Known issues Options

[brk34]

Just a general question for people who own celicas. What typically breaks on these cars (beside the wheel covers falling off/"borrowed")? Which of there items will make the car scrap? Thanks in advance

[TerryE]

Oh, let's see here, I have A 90ST coupe and a 97GT convertible. (both have manual gearbox and and have 4A-FE and 5S-FE engines and +250K and +150K miles respectively.)(GT was purchased with 111000 miles on the clock).


The answer depends on the mileage, though toyota's ARE nearly bullet-proof, some of my experiences have been:

Disk pads >100K miles, this has been typical since I had my 1977 Celica GT.

ST GT Valve Seals (cap on top of valve guide) start to seep a little after about 125K to 150K, is not as big a deal to live with. As replacement of the seals requires removal of the cylinder head and the process of replacing them will eat up around two to three days of down-time.

ST GT Exhaust system - unlikely under 200K miles as the system is stainless steel.
Flex pipe is a weak point (under woven steel section). Flex pipe can be cut out and new welded in at a competent muffler shop. (Mine cost $80 installed instead of $250 for Factory down-pipe.)

Engine Oil Level is Very Important! Toyota motors are very well made. Though repeated neglect of letting the
oil level get a quart low is going to Hurt your Wallet, Bad!

Oil change interval is not 3000 miles unless(from the manual) unless you're are doing door-to-door service or extreme amounts of idling the engine. Well if you like paying $3 for a Quart of oil! nuff said.
No Flames Please. (this is my experience, your beliefs are... yours).


Toyotas in general last a lot longer if they are driven, letting them sit for days is not a good idea.

The BGB (Big Green Book - Toyota service manual 1990 Celica, normal oil change interval is..... 7500 miles).

ST 135K miles
One Really Big Thing that took forever to troubleshoot, the steering universal joint at the firewall.
Steering would get stiff when driving normally but loosen up to normal after turning steering back and forth several times.
This is common enough that the dealer keeps them in stock, and said they sell a lot of them. About $120.



Some other things I've had to fix /replace.

ST approx 170K miles Battery (90ST) lost one of the cells and didn't have enough amps to crank with.

ST 190K miles Alternator got a bit of sand stuck in brush holder causing Alt light to turn on. About 2 Hours to take apart and and clean brushes.

ST 215K miles replaced brushes myself, Cost for brushes: about 23 dollars. 250,000 miles on original
alternator(knocks on wood)


ST Replaced cap and plug wires a couple of times(w/ factory units(don't ever think it made the difference I hoped for)).

ST Rotor replacement always helps (use toyota parts).

ST Radiator 230K miles, was'nt leaking but 1/2 of the fins were gone. Dealer wanted for $400 -crazy
got identical unit, MIC (made in china) from local auto parts store for $90. Exact fit.
Radiator hoses about that time (1st new set).

ST Water pump at 127K only replaced it because I had the motor out, Due to low oil levels and ignorance caused the #4 rod bearing to die. Replaced clutch, pressure plate and bearing because it was accessible,
(it still had plenty of meat on it).

ST fuel filter (under charcoal canister) replaced once at 140K miles, came out easy, attempted
replacing at 225K miles, things went from really bad to worse. Lower fitting was very difficult to loosen, when it
did, it was still stiff (warning signs going off here!!, stop and check! Didn't Check).

Ended up twisting fuel line in half, replacement of fuel line filter-to-tank major pain, new steel line cost close to $100 and took about two to three days to replace. Upon buying a new filter at dealer, parts manager said they didn't sell many because gas these days is rarely dirty enough to clog the filter.

GT Windshield washer pump. 128K Oddly enough it stopped working, dealer wanted $75-80 for new one,
got one at Auto Zone for $35.00. I know, but the dealer price was a rip-off.

GT 145K passenger side outer CV joint boot split at inner fold seam, (stunned! have had 4 Fwd toyotas in the family and this is the first time I ever saw this happen). Replaced entire right drive shaft, (took less time) with one
made by EMPI (European Motor Parts Inc.) Dealer wanted $450+ dollars ( yes, I checked Conicelli's),
Got mine for $60.00 (+$15.00 core charge) for the whole drive shaft including the center bearing. If I get rich, I'll get the toyota part, right now it's been in for 3wks.
and no problems.


GT 8 speaker system, both subwoofers and woofers, foam speaker surround is rotting out.
GT FactoryCD Player skips easily especially in winter when Heater is on.

Rust

RuST

RUST also known as ASSS- Acute Salt Sensitivity Syndrome. If you live in the Northen States e.g. Michigan

Salted roads are very rough on toyotas, Washing the salt off your baby at 15 degrees is not the most pleasurable experience but doing rust repair is an unbelievable PIT-. It is so much easier to wash it then to practice bondo, metal replacement and painting.

That galvanized steel layer on your is not as durable as you may wish.


My experience is that if its difficult to get to/change e.g. clutch, water pump, use Toyota parts, they are almost always better than aftermarket parts.


Okay Everybody, let's get your input!!