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What did you do to your Gen1/Gen2 Camry today?

323K views 5K replies 127 participants last post by  71Corolla 
#1 ·
Surprised we don't have such a thread here! Washed my '90 and cleaned the interior, rotated tires and checked air pressure. Not much else to do on my cars right now, not a good thing when I get bored I tend to buy another car. :facepalm:
 
#4 · (Edited)
well in a nutshell, to make up for lack of this thread, i have done a few things to the camry. most recently i had to reglue the headliner cover to the sunroof cover. it started blowing in the wind the other day.

other things have been.......

timing belt and tensioner and water pump, starter, radiator, installed the external starter relay, front brakes, master cylinder, battery, wipers, oil changes for engine and the auto transmission, new tires on the front, fuel tank vent line replaced, removed the dreaded electronic box that makes the tail lights stop working, replaced air filter and AC idle valve, replaced rear speakers, replaced drivers rear tail light assembly guts, replaced trunk weather stripping, cv axles on both sides, new silverstar headlights, replaced broken headlight retainer ring, new muffler and center section of tailpipe (between muffler and cat), replaced broken auto stereo antenna, installed the clear rear quarter running lights and im sure there is something im leaving out.

things to do soon........

all 4 struts and strut mounts, rear tires, fix pass front window a sit wont roll down. motor is locked up and wont move. thank goodness the window is up lol

um what else.......gotta paint and install the rear seatbelt trim, got a new head unit coming and a sub box for an overhaul of the audio system, locate the god awful vibration that happens in gear at idle when stopped, it only does it when we are both in the car. buy and install the clear front turn signal assemblies, talk her in to letting me change that ugly ass factory steering wheel to a more modern looking grant, and looking in to getting her a remote start/lock for christmas. need to change the heater hoses and flush the radiator before winter. the P.O. put water in it when the water pump was leaking. im still fighting rust and its got a new rad for crying out loud.

then there is my hardbody nissan...........lmao that is a whole other thread on another forum :)
 
#5 ·
Wow that's quite the list!
most recently i had to reglue the headliner cover to the sunroof cover. it started blowing in the wind the other day.
What glue did you use? The same thing happened to me awhile back, I used a spray on adhesive which didn't work all that well it's starting to come off in one corner.
 
#7 ·
@71............. I used the 3m headliner/carpet spray adhesive. I have not checked it since I sprayed it down. She won't open the sunroof until may or june lol

That 3m is some good stuff. I used it to glue my dashmat carpet cover to the dash on my hardbody nissan truck. It works well for headliner repairs too but be careful if u ever get some. It sprays fast and it will put too much on the target surface if your not fast enough.

And seeing how we paid 800 for the car with 162k miles from the second owner who had it for the last 15 years, the repair list isn't that bad. I figure with parts and time I have probably 3k in the car. Nottoo bad for one of the bestcars ever made.


Stupid android won't let me fix the space errors. And I'm not deleting it all for the correction
 
#8 ·
Grabbed a 1991 front spoiler/valence to put on the wagon, surprised to find one in decent shape usually they're mangled all to hell.
 
#10 ·
I re-repaired my wire harness on the drivers side as the ground crimp broke. This time I inserted jumper wires and soldered the wires together.
 
#17 ·
put my ported sub box together with a sony 10 inch sub for the trunk install. the head unit is already installed. now i need to measure the length of wiring needed to run from the battery to the trunk.

im thinking about mounting the amp on the back of one of the rear seats. we never pull them down so i think it would be ok there.

i just have to figure out which side would be better for the wiring......
 
#18 ·
I just installed an AMP and a new headunit in my Gen1. Found more rust. Made the already installed 4" and 6.5" component sounds a hell better though.

Maybe next week work on the body. Just some work to slow/stop the rust :headbang:
 
#19 ·
just took the old girl off the ramps. changed the oil, inspected the power steering leak that is going to get addressed soon. its getting bad.

the trans pan gasket is leaking and missing a bolt, so tack that on to next weekends project.

did the weekly fluid checks and all that jazz.

got the sub box built (see above), so now all im waiting on is a deal on an amp then i will get to wiring it all in the car.
 
#20 ·
I replaced both rear door outer weatherstrips, pulled a 5 speed cruise control unit, and a Crown Vic search ligh to put on my '88. I did some work on my Integra too, but of course it's no Camry...
 
#25 ·
trans pan (140E) has been leaking for a little while. decided to change the gasket and filter. i cant beleive how expensive trans fluid is now. flippin 16 bucks plus tax for a gallon.

it called for 2.6 quarts and those were 4.99 each. i said screw it and got a gallon.

so after 32 dollars and some change, the leak is stopped. someone used one of the cork gaskets. man i hate those with a passion. it had been leaking for so long, that the slow leak softened the cork and i was able to peel it off. i only had to scrape one section.

only one minor piece of trash was in there. it was the size of, well, anyone ever eaten that candy called nerds? yeah. small. there was the usual buildup on the 3 magnets so that is good. i was really worried at what i might find.

2.5 quarts is about right. i like mine to show a little on the low side but not too much. i had the transmission flushed back in march so im not worried at all about any problems arising with the shifting.
 
#26 ·
Cork gaskets are terrible, why do they exist? :dunno:

I cleaned up my '90 sedan and put the car cover on it, it will sit for awhile seeing we have snowy weather right now. I did manage to find some Michelin X-ice tires on V6 factory wheels, first time in a long time I have winters instead of all seasons.
 
#30 · (Edited)
Cork gaskets are terrible, why do they exist?
I'm starting to think Toyota calls for the cork/rubber mixed gasket for a reason on some things like this transmission pan. There's nothing in the way and it's so easy to drop the pan and peel off the old gasket (specially with a 10MM socket and drill). They seem to last about 4-5 years if you follow the torque specs. I believe it may serve as a reminder to drop the pan, change your fluid, make sure the filter screen isn't gunked up, inspect and clean the magnets, and wipe out all the grime from the bottom of the pan.

There are other times Toyota specifically calls for black FIPG instead of a gasket for a reason and the pan lip is grooved specifically for FIPG to be laid in there. For example, it is a major mistake to use any type of gasket on a 22RE oil pan that is grooved for FIPG, it won't last 2 years before it leaks, but Felpro and others make one.

I thought maybe Toyota didn't figure this out until after my 90' Camry was made since my truck is a 92', but my buddy's 88' truck oil pan is grooved for FIPG. So it got me thinking that those engineers didn't groove my camry transmission pan for orange FIPG on purpose.

Just my thoughts anyhow.
 
#27 · (Edited)
Last weekend: Motor oil & filter change, ATF drain & fill, differential drain & fill, checked brake pads and discs, intalled winter wheels.

In the course of the week: replaced headlights bulbs with Sylvania Silverstars. The plastic shield under the front on the passenger side broke around the screw and was hanging loose. Fixed it with a good ol' tyrap. Bought a pair of deer whistles only to find out that studies show they're worthless? ugh 10$ wasted I suppose...
 
#28 ·
anyone had problems with autozone stocking Gen2 parts? my local one never has anything i need. same thing for my nissan hardbody truck. i have about given up on autozone. the oreilly's near me has a better inventory of nissan and toyota parts.

and cork gaskets.......should be banned. they are nothing but garbage.
 
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