6G Celicas Forums

That P0401 code is a bitch. I've had to deal with it for almost 4 years. I replaced almost everything besides the Evap canister, I need a new EGR VSV because the aftermarket EGR VSV is bought was faulty too, I will replace with OEM soon. I'm convinced its the charcoal canister that is the main culprit. On another thread a user fixed his P0401 by replacing the canister with a used one from a salvage yard.

removed the muffler heat shield. it was loose and rattling.

I'm at 214,000 miles, my Celica is a 98 model and the following things needed replacing between 130k to 200k:

1) an oil seal around the oil pump broke and oil would drip about a quart every 10 minutes. (timing belt was replaced too)

2) all 4 shocks, and shock mounts

3) front and rear motor mounts

4) flex pipe after the first catalytic converter ( i have a non federal type celica with 2 catalytic converters)

5) second catalytic converter joints ( they rusted really bad, broke)

6) valve cover gasket

7) had to apply teflon tape on one of the spark plug tubes, because oil was leaking into the spark plug tube.

8) had to clean and reassemble the brake calipers with new hardware , because one was stuck in the back, so i did all 4.

9) had to replace a part that would allow my air conditioner fan to work correctly, it only used to work when at full speed. i forgot the name of that part. it was an easy fix

10) put some tape on the top of the headlights because water would seep into them when it rained.

11) replaced many parts that deal with emissions (egr valve etc.)

12) replaced radiator

Also I need to replace the charcoal canister because it is failing somehow (check engine light is on).

I need to find the source of another small oil leak behind the engine, (could be distributor oil seal)

and lastly I need to fix the cruise control. It doesn't work at all.

other than those, the car has been very reliable.

the oil seal and radiator where the only big ones that could have stranded me, but they happened close to my home, so I didn't get stranded.

Found the rattle, it was my mufflers heat shield that came loose.

Quick question, Exactly Which bushings did you find that needed replacing?
I also have a rattle in the back of my car, the struts, strut mounts, and endlinks are new in my car, so I'm also puzzled as to where the rattling is coming from.

For what it's worth, there is a white 1999 GT Automatic in NJ thats for sale for $2200 with full black leather interior.
I know it's not a 5 speed or in Minnesota, but a 99 Celica is very hard to find. Maybe this an option, If you don't mind paying an extra $2000 to have it shipped to MN from NJ and swap in a 5 speed.


http://newjersey.craigslist.org/cto/5446368452.html

If I had the money I would buy it just for the hell of it, I always liked white Celicas.

I'm Clifton, I went to High School in Wayne.
My Celica is not in the best shape, but at least I got leather seats. Heh.

Finally, I got to replace the rear reinforcement bar. It wasn't difficult but I did run into some problems.

First you have to take off the rear panel inside the car, the big one behind the license plate holder.

Then unscrew the tail lights (3 nuts each tail light).

Then take off the license plate (2 bolts) and take off 2 more bolts from the rear license plate panel that are located on the top left and right of the panel (in my car these were rusted) Once those 2 bolts are off, pull the panel out. Its held in place by 6 plastic pins that snap onto white round plastic things (idk what to call them)

Once the license plate panel is off, you will see underneath it, 3 bolts (rusted) that hold the top of the bumper to a long metal bar. Now if you look inside the car you will see that there are also 3 slim black bolts that are held in place by nuts that connect to that same metal bar that the other 3 bolts on the outside are connected to.

Here is where I ran into my first problem. I tried to take off the 3 outside bolts that where rusted and one broke off half way out. The other two were hard to take off even after spraying them with Kroil (like PB Blaster, Liquid Wrench) so I stopped and instead I just loosened the nuts on the bolts on the inside of the car, that are connected to that same metal bar.

Once those 3 nuts are off, there are 4 black round plastic push anchors underneath the tail lights, that have to come off (2 on each side) right underneath the tail lights. Those come off with a flat head screwdriver, just pry up on the middle round plastic part, and then pull off the whole anchor.

Then inside the car, take off door to the jack compartment on the passenger side and take off the jack, and you will see clearly 2 black bolts sticking out by where the bumper connects to the body, held in place by nuts. Loosen the 2 nuts and take them off. The same has to be done on the other side by where the radio antenna motor is located.

There are 5 bolts underneath the bumper (which in my case I could not take off so I cut off the heads with a dremel tool) that have to come off.

And lastly 2 more bolts need to come off on either side of the bumper on the bottom corners.

The bumper then just comes right out.

The Rear reinforcement bar is visible now, and to take it off, you have to take off 4 (14mm) bolts that hold it into place. These bolts are accessible from inside the car. They are underneath rubber plugs on the bottom of the trunk, 2 on either side of the spare tire well. take the plugs off and then take the bolts off.

These bolts where not rusted in my car, but the 2 on the passenger side had messed up threads, I did not find this out until i tried putting one back in once I changed to my new rear reinforcement bar, and the bolt got stuck half way in. When I checked the other bolts I saw one also had messed up threads. so I just forced tightened one bolt on the passenger side, and I will buy a new spare bolt to put in the empty hole I have left.

All the nuts and bolts, except for the reinforcement bar, where 10mm.

I just picked up my new reinforcement bar from the dealership. I will tackle this job next weekend when I have time. As far as the bottom bolts go, they were all rusted, only one came off, the rest I filed down with a dremel tool. So now I have bolts with no heads left. you might have to end up doing the same, those bolts can really get corroded to the point they cannot be saved.

I'm about to do the same thing to my car, I just ordered a new rear reinforcement bar from my dealership for $395 after taxes. The five bolts that hold the bumper to the reinforcement bar across the back, where completely rusted. I tried spraying them with Kroil for several days, so they could loosen up, and on the day i tried taking them out, only one came off, another broke off, and the others where too rusted to get a good clamp on. So I dremeled the heads off, and bought a bunch of different bolt extractors, but none worked. Those bolts IMO are practically welded into the rear reinforcement bar by now, the reinforcement itself looks very rusted too, I think this is common in our cars because after trying to find used rear bars, the only ones I found where very rusted too. Hopefully I'll tackle this job this weekend or the next, but I'll also be interested if anyone else has done this before and can share some tips to make it easier to do.

Hi, Did you get my last PM about the rear reinforcement bar to check to see if the bolts holding the bumper come off easily and some other parts i was also interested in?

07503

Is the climate control, you posted a picture of, still available?

PM sent about rear reinforcement bar.