[82MKIILtype]

Whatever you do,

DON"T EVER TAKE A PARTS GUY WORD WHEN THEY SAY "SURE THIS IS FOR YOUR MODEL" !!!!

It's not! It never is! It's the wrong shape, wrong colour, wrong material, hey :wtf: is that a Ford logo on the package???? AAAAHHHHHHH!!!

I did a head swap about two months ago and have had temperature guage prolems ever since. I've replaced EVERYTHING! New Rad (needed one anyways...) new hoses, thermostat, thermostat housing (woops ... that was my fault), and last Friday, a rad cap. I've even bought a temp sender unit incase it was just reading B.S.

I was making a 3 hour trip into Ottawa to go to my own University Graduation when I picked up the new rad cap at the dealer and poped it on. Well look at that! The temperature is actually behaving for a change .... Well at least for the first 20 minuits. Doing 130 km down the 401 when I hear PPBBBSSTSTTTSSSPSSPPSBBSBsssssss and I imediatly am driving in my own personal ummmm FOG?? I thought at that moment that perhaps I had sprung a small coolant leak and should pull over and investigate. No wait ... that's not what I thought ... it was more like :bad-word: After a few quiet moments I thought i should probabley look under the hood and this is where I see coolant uke: out of my thermostat housing seal.

Flashback to two freaking months ago when I bought my new thermostat and gasket. This dosn't look like the old gasket? This new one is rubber, not paper. Are you SURE this is the right gasket??? Yup! Pay for it and take 'er home. And I did.

WORST DECISION EVER!!!

All of this became perfectly clear as I stood at the Parts counter yet agian ordering a new thermostat gasket and look ... it's a paper gasket! Did I mention that this was at a TOYOTA DEALERSHIP both times! But hey, nobodys perfect and I understand this ... and they generously offered to give me the new $3.00 gasket for free!!! I however got stuck with the bill for the tow truck, another $18.00 juge of Toyota red antifreeze, and got to change it myself in freezing rain, in a parking lot ... just in time to get to my grad soaking wet.

So what's the moral of the story???
DON"T EVER TAKE A PARTS GUY WORD WHEN THEY SAY "SURE THIS IS FOR YOUR MODEL" !!!!

By the way, my cooling system works like it is brand new ... oh wait ...it is!

 

[4SFED]

I was making a 3 hour trip into Ottawa to go to my own University Graduation when I picked up the new rad cap at the dealer

Graduating from the School of Hard Knocks? 8)

 

[SupraFiend]

:greatpos:

great use of emoticons too.

oh and been there done that. New cooling systems are nice, except when all you really need in the first place was a 10 dollar part.

 

[zank]

82MKIILtype congrats on the graduating, well what ever it is you graduated from :?


Suprafiend - I think he needed more emoticons :lol:

 

[82MKIILtype]

Hey thanks!

Yeah I graduated from University of Ottawa with a B.a. in Mechanical Engineering. (more like :bs: for what it cost $$$ :crazyeye: )

I figure I should look on the bright side ... I'd rather show up late cold and wet in a Supra, than to show up early in a slow ricey Honda! :fawk:

 

[CJSREDPRA]

You just learned something new that day...

In the future, you may want to keep this in mind....

If you are going to a Toyota Parts Dept that you have never been to before, or you are dealing w/ someone new at your current dealer, use this method that I have used. After I learned the hard way one day.

When they call up the part on the computer, see if you can get a look at what's being displayed on the screen. When it display's the part information on it, most of the time, it will have some sort of reference to the letters "MA" in it.. This is generally a good sign that they are ordering the correct part for a MA Supra.... Example....

About 7 years ago, I needed to replace the heater fan resistor for the Redpra. Went to a specific dealer that is on the Eastside of the Seattle area (for those in the Seattle area, no, I did not go to Bellevue/Michael's Toyota, think north of that. And this was before Rick Griffith started working there (someone whom I DO trust), and I think I must have gotten a rookie parts guy behind the counter. He calls up the parts numbers for a heater fan resistor & 2 of them showed up. He then goes & clicks on the one that was at the top of the screen.... I happen to glance at the screen & I noticed that in the part number that he chose, there was a "RA" in part description (while I noticed that the part description that was below had a "MA" in it). I then asked the guy if this was the correct part & he said yes it is!!! Ordered the resistor & when it was time to install it...... Gee, what a surprise, it does not fit!!! What a shock, thinking that a resistor for a RA Celica that does not have Auto A/C would fit in there!!!! Went back the next day & exchanged it!!

Since then, I'm more accutely aware of what is showing up on the screen & now I'll make sure that something will at least have a "MA61" in the part description. Hate breaking in these new parts guys...

 

[82MKIILtype]

Update!

Went back to the dealer with a reciept for old gasket and even the original packaging and gurss what, it was the matching part for a Celica not the Supra. Gee this sounds familiar for some reason???

Anyways, they finally came good for the jug of coolant!!!

Oh well...

 

[SupraFiend]

in a similar vein, when you have an 86 mk2, ALWAYS say you have an 85 when asking for or ordering parts for it, from ANYWHERE.

Zank you little emoticon whore, its how you use em, not how many :wink:

 

[AJ]

Even when I order floor mats from TRD in 89 they even messed up and sent me 86.5 mats, I learned from then on "oh yeah its a 85" :wink:

Back when I still had a factory warranty I would mess with the salesman at Toyota, would drive up and they would say nice "85" and I would correct them saying no its a "888EEE666" and keep walking!!

in a similar vein, when you have an 86 mk2, ALWAYS say you have an 85 when asking for or ordering parts for it, from ANYWHERE.