'90 supra purchase?

[harold42usa1]

i am looking at a '90 supra with a turbo and 100,000 miles on it. The asking price is $4000. What concerns should I have? How long does a turbo last? Do they put undue stress on an engine? Is this a wise move asssuming all looks okay. Any advice is appreciated.

[TomFraser]

Originally Posted by harold42usa1

i am looking at a '90 supra with a turbo and 100,000 miles on it. The asking price is $4000. What concerns should I have? How long does a turbo last? Do they put undue stress on an engine? Is this a wise move asssuming all looks okay. Any advice is appreciated.

look through the threads at all of the complaints people have...

you want to make sure there is little rust, check the wheel wells, and spare tire well.

If possible, CHECK COMPRESSION on the engine. Supra's are notroious for blowing head gaskets, if the previous owner has never had a problem with the headgasket, expect to repair it.

The turbo should be fine as long as it is working when you buy the car. It does put some mroe stress than usual on the engine, but will not cause a problem with the engine, as long as it is maintained.

Also if you have never had a turbo before, make sure proper reasearch is done... for instance if you were driving pretty fast with some boost going, do NOT shut the car off right away, this damages the turbo. (A turbo timer will fix this)


Just overall look around the forums. In the FAQ there is a buying guide that has all sorts of good info.


Good Luck, and wish me luck too as I will be buying a supra in about 5 hours (1988 N/A Manual)

[ddmcse]

try to get at the car when it's cold . start it and listen for what people describe as " water fall " sound in the dash . if you hear water trickling in the dash , make a note .

lift the hood inspect the water system over flow bottle it's white ish plastic drivers side way up in the front by the headlight

there are 2 markings on the side of it low and full or something like that .. see where the water level is right now.
pop the cap off the thing and see how the water looks . inspect the "intercooler" it's right below the water bottle you are looking for signs of water that has dripped and evaporated .


if you put a check in the box for either one of these two inspections . it's got a blown headgasket . to what degree doesn't matter

people in denial will replace this and that and keep filling it up but guess what , it's blown

a turbo'd supra with 100k is a great candidate for a blown head gasket . people think "wow"
blown head gasket thats serious and the car wouldn't run at all if it had a blown gasket . WRONG . the supra's weak point is the headgasket true, but just because the head gasket is leaking doesn't stop the supra at all , you could keep filling it with the water it's losing and still be able to drive it for lots of miles and still destroy cars that challenge you