jet_a_jockey

thanks for the input. The crap weather has kept me off of it for the last week but this weekend is looking good. I'm definitely replacing the plugs, got a set of NGK iridiums for it, also valve cover gaskets. Considered putting a rear main in it but I don't know if i want to go that far. I'm going to take the oil pan off and have a good look at the pickup tube also. In my old engine, I actually had the pickup tube stop completely up while I was on the interstate doing 80mph. Ended up buying a new oil pump for the thing when I saw that the pickup tube was completely crammed full of silicone pieces. Looked like someone went a little crazy last time they reattached the oil pan.

Now thats an idea. That little cargo bag thing in the middle of the seats. If you could get your head through that and a stick or something, you could unlock one of the back doors.

I bought a 94 last year around this time with about 190k , put about 20-25k on it and it crapped out. In this area, imports hold their value pretty well, so that price would be a steal around here if the car is in half decent shape.

you could just get a can of black paint and spray it and find out how it looks. If it sucks, then look at having someone repaint them for you. Theres a place here that mixes factory colors. If I had that problem, I'd probably just get them to mix up half a pint of the color and then i'd prep the mirrors and spray them. Often times though the paint will not match if the paint on the car is old/faded, the only way i've found to blend it is by going back over the repainted area with superfine sandpaper to knock some of the gloss off of it. Pep boys has a big selection of touch-up paints, i'm sure they have or can get the color you need also. That could be another cheap alternative if you don't have a sprayer setup, and is much cheaper than having a shop do it. Spend 10 bucks, try it out, if it is not to your liking, take it to a shop ^_^ .

No, thats not what I meant by inner and outer. When you remove the passenger side cv axle, you will see that it bolts into another axle that is held in place by a carrier. I think that inner axle is called a "halfshaft" or something like that. Are you talking about the cv boots ? I've only had to grease those when I put a new boot kit on an axle. With new cv axles usually those boots are already strapped onto the axle, and have grease in them. The part of the axle that bolts up against the transmission needs to be packed with grease though for sure. Every one i've done has had a tube of grease that came in the box with the axles. Your best bet is just to ask the parts store you got it from, if they have any idea what they are doing they'll know what you need. If you have a choice though, one of my favorites with grease and lubricants is royal purple. It rocks.

Assuming the 93 is the same as the 94, its a cake walk after you've done it a few times. It really doesn't take anything special to do it, either. Although a great help is to have a set of allen head drive sockets. The cv axles are bolted in with allen bolts, and they are torqued well, so it will take some leverage or an impact to loosen them. I can't recall the size it uses directly off the top of my head, but its fairly big. You should be able to see them when you pull the wheel off. I've done this so many times since I own another toyota and also my mother in law has one. First take off the wheel. Then pull the cotter pin out of the center of the hub. Then the little metal cap that goes on behind it, and then use an impact to pull the big nut off of the axle. Once that is done, go ahead and take the 2 bolts out of the brake caliper and put the caliper to the side. Then take the 2 bolts out of the bracket that holds the caliper in place. Now you can remove the rotor. You can go ahead and disconnect the tie rod from the hub, it has a cotter pin in it and you can use either a forked wedge or 2 screwdrivers to pry it off of the hub. I have noticed that I can wiggle the axle out while leaving this hooked up though, so you might want to do that just for ease. Then theres 2 bolts on the top of the hub that bolt it into the strut. I usually just pull the nuts off of one side and then use a punch and a hammer to drive the bolts out, since they are under a slight load. There are also 2 nuts and a bolt on the underside of the hub that should come out. Once all the bolts are out, the hub should be free to move around. If you still have the tie rod hooked up, just roll the hub forward, run the axle nut back on a few threads and then tap it with a hammer. This will push the axle backwards out of the hub, once it starts moving you can take the nut back off so that the axle will slide out of the hub. Now all you have to do is pull the allen bolts out of the cv axle and then you are set. While you have the hub assembly disconnected, it is a good time to change your struts, since all that is holding them in is the bolts on the top side. If you are changing them, however, you will need a spring compressor tool. You can get one on loan from autozone or just buy one at harbor freight for like 10 bucks. If you attempt to do the struts, be extremely careful. The springs will be under alot of pressure, so if one goes flying it could kill someone. The passenger side cv axle has 2 parts. There is an inner and outer. The outer is just like the drivers side one, but the inner is held with a lock bolt and a snap ring. This is a bit trickier to take apart, but chances are the only axles you'll need to replace are the outer ones. Anyhow, this is definitely not a 4 hour job in a shop, unless they are changing both outer and the one inner axle. Since these axles bolt in, it is alot easier in and out with them than it is with most cars, they usually have a snap ring type thing on them so you have to snap them into place and then snap them out, I call it the crowbar special ^_^. Hope this helps.

I havent dealt with this on my es yet, but with my 94 celica GT I've had the same recurring problem. There should be a sensor on the transmission that controls your speedometer/odometer. Whether that sensor is bad or the wiring to it is bad, I cannot say. If your ac is not cold then its best to get a leak test done on your cooling system. Sometimes it can be a cheap fix like a schrader (sp?) valve not seating completely, but who knows. With my luck its usually a compressor :chairshot: And the turn signal thing sounds like you have a bulb out, which causes it to blink twice as fast.

I don't have alot of experience with the es leaking, but I can tell you from experience that i've had a few other causes for that. One was the heater core leaking (not sure where its at on the es, or if it can actually leak into the cabin), the other was from having a rusted out spot or a busted weld in the floor pan somewhere. That is enough to kick up any water into the cabin also. Once again, im not sure about the heater core thing, but one way to know is to check your coolant level. I cant think of anything else off the top of my head.

Well considering the chop job the salvage yard did on the 97 motor, I decided to just keep all the original obd1 electronics. It's actually gone fairly easy so far, all the electrical is disconnected off the old engine and out of the way, the only thing holding me up at the moment is the rear motor mount. Still puzzling over how to approach that one.

Yeah we are almost ready to pull the motor out. From what I can tell so far, the fuel injection, ecu wiring (sensors) and ignition (new motor has 3 coil on plug with jumpers to the back 3, old motor has individual coil on plug) are different. It looks mostly like the switch between obd1 and obd2 systems. Still looking promising, though. Will keep you guys updated.

AGREE do you know the condition of the replacement engine? are you taking their words for granted that the replacement runs ok?? I rather look for another car than trying to fool around here. It's going to be hard to locate a decent 94 engine to start with. All the yards say their engines work fine. In reality, there is not way to really test it standing alone. i only get none mechanic parts from yards. well it does have a 90 day warranty on it. The salvage yard is being good about working with me on it. Right now I'm just looking at it hard to see what all issues I might have. The only other engine they have in the yard is out of a avalon, and when I asked about it he said that it has a note that its not a direct interchange due to a sensor hole not being tapped into the block. He said to approach this as a long block and everything should be fine. So thats what I'm doing first, I'm pulling the old motor out and I'll have them side by side, since I'd have to swap the upper intake and fuel rails for sure. Once I get to that point I'll know better whether Its going to work or not. right now I don't have alot invested in this car, and visually it is still in fantastic condition. It's definitely worth fixing, since I can do all of the work myself. The guy at the salvage yard told me to let him know if I have any issues trying to install this thing, so if I run into a problem I'll definitely do that. I'll keep you guys updated, I'll be on this for a week or 2 probably. later

I just spoke with the guy at the auto recycler and he says its out of a 97 model. so hopefully everything will swap over, man what a pain in the butt :x

this is hilarious. I just started and noticed the engine is different. They said it was out of a 94 but it has plug wires on it and a slightly different intake design. the block however is aluminum. so wtf :chairshot: now i need to find a way to reference the engine to date it.

So the bottom end went out in the 94 at around 220k. I got a great deal on a replacement engine with only 126k on it from a local salvage yard ($698 after tax and no core charge, believe it or not). I'm going to be spending the next few weeks after work and on weekends putting this thing in, so if anyone has experience in this and can give any hints I'd appreciate it. The new motor is a direct replacement from another 94 , the only tough part looks like the wiring harness just above the transmission was cut. I think it had to be cut because from that point it makes a T and goes under the dash and the other side goes to the fuse panel near the battery. Too bad they didnt make a quick disconnect harness there :D I have an engine hoist so thats not a problem. I am planning to replace the plugs also while the engine is out, and maybe valve cover gaskets. It looks like the intake manifold needs to come off to get that back cover off, so I don't know. The replacement intake gaskets are like 75 bucks :x Anyhow, I'll keep you guys updated!

Why are you using 93? I use FP+ or 131 in gas. It is unreal on the increase of MPG... fp+? 131? cmon you know I'm not good with the forum shorthand. LOL What the hell is 131 is that Jet Fuel and how could the 131 save you on MPG When Im sure it costs more then 3.50 a gallon I can tell you the way it works here. Gas stations get fuel loads from whatever tanker company they have a contract with. Some are multi-compartment tanks, but most i've seen are single compartment. The multi-compartment tanks can have varying octanes or fuel types in them, so that a driver can deliver multiple fuel types/octanes in a trip. Anyhow, the driver is given a load by his dispatch, lets say, 93 octane. He loads it at the plant, and while at the plant the fuel is tested. then he takes it to the gas station. Once there he goes through a series of checks to make sure he's unloading in the proper tank etc. Theres no benefit for the driver to drop a load in the wrong tank (i.e. 87 into the 93), unless he had some kind of underhanded deal worked out with a gas station owner. Even then, there are quality control procedures that are in place in which the fuels are tested. I can't say for sure how often or whatever since I don't work at a gas station, but I do know they are in place. It would be safe to assume that the parent company of a gas station checks up on their stores from time to time. I've heard people say 'oh i dont go there because they have water in the gas'. That is for the most part a myth. While it is true that water from moisture does collect in tanks over time, most tanks have a sump system that removes any water out of the tank. Also, the tanker truck that brings the fuel, when they receive it from the plant, it is filtered going into their truck. On many tank systems the fuel is then again filtered before it is pumped out. To add to that, they use a method of pumping that actually pulls from the top of the fuel, and any water contamination that may be in there is going to be at the very bottom, usually in a small space that does not ever get sucked up (unusable). I believe that most people experience the changes in octane due to one reason. Time. Unleaded gas loses its octane quickly, as opposed to leaded gasoline. The storage time on unleaded is much lower, i think the octane significantly degrades at around 6 months of storage but don't quote me on that. So if you want consistency in your octane, the best thing is to go to stations you are familiar with and you know that they go through alot of fuel. As far as gas mileage increases vs octane ratings goes. Thats for the most part a myth also. The only benefit of higher octane gas is that a more advanced timing curve can be applied by the computer. This benefit is marginal unless you are running a high compression or high performance engine (forced induction especially). With newer computer controlled cars, if they require a high octane gas, it is best to use it. If you end up putting 87 in a car that requires 93, the result can be engine preignition, which is when the fuel combusts from heat rather than spark. I believe this is due to the lower flash point of lower octane fuel. Anyhow, the cars computer normally can deal with this, and will !Removed! the timing to avoid the dreaded "spark knock". The result of constantly using low grade gas in an engine that requires higher grade is a loss of performance from the timing changes, and possible long term damage/wear from preignition.

Hi, Did you ever resolve this problem ? I have a 93 ES300 with the same symtoms... The "low oil level" warning light comes on after approx 15 mins of highway driving even though the oil level is full. I had the oil light come on while doing 75 on the interstate, ended up getting it towed home and tearing out the oil pump. Oil pump was fine, but in the process of tearing it out, I noticed the pickup tube was clogged up with silicone pieces. So yeah, check the pickup tube first. When i put the pan back on I did a thin layer of silicone but i had a leak, so I had to apply more. So i can see how the silicone makes it into the pan :D

I've run 225/40/18 on my 94 and it isnt a problem, The car has some wheel spacers on it also, though. It came like that so I don't really know if they are needed. I've gone as big as 235/45/18 on the back but speed bumps would rub a little. hope this helps.

Hi, I was wondering if someone could explain in detail how to bypass my stock amplifier. It fried a while back, and my stock radio stopped working also when it happened. I am planning to install a aftermarket head unit anyway so I wasn't that disappointed. So I have what I think is the proper wiring diagram, and I don't understand which wires to connect to each other. On the input side of the amp it appears that there is one for each speaker (FR FL RL RR), but on the output side that goes to the speakers there is both a negative and positive wire for each. How do I rig this? I also don't really know what to do with the other wires either , lol. p.s. if its not obvious I am mentally challenged at audio wiring :whistles: thanks for the help :)