Well, I knew this day would come. I bought my 90 GTS a couple years ago, for a thousand bucks. It was gorgeous, immaculate interior, good paint (ok, not great, but it was pretty!) Newer tires...I got a GREAT deal on it. The only problem it had, and still has for that matter, is a vibration when the engine was cold. Noone could find the problem, and it didn't affect drivability, so we left it alone.
Fast Forward 2 years.....
Now, when the engine gets warm, the oil light will come on. We know thats the oil weight, you try finding 20w50 in colorado (even in the summer, its tough to find it at all.) So we went with the next suggested weight, which should be fine....but it isn't. Once the car has been driven. (usually around 10 miles or so) the light will come on, and stay on. I'm almost positive the oil pump is going out. (after less than 40k miles too). To top it all off, it leaks everything, everywhere. We've got the distributor leak, the valve cover leak, the rear main seal leak, and some others that I can't seem to find for the life of me. All told, we go through a quart every month at least. I know it isn't burning it, the exhaust is clean, and the emissions are better than some newer cars.
So, here is my quandry.....
I can't do an oilpump myself. Lack of space/tools to do it. (or I would try) I've already replaced the pressure sender, and the wires for it, so I know it isn't a bad sender. I want to reseal the whole thing. Top to bottom. Local places are asking 3k plus for a full rebuild. (which should fix the vibration I'm thinking too) I called around for JUST the oilpump, I'm looking at the neighborhood of 1k, which is rediculous (and most of THAT is labor) I figure while they're in there with the oil pump, I'm gonna do the waterpump and timing belt too. (I think one of my hidden oil leaks is there too around the main bearing seal and possibly the oilpump gasket as well.) But I've been quoted around 1400 for that nightmare, TB, Oil pump and water pump.
Do I blow the money on the repair, ignoring the other "minor" leaks, and fix what I KNOW is wrong? OR...do I go the full route and put a new motor in it. (again, this would take some doing, since I have neither the space or tools to do it.) Keep in mind, I paid 1k for the car, so its not really "worth" that much monetarily, but I do absolutely LOVE Celicas, especially the 90-95 years. (when my Eagle dies, its being replaced by another Celly.)
If I go the replacement route, does anyone know of any good motor shops in the Denver area that can give me a good price, and possibly finance the rebuild (I'm a little on the broke side, atm) or a repair place that can do the repairs above, and finance that? I'd put it on my CC, but I just put the transmission in my Eagle on that. (dang thing is EXPENSIVE) I really want to fix the car, as its my wifes commuter now, and she NEEDS a car. We're nowhere near public transportation where we are.
Any insight or ideas? Thanks bunches!
Newbie to the boards, 2x celica owner, and current sufferer of car repair woes.
According to the Haynes book, for the temperature range we were in, it recommended the 20w50. Before that, the light would come on after about 10 miles, and stay on till the car cooled. When we moved back to Colorado, it was winter, we went back to a lighter oil, and didn't have an issue, till this summer, (after staying with the lighter weight oil) Its been unusually warm here this summer, and I think I should have gone with the heavier oil.
On a side note, we're gonna shop around for an engine, barring that, we'll have this one repaired. Anyone know where you can get an oil pressure tester to plug straight into the block, and read the gauge? (not one you bolt in, but just a temp tool type?) So I can check the pressure...I want to know how low it really is once it gets warm, or if its a bad sender again. On that note, what is the "normal" oil pressure in the 5sfe engine?
I don't have a Hayne's manual, but there really is no reason to have been using 20w50. 10w30 is what you should've been using in summer weathers and 5w30 in winter weathers. At the heaviest I've only heard of people using 10w40 in really hot summer weathers. It is your choice to continue using 20w50 but it could be likely that its that heavy oil that shortened the life of your 5sfe.
Well, in south Texas its hot, and the Haynes said go heavy, so we did, for about 1k miles or so, we've been running 10w30 or 40 for the most part. I'm still not 100% sure its the pump, and not the sender. THe sender I picked up at Autozone, and since then, we've had the issues with the oil light. Of course a low idle could have caused the initial oil light, and replacing the sender with a "non Toyota" one could be the remainder. We're gonna replace the motor anyway. Found a place local that will do it relatively cheap. 7 year, 70k warranty on the replacement too. (includes labor and parts and covers workmanship as well) So if they forget to connect something or whatever its covered too.
I really love this car, nothing feels better than hitting 75 on the onramp without flooring it. (even with teh problems it has, this thing will still do it.)
The oil pressure sensor turn on at extremely low pressure. Below 4 psi I believe. When ever that light stays on, something really bad happened and engine need repair.
Doesn't matter how thin your oil get, it'll have more pressure then that.
You could have a bad pump or worn bearings. The pump doesn't worn out by itself, something got into the oil to worn it out. You could also have oil leak and a broken/leaky relieve valve.
Drop the oil pan and check the bearings. Pull valve cover and cam bearing also.
You can't check oil pressure electrically. The stock sensor is an on/off switch which connect to the oil light only. So the ECU will do NOTHING to prevent you from destroying the engine. Remove the sensor and put in a oil pressure gauge is the only way to check oil pressure.
We still have a vibration. Been like that for 3+ years, no biggie. The oil leak is gone, and the oil light is off, and hasn't come on except the self test on startup.
I got to looking under the hood, and decided that I wanted to hear it run, before I did anything else, so I started her up.....and low and behold......oil came almost RUNNING out of the oil pressure sender. Well, that ain't right....right? So, I run over to the local salvage yard, and find a comparable sensor, from the same year/motor and plug it in. No more oil leak, and no more light. Car runs nice. So, all this time I thought maybe my oil pump was going, I was wrong.....it was the freaking 3 dollar (used) sensor.......I'm so mad at myself its not even funny. I just assumed, because with the car off, you couldn't see the leak. Sometimes I'm glad that boredom makes me go tear stuff apart. If I hadn't been bored, I'd have never looked, and spent a fortune having her rebuilt or replaced. I drove her all over town today, drove most of a tank of gas out of her, and no oil light. No difference in the amount of oil on the stick either......no odd noises (aside from the passenger window that needs new guides) Drove her hard, drove her soft, idled her in parking lots loaded her up by running the AC/Heat...no light. For future refrence, avoid Autozone for pressure sensors...this is the SECOND one I've gotten from them that was faulty. Both of them had the same issues, odd oil lights and leaks around the plastic innards. I think I'm in a much better mood now, and I'm still looking for another celica! (gotta be local and 93+ I want the "curvey" look with the cute little round headlights) Scary thought....300lb guy looking for a "cute/curvy" celica.........Something wrong with me.....oh well, I love the way they look, and the way they perform! Can't wait for the refill on my tank....got ALOT of pent up driving to take care of!
So did this fix the engine shudder? I have the same problem, but only when its below about 40. I allways put it up in the winter but f250 diesel is costing too much to run.The vibration goes away in a hour or so im just wondering it the oil pressure sender fixed that too.
Nah, she still shudders when she's cold. Never seems to affect the running though. No mechanic has been able to put a finger on it. I had one pretty much tear the engine apart looking for it too. It goes away as the engine warms up, its worse when its cold out, sounds like a common issue. I'm not sure what to tell you about that though.
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