1989 Supra Clutch

[dlr]

Hi,

I have just looked at a mk3(?) 1989 supra 3 litre manual non-turbo and it was all good, rear arches bit iffy but I dont care. Problem was the clutch was slipping under heavy load and the bite point was right at the top of the pedal. I understand its hydraulic and has no manual adjustment. The fluid level was up high so can it be anything else other than the clutch is worn out and on its last legs?

Is it an expensive job to do? I would have thought its quite easy to phyiscally swap it but I cant find a price for a clutch right now as Google is useless. I can ring a garage tommorow and if its going to be cheap I will probably make the bloke an offer

any advice would be good thanks

Darren

[Leeky]

any advice would be good thanks

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Sounds like the clutch IS on its last legs indeed. Thing is there are SOOOO many MK3's out there that you should be very picky and you will find a low mileage one which needs little or no work doing to it

Clutch (i hear) is very straight forward but you really do need a hydro lift to get under the car or else its going to be quite a task.

You really need to speak to Karma Supra as he has done this before on his MK3

[dlr]

well I would get local garage to do it as i know the owner quite well. It was on 146K which is quite high but purred nicely and the engines go on a long way I believe? It needed a new thermostat as well as it was running cold and only chucking in cold air.

hes got it up for 995 with a toad cat 1 alarm and some momo alloys (has original wheels as well). I suspect he would come down to 800 or so but bearing in mind rear arches are not perfect does this seem too much?

he doesnt know when the cambelt was done either

cheers

[Leeky]

Humm, sounds it could well be a good car as long as you get the clutch done on the cheap (as well as the arches). Still im sure you could get one with a good clutch for that kinda money. I would have said its really worth half what he wants - around £400

this one has only done 82k and is a turbo, one of the very last mk3's from 92 before the mk4 came out

Just had a service and its got a HKS exhaust - a real bargain

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...4503233546&rd=1

[dlr]

unfortunatly thats an auto but I see what youre saying, it has history, much lower mileage etc, time to look around a bit more I think although I will still ring the garage tommorow about clutch price and perhaps make him a silly offer :)

cheers for the help

[adi]

Thing is there are SOOOO many MK3's out there that you should be very picky and you will find a low mileage one which needs little or no work doing to it 

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so many mk3's? where? becoming very thin on the ground now.. especially decent ones, but they tend to fetch the higher prices.

DLR, arches on the earlier pre-91 models are normally a bit iffy, but thats the only part of the car that rusts. Later years remedied the problem.

yes, the clutch soundslike its on the way out, and yes its a big job and a PITA.

As for buying a mk3, steer clear of eBay. Generally only bad examples are on there unless youre VERY lucky. Beware of any indiciations of coolant or heating problems (ie expansion tank overflowing, temp gauge erratic, gurgling noises) , and that includes cabin heater problems, as the mk3 is very prone to blowing head gaskets.

If you really want a mk3, go to the owners club at mkiiisupra.net as there are a few for sale at the moment. try and go for a later model J or K reg as they are the only ones currently keeping their value.

adi

PS dont discount autos, as the autobox is very very good and despite what you hear an auto is fun to drive...

[dlr]

hi

thanks for points. I will leave this one. Can a sign of head gasket going be cold heater then and the thing running really cold?

I certainly wouldnt buy a car off eBay without seeing it first. I went and looked a 309 gti on there which was apparently a great low mileage example...dont recall them smoking like a b*tch as standard! :)

only issues with the auto is whether it would make it a bit more boring to drive. My drive to work is down a twisty country lane not open A roads. Also i expect the fuel economy would be even more hilariously low :D

[adi]

I've never heard of head gasket problems causing them to run cold, but it could be a broken or missing thermostat. This of course could have been removed because of the blown head gasket in an attempt to cover the overheating problem up... which has been known before.

Autos are far from boring.. but you have to learn how to use them. There is sooooooo much more to an auto than push and go.

[dlr]

what i thought. im looking at a nearby auto on eBay, sent him a load of emails and if it sounds ok will go take a look and a drive before i think about bidding.

very shiny engine bay you have there :)

[Karma Supra]

The heaters often run cold as the heater controll valve goes.. there isa dobdge for it to make it work hot/cold, but you'll lose climate control.

The clutch for that car is the one for the W58 gearbox, its a simple straigh forward regular clutch (unlike the wrong way round pain in the **** turbo ones), if you want stock get one from toyota, the blueprint ones are !Removed!. while its apart I'd also chean the slave cylinder, as they have external workings on the N/A and get fithy!

To get the gearbox off is easy, the hardest part being the very top two bolts at the top, need a long extension bar with a wobbler end... (or two).

Engine guage running cold is usually the thermostat (£6 from toyota).

If you can't find a decent manual don;t worry about the autos.. they are actually not tHAT bad... and if you hate it THAT much, you can change it to manual!!! I have most of the bits going spare, including 3 of the manual n/a. gearboxes.

[dlr]

im going to leave the one with the dodgy clutch as it had a number of other niggles but am looking at this auto now. Do you know roughly how much the clutch is to buy though for future reference?

What sort of real world fuel figures do you get, ~20 for manual, couple less for auto?