1987 mkiii - lsd?

[Grandavi]

I am looking at buying a 1987 MKIII. It has 148,000 miles on it (238,000 km).

Now.. the power steering pump is leaking. I figure this is an easy fix for me
correct?

The valve covers are also leaking and I can hear a tapping (light metallic sound) while driving.. its not very loud but I can hear it in the passenger compartment. I dont think this points to anything major though, just seems to need some attention up top.

The rad is old, but the coolant looks fairly clean. (green) I dont smell any coolant in the exhaust but it does have the traditional puff of blue while starting. (thinking is only the valve seals.. common with the 7MGTE)

Its got a very decent body, with some little funny stuff (side molding has the metal removed about 9 years ago when it was repainted and then glued on, so it is a tiny bit "wavy") But the doors/quarters are fairly rust free. For the age, the body is in very good condition.

So.. now to my question.. this is a US car, so there are some strange things (I am Canadian). Some subtle differences between my 88 and this 87. I believe that 87's were the only year with the LSD until 90 or 91.. not sure on that. The diff is wet with oil currently but doesnt howl or anything bad. I thought all MKIII's were LSD.. but apparently thats incorrect.

Is it going to be a pain to get the diff to stop leaking? (without really looking at it very closely or understanding where the leak is coming from.. just want to know if this is a monster that I can tackle or not)

If I do buy it (3000.00 CDN) I would have it in the garage through this winter and fix all the leaks that I can find. Car drives very nicely and spools good. Turbo has 6000 miles on the rebuild. I think that top end was rebuilt about 9 years ago, but hasn't had a ton of miles on it since then. It has sat a lot. Its the body that really catches my eye.. very straight and nice.

Any info on LSD?

[Grandavi]

Figgered I would post a pic of the car.

[fantasma87]

the car looks sharp. how much is that on $$ ? hows the interior? pic.

[Grandavi]

I havent bought it yet. The interior is decent, but the back seats are falling apart (typical of grey leather interior really). The front seats arent that bad, overall I would rate the interior at 7/10. I dont have other pics of the car to share. Just deciding if Im going to go pick it up or not. It has typical MKIII issues, but the engine seems relatively strong.

I am not sure about the LSD mind you, its very wet on the center casing.. could just be a plug or a seal, not sure if I can do that myself or not.

Not sure if my 88 has the same diff or not (suspect not) or if my 90 would have interchangeable parts either...

The only thing that is truly holding me back is that this will be the 3rd Supra parking at my house... lol. I like the body and paint on this one.. the rest needs work. (as does the body actually.. if I were to pull the mudflaps off I am sure I would find that).

3000 isn't too bad .. just dont know if I want to open this can of worms or not. After 3 years of owning MKIII's.. I still am unsure of certain things. Also.. its a US car.. not sure of differences between US and Canada.

Desirable? not sure.. lol.

[fantasma87]

what about if you sell one of them "with the most body damage" and swap the good parts for this one. or if you can buy it, do it and like you said " winter project"

ps: i`m sorry that i cant help you with the LSD , but i`m new with this car

[Grandavi]

I have this problem.. I buy them.. and i cant seem to part them out (pull them apart) or sell them...

my wife is not smiling..

[btwilson86]

Originally Posted by Grandavi

Any info on LSD?

Stay away from LSD, it'll mess you up.




All the turbo models come with the factory LSD, it was also an option for the N/A. You could get it by itself, or it also came with the "Sports Package"

[Grandavi]

Well.. if I do buy the car (deciding tomorrow), what I would need to know, is if the housing is wet on the outside, are the seals commonly leaking on these as they age, or should I look for something specific that is a "known" problem with a 87 LSD.