new celica and trying to get help with the couple problems i have with Options

[Stallion]

hey, got mine back in june, its a 94 gt hatchback with 185000 miles. shes been around thats for sure but still runs REALLY well. im not worried about her breaking on me but there are a couple things that worry me

1. when braking or accelerating sometimes i hear a small pop kinda like a joint from the rear.
2. when i turn on the ac it makes quite a bit more noise than ac should
3. i have a sub hooked up and a 600 watt amp. sometimes when i go to turn on the car itll fail so i just rev the engine a little and put it in gear

anyone know what i need to do to deal with this stuff

and on a side note anyone know any san diego places that WONT rip me off on body and repairs? i got a couple dents that need pushing out and the front bumper needs to be pulled out a bit on one side and the cracks fixed

[GTS13]

Whoa buddy, sounds like you have some questions I might be able to answer.


"1. when braking or accelerating sometimes i hear a small pop kinda like a joint from the rear."
Did the previous owner lower the car? I noticed that your profile says it's completely stock, but is it possible that it was lowered and then returned to stock? I don't know why anyone would do that but some people are just strange. Point is when I lowered my car I had a lot of popping in the rear when I braked or drove into driveways. It's just a side effect of the springs settling in and eventually went away. The other thing it could be is a lot of people on here have had problems with their rear sway bushings, they replaced those and that fixed the problem.

"2. when i turn on the ac it makes quite a bit more noise than ac should."
Is it loud all the time? I know that the fans in our cars can be rather noisy when the engine is hot or when the AC is on.

"3. i have a sub hooked up and a 600 watt amp. sometimes when i go to turn on the car itll fail so i just rev the engine a little and put it in gear."
I happen to work in car audio and my serious guess would be that your alternator is probably on it's way out. Your cars electrical system runs solely off of the alt when the car is running so the higher you rev, the more efficient your alt is, hense why it turns on after a few revs. You can pull your alt and take it to a parts shop and ask them to test it for you. It's fairly simple.

[Stallion]

ac is loud all the time the ac is on. the car isnt running hot or anything. temp is always at a norm level.

the alternator thing i was suspecting... i was just curious if i was somehow drawing power while the car was off. 600w amp isnt heavy and should be no sweat. and i dont turn the car off after a couple revs and start again. ive done that and it just fails again after turning on. ill keep it reved at about 2k and then just slide it into r or d.

the car hasnt been lowered that i know of but it is 14 years old. who knows. and over the years its had quite a bit of work done to it. i actually cant say its all stock really with how many parts have been replaced. by stock i meant non upgraded.

i was considering getting some sport springs but i didnt want the car lowered to much cause im not a fan of scraping. found some thatll take it down about an inch... think thatll be fine. i wanted to upgrade the entire suspension, get it ready for engine and transmission upgrades.

thanks for the advice

checked out your profile, howd you do 4 61/2's? i put 6 1/2's in the door, that was easy enough but the back looks like all it has room for is 4's.

This post has been edited by Stallion: Jun 25, 2008 - 7:17 PM

[hurley97]

1. when braking or accelerating sometimes i hear a small pop kinda like a joint from the rear.

check either your e-brake shoes or the clips that hold the brake pads tight to the holders.


2. when i turn on the ac it makes quite a bit more noise than ac should

check your blower motor, you may have debris caught in it since our cars do not have a cabin filter.


3. i have a sub hooked up and a 600 watt amp. sometimes when i go to turn on the car itll fail so i just rev the engine a little and put it in gear

like he said, could be a dying alternator. check the voltage at the battery while at idle and while revving, or try disconnecting the battery while the car is running.
I doubt the amp is causing a parasitic draw on the battery simply because you don't say you have any trouble starting it after it sits for a while.

[GTS13]

You have 6.5"s in the rear. They're not a lot of fun to get to but they're certainly easier to do than the fronts since you don't have to make any kind of bracket to get it to fit.

[Stallion]

... are you sure? i pulled the little grate off the backseat speakers and they look like 4s to me. and how i got the 6.5's in the front is the cut the metal off the stock 4in speakers and used it as a bracket for 6.5s

This post has been edited by Stallion: Jul 16, 2008 - 9:49 PM