PLEASE HELP!!! fix or buy new engine? UPDATE...., **** IT BLEW Options

[celicaluva79]

Ok... i have a 96st. It has 315,00 miles, never had a problem. It has been leaking oil for a long time, but now i have went thru about 7 quarts of oil since friday. Its leaking bad. Had a mevhanic friend look at it and it appears to be seals he said. He said id need a new timing belt cause oil is allover it. Question is... what should i do? Get the leaks fixed or get a new engine? I dont wanna fix it if i can get a new engine for not much more... whats my cheapest and best option? What kinda price am i lookkng at for a new engine?

This post has been edited by celicaluva79: Jun 16, 2012 - 12:04 AM

[njccmd2002]

are you savvy?

are you handy?

both will cost you, if you pay to have it done...

engines might be cheap to find, but you will need to maintenance it. and plus the cost of instalation...

if you can do it yourswlf, then it will be easier...

get a low mileage engine..

[zfjohnson07]

put a new 7afe in it, and donate your engine to a museum, with a big ass sign " 315,000 miles bitch"

[celicaluva79]

Haha i hear ya johnson!! No, im not good with cars at all. I see ebay has rebuild kits for like 800. Should i get the seals fixed or buy a new engine? How much am i lookin at for a b
new engine?

[trdproven]

just compare the price for a good condition engine, i dont think you'll find new, and then compare it to rebuilding it. it would help a lot if you could do your own labor of course.

[Special_Edy]

Fix the oil leak and run the motor till the timing belt breaks. These are non interference wngines, so it wont suffer any damage

[celicaluva79]

Sounds good edy. Its already got 315000 miles tho. Think it will last any longer if i fix the leaks?

[Smaay]

i say pull it and rebuild it. i wrote a good guide on step by step how to rebuild it. you will have the satisfaction that you rebuilt the engine and you will have all new seals. i also suggest new pistons rings and bearings.

[RobbMeeX]

Seems like the best answer for this guy is take it to a shop and have them put new seals in it. I myself would do the seals then hang out until something catastrophic happened, but then again, I get paid to do stuff like that.
Only car?

[celicaluva79]

No, i have another car i could drive for awhile. Just a general estilmate, how much should it be to just have it fixed at a shop?

[zfjohnson07]

you can get a jdm engine 7afe for about 800 with 50k or a 3sge for about 900, but if your just burning oil, id fix that. why get another engien if the one you have still runs fine.

[Special_Edy]

you can get a jdm engine 7afe for about 800 with 50k or a 3sge for about 900, but if your just burning oil, id fix that. why get another engien if the one you have still runs fine.

It depends on which gasket is leaking. Get us some pictures or a video of the leak and we will be able to better help you get a rough idea of the cost.

[Smaay]

this that many miles, just change everything, to do a teardown and rebuild, will cost you about 500-700 bucks. same as cost of a used engine that you have no idea what condition it is in. do not trust any junkyard that says " oh its low miles and good running" i have had to rebuild countless of "these" engines.

[RobbMeeX]

this that many miles, just change everything, to do a teardown and rebuild, will cost you about 500-700 bucks. same as cost of a used engine that you have no idea what condition it is in. do not trust any junkyard that says " oh its low miles and good running" i have had to rebuild countless of "these" engines.

Then that^ if you have another ride. Get wet with oil! Its invigorating! This is an especially good motor to learn a timing bel job on. If you FuX it, just take it back apart and FiX it. But yeah, if with 315k, you can make it go to 450k and beyond with proper maintenance.

[celicaluva79]

Smaaay, you say tear down everything, what all should i replace, would simply putting new seals last me awhile? I see what ur saying about junkyard guys. I found two today and the they both said they dont know the miles and sold the odometer...kinda scared to go that route.

[Lone_Wolf]

How long do u plan on keeping this car ?? If u say a year then just fix the oil leak if u say for a couple of years around 5 years just rebuild your engine. Parts alone would cost around $500 not including labor charges.

This is his 7afe rebuilt thread this should give u an idea of whats needed and how it goes down.

http://www.6gc.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=72502

[celicaluva79]

Ya, im keepin this damn car forever!!! Honestly theres not even a newer car out there that id rather have. I saw 7afe rebuild kits on ebay. Would one of those have eveeyrhing i need to rebuild?

[celica74]

Ya, im keepin this damn car forever!!! Honestly theres not even a newer car out there that id rather have. I saw 7afe rebuild kits on ebay. Would one of those have eveeyrhing i need to rebuild?

stay sway from ebay kits. Had a friend use one and the rings melted on him, they were aluminum. www.importperformanceparts.net you can either get a full oem kit or a hp kit where you choose your piston size and compression. Depends on if you wanna go back to where the car was brand new or get a tiny bit more pep.

[zfjohnson07]

i wouldnt say there isnt a newer car i dont want, maybe the scion ft 86, sexy ride YUMMY!!

[Special_Edy]

Ya, im keepin this damn car forever!!! Honestly theres not even a newer car out there that id rather have. I saw 7afe rebuild kits on ebay. Would one of those have eveeyrhing i need to rebuild?

Guys he was asking how much to have a mechanic change his timing belt and yall are talking him into completely rebuilding his engine.

Dont buy anything until you are sure you want to do this. You'll be talking thousands of dollars not hundreds if you pay a mechanic to do all the labor. Do you have the neccesary tools and experience to rebuild this engine alone?

Just trying to make sure you have balanced suggestions

[mkernz22]

Answer this: WHERE IS IT LEAKING FROM?
If it's just off the oil pump, it's not that hard to do and you don't have to replace everything either. If it's running fine otherwise, just leave it. From what I know, I still have the original head gasket in mine and she's at 236,000 miles. I just have to replace the gasket on my oil pump this summer and the leak on my 5s should go away.

[zfjohnson07]

so wheres a good place to buy a 7afe whole gasket set then i guess ill just rebuild my engine like you said it will be brand new, and i wont have to worry about worrying about it being a bad jdm engine

[celicaluva79]

Mechanic guy i know looked at it and said its mostly on the right side of motor. You can jusy see it all over the right side. Its all over the place right where the timing belt is. Thing that concerns me is, now my oil light is on and wont go off even tho it has oil in it. And my car has always been silent, couldnt even hear it run. Now i can def hear it. You guys are talking thousands...**** i duno what to do now.

[trdproven]

clean it off and then run the motor so you know where its leaking. i thought it was already clarified that you needed to either rebuild or buy a new engine, in this case, if its just leaking oil and not overheating/mixing, then just fix the leak, and drive it again till you really need a rebuild. unless you have compression issues. if you take it to a mechanic that could cost about 2k or so, but if you rebuild your motor, if you knew how or willing to and have the tools, it could save you. but the bottom line is figure out the true problem before getting any solutions yet.

This post has been edited by trdproven: Jun 13, 2012 - 11:27 PM

[celicaluva79]

Ya trd, it somehow still goes like hell!! Just runs a good bit louder than it did, and the oil light stays on. Other than that it still runs great. So from all u guys have told me i should just get the seals replaced for right now.?

[Special_Edy]

Yup, fix it and run it till it dies

[jimmykay]

I had been toying with the thought of buying myself a used 5sfe for my car so when something dies on it (timing belt, water pump, main seals, etc), I can just swap the entire shortblock instead of trying to fix it in the car. I don't know if that would really save me any time or not, but it may be cheaper to buy a shortblock and do the work yourself instead of having someone else change a timing belt.

Depending on your resources, it is another option you have. But definitely make sure that you know exactly what the problem is first and get prices for shops to fix that. That way you have a baseline to compare against.

[6G96GT]

Get it rebuilt man or just buy a used one and swap it out. It'd prolly be close to 2k either way at the end of the day, here's your keys, have a nice day...

[xrav22]

Get it rebuilt man or just buy a used one and swap it out. It'd prolly be close to 2k either way at the end of the day, here's your keys, have a nice day...

I was leaking 3 quarts a week due to oil pump cover. There are 4 places the leak can be coming from. You need to just take off the timing cover to see everything. Cam seals(2) probably not, front crank seal (mabey but mine was fine, oil pump cover seal is cheap and will fall apart and just dissapear. You can visually see what you need by removing the timing belt cover. It is easy, cut off the belts, undo motor mount, take out fender splash, remove harmonic balanncer(I had to buy a chain wrench) put a jack under engine with wood block, undo timing covers carefully raising and lowring to get to them, and wip clean. I never put my cover back on yet. i think someday I should do water pump. I say cut off the belts because you can get new ones on by just prying them on and rotating engine.The steering belt tensioner for that is a pita. Save many $$ possibly.
Good luck

This post has been edited by xrav22: Jun 15, 2012 - 8:32 PM

[celicaluva79]

well guys, it happened... was going down road an hour ago and it blew. so, i need a cheap engine now.. would one of those cheap jdm ones work? is it just plug and play or what? i read somewhere that the harness is in a different spot. WHERE CAN I GET A CHEAP RELIABLE 7AFE NOW? FUUUUUUUUUUCK!!!!!

[6G96GT]

Ebay has some for less than $700. Most are compression tested, inspected, and come with a 30 - 90 limited warranty.

[Special_Edy]

Junkyard, wherever you get it from run a compression test on it before you start wrenching on it.

You should only need the bottom end, and it will be far cheaper for you to purchase the tools and an engine crane and do it yourself than to try to pay someone else to do it.

[jimmykay]

plus, paying a buddy in pizza and beer to help will save you a ton of time and money.

This post has been edited by jimmykay: Jun 16, 2012 - 9:48 AM

[Smaay]

i wouldnt say there isnt a newer car i dont want, maybe the scion ft 86, sexy ride YUMMY!!

its called an FRS now.

dont worry about JDM engines and where stuff is, you are going to ONLY use the loong block, you will use all of your manifolds and sensors and wiring.

This post has been edited by Smaay: Jun 16, 2012 - 11:05 AM

[celicaluva79]

Hmm...so i can use. a jdm engine? Wont matter bout the wire harness goin into a different spot?

[Special_Edy]

Hmm...so i can use. a jdm engine? Wont matter bout the wire harness goin into a different spot?

If you get a JDM 7A-FE all you will need IMHO is the shortblock( the block with pistons, rods, crankshaft, bearings, and rings assembled) or as Smaay said a longblock(short block with oil pan, cylinder head, oil pump, timing components, headgasket and camshafts assembled) would be easier.
You would reuse your existing wiring, ECU, ignition system, intake manifold and sensors not the ones with the jdm engine. Its the easiest route and the only way to legally pass federal emissions.

[kurt95gt]

Why not buy one from a local scrap yard
A good 7a shouldn't be to hard to find state side

[xrav22]

Why not buy one from a local scrap yard
A good 7a shouldn't be to hard to find state side

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1999-Toyota-Celica...f7b&vxp=mtr

Yes it is for GT didn't notice he had ST.

This post has been edited by xrav22: Jun 16, 2012 - 9:17 PM

[zfjohnson07]

Why not buy one from a local scrap yard
A good 7a shouldn't be to hard to find state side

Heres the whole thing with 121,000 miles with free shipping. I don't think it could be easier than this if it fits.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1999-Toyota-Celica...f7b&vxp=mtr

thats a 5sfe

[6G96GT]

You could just pull off all of the accessories yourself, remove the head, and then just pull your block out and bring it to a machine shop to have it cleaned and machined and rebuilt. I bet that'd cost you 3 or 4 hundred bucks and it'd be good as new. Then you could put it back in yourself and install all the accessories on. Just going off what others said and adding a bit more.

[mgnt232]

PMED