My 87 na supra find - couple questions

[drumminforev]

Well i found an 87 na supra for $450. Supposedly he blew it up, but first the guy was saying it was siezed with a melted piston, then he said the rods were bad, then he sayd he didnt know.

Regardless i bought it, and there is oil all over the engine bay.

It wouldnt crank over so i replaced the battery and it started right up to my amazement. Then i remembered that there was no oil or coolant in it so i quickly shut if off.

I checked the remaining oiil that was in it and it is a milky grey color, with minimal viscosity and no smell, so im thinkings its water/coolant, which is bhg right?

It didnt have rod knock, it ran on all 6 cylinders. So i think at this point im going to drain the oil and replace, drive and check the oil again. Likely to replace the hg.

Will i need the head and block resurfased and measured? Im assuming yes.

 

[thechori]

from my unsupportable knowledge, yes it seems that you have a BHG from the milky oil, and you are also going to have to machine the block and head so that the new HG can be put down correctly. i'm about 90% sure my info is true, but if not someone please correct me

 

[foreverpsycotic]

personally, i would get the block decked and lapped, a MHG put on and the bearings replaced, then the motor should be good to do what you wish with it.

 

[supraman7mgte]

rebuild or replace the motor and clean the engine bay

 

[drumminforev]

Ok so its bhg for sure, got it started up and was blowin oil and white moisture. Runs good from the sound, no sputter.

SO i have to pull the motor basically, to get the block machined....damnit

What would be easiet, swapping a supposedly running 7mge in or replacing the hg on this motor

 

[Fuzz420]

Ok so its bhg for sure, got it started up and was blowin oil and white moisture. Runs good from the sound, no sputter.

SO i have to pull the motor basically, to get the block machined....damnit

What would be easiet, swapping a supposedly running 7mge in or replacing the hg on this motor

Replacing with a supposedly good ge would be easiest, but its not hard to end up in the same position as the first motor

 

[thechori]

if you drop in another engine, you are again at risk of getting another BHG unless you change out that HG as well, which would mean that you'd have to go through all of these measures again eventually. but since you said that it runs fine, just replacing the HG is probably the best/easiest route

 

[drumminforev]

So do i need to have the block bare to get it machined? Can i just lap the block and head myself with some compound

 

[foreverpsycotic]

ide get it done by someone else, i like having warantes from people

 

[drumminforev]

This motor will stay NA. Would this be the same as OEM style - says graphite head gasket.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/87-9...007QQitemZ170073303157QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

or would want a multi layer steel hg like this

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/87-9...16071QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW#ebayphotohosting

 

[foreverpsycotic]

you would want a cometic or HKS. the stronger the HG, the less of a chance it will blow.

 

[drumminforev]

Well, this is just a rebuild that i am not going to dump money it, its to get it back on the road. So between those two, graphite vs steel, which is best. I am thinking graphite because its more forgiving to uneven surfaces right?

 

[jdub]

You don't need to do any machine work for a stock HG install...just make sure you claen the head/block decks very well. Also check the flatness per the TRSM...if it's out of spec. you will need to have machine work done. Also (since this is a stock HG), using a spray sealer is not a bad idea.

Don't know about this brand gasket...be careful on eBay, a lot of times you get exactly what you pay for

Are you building up two motors? Your thread in the Turbo Tech section is about a Turbo motor you're going to sink a fair amount of $$$ in.

 

[drumminforev]

You don't need to do any machine work for a stock HG install...just make sure you claen the head/block decks very well. Also check the flatness per the TRSM...if it's out of spec. you will need to have machine work done. Also (since this is a stock HG), using a spray sealer is not a bad idea.

Don't know about this brand gasket...be careful on eBay, a lot of times you get exactly what you pay for

Are you building up two motors? Your thread in the Turbo Tech section is about a Turbo motor you're going to sink a fair amount of $$$ in.

Yes, i have 3 supras. An 84 thats fine, an 85 which will be my 7mgte you read about, and this 87 na that i am just rebuilding to sell right back. It was supposed to be fully blown with a melted piston...but it runs fine, so good find for me!

So once i sell this it will add to the finds for the 7mgte

So im still wondering should i not use metal HG? Should i completely avoid ebay head gaskets and just use the other gaskets and buy a real OEM?

And whats the tool called to measure flatness on the deck and head, and where can it be purchased.

 

[jdub]

I'd use the stock HG and avoid the machine work cost

If you do this yourself, follow the TRSM exactly...there are also several threads on here that will help. One common mistake is not putting RTV on top of the front timing cover...also, you want to torque the bolts to 75 ft/lbs vs the 58 ft/lb spec in the TRSM.

Since it appears the oil got coolant in it (that's a bad thing), when you run it the 1st time use a light oil...say a 0W-20 or 5W-20. Run it for about 100 miles (note the pressure) and change it and the filter. Then fill with a 10W-30 and a Wix or PureOne filter...take a look at the pressure...if it's in the 40-50 psi range at 3000 rpm, you're good. If not, dump it again and go with a 10W-40.

The reason for this drill is the rod bearings...if this motor was run for any length of time at all, coolant damages bearing pretty fast. The light weight oil will flush whatever is still there. The next is to make sure you got the pressure to make the motor last a while.

 

[thechori]

there's no need for a MHG if you're not going turbo, the only reason the 7MGE/T's blow their gaskets is because toyota didn't torque them down enough, but if you torque down the OEM correctly, that shouldn't be a problem