Fribox's 1996 Celica GT, A used car that likes to suck money out of my pockets Options

[fribox]

5s-fe, 5 speed, 221000 miles. Second owner. (Now nearing 225000)
It looks shiny in this picture, but it has a lot of problems.




Engine refuses to rev past 4500-5000 RPM (not that I do this often), if anyone has a solution to this I'd be very grateful. I've read a bit on here its either the catalytic converter being clogged or timing is off.

This thread isn't really much of a project thread, more of a maintenance diary. I don't plan anything spectacular with this car, but I'd like to share my woes and experience with you guys.
Maybe I'll come across something and find out what is wrong and help someone who has the same problem, who knows.
I was first planning a 3S-GE swap, but figure its not worth the hassle on a car with 225000+ miles on it. I've seen good things about 294 grind cams though, which is what I might do for the little more umf at the high end that I want.
But I'll post whatever happens to my car here.

This post has been edited by fribox: Mar 18, 2014 - 10:38 PM

[richee3]

The 5S is known for valve cover gaskets leaking. It's a cheap and relatively easy fix. Not that I'm saying that's where yours is leaking, just a decent starting point. The engine not wanting to rev could be the timing belt slipping a tooth, or it could be the distributor. At 221,000 miles I would be checking the timing belt anyway. I highly doubt that your catalytic converter would cause any revving issues, more likely just a lack of power. Don't worry, you aren't missing much over 5,000 rpm. The 5S is out of power at that point anyway. If you are being truthful when you say you seldom rev over 4,500-5,000 rpm then the BEAMS isn't the swap for you, as that's where it really comes to life. The headlights can be removed by taking the bumper off, which isn't difficult to do.

[fribox]

The 5S is known for valve cover gaskets leaking. It's a cheap and relatively easy fix. Not that I'm saying that's where yours is leaking, just a decent starting point. The engine not wanting to rev could be the timing belt slipping a tooth, or it could be the distributor. At 221,000 miles I would be checking the timing belt anyway. I highly doubt that your catalytic converter would cause any revving issues, more likely just a lack of power. Don't worry, you aren't missing much over 5,000 rpm. The 5S is out of power at that point anyway. If you are being truthful when you say you seldom rev over 4,500-5,000 rpm then the BEAMS isn't the swap for you, as that's where it really comes to life. The headlights can be removed by taking the bumper off, which isn't difficult to do.

If this is correct (and I hope it is) I don't think the belt should be slipping unless it was done improperly; I don't really know how timing works but I've read that if its off a degree(?) it could limit revs like that. I'll give the valve cover gasket a look. It doesn't seem to be coming from anywhere I can see, but the oil pan is coated in a very thin layer of oil and that is where it drips from so I was assuming that, but I'll definitely look around a little more. I guess if I could go over 5k I might sometime at the strip or something for fun, but I don't feel the need city driving and can't currently. I'm still sort of used to my old car too (a 2.5L jeep that didn't like revved past 3000rpm) and I'm sort of afraid to push this car with the high miles on the engine. I'm more of worried that whatever is hurting my top rpm could be hurting my gas mileage at lower rpm.

It could definitely be the distributor now that you mention it. While driving (usually over 35) the car has a little misfire(?) every now and again like someone tapped the breaks really fast, or like the engine just stopped running for the blink of an eye (but the engine doesn't actually stop). Its hard to explain I guess, and me not knowing much about cars doesn't help either. The plugs/wires were just replaced as well, if that helps. It was worse before that as all the plugs were basically toasted.

I'll give taking the headlight out a shot this weekend, thanks for the help.