Found a 1986.5 Supra... can you help me decide on it?

[Figit090]

This one might seem like a no-brainer, but I found a 86.5 MkIII (i think that's the gen...) in my hometown that my friend is selling...and i would like it for my first car...

It has 107k miles, and we test drove it around for a while, it seems to sound good and doesn't seem to have anny apparent problems except for some grease that's slowly accumulated on the passenger side steering components (steering linkages and boot), and a little oil around the front of the engine that seems like it may have dribbled from the top, and a little by the engine-tranny rear seal. I've seen it on a lift and the undercarrage looks pretty good, and my dad, mom and friend looked at it and the only thing they really thought about was a few spots where oil seems to be leaking.

He's asking 1,700 for it...and the only thing i would really have to change that i know about is the front windshield, wich has a crack that goes from near the bottom and makes an 'L' shape that's about a foot long... parents said i'd have to get the window replaced if i get the car, tacking on 400 dollars....

so without negotiation it's $2,100.. has decent paint, and gotti rims that need polishing but look nice.... there are some body details that need to be fixed, but i can do all that myself...

is there anything i should be aware of that i might want to check or have done?

what do you think of the price he's asking? I think i'll offer him around $1,300 - $1,500 mentioning the fact i'll need a new windshield.

also, can anyone tell me about how much it would be to have a mechanic check it out? i'm not sure what they can do either...would it be smart to have that done?

thanks for looking, this one is really serious and I just need a bit of info before i make my final decision.

one more thing, can someone direct me to a site with supra info/history, and then a site with a good selection of parts? this thing needs new window seals in the doors - they're shot!

[kamesama980]

-www.supraforums.com
-the forum you posted this in

i dont remember which years the gens are, but if its a mk3 itll say 7mge or 7mgte (turbo)across the engine. if not, itll have 5mge. mk3s share the 7m with mx83 cressidas and they are famous for being extreemely reliable save one thing: the headgasket. almost every 7m has or will have one (or more) long before the car is out of commission. to do it yourself is 300-500 for metal gasket, arp bolts, and gasket kit. looking at 1000-2000 to get a mechanic do it. signs of BHG syndrome are air in coolant, chocolate milk looking under oil cap, loss of power, coolant coming out the exhaust, erratic temp gauge readings, etc etc. one way to find out is from a cold start, open the rad cap asap and if its already pressurized (under 30 seconds) its probably getting BHG.

if/when you get the car, make sure you torque the had bolts to around 75 ft-lbs. if its got BHG it might last a little longer. if it doesnt (yet), it will forestall it for a while.

so next time you see if check for BHG if it is a mk3

[Figit090]

Yeah i believe it's the 7MGE, and it is a 3rd gen. i remember the engine model being very like that and don't remember hearing the sound of a turbo (listened for it) and i dont remember seeing one, after comparing what i remember to online pics of turbo'd supras...there wasn't a turbo bolted on there....so, 7MGE

It is an MKIII, and it didn't seem to have overhearing problems, but I did hear some sounds of water behind the dash...mom said it's probaby just collant, which i'm sure thats what it was, but not sure if that alone would mean a blown gasket...do you think it would?

One of my friends told me that torquing the head bolts wouldnt work but would it work temporarily at least until i can afford to remedy the gasket problem?

He told me about a local shop i can send the parts to be machined to, and also mentioned the ARP bolts. I won't mind working on it myself, as long as someone does the machining right.

for the coolant coming our of the exaust, what color will the smoke be? or will it dribble out before it's warmed up enough to burn it off?


If it does have a blown head gasket, what do you think of the price? I was thinking about offering him $1300 to $1400 because of the cracked windsheild....costing me 400 dollars.

I dont know what i should do next....i could get it checked out by a mechanic, but that would cost more money and dad says i get to pay for that part... what do you think i should do next?

[Figit090]

Originally Posted by kamesama980

-www.supraforums.com
-the forum you posted this in

what are you talking about?

[Figit090]

thanks for your post kamesama980, I ended up finalising the deal and i'm picking up the car and registering it on monday, i wan't wait!!! thanks for your help i appriciate it! The headgasket has been done before, and I didn't get to check much for signs of a BHG but i figure it'll hold out for quite a while, it will give me a reason to drive it easy and not wreck it, and when it needs it done i'll just get it donemyself, and for what i payed a 300-500 dollar headgasket job won't be too bad. thanks again, i'll probably post pics of it in another thread sometime in the next week!

[Jeeves]

Umm...
300-500?
Head Gasket: $100-200
ARP Head Studs/Bolts: $100
Machining of the Head: $100 (For a good job my last bill came to over $200 with a valve job and such)
The only way you'll get near a $500 price is by doing it all yourself. Shops regularly take Mk3 owners for over > $1,200 for a Head Gasket Job. I think it's officially listed at like 11+ hours of work. I'd have to dig into my estimating guide to look.

[kamesama980]

-"the forum you posted this in" refers to the TN supra forum
-if it already has BHG, your friend is correct that it doesnt fix it. if it does not yet have BHG, then it is most certainly a preventative measure and your friend doesnt frequent many supra/cressida forums. i have heard friend-of-a-friend about a service memo toyota released correctign the torque specs for the head bolts. FYI dont reuse the bolts either. and after a month or so recheck the torque that its around 75 and tighten if necessary.
-as i said in the post above: 500 is completely intended as a DIY rough estimate. take it to a shop and expect a minimum of 1300-1500. if its more than 2000 get a few more estimates.
-you already have early signs of BHG: the infamous "gurgling dash" which is indeed coolant, or more accurately air in the coolant system. something quick to try for BHG: from a cold start (so maybe 1st thing in the morning) start the car, and withing 10-20 seconds pop the radiator cap. if its already pressurized, that generally means exhaust gasses are excaping the cylinders into the coolant...aka BHG.
-as for the gurgling, it may also just be someone did a bad job of filling it at some point, (however more likely BHG is (its right around the right age....like acne on a 15 yr old)) to hopefully cure the gurgling: "burp" the system: park facing uphill on the steepest damn hill you can find. steep enough that the radiators higher than any other part of the coolant system rev the engine a bit with the heater on full blast (temp not fan). turn it off and add fluid then. OR take a coke bottle and cut the end to a size that will fit in the radiator fill hole and seal halfway decently. fill 'er up and turn the engine on (preferrably on an uphill again). or just go to a shop to get it done. the idea is that the air will go to the highest point in the system and youre trying to make the radiator cap the highest point so you can open it up and fill 'er up.

good luck and welcome to the club. hopefully we wont be adding congrats for joining the bhg club. for more info visit any mkIII supra or cressida forum (those listed above or others. www.toyotacressida.net is my preferred) and search for BHG, bad head gasket, blown head gasket, head gasket repair, etc.

[Figit090]

Thanks for the great reply, i'm going to talk to my dad and maybe i'll have it done, but it doesn't sound too difficult, and I have a nice hill in my neighborhood that I can go to to do this, hopefully me revving it up won't bug the locals too much. I have a feeling it may happen, and I wanted to do the fix myself.

I thought i'd take it apart and then get the required parts machined, and re-assemble with the proper specs...

I just need a good repair manual...which i would like to hear some suggestions about (Haynes...toyota, or other...whats best) and then a good torque wrench.

I know i'm going to have to wait for a while anyhow, but I love the car and it's not perfect but it's running pretty strong and seems to feel good. It's had a bit of trouble starting occasionally, but one time i think i flooded it when i shut it off, and i dunno about the other time, but it will start up and it trys to advance the throttle to keep the engine running but starts dropping too far below idle and dies... just takes another restart but... makes me wonder what's going on. Maybe a bad sensor somewhere, i'm not sure what all has been changed out on the car lately, but i do have lots of records from the late 80's and early 90's... sadly there's no headgasket fix that i noticed...

I'll need to take another look too, and I need to see if i have the proper mounting things for a sterio, because there's a nice large hole where my radio should be and i hope the guy didn't accidentally yank the radio mount with the radio... but yeah, that's another issue i would like to fill.

does anyone know anything about Gotti brand rims??? i have Gotti 2 piece rims but they don't really have a whole lot of info i could find and the only thing i did find was some chromies on ebay and an old site for Gotti rims that are made especially for Alpine.