6G Celicas Forums

245,487 miles
Celica ST

I believe a wheel bearing in the rear passenger is going out, the shift boot is tore up, and the engine is eating a quart every 1500 to 2000 miles. Other than that - the engine runs fantastic (easy starts, pulls well etc). There's no oil spots when I park, and I have a new clutch. Myself and my friend who owned it before me are fanatics about changing the oil every 3,000 to 5,000 miles (and other maintenance) . I'm sure that's why she's still going.

I'd imagine the rings or the valve seals are leaking out the oil, and the engine will need replacing... just not sure when? I may sense a V6 swap in my future

Hello all,
I have a new driver's side low beam to install (the plastic on the old plastic 'housing' broke), but I'm not sure how to get to all the bolts. Do I have to take off the whole front bumper cover & drivers side 1/4 panel? This is looking like a much bigger project than I expected

Jeremiah

I hope this doesn't come across as rude, but there's several examples (linked pics / ebay auctions etc) already in this thread. We have know way of knowing if every-single-unit out there will work. What we do know is that most the ones do (in fact, we theorize that all of them should... we just don't know for sure). Take a look at the examples already given with pictures of units we know work, and compare them to the unit you're interested in purchasing. It's also a good idea to ask the seller about their return policy.

~J~

PS: In the 4th page of this thread is an ebay link I made:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Short-Shift...1QQcmdZViewItem

and has some of the best pictures further down the thread.

As long as the total cost of the project is under a couple grand I think it's worth it. If it's too costly, I'll just buy a sportier car to begin with.

x2

clean motor!

I think that might be missing the point. I'll quote my original post:
"The goal is mostly to loose weight, but I figured it couldn't hurt to make the hood look better while I was at it."

I don't think cutting a small hood scoop hole is going to significantly shed any weight. It might make life easier when fabricating a lightweight hood from fiberglass though?

Well, it looks a lot lighter than my hood. Not sure I'm ready to throw that kind of money down, but good to know they're there if it ends up I can't make my own.

Actually - I like the look of no spoiler on that. I think spoilers are SO overdone... it actually makes it stand out and look cleaner.

Glad it came out looking good. For future reference, I've used Krylon Fusion on plastic parts and had great success.

-Jeremiah

The whole body of the Celica is grounded, so you can ground the negative to the body of the vehicle anywhere.

From Crutchfield's site:
"Use a star washer when connecting wires to chassis ground, and scrape away any paint or grime that might prevent a good connection to the bare metal and then cover the ground with silicon. If possible, connect ground wires beneath an existing nut and bolt. If a nut and bolt aren't available, use a #10 machine screw with a lock washer. "

You can run the + through the firewall.

PS, a google search came up with the following...
eHow
Wiring Diagram

I ALWAYS bolt down sub boxes. I don't want a heavy speaker box becoming a projectile in the event of a collision. Not sure how I'd do it yet... but I can think of something.

I have some very dark tint, and I hardly ever see the back seat at all. I think the box for a single 12" sub would be small enough to be mostly blocked by the front seats. Not sure this is the way I'm going to go - if someone can confirm the 8's in the doors will sound good... perhaps I'll just stick with that?

*bump*

Okay, SOMEONE has to know what's the + and what's the - lead for speaker wiring on here.

I'd love to have a "real" GT-4 hood & bumper, but it's my understanding they're very expensive. I'm asking if there's a way to come up with a more affordable lightweight & paintable option.

I can't imagine the bumper would be too hard - cut a hole, and find some material to do some custom molding work?

Anyone out there have any thoughts on making a GT-4 look alike hood out of fiberglass or carbon fiber? I want to make one I can paint to match the rest of the car (well... will probably re=paint whole car at that point). The goal is mostly to loose weight, but I figured it couldn't hurt to make the hood look better while I was at it.

How would I cut / modify the front bumper to match?

x2 - just listen to a 12" JL... they sound NICE. Keep in mind JL has several different types now, and their W6v2 and W7 are the best hitting.

With car audio - it's all personal prefrence. The most important thing is to go listen to the speaker you want. Go to competitions, car shows, import meets, and car audio stores. You'll find the speaker / amp / price / box combo you like only by getting out there and listening.

I had a similar problem. It ended up being my ignition switch was worn out / shorting or something. I got it replaced with a used one which is worn out as well... but it works if I don't turn it the key ALL the way round... there's a "sweet spot" where it'll work.

Other things to check:
Battery (Kragen and many places will check for free)
ALL electrical connections - especially ground and terminals
Starter (again - Kragen and many others will check for free)
And - of course the ignition switch if all else fails

If it's just the valve, swap the head. It'll be cheaper.

Clever design ideas?

I've read about someone installing 8" speakers in the doors. I like the idea that a) I already have 8" speakers b) it doesn't take up any more space c) it sheds the box weight. But I'm concerned that a) Will subs re-produce the highs the old door speakers did b) Will they sound good in the metal door enclosure c) I have manual windows / locks... the article says "In Celicas without factory power options, more fabrication and cutting may be required to get 8" subwoofers to fit."

I hardly ever use the rear seats for anything. So, I was thinking about building a single box for the 12" RF Punch XLC to put behind the driver's seat. This would keep my trunk space completely free, allow a 3rd person to sit in back, and still allow 1/2 the back seat to fold down if I need to put a long item in the trunk. How would it sound with a speaker in the cab?

1) I'm wiring some 6x9's in my Geo Tracker. Now, there's two wires (one striped and one not) and the spade connectors on the 6x9's (one small, and one larger). Which wire goes to which spade?

2) Please help me design my sound system for the Celica. My goals are...

* Sound clean / well balanced (NOTE: I didn't say super loud) with a wide variety of music (Dance, rock hip-hop, country etc).
* Minimal to no rattles
* Utilize one or several of the speakers I already have.
2 12" Rockford Fosgate Punch XLC (Tech Specs), and 3 8" JL Audio W6's (Tech Specs).
* Head unit to have an easy to access Aux in or USB port. The more simple looking the better.
* In order of importance: the less space consumption, weight, and $$$, the better

I understand that you usually "get what you pay for". I'm not trying to win any competitions, I just want something that's well though out, and a good value. If you were designing my system, how would you fit my design requirements?

Will need advice on:
* Wiring (series / parallel / gage etc)
* Amp & head unit selection
* Speaker box type, size and placement

*puts flame suit on*

From my observations, there's no such thing as a "magic bullet" speaker. And, unless you're entering into competition where looks & brand name matter... a well built / placed box is more important than the speaker in the "reasonable" price range. Kicker, MTX, RF and other reasonably priced brands will sound just fine in a well built box, good wiring, and a mid-grade amp.

I ran 3 JL Audio W6 8" speakers (the box was built so the 2 speakers on the side were individually sealed and on 1 amp, and the middle box was ported with it's own amp) in my Civic for a good while. They sounded GREAT and no one believed they were just 8" speakers until I'd pop the trunk. But, I spent an insane amount of $$$ and in retrospect.... I probably would have been just as happy with a system costing MUCH less. I probably could have got a similar sound with a single 12" sealed box.

For those of you that don't know...

No matter how cool you think your oil / filter combo is... it's sill probably only filtering down to 20 micron. To add insult to injury - when your engine reaches a certain RPM, the oil pressure builds to the point that the bypass valve in your oil filter opens up and allows unfiltered oil to circulate through your engine (typically 3500 RPM... not sure what it is in our Celi's). Furthermore, our filters don't collect watter or fuel... both of which are HUGE killers of engine oil.

Diesel (and some gasser) guys run bypass filters. They run as a secondary oil filtration system. At minimum they filter down to a lower micron level (15 micron to sub-micron), and some even absorb watter / fuel. This means you have cleaner oil, and can wait even longer to do an oil change (oil does NOT break down... the reason we change oil is 'cause there's too many particles, watter or fuel... bypass filters address this and allow you to wait longer between oil changes).

These things also run on a remote, so they requite about a quart+ more oil (this is good) and provide more cooling (good also). This is ESPECIALLY good for those of you running a turbo.

Anyone running a bypass filter, or have any opinions on them?

Yeah, the axles in any application are what puzzles me. I'd really really like to do an auto, as I spend too much time in stop & go traffic these days The auto is vastly superior in those conditions. And, I've driven several V6 w/ auto's... they're much Much MUCH better than people give them credit for. The auto's on our little 4 bangers suck... but the V6 is a totally different animal.



Good to know 'cause I'm really leaning towards that motor. It's supposed to be much easier to swap / maintain and the weight difference isn't that significant - not when I'll have 200 HP on tap. The bottom end power is just AMAZINGLY better compared to a turbo setup, and being NA it'll last much longer. I can always add an illegal turbo if I want more vroom

Good for you. Here's a cookie:




Wait, so you didn't say "I don't know about this." so... it must be FACT right? Can you provide evidence of this FACT? Because it seems more like conjecture and opinion to me.



The irony in that statement is astounding. And, I don't care if you mock me in my V6. If you think you're superior because of a slightly quicker vehicle, I'll be immature too and point out I own a Kawasaki Ninja. I'll gladly race you for pinks if you want to man up.

Or... you can realize I was emphasizing a point with sarcasm. California really is one of the strictest places on the planet for SMOG. It's would behoove anyone in Cali who's intersted in this swap to be comfortable with the law regarding engine swaps - if that statement discourages anyone from doing the swap - GOOD. I probably saved them time, money and frustration. Research first - THEN do swap.

PS - I called it a blue sticker, because back in the day when you did swaps CHP would inspect your vehicle and give you a blue sticker. It's a legacy term. When I tell you to "Dial" a number, that's a legacy term to. They exist. Go take your prozac and relax.

Look - Hit up the DMV web site, or go to the DMV for all information regarding the law on engine swaps. Since California is one of the strictest places on the planet when it comes to SMOG regulations - GO TO THE SOURCE. If you don't read it, and you spend thousands of $$$ and your time to do a swap, and the ONLY research you did depend on this thread, I will mock you later when you can't get your blue sticker.


That said - I plan on going with an automatic when I do the swap anyway. I've driven auto V6's in yotas before, and I'm very pleased with how they function.

I'm still not sure what direction I want to go in. I was sold on the OBDI because of ease of install wiring, and the engine is supposed to be mechanically easier to work on. However, sounds like they have sludge issues in those years, and I'm not sure how to combat / correct for that

I'm not sure how you all handle your mechanics, but my attitude is this:
If you didn't fix the problem, I'm sure as HELL not paying for the 'fix'.