The Fruition of Obsession -- 310,000 mile makeover --

suprarx7nut

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Nov 10, 2006
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Drove through Rocky Mountain National Park a couple weeks back. Probably the best shot I have of the Supra in a while. Dirty wheels and all. 333k on chassis, coming up on 25k on the Turbo motor since the last partial rebuild. composite head gasket is handling the 54 trim @ 12 psi quite well so far.

p1956872_1.jpg
 

suprarx7nut

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Nov 10, 2006
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Wow, time for an update I guess.

334,000 miles on the chassis now.

I rebuilt the CPS this summer and it still leaks. I'm guessing I should have used a 7mm seal instead of the standard 6mm. The CPS has a loose coil inside as well. I probably need to replace the whole CPS with new.

Suspension squeaks like a freight ship coming into dock when I turn full lock in parking lots. I desperately need new shocks and mounts. I'm looking at Koni or Tokico Blues (if they're still around) and Eibach or Tanabe springs.

I'm still loosely talking with Frank at Drive Shaft Shop about making the first all aluminum, 2 piece mk3 driveshaft (at least that I've ever seen). He's been going through a relocation this last year so my side project hasn't been a priority. Sample driveshaft pic below:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_Q1wwYjhZUGU09kTmhCY2VyYnZBb0RPbVZubWM5LXI2YXk0/edit?usp=sharing

I want to get the steering wheel recovered. It's in poor shape. Half normal leather, half perforated would be great.

Interior door panels also need refreshing.

Paint is fading fast. I can't seem to keep it from chipping and now the clear coat is hazing on the roof and hood. A new paint job is in the chassis's future if I keep the car long enough.

One of my FN01RC-N wheels got a dent. No idea how. I don't recall hitting a pot hole so I'm not sure where or when it happened. I get zero vibration at highway speeds so it's not a show-stopper, but it's ugly. The wheels all around are chipped and could use a powder coat or something. Should I spend the money on cast wheels like the FN01RC? Or save the cash for some forged wheels worth something?

supra_bent_fn01rc.jpg


Wire harness is flawless, exhaust is great, LED needles have fixed themselves for the last 6 months and no longer flicker. :dunno:

Hopefully more satisfying updates coming soon...
 

suprarx7nut

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emiliorescigno

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Sep 17, 2006
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suprarx7nut;1985960 said:
I saw that a while back, but dismissed it because it was Cardone. Although, looking at it now... it's half the price of new Toyota and it's got a lifetime warranty... Perhaps it's worth a shot. I wonder if they use completely new wiring and a new connector?

Thanks for the suggestion, it's worth a second look.

Back when I was CPS shopping for my 7M (mine had terrible wiring), I looked high and low for what options there were for CPS rebuilds and the like. Most of the major auto parts stores offer some sort of new one in the $500-$700 range, like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Standard-Moto...226&sr=8-3&keywords=supra+cam+position+sensor

Otherwise, you can still get a new one from Toyota for ~$800 (haha!), or you can do what I did, which was go through a user here on SM named "Hal" (Halsmk3supra I think is the username)

The "rebuilt" CPS from Hal was worse than I could have done myself, and the wiring seemed totally untouched from the used core, but it did have a new bearing and the wiring was an improvement over what I had.

The ~$200 cardone CPS seems like the best option to me, though I've never used it.
 

Silver MK3

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You could always go to a local Autozone and special order it. If it isn't what you want I would think you could return it on the spot since it would be unused.

As for the lifetime warranty, I have found that Autozone is really good with lifetime warranties as long as you have the receipt. My dad has an old classic ford and he bought a power steering ram from them with a lifetime warranty. Six years later the piston on the ram got bent somehow and he took it down there with the receipt from a different store on the other side of the country. Autozone had switched manufacturers for this part and the receipt was barely readable because the ink was so faded but they still took the ram and replaced it for free. They also could not find the warranty in the computer because the phone numbers had changed while moving or something like that but they still took care of it. They even had the new one overnight shipped so it would arrive on a Saturday. I would try the Autozone option if I were in your shoes.
 

suprarx7nut

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Nov 10, 2006
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Silver MK3;1986002 said:
You could always go to a local Autozone and special order it. If it isn't what you want I would think you could return it on the spot since it would be unused.

As for the lifetime warranty, I have found that Autozone is really good with lifetime warranties as long as you have the receipt. My dad has an old classic ford and he bought a power steering ram from them with a lifetime warranty. Six years later the piston on the ram got bent somehow and he took it down there with the receipt from a different store on the other side of the country. Autozone had switched manufacturers for this part and the receipt was barely readable because the ink was so faded but they still took the ram and replaced it for free. They also could not find the warranty in the computer because the phone numbers had changed while moving or something like that but they still took care of it. They even had the new one overnight shipped so it would arrive on a Saturday. I would try the Autozone option if I were in your shoes.

Yeah, it may be my best bet. As much as I cringe at a critical component in the motor being an Autozone item (or more specifically, a Cardone item), it may be my best bet since the OEM option is just outrageously priced. I could buy 1/4 of a solid 2JZ swap for as much as Toyota wants for the CPS.

Thanks for the input. I'll pencil the option into my car plans for 2014.
 

Silver MK3

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Jan 24, 2011
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suprarx7nut;1986015 said:
Yeah, it may be my best bet. As much as I cringe at a critical component in the motor being an Autozone item (or more specifically, a Cardone item), it may be my best bet since the OEM option is just outrageously priced. I could buy 1/4 of a solid 2JZ swap for as much as Toyota wants for the CPS.

Thanks for the input. I'll pencil the option into my car plans for 2014.

Yeah I know what you mean about the Autozone parts. I try and get as many parts from the Toyota Dealer or an OEM manufacturer, but some times the cost just makes it impractical. Hopefully it all works out with the Cardone one.
 

suprarx7nut

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Update: Got the Autozone CPS (Cardone brand). It works fine, but measures slightly out of spec. Meh.

After a spotty winter sitting a lot I killed my Die Hard Platinum battery in just under 4 years. Got a free replacement at Sears. Woo!

Got my bent wheel repaired at Spec Wheels in Commerce City.

Today on the highway going about 65, I downshifted into 3rd and floored it with the A/C on. I managed to hit fuel cut at about 12 psi. First time that's ever happened to me!

Also washed the car, wheels, and threw on some tire shine. I'll upload pics a little later.

Otherwise, no big problems and nearly 335k miles on the chassis. New suspension is coming this fall.
 

Silver MK3

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suprarx7nut;2004007 said:
Update: Got the Autozone CPS (Cardone brand). It works fine, but measures slightly out of spec. Meh.

After a spotty winter sitting a lot I killed my Die Hard Platinum battery in just under 4 years. Got a free replacement at Sears. Woo!

Got my bent wheel repaired at Spec Wheels in Commerce City.

Today on the highway going about 65, I downshifted into 3rd and floored it with the A/C on. I managed to hit fuel cut at about 12 psi. First time that's ever happened to me!

Also washed the car, wheels, and threw on some tire shine. I'll upload pics a little later.

Otherwise, no big problems and nearly 335k miles on the chassis. New suspension is coming this fall.

Nice, I'm glad to hear the cardone part worked for you. What are the plans for the suspension?
 

suprarx7nut

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Silver MK3;2004075 said:
Nice, I'm glad to hear the cardone part worked for you. What are the plans for the suspension?

Koni shocks (on sale this spring), tanabe springs and new kyb mounts.

I'd also like to tackle any worn bushings but none seem obviously bad. I'm sure most are bad at 335k miles though.

Sent from my Moto X.
 

Silver MK3

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suprarx7nut;2004117 said:
Koni shocks (on sale this spring), tanabe springs and new kyb mounts.

I'd also like to tackle any worn bushings but none seem obviously bad. I'm sure most are bad at 335k miles though.

Sent from my Moto X.

Sounds like what I will most likely do as well. I'll be paying attention to what you do with the tanabe springs, they seem to have the least drop which is what i want. That's impressive that they don't seem bad at 300+k miles. My car has only 89k so maybe I don't need to do the bushings like I thought I would.
 
Oct 11, 2005
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I replaced a bunch of bushings last year and the only reason I did was because they were frozen to the adjusting cam bolts. As far as the rubber was concerned, not a single one was torn. I am sure they could have gone for another 150kmiles easy as they appear to be indestructable.
 

suprarx7nut

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3p141592654;2004209 said:
I replaced a bunch of bushings last year and the only reason I did was because they were frozen to the adjusting cam bolts. As far as the rubber was concerned, not a single one was torn. I am sure they could have gone for another 150kmiles easy as they appear to be indestructable.

Wow, well it would certainly be nice if they were all good. They've all passed the crawl-under-and-awkwardly-pry-at-things-with-a-pry-bar test. Once I have a good set of shocks and mounts it will be easier to tell if the chassis still needs attention.

Silver MK3;2004196 said:
Sounds like what I will most likely do as well. I'll be paying attention to what you do with the tanabe springs, they seem to have the least drop which is what i want. That's impressive that they don't seem bad at 300+k miles. My car has only 89k so maybe I don't need to do the bushings like I thought I would.

Yeah the Tanabe are appealing for the modest drop. Colorado roads aren't great and I already scrape my factory lip with OEM springs. I don't like having to drive my car with extreme caution in parking lots so hopefully the Tanabe will avoid that. I'll definitely post up results on the bushing issue. I'm excited to have a planted and sound feeling chassis whether that requires bushings or just shocks.
 

Silver MK3

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Jan 24, 2011
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suprarx7nut;2004241 said:
Wow, well it would certainly be nice if they were all good. They've all passed the crawl-under-and-awkwardly-pry-at-things-with-a-pry-bar test. Once I have a good set of shocks and mounts it will be easier to tell if the chassis still needs attention.



Yeah the Tanabe are appealing for the modest drop. Colorado roads aren't great and I already scrape my factory lip with OEM springs. I don't like having to drive my car with extreme caution in parking lots so hopefully the Tanabe will avoid that. I'll definitely post up results on the bushing issue. I'm excited to have a planted and sound feeling chassis whether that requires bushings or just shocks.

Yeah I know what you mean. I've scraped my factory lip around here a couple times also and it isn't fun at all. It's just an awful feeling and noise. I can't decide if I want to replace the springs or just stick with the factory ones, but I think mine are sagging a little on the driver side, unless that it is maybe the shocks somehow, but I doubt that.
 

suprarx7nut

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Failed emissions today. NOx was high by about 20%. I'm going to try to retard timing to about 5* (it's currently at 10*) and add some ISO Heet. The car passed last time with all the same equipment. The guy driving was TERRIBLE so I'm sure that didn't help. He'd rev the shit out of it on most shifts like he was keeping the clutch in far too long. Every time he pushed in the clutch you could hear him still on the gas and revving the motor. Regardless, I'd like the motor to pass with or without a jackass behind the wheel.

Things I know are hurting me with NOx emissions:
EGR was deleted when I got the motor. I'd prefer to have it intact, but I need all the equipment and a US ECU.
I'm missing the cat in the downpipe since I went with a Raptor Racing DDP

If the retarded timing and ISO heet don't help it pass I'll be hunting down EGR equipment or a factory downpipe and elbow so let me know if you've got any for sale...