Celica 190, Any Good?

[adamgGTI]

hi all, im a ford owner at the moment but im looking at the celica 190 built around 2002. any issues that i should look out for when i go look at one. any help appriciated

[Scarlett Arrow]

There's a wear issue with the Lift Bolts (or Flange Bolts as Toyota call them) on the pre face lift, if you buy a face lift T Sport which was introduced in the Autumn of 2002, Toyota had fitted a revised Bolt.

The T Sport is the one to go for if you really want the VVTL-i Engine, the face lift Cars have a much nicer (darker) Facia and rear Lights.

Good luck with your search.

[adamgGTI]

thanks for your reply. u said about the t-sport? what celica models had the 190bhp engine in?

[Scarlett Arrow]

In the UK, the 190, T Sport and finally GT. All 190's are pre face lift and all GT's are post, T Sports can be either.

[adamgGTI]

so wot would be the better buy?

[sjrainsford]

To be fair, it's all down to money mate. Just buy the best car you can for your money. Either way you'll be pleased with it once you get used to the road noise. Most people seem to prefer the facelift mainly for it's generally better asthetics - but it's all down to what you like at the end of the day.

There aren't really any big issues with them, just the lift bolts as mentioned.

When you take one for a test drive, wait till the engine is nice and warmed up, then give it some stick - at around 6000 rpm you should feel a nice kick of power like someone has pressed a button. If you don't get the kick of power as the revs pass 6000rpm, then lift isn't operating correctly and is normally the failure of the lift bolts.

If you get a pre-facelift 190 that lift works correctly on, I'd just change the lift bolts as a matter of course as they really are very cheap from toyota.

Happy hunting!

[adamgGTI]

sound like a good car without many issues! wot sort of job is changing the lift bolts? is camshaft out?

[sjrainsford]

sound like a good car without many issues! wot sort of job is changing the lift bolts? is camshaft out?

If the lift bolts haven't broke inside the engine, then I believe it's not a big job at all really. It's just a case of taking the rocker cover off and changing them. There are some guides over on www.celica-club.co.uk I believe.