[sleekaman]

After 14 years of fun driving, my car finally has a major repair. The headgasket just went, on the clock I have exactly 220,870 km on it. It still runs, but a bunch of smoke comes out. Got a quote from my mechanic, est. $1500 to repair. Otherwise the car has most of the toys I've installed and enjoyed with.

Details:

1) Dark Blue (very rare), 4 disc-brake, ABS, Power windows, Rear Spoiler, Air con, sport
seats, pwr windows, pwr locks
2) 4-speed Auto with O/D
3) Moonroof
4) Wheels, original aluminum rims (Toyo 15-225-60) excellent condition,
with snows on steelies ( Toyo 15-205-65-15) with wheel covers
5) Panasonic touch MP3 CD Player with 8-disc changer in trunk
6) Compustar (Autostart and Alarm) and remotes
7) Transmission replaced 2 years ago with a re-built one, added a tranny cooler
8) New Radiator this year
9) Pia 1400XT Fogs (ones blown)
10) Tinted windows, excellent shade
11) No rust I repeat no rust, No accidents, original owner, babied it since new !

my site has all my toys. you can see the Camry with the snows on them, just scroll down

http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Shop/9771/hc_celica.html

Really hate to depart this baby due to the headgasket, but I would probably minus the $1500 off the asking price due to the head gasket. Asking $5,000 minus $1,500 is $3500 is this in line with the market ? I did check Trader, but no V6 Sports to base it on.

Most TN people know me and how I really keep my cars...as how I kept my 85 Celica GTS, but too bad for this gasket problem

Any suggestions you may have, I would appreciate it, Harvey.

(btw, the headgasket quote was from Basil at T-Lex)

 

[Toysrme]

A 93 ES 300 fully loaded would be bearly worth $5000. Mods are useless second hand. You normally get about 1/10th what you put into mods back.
You need an adjustment. The car is probably worth about $1750-2000 until you fix it. Afterwards u might get $3500 out of a paper sale.


You know, not including whatever caused the overheating that caused the head 2 warp & gasket to blow in the first place. Why don't you spend a week repairing it? it'd only cost about $200 to get a gasket kit for the top end, mill the heads flat & put it back together.

 

[sleekaman]

Dealer Price

thanxs Toysrme, so I'll be lucky to even get $500 at the dealer as a trade ? What an eye opener. Im an I.T. person, did HIDs on the Corolla, thats about it, can check oil, change tires, wash and wax the car and drive it, but...touching the engine is like doing major heart surgery without a clue to do.

Mechanic did say, one of his customers bought some substance/additive, not sure exactly, like a 'fix gasket' witch brew. He bought it and swore it worked. But not sure what that substance is, heard of additives that swell up gaskets to temporarily to remedy it, anyone heard of such stuff ?

Maybe worth a try:

http://www.barsproducts.com/faq.cfm#block

http://www.steelseal.com/eng/home.html

 

[sleekaman]

Engine Rebuilder

Okay, folks, now I'm contemplating on rebuilding my engine instead, anyone recommend a decent honest reliable shop of engine rebuilders in the Scarborough area - yeup, thats Toronto, Canada eh !

thanxs, Harvey.

 

[Eye8Pussies]

ah, damn harvey...that's too bad....but for your car....it may be worth fixing since you keep it in such good condition.

your daughter beat on the car too much? lol.


and is that price for just the headgasket, or is the head actually warped? otherwise it wouldn't cost quite that much....

as well....for that price, ask him how much he would charge to drop a new engine in and go pick one up yourself



if you want to go a bit more budget, I know some people who could drop a new engine in for you for a pretty decent price...give me a pm if you're willing to think about that and I'll find out for you

 

[Aussie_Camry]

Options are...

* Rebuild - I would say this is way to go, its the cheapest and considering your problem is only minor but just expensive, other parts are no doubt in good condition, so just replace what has to be whilst the head is off (the car does have 220,000kms after all) and keep whatever can be re-used, why get rid of it all!!!
* Short Block - If the head in your current engine is cactus, just get the rest, although I dont think this is relavent
* Long Block ie New Engine - Personally I think this is your last option, and considering your circumstances I dont even know why you would even contemplate this!!! Unless Im grossly misinformed, obviously its variable, but a decent rebuild would be like $2500AU compared to getting a whole new engine for like $3000AU PLUS labour (Lol over a $1500AU Headgasket)

 

[RedPhoenix]

new engine would be my choice.

 

[sleekaman]

Latest status

thanxs guys for all your advice...yes, decided to jump ahead and drop a rebuilt in...from the Dealer. its gonna cost me $3400, lifetime warranty from the engine place, thats lifetime for parts and labour would be discounted, they are getting it from a wrecker that states it has 189,000 km on the clock before they taken it out another Camry. Since this happened, was very stressed during the last couple of weeks, this car has been with me for 14 years, and just couldn't see it going...was checking out the new 2007 SE V6 with pkg B, but can' spend that much right now...I'll keep you guys posted.

Harvey.

 

[sleekaman]

Fixed !

Well its, finally fixed, rebuilt engine, new timing belt, spark plugs, thermostat, etc. Just picked it up yesterday. It runs sooo smooth....I hope this is going to last....I'm back on the road now, so since I've spent soo much money on it, it'll better last for another 14 years.

Questions now I have it fully operational:

1) brakes, 4 disc, what do you guys recommend as replacements ? cross drilled ? whats affordable in the TO GTA, or conyinue stock rotors and pads ?

2) one of my PIAA 1400 fogs blew, replacement is around $90, anyone successfully done the HID replacement and not having blinding problems ? 2 months ago, I replaced my headlights with the HIDs at 6000k on my 2003 Corolla, and it works great, although not the best as I've been reading other forums about the right stuff to do, projectors are the route to go etc. (there is a budget again hear, I spend $300 for the Corolla). There is more light for me than stock, so I'm happy for that on the Corolla. So, would I really have to clear the lenses ? or just pop them in and I'm good, any real life experiences on this ?

thanxs again, Harvey.

 

[ghettosled]

sleekaman, what makes your car the "sports" model you refer to? just curious because this is the first time ive heard this.

 

[Eye8Pussies]

so you ended up rebuilding it? did basil do it for you?

and good to hear that everything drives good....and it damn well better after spending that kind of money, that's for sure :lol:

as well, for your use, just stick with blanks....not too sure where to pick up cheap ones, but you can always go to canadian tire and get some quotes. just don't go back to the dealership for them- they'll cost a lot more and not last any longer

as for the hids....if you're asking about putting them in your stock headlights....well....I personally wouldn't....it doesn't have to do with the textured lenses, since the hid lighting is so condensed that it won't be cut up by the lenses. the problem is with the design of the refractors inside the housing itself that disperses the light a lot....

dickson got a ticket a couple years back when he had hids in his stock headlights

if it's light output that you want, a set of silverstars would be your best use of money right now

 

[sleekaman]

Sport.

ghettosled, the Sport variation of my Camry has:

1) leather steering wheel
2) Sport seats (not leather)
3) Steering ratio is tighter ( so the brochure says)
4) Stiffer spring/shock suspension then the regular V6s
5) rear deck spoiler with LED stoplamp
6) extra speaker on the front door handles makes it I think, 6 speakers (two rear 6X9), 2 5" from speakers, and 2 small 2" tweeters)
7) sport wheels....you can see it on my web site, but it has the winter snows on them..will update with summer rims pics.

that my friend Toyota back in 1992 called the 'Sport' model, I think it was available for the 1996
models, they then renamed it to SE I think.

---------------------------------------------------

Kingston, thanxs for the info on the HIDs, yes, I thought they would be just as good as my Corolla is...I'll just buy the PIAA replacement fog for the 1400 instead....and no, didn't get Basil to put the engine in, got the dealership to do it, more convenient for me since I leave out near the East end of Scarborough. As for the brakes, who would you suggest other than Basil around the Scarborough area to get me a good price ? ie. where did you get your brakes done ?

Harvey.

 

[Eye8Pussies]

^ yeah, that's true, one thing that I can say about the dealership is that they're always more convenient if you can afford it

and sorry...I can't really help you on the brakes thing though, since I do all my own work, and I only go to basil when there's something that I can't handle

ebay rotors actually aren't a bad option at all. they'll be the same quality as any non-brand name aftermarket part

 

[eyeball96]

Congrats on saving, a rare, nice Camry! I'm sure it'll last another 14 years!:thumbup: :chug: