump and turning. It seems to me it's more axle related than diff since it's related to turning. That being said, it could be diff when it's not centrifically locked and the wheels are turning at different speeds. Bearings could come into play on a car that old if it's coming from a specific wheel also. There's so many different areas that noises can come from on a chassis with that many miles.

I'd say the same thing as the previous poster and put the sucker up on stands. See if there's any play on the bearing on either side and see if you can get the vehicle to make the noise by turning one wheel in a certain direction or the other. Even with LSD, without enough speed on the wheel, they should turn in opposite directions as the clutch does not engage when turning by hand. At least that's what I remember, so please correct me if I'm wrong diff gurus out there.

 

[CampbellsChunkySoupra]

are there any mods done to it? [im too lazy on this cheap dialup connection to click the link]

sounds like an electrical problem. u might as well replace the plugs and wires and do it right with good parts. with that many miles, its screaming for a tuneup.

the rear end? on my 240sx i had a swaybar link that was missing and it caused it to rub on the control arm when i turned left. i re hooked it back up with a part that cost $25 and it hasnt done it since. now im not sure on the whole suspension of the supras yet, as i am still new to the field.

hope that helps.

-Tyler

 

[solei]

Okay- I tried spinning the tires- Both spin in the same direction (?), and no noise is heard when I spin either tires in either direction.

I grabbed a paper clip (so cool!) and grabbed a code- it gave me 51 once- but now, when I tried it again, it didn't throw any codes (?).

51 Switch Signal

Diagnosis
* No "IDL" signal, "NSW" signal or "A/C" signal to ECU, during diagnosis check.

Trouble Area
* A/C switch circuit
* A/C switch
* A/C amplifier
* Throttle position sensor circuit
* Throttle position sensor
* ECU

I tried driving it a bit again today- it's starting to feel like the engine just isn't getting fuel every time I put my foot down. It's sparatic enough that I doubt the problem is plugs, wires or injectors- It's got to be either the fuel delivery system or the coils, I think. ..but I'm no pro at this either.