MKIII Supra: Reliable or Not?
- Thread starter TONY!
- Start date
Before my car spun a rod bearing, I would of had no worries about jumping in it and driving across the country. I know it would have made it. My car was always reliable, till I started to mod it, then I killed the turbo but that was an easy fix and it was had alot of shaft play when I got the car. If I would have known about my mystery oil leak it would still be running and driving me everywhere today.
I was back in Castlegar for the weekend and if my car was still driveable I would have taken it there, entered the burnout contest and then driven it back without even thinking about it not being reliable. It's not a really long trip, it's about 600km there and back.
I was back in Castlegar for the weekend and if my car was still driveable I would have taken it there, entered the burnout contest and then driven it back without even thinking about it not being reliable. It's not a really long trip, it's about 600km there and back.
I've had my '87 NA since it was new. I had a distrubuter go out at year 3.5, and Toyota replace it for free. I think it was some kind of silent recall. The car just died and would't fire up.
I had my HG go out around year 6, before 50K.
I've had a couple of clutch master and slave cylinders leak from lack of driving.
I've had an alternator go out.
The only time the car left me on the road was when the distrubuter went out. Otherwise either it went bad at home or I was able to nurse it home for repairs.
I'd say other than the HG and the constant overheating on long drives, which I haven't solved yet, the car has been good.
I had my HG go out around year 6, before 50K.
I've had a couple of clutch master and slave cylinders leak from lack of driving.
I've had an alternator go out.
The only time the car left me on the road was when the distrubuter went out. Otherwise either it went bad at home or I was able to nurse it home for repairs.
I'd say other than the HG and the constant overheating on long drives, which I haven't solved yet, the car has been good.
I have a bit over 310K miles on my car (500 000km+). 260 000 miles of which I put on myself, in the last 11+ years.
Is the car reliable? Compared to what? Something like a 300zx twin turbo? Yes. Dodge Stealth? Yes. Mitsubishi Eclipse/Talon? Yes.
A 1998 Civic? HELL NO.
These are bloody old and COMPLICATED cars, and even with the best of maintenance stuff will break, wear out, corrode, crack from the heat etc. etc. The simpler and less powerful the car, the better chances it has of holding together.
Anyway. Off the top of my head, things that went wrong with the MKIII in the past (keep in mind, my mileage and how long I've had this thing):
1) It's on it's second engine. First one got rod knock when I ran it out of oil while being stupid and driving the piss out of it. Junkyard engine in there now (for about the last 200K).
2) Body rusted to hell and back (rust-belt car).
3) CPS and AFM crapp out.
4) Oil leaked out of:
-valve covers
-front main seal
-camshaft seals
-oil pan
-transmission
-LSD
-Power steering rack.
5) Brake caliper pins seize on a constant basis (no matter how I rebuild them or what I do).
6) Electrical stuff breaks:
-Power window switches oxidize internally
-Interior heater/AC fan wears out
-All the wiring and connectors/sensors under the hood get brittle are cracked and overheated and fail randomly.
-alternators fail
-batteries fail
7) Original coolant hoses basically all blew one by one, untill they get all replaced. Radiators clog. Fan clutches blow up.
8) Suspension ball joint, pivot bushing, insulators etc, all wear out and your car will handle like utter garbage unless fixed.
9) Clutch wears out (master cylinders, slave, friction plates, bearings).
10) Turbos blow up.
Hell, I'm sure I've only touched on 40% of the stuff.
Don't mean to scare you, but if you don't have a good supply of money, and enjoy working on these cars as a hobby, look elsewhere. It's silly to drive a 3600+ lb, seventeen year old car as a daily driver, unless you love the car for what it is (and what it can be with lots of work).
Oh yeah, let's not even mention gas mileage with the fuel prices these days. :icon_conf
Is the car reliable? Compared to what? Something like a 300zx twin turbo? Yes. Dodge Stealth? Yes. Mitsubishi Eclipse/Talon? Yes.
A 1998 Civic? HELL NO.
These are bloody old and COMPLICATED cars, and even with the best of maintenance stuff will break, wear out, corrode, crack from the heat etc. etc. The simpler and less powerful the car, the better chances it has of holding together.
Anyway. Off the top of my head, things that went wrong with the MKIII in the past (keep in mind, my mileage and how long I've had this thing):
1) It's on it's second engine. First one got rod knock when I ran it out of oil while being stupid and driving the piss out of it. Junkyard engine in there now (for about the last 200K).
2) Body rusted to hell and back (rust-belt car).
3) CPS and AFM crapp out.
4) Oil leaked out of:
-valve covers
-front main seal
-camshaft seals
-oil pan
-transmission
-LSD
-Power steering rack.
5) Brake caliper pins seize on a constant basis (no matter how I rebuild them or what I do).
6) Electrical stuff breaks:
-Power window switches oxidize internally
-Interior heater/AC fan wears out
-All the wiring and connectors/sensors under the hood get brittle are cracked and overheated and fail randomly.
-alternators fail
-batteries fail
7) Original coolant hoses basically all blew one by one, untill they get all replaced. Radiators clog. Fan clutches blow up.
8) Suspension ball joint, pivot bushing, insulators etc, all wear out and your car will handle like utter garbage unless fixed.
9) Clutch wears out (master cylinders, slave, friction plates, bearings).
10) Turbos blow up.
Hell, I'm sure I've only touched on 40% of the stuff.
Don't mean to scare you, but if you don't have a good supply of money, and enjoy working on these cars as a hobby, look elsewhere. It's silly to drive a 3600+ lb, seventeen year old car as a daily driver, unless you love the car for what it is (and what it can be with lots of work).
Oh yeah, let's not even mention gas mileage with the fuel prices these days. :icon_conf
T
toyota_supra_1988
Guest
i agree the reason why mk3 get such bad rep for being unrealiable other than the fact that the head came under torqued. But people buy mk3 that could range from 13-19 years old. That means theres a good chance its been abused for 90% of its life, unless it got a nice owner 
I guess people dont realize that the car is that old and just like any other car things will need to be replaced, ie; hoses, hg, gaskets etc. If you can find a mk3 that has been well maintained and had a responsible owner im sure it will be very reliable aslong as you keep up with maintenance and dont try to run 25 psi on stock hg :lol: not that a stock ct could handle it
I guess people dont realize that the car is that old and just like any other car things will need to be replaced, ie; hoses, hg, gaskets etc. If you can find a mk3 that has been well maintained and had a responsible owner im sure it will be very reliable aslong as you keep up with maintenance and dont try to run 25 psi on stock hg :lol: not that a stock ct could handle it
Another good testimonial here...
When I was 16 I got an 87 NA 5sp. It had a little under 65K on it at the time (1999) and I did have some issues to work out with it. The biggest thing I could blame any problems on, though, would be a lack of attention from the previous owner. The only major problem I had with it was the infamous BHG. Other than that I just had some routine things to take care of on it. All in all it was a reliable daily driver for me, especially since I really didn't treat it with all the love it deserved.
I've had my current Supra for about 3 years now and I really love it. I've done a fair share of modifications to it (my list of upgrades is in my profile if you're interested) and I've learned a lot about it as the progression has come along. So far I've only had two problems that I didn't figure out on my own. One was caused by what was probably a loose wire between my Apex S-AFC and ECU-which the local dealer took care of. The other was from a lack of experience on my part when I was putting everything back together after I (preventatively) installed my MHG. I had a few vacuum leaks that were causing the damn thing to lope at idle and buck when I transitioned on and off the throttle. As a whole with this car, though, I would say that it has better reliability than my old NA. It currently has roughly 120k on it (it's been nearly 4 months since I've seen it, so I don't remember that) with a new short block, rebuilt head, new trans and clutch that were redone by the previous owner at 94K. The car has been very well taken care of by both the first and second owners and is now safe in my possession. I have no intention of ever selling this car.
Right after I got my current Supra, my dad liked it so much that he had to get one for himself. He had previously thought of turbocharged cars to be less reliable than NA cars. He ended up getting an 89 Turbo 5sp. nearly identical to mine, with 180K-ish miles on it. He has since had a completely new gasket set put on the car, since he had a badly leaking exhaust manifold gasket. He has also had a BHG, which caused him to have to get a new short block and have the head rebuilt. He went with an HKS 1.2mm bead-type MHG and ARP head bolts to see that it never happened again. As far as his performance upgrades go, he's got a K&N FIPK, Blitz DD BOV and HKS Drager exhaust. His Supra now has over 200K on it and he loves it. He wants to get further into upgrading it to break the 300hp mark on it.
So flat-out, I highly recommend a MKIII Supra if you're looking for a highly-reliable [true] sports car. If you do decide to get one, get a turbo.
When I was 16 I got an 87 NA 5sp. It had a little under 65K on it at the time (1999) and I did have some issues to work out with it. The biggest thing I could blame any problems on, though, would be a lack of attention from the previous owner. The only major problem I had with it was the infamous BHG. Other than that I just had some routine things to take care of on it. All in all it was a reliable daily driver for me, especially since I really didn't treat it with all the love it deserved.
I've had my current Supra for about 3 years now and I really love it. I've done a fair share of modifications to it (my list of upgrades is in my profile if you're interested) and I've learned a lot about it as the progression has come along. So far I've only had two problems that I didn't figure out on my own. One was caused by what was probably a loose wire between my Apex S-AFC and ECU-which the local dealer took care of. The other was from a lack of experience on my part when I was putting everything back together after I (preventatively) installed my MHG. I had a few vacuum leaks that were causing the damn thing to lope at idle and buck when I transitioned on and off the throttle. As a whole with this car, though, I would say that it has better reliability than my old NA. It currently has roughly 120k on it (it's been nearly 4 months since I've seen it, so I don't remember that) with a new short block, rebuilt head, new trans and clutch that were redone by the previous owner at 94K. The car has been very well taken care of by both the first and second owners and is now safe in my possession. I have no intention of ever selling this car.
Right after I got my current Supra, my dad liked it so much that he had to get one for himself. He had previously thought of turbocharged cars to be less reliable than NA cars. He ended up getting an 89 Turbo 5sp. nearly identical to mine, with 180K-ish miles on it. He has since had a completely new gasket set put on the car, since he had a badly leaking exhaust manifold gasket. He has also had a BHG, which caused him to have to get a new short block and have the head rebuilt. He went with an HKS 1.2mm bead-type MHG and ARP head bolts to see that it never happened again. As far as his performance upgrades go, he's got a K&N FIPK, Blitz DD BOV and HKS Drager exhaust. His Supra now has over 200K on it and he loves it. He wants to get further into upgrading it to break the 300hp mark on it.
So flat-out, I highly recommend a MKIII Supra if you're looking for a highly-reliable [true] sports car. If you do decide to get one, get a turbo.
well.... as long as they're maintained and built correctly i don't see why they wouldn't be reliable whether stock or modified
the only reason they break (engine wise) is because a minor detail was forgotten or a small shortcut which generally = disaster
i think they're a great car and when looked after can be very reliable
the only reason they break (engine wise) is because a minor detail was forgotten or a small shortcut which generally = disaster
i think they're a great car and when looked after can be very reliable