Leaked oil on exhaust side from blown head gasket. Coolant had glazed cylinders & caused excessive oil blow by & consumption. Dropped pan & pistons during head gasket fix & honed cylinders with new rings. Engine now is great & no oil consumption.
Bearing in supercharger went at 155,000km-was strange size and unable to source replacement bearing. Replaced with J-spec S/C. Suggest frequent checks of S/C oil as they do use it up-I use Ford synthetic supercharger oil-it's a fraction of the cost of the same product at Toyota. I sourced two used superchargers on the net as spares as they will eventually become hard to find.
Otherwise very reliable as most Toyotas are!
Lots of fun to drive. I found the stock shift throw a bit long and made a short shift with plate, which really quickens things up. Gearbox action was a bit notchy. I replaced the gearbox oil with a good synthetic 75-90W which helped smooth changes.
Stock worn suspension bushings would squeak. I replaced them all with a Prothane kit from Twos R Us which made a huge difference in ride quality.
An HKS crank pulley with the J-spec S/C is a great performance upgrade-ups boost to an honest 11 lbls. A pusher fan under the intercooler made from a doner MR2 rad fan helps cool the intake charge. (use rear window defogger switch to activate from cabin)
Where else can you find 4 valve DOHC, supercharged & intercooled gem like this with adjustable 4 wheel independent suspension & 4 wheel disc brakes.
Wow, although I agree (having been a multiple Mr2 owner both NA and supercharged) I didn't expect a former Porsche owner to be so pleased
I have owned my '89 sc for at least 10 years now and had previously owned an '87 from new for about 8 years. In between I owned RX7 GSL SE, Saab 900 turbo convertible (still have), Volvo 740, Jaguar XJ40, BWM 528i sport, Lexus SC400 and GS300 and a couple of other cars.
More recently I found myself looking for a 911 cabriolet (contemplating replacing the MR2 and Saab). However after reading your comment and considering the relative low investment in the Saab and MR2, I may just keep what I have.
With only minor maintenance and a few up grades (Eibach springs, Tokico shocks, wheels and tires) the SC has treated me well delivering about as much fun as you could want on four wheels. With the green light (supercharger indicator) pegged on your way past 80 mph in 4th gear, you know that there is not much that will hang with you when 5th is selected. I am sure that is part of the reason why I have kept it so long.
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