Gen 7 Info / Advice

[viagression]

hi guys, I am getting a red vvti-l end of the month. it has 70k miles on it.

The seller said there is a slight knocking between 3-4k rpm coming from cam shaft area.

not noticeable when driving sensibly.

what are your thoughts on this please?

also, in the pictures, there does not seem to be the plastic 90 degree ish hose that goes from the airbox to the ecu. should this be a concern?

its a 2001.

also wondering what is actually written on the back, i can not make it out. (see pics)

[BGDaz]

The knocking noise is where the Cam Shaft has ran dry due to an early Generation problem with oil return (or lack of)

It will cost you within the reigon of £500 to repair and more to replace the engine ... If you cant get that off the asking price i'd walk away ..

My 140 has this problem (kind of my own fault) so I know what it is :)

[viagression]

well i am getting a good ish deal.

i thought the oil problem was only on the 140s? thanks for the input

[BGDaz]

Can I ask out of interest how much ? if you dont mind saying

As far as I am aware it was a problem with all engines Pre 03' plate

[viagression]

well its complicated cos i am swapping my car, but as far as i am concerned I am paying £1900 for it.

[BGDaz]

£1900 isnt bad dependent on what you are part exing lol, there is definitely a Pipe missing from your ECU box but I got no idea what affect that would be ...

[viagression]

well its a quick fix any way. with regard to the oil problem, if there is one,

what specifically is wrong? as i may not be too knowledgable but a can hold a spanner.

i also know about the lift bolts too.

what the seller said.

Bad bit: There is a slight rattle coming from the camshaft area so i have been told by my local toyota dealer, the noise is only heard when between 3-4000 rpm.

Despite this it drives very well & hasn't got worse since i have owned it for about the last 6 months, in fact its seemed to of improved recently!

[BGDaz]

As far as I have picked up about the problem is the oil return is bad on the engines so instead of it being returned and reused, it just gets burned up and used quicker, as long as you keep an eye on your level there is no problem there. in the Post 03' models more Oil Return holes were added to the piston heads.

Unfortunately it wasn't and the Crank has ran dry and done one of many things, Mine has actually warped slightly so thats where the rattle is from, yes it may not sound serious and mine has ran a good 4000-5000 miles on the Warped crank eventually it will pop give way and ive been told worse case scenario is it comes through the side of the block ...

New Crankshafts are about £500 of the popular auction site. Dependent on if you want to tackle changing it yourself you should be able to find help on how to do it.

Im looking into various different options for my engine, at the moment im in Emails with Se7en with the possibility of dropping a 190 into mine :)

[ormi]

people its a 190........they dont have the oil burning problem.....could be your lift bolts though....

the pipe thats missing lets hot air escape i'd look for one or buy one..

[viagression]

thanks for confirming that the oil problem is not on the 190. I have read it from various sources now.

my first guess after some research was the lift bolts.

They look easy to do.

as for your issue friend, there are some seriously cheap crash dammaged ones on flea bay.

get a rear ended one rob the engine and get a couple hundred quid back for scrap?

just athought.

but thank you both very much. Think i will go for it, they sound like so much fun.

oh finally any idea what "pack" it is with .............

Digital Aircon

Digital climate control

Leather seats

Remote c/locking

E/windows

E/mirrors

E/sunroof

Sony cd player/tape player

Front foglights

Alarm

Immobiliser

Power Steering

Drivers airbag

Passenger airbag

Side airbags

Digital clock

Storage compartment

Drink holders

16" alloys

Rear spoiler

[BGDaz]

Ah thanks for confirming that Ormi :)

Ive been looking t a few options and that is one of them, the only thing is, its been in a crash so there has been strain on the engine, i got lots of options to explore though which is good

[viagression]

thr cellica is a type of car id be happy to replace an engine every 10 yrs if i had to. its looks are timeless imo.

i dont think they will ever look old. small wheels are a little ghey (in the internet sense of the term)

but ive also read to not bother putting big ones on as id be sacrificing comfort and performance for asthetics.

(would not be the first time) and im not going to mention my wife :)

[Scarlett Arrow]

The Badge on the Tailgate reads "VVTi-190". This has caused much confusion over the years as the Engine is as you know, a VVTi-L.

Tapping from the valve train area is likely to have been caused by poor maintenance in letting the oil level get too low. The 190 Engine DOES use oil, especially if "lift" is engaged regularly. Replacing the Flange Bolts is a cheap and easy task, that won't be the case if you need a new Cam though. I would recommend you use a 5W40 F/S in the 190, rather than the 5W30 S/S that Toyota would use.

Finally, from your equipment list, the only thing that isn't standard is the rear Spoiler, but if you can post some side views of the car, I can tell you more.

HTH :)

[viagression]

of course it uses oil. i am slow but not quite that slow. but there is a known / was a known oil issue with the 140s???

please correct me if i am wrong. with as much info to back up as possible. i digest quite well.

please see the following pics.

if you are right and it has been neglected, would a little tlc, and future tlc be enough to have pretty much trouble free driving?

I know how i would probbably drive the car and the type of roads id be driving on will not help keeping it out of the "lift" zone,

would it be fair to say that if you drive the 190 bellow 6 ish k rpm then it acts exactly the same as the 140?

ps thank you for the info. its all going to come in very handy.

[ormi]

every car uses oil fact but the 140's when bad could use 2 lrts per 1000 miles..the wife drives the 2005 gt and its in lift a lot and you'll be lucky if i put a lrt in it in 10,000 miles....i do a lot of work with these engines being a toyota licenced tec for a main dealer...rebuilt more 140's than i care to remember and never rebuilt a 190 for any faults yet....

[viagression]

thanks, thats really cool to know. so 190 is a safe ish bet.

[ormi]

not safe-ish its a safe bet...as long as its been looked after theyre bullet proof..

[Son of MGmike]

ormi,

Interested in your comment "rebuilt more 140's than I care to remember"

Could you do a post on you experiences? I'm particularly interested in knowing more about what components were commonly changed and the differences between these and the original parts.

How often did you need to replace the block and any help tips or things to look out for during the rebuild?

Thanks

[joe parker]

Ormi can I pick your brains as u work for Toyota, iv got a t sport celica and its using a lot more fuel than normal L8ly,iv ad a diagnostic done,no fault, I had an emissions check,no fault,any ideas

[ormi]

@ joe p

a lot of things can cause that mate heres a list

1)spark plugs,worn plugs can cause this....you cant clean or gap Iridium plugs buy new ones

2)oil and filter change new oil and the correct oil can work wonders

3)air filter...should be nice and white if its not get a new one

4)tyre pressures this plays a big part in mpg..

5)have your brakes checked if they are binding on this will affect mpg

6)also if you use your a/c make sure its service ie gas and oil this also affects mpg i do mine atleast once a year

7)get your wheel alighnment checked this can cause very poor mpg if out

[ormi]

ormi,

Interested in your comment "rebuilt more 140's than I care to remember"

Could you do a post on you experiences? I'm particularly interested in knowing more about what components were commonly changed and the differences between these and the original parts.

How often did you need to replace the block and any help tips or things to look out for during the rebuild?

Thanks

never had a bad rebuild mate very straight forward.....the parts we used..toyota sent us a short block complete with rods crank and pistons(every job) we also got a complete gasket kit..

the head gets rebuilt lapped in valves new valve stem seals etc and a dam good clean up then you rebuild and put it back in the car..

if it req a cat due to oil contamination it gets a new one..turn around for a job like this is around a day two max

the piston rings were mod'd and so were the oil holes in the pistons(it got one more..)

i have read on here about people just changing the pistons then rebuilding this wont work as the boars in the block will be oval..hence why toyota supplyed a new block....new pistons in a bad block will make the oil consumption worse...

the easyest way to remove the engine is down the way removing the engine and box complete.

make sure you torque everything to the correct torque,and dont loose any bits and make sure your timing marks are spot on no room for error....

if your car is a wee bit rattlie the chain tensioner is prob worn replace this too..

any other questions???

[BGDaz]

Ormi, Out of Interest ... How much do you charge for a Rebuild like this ?

[ormi]

i dont know mate think the short block is around 3.5k then you've got a book time of 16 hours labour oh and the gasket set approx £200...

so my work charges a lot mate also its a main dealer so your looking at approx £90 per hour!!

[joe parker]

Thanks ormi mate, il check tyres and wheel alighnment, is ther a way 2 check if my wheels are not aligned.I'm sure the spark plugs,fuel,air filter shud all be fine as I had a major service last June and have only covered 4k since. Il check the brakes Aswel, wud u expect the car 2 be pulling 2 one side if 1 brake was catching.thanks again.

[viagression]

wow great info here guys. excellent.