6G Celicas Forums

Going to start using mine in November. What are some go-to things I should check on or maintain to ensure reliability? Thanks.

First what model Celica do you have, driving type (highway/all city/mountains/ect.)/miles on the current engine/chassis?
Same as any car. Check the oil every few weeks, change it every couple months or few thousand miles. I used to change plugs every 2 oil changes. You can do a lot of preventative maintenance, but there are some aspects that will always be a reactive fix. Like oh crap my wheel bearing is going bad, not a whole lot you realistically would have done.
There wasn't anything with mine that was always breaking, both the 7a and 3s have been very reliable.
One thing I never really used to do was keep everything clean. If once a week or so you just swipe everything down (engine bay, suspension parts, ect.), maybe use some degreaser, it will make any maintenance a lot easier. It is kind of a pain, but I personally think it's helped me a ton.

If you are at a high mileage and haven't done the timing belt/water pump, I would replace them so you aren't caught with your pants down. Frustrating when your car is running perfect and the timing belt jumps, or breaks and your stuck.

This post has been edited by mgnt232: Oct 21, 2014 - 6:49 AM

I have no other option than to DD mine. It's my only car, 312k miles and I just do routine oil changes and nothing much other than routine checks of fluids, brakes, etc.

I'll have to agree with Mgnt232, I daily drive my 6gc and have done several cross country trips with her, no I don't baby her as much as I should I guess. I even have a set of snow tires and have been known to make her drive through 2 foot deep powder. Maintenance all depends on how and where you drive. The more severe the conditions usually the greater need for maintenance. Either way. These vehicles, with either of the three drive train platforms are very reliable in any condition weather and road wise you could throw at them. If your ever in doubt on a maintenance schedule ask your dealer for a maintenance schedule, or just post up and members will have more insight I'm sure.

This post has been edited by Ryouxrs: Oct 21, 2014 - 8:12 AM

I have been using it as my daily driver since May. In between, I rebuilt the engine so it was off the street for about one month. Right now I am doing small improvements to make it more relaiable and better looking. All sorts of interior/exterior mods are on-going or planned.

The only problem is parts are either too expensive or not readely available. Members here help out a lot so thank you to all. BTW mine is ST with manual transmission.

Due to a slight disagreement between the suspension and myself, mine has been parked more than driven lately, but I wouldn't hesitate to put it back into DD duty. It's seen more road trips than I can count. These cars are dead reliable. Apart from wear items that any car has (spark plugs, wires, struts, brakes, etc.) they don't need much maintenance. It seems like they've hit the right age lately where a lot of people are having distributor issues so you may want to look into replacing that as well as the timing belt and all related bits. The 7A is known to burn a little oil and the 5S is known to leak it out through the valve cover gasket, so you'll want to keep an eye on your oil level. Apart from that, you'll have many worry-free miles.

Mine has been a daily for 8 years now

I invested the money into rebuild to make it a DD and I'm sure it will payoff.
The Camry/corrola is known as one of the most reliable cars built in the 90s, and the Celica is the just as well but weighs less and looks cooler.
For a DD i'd rather have stock then a modified or swapped motor.

DDing for 3 years of almost complete reliability. When I say almost, the one instance it failed, the radiator decided to crack. Should of known about flushing fluids, but I learned all about radiator's and it hasn't given me trouble yet.

I have to admit though, it is a bit scary sometimes the sounds I hear. Two days ago it sounded like one of my cylinder's was not firing, shaking my engine bay and basically dying when I was not on the accelerator. I wiggled the spark plug wires and the issue hasn't come back for any starts I've had yet.

Within the first year of driving the battery was replaced looking basically brand new, for some odd reason it was failing to charge the battery, so I learned all about jumper cables. I was almost late for work, fortunately for me a nice couple was there to help me out. After replacing the battery, it has not given me any signals of bad alternator or anything.

The oxygen sensor was super old on my car, it looked as if it had never been changed. Eventually I replaced that along with the stock CAT, the first one, in order to pass smog.

On cold starts for my car, I have to hold the gas pedal a bit (usually about 3-5 seconds) until it can reliably feed the gas into my system. Hasn't been a problem and I bought the car like this.

One thing that I noticed rather recently is that the bolts holding the seats to the car has become loose, to the point where I can unscrew it with just my fingers. Definitely going to keep on that, the last thing you want is your seat not being bolted down in a car crash.

It's an old car, so at this point it is old car issues relative across the board. Suspension is getting old, brakes are getting old, bolts are coming loose, belts need to be replaced, hoses should be checked regularly.

Despite all of this, it has been a very reliable car.

Mine was an impulse buy. I saw it parked in a parking lot with for sale sign. I stopped and looked at it, No rust plus a 5 speed, asking $2500 so I though lets see if it drives as good as it looks (at first glance). I called the number and left a message. Two weeks later the guy called back, we test drove it, it drove fine, but suspension needed work. I made an offer, first the guy said NO, then a couple of weeks later, he called and asked me to come get it.

When I first bought it, I took it to the shop to have the timing belt and all other belts and seals replaced. Then within a month I noticed that it is burning (rather eating oil). That is when I found this forum and started getting help and gained additional knowledge. I have done the following work:

Timing belt/other belts/seals (July 2014)
Rear Suspension new (July 2014)
Engine rebuilt rings and bearings (Sept 2014)
New plugs/wiring harness (Sept 2014)
Oil cooler with thermostatic control sandwich adapter (Oct. 2014)
Bunch of other cosmatic additions, fog lights, CC install (in the works) side molding on-going (Oct/Nov 2014)
New 15 inch Rims and tires/matts/sun visors/rear hatch sun wiser

that is all I remember. I plan on driving it for a while.

For the loose seat bolts mentioned above, a drop of Locktite will help a lot.

Aside from winter, I daily drove mine for the last 7 years.
No real maintenance aside from when things come up due to typical wear, which is usually suspension in my case. got it with 150 000km and now at 230 000km or so.
Changed the timing belt, aside from regular oil changes its just been replacing parts from wear and tear.

I daily beat the **** drove my 7AFE and she lasted for over 250,000 miles. I spun a bearing because of the oil burning problem so learn from me and blow up your 7AFE and buy a 3SGTE because upgrading is always the right answer.

But seriously, check oil couple times a month. Use good oil (torco or motul are great but oil changes will be around $80usd) a good cleanable drop in filter will save you money in the long run (K&N) NGK plugs and oem parts if you got the cash, and listen to what she tells you. If something seems wrong don't drive her until you find out what it is.

I've owned the same Celica since I was twelve and honestly can say its the best car I've owned. Just take good care of her and keep fluids fresh and to spec.

There are bound to be problems, or just things that are worn out on a 20 year old car. But if you're in good shape or you do the work to rebuild it you won't have many problems that are major or reoccurring.

just Don't rev it above 3k before it gets up to normal temp, and you won't bust the headgasket. and then make sure the clutch is all the way down before you move the stick, and make sure the stick is all the way up into the next gear before you let the clutch out.
and everything else will be just fine.

This post has been edited by VavAlephVav: Oct 21, 2014 - 10:24 PM

I think this would go with any standard vehicle, no?

Yes, except in the Celica peoples start driving like they're on a track, then they rush the shift, and the next thing you know it's popping out of gear and you have to take the transmission apart and rebuild it.