[Fern82ma61]

What’s up guys and gals , I’m new here and decided to throw my newest project up.
A little back story, I’ve always loved cars and everything related with them. I love working on them and bringing them back to life ,I have 3 jeeps and a Datsun 280zx. I have a soft spot for Japanese cars and so does my little brother.
This build is for him. Don’t know what made him want one so bad but for the past year or two he became obsessed with the mk2 Supra. He’s only thirteen but when I saw this one for sale a few hours away and for a rather good price I couldn’t sleep on it. Plan is to get it running and driving reliably by the time he gets his license.

So here’s the project.

 

[Fern82ma61]

Car hasn’t moved since 2002 apparently. Car was saved from the junkyard by the previous owner and now I need to figure out what’s wrong with it.

So far we have -
* removed rust from gas tank doing electrolysis multiple times.

* replaced fuel pump and filter (what a pain)

* replaced engine oil and filter

* replaced spark plugs and poured a little bit of oil down the cylinders.

* removed timing cover and verified all timing marks lined up


So far I still can’t get it to run , kind of has me stumped , I verified I have good spark, made sure timing marks are all lined up , verified I’m getting fuel by pushing on the afm flap and hearing the pump run. Next im thinking is I need to check injectors and or compression

 

[Tanya]

Check all your ground points and replace if corroded or damaged. Battery to chassis, battery to engine block, cylinder head to firewall, engine harness to underside of intake plenum, transmission to chassis, are all grounds.

Where did you verify spark at? Coil, or spark plugs? You can have good spark out of the coil and still not get it to the cylinders if the dizzy cap or rotor are bad, or the distributor itself.

How did you verify fuel?

Also check all your relays under hood (EFI, main, STOP) and check the ignition fuse in driver's side kick panel. If they look old, replace them regardless. Fuses can be sneaky sometimes.

 

[dannoxyz]

If you can hear FP running, trace flow of petrol and check various spots along way:

1. fuel-lines - disconnect outlet line from fuel-filter. Run pump, does petrol flow from fuel-line? If not, fuel-line or filter is clogged

2. fuel-rail. Reconnect line to filter. Remove fuel-rail, remove injectors, Place bucket under rail (cat litter box works). Run pump, does petrol flow out of rail? If not, hose from filter or rail is clogged

etc.

 

[Fern82ma61]

Morning ! And Thanks for the replies guys , it’s very much appreciated since I really want to get this car going. to answer the questions , I verified I had spark at the spark plug itself , and it appeared to be a good healthy spark.

For the fuel pressure itself , I felt along the fuel pressure hose while I had the fuel pump running and I could feel the fuel flowing through the fuel filter outlet line. I know I know it’s not the most accurate way of testing , I don’t see any spot where I can hook up a fuel pressure gauge sadly.

Would it be okay if I pulled the line going to the cold start injector to see if I’m getting fuel flow or would that be an inaccurate way of checking ?

Worst case scenario I probably will pull the fuel rail off and see if I’m getting fuel out of the injectors.


Other few things I’ve noticed that might help isolate the issue , I noticed the dizzy was adjusted all the way counterclockwise , makes me wonder if someone pulled it and maybe threw it back in ?

I also sprayed starting fluid down the throttle body to see if I could get it too run for at least a second to see if I could completely isolate this to being a fuel system problem but alas the car didnt start even on starting fluid.

 

[Mr_Random]

Morning ! And Thanks for the replies guys , it’s very much appreciated since I really want to get this car going. to answer the questions , I verified I had spark at the spark plug itself , and it appeared to be a good healthy spark.

For the fuel pressure itself , I felt along the fuel pressure hose while I had the fuel pump running and I could feel the fuel flowing through the fuel filter outlet line. I know I know it’s not the most accurate way of testing , I don’t see any spot where I can hook up a fuel pressure gauge sadly.

Would it be okay if I pulled the line going to the cold start injector to see if I’m getting fuel flow or would that be an inaccurate way of checking ?

Worst case scenario I probably will pull the fuel rail off and see if I’m getting fuel out of the injectors.


Other few things I’ve noticed that might help isolate the issue , I noticed the dizzy was adjusted all the way counterclockwise , makes me wonder if someone pulled it and maybe threw it back in ?

I also sprayed starting fluid down the throttle body to see if I could get it too run for at least a second to see if I could completely isolate this to being a fuel system problem but alas the car didnt start even on starting fluid.

If the spark was good and in-time, it should have started with the starting fluid...

I would certainly still check injectors; mine were sitting for 10 years and varnished closed. I back-fed them 12v and ground with the harness disconnected at the resistor and ECM, tapping against the terminal until i heard and felt them clicking.

That isn't likely to solve the problem though. If the distributor is mechanically timed correctly, most likely the igniter has a bad connection to the ECM. Something along these lines is happening.

 

[Fern82ma61]

Awesome will give that a try ^^

All the reply’s are very much appreciated , have learned so much from this place already!!

And ……I finally got it to run for a few seconds !!!! I’m so happy haha so many hours spent trying to figure it out lol.

I was suspect about the distributor and I guess I was right , it appears someone messed with it before and didn’t put it in right , so I set the engine to tdc and the distributor was way off , so I corrected it , sprayed some starting fluid down the throttle body and she ran for a few secs !!!!


Now I gotta get it to stay running , so I gotta figure out the fueling issue

 

[Mr_Random]

Awesome will give that a try ^^

All the reply’s are very much appreciated , have learned so much from this place already!!

And ……I finally got it to run for a few seconds !!!! I’m so happy haha so many hours spent trying to figure it out lol.

I was suspect about the distributor and I guess I was right , it appears someone messed with it before and didn’t put it in right , so I set the engine to tdc and the distributor was way off , so I corrected it , sprayed some starting fluid down the throttle body and she ran for a few secs !!!!


Now I gotta get it to stay running , so I gotta figure out the fueling issue

Probably have to get the injectors going again at this rate; is certainly possible on the vehicle but wasn't easy for me. I have a Bosch injector terminal and harness that's about 3 feet long and used it to get them clicking again. They shouldn't really be damaged by constant 12v, but I recommend short pulses as that will help break the little solenoid inside free best.

 

[Fern82ma61]

Okay will try that next then , thanks for the advice , it really does help a lot !!! I will update with results 👍🏽

 

[SilverMk2]

Seems pretty simple to check the spark especially on these cars. Pull a plug wire and hold the end near a ground and see if you get an arc. If its not at least popping on starter fluid you've got some kind of spark issue like a bad ignitor.

 

[dannoxyz]

yay, progress! Mentioned earlier you have spark. Running on starter fluid confirms spark. Good job on adjusting distributor! Easy to get it off by one tooth, should confirm with timing light.

Now just need to confirm fuel. You know there's petrol in tank. Just need to trace path and find where it stops.

 

[Fern82ma61]

Thanks for all the advice , you guys are awesome , as of today , it’s finally running after 19 years !!! Found a large rip on the intake tube was keeping it from running.
Only bad thing is that the engine is knocking rather badly . But it’s fine we’re not giving up on this , I’m committed to getting this back on the road.

 

[Mr_Random]

Thanks for all the advice , you guys are awesome , as of today , it’s finally running after 19 years !!! Found a large rip on the intake tube was keeping it from running.
Only bad thing is that the engine is knocking rather badly . But it’s fine we’re not giving up on this , I’m committed to getting this back on the road.

Can you tell where the knocking is from? Mine made some rough noises until the first two heat cycles woke up the valve adjusters/lifters and all the cylinders came online fully. Compression test will help preliminary diagnosis.

 

[RedP85]

A full quart of Marvel Mystery Oil does wonders on cleaning sludge on the top end.
Many here will recommended it on every oil change.

Congrats for doing this for your brother. Hopefully he is alongside with you to learn about it.

 

[Fern82ma61]

It seems like it’s coming from the bottom end of the engine , I’m going to give it a closer listen this weekend with a stethoscope to try and pinpoint but it’s most likely rod knock.
I’ll give the marvel mystery oil a go , never hurt to try right ?
And yeah he’s a good kid , he’s been obsessed with celica Supras for the past two years. So far he’s been putting the interior back together and has been there to help every step of the way !

 

[dannoxyz]

Send an oil-sample in for analysis. Will tell you what things are wearing and by how much.

Not that difficult to hang engine from strut-towers and lower crossmember. Then remove oil-pan and remove con-rod bearing-cap to inspect rod-bearings. About as much time as it takes to replace oil-pan gasket, so I replace rod-bearings at same time. Here's rod-bearings at 200k-miles, definitely at worn-out limit.

I replace rod-bearings on my Porsche track-car every 200-hrs or so. Or yearly, whichever comes 1st.

 

[Fern82ma61]

Just to update this thread , I did confirm that it had rod knock. Maybe that’s why they sent this car to the junkyard in the first place. No worries though. I’m not giving up on this. I’m getting this car back on the road.

I think my next plan of action is to actually get a revived title on this thing. This car has no title since it was sent to the junkyard in Fresno CA. I have the paper work to actually get a title and after speaking to the California dmv this thing needs to get a vin inspection before I can get a title. So that’s my next step. Once I actually secure a title I will start searching for an engine or rebuild this current one.


Right now to keep myself busy I’m in the process of getting everything electrical working.

I’ve gotten the headlights , turn signals working now
And I found a radio wire grounding out causing the taillights and dash lights fuse to keep blowing. Will repair that this weekend. Still need to figure out hazards and horn and put the interior back together since it’s all apart

Plenty of work to do on this old piece 😃

 

[AJ]

FYI Your local CHP office should be able to do a VIN inspection or maybe if your a CSAA member check with them as well.

 

[Fern82ma61]

Got the rear interior back together , cleaned lighting connectors before throwing everything back on.

Got the horn , hazards , turn signals , license plate lights and headlights working. Only issue right now is that the side marker lights don’t appear to illuminate.

still missing a few pieces here and there but it’s coming along rather nicely.
Btw Anyone got a good running 5mge within a few hundred miles from Vegas by any chance ? 😅

 

[Mr_Random]

I think i just saw one on PHX craigslist, I'll search and get back to you. AZ here, but no spare parts myself unfortunately.

Fb marketplace 5mge phx

7mge LA area