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Toyota Celica Repair FAQ
The following document is reprint of the Toyota Celica Messageboard
FAQ maintained by John. The
most recent version of this FAQ can be found at http://home.istar.ca/~bigjohn/celica.html.
This page is intended as an information source on common common
problems found in (primarily north american) Celicas. All information
contained therin represents the credited authors and others opinions
only. It is resulting from repeated questions and answers on the
Celica Message
Board. Any questions about the subject matter addressed in this
FAQ should be directed to the messageboard board. Any disagreements
with, or additions to this text should be directed directly to John
at bigjohn@istar.ca
General Information
Engine
3S-GE
3S-GE/3S-FE
Cross-engine compatibility
Transmission
Brakes
Axles/Hubs
Suspension
Steering
Heater Control
General
- Rust points.
These are the areas prone to rust/rot on the 1986 to 1989 models.
- Under radiator cross member, particularly at the LH side.
As this provides an attachment point for the 'fore-and-aft'
engine mount support, it can be critical if not repaired or
prevented.
- Rocker panels (Door sills) at rear end, just in front of
rear wheel arch.
- The cavity above, at the sides of the rear seat is also
prone.
- The cavities at the sides of the trunk (boot), behind the
rear wheels, especially the inner vertical panel accessible
from underneath the car.
- The rear wheel arch edges.
- The rear suspension towers. Although this rust is not generally
structural due to the multiple layers of steel, it is messy,
as water /dirt enters the trunk area.
- Hood (bonnet) at front edge.
- Bottom of windshield sides (windscreen), particularly on
the LH side. This is normally covered by a black panel held
by screws. It can lead to water entry.
- Bottom of front fenders (wings) just behind the wheel arch.
Dirt gets built up under the plastic splash panel. This can
also lead to rust holes at the junction of the floor/firewall/rocker
panel.
- Front floor. There is a fore-and-aft bracing member in the
centre of the floor area. It rusts from the inside.
- Brake lines (pipes), particularly at the bend where the
firewall meets the floor. These are covered with a perforated
plastic panel that retains dirt.
- Doors. Not too bad, but can rust at the bottom corners.
- Sunroofs. Prone to surface rust that if not fixed, will
end up perforated.
- Clutch Pedal Squeaking (Taken from messageboard)
I've had cars that do that squeaking pedal thing!!
The pedals generally run on nylon type bearings. The push rod
connection is nylon too. The prob is probably at the point where
a return, or clutch pressure down spring is attached. I haven't
looked at my Celica, this is general.
As the spring pulls, the very end of it has to rotate against
the attachment point, due to the changing angle. Also, a spring
is very musically tuned, like a tuning fork, due to the hardness
of the material. Due to the stresses around the adjacent area,
it could be a VERY small movement of two nearby metal parts that
are bolted together, not necessarily the actual moving parts.
I would try oil rather than WD40. It is a far better lube, and
applied with a squirt can,
you can determine if you have hit the right spot by very local
application. If that fails, then do the WD40 drench trick, after
spreading newspapers below.
Or, it could be the nylon bushings themselves built up inside
with black dried grease crud. Or eaten through by wear. There
might be a roller track under there, too. Or it could be the ball
end that pushes inside of the actual cylinder, squeaking against
the piston.
Whichever way you look at it, this is a lay-on-your-back-with-flashlight-job!!
Back to top
ENGINE
- General to all engine types.
The cambelt should be changed regularly. If left too long, teeth
detach from the belt. A suggested change period is every 100,000
miles at the most. A better idea is to replace at 60,000 mile
periods.
Connecting rod bearings have been known to 'spin', destroying
the crank, and writing off the engine. Particularly # 1 cylinder
rod bearing. It is a good idea to change these bearings at 100,000
mile periods or less. Certainly it is not advised to go more than
150,000 miles without changing them.
Main bearings are seemingly never a problem. In most cases, when
an engine has been dismantled, the mains have been found to be
re-useable, despite mileages of 200,000 or more. Although they
are at top limit size, and more oil pressure could be obtained
by changing them.
Cylinder bore wear is minimal. It is generally totally unecessary
to rebore the engine block.
Piston rings. These tend to wear at around mileages of over 150,000
miles. In rural areas, they may go 250,000 miles, with no appreciable
oil burning occuring.
Oil filters. The oil filters are mounted 'upside down'. This leads
to oil drain back into the oil pan (sump) when parked. Only filters
with an internal valve should be used. In any case, all engines
, and particularly the 3SGE, which has slightly greater rod bearing
clearances, are prone to a bearing rattle on start up from cold.
With cheaper 'no valve' filters, this rattle will last longer
in time than with the proper filter, as the oil pump has to refill
the filter before supplying pressure to the bearings. This rattle
is not a major cause for concern, but if the engine has higher
mileage, may, if increasing over time, be an indication that the
rod bearings should be replaced.
Cooling System.
The cooling system has been found to be adequate. Any problems
are due to faults, either with the cooling system directly, or
with the engine in some way that affects the cooling system.
If overheating occurs in heavy snow, this is generally the build
up of snow in the cavity between the radiator and the grille.
Occasionally, posts have appeared on the messageboard complaining
of coolant loss. The Celica is no different from other cars in
this respect, if the head gasket is defective, it may pressurise
the coolant system. Etc, Etc.
To test for pressure leaks from the cylinders into the coolant
system, before starting the car, first release then replace the
rad cap, to ensure that there is no pressure or vacuum present
in the system, then start the car from dead cold, and run for
about 30 seconds. Then squeeze the top hose to detect pressure.
Then release the cap, again to detect pressure. There should be
none, as any pressure in a properly operating system should be
from the heat and expansion of the coolant, and in this test,
that heat is not present. This indicates that pressure is leaking
from the cylinders into the cooling system.
The good news here is that there have been no messageboard posts
complaining of defective or cracked cylinder heads or engine blocks.
The fault has always been the head gasket, or, in the case of
high speed boiling over, the radiator being old and or plugged.
After work has been done on a car, and the coolant refilled, it
has been possible that there will be an air-lock in the cooling
system. This can be removed by undoing a heater hose at the firewall
connection, and running the engine on idle and bursts of revving,
while allowing air to bleed out of the system. The symptoms of
air-lock are that the engine will idle, then suddenly appear to
boil dramatically. This action is due to the overheating of the
higher parts of the engine, where there is no coolant in the system,
then as the coolant at lower levels rises, it immediately boils,
creating pressures more than the rad cap pressure rating.
Testing for bad/plugged radiator. The car can be driven for many
hours at lower speeds/loads, but once a certain speed is reached,
or excessive hills encountered, it will slowly, over the space
of a minute or so, rise in temperature gauge reading, then boil
over.
Testing the electric fan system. Let the car idle with the airconditioning
off. At some point, the temperature will get high enough to activate
the temperature switch that controls the fan. The fan should cycle,
that is, turn itself off and on, as required by the engine. On
models with aircon, there are two fans, and the control system
for the second fan is not known. Be aware that once the car is
moving at speeds over about 5 miles per hour, the fan should not
generally come on. This may not apply in tropical climates.
- Cooling System.
The cooling system has been found to be adequate. Any problems
are due to faults, either with the cooling system directly, or
with the engine in some way that affects the cooling system.
If overheating occurs in heavy snow, this is generally the build
up of snow in the cavity between the radiator and the grille.
Occasionally, posts have appeared on the messageboard complaining
of coolant loss. The Celica is no different from other cars in
this respect, if the head gasket is defective, it may pressurise
the coolant system. Etc, Etc.
To test for pressure leaks from the cylinders into the coolant
system, before starting the car, first release then replace the
rad cap, to ensure that there is no pressure or vacuum present
in the system, then start the car from dead cold, and run for
about 30 seconds. Then squeeze the top hose to detect pressure.
Then release the cap, again to detect pressure. There should be
none, as any pressure in a properly operating system should be
from the heat and expansion of the coolant, and in this test,
that heat is not present. This indicates that pressure is leaking
from the cylinders into the cooling system.
The good news here is that there have been no messageboard posts
complaining of defective or cracked cylinder heads or engine blocks.
The fault has always been the head gasket, or, in the case of
high speed boiling over, the radiator being old and or plugged.
After work has been done on a car, and the coolant refilled, it
has been possible that there will be an air-lock in the cooling
system. This can be removed by undoing a heater hose at the firewall
connection, and running the engine on idle and bursts of revving,
while allowing air to bleed out of the system. The symptoms of
air-lock are that the engine will idle, then suddenly appear to
boil dramatically. This action is due to the overheating of the
higher parts of the engine, where there is no coolant in the system,
then as the coolant at lower levels rises, it immediately boils,
creating pressures more than the rad cap pressure rating.
Testing for bad/plugged radiator. The car can be driven for many
hours at lower speeds/loads, but once a certain speed is reached,
or excessive hills encountered, it will slowly, over the space
of a minute or so, rise in temperature gauge reading, then boil
over.
Testing the electric fan system. Let the car idle with the airconditioning
off. At some point, the temperature will get high enough to activate
the temperature switch that controls the fan. The fan should cycle,
that is, turn itself off and on, as required by the engine. On
models with aircon, there are two fans, and the control system
for the second fan is not known. Be aware that once the car is
moving at speeds over about 5 miles per hour, the fan should not
generally come on. This may not apply in tropical climates.
- Replacing Crank Bearings
The bearings are dependent upon the crank being good. When run
for extended mileages, the bearing shells wear down, and the tin
based bearing surface disappears, leaving the copper that is lining
the shell. If you carry on running, the steel will appear through
the copper. When you have two similar metals as a bearing, the
tendency is to'pick up' or gall.
Typically, a used crank might have some ovality on the journals.
This is more likely on the rod ends than the mains. Ya gotta get
those new bearings in fast. If, when you strip the bearings out,
you have any journals that have a dull finish, you might have
a future prob. If so, try polishing them with super fine emery
cloth, known as garnet paper. A really fine wet-and-dry bodywork
paper would/might be OK, but you might have to 'kill' the surface
by rubbing it over a steel edge of a piece of angle iron or similar
- it has to be REAL fine. The goal is to have the journal totally
'chrome'like in appearance. Less than that will be OK, but the
judgement is hard to describe without showing it. If the journals
are shiny but grooved/lined, leave them
alone, do not try to polish. You should be ok with ovality up
to about .001" on the rod journals - any more, it gets dodgy.
The trick is to break the thing in like a baby. Try to keep the
rpm down to about 3 or 4 grand max, and DO NOT ALLOW THE ENGINE
TO LUG IN A HIGH GEAR. It is load that you are trying to keep
down, not just revs. This will allow the bearings to wear to the
shape of any crank journal imperfections/grooves. Go easy for
the first 200 miles or so, and somewhat easy after that, for the
next coupla hundred.
Back to top
Back to top
TRANSMISSION
The automatic tends to be weak, although some opinions are that
it is strong! Examples of weakness have been coupled with a failure
to change fluid regularly. It is best to observe the regular changing
of fluid, as it tends to lose lubricity, leading to total failure
due to internal clutch wear.
The manual trans is quite rugged, but will generally suffer from
bad synchro clutches, especially second gear, and sometimes fourth.
The resulting crunching of gears leads to metal debris dropping
to the bottom of the differential case, and this can damage or accelerate
wear on the differential gears and bearings, leading to play in
the output bearings, the 'opening' of the axle seals, and loss of
fluid above the level of the axles. Although a concern, these transmissions
have been driven for extended periods with only the fluid that remains
at the bottom of the diff. casing, - presumably the splashing of
the fluid is sufficient to lubricate the whole transmission. In
such cases, however, the differential spider gears have been found
to develop accelerated wear. The reverse gear tends to be weak,
with a tendency when worn to pop out when power is applied, and
total loss has been experienced. To avoid this, the reverse gear
should not be 'crunched in' as the car rolls forward.
The manual transmissions appear to be identical in all the GTS models
and the 86 GT. On the 87 to 89 GT models, and possibly all subsequent
models, the transmission is different, because the starter faces
the opposite way, towards the LH side of the car. This is presumably
to accomodate the catalytic convertor, which in the later GT's is
mounted integrally with the exhaust manifold, instead on in-line
as part of the exhaust pipe.
Back to top
BRAKES
The disc brakes are very low maintenance items. On the GTS models,
the rear brakes are also discs. On the GT, the rears are drums.
The only significant problem encountered has been the jamming of
the calipers on the sliding components (rods). These rods are actually
tubes that the mount bolts run through. This leads to uneven pad
wear. The inner ( piston side) pad will normally wear at a slightly
greater rate than the outer pad. When the sliders are jammed this
wear difference is prominent.
A cure has been to free the sliding parts by oiling under the small
rubber boots, then hammering the rod through, backwards and forwards,
until it is free. If the small rubber boots are damaged, this tends
not to be a major problem. Brake sliders have been known to jam
irrespective of whether the boots are intact. After freeing the
sliders, they should have an anti-seize compound applied. The sliders
should be checked at each pad change, or once a yr.
Back to top
AXLES/HUBS
The 86 to 89 GT models have 4 stud hubs and 13" wheels. The
GTS models have 5 stud hubs and 14" wheels. On these years,
the axles cannot be interchanged, as the length is slightly different
between the 4 & the 5 stud hub types. The outer cv joints are
also different - although the hub spline is the same, the axle spline
size where it fits into the cv centre race is larger on the GTS
than on the GT.
Back to top
SUSPENSION
It is not known if the struts are identical on all models. The rear
struts from the 86 & 87 GTS are different from the 88 &
89GTS. The difference is that the mount holes at the bottom of the
strut are larger in the later models. The 86 & 87 GTS struts
can be adapted to fit the 88 & 89 GTS by drilling out these
holes , or carefully filing out with a round file after marking
the hole edge. It is not known if this difference applies to GT
models.
Also the sway bar link mount bracket is a very slightly different
height on the 86 & 87 GTS compared with the 88 & 89 GTS.
The springs however are the same on all 86 to 89 FWD models, although
the rear springs differ from the front.
A knocking noise over bumps that cannot be easily traced has been
found to be caused by the sway bar body mount bushings.
Back to top
STEERING
The steering is normally power assisted rack & pinion. It gives
little trouble. One fault that does occur, however, is the stiffening
of the steering, giving symptoms of power assist failure. This is
actually often found to be the universal joint that is mounted just
under the brake master cylinder (LHD models). The cure is to drench
this UJ with WD40, then light oil, while working the steering. It
may take some time to free up completely. This same fault has been
known to have a different symptom, namely that of the steering being
'lumpy' at random points as it turns. This is caused by the high
angle that the UJ has to accomodate. It has a tendency to 'load
up' pressure, then 'spring' overcentre of the stiff point. The clue
to diagnosing this is the fact that the lumpy points on the steering
wheel are at different places, but near to the same place (steering
wheel position), each time encountered.
Back to top
HEATER CONTROL
The heater control often fails presumably due to age/wear. The slider
that sets the heat from cold to hot fails, making it cold whatever
the setting. When it starts to fail, it can be made to blow hot
by working the slider back and forth. If this fails to work, the
cable can be disconnected under the hood, and the tap (faucet) set
to the hot position. This tap is located on the firewall, on the
L.H. side of the car, just to the rear of the intake throttle unit.
The cable is in fact piano wire, single strand. It can be levered
free with a car key, so no tools are required for this 'quickfix'
repair, which can be a real help in winter.
The actual driving of the cable is not direct. The slider controls
the position of the tap by adjusting a variable resistance, which
supplies electricity to a servo motor. In some cases, this fault
can be fixed by applying electrical contact cleaner to 'track' on
the inside of the control unit.
On aircon models, (and maybe all models) there is a flap that restricts
the airflow. It has the bad habit when faulty, of closing during
driving. It has a vertical shaft that is just level with the RH
side of the radio console, with a crank level at the bottom, with
a link to the electric servo motor, the motor being hidden at the
firewall side of the heater box. This link can be disconnected,
and the lever manually jammed into the hot setting. When this fault
first occurs, and cold air starts, it sometimes works to switch
the blower off and on again.
Back to top
All-Trac/GT-4 Information
- FOUR WHEEL DRIVE TURBO ST 165 1988 MODEL
This is a totally different car in many ways, and interchangeability
with 2WD Celicas might for many parts be impossible. Info is hard
to obtain. As of this date, March 2002, the writer has just purchased
such a car, so this info will be updated from time to time as
the car is worked on and info obtained.
- 4WD DIAGNOSTIC CODE CHECKING.
The procedure is the same, but the TE terminal may be labelled
with a single T . The jumper is bridged across this terminal.
and the E1 terminal.
- RUST
The rust seems to attack the same basic areas as a regular Celica,
but the one I have has also got the rearmost rear differential
subframe mounts completely separated from the subframe itself.
The floors are rusted just like a regular Celica. The gas tank,
being mounted behind the rear wheels, has perforated, as have
all pipes to it.
- REAR SUSPENSION BEARINGS
On the 4WD models, the rear suspension is different than the regular
2WD car. The bottom links each go at the outboard end to a bearing
(not a bushing) that is best described as a spherical bearing
with tubular extensions on the center ball. This bearing is fiited
into the hub housing casting. I am not sure if both links use
the same part numbered bearing, but the forward link uses a bearing
that is part number 42210 - 14010 . It should be noted that Toyota
do not list an actual replacement bearing for this car - the whole
hub housing assy casting has to be purchased. But I am told that
this bearing (listed as for a 88 Camry 4WD) will fit.
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