Celica Gen 6 Head Gasket Problems

September 3, 2007

I recently purchased what I hoped could be my dream car, yes, I knew it had a problem and it had overheated, been towed back and then stood for 10 months. I bought it and hired a trailer to bring it home, at this point the bonnet catch had seized and Battery was flat so it was some fun to move it. A week later after removing lower covers I got open the bonnet and started to locate faults. After converting connectors and changing the Battery I found the main fault to be a blown radiator, I ordered one and replaced it. Still had intermittent overheating and thought air lock or thermostat sticking. Oil seemed ok (no water in it) and same with water. At this point I tried to get workshop manual, I found it hard, tried library and on line and came up with:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...type=osi_widget

(hope this link may be of use to someone else out there)

The DVD seems to have a lot on it but not for the 2.0 import, however I noted that the MR2 seems to have the same engine.

My Celica is a 1996 2.0 auto twin OHC with a 3S-GE engine 1998cc and is a Gen 6 import Model E-ST202-BLPVF

At this point the car was running, very well once it got started but it was a bad starter, there did appear to be some moisture on the plugs and wear on the distributor cap and rotor arm, real nightmare trying to locate a cap and arm and even the correct plug gap, anyway I settled on replacing the rotor and cleaning the rest up, still only gave me a slight improvment, I thought maybe the petrol was bad as it was left with a full tank and I thought some moisture may be running down the threads on 2 of the plugs, so I gave it a short run and monitored the heating...... After this (and it heating up again) I checked the oil and sure enough it had water in it....... I have a feeling it has a sticking thermostat which caused all the trouble in the first place but now I realise the head gasket is blown and this is my dilemma:

IS IT FIXABLE? I am fairly good mechanically and have many tools and at least half a brain. I suspect that the head may not be warped because the oil was clear till I re-pressurised the system and I guess it picked the weakest point to burst and also the suspect thermostat...

Has anybody on here EVER changed a head gasket on a Celica?

Any special tools I would need? I note on the data that I have it mentions removal of the lower crankshaft sprocket (MR2) The only fears I have in attempting this is the removal of the twin cams (Positioning of them first) and worry about head bolts breaking and correct torques? ANY help,tips or advice would be so much appreciated. Toyota agents do not seem to want anything but big money off people in this area (thats why it was sold in the first place) and I tried 2 local garages who made it clear they did not want to know about such a job. So, I guess it will be a great achievment for me to do this job and I am SO reluctant to dump the car because it is in such good condition and I simply love it... (If I can get it sorted!)

So, if anybody has ANY knowledge on this topic PLEASE POST

Best wishes, Paul.

September 3, 2007

oohhh god...i know how you feel there...not done the head gasket myself on a celica...but mines going into a garage to be done...mines a twin cam and OH said like hell is he doing it...gunna cost £350 to be fitted if i buy the kit myself...so IMO if they can do mine and mines 19yr old then yes yours is fix-able also

which garages did you try??..i'll have a word with my mate about it for ya and see what he says.

September 4, 2007

oohhh god...i know how you feel there...not done the head gasket myself on a celica...but mines going into a garage to be done...mines a twin cam and OH said like hell is he doing it...gunna cost £350 to be fitted if i buy the kit myself...so IMO if they can do mine and mines 19yr old then yes yours is fix-able also
which garages did you try??..i'll have a word with my mate about it for ya and see what he says.

Thanks for the comments, hope you get yours fixed..... I am in very rural Herefordshire and I am not impressed with the

local garages who seem more able to deal with tractors. I want to have a go at it myself and hoped to find someone on here with a little more experience who could give me some guidance or tips.....

Paul