New Owner Options

[Wadgti]

Hi Folks,

Just picked up a 97 celica 1.8 st for a bargin on Sunday. Very chuffed with the car, runs pretty well. Going to get the wheels off this weekend and pop it on the ramps to have a look.

However, i have noticed a few small things which I hope someone can give advise on as I have never really had an EFI mottor before.

1. This morning when starting cold, the car idles around 2k rpm (not for long) and then gradulay reduces back to 840/860 rpm.

2. When the car diles, their is a small ticking which reduces as the revis pick up. It doesn't sound like the tappets, but just a faint ticking noise?

3. I have red about resetting the air/fuel mix b y taking the fuses out etc. i take it, that the old negative off the battery for an hour does not reset it, as I think it was sitting for about 6 months without moving.

4. Is their anything I should look out for or inspect right away on the 7AFE engine?. its done 140k however the engine bay and engine is really clean.

Any advice would be appricated.

many thanks

[richee3]

Welcome to the site! Be sure to post pictures of your new car. These questions are pretty easy to answer.

1. Idling high is perfectly normal. The engine does that to warm up for a bit and idles down as it gets warmer. On cold days, it will idle higher for a longer period of time.

2. The 7A-FE is known to make a ticking noise at idle. If you can get a video, someone here could let you know whether that's normal tapping or something else.

3. Resetting the air/fuel ratio is as easy as disconnecting the negative battery terminal for about ten minutes and pressing the brake to drain any residual power in the system, or by pulling two fuses- one underneath the hood and one inside the car. Reconnect the power and let the car idle for a while to relearn the engine. This isn't really necessary to do as long as nothing has changed with the engine- same intake, exhaust, etc. The ECU is constantly learning and changing to adapt, but will learn big changes more quickly if reset.

4. Check for any leaking gaskets/seals, of course. Being that you are unsure of the previous owner's maintenance, it might not be a bad idea to give the car a tune up with new spark plugs, wires, distributor, belts, fluids, etc.

These cars are known to develop rust at the bottom of the doors, so that's one spot to check out. It's a Toyota, so 140k means its just now broke in! Enjoy the new car!