Just got my supra home! YAY! Couple questions

[Charlie97L]

Well after suffering a blown coolant hose 5 minutes into my new supra ownership, I truly know what it's like to own one of these. Caught it before damage was done, though, and it got fixed, and I drove it 500 miles back from Boston to DC yesterday and today. Ran like a champ. :-D I'll get some pics up tonight.

Few questions:
One- i have an amber light on in the upper left dash, looks like a radiator light, what does that mean? I stopped regularly and checked the radiator, nothing seemed to be overheating.
Two- the steering felt a little wobbly and loose ... is that normal? Or could it have been low tire pressure/end links/something else?
Three- How can you test your shock absorbers to see if they are blown or not? Is there any way? Often on the trip back, I would go over a bump and the left front would hit hard and kind of kick the car to the right slightly. Again, may just be normal, I'm not that familiar with the handling characteristics of these cars... but it never kicked it to the left, so I'm pretty sure this wasn't normal.

Thanks!
Charlie, New owner of a gleaming Red Cherry 89 Turbo Auto

 

[kwnate]

Sounds like my trip... I got home last tuesday, 2000miles from Eastern Iowa to Seattle Washington. I was in the middle of South Dakota and my temp started to rise, this ment turn off the AC and turn on the heat... Next gas stop I checked it out, nothing out of the ordinary. With the heat on, the gauge stayed below the half way point, I found the problem in Idaho, fixed it and smooth sailing the rest of the way!! A small coolant line to the throttle body was cracked...

I'll try on your questions

1. Low Coolant level
2. Loose wobling steering, not normal
3. Alignment, wheel balance and possibly new struts are probably in your future.

 

[Charlie97L]

yeah i was thinking about the strut thing, i'm sure at 105K they are tired, if not blown... i'm getting it totally tuned up this week too, alignment, new tires, balance, etc. low coolant huh... that's an easy fix. thanks bro.

anyone have any ideas on the loose feeling steering?

 

[supra90turbo]

loose steering...
worn steering shaft (not likely at 105k)
tie rods (inner and/or outer)
possibly even ball joints.

when you bring it to get tuned up, ask the mechanic to give it a once over and see if there's anything he suggests. but bring it to a reputable mechanic. not one who will tell you anything just to make a buck...



oh, and congratulations

 

[billspreston01]

sweet! So you say it's an 89 turbo auto, very nice. How's she look? congrats on the buy!

 

[Charlie97L]

thanks guys, i'll post up some pics in the morning... i'm just too beat to do it now.

it's awesome, got repainted last summer, needs a little touching up here and there, and the interior is mint. unfortunately it's the early 89 model, so i'll have a bitchload more work should i ever want to put in a 1jz. anyway, just checkin it out and all that... i'm just trying to make a "fix it" priority list.

 

[DrakeMK3]

1. Your bird is gone (a little joke among supra owners).

2. You suspension issues could be bad bushings, tie rods, or ball joints.

3. Blown struts or cracked rear subframe could cause this issue.

Congratulations and welcome to the stage of your life where you donate your life savings to a car!

 

[Charlie97L]

my bird is gone? explain!

 

[DrakeMK3]

Haha...to many people, the radiator light looks like a birdcage. So, when they see it, they may joke about how the magical bird that controls their boost level is gone.

 

[Charlie97L]

ha! that's good...

 

[Zach]

hehehe, I've never heard the bird joke before. That's great

 

[Charlie97L]

just to update, fixed the low coolant light, and all my tires were very under pressure, that helped a lot with the steering. i'm getting the suspension and bushings looked at when i get it inspected. thanks for all the help guys. :-D