motor rebuild??

[serial_k]

1988 celica gt with 280000km (178,000 miles) is it worth a rebuild or new motor? where can i get either for a good $$??...suggestions??

[fredk]

watch my ad on worn out to get some ideas

[fredk]

is it a 3s or 5s fe?

[serial_k]

not too sure...looking to buy this off a budy and seeing what the best route is to go...its the 2 litre gt 16 valve,fwd,standard with race clutch and short shifter....should i be worried about the motor or does it have more life in it then i expect?? im not familiar with these cars

[fredk]

OK the engine type is on the bottom of the sticker on the underside of the hood and/or on the belt end of the motor itself, it is most likely a 3sfe with 1 cam gear, if it has 2, it is a 3sge and the ge motors back then have tvis on the intake and the fe has EFI on the intake. The GE motor is the best to get if possible. As for mileage, since the guy has a race clutch, it is probably well worn, as might be the transmission synchronizers, you have AIM?

[serial_k]

i do know it has EFI on the intake..the race clutch was just put in about 5k ago along with a new alternator...i just want to know if this motor will last or should i swap it out or rebuild??....no i do not have aim...i do have msn though

[fredk]

probably the best thing to do is go over and pop the hood and have him start it up cold, listen for lots of noises before the oil filter fills up, and continuing motor noise after it fills, look for lite smoke out the tailpipe and nasty coolant, a goop covered oil filter and black thick oil usually is a bad sign too. Its kinda hard to tell from here how the motor is doing, so just check it out and it might be a good idea downtime wise to get a reman motor or a lo miles one to pop in when you need to, these s motors are usually very durable, 500k miles have been recorded on them, but it all depends how the motor has been cared for, and change the timing belts at about 60k!!