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The mkiv Supra Owners Club

What can go wrong?


Guest battle4dune

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Guest battle4dune

Now I have read through the supra buying guides which are a god send but I still have a few questions as I have found a really nice UK TT supra.

 

I was just wondering how long things last such as clutches, turbos and the like. I have read people say that supra's are completely bullet proof but have also heard that they chew there way through clutches and if the turbo's go wrong they will wreck the engine. Now I am no mechanical genius so I don't know if there is any substance behind these rumors. So thought the best place to ask was here in the holy land so to speak.

 

P.S I have read the thread about the actuators explaining how the turbo can get cream crackered. Is it best just to get the actuator (can't remember the exact one) which can knacker turbo number 1 replaced or is it a case of if it ain't broken don't fix it? Sorry if I have made some retarded mistakes.

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As with all cars, if it is looked after it will last soooo much longer, drive like a fruit and it will not last too long, but supras are very resistant to being miss-treated. As the sup is a fairly heavy car make a note of looking and making sure the suspension is rebounding properly and the car doesn't lean.

I havnt had one problem yet (I shouldn't have said that), compared to my Rex7 which had a nasty habit of miss-firing and needing to be rebuilt twice. Fun.

They are great cars mate, have a look, drive it, like it, buy it. Good luck

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Guest battle4dune
has this nice uk spec car been stock all its life or modded? what is its service history like?

 

If stock and serviced then you would IMO be very unlucky to experience any major turbo/clutch/engine problems with it even with high miles......

 

Full Toyota service history and has only had a super dragger exhaust otherwise been stock all its life.

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You'd be surprised how reliable & well built they are! I was worried about getting a car with so much power, big engine and a fair few miles on the clock but honestly it has been amazing. Like all cars you still need to look after them for it to treat you well but all you need to do is pay attention to small signs etc. When things do go wrong they can be expensive to fix but personally don't think they are half as expensive what most modern cars would charge!

 

From what I have gathered if you blow a turbo, it shouldn't wreck the engine, loads of people have killed turbo's & managed straight replacements.

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Guest battle4dune
You'd be surprised how reliable & well built they are! I was worried about getting a car with so much power, big engine and a fair few miles on the clock but honestly it has been amazing. Like all cars you still need to look after them for it to treat you well but all you need to do is pay attention to small signs etc. When things do go wrong they can be expensive to fix but personally don't think they are half as expensive what most modern cars would charge!

 

From what I have gathered if you blow a turbo, it shouldn't wreck the engine, loads of people have killed turbo's & managed straight replacements.

 

That's what I hoped to be fair I don't think the mileage is that high it is less than 70k

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I have read people say that supra's are completely bullet proof but have also heard that they chew there way through clutches and if the turbo's go wrong they will wreck the engine. Now I am no mechanical genius so I don't know if there is any substance behind these rumors.

 

ok stock clutches on unmodded cars can do 100K miles easily, when you go bpu an old clutch can get shown up early. In a very few cases the failure of turbo's has caused some engine damage, however this is only on J-specs with ceramic turbos. The ceramic turbo's can fail (again they fail almost exclusively on tuned/highly boosted cars) and they can shatter and bits can get sucked back into the engine but again in at least 9 out of 10 cases the bits just collect in/get thrown out the exhaust. UK turbo's tend to get shaft wear and you get the death whine, that or the seals can go...........but both ways you get more visual or audible signs of wear rather than the sometimes catastrophic j spec failures.

 

Your list of possible problems are more likely to be the oil pressure switch, Radiator, Diff oil cooler, brake/fuel pipes (by the fuel tank rear subframe) and crank pulley.

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and bits can get sucked back into the engine

 

Im sorry but I have to disagree, how can a turbine get sucked back into the engine?

 

If the car is serviced and well looked after it will be very reliable, alot of people here have highly modded cars they use almost every day with no worries. But on the other side you have to realise its maybe a 15/16 year old car and things do wear out, suspension bushes, crank oil seals and pulleys etc.

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Guest battle4dune
ok stock clutches on unmodded cars can do 100K miles easily, when you go bpu an old clutch can get shown up early. In a very few cases the failure of turbo's has caused some engine damage, however this is only on J-specs with ceramic turbos. The ceramic turbo's can fail (again they fail almost exclusively on tuned/highly boosted cars) and they can shatter and bits can get sucked back into the engine but again in at least 9 out of 10 cases the bits just collect in/get thrown out the exhaust. UK turbo's tend to get shaft wear and you get the death whine, that or the seals can go...........but both ways you get more visual or audible signs of wear rather than the sometimes catastrophic j spec failures.

 

Your list of possible problems are more likely to be the oil pressure switch, Radiator, Diff oil cooler, brake/fuel pipes (by the fuel tank rear subframe) and crank pulley.

 

What are the problems with the these?

 

I have read the thread on the corroded lines by the rear subframe.

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Different cars will suffer with different problems, at different times

 

If you like the car, it all works, and nothing seems suspicious, then have it away.

Worrying about problems which might occur will drive you mental! Just ensure that you regularly carry out basic maintenance, and get the car checked over at least once a year by someone who knows what they're looking for

 

These cars are cracking on, expect to have occasional problems

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Guest battle4dune
Different cars will suffer with different problems, at different times

 

If you like the car, it all works, and nothing seems suspicious, then have it away.

Worrying about problems which might occur will drive you mental! Just ensure that you regularly carry out basic maintenance, and get the car checked over at least once a year by someone who knows what they're looking for

 

These cars are cracking on, expect to have occasional problems

I currently own a MG ZR 160 cracking little car ... when its working ... so i'm used to expecting the worst :)

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