What Model Do I Have (Help Identify Please)

[pacman06]

Hello all, new member from Merseyside, UK here.

I am posting as I have very recently come into ownership of a very fine looking but poorley 5th Celica convertible import, I swapped my old frontera 4x4 for it, so luckily it owes me very little, a hundred quid.

All I have is a haynes manual a workshop CD, v5 and an MOT! All I know is it is a 5th generation? 1991 J reg, red convertible with 3gse marking on the engine, it has thick black lines dividing the rear light cluster, it says "2000 twin cam" on top of the engine, it is also an auto with O/o overdrive? and its the 4ws! (working!)

She was MOT'd just under a month ago but on the last 5 mile of the return 100 mile journey steam was comming out by the left pop up headlight, presume from the overflow/expansion?? Needle was as far right as it could go! The owner stated it had been laid up for nearly 2 years but thought nothing should go wrong! )yer right mate) Its had a new alernator and I have in the boot a brand new water pump.

So apart from the overheating (either HG gone, last owner says water pump leaking and pressurizing the radiator??) maybe! Yesterday a VERY loud vibrating started, only happens when I press the accelerator pedal, makes no odds if turn steering, comes and goes of its own accord, if in park gets louder if reverse goes away, drives fine, not pulling to left or right. Cannot see anything under the bonnet, but if I put my hand on the bonnet its as if its comming from by the power steering resivoir, or that general area.

EVERYTHING works, apart from ac needing a regass and the leccy ariel not working (can hear the motor whizzing though) bodywise it is 100% perfect, not a single bit of rust no scratches marks ect.. same with the interior, 100% mint, also has a lovely double din head unit, DVD, TV, SD card slot, mp3, full car kit with bluetooth connectivity, tested and working! full touchscreen and motorized!

Is it worth fixing? how much do you all think it is worth as is, and how much when fixed?? (could it be bushes or arms?) I fell in love with it straight away, kids love it, loads of room, quite good on the juice too, auto box is fantastic and roof all works and is in great condition! Gets a lot of attention! This is my first 2 door, first soft top and first car that is a bit sporty!

Opinions very much welcomed, if its just not worth it then so be it but its just waaaay to good to scrap or part out, it looks brand new, even after 3 days of having it, the amount of people who come over is unreal, and when I tell them how much it cost, they dont believe me! (can provide pics if needed to identify)

Thankyou for any help!

(sorry for the long thread, and I do realise this is just a 20 odd year old car but its just sooo lovely to drive, and looks far far more than its worth imo, I love toyotas!)

[Leeky]

Sounds like the engine and gearbox have had it.

Still, gotta be worth more than £100 in that condition on eBay to the right person.

[pacman06]

gearbox

Can I ask what makes you say the gearbox is shot please? Not doubting you, I thought the gearbox was ok tbh, or is the vibrating a classic sign? It pulls through the gears fine no crunches or hesitation from it, vibrating also can be felt through the steering wheel too.

:(

IF it is the gearbox then I think I will be punting it on to someone, lucky I never paid a good chunk of money for it otherwise I would be phuming!

EDIT

Could it be the wheel bearings? tbh I am no mechanic, my knowledge is pretty limited, kinda shocked you would say the gearbox, nothing points (common sense wise) it being the culprit.

[Old Red Celica]

Hi Welcome to TOC, sounds like you have a ST183 Cabriolet.

I'd do a compression test on the headgasket before I looked into spend cash on Wheel bearings or the like.

If that looks OK. A good service, timing belt and water pump, good antifreeze/toyota Coolant.

Another good forum is www.celica-club.co.uk

[pacman06]

Hi Welcome to TOC, sounds like you have a ST183 Cabriolet.

I'd do a compression test on the headgasket before I looked into spend cash on Wheel bearings or the like.

If that looks OK. A good service, timing belt and water pump, good antifreeze/toyota Coolant.

Another good forum is www.celica-club.co.uk

Hi, thanks for the welcome, would a brownish coloured water fountain shooting out the radiator cap not be enough to say HG failure?

[Old Red Celica]

A fountain under the bonnet is not a pretty water feature. A garage may do a sniffer test on the coolant.

A couple of options, you strip down the engine and replace the HG, do the cam belts Water Pump, fluch the Rad etc and at least you know it's done. At least that way you'll find the problem, if it's not he HG then for peace of mind it's been done.

OR swap another engine into it. There are breakers who specialise in Celicas.

[pacman06]

A fountain under the bonnet is not a pretty water feature. A garage may do a sniffer test on the coolant.

A couple of options, you strip down the engine and replace the HG, do the cam belts Water Pump, fluch the Rad etc and at least you know it's done. At least that way you'll find the problem, if it's not he HG then for peace of mind it's been done.

OR swap another engine into it. There are breakers who specialise in Celicas.

I am getting all kurfuddled a tad, full of some virul bug and conjuctivituse at the moment!

Obviously a water feature under the bonnet, although a pretty site! is obviously an unwanted aftermarket option! I guess I am thinking, do headgaskets just fail due to whatever or will there be underlaying cause, so if I did the belts pumps gaskets would the HG go again after a while?

She only has 70 thousand mile on her, which is pretty low for 20 years old, I don't mind putting the time and money into her so long as its cured and fixed at the end of it. But I guess this is part of the course in owning "older" cars! She is a real looker but realistically I dont want a money pit, my wife, yes I can take being a constant drain on my wallet! but she (mostly) a tad more reliable! and has just as many buttons to push as the celica!

I think a replacement engine is the way forward.. I can take the new alternator off this engine and use the brand new water pump that came with the car.. I just can't bare the thought of sending it to the scrapper or parting it out, much too good a condition for that..

I may even hunt down a low miles good condition (engine wise) MOT failure to swap out the engine..

Would you know of a suitable site/forum/wiki that would tell me what engines are compatible to my car? Its a 3g-se 2.0 auto jdm.

[Old Red Celica]

It's sat for a while, all sorts of sludge could have built up in the cylinder jackets causing a hot spot, bingo head gasket fails if the head warps. For what it costs, assuming you could be looking at a dead engine, it will cost nothing to whip off the head, IF you see obvious head gasket damage there's your answer.

You might get away with a light skim on the head, new gasket and away you go.

[Leeky]

You said "VERY loud vibrating started, only happens when I press the accelerator pedal, makes no odds if turn steering, comes and goes of its own accord, if in park gets louder if reverse goes away" which to me sounds very much like an automatic gearbox on its last legs.

Personally, i'd find a cheap donor car for a new engine and convert it to manual at the same time. Worth more money then

[pacman06]

You said "VERY loud vibrating started, only happens when I press the accelerator pedal, makes no odds if turn steering, comes and goes of its own accord, if in park gets louder if reverse goes away" which to me sounds very much like an automatic gearbox on its last legs.

Personally, i'd find a cheap donor car for a new engine and convert it to manual at the same time. Worth more money then

Cheers for the explanation, wasnt doubting you just wondered is all, you make a good reason for finding a donor car.. Would be easier to all the belts ect while the engine is out before fitting..

VERY last question (promises promises!) is it worthwhile?? As I have previously mentioned, the interior/bodywork is near perfect.. I know cars are a depreciating asset, specially of late (cheers gov/banks) from a quick google research session, similar age/spec celica softops with a slush box go for around 1500-1900 most examples no where near (bodywise) to mine.. Not looking to make a profit on this but I would like to recoup the cost of the engine/gearbox swap.. Would be keeping it for at least 2 summers.. I hope! I do change cars a LOT though! I get bored with them very easily lol..

Enough wittering from me but thankyou again for the imput, greatly appreciated and taken onboard!