my 1991 Camry 2.9 3FSE got any recomendations for restore?

[Darwin686]

Hello to all!
I’ve been a fan of Toyota nation for quite some time now and have been using you as a reference material. Keep up all the great work guys it is truly amazing what you can find here with what other people have done.
I’d Like to talk about my 1991 Base Toyota Camry 4Cly 2.0 3FSE Engine Automatic Sedan and the restoration that I have gotten done with the this gem of a car.
Let Start With The Basics.
1.Changed the Fuel Filter
2.Serviced my Automatic transmission. Completed filter, gasket, and fluid change.
3.Power Steering Fluid Change using Valvoline High Mileage ATF
4.Installed and Inline power Steering Filter
5.Replaced all four door Jamb switches all stock had failed.
6.Replaced One headlight
7.Replaced both turn signal lamps as stock had faded and cracked.
8.Replaced both left and Right Front Parking lights and upgraded to Xenon 194 bulbs thank you eBay.
9.Replaced Windshield Washer Tank, Sprayers to Misters, and Rubber Lines.
10.Deep Creeped the sweet hell outta my engine. Thank You SeaFoam.
11.New Muffler to OEM Spec nothing fancy.
12.Paint Job FYI NEVER TAKES YOUR CAR TO MACCO! THEY SUCK! I won’t even get started on all the BULL SHIT they screwed me over with my car.
13.Painted Both Bumpers a Satin Black and managed to do so without taking them off of the car.
14.Coolant System Flush with Extended life antifreeze.
15.Timing Belt Change
16.Front brake Lines to OE spec. I’ve look at quite a few steel braided hoses but honestly I’ve never had an issues with the braking system on this car.
17.Replaced the bower motor after a bearing I believed shattered and all you could hear was an insistent clicking when the fan was on.
18.A/C system upgraded to R-134a and Re-Charge with 1oz Sub-Zero and 15oz R-134. Guys just so that you know I had to take the car to an ac specialist to vacuum out the remaining R-12 and I upgraded the pin system it was super cheap to do like under 20.
19.So here is the pain in the ass project that I did that turned out to be quite a challenge. I have replaced all of the Micro Bulbs in the dash and in varying switches on the dash I.e. hazard switch, rear defroster, Drive Indicators including P R N D 2 L, and ac switch. Now if you go to the dealer these bulbs are going to cost you and arm and a leg like 6 to 8 bucks a pop. So here is my solution RadioShack offers 12v micro-bulbs that are in a two pack for $1.50. Needless to say these work equally as well with no problems!
20.Brake System Bleed out and replaced with Synthetic DOT 3 Prestone Fluid.
21.Front Brake Lines Replaced.
22.New O2 Sensor Installed
23.New Fail-safe Thermostat installed with washer.
24.Differential fluid Changed
25.Rear Side Marker Lights Changed To Clear Euro Lens with Yellow LED Lights
26.Upgraded To 4100K Headlights 9004 model.
27. Replaced windshield washer sparyers to mist sparyers and replaced tubing to washer tank.
28. Painted a few things, heat shield, radiator clamps, hood props, batter tie down, MAF, and valve cover.
29. Valve cover gasket replaced.


Things left to be done and Cool Modifications:
1.Carpet Shampo5
2..Pull Exhaust manifold and scrape and paint high temp yellow.
3.Replace gasket on thermostat outlet.
4.Replace rear main seals on engine.
.I want to get a another set of the euro side marker lights and revert to the gen one style and have them on the front tire well. However it is my goal to make these into turn signal lights. After studying how the front turn signal lights work it should be fairly easy to wire in.
6.Pull off and paint driver and passenger side mirrors with high gloss black paint.
7.Stainless Steer Benzel for the instrument panel.
8.Change instrument panel lights from green to Red using silicone bulb covers.

So in a nutshell I’ve spent about 475 for all of this doing all of the labor myself. I’ve saved over $2,600 I love how easy this car is to work on! It’s just sooooo nice!
Car Stats:
Mileage: 258,100
Color silver / Commodore Gray
4 Door Sedan
Gray Interior
Current Gas Mileage:
32.3mpg in town 38.1mpg on Highway

[stanno]

Hey man let's see some pics!!!

[Darwin686]

Right now i have the heat shild off and am painting it red. When i get everything put back together i'll get some pics posted in the following days

[JayP71]

How much of a PITA was getting the old washer tank out? Mine's cracked and I picked up a new one from Pull A Part, getting out of the junk car was interesting and destructive. However, using a crowbar on a car I drive is probably not a good idea.

[Darwin686]

Its actually not that hard to change out the washer tank. Mine had a small leak and the motor was sooo loud you could hear it over the radio plus the front bracket was broken so the whole damn thing rattled.
I got a replacement tank and tubing off of ebay for like 20 bucks.

So jack up the passenger side of the car and remove your front passenger tire.

Next remove the black plastic splash guard in the wheel well. You don't have to remove all of it unless you want to change out the washer tubing you can leave the back four bolts on and just bend it back carefully without putting a crease in it.
I think it was like 10 10mm bolts and three or four screws.

So in the front fender you will see the bottom of the tank. Disconnect the power connector from the washer pump and the washerfluid hose. There are two 10mm bolts you have to loosen and remove in plain sight. These are the easy ones towards the top of the tank. Now the one on the very top goes into the engine compartmnet with a 10mm nut be sure not to loose this nut. PS BE CAREFUL I SLICED MY HAND OPEN ON THE BOTTOM OF THE CAR LOOSENING THIS BOLT WEAR SAFTEY OR LEATHER GLOVES!

The third is a bit more tricky and a pain in the ass. Just FYI if you got a part at the junkyard it more than likly has a metal bracket for the front of the tank if you ordered a replacement the front bracket is now part of the plastic tank mold.

You'll need a 10mm wrench and a 10mm scoket. Slide the wrench behind the mounting bracket plate and hold onto the nut that the bolt is fastened to. Using your wrench loosen the bolt and use your fingers to remove it. the tank will fall down.

Installation is the same as reverse.

this took me like 45 minutes to do by myself figuring out what to do on my own. I try not to rush myself when working on my car so it might take you longer or shorter.

Let me know if you have any other questions guys.

[JayP71]

Thanks, seems doable. There was some cussing and a crowbar involved getting the old one off the junk car but it had been hit in the front, warping the bumper. Wish I'd remembered to do this when I was getting the engine rebuilt. I'll take care of it when I replace the struts next month.

Greetings from another member of the high mileage club. 196,000 here.

[Kingdom934]

Yea...the dash bulbs (especially the P R N D 2 L) can be expensive. Thats why I just go to the junk yards with a plastic zip block bag and a philips. Just rampage all the Camry dash bulbs...lol. The P and D is normally burned, but the rest is fine

[Darwin686]

I ran into the situation where there were no gen 1 or gen 2 camrys in the junk yards around here. I tried every automotive store in town and had no love from any of them in finding these bulbs. However being the geek that I am at heart I was able to find what I needed at radio shack. It is super simple to change the bulbs from the socket with a small pare of wire cutters. Plus for a buck fifty for two bulbs you can't go wrong. I promise you that you can't even tell a difference .

I've also used these bulbs in my 2000 montero sport ls. Half of my dash bulbs blew due to a bad ground. So 15 bulbs later and about 2 hours of time I had them changed out. The only thing i Couldn't find without going to the dealer is the bulb covers. Try as I may i couldn't remove the old covers as they had melted onto the old bulbs.

[Kingdom934]

True. I'm not sure if the bulb that is used in the P R N D 2 L is the same as the Gen3. I'll try figure that out when I go and raid the junk yard again.

You can get the Green 'condom' on the bulbs off, just that sometimes it might be 'stuck on' pretty good. I've torn a few , but some of them just by lifting one side up to let the air in will make it a little easier. I never seen a bulb condom melted on it (The drive bulb is normally always burned but condom isn't melted) but then again we're in different climates

[Darwin686]

Originally Posted by Kingdom934

True. I'm not sure if the bulb that is used in the P R N D 2 L is the same as the Gen3. I'll try figure that out when I go and raid the junk yard again.

You can get the Green 'condom' on the bulbs off, just that sometimes it might be 'stuck on' pretty good. I've torn a few , but some of them just by lifting one side up to let the air in will make it a little easier. I never seen a bulb condom melted on it (The drive bulb is normally always burned but condom isn't melted) but then again we're in different climates

I've never had a problem taking them off of a Toyota however my melted ones were in my Monetro Sport and I've had the same issue with Pontiac.

It is quite possible that a number 74 bulb might work in a gen three. I've never taken out a gen three dash to find out but if they are like the gen one and two. It all depends on what kind of socket the bulb is in. If it is a PC board type bulb socket that twist in for the gen three then hit up your local radio shack or enjoy an afternoon at the junk yard.

[Darwin686]

Ok guys I've been doing some painting under the hood and i wanted to share my progress with ya. You'll find teh following items ahve been painted. Hood prop, radiator clams, valve cover, and heat shield. She is a work in progress as i plan to do alot more but can only do a little at a time due to money issues. For all of you who want a good laugh. Yes this cars the original alternator and starter on it.

[270+Camry]

looks great plus it's awesome to see other gen 2's up over 250,000 miles. quick question, where did you get the misters from? I got one good spray and one that shoots over the car and hits the car behind me (no bull.) it's actually amusing when I got someone tail gating me, but yeah, was thinking of upgrading them lol.

[Darwin686]

hey bud. I had the same thing with my sprayers. When parked i could actully spay the middle of the back window no problem. I got mine at autozone. They were like 10 for a pair. They are very easy to change out. The OEM just clip to the hood and pop right out. The new ones that I have cover the hole and have a compression screw type fitting. Check with your local autozone and if they dont' have them let me know. Mine has a ton of them. I'd be happy to help ya out with getting a pair.

[JayP71]

Like the look of it. I'm fixing to do the same thing with mine, only blue.

[Darwin686]

Originally Posted by JayP71

Like the look of it. I'm fixing to do the same thing with mine, only blue.

Thanks Bud. What color blue are your doing?

I'm still debating on a few accent colors to do under the hood as well. There are a couple of brackets that I'm nto sure what color that I'm going to paint just yet.