My Car! 1988 Toyota Supra Turbo Targa 5-speed

[Jeff]

I think the suspension on the minivan has less roll.

[WRXtranceformed]

[ScottyB]

^^ hahaha

Feersty has you beat in the lean contest Goodspeed. anybody have that picture of his buick autocrossin?

[Feersty]

^^ hahaha

Feersty has you beat in the lean contest Goodspeed. anybody have that picture of his buick autocrossin?

I was thinking the very same thing....hahaah

[Goodspeed]

A few little updates...

The car is running great, no major issues. Last time I drove in cold weather (up to Summit) I hit fuel cut twice @ 13 pounds...I guess I'll have to turn that down unfortunately.

The other day I had the car up on jackstands just to poke around and found this:



I had no idea what it was, but with some research I found that it was an adjustable limit stop for the transmission brace. Apparently, tightening it reduces driveline shudder...it was loose. Now, the car seems to shift smoother thankfully.

Unfortunately, I also found this:



Looks like the rear main seal is gone. Oil consumption really hasn't been that bad at all...dare I say it has improved since I started checking it regularly. My question is, besides the obvious leak, is there really anything dangerous or damaging about this? I've found that I'll put a quart in about every two weeks or so, which I don't mind to do really.

Did my second auto-x today:



The car was an animal (versus my n00b abilities). This course demanded shifting into 2nd immediately after the first turn; compared to coasting around for half the course in 1st like my previous beginner try, the torque and powerband were intense. I finally cleaned it up on my 4th run, but cones were laid to waste on every run and I got very tail happy a number of times. I'm not going after times; if I go off course or hit a cone I'll spend the rest of the run trying to get the tail to step out just to practice recovering it (without going completely insane...like today).

I'll probably be purchasing some Suspension Techniques sway bars here pretty soon:



I'd really like to get the car flatter in the corners. The stock bars are light, thin, and hollow and don't really do anything. I'll keep the updates coming with the progress from that end.

[Maengelito]

Did my second auto-x today:

are you sitting on a phone book?

[HAULN-SS]

as for the oil - let it leak if you want..besides some dampness down there, not gonna hurt anything.

[ViPER1313]

Oil leak - shrug. So long as it doesn't get on the clutch it will be fine. I would make sure your PCV system is working up to par - pressure in the crankcase could be pushing oil out past the seal.

[ScottyB]

Oil leak - shrug. So long as it doesn't get on the clutch it will be fine. I would make sure your PCV system is working up to par - pressure in the crankcase could be pushing oil out past the seal.

def check the PCV...they are real cheap to replace too, or if you're super cheap just clean the gunk out and put it back in (solvents work).

the clutch in my audi died after 10k miles from a rear main seal leak. once oil gets on the clutch, it pretty much contaminates it and it won't grip -- i don't think it's something you can "wear off" the clutch, in the manner that you can eventually bring a burnt out clutch back a bit. i knew i had a problem when i couldn't hold full power in 3rd, 4th, or 5th and it was dripping oil where the engine/tranny mated up. but the thing is, i don't know the physical difference between my old clutch and yours, the oil may be harmlessly passing by it and you can just let it go.

otherwise, if it's not hurting anything and you don't mind all that oil consumption, then just keep driving. it's an expensive and/or time consuming fix (well, on an A4 anyway), so i wouldn't be in a hurry to change it out

[ViPER1313]

This was the condition of my rear main when I did my clutch (bad throw out bearing ate through the pressure plate - the clutch still grabbed great.) The oil had not made it to the clutch or pressure plate surface at all.

[Andy]

The stock bars are light, thin, and hollow and don't really do anything.

Bar diameter is the key. In fact, you want hollow bars cause it has the same torsion value but without any weight penalty. Read up on swaybars that are made for your car. ST tends to make big swaybars with might require some sort of backing plate to prevent the bars from tearing out the unibody.

I like my TRD bars.

[.RJ]

Looks like the rear main seal is gone

Could be a small leak on the trans, or an oil pan gasket, or something on the cylinder head dripping down too. If it doesnt leave a spot on the ground when you park, its probably not leaking enough to worry about fixing right away.

[Dave]

I'd say the most important thing would be to make sure you know where the oil is coming from. Replacing the PCV is cheap and easy, that would be a good thing to do anyways.

Get a can of brake cleaner and clean it up really good down there. Replace the PCV and just keep an eye on it. Cleaning it off will make it easier to determine where it's coming from. If it is getting everywhere, then it is coming from or dripping onto something that is rotating and slinging it everywhere.

[Goodspeed]

Thanks for the replies everyone. The only noticeable leak I can find up top is under the valve cover, at the rear of the engine (passenger side) that is leaking down. The only other 7M-GTE I've seen in person had the exact same leak in the same location. However to me it doesn't look significant enough to coat the underside of the trans, but maybe it is? Theres no marks left behind under the car.

About the PCV valve, could sludge in the crankcase be causing an oil leak somewhere? Or is the valve itself potentially leaking? I'm not quite sure what you mean by that

[Maengelito]

the pcv valve controls the crankcase ventilation. if its clogged, its now allowing the valve to relieve pressure which means the pressure is pushing oil out at other locations such as a leaky gasket or seal.

[ScottyB]

About the PCV valve, could sludge in the crankcase be causing an oil leak somewhere? Or is the valve itself potentially leaking? I'm not quite sure what you mean by that

the PCV could get sludged up over time (they all do, by design) and eventually get so sticky that it won't open up and let the pressure out of your crankcase (which you get in any engine). the pressure has nowhere to go and therefore pushes oil out your seals.

sludge in your crankcase would probably prevent a leak :lol:


edit: beaten, dammit Maeng

[PDenbigh]

Thanks for the replies everyone. The only noticeable leak I can find up top is under the valve cover, at the rear of the engine (passenger side) that is leaking down. The only other 7M-GTE I've seen in person had the exact same leak in the same location. However to me it doesn't look significant enough to coat the underside of the trans, but maybe it is? Theres no marks left behind under the car.

About the PCV valve, could sludge in the crankcase be causing an oil leak somewhere? Or is the valve itself potentially leaking? I'm not quite sure what you mean by that

Follow Dave's advice and do a good cleaning of your engine. Drive it around, then look for any leaks.

To answer your questions specifically, the leak at your valve cover could very easily cause all that crud underneath. Alison's miata had a leak at the rear of her valve cover and it caused a mess on the under side.

[Goodspeed]

Sway bars are here, Suspension Techniques front and rear (28mm F 24mm R), ordered from Titan Motorsports in Florida. I'll hopefully have them on the car this week, most owners love these on their cars but they do make the car tend towards oversteer. Can't wait to auto-x with them on.

[Maengelito]

so which end did you put in your anus?

[Jeff]

all 4 silly!