90 celica gt-s - wanting to clean it up. any ideas or help with parts?

[gtsrider]

Hey guys,

So i have myself a 90 celica gt-s with the 5sfe stock motor. The car has little to no rust but dings here and there so i know ill need body work done.

My questions are what size exhaust pipe should i use?
i currently have 2.5" from the cat, back to the muffler which is an Apex'i N1 with 3" inlet and 4.5" tip/outlet. no resonators. I did install some ebay header tho which works very well and fit very well too. looking for good flow and no loss of power so looking for some ideas on it cuz i was thinking of going down to 2.25" maybe instead but i like the flow and sound of it with the 2.5"

Spark plugs/wires/ distributer cap??
My current spark plug wires are f'd the rubber boot ends connecting to the plugs are done 2-3 of the 4 have oil in there and have screwed the rubber boots so im wondering what i should be looking for as for parts. Looking for brands i should look for.

HUGE QUESTION AND ISSUE!!
Does anyone on here or anywhere know where i can get bushings for my rear lateral links/rods cuz i cant find any anywhere and i really dont wanna go through toyota cuz damn there expensive!! what have others done with this issue?

Those are all the questions i have for now and id like to keep up with this thread and am hoping members are willing to help me out cuz any help will be so much appreciated.
I will be looking to in the next year to stroke out the block and keep it non turbo'd

SO yes please ANY HELP WITH PARTS OR PLACES TO LOOK WILL BE APPRECIATE



Another question!
can anyone explain why i cant go straight into reverse after starting my car in newtral without it grinding. i found out i have to go to 1st then to reverse so it doesnt grind. and 2nd is also touchy with grinding when downshifting sometimes 1st. but not as much. ideas /

[allened]

I would stay with the 2.5 any larger your going to lose power. Try to keep the diameter consistent you need the back pressure.

If your plugs/wires have oil on them then piston rings need to be done, unless something happened where oil got spilled into the chamber.

Trans - have you checked your fluid level? Also could be a clogged pressure switch I know on one of mine it wont shift into 3rd until its a little warm. The heat always for the metal to expand and allow to pressure to go by.

[gtsrider]

thanks alot for the help. ill have my rings checked out tomorrow cuz it makes sense if oils being forced past the plugs into the rubber boots.

I knew going any bigger for exhaust i'd lose power especially since i only have a stock motor. I was just wondering if it was better to stay with the 2.5 or go smaller to the 2.25?

Ill also have my pressuer switch checked cuz i had my fluid completely changed the other out not to long ago and it didnt make a big difference but made no difference to reverse.

See, i wouldnt have thought of getting those things checked at all.

Will having worn/damaged rings give me loss of power or just back exhaust pressure cuz i have tones when the cars cold. or what would cause that. even when the motors warm it will crackle. it sucks!!!

[gtsrider]

so i went to the garage and got it checked out. they dont think its the rings but he thinks it will be valve seals.

and as for the tranny ill wait till i have money to upgrade the clutch and flywheel cuz its a big job to take it out just to check cuz i dont have that kind of extra money laying around

[RobMilkshakes]

1. leave your exhaust how it is. You won't gain much switching to a different exhaust on an NA car, from experience the header definitely helped, the rest of the piping really made no difference. Don't waste your money. The whole exhaust "back pressure" thing is ridiculous. It has nothing to do with pressure back towards the engine, more so fluid dynamics inside your exhaust regarding the cooling of your exhaust gases as they flow. Essentially smaller pipe= less expansion, hotter gases moving faster. larger pipe= more expansion, cooling and slowing of the gases. There is a fine balance as too small of a pipe is restriction, and too large of a pipe at lower RPM essentially acts as a restriction because the flow of the gases isn't ideal. buh.

2. If the plug wires and tops of your plugs are getting soaked in oil, then replace your valve cover gasket and the grommets arounds the spark plug tubes. These grommets wear out and allow oil to leak down into the spark plug tubes. Its a very common Toyota issue. With rings you'd be losing compression and have oil consumption problems. With valve seals you'd be leaking oil into the combustion chamber, usually the tell-tale sign for these is a puff of white/blue smoke when starting the engine after its been sitting.

3. The synchros inside the transmission could be going out. If double clutching causes no grind then yes your synchros are going out. These S53 trans are notorious for a bad 2nd or 3rd synchro. People have had success with running different fluids, the best that I've found was running GM synchromesh. Don't bother with an upgraded clutch if your clutch isn't slipping. Higher stage clutches make traffic a major pain. Unless you're making much more than stock power, OE clutch will be fine.

4. The rear lateral links don't have bushings, more so spherical bearings. They can not be replaced seperately. The only place they're really availble will be a dealer. try 1sttoyotaparts.com. I've delt with them a few times, and its always been good service and good pricing.

That should just about cover all of it

[babyjoker33]

your pressure plate could be going bad,you might want to up grade to a stage 2 performance clutch.

[Ace2424]

Originally Posted by babyjoker33

your pressure plate could be going bad,you might want to up grade to a stage 2 performance clutch.

Upgrading to a higher performance clutch with a stock motor is a waste of money and makes the car more difficult to drive.

Stick with the stock clutch.

For plugs and wires, I would go with NGK. They make a great lifetime warranty wire set that you can pick up at Advance Auto Parts. The wires are blue and they are labeled 1 through 4 just like the stock wires. This makes it easy to identify. For the plugs, go with at least a NGK V-Power. If you want longer performance and better efficiency with a little added power, I'd suggest NGK Iridium IX or Laser Series Iridium plugs. I've been running the IX's in my Celica and I ran them in my Camry as well. They have never let me down.

[gtsrider]

well i wont upgrade the clutch then for sure.

i have a very seriouse problem are my rear lateral links. I have a MAJOR shaking from them now. i know for sure one is crapped out and i check with someone and it seems that i can only get replacements through Toyota and there $220 per link. I really cant afford that and it does seem very pricey.


Does anyone have ANY suggestions about this issue!!!!!

please let me know! if i cant get this fixed im going to be forced to get a new car and i just cant afford to right now otherwise i wouldnt be in such a dilema

[RobMilkshakes]

Double check for play in the bushings using a pry bar and wedging it between the two links. There should be no movement in the bushings.

You can either pull them from a junkyard

OR

new links through firsttoyotaparts can be found for $120 a piece and they're Toyota OEM parts.

[Ace2424]

Are the lateral links on the 90-93's able to have universal bushings? Or is it like a swaybar link/ball joint?

[gtsrider]

i have no idea if there universal. i do believe they can be but someone with experience would and more knowledge about them. i should take a picture and show you who dont know what im talking about.

I do know for sure tho that the bushing is DONE. my wheel shakes at high speeds, i can move the tire left and right, it makes a huge knock noise going over bumps.
I know for sure its not a wheel bearing problem.

The price on those OEM lateral links are alot better than from the dealer but im still looking for a total fix price of maybe $300. I believe i have atleast one on each side that are in need of bushings. Labour costs and part price im already breaking my budget just replacing 2 of them.


Would anyone know what size the bushing could be and if i could find some universal ones like previouse member has asked.


I appreciate all the help so far it has been very helpfull !

[Ace2424]

Are you sure it's the link and not a strut mount?

[gtsrider]

yea im very sure. ive had the car hoisted and lifted and we moved the tire holding the arms and thats where the play is. I know this for sure. Its not the strut mount