6G Celicas Forums

Thank you for the info! I literally spent days trying to find info about the CPS and I found absolutely nothing. Not on any forum, not through Google, not through social media groups for Celica info. I even told a friend who is also a tech and after hours of searching, he came to the conclusion that a Camry engine/ECU was swapped in. I/he searched "1997 Celica GT crankshaft position sensor" and any related variable of that everywhere I could think of and every time, the only info that came up was for Camry engines. With the seemingly limitless wealth of information on the internet, I'm very surprised that the info wasn't readily available. But that's why I'm here!

Also, considering the manual is absolutely incorrect, you can imagine my frustration.

Thank you again! I'm happy I came here for answers.

First off I want to say hi to everyone! I've been lurking through these forums since I got my hands on a 97 gt and I want to say this place is a gold mine. Lots of great info and inspiration to be found. You guys are great!

Secondly, Here's the short version of how I got introduced to the Celica world, and what problems have stacked up: I traded a Geo Tracker for this 97 Celica and some cash. The Celica was in sad condition. Doors were rusted out, engine was seized and half apart, interior smells like animals, brakes missing, lines rotted, etc. It came with a second engine which I was told was from the same year Celica and in running condition, low miles. The guy was a friend of a friend and so I put trust in him. He dropped the car off at my house. A week later he brought the engine to the shop. I could tell immediately that the engine was toast. Oil in the intake, blown head gasket, oil was varnished all through the engine, heavy sludge. Every bad sign. By the looks of it, someone tried to rebuild it and did a piss poor job. I bit the bullet, cut my losses and bought a rebuild kit. I was too excited about this car and was/am dead set on getting it on the road. Something about the 6gc's takes a hold of me.

So here's where I'm at: I got the block and head machined, painted and rebuilt. Everything came out in spec and was looking perfect. I ended up getting a Crappy H****s manual so I could get started and I seemed to have no major problems with it. Once the engine was ready to drop I got the other car towed to the shop and pulled the engine with the wiring harness so I could reference it and make sure all connections were correct. I had to change a few sensors over and it made me wonder but it was only harness connections that were different so I went ahead and hooked everything up. Then after looking through the box of parts that were taken off of each engine I noticed that I had two different distributors. One with the coil/igniter in it, one without the coil/igniter but it was non adjustable. "No problem" I think to myself "I'll just check the manual and harness"... Upon looking in the manual(86-99 celica), I find that it shows the coil-in-dizzy as the distributor called for in the 5sfe engines, (which didn't make sense considering there is a coil and igniter mounted on the firewall). So I check the dizzy and realize there are 2 connectors on it but only one on the harness. At this point I'm pulling my hair out. I realize the book has to be wrong(happens a lot with that brand) and I install the other dizzy, hoping that it will fire. Crank, no spark. Check the coil and igniter via the books procedures for models with external ones and it comes out in spec. I keep trying but have no luck. I then notice the book shows ignition timing procedures but the dizzy i have is non-adjustable. I give up for the night and start tearing the other engine (one that was in the Celica) apart for scrap/parts. When I remove the timing cover, I notice that there is what seems to be a crank position sensor mounted on the bottom of the front main seal/oil pump housing. "Wait a minute" I think to myself, "I don't remember seeing that in the other engine!". I look in the book and find absolutely nothing about a CPS. It's not in any of the pictures, nor is there a single mention of it in the book. I check the harness and lo and behold, there's a connection for it. I look at some of the pictures I took and there is no spot to mount it on the main seal/oil pump housing on the rebuilt and installed engine. The housings are identical other than that mounting spot. Also the crank timing gear on the original engine has secondary teeth on it which are, in my experience, to signal the CPS of the crank position. But lucky me, three of the teeth are missing. Also, The crank timing gear on the rebuilt engine does not have these secondary teeth. I realize that The engine will need pulled, so a friend and I pull it and go home. And here I am!

I'm sorry for the long post, but in this trade I know more info is better info.

So here are my questions:

Is the dizzy on a 97 gt really non-adjustable? Or do I somehow have the wrong one?

Is there a CPS and does it control spark? The reason I ask is that I've found absolutely nothing about it after hours of research.

If so is there any way around it? If not the broken timing gear will have to be replaced won't it?

Does anyone know what engine the rebuilt one could be? Is it from a Camry/Corolla? If so is it cammed differently? Could the entire head be different?

Any other advice would be greatly appreciated. if anyone knows what I need to do I'd be happy to hear from you.

Thanks in advance!