jing713

Cheers guys, will reconsider if it's worth spending $2-300 odd on this old baby

Thx, I was looking at the front strut braces for the moment.. much easier to install.. Any opinions on the ones on ebay trent? Only main issue is that I'm worried they don't fit our Aussie Camries... in terms of quality and performance.. - well probably better than nothing Cheers!

Hi guys, I'm looking at buying a sway bar / strut tower bar for my 1996 Camry CSi haha, I just want to improve the handling a bit, I'm not entirely fond of the floaty suspension and relatively unrigid body. Could I source one locally or do I have to go to Ebay? I am a bit reluctant on Ebaying as the stock is mostly from America and I'm not sure if the strut bar designed for the same generation / year would work on our Australian cars.. Cheers

Welcome! How are you finding your new car ? :)

haha thanks mate!

I might get that done in July, during 1 month uni break. Did you just have to remove the passenger handles on the roof and the screws at the back? Also - I've read of people replacing the foam (probably a bit too tedious for me... )- did you do that? Nah just sprayed it directly onto the foam and the hood lining and pressed it back together Cool! Where can I buy a can of those spray adhesives? I'll probably get it done during the month long break coming up, I mean, why not ^_^

$100?! I took a look on their online store, they stock the Bosch that's compatible with the 5S-FE - they were only ~$60 iirc .. hmm

Fantastic, I might pick up an upstream Oxygen Sensor later.. Sorry some newb questions here.. Are they hard to install , I'm having difficulty locating the o2 sensor on the 5sfe Is it anywhere in the picture above? Also thinking of getting the mechanic to check the ignition timing - how often is that needed for these old cars? Thanks a million Easy to do, it is the probe looking thing with the wire hanging off the exhaust manifold at the very bottom of the picture. You really should buy something like this, they can be had cheaper too. Gives step by step instructions. http://www.ebay.com....=item231e818dc4 Thanks, ordered a Denso 2342058 off Amazon, $72 including delivery. Gonna change that when it gets here. Cheers for the link, price's a bit steep, but I'll look into one - would be useful! ^_^

Dam, I can only hope the gizzards of mine aren't anywhere like that.. can't do anything to reverse the sludge if it's already forming Thanks, missed your previous post !

Fantastic, I might pick up an upstream Oxygen Sensor later.. Sorry some newb questions here.. Are they hard to install , I'm having difficulty locating the o2 sensor on the 5sfe Is it anywhere in the picture above? Also thinking of getting the mechanic to check the ignition timing - how often is that needed for these old cars? Thanks a million

Thanks mate, I've only been looking at their online website. Will take a look physically if I have the time. Does 10w-40 sound right for 160k km, Sydney weather? Ta

Hi new member here

Still young here... best car I've driven is probably a MY12 Accord Euro Base Model 6sp manual.. Also driven: MY12 Yaris YR 3 Door Hatch Automatic 2008/9 shape Yaris YR 3 Door Hatch Automatic 2001 Lancer MR 2 Door Coupe 5sp Manual 2008 Corolla Ascent 4 dr Sedan Automatic To be continued...

Pics of my trusty car as promised , haha!

I might get that done in July, during 1 month uni break. Did you just have to remove the passenger handles on the roof and the screws at the back? Also - I've read of people replacing the foam (probably a bit too tedious for me... )- did you do that?

Cheers Hah, yeah unsurprisingly they really don't die.. I'm in the process of preparing for a major service as my father no longer used the service book and hadn't kept good copy of all the past service invoices detailing what's been done! Only thing I know is that it has a K&N air filter - and I found a new one lying around and replaced the old (yes, I was too lazy to wash it ^_^) Ordered a new set of iridium sparks off Amazon for ~$7 a pop (I suggest everyone not pay $20 odd for an iridium spark at "stupidcheap"), new set of spark leads (very likely it's still running stock), K&N oil filter ($7!!!! of amazon !!!) and will buy fully synthetic 10w-40 oil. I'm DIYing and learning along the way as much as possible as parents are only paying for rego and insurance . Good and fun experience for me must say! Changed sparks to NGK V power (I thought they were copper..)- despite some subjective improvements in low end torque over the old platinums, I thought I'd change to iridiums instead and consider the V Powers as a bad batch for a lost cause. Definitely not a powerful car, but I'm not complaining - it's pretty healthy and I've recently just put a new set of 215/45/17Potenza RE002 (0812 stock :P). When I took over, fuel economy was ridiculously high at 12.5L/100km , gradually brought it down to 10.4L/100km (suburbia driving) through fiddling around with sparks / tyres / injector cleaners etc! I've probably spent more money than I should but it's hard to stop Fantastic! welcome to you as well :) It's an old car, with 17" rims mostly scratched from my mum previously.. Unfortunately I probably won't replace them due to economies of scale! However I'' throw a few pics up tomorrow... has a Momo steering wheel and aftermarket gearshift knob - lol! Forgot to mention I may be the youngest with a Camry here, coming in at 19.. hopefully that doesn't ignite prejudice against me PS: Has the PIA typical issue of saggy headlining, has anyone fixed it themselves?

Hello everyone! Thought it'd be smart to join a Toyota specific forum as I own a 1996 Camry CSi in Manual :) Running 215/45/17 Bridgestone RE002 Not a fancy car certainly, I pretty much inherited the old family car! Guys here are friendly and :) Cheers

Thanks man, would you run 10w-40 in a 1996 5S-FE that's done 160k kms? I've found Penrite Everyday 10w-40 Fully Synthetic at supercheap... too bad they don't stock the Enviro+ / HPR or Performance variants..

Thanks mate, a good database for which part fits what car. I assume they don't ship to Australia? Cheers!

Are there any fully synthetic 10w-40 on the market? Where can I find them and how much am I looking at?

Thanks, ordered some BKR6EIX-11 (Iridiums as well) off Amazon for roughly $8 each... Found out the V Powers aren't copper, which defeats the purpose of me changing from Platinum. Bought a set of leads off Amazon as well, NGK TE62. Not 100% sure if they're right spec, I am a tad worried that they may be the model for the California Emissions. For everyones info: Bosch's ledas can be had for $60 from supercheap

Sounds perfectly normal for short distance suburban travel!

Thanks mate, sounds like it shouldn't be a major issue! Also took a look at your thread with your camry!! haha :) What kind of spark plug leads are you using? I think mine still has stock ones. I'd like to get some new ones, preferably NGK. but frankfully they don't sell it everywhere. I could get them shipped from America for roughly $80, or buy Bosch ones @ Supercheap for $60. Or this "high tension spark plug" that's made by Taipan? (never heard of them) for $42 http://www.quicksales.com.au/ad/high-tension-spark-plug-lead-set-camry-sxv20-5sfe/2421877 Cheers once more mate!

Hi all, I've been DIYing to learn and save money as I'm a young adult, and the car I am talking about is a 4 cylinder 2.2L 5S-FE in a 1996 Camry. Just replaced the platinum sparks with copper for testing and observation to see if there's any improvement in fuel economy / performance. (Assuming the cylinder closest to the timing belt is #1) Cylinder # 1 and #2 and its leads came out perfectly fine. HOWEVER plug #3 , the plug lead inside the engine and the top of the spark plug was rather sooty and was a bit hard to get out. plug #4 was another different story, the thread inside the engine (i.e the metal part – the non white part) was rather oily and most difficult to unscrew. After installing new plugs, car drove fine and appears to have no issues, the old spark heads /tips (where the electricity jumps) looked healthy. Here is a pic of them all: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/834/20120615180639.jpg/ From top to bottom, #1 -> #4 It looks like #1 is 'cleanest', followed by #2 then #3 then #4 Engine seems to be smoother and slightly more willing than before. With that said, what does Plug and Lead #3 and #4 tell me about the health of the engine? Car is overdue for a service by a few hundred km / 2 months (according to the sticker) which will be done before the end of July Thanks all!