6G Celicas Forums

*sniff sniff snifff* I smell something coming my way for the front end very soon (unfortunately I'll probably not have them on until spring. I have to see how low it'll sit with them on, seeing as I don't want to turn the new... something... into a snow plow lmao)

Is this the where the crankshaft is? I was told I have a leak there. So is this common? Do you know how fast should I change this if it's already leaking?

Yep. That's the hole that the distributor goes in. That attaches to the intake side camshaft. I drove mine for a year with a slight leak. It started seeping into the cap and I was irritated with losing oil since I run full synthetic. I can't afford to keep dropping money on oil by burning it AND leaking it...

You can run for as long as you want to keep putting oil in lol. It's not going to damage anything. It's super easy to change though. If you want, I can run you through it.


By the way, very nice, clean post-facelift. You've got the same idea I do with the front splitters and side skirts

This post has been edited by RabidTRD: Dec 15, 2011 - 5:00 PM

Ok... so the motor is on it's way out. Cylinder 4 is still letting oil in. Has to be bad rings... Blah. So, here lies the question; do I build a 98+ 5S-FE on the side while this one dies? Or do I go 3S-GTE? I'm not looking to heavily modify either engine as I like the stock feel... (I may later, which the 3S will be worth more for) and with the 5S, I'd just be doing cams.

So here is the question, what have you guys spent on 3S-GTE swaps? What would replacing this old neglected 5S with a new one cost? (I know cams are around $600 for the ones I want... so +600 to the cost)

V6 lol

Lol that would ruin the car for me. I like factory. Plus I'm too lazy to do the fabrication needed lol

there is no reason to spend money on a 98 block. its not going to make a difference. just rebuild your engine. follow my guide on rebuilding the 7A in the stickys. the 5S is very similar.

When I spoke to Jim in person, he said the 98+ had a better head gasket. The problem is, this car is my daily driver... so down time is a biggie. That's why I'd rather buy another engine and rebuild it on the side while this one dies.

either way, it doesn't need to be 98+ specific. I mean, if you were going for 450WHP then ok, sure. But because you like factory, and because $$ is an object like it is for most of us, I would recomend looking in local classified ads for a beater camry or something that someone is selling as a work car for 500bucks. That gets you motor and parts parts parts for other things. You either A) then have a working motor, or B)have a motor to fix and build a bit that didn't cost you an arm and a leg.

It's not leaking that much as it doesn't show. I'm not really the mechanic type so I have everything done by one. And he said it's easy but takes a lot of time ... I'll probably wait a few more months.


Thanks. I got it like this but now am working on a few details to get it where I want it (JDM tail lights, wheels etc.), though I definitely like the whole clean look the previous owner did.

Agreed. It's spiffy haha.

Basically, you need to remove the air filter hose. Then after that, you unscrew the distributor cap (Leave the wires attached, you can push it off to the side). After that you make a mark with a paint pen on the distributor and block so that you know where to line it up again when you place it back in. Then you take off the one bolt on the front side and the whole thing just comes out. Replace the gasket, and then slide it back in with the notch for the rotor matching (as I've got pictured above) and line up your marker line. Cap back on, air box hose back onto the intake and you're good.

Tools needed: 8MM socket, 14MM socket, towels to wipe off the oil, and maybe a screwdriver. I can even take a video if you'd like.

That's true.. I could also sell the parts and make money back... Problem is finding one with low enough miles. I don't want a late 90's camry engine because the valve cover is designed different and looks stupid. I'm sure there's a beater out there with a completely rotted body and... low...ish... miles lol. How hard is completely rebuilding an engine? I've got the wrench time... just haven't actually done one before. I can do an exploded view of the engine in my head and I know where everything goes, it's just getting it all apart.

Added some stickers:


And washed her:

That really sounds easy. I'll have to take a closer look and see if it's actually the same issue. Thanks!

Any updates? haha

Lol I've been so busy lately, I haven't been able to put them on. I'm trying to decide if I want to paint match, or go with the factory black... but that may disappear lol. Maybe paint matched two stripes next to each other? Hmm...

Snow has finally hit and I have a new head unit on the way. I also snagged a set of Sparco WRC mud guards that will be in soon too. Need to protect my baby against the stupid salt and rocks.

Some like these, only in red:

Feel that pain somewhat as well, I have respect for you being able to tell your story on a forum. have some of those same problems, but not gonna get into that and dampen the mood lol.
I have a buddy who's tuning a camry V6 with a 6 speed actually, its got pretty good power, but he does have an ego or an unhumanly amount of confidence where it turns into an inflated ego lol ill just say in short he has street raced a jag and a hyundai genesis coupe cuz of it. Build looking good tho, started watching this and love the stuff your doing.
Do you know by chance what the guy on toyota nation is doing to get 200HP out of 5S'? what are you thinking for cams if anything yet?And same thing as you dude, everyone around here abuses their celi's like you wouldnt believe, theres one that has a chunk a size of a hand missing from his doors, its horrific and I dont know of any 6GC's around here that are getting tuned and in good shape except for one thats practically identical to mine!
and rust is the biggest pain! Fixed it on my driver door with duraglass and still have a bunch of that rust to black primer stuff I need to paint over and replacing the passenger door its so bad, its actually cracked because there was so much bondo under the paint! and still need to tackle the trinklid...
the guy before me did cheap fixes with this poor thing and im trying to treat it well but im new with this, very new. and its even in the shop right now which pains me sooo damn much that I cant fix it myself.......
And I soooo want that spree kit! is it brighter than that weird stock green?

I know what you mean about the 6gc abuse
Everyone around my area could care less about a Celia pre 00 and even then there's very few that are tuned up more than a muffler
All my friends are Honda guys like 99.9% of the rest of the people around me
An they think me tuning a Celia is pointless because an I quote my buddy Seth " you can never mod that Celia enough to out run my b16 hatch " an the rest are if it's not Honda it's not worth it

I feel that,, there are a ton of 7th gens around here that have those big factory bady kits. Hate those, they look like they tried to steal their looks from a lambo or something. the normal ones are nice but 6th gen imo is the best. alot better style and more original. and luckily Im not surrounded by honda fans, My friend has that camry so it kinda balances things out, but what I lack in honda people, ive sadly gain truck tuners (not sure which ones worse) cuz they keep saying "Why are you tuning up a ricer? american cars will beat you anyway" and s*** like that. But I just tell them to buzz off (trying to cut back on my swearing lol) and just wait until I acually get started. but yeah those douchy honda fan boys are annoying as hell, the one I hang with says to tune up the celica and see what I can do.
and is that spree kit installation pretty easy or is it more than pluging in a few bulbs and calling it a day?