Carl

I am in the process of lifting the head of my car. From those who have done the job, how heavy is the head. Can it be lifted of by one person or is it better to be lifted of via a winch. Mine seems quite stuck although I can move it, im just wondering if it purely down to the weight of the thing. Cheers Carl

I'll buy that for a dollar....

thanks guys, I always prefer to hear good feedback especially where turbos are concerned as there are some horror stories out there. I will email them my requirements. Carl

Cheers, i thought this was the case but just wanted to check. Carl

My ceramic turbos have seen better days judging by the missing tips of the ceramic blades so I will be needing to have them rebuilt with steel turbines etc. I know there are many companies that will happily rebuid a pair of turbos for about £1000 but from experience which comapnies are best? Can anyone recommend from experience or word of mouth? cheers Carl

Just a quick question. Can the head be removed with the cams in place or must the cams be removed first?

Cheers Chris, Valves are coming out so I will have it cleaned properly before reseating all the valves or replacing where nesesary. I noticed some of the cam lobes are more shiny than others in the area of the orange marking so I assume also that some re-shimming will be in order. Ill be getting my feeler gauges out. Carl

So whats the best option here. I will clean up the head before it goes back on anyway but as for what I cannot see, are you saying best not to flush through and just carry on as is. May be better oil will break it down slowly? Carl

So this is all quite normal then. Now you mention it, it does look like a laquer coating. either way I assume nothing to worry about.

It is not rust, and it doesnt feel worn in any way more than the shiny parts. it is on almost all the cam lobes. It literally is as it looks, just an orangy marking. doesnt look like a heat mark either. its got me puzzled. May i also say I have had no issues with the car either. the cams are not noisy at all when running. i have not tried rubbing it off with something i must admit. I thought generally, the cams looked pretty clean considering the cam covers have never been off before and this is without any cleaning up. carl

If I were a guessing man Id say it's some sort of wear indicator rahter like the brass effect you get on the big ends when they are worn out but is that what it is. assuming that all should wear even why is the marking not all the way around? Can anyone shed some light. the car has only done 80k. Hers a picture of the pair of cams:- carl

Sorry I should make my explanation better. The markings are on the actual can lobes themselves. I am about to remove the cams in order to remove the head.

I noticed that my cams have strange orangey marking on them. Given that the cam is rotating all the time I would have expected them to be shiny all the way around. What does this marking mean? Is this normal? Carl. Ps - it's a tt if that makes a difference

Thanks Chris, i certainly agree with replacing all gaskets. I will be ordering the full engine kit from toyota which is around £240 and should come with pretty much all of them. Im finding a few of the rubber pipes are hard and have split as I remove them so will aslo need replacing with new. If I find anything suspect then it will be replaced. Looks like my next job is to get the car up on axle stands. Is there a good place to place the axle stands under the supra as I have only ever used the jack point up to now? Carl

I can see how removing the engine would make life a whole lot easier. Trouble is I dont have a winch to lift the engine nor the space to store an engine, hence why Im have to remove head with engine in place. I appreciate that this is most likely going to be a real nightmare but I dont have any other choice. Given that this is the only way I can do it, Im just after the easiest removal method doing it this way. One thing I can asure you though, it may take me a very long time to do but I will never bodge anything, I'd be too scared of having to do all this again.. Carl

I have a couple of questions. What is the easiest way to remove the exhaust manifold with turbos. It looks difficult to get at the bolts below the turbos that hold the whole thing to the head. Is it easier to remove the 6 bolts holding the turbos or do I need to remove the 12 bolts holding the manifold to the head. I have looked at the workshop manuals but they attend to show you how to undo every single bolt which you dont necesarily want to do if you can help it. Can someone give me a few pointers to the quickest removal method plus what's the best place to start on the inlet side to. So far I am absolutely shocked at how many pipes and wires the Supra has. I,m sure the space shuttle would have less....

I cant see why not providing they are not squashed too much from bending them. You probably want to use a jubilee clip either end just to make sure the pipes dont fall off given there not the right shape.

Thanks for that guys. Great find Nic, It looks like childs play now... Carl

I cannot seem to find any threads on actually removing the head, eg nice pictures etc. Does anyone know of such a thread and also do i need to go to toyota to get the workshop manual or is there a pdf one available somewhere? Carl

I really have thought about it but in the end I want to give the head a proper once over, decoke & regrind valves back in where needed ect.

After reading a few threads on replacing the valve stem seals I have decided to embarke from next weekend on removing the head. Im a little nervous as it looks like a million pipes and wires compared to my previous Rover turbo which was simple by comparison. Hopefully, a smoke free startup once im finished. Carl

I recently baught one of these JBL radial docks for my I-phone. Its the larger radial not the micro. As it was secondhand it did not have any instructions how to use the remote. Does anyone have a copy of the remote control instructions for this. Thanks Carl

As others have said, nice car, pictures a bit soft. It's difficult to give tips on how best to take the picture as its all about getting enough light and you only really know that when behind the lens. I imagine for the garage you are going to be on tripod with a slow shutter speed whatever. I'd look to be setting the aperature at around f9.0 to give good sharpness with iso 100 and then adjust your shutter times untill you get the desired exposure. The other thing you might want to consider is your white balance. If you have it to automatic then fine but you may need to adjust it later in photoshop or equivilent. You definately want a remote shutter controll as the smallest movement can blur the image. Carl

I must be getting young, I like it...

Well look on the bright side, in about 100 years when all our industry is gone and our country is in poverty from no employment we will be the new third world country. Maybe we'll get some charity handouts to keep us going from the new super powers..