What have you done to your car today?

[YSSMAN]

Its just not staying running, at all. She starts fine, revs up, and when it hits idle, dies out (and then the battery light comes on, along with the engine light). Toyota seems to think its some kind of idle sensor thing, but they don't know for sure. Either way, I'm out $85 for the battery, and whatever else they're going to charge me to diagnose it and fix it.

...Time to call my lovely Grandparents for a loan...

 

[Duke]

Look for a vacuum leak as well, if it's not the IAC sensor.

How old was the battery you just replaced and how many months was it rated for?

 

[kikie]

Took it to the body shop last week to get this fixed.

 

[YSSMAN]

How old was the battery you just replaced and how many months was it rated for?

If I was reading the sticker right, it was purchased for the car in May of 2005 and had a three or four year guarantee on it. I'd never heard of the brand before, it was sold through a local tire company, and for some reason it said "Truck and SUV" on the front. Oh well, I got a Duralast with a three year guarantee for $80.

Thing is, it kept doing the same thing. I called a tow and had it taken to Toyota, and talked to some different people about it. The Toyota Rep's original hypothesis was some kind of throttle sensor that manages the idle, apparently they can get gummed up easily, and may just need a clean. The tow truck guy and the Toyota Courtesy Car driver both said that it could be the fuel injectors and the spark plugs, which would explain the smoke and the poor fuel economy that I've had as of late.

Either way, its going to be expensive... Probably. I'm waiting for the phone call on a total, otherwise, its looking like she will be staying overnight at the dealer.

 

[Keef]

You'd be surprised at what a simple vacuum leak can disguise itself as, like Duke said. But of course it could be all sorts of stuff. I'm eager hear. And at least you have a new battery that should last the life of your ownership.

 

[Duke]

If I was reading the sticker right, it was purchased for the car in May of 2005 and had a three or four year guarantee on it.

Don't feel bad, then. Battery manufacturers are extrememly good at knowing how long batteries last. If it was a 36-month battery you're past the end of its probable lifespan already, and for a 48-month unit you're less than 6 months shy. So the battery does not seem to be wasted money even if it is not the issue.

Could be the MAF sensor, the IAC, or, as said, a vacuum leak.

 

[Perfect Balance]

It doesn't sound like a vacuum leak to me, you still should have been able to keep the car running unless it was a Very big leak, and even then the car should still rev up.

I'll agree with MAF or IAC.

 

[Duke]

It doesn't sound like a vacuum leak to me, you still should have been able to keep the car running unless it was a Very big leak, and even then the car should still rev up.

I only say vacuum leak because my old Supra split a vacuum line and it wouldn't stay running below about 2200 rpm. It would start and rev fine but as soon as you allowed the revs to drop below 2000 it would just quit.

 

[slidesquad#1]

Booked an appointment for the Evo. It gets a 3 inch exhaust from the turbo next Monday.

 

[seckcimike]

Booked an appointment for the Evo. It gets a 3 inch exhaust from the turbo next Monday.

I just had mine done custom 3" straight pipe, well i actually welded it my self but i had no lift so had to get it installed, custom manifold, im running gt35r, im gonna get it dyno on my next pay check.


what year u got? mines evo 8 mr white

 

[YSSMAN]

Could be the MAF sensor, the IAC, or, as said, a vacuum leak.

Strangely, it was none of the above. Toyota called me at 10:30 this morning to say it was the EGR Valve and the tube that connected to it, which was majorly plugged up with carbon, and was the main reason for why my car was burning fuel so fast, and otherwise not wanting to stay running. So, they have to special order the part from the Toyota warehouse, but they'll be able to get the plug and filter change finished this afternoon (along with replacing the hose) so I can have the car back tomorrow. It should run me just under $800, which is actually a bit better than I had expected.

Its weird feeling when you're actually relieved to spend $800.

 

[Rotary Junkie]

$800 for replacing the EGR valve? Eh?

 

[slidesquad#1]

I just had mine done custom 3" straight pipe, well i actually welded it my self but i had no lift so had to get it installed, custom manifold, im running gt35r, im gonna get it dyno on my next pay check.


what year u got? mines evo 8 mr white

Mine's a 99. Evo 6 GSR blurple. Stock as a rock till Monday.

 

[YSSMAN]

$800 for replacing the EGR valve? Eh?

The valve had to be special ordered from the Toyota parts depot, they didn't have any on hand at the dealer. That part alone ran $160 as I recall, plus the seals, spark plugs, and air filter... and then the labor... Nearly $800. They might give me a small break for having to wait so long, but I'm not expecting it.

Although I don't really care for the actual dealer itself, the service department is usually pretty fair on labor and other repairs, so I can't complain too much.

 

[eiriksmil]

Over the past days I've changed the steering wheel again, got the calipers re-built, fitted them together with new brake hoses, bled two of four corners and broken two bleeding valves. Today I drove the car 20 miles and unbolted one of the calipers, need to get this car done by Saturday. Frozen lake skidding thing going on then

 

[Slicks]

The valve had to be special ordered from the Toyota parts depot, they didn't have any on hand at the dealer. That part alone ran $160 as I recall, plus the seals, spark plugs, and air filter... and then the labor... Nearly $800. They might give me a small break for having to wait so long, but I'm not expecting it.

Although I don't really care for the actual dealer itself, the service department is usually pretty fair on labor and other repairs, so I can't complain too much.

I'd recommend looking around for another quote before you proceed.
I honestly don't see any more than $100 in parts that you've listed, and these shouldn't be particularly hard-to-get-to items.

 

[YSSMAN]

Eh? If I were to walk next door to Autozone and pick up an EGR Valvue, it would still run me $140, the replacement gasket is $3.00 or so. I'm not sure what they're doing with the tube that connects to it, they said they'd try to clean it, otherwise it would have to be replaced. Air filter is $22, no big deal. Would run me $40 for a Fram.

Whats killing me is labor costs. I can usually tell what I'm doing under the hood of a Chevy, or even a Volkswagen, but I still have yet to figure out whats going on with the Celica.

But hey, I changed the battery without a problem!

(lol)

 

[Perfect Balance]

Today it snowed, so I, well...

You get the point. I used up half a gas tank just driving it around.

Batteries in the camera died before I got a good shot of the front, but it looked similar all around.

EDIT: Doesn't look as bad in the pics, but when you take the fact that the sideskirts are supposed to be the same color as the hatch (which was dirty as well) then you notice how dirty the car was.

 

[Omnis]

pedobear sticker ftw though.

 

[eiriksmil]

Today it snowed, so I, well...

You need a RWD winter beater

Whats killing me is labor costs. I can usually tell what I'm doing under the hood of a Chevy, or even a Volkswagen, but I still have yet to figure out whats going on with the Celica.

You could of course try to change it yourself. If you break it, you tried. If you do it right, you've saved a bunch of money. I was quoted around $2k for a brake repair job. I think I've used about $200 now, and probably going on a hundred more today for getting out the bleeder valve I broke, but I bleed them myself.. Then I've saved about $1700 on doing it myself, even breaking some along the way

 

[stumpydino]

cut some new windshield wiper blades for the firebird, also turned em on for the first time hurrah they work! next to look at is the shoulder seatbelt retractors which are not uh retracting. shoved a welding rod down the antenna hole as someone cut it at the body...works a treat! temporary of course measured for some floor mats too, also ordered a chiltons manual as haynes one is rubbish and less than useless. plus got an original owners handbook on the way too, so i can finally discover what everything does!

 

[Perfect Balance]

pedobear sticker ftw though.

👍

You need a RWD winter beater

My car isn't good enough to need another car to be my winter beater. If anything I'd spend the money on a better car and make this one my winter beater.

The only thing I'm worried about is the cold's effect on my suspension. Every morning the dampers are stiff as hell until they warm up and I'm just waiting for them to start leaking or something.

RWD is a lot more fun, but winter beater wheels + snow tires is good enough for now.

 

[YSSMAN]

The only thing I'm worried about is the cold's effect on my suspension. Every morning the dampers are stiff as hell until they warm up and I'm just waiting for them to start leaking or something.[/color]

Its that cold down there right now? We deal with it for half the year, trust me, you won't have too much to worry about. My Celica goes to "board quality" in the cold, and its terrible driving it through the city with how terrible the roads are.

...And I did get the Celica back, for less than I was quoted for (about $150 less). Runs pretty good, but I've got a few things I'll need to take care of when the weather warms up.

 

[Azuremen]

Well, you got it back. The 5S-FE is a pretty basic motor so I am sure you can find a lot online about working on it, or I could ask my friend the former Toyota mechanic next time.

Anyhow, I washed the Spyder today, and it badly needed it. No before pictures, but it was starting to look two tone, brown and flat black

I also moved the plate down and to the right, and found the old license plate holder had done a nice job scuffing paint, let alone a nice hole right under the Toyota logo.

Still, looks better moved down there. Was kind of just... there in the middle before, looking like some terrible after thought.

 

[CDailey]

MR-S looks sweet Azureman.

I washed my car, but it desperately needs a good claying.

 

[Perfect Balance]

Its that cold down there right now? We deal with it for half the year, trust me, you won't have too much to worry about. My Celica goes to "board quality" in the cold, and its terrible driving it through the city with how terrible the roads are.

...And I did get the Celica back, for less than I was quoted for (about $150 less). Runs pretty good, but I've got a few things I'll need to take care of when the weather warms up.

It's not that cold down here, but I haven't got a stock suspension. It's already at such a stiff level that anything more is almost scary to drive on for fear of busting the seals.

 

[Barracuda]

For the past 10 hours I've been helping my friend replace the upper and lower ball joints in the front end of his Blazer. I'm dirty, cut, bruised, tired, and cold, but it's a small price to pay for an otherwise quoted $1800 dealer job.

On the bright side it was a good learning experience I guess, and it's always fun to work on cars, even when it really sucks.

 

[McLaren]

Had the oil changed & tires rotated for the Si. Bought a car jack as well for the TL.

 

[Keef]

The only thing I'm worried about is the cold's effect on my suspension. Every morning the dampers are stiff as hell until they warm up and I'm just waiting for them to start leaking or something.[/color]

Hey, that's a pretty good point. I never thought about that. Every aspect of a stock car is meant to work pretty good in all temperatures and conditions, which means they handle cold just fine. But track-oriented coilovers like that aren't. They're made to go fast on a track. Hmm. Keep me updated on how they act in the cold. I'm curious now.

 

[kikie]

Removed!