Supra Loose Manifold

Supra Loose Manifold, part 1

Plan.

November 16 1998, my first big repair on my Supra that I am doing. Originally, this repair was to fix a loose exhaust manifold. I also suspected another blown head gasket. I am very disappointed to have to be doing this work as it's only been 39,000 miles since I gave the dealership more than $3000 to fix a blown head gasket and rebuild this thing. My thinking went like this. In order to properly re-torque the manifold, the turbo has to come off- since the turbo is coming off, maybe I can do a couple of mods while I'm digging around in there- if I want to do mods, they would be easier with the engine out- with the engine out, I can take the time to detail the bay- ok, the engine comes out.

Project.

I started by draining the engine, coolant, and trans fluids. Then I removed the radiator and all coolant hoses. The wiring harness was very easy to take loose from the car- there are just five connectors behind the glove box and the whole thing puls out of the firwall and lays on top of the engine. I hope everything else is this well thought out.

I will be modifying this harness for the larger injectors that I have.

I had to crack one of the turbo elbow bolts using a hammer and cold chisel - I pounded straight down on the bolt until I had made a groove, and then pounded at an angle counter clockwise until the bolt split. With this done, I completely removed the exhaust from the car. This still seems like the easiest thing to do just to get it out of the way. I didn't want to break open the a/c system and I wanted the compressor out of the way and mostly immobile so I didn't damage any lines, so I just tied it to the side using some string. The fuel lines I just disconnected from the engine and used bolts to plug the holes.

I jacked the back of the car up and put it on jack stands as high as it would go hoping this would make it easier for everything to clear the front of the car. The chain I had didn't have the welded loops on the end, so I had to notch out the engine hooks to get the link to fit over it. Once the back end of the trans was all loose (don't forget the shifter knob, I did), I supported it with a floor jack. The jack wheels should allow everything to roll forward. Be sure to duct tape a block of wood across the inside of the member that runs across the front of the car. The engine and trans are heavy and it doesn't take much for the bottom pulley to dent this (ask me how I know). I left the bottom pulley on to protect the aluminum timing cover. I raised the engine until the trans was about to hit the hump, and then I lowered the rear of the tranny a bit. Eventually the front of the engine was almost clear of the front member and the trans was hanging in space.

Difficulty.

I have helped friends remove their engines before but never mine, so I was very slow and meticulous with this one. As it turned it wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be, but still not for the faint of heart. This is an awful lot of weight and money to have hanging on a few links of chain no matter what the load test strength. Getting the engine high enough to clear the front of the car was a bit of a problem. I ended up having to tilt the engine even further by slipping a couple of links of the chain through the hoist. I have heard of one guy that recommends loosening the front suspension and cross member and lifting the body of the car up. This might be easier, but not everyone can get access to a lift.

Problems.

I found that the turbo inlet hose was baked solid and had a crack on the bottom of it.

The intercooler hose clamp on the bottom of the turbo was just barely tight. I wonder how many other problems I will find before this is all over.

Intermission.

With the engine on the floor, the turbo, intake manifold, alternator, head, and trans still attached, it looks pretty dirty. Since I suspected another blown head gasket, I decided to go ahead and remove the head. On to part 2.

Here I go.	Hood and some other items off.	Engineis all looser.
On her way up.	Hanging from chain.	Out and ready to take apart.