Picked up a sr5...problems

[blakkjak]

First off, I would like to say be easy on me and I appreciate any info you put.

So I go with my buddy so he can grab a daily driver and I liked it so i grabbed it.




After a battery jump and a trip to the gas station for the empty tank it fired up, rough idle and I noticed a leak and a loose bolt on left side of manifold.



after letting it idle for a minute or 2 my buddy threw it in first and tried to see how it ran moving and it instantly cluttered out and cut off....any ideas? it was late
and I had to leave so i will pick it up mon.


I know it looks rough but car only needs to run for 3 months while I get this 4age swap lined up front clip is about 1200 shipped to me and I have a guy who will drop it for $300 but I would like someone else to wire the harness because I think that will be the only trouble correct? might have to give drivenconcepts a call in tampa.

[diver9000]

You should be able to do a lot better than 1200 for a 4age and tranny. I paid less than that when I bought my 20v.

[sportrally88]

you are missing a vac hose in the front ....that may have caused your cut off....bad flow is bad news

[retiredat44]

I have the same car....

as long as you can get it through smog inspection... I don't know if you have that in Florida.. these cars are good for about 200,000 than they start falling apart...

it will nickel and dime you to death... it looks like someone left a few parts off... like the heat shield off the exhasut... parts are very expensive at the dealer.. but if you go to a cheapo auto parts store... ypou might be ok.... like I said though it could nickle and dime you to death if it needs lots of work...

***
If you just need transportation I would not recommend this car if it has high milelage and has been neglected.
***

Since you live in a state that is always hot.... hope it has A/C. but in the pictures I didn't see some of the parts for A/C.

I can't tell how much you paid because of the picture you took doesn't show everything..
I fyou wanted a project car it might be worth it.. but for reliable transportation only, It not be the right choice. You will end up spening to much time and money.

Just to many question,

The pictures of the body look good. But not many pictures of the whole car.

These cars are nice when they are in great condition. But like I said, once they start falling apart, everything keeps falling apart and the repairs never end.

The gas mileage also is not good when the car has problems, if the carb is in bad condition the gas milegale is really bad can go as low at 20 MPG when it should be 30 MPG.

It all depends on how well the car was maintained and how many miles on it.
brakes also don't last long. The front disc was made to smal for the weight, the discs wear out very fast.

All this is my eperience from ours, we bought our 1989 Corolla SR5 with 60,000 miles 12 years ago.
I am in California and have all the smog crap too.

Sorry if I am pessamistic. Mayb eyou can get the repair records for the car fromt he previous onwer. if you don't, you wil only be guessing whether or not you ar eon a time bomb.

Good luck.

[blakkjak]

Appreciate the feedback and yes, after a couple of engine shots I noticed a hose was missing on the front and if you can point out any parts missing that would greatly help me.

to answer some questions.
No this is not my daily driver it's my new project, I have grown tired of throwing $$ into my eclipse.I purchased the car for a couple of hundred and it has some rust on the inner bottom on 3 spots around the chassis with some ghetto bondo job on them.

Seems someone kept track of oil changes until about 8k miles ago because it stopped at 143k and currently at 151 timing belt changed at 125k and a new engine gasket seal ring in glovebox...Seems it was maintained and after that last oil change they let it sit/go to hell.

[silkydraws]

I think the hose they're talking about is the one for the heat shield(which yours is missing) to the heated air valve in the intake hose for cold weather not something you will ever need

[sportrally88]

check hoses around the carb! i beleieve thats your problem i had a similar problem once

[freakinbox]

whats with all the oil in the front of the engine? mine did that recently around there... But my headgasket blew
It's not just from the bolt missing, because I am missing the one on the left side and the right side is loose.

[blakkjak]

I believe it coming from top left corner of the valve cover...will know for sure tomorrow.

[blakkjak]

update ran rough and engine smoked sat, now monday it cranks but engine wont start any ideas?

[toyotaspeed90]

do a compression test, change the spark plugs, check the cap & rotor

[retiredat44]

pull the spark plugs, check their color, bring new plugs just in case the plugs soaked with oil. It sounds like an oil burner... if you are lucky it could be the valve guides and seals..



In older cars, moslty with V-8's the oil return hole could get clogged (if the oil holes were too small) and if the oil wasn't changed regularly. But, if the oil is not returning down the return holes and the guides and seals are shot the oil wil foul the plugs..

But, like I said, that was with certain engines in the old days,, most like you jus thave an oil burner.. but you may get lucky...

You PVC Valve maybe bad or a cracked hose... bring duck tape, in case a hose is broke or cracked, that would defintely cause the engine to hardly run and stall.

[diver9000]

If you are going to swap the engine soon anyway you might not want to put a lot of $$ into this engine.

[blakkjak]

I went and checked it out this morning, spark plugs were burnt out and when I changed them it ran. Radiator is shot and the fan is not working and the exhaust manifold downpipe had a hole in it and its smoking from there. car ran a quick run around the block though.