Celica problems HELP

[Its_Jay]

Ok, so thios is my first proper topic/post/thread whatever you would like to call it.

as you can see i only joined today, and yes im 17 yes i dont even have my Ps yet and yes im a newbi but would appreciate some help and or suggestions!

So last september, i bought my car a 1990 toyota celica SX from a private sale 40 mins from where i live. the add stated it had no RWC but could pass blue slip easily also said it had log books and service records and reciepts for re balanced crank and a reconditioned engine. also had replced all engoine mounts new timing belt. He spun the 3rd bearing in the gearbox in 3rd gear he had that done and receipts for it. went down to see it nice looking car NO rust at all NONE now i live on the coast so tht was odd looked after i thought. had scratches on the front bumper and what not a chip on the light and a few dings nothing major. he wanted 1700 dollers no less i said fine il pay you 1700 if you can supply a blue slip he aid thats fine. soo the next week i went down to pick it up he couldnt find any recpeits. nor service manuals. Also found out he re did the crank himself. and a gearbox place did the gearbox and clutch soo i rang them to verify they said yes we remeber the car. So on that note i wrote a reciept out that made clear this car should majke me homee and have no unblance in the crank if so a full refund was to be given he agreed i thought happy days.

THIT however began a 3 month stretch of mnay problems. Firstly i i notic its pulling a nit to the left and slowly gets worse along the way home no unbalance in the crank tho even up to and over 4500 rpm soo i decided to take it to my mechanic who had a look over it when i returned he said the guy who blueslipedd it COULD NOT have had it on a hoist the was fluid dripping and gushing out everywhere The sterring rack leaked badly, the was an oil leak that had ROTTED the uppercontrol arm bushes on the left hand side they were not there at all. there was a stripped wheel nut that i failed to notice dont know how as i was inspecting the break rotors. there was a cracked bottom engine mount. there wheels where out of allingment, the rear sway bar was BROKEN and barely held by a crappy weld job he tried to ( welding does not stick to that sort of tensile metal) there was a major exhast leak from the head stud. the water pump was spewing out water the radiotora was cracked many of these an instant FAIL on a blue slip. Me being a silly 17 year old thought 1700 dollers blue slip GREAT car

dont get me wrong it had a immaculate body excluding the dings up front but no rust straight.

so after 2300$ its actualy roadworthy now. and will pass a pinkslip the exhast will need to be replaced before the pinkslip however the sterring rack on the other hand we ran thicker fluid through as it was only 200$ as apposed to 1700 for a new rack. As im out of money pretty much and have spent too much i would like to sell it and buy a 1993 celica but i dont think id get much for my current one. and its hard to find spare parts or a new 5sfe engine with low Ks and is cheap/free.

my mechanic did a great job if your from newcastle hit up belvue motors in sandgate hes a top bloke.

there are a few more problems tho i would like some help with,

before the car went in the mechanic to be repaired it had alot of power below 3500 rpm very quick off the mark ever since he redid the timing belt (again needed doing) its been very sluggish and sloppy below 3500 like ul put ur foot down a little and itl rev then lurch then somewhat die then lurch again til it reaches 3500 rpm and thn all of a sudden take off. te only thing i can think off is timing maybe it was set to advanced before then after it was set to factoy i thought it was set to low retarded a little. got him to recheack he tells me it has good vaccum and is perfect. maybe needs to be set to advanced, also i read that ignition via the distributor cap method timing may be the cause im not sure if there the same thing tho.

a mate said it may be injectors. as his pop had the same problem his injectors where in need of being replaced soo any help would be much apprecitated. its done 293000kms

another thing. being on my Ps there not much i can do in terms of performance

what are some cheap things i could do to improve handling and performance if you could post links would be great or some tips (:

also would i be able to do a engine swap to a 3sge because ive read celica came out with tht engine would the mountings match up and would it be a stright swap? or would be very lenghty process would this be legal for a P plater?

anyother tips i should know would be great or anyone that would like to help

please no comments telling me how silly/ stupid this buy was no one could tell me other wise i wanted tht car, i know how stupid it was and regret it very much but i made a choice il live with it even if it does cost me a lot a of money that i dont have.

alos dumb question but whats the easiest cheapest way to do a rwd conversion just for my own interest.

[Guest]

hey mate, welcome to the club.

It is unfortunate you got a bit of a lemon with the purchase, but i guess you live and learn.

I would say the hesitation below 3500rpm is your timing, it could be too far retarded at the dizzy, or could be one tooth out on the cam pulley.

Try setting the dizzy a little more advanced, you can run about 15deg BTDC safely (always use 98 octane fuel though)

Your injectors may be dirty, you could try some fuel additive injector cleaner, or remove them and have them cleaned and flow-tested.

In terms of performance, you can do the standard Intake-Headers-Exhaust combo to help the 5s breathe easier.

AFAIK in QLD at least a 3SGE would be a legal swap for a p-plater, however i am not sure if this applies elsewhere, but to be honest it will be more work than it is worth.

as for going RWD, while possible (anything is with enough cash) it would be a stupid and very expensive idea, the car has no provisions at the back for a diff, etc.

It IS possible to convert a GT4 to RWD (it's been done) however this is still VERY expensive.

[Its_Jay]

hey mate, welcome to the club.

It is unfortunate you got a bit of a lemon with the purchase, but i guess you live and learn.

I would say the hesitation below 3500rpm is your timing, it could be too far retarded at the dizzy, or could be one tooth out on the cam pulley.

Try setting the dizzy a little more advanced, you can run about 15deg BTDC safely (always use 98 octane fuel though)

Your injectors may be dirty, you could try some fuel additive injector cleaner, or remove them and have them cleaned and flow-tested.

In terms of performance, you can do the standard Intake-Headers-Exhaust combo to help the 5s breathe easier.

AFAIK in QLD at least a 3SGE would be a legal swap for a p-plater, however i am not sure if this applies elsewhere, but to be honest it will be more work than it is worth.

as for going RWD, while possible (anything is with enough cash) it would be a stupid and very expensive idea, the car has no provisions at the back for a diff, etc.

It IS possible to convert a GT4 to RWD (it's been done) however this is still VERY expensive.

Yeah the guy was a slack selling it to a person who i said has limited funds and a first car. also the blue slip guy was a mate of his, we are gathering reciepts and written statements from mechanics and putting him to the RTA and hopefully hel be slapped in NSW with a 25k fine and a loss of licence to blue slip. you sure do never look back

alright thanks mate very much appreciate your input (: il make sure i tell the mechanic. as i dont have a timing gun. i read that 15-16deg BTDC is perfect for the celica. 10s factory below is retard and what not.

yeah you are probably right, il do that first if not. il get the ijnectors checked. as for the 98 octane nothing less goes in it haha.

what would you recomend for head, and diameter/type of exhast and i was told that 4-2-1 is good. as for intake to the bumper sort?

and yes tried the injector cleaner finished the bottle today actually.

Thanks again mate!!!

[Its_Jay]

hey mate, welcome to the club.

It is unfortunate you got a bit of a lemon with the purchase, but i guess you live and learn.

I would say the hesitation below 3500rpm is your timing, it could be too far retarded at the dizzy, or could be one tooth out on the cam pulley.

Try setting the dizzy a little more advanced, you can run about 15deg BTDC safely (always use 98 octane fuel though)

Your injectors may be dirty, you could try some fuel additive injector cleaner, or remove them and have them cleaned and flow-tested.

In terms of performance, you can do the standard Intake-Headers-Exhaust combo to help the 5s breathe easier.

AFAIK in QLD at least a 3SGE would be a legal swap for a p-plater, however i am not sure if this applies elsewhere, but to be honest it will be more work than it is worth.

as for going RWD, while possible (anything is with enough cash) it would be a stupid and very expensive idea, the car has no provisions at the back for a diff, etc.

It IS possible to convert a GT4 to RWD (it's been done) however this is still VERY expensive.

also with the RWD conversion i knew it would be dumb and far out of my league. i was just curious. lol