Gixxer's Rebuild....again

[gixxer750]

Ok.... Where to start.

1. Bought 2 supras for $1000, fixed the no firing problem, then a bad turbo. Got that fixed, devolped rodknock, and tore into it.

2 got block hottanked, new crankshaft and bearings, and had rods resized.

3 checked all clearances and assembled shortblock. Up to almost $2k in the engine now.

4 Will be up and running by this weekened :)

* I want to post pics, but by the time they get small enough on lowest quality, you can't even see them.....

[IJ.]

Gixxer: Do what I do host em on the webspace most ISP's give you then they can be any size/quality you want!
(I thumbnail mine for the 56k guys)

[Idealsupra]

just go to photobucket.com and get a free account...free hosting i use it for ALL my pictures...

[gixxer750]

The engine is in and the motor mounts are bolted up. All the accessories are on the engine. I will be test driving it tommorow night! Everyone wish me luck, pray for me...do something! I want it to run right.

[IJ.]

<fingers crossed>

[Idealsupra]

[rob schneider voice] YOU CAN DOOOO IT! [/rob schneider voice] :D

[gixxer750]

Sorry, been a few days since an update. Well, I've been super busy with this for the past few days and the outcome seems to be good. Its in, it runs, its smooth and sounds great. I have 26 psi of oil pressure at idle(warm) and at 2000 rpm going down the road I have 41 psi. That sound good? My valve cover gaskets are leaking just a hair, I'll fix that in the morning. I went out in it about two hours ago and eased around for 50 miles. I let it idle while I put the interior together, fixed the tail lights, and checked my tire pressures. (about 45 minutes.) Temp gauge never went up over 1/4 of the way. Heater works, A/C works, cruise works. Everything in the car works except for the lights up by the targa on the inside. It runs beautifully, no hesitations or anything. I got an awesome turbo it seems, because I could not keep it from boosting 1-2 psi up hills. I tried downshifting to 4th and being really light on the gas while letting it slow speed going up the hill and it still boosted. I guess that will be ok. I'll be driving it the 25 miles to work tommorrow(although, I will be leaving early.) My only problems seem to be the valve cover gasket leak and I have a bad wire in my harness going to the ECU giving me a code 11 if I wiggle the wires. I'm already loving this car. It rides silently with the windows up, the shifter is firm with excellent shift quality, it handles great, and the engine is super smooth! I think the targa will be out on the way to work tommorow so I can experience that. I know I won't be accelerating hard, so no worry about body flex. Thanks for all the help through this IJ, and I'll have to put some pics and maybe a video up soon. Wish me luck everyone!

[IJ.]

Gixxer: Great news and funny my interior lights don't always work as well!

I was glad to give even the small assistance I did you've done well! :D

Congrats <golf clap>

(I wouldn't let it idle for so long till the rings seat a bit though)

[gixxer750]

The reason I let it idle for so long is in the past I've heard the first time that lets the bearings seat well before they are loaded. It won't be doing any idling anymore other than a short warm up period. The engine was a lot harder to get reinstalled than I thought. If there ever is a next time, I know of some things that I will put back on before putting the engine in. I had a scare when I put coolant in it the first time. (forgot to put the nuts on the coolant pipe that comes out of the back of the water pump!!!) Can't believe that I did that. I also have to pull my cps back out, as it is out a notch. The lowest I can get my base timing is 11 deg.

[IJ.]

LOL I forgot to put the whole tube on! DOH!
(caught it just as I was about to drop it in)

The block in the 7M has to be some of the hardest cast iron known to man and tends to glaze the rings if idled with fresh rings, this slows down the seating process and in extreme cases may prevent them ever seating (same reason why you don't break in a new motor on synthetic or oils with friction modifiers)

[JerzeySlowpra]

good luck

[gixxer750]

My rebuild has 117.8 miles on it now after the commute to work and back. Still have to fix my valve cover gasket leak, as it seems to be getting worse. I'm not gonna drive it again until I get that fixed and the oil changed. It still runs silently, has the same oil pressure as the first time I started it yesterday. Have had no problems yet. The aftermarket clutch that the previous owner had put in it during his rebuild is kind of harsh. Its still an organic sprung disk, but it engages pretty hard anyhow. My flex pipe seems to be replaced, but there will be a 3 inch downpipe and 3 inch exhaust fitted after break in is over. I'm scared of boost right now, even the little bit I get going up steep hills. That turbo just makes boost soooooo easily. Only 900 miles to go before I can boost!!!! So, in about a week and a half, it'll be ready.

Couple of questions. My fuel gauge is non functional. How much fuel with the supra tank hold? How many miles per gallon is the average? How many miles to tank do you get? I guess this is mainly for the commuters. I don't plan on boosting on it for a while, so I just need to know this to make sure I don't run out of gas. The gauge worked when I bought the car, as it was at 1/4 tank. Now it doesn't move off of E. The fuel light however, does work. I'll get around to fixing it before long. I guess I'll try to change the gauge itself first. I guess thats all for now. I'll be back with another update soon.

[IJ.]

Tank holds about 75L and I used to get around 50 KM's once the light was on but I wouldn't take that as gospel! ;) (I have a 2nd tank of LPG on board so if it runs dry I can switch)

[7MGTEJoe]

It's good to see that this thread came back.

I get around 20 mpg around town and have seen 28 on long trips with the cruise control set.

[gixxer750]

how many miles to the tank....75 liters is....?

[gixxer750]

so...its 22 gallons?

[IJ.]

so...its 22 gallons?
19.8129 of your US gallons!

[Blue87T(Dan)]

Tank is 18.5 gallons.

Fill it up every 300 miles. You will never run out that way.

I get 24.5 on the highway and 20ish around town.

Dan

[gixxer750]

well, just changed my oil, also fixed my valve cover gasket leaks. My oil had some matter in it, or maybe it was just from the drain pan. I took the oil filter, and cut it open. Then I pulled all of the filter element apart and layed it down flat. Found 1 piece of copper(must have missed that in the cleaning somehow) and what looked like a little bit of bearing material, along with a fleck of red paint(from the engine stand I believe). Its amazing what you can still miss when you think the thing is spotless. Still seems to be running alright. After the oil change, I pulled the EFI fuse, and fired her over until it built oil pressure. I didn't like the long wait for it to fill the filter completly. I normally fill my filters with oil, but I don't see how I could on this car. Its near impossible to change that oil filter. I see an oil filter relocation kit in the near future.( should have changed that while it was off.

I'm getting a code 11. The TRSM says this code doesn't exist, but the haynes manual says "ECU power source" No details other than that. What's it mean? Also, since I got that code, my idle has dropped to 500 rpm instead of the 750 or so that it was. I think this is related to my wire problem. If I wiggle the ecu wires, the car dies, but that will be fixed shortly. Any other thoughs on a code 11?

Anyhow, thanks for all the support! Thus far, all is going well. I just hope my luck holds.

[gixxer750]

Today's update!

255 miles since rebuild. Still runs perfect(engine wise anyhow), same oil pressure as the first time I fired it up, and no funny noises. I have seen 1-3 psi of boost on steep hills, and it seems to take it just fine!

Still, no answers on my code 11?

I think I figured out my surging problem. If I cut the key off, while coasting down the road for about 15-30 seconds, I find that when I turn it back on it runs fine for about 5-6 more miles. It seems to be worse on bumpy roads. It doesn't do it for about 5-6 miles when I first crank it up after its been sitting for a few minutes or a while. My theory is that I have some rust in my tank, and it is stopping up the fuel pump strainer. Turn the pump off, trash falls back out of the screen, allowing fuel flow again. The surge is kind of a lean surge stumble, and seems to be engine load related.
Anyone agree with this? Its not throwing any codes other than the 11.

I'm just glad the thing is running good. How many more miles should I be really really easy on it? I was thinking about 1000 miles total was fully broken in? I want to hear lots of opinions on this! That is all for tonight!

[IJ.]

Gixxer: 1000 is a good number as in that time any small bug will let you know they're there and can be fixed!

Not sure on your code 11 as I don't have any experience (at all) with the stock ECU codes!

Could be a tank fullOcrap like you describe, be a good idea to drop it and clean it out anyway and who knows you might find the cause!

Have you 12 volt modded the pump yet?

[catch2nd]

i wouldn't worry about the 12v mod with you list of mods, how ever you could be getting crap on the screen like you think...

I had a carbed 86 f-350 that and you could hit a bump and the motor would totally lose fuel and shut off. Seeing as it was a mechanical fuel pump you would have to wait untill the motor stopped to try starting again. Sure enough the tank was fullll of leaves and all that good stuff

[suprra_girl]

code 11 = temporary interruption of power to ecu

mine did this when my ignitor earthed out... i believe others have said that it's also the grounds on the intake manifold

good luck :)

[gixxer750]

322 miles

fixed my gas gauge this morning, and confirmed with a flashlight that my tank is indeed full of nasty crap. Still having the surging problem and being extremely careful not to boost in the case that this is fuel starvation. The engine is still running perfect, still excellent oil pressure. I will be changing the oil again at <500 miles. I'll be dropping the tank this weekend, cleaning it, replacing the strainer, replacing the filter(and attempting to relocate it), and blowing out all the lines. Hopefully this will resolve my problem and any future problems I have. I'm still getting 30+ mpg though :)

My hatch is still leaking, and so is the targa just a hair. I'll be fixing both of those shortly. I plan on a full repaint (door jambs, inside panels, and underhood) early this summer, so I'll be looking for a 89+ front bumper, mouldings, and rear lights before then since I plan on doing this anyway. I'm looking for the perfect set of wheels and tires to put on it. I'm also going to be draining the cheap gear oil I put in, and going with mobil 1 80w-90 this weekend in the trans and rear end. I put the cheap stuff in for a few miles to flush any debris out. I've got to work on my brakes some more, as I think there is still a little air in the lines. The rears finally stopped squealing after the rust finally came off the rotors.

I guess thats all for tonight.

[gixxer750]

390 miles.......HELP!!!!

Drove the car to work today, it seems the surging is getting progressivly worse. So, I took it down to one of my customer's shop and put it on the lift. I dropped the tank, and cleaned it out. I replaced the nasty ass fuel pump strainer, and the filter while I had the tank out. Ran like a top for the usual five minutes, and then the same problem again. When I drove it home, it got so bad that it took my 20 minutes to get up the one mile of uphill that I call my driveway. Could this be the fuel pump going? I pulled it up in the driveway, stopped, and let her idle for a few. It got very lopy and stayed around 500 rpm for a few seconds and then died. It cranked right back up and ran fine for about 10 seconds, then got lopy and died again. I can no longer drive the car. If anyone thinks this is the fuel pump, does anyone have a good stock pump they can send me fairly cheap? I have to do something! I tried the ignitor, because I notic ed it was pretty damn hot after a 10 minute run during the day, but that didn't help either. I had another known good ignitor that was working perfectly, and it didn't help any at all. I know my ECU is good, as I swapped it and tried another and it did the same. The only two things I can think of are the coil packs getting hot and misfiring badly or the fuel pump not supplying enough volume or pressure. It seems to still be load related, as it does it much worse going up hill.

The best way I can describe it now is a loss of power with a jerkiness that turns into a surge if you apply slightly more throttle. I wish I had a way of testing fuel pressure on the road. That would be nice. Turning the key off and coasting no longer works. It used to work so that the car would run about 5 miles or so before acting up again, now it works for about 5-10 seconds. It went from 5 miles to 5-10 seconds on the way home. I thought I was never going to make it. Someone please help!!!!!

Anyone, give me your opinion on this!

[suprra_girl]

wow... that is freaky as.... exactly the same thing happened to me today on the 1ggte - 7mgte swap... i'm guessing fuel pump also... i'm still using the stock 1ggte pump... so in with a 7m one tomorrow... will be checking for boost leaks also

good luck with yours :)

[IJ.]

Suze: Is there a difference between the ggte and 7m pumps?

[suprra_girl]

well... i would assume that there is... but since we were just running it in... no boost, no wot no hardcore gassing required, i thought the 1g pump would be able to deliver

but maybe i was wrong lol
or it could be just the pump dying or the filter clogged up real bad... i'll know soon coz i'm rippin it out :)

[suprra_girl]

well we found our problem... definitely fuel pump LOL

http://www.supra.co.nz/fp1.jpg

loaded with dirt
and what looks like bog dust :wtf:

[IJ.]

Ewwww! ;)

[gixxer750]

pulled my tank again, and cleaned it again. the first time I just kind of sloshed some gas around and dumped it out. This time, I got the hose out and cleaned it till it was perfect inside. The fuel entrance to the baffling was stopped up, and I just knew that that was the problem. got that cleaned out, put it back together, and put fresh gas in, and it still did exactly the same thing. It will no longer run any longer than 10 seconds at a time. Afer it dies, the fuel pump continues to run for about 5-7 seconds and then cuts off, but it has a strange sound to it. It is a carter pump in the tank. I can crank the car up, let it idle for a second to get the oil pressure up, and then hold it at 2500 rpm. The rpm will slowly fall back to 1000, and no amount of pushing on the pedal will keep it up. When it gets to 1000, it quickly falls to 500, stumbles around for a few seconds and then dies. I'm on the way now to buy a fuel pressure gauge to check this out. Its either the pump, or just not a fuel problem. Anyone, let me know something!!!!

[IJ.]

Don't know if you mentioned it but have you replaced the filter?

[gixxer750]

yep, brand new filter IJ

[IJ.]

Before or after the tank clean?

[gixxer750]

after

[IHI-RHC7]

Gixxer I'd pull the fuel feed line from the rail, and jumper Fp and B+ on the check connecter, and spit a tank of gas into a five gallon bucket to make sure your lines aren't clogged/pinched, etc...

[IJ.]

Gixxer I'd pull the fuel feed line from the rail, and jumper Fp and B+ on the check connecter, and spit a tank of gas into a five gallon bucket to make sure your lines aren't clogged/pinched, etc...
Gixxer: As IHI says give it a go then try the fuel pressure gauge to see if the pump is laying down!

[gixxer750]

I'll get on that at some point this week for sure. Right now I'm tied up with other things. If my fuel pump died, should I just get a walbro 255? It is cheaper than a stock pump. Cheaper than even a parts store stock pump, as a carter pump is around $150 I see walbro 255's on ebay for $99 with free shipping all day long!

[IJ.]

I'm using a Walbro and apart from it being a bit noisy it's fine!

[gixxer750]

Today's update 589 miles :)

The fuel pump fixed the problem early this morning. It also fixed my low(500rpm) idle problem. My car idles around 800 rpm now, and has settled to around 27 psi of idle oil pressure. The blowby smoke from the custom pcv setup is now gone completly. The car is running perfect after riding around all day today with the targa out. I finished my stereo install today. It consists of 4 rockford fosgate 5.25 inch component speakers with seperate tweeters, a kenwood cd/mp3/sirrus reciever, and 1 JL audio W3 10" woofer in a truck box powered by an alpine 300 watt amp. Turns out the truck box will fit laying down with the targa in the trunk :)

I changed the oil again this morning and it looked like....well oil. No metal flakes or anything else in it, and it wasn't even black. Another thousand miles and it will be on mobil 1 15W-50. I fixed my TEMS where a rat had chewed through the wires. I fixed my rear hatch leak(it was the spoiler). I adjusted my timing today, as the CPS was a notch out and my base timing was 15 degrees. I have been boosting a few psi on it now and again to let it know its there. Just giving it quarter throttle and letting it pull to about 3000 rpm in third or fourth gear sometimes. Seems to really like boost, and I love the BPV letting the boost escape. I just love that woooooosh sound :)

Thats all for today, it seems all is well so far :)

[gixxer750]

I now have over 800 miles on it. The car has had no more problems so far. Picked up a 7 foot section of three inch exhaust pipe to build my exhaust out of. I also bought a Greddy Profec B Spec II boost controller(new in box) from a friend for $80. I also ordered a 3" downpipe to go with my new exhaust.

I am pulling 22 inches of vacum at idle and a little over 30 if I let off the gas going down the road. I changed my plugs and did a compression test. Here are the numbers

1 151
2 151
3 152
4 150
5 151
6 152


So, all seems well so far.

IJ, where did you get that oil accumulator from? Does it release oil pressure into the system before you turn the engine over? Someone was telling me about one that stores oil under pressure while the engine is running and then releases it before you turn the engine over to eliminate dry starts. I am very interested in that.

I guess thats about all thats new now. I'll post any updates back later

[IJ.]

Gixxer: Mine is a Moroso accumulator you can get them from just about any performance store!

It has a manual tap on it but you could easily replace that with a solenoid to preoil the system on cold starts!

I don't do this though.

I have it mainly to prevent rod knock :)!

[gixxer750]

I love this car, I finally got to flog it a little bit, and it absolutly hauls ass for a stock 80's car :) I did about 2 10PSI pulls with a wideband hooked up and it all looks good. I think I'm gonna set 10 as my high boost setting on my EBC. I have about 6.5 dialed in as my low boost setting, and I like it for normal driving. I had to play around with it some, as it now has 1100 miles on it. I figure at that mileage it is safe to WOT it a few times. I am still running the stock exhaust, with both cats and both mufflers in place. At 10PSI, from a rolling start(about 20mph) to 100mph, I pulled 3 lengths on my buddy's '76 turbocharged 280Z (also running 10psi). It ran 13.94 at the track about 2 weeks ago in full street trim. I can't wait to get my full 3 inch exhaust built. I'm planning on running 2 12inch glasspacks in the system to tone it down some. I know it will probably be fairly loud under full boost, but it won't have any exhaust restrictions.... I am loving the greddy EBC, as it works very nicely and produces very conistant boost with no spikes. I'm wondering how much power is to be had from a full 3" system(including elbow) on this thing at 10psi.