Mike2JZ Posted May 17, 2015 Author Share Posted May 17, 2015 Have experienced some squeals when starting up the supra and doing full lock turns over the last 1-2 months. Should of been a bit more pro-active in dealing with it but... Went for a drive tonight recording some audio from the new exhaust I put in. Was sitting in a carpark re-adjusting my microphone and did a few revs to capture the sound and a ghastly sound came from the engine bay, followed by a few warning lights. Honestly thought the engine had shat itself. Immediately turned the car off and inspected the bay. Everything looked to be in order, but found this sitting by itself in a corner of the undertray looking sorry for itself. Luckily I was only a few minutes away from home, so left the car for a few hours to cool down fully before limping it back home. It's was a bit dark, but my inspection so far hasn't shown any damage to any other components luckily. Will need to give it a better look tomorrow, but looks like it's time for a new oem one. Really happy it let go when I was sitting idle, rather than when I was giving it some. It did well for 170k miles, but I guess it had to go eventually Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike2JZ Posted June 2, 2015 Author Share Posted June 2, 2015 Put in a new crank pulley the other week so the car is back to normal again. In other news I've fitted some black grill to the top secret bumper, was tired of getting leaves and such stuck in the bumper. Also very kindly The Raven gave me his old N/A engine which has been sitting in a barn for many years now. So I begun work stripping it down yesterday and it currently looks like: Everything came off pretty quickly and easily, just need to clean off all the crap on the outside later today. So the plan with this engine is: - Clean it - Paint it - New gaskets/seals - Remove other N/A engine - Paint engine bay / clean - Remove AC system Once that is done then I will refresh the other N/A engine and just keep it as a backup or turbo it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike2JZ Posted June 15, 2015 Author Share Posted June 15, 2015 A while back I picked up a set of n/a chris wilson front springs from broomie, thanks again dude! It seems the rear matching set no longer are part of this world so had to make do with just the front set, which are meant to be stiffer and ~15mm lower than stock springs. Finally got the courage to get them installed today to see what they what they would be like. I was following a guide on the forum about how to remove the strut and spring, and honestly thought the whole process would take about 1 hour each side but ended up spending far longer on it than I imagined. Not sure why I did this job on the floor when I had a ramp right in front of me to use, will definitely use it next time I do suspension work back is killing me now :X Quick comparison of the old springs vs new ones going in And the finished result So far turning feels a bit sharper/responsive, as well as the ride being a bit bumpier but as it was raining today I haven't really pushed the car properly to see how it responds. Now the question is, should I leave the rears higher or find some rear springs to drop it slightly to balance it out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brom86 Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 I would say drop it down just a touch mate. Car looks great a fancy they wheels Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike2JZ Posted July 27, 2015 Author Share Posted July 27, 2015 A while ago I got round to getting rid the rear fog light that had been put in when the car was imported to the country many years ago. Nothing too fancy, just a bit of fiberglass, filer and new paint and job done! Whilst the rear bumper was off I gave the "rear diffuser" part of the bumper a new coat of matt black and tidied up some of the edges though it's still not perfect. Job Done Next on the list of things to do was to give all the fluids in the car a service before heading abroad for a month. New Oil Filter, Toyota Engine Oil + 4Life Coolant, Full synthetic gearbox + LSD oil & brake fluid. Also started the slow process of cleaning + painting some engine components black but will get some proper photos when it's ready to be shown. Once the service was done I drove over to switzerland which took 10 hours of 35+ degree weather. The Supra made it, but I started to get a misfire on idle that developed into full blown misfiring throughout the rev range when the engine was hot a few days later. Took off the intake to check over ignition components and was welcomed with: Honestly thought that the headgasket had gone and somehow warped/cracked the head and coolant was leaking through. Luckily, it turned out to be a loose coolant hose that connects to the N/A throttle body that was leaking little bits of coolant into the spark plug wells. I also noticed that the ignition leads were looking a little dated, and had some cracks in them so took this opportunity to get a fresh set. Trying to source Supra parts in Switzerland is impossible unless you go through Toyota and even then the Swiss toyota guys put up some resistance trying to source bits for a japanese import (apparently thats not the done thing over there), so I managed to get a "tune up kit" that included new rotor, distributor, 5mm ht leads & NGK - Iridium IX - BKR5EIX-11, overnighted from the USA for £90 (cheaper then anything available in swiss or the UK, how that works out I have no idea) So after installing all the new bits the supra was purring nicely again with no signs of misfire and it was time to hunt down some decent views and swiss roads. First on my list and closest to where I was staying was the St Bernard Pass, which is at the top of a 2500 meter mountain range. Famous for the st Bernard dogs & views such as: Of course in reality, what should of been a mini paradise of driving and views turned out to be a traffic heavy, cloudy, cold, police riddled route (being pulled over at the top of a mountain for alleged cocaine smuggling was thoroughly amusing) It is definitely an awesome road to take, but you would have to go on a weekday early in the morning to avoid all the tourists and Italien bikers (yes this is the same place as above) On the way back down the mountain on the way back to the city, I remembered some old roads used in the winter used to get to beginner skiing areas which were a nightmare to drive in icy/snowy conditions, but were probably quite fun during the summer. The roads were so much nicer and less congested then the previous location and I had a good few hours disturbing the peace throughout the mountain/hill landscape. So yeah, despite Switzerland not being an immediate location for a lot of car enthusiasts due to "heavy" regulation (which I didn't have any problems with), I found the trip really rewarding. Loads of amazing places to drive, and even the most remote mountain roads are soft and perfectly paved. Got my long drive back to the UK tomorrow so I'll close out with this photo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlton Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 At last, been waiting a while for an update! Sounds great and was nice watching the vid, blanking the fog light looks even better than I expected it to - good work! What's next? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike2JZ Posted July 29, 2015 Author Share Posted July 29, 2015 At last, been waiting a while for an update! Sounds great and was nice watching the vid, blanking the fog light looks even better than I expected it to - good work! What's next? I wanted to up the power and almost bought an N/A-T Kit, but I don't really want to have to play gearbox roulette. So I think I will stay N/A for the the rest of the year and just continue tidying up the car. Will see what sort of money I can save for the winter period and maybe do something interesting then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike2JZ Posted August 22, 2015 Author Share Posted August 22, 2015 Bought some facelift rear lights recently for a bargain price off a member on the forum. However, there was lots of dust + scratches on the lenses that needed to be sorted before they could be used. Also couldn't find a set of facelift bulb looms to use, so I had to improvise a little. I cooked the facelift and prefacelift lights that I had, and used the facelift insert + bulb lenses and fitted them to the prefacelift rear housings so that I could use the prefacelift loom. Whilst the lights were split, I cleaned/sanded/polished all the bits that needed some attention and the end result looks like: Overall an easy job to do and glad everything was pretty much a straight swap between facelift/pre facelift. Loving the look of the new lights, gives the rear end some contrast colour I think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supra.SZ-R Posted August 22, 2015 Share Posted August 22, 2015 Just read the intire rite up, a good read, with alot of good work, its mad to see youv been to Switzerland and a few times? Are you part swiss? Think we may have spoted that white Supra a couple of times! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hammer Posted August 22, 2015 Share Posted August 22, 2015 Great up-dates. Supra is looking great, like the stance and a great video. Nice sound now, what exhaust is that you have fitted if you don't mine me asking? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkddav3 Posted August 22, 2015 Share Posted August 22, 2015 Nice supra mate, very good read! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luxluc Posted August 22, 2015 Share Posted August 22, 2015 Rear lights look very good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonR24 Posted August 22, 2015 Share Posted August 22, 2015 Really love this, you've really turned the car around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike2JZ Posted August 22, 2015 Author Share Posted August 22, 2015 Just read the intire rite up, a good read, with alot of good work, its mad to see youv been to Switzerland and a few times? Are you part swiss? Think we may have spoted that white Supra a couple of times! Born and raised in the UK, just have some family in Swiss, so makes for a good excuse to drive over instead of flying Great up-dates. Supra is looking great, like the stance and a great video. Nice sound now, what exhaust is that you have fitted if you don't mine me asking? It's a toyosport 3'' catback exhaust, but I think most of the volume & sound comes from having a double decat as well. Really love this, you've really turned the car around. Thank you guys for the nice comments. The car still has so much I want to do before I'll be content, but it's getting there slowly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LasseV Posted August 23, 2015 Share Posted August 23, 2015 I wanted to up the power and almost bought an N/A-T Kit, but I don't really want to have to play gearbox roulette. So I think I will stay N/A for the the rest of the year and just continue tidying up the car. Will see what sort of money I can save for the winter period and maybe do something interesting then. If you go with na-t it will not necessary mean that you loose your gearbox, but anyway... Why not stay n/a and just take more power out of it? In the same time you have a more wider rev range, more throttle response, better noise and more oomph than standard ie car is faster and easier to drive fast. (can give more beans in mid turn ) Check Brendan+ITB+widebody from youtube if you want to have a sound clip. I know somebody will come and scream: "IT'S NOT WORTH ITTTTT" but in reality it can be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supra.SZ-R Posted August 23, 2015 Share Posted August 23, 2015 Ah thats cool though, im acctualy a hybrid Irish/Swiss Working for a few years now, its the only way i could get my Supra! I will drive over here someday, the windy twisty roads in the hills and mountains are insane good! Have you ever gone by Rolle? Or Lausanne? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Raven Posted August 23, 2015 Share Posted August 23, 2015 Looking good mate. Carry on with the body work and worry about power later. I wouldnt even want to guess what your insurance would do to you with an N/A T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martincoupe Posted August 24, 2015 Share Posted August 24, 2015 This guy is my hero (Not in a gay way) helped me with my supra and still continues to help me on a daily basis. Great car and Great guy 10/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike2JZ Posted August 24, 2015 Author Share Posted August 24, 2015 (edited) If you go with na-t it will not necessary mean that you loose your gearbox, but anyway... Why not stay n/a and just take more power out of it? In the same time you have a more wider rev range, more throttle response, better noise and more oomph than standard ie car is faster and easier to drive fast. (can give more beans in mid turn ) Check Brendan+ITB+widebody from youtube if you want to have a sound clip. I know somebody will come and scream: "IT'S NOT WORTH ITTTTT" but in reality it can be. I've seen far too many dead W58 boxes off boosted cars in the last 6 months for me to have much confidence in them when pushing past NA power levels, though you are right it isn't 100% that the gearbox will fail. I love the idea of ITB's, but having been passenger in a few single turbo's I will be stubborn and rather put money towards turbo. Ah thats cool though, im acctualy a hybrid Irish/Swiss Working for a few years now, its the only way i could get my Supra! I will drive over here someday, the windy twisty roads in the hills and mountains are insane good! Have you ever gone by Rolle? Or Lausanne? I worked a few jobs in Switzerland as well, also part of the reason I could save up for a Supra. Working there and bringing the money back over to the UK a few years ago was amazing. My family lives in Lausanne, so I'm usually always there or in the surrounding areas making noise and enjoying the reactions of swiss people. I'll give you a message next time I go there and maybe we can have a mini supra meet Looking good mate. Carry on with the body work and worry about power later. I wouldnt even want to guess what your insurance would do to you with an N/A T Yeah any sort of power upgrade will have to be next year so insurance dosen't rinse me too much. This guy is my hero (Not in a gay way) helped me with my supra and still continues to help me on a daily basis. Great car and Great guy 10/10 cheers martin Edited March 13, 2016 by Mike2JZ (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike2JZ Posted April 5, 2016 Author Share Posted April 5, 2016 Haven't updated thisthread in a while as I haven't done anything too interesting with the car overwinter as the car was running reliably and took me where I needed to go without hassle. Off the top of myhead however the following jobs were done: Oil & fluidservice HID's on dipped & fogs + led sidelights Installed a subenclosure and new under passenger seat amp Went from +25 to+30mm spacers on rear Swapped out thechris wilson front springs to tein super street front coilovers. So no longerscraping across half the roads I drive on. New oem pads front +rear + rear calliper rebuild BridgestonePotenza's all around for some better winter/wet weather grip, as the semislicks I had before were a bit sketchy Get ready for a wallof text (TLDR: some stuff is old, needto replace, got a workshop, work begins) I've had the car fora year and a half now and still totally in love with it. Yet being a highermileage supra, there are some niggles that have been slowly pissing me offrecently as some components are showing their age. Engine bay has never properly been cleaned since I picked it up from his garden where it lay dormant for a couple of years. Obviously most of the crud that was there when I picked it off has been removed, but the further down the engine bay you look the more dirt there is on the chassis. Never been bothered to clean it properly until the engine is out. The engine itself has been running strong and I have no complaints with performance, yet I had a few minor oil, coolant and power steering leaks which didn't affect me other than having to top off the fluids sooner, but is definitely something I wanted to address. Over winter I drove to Switzerland and I wondered if there was a strong wind outside as the rear end seemed to be swaying a bit on the motorway. Further driving and investigating showed me that it wasn't wind, but the rear bushes on the arms/diff were obviously past their usefulness and I was getting small bits of swaying and rear steering depending on the road and speed. Seized rear camber bolts obviously weren't helping this situation, as they are negatively cambered past factory spec and is another job I've wanted to address for ages, as I'm going through rear tyres unevenly & quickly! Rear suspension top mount on rear right side was squeaking and the struts felt like they were worn, as bumps felt quite harsh. Wheelhop throughout first gear (from a launch, unless wet outside) Steering response has slowly become a little more dull and pump has developed some whines, even though I've bled the system and changed o-rings etc. Rattling clutch release bearing and clutch that felt softer than it should even after bleeding clutch and checking master/slave cylinders for wear. Vibration felt through car between 5-6k rpm. I presume engine mounts, center prop bearing, gearbox mount and diff ear mounts are all from the factory and will need to be inspected to find the culprit. Doubt the previous garage who touched my car took much time to see if the prop shaft was aligned properly, when they changed my cluch so could be that as well. Whilst 3'' double decat sounds awesome, I am missing some of the lower end grunt from having the stock cats in place. Trying to source some 2.5 decats & stock cats to experiment with till I can get a good balance between sound & as little low end power loss as possible. Finally, the paint on the car and damage to front bumper from being so low previously all needs to be addressed at some point. But I'm going to prioritize the mechanical side of things first. Rather have a supra that feels as it should and look tatty, then a showcar which is terrible to drive. I've had plenty oftime to think of how I wanted to attempt to address all of the above, and I'msure as all can relate sometimes waiting for the right time for the time/space& money to do these jobs can seem like an eternity. Over Xmas, me andtwo friends had a plan to start renting a workshop local to us that we coulduse for all our projects and general car work. Whilst waiting forthe plan to come to fruition, I figured I would consult the TSRM maintenancescheduler and see what the toyota techs would be looking at on a high mileagesupra. Some of the jobs & component tests would have to wait until I getthe car in for some proper work, but I began work by doing diagnosis on theengine, electrical and fuel components to see if they were still in line withfactory specs. Up first was to seeengine compression. Thankfully, the engine is still making really goodcompression figures, with most cylinders sitting around 185, with the largestdifference between cylinders of 10psi. I also wanted to do a leak down test tocheck for the oil rings health, and see if there were any issues with valves orthe coolant system having leaks. Managed to break theebay compression kit I bought putting in a new fitting that would match mycompressor hose and didn't manage toget round to doing it since. Every mechanic I've talked with thinks I'm going alittle OTT trying to do a leak down test if compression is good, but I'd ratherbe safe than sorry. Next time I guess! Following that, Itested oil pressure & oil/water temp sensors, injector resistances, IACV& TPS calibration, ignition system resistances, fuel pump resistances etc. The only thing Iwasn't able to check was the fuel pressure, as I didn't have the tools neededto get a pressure reader attached to the fuel rail. Other than that howeverevery component I tested was showing results within factory specs on repairmanual. A testament to Toyota engineering I guess. Fast forward to amonth ago and finally was able to move into new workshop unit. It's not grandin any way, but definitely enough for our needs and enough room to work on afew cars. Took us a couple ofweeks to get settled in, but now the only thing we have left to put in is ourtwo poster ramp, but all the tools are organized and easy to access on a dailybasis. So the time camelast Friday where I was able to finally able to bring the supra in for somemuch needed TLC. I'm aiming to havethe following done within a month: Remove engine & driveline (inspect for components that need to be replaced) Remove rear subframe, suspension & fuel tank. (inspect for components that need to be placed) Sandblast rear subframe & use POR15 to give protection from rust Car previously has been undersealed so it's quite clean underneath, but need to underseal in areas where it's been missed out previous (above fuel tank) Assemble rear subframe + suspension with new bolts, using anti seize and grease where applicable to let it remain serviceable hopefully for many years to come Previous garage that replaced my clutch took £600 for the parts and labour and skimped out on the clutch parts I asked them to source, thinking I wouldn't find out. I had my doubts but now I have proof so will be on their case, and getting proper clutch parts now. Solid gearshift bushes Replacement of suspension arms with new oem where needed. Hammerite protection on arms & diff New rear coilovers, or a whole new coilover set all around depending on money. Clean engine bay, then determine if it looks good enough to leave in factory white or spray black to give contrast to the colour of the car. Do full gasket replacement on engine + cambelt/water pump replacement. Clean up auxiliary components + paint Clean engine gunk off, paint block, head & aux parts. Colourscheme undecided, won't be anything too fancy. Get head skimmed and install new head gasket, followed by reassembly of engine. New engine & gearbox oils + coolant + powersteering + brakes Put it all back in and get camber & alignment dialed in There are a coupleof other jobs I want to do on front subframe/suspension but not going to havetime/money to do them just yet and got plenty to do at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike2JZ Posted April 5, 2016 Author Share Posted April 5, 2016 Here is how the car looked on friday. Nice and dirty Need to find a better camera to use but until then enjoy some terrible iphone photos Engine bay currently has some parts repainted black. Will probably stick with something similar in future, but use crinkle paint. Front end removed (my mates who are bmw freaks found it funny that the middle chassis support is welded in from the factory, certainly makes taking the engine out harder) And this is why you shouldn't go too low kids. So much scraping. Will be fixing this once all the mechanical side is done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike2JZ Posted April 5, 2016 Author Share Posted April 5, 2016 (edited) In her new home for the next few weeks Bonnet off and fluids out. Went to bed in the backroom after this and let the fluid drain for a few hours Up at dawn and exhaust was next to come off Followed by propshaft Next slave cylinder disconnected, gear shifter removed and gearbox mounts removed Wiring loom pulled through firewall, fuel and ps lines, heater hoses removed and engine/gearbox pulled out Edited April 7, 2016 by Mike2JZ (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike2JZ Posted April 5, 2016 Author Share Posted April 5, 2016 (edited) Engine looks ok from this angle, wait till you see the dirt on it Engine partly stripped Storage room slowly turning into the supra room Back bumper off and overarches off in preparation for fuel tank and rear subframe drop Now the only thing I truely despise about this car is the cut arches. Really wish they hadn't been cut so I could return to a stock look, but always going to have to use a widebody kit on the rear unless I weld in new rear quarters which I really can't be arsed to do just yet. Luckily, the japanese dudes that did this god knows how many years ago spot welded and sealed their work so there isn't any rust aside from surface rust where the rivets sit. Either way will need a bodyshop to refresh this at some point. Back to the engine Was super hard to determine exactly where the leaks were coming from cause there is so much grime that has collected over the years. So just going to replace all the seals to be safe. Edited April 7, 2016 by Mike2JZ (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike2JZ Posted April 5, 2016 Author Share Posted April 5, 2016 Cams came off next, oil was quite clean and head is clean which is always nice. Will still give everything a clean though as I doubt it's been done before. Just need to order a longer head bolt tool as mine was too short, then head can come off and be sent for skimming. Fuel tank on the way out Full of dirt on the outside, but remarkably clean on the inside. Really thought I'd have to clean the inside but no need Next up was this heavy bitch. Took less time to take it out then it did to wrestle with the siezed camber bolts Not to shabby underneath. Needs clean then ready for underseal That's all for now. Will update with subframe progress later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supraleeturbo Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 Nice job mate a lot of work there mate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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