6G Celicas Forums

I have a noise, more noticeable when well warmed up. Thought it was engine front area; had to replace oil pump due to a leak anyway so also got to check other moving parts for wear, all seemed well. Changed harmonic balancer; noise still there. I drove it > 30 miles for the first time in 2 months today and am now convinced its in the power steering pump; its an annoying tapping sound that stops when moving the steering wheel just a little.

Check your PS pump area for that noise.

This is a great how-to. There are a few steps that could be done in a different sequence; but this coupled with the Chilton will make this job less difficult. I've done this a couple times and now know what to expect; be sure to have more time than originally planned.

I've had the blast of white exhaust smoke for a couple of years now. I'll live with it and continue to change the oil every 5000 miles.

Previously had a '94 GT that developed a radiator leak. Replaced it 6 or 7 times with a "1800radiator.com" replacement. Stuck with them 'cause of the lifetime warranty. Lost that one in a crash and now have a '98 GT that I'm more cautious with. Last year did the timing belt & pulleys and the water pump while I was at it. Started with draining coolant from the radiator; could not loosen the engine drain plug so I had to go through multiple fill & drain sequences using tap water from a "Pur" water filter. Used filtered water 'cause I have pretty hard water in So Cal.

Have plenty of containers available to collect the drained stuff. In LA county we can take this to a haz mat round-up. Ask your parts store about what to do with the waste. Pay attention to how much drains out and compare it to the stated capacity; I was able to get a little more than 50 % out at one time. Drained and filled a couple times and then used 2 bottles (I think 20 oz. per bottle) of Prestone's flush (citric acid) and ran the engine to normal operating temp with the heater fully opened. Then did multiple fill-heat-drain to get the concentration down to 1 to 2% The math isn't too hard: 50, 25, 12.5, 7, 3.5, 2, 1%; so 6 or 7 fill-heat-drain sequences were enough. Once down to the smaller %'s, the drained liquid went into the toilet.

Did this a year ago and the temp gauge still doesn't budge above the usual spot; and it's about 100° this weekend in So Cal.

Bitter, thanks for the suggestions. I just hate throwing more and more $ at it, but I'll have to do something; I'm tired of sweating, literally and metaphorically.

Mine leaked so I did the same as I have done for a couple other cars, get a new one from 1800RADIATORS (now they are something like radiators.com). I originally did this like three years ago. The good thing about them is they have a lifetime warranty. I am now on my 7th radiator from them; no exaggeration. I still have problems with the engine temperature when it is over 90°F outside and going up a hill; forget about running the AC. Typically, the temp gauge does not budge from a little under ½ way between the full scale. On those hot days, I constantly have to keep an eye on the gauge and back off on the speed when the gauge approaches ¾ full scale.

I have used the 1800RADIATOR replacements in my old '77 Celica GT and '95 Ford T'bird and had no problems. They cannot explain why their product does not seem to work too well on my '94 Celica GT.
I also replaced my cooling fan #2 motor, this helped a bit as the old one was able to be stopped easily with my hand, wrapped with a towel.

I recently flushed the cooling system, then replaced the water pump and thermostat when I did the timing belt; I'll have to wait until the weather gets hotter to see if these make a difference. I'm dreading the onset of summer and those 100°+ days that accompany it.

I can't be the only one this cooling problem has happened to; anyone have any suggetions?

I got a 12V socket, not designed for heating the lighter, from Pep Poyz and will hard wire it into the battery with an in-line fuse so I can charge my cell or bluetooth with the ignition off. I'll mount it on the pass side of the center console to keep it out of the way when getting in the car. I got a basic one-socket type, but they have them with two and more sockets in one assembly and I'm sure some are for high power applications.

I don't care for the fact the lighter socket requires the ignition switch to be switched to on or acc. I'm sure it's a safety consideration from the design engineers. All other cars I have had let me light my smoke with no key in the switch, always hot.

The "not running well" problem turned out to be a simple vacuum hose. It now idles and runs like a champ (for what it is).

It still has the oil leak, it looks like it is coming from thet oil pump gasket area and will take it on soon. I'll still do the cam shaft seal and distributor seal. I don't like to spend $ on things not needed, but am considering replacing the oil pump anyway. Are there any suggestions on a replacement. I usually use either genuine Toyota or NAPA parts. For now, it's back to work after a nice week spent in the garage. Happy new year!

While looking for the same oil leak (pass side, rear of engine/left side of engine when facing the timing belt), it looks like the leak is indeed coming from the oil pump gasket. I already did the crank and oil pump shaft seal while changing the timing belt and water pump. The cam shaft seal looks wet and I'll probably change that too. The driver side is wet with oil too, it looks like the distributor seal so I'll go for that too.

After I got it all back together, it does not run well, have to open the accelerator to keep it running. Thought I may have got the new timing belt wrong. I took off the timing covers and put the mount back together so I could run the engine and look for the leak. The timing marks are dead on so I'll be looking for a vacuum hose and elect connectors I may have disloged during the initial operation. When it ran a few minutes, the new spark plugs got carbon deposits and the oil leak continued.

This is my first post; I have a 94 GT liftback. It has 249K+ miles, runs pretty good with no mods, does not seem to burn oil, just the leak that the old lady complains about messing up the garage floor. I sincerely expect it to get past 300k; I have not seen any cars out there I would consider as a replacement.

This original post is 1½ years old; did that leak stop with an oil pump gasket replacement?