New 91 Celica All-Trac owner

Rallly

New member
Hello everyone,

My name is Jay, and I just bought a used stock 91 Celica All-Trac(3SGTE) motor. I have a couple questions but I'm not sure if I am allowed to ask here.?

1. Do I have a BOV? Cuz I don't hear anything.
2. I find the car seems very sluggish down low rpms and I don't feel the turbo kick on when stock gauge says it's kicked on. What should I be checking? Possible boost leak?? I have new plugs on the way.

Thanks guys:)
 
A BOV is not a stock item. You need a T hose 50mm-to-50mm with a 25mm side port. Look over the FORGE FMDVSPLTR-C blow off valve for the ST185 engine.

BOV Pressure control hose taps in on left side of manifold. Do NOT use larger AC idle-up hoses on right side of engine or engine will not idle properly.

Old vaccuum hoses need to be peeled out & replaced ASAP to get your baby running smoothly.

Ignition rebuild will help, but old vac hoses will destroy all effort. Good luck. (I own twin overhauled ST185 show cars).
 

Rallly

New member
nemo@nautilus.net":2ktem2gk said:
A BOV is not a stock item. You need a T hose 50mm-to-50mm with a 25mm side port. Look over the FORGE FMDVSPLTR-C blow off valve for the ST185 engine.

BOV Pressure control hose taps in on left side of manifold. Do NOT use larger AC idle-up hoses on right side of engine or engine will not idle properly.

Old vaccuum hoses need to be peeled out & replaced ASAP to get your baby running smoothly.

Ignition rebuild will help, but old vac hoses will destroy all effort. Good luck. (I own twin overhauled ST185 show cars).



Thanks Nemo,

Great info. I will be doing my cap, rotor, wires and plugs this weekend. Can you tell me how to go about doing a "boost leak test" on this car? I can do it on my MKIV Supra TT but seems a bit different on this car. Also, what is the weird looking bolt with spring on the side of what looks to be the oem bov? Thanks!
 
That is the 'idle up' adjustment for the AC. Kick in AC & engine raises the idle speed. Screw w/spring adjusts the speed of idle.

If your vacuum hoses leak, engine will shit all over itself, especially when boost is applied. No boost test to my knowledge. Overhauled 2 chassis here & have twin show car display. Taken several 1sts for 'Best Import' & 'Best Sports Car' due to looping WRC movies featuring Celica racers in '93.
 

Rallly

New member
nemo@nautilus.net":sudi3ild said:
That is the 'idle up' adjustment for the AC. Kick in AC & engine raises the idle speed. Screw w/spring adjusts the speed of idle.

If your vacuum hoses leak, engine will shit all over itself, especially when boost is applied. No boost test to my knowledge. Overhauled 2 chassis here & have twin show car display. Taken several 1sts for 'Best Import' & 'Best Sports Car' due to looping WRC movies featuring Celicas in '93.


Cool man, sounds like you know your shit:)

Just took it out tonight, seems to run very sluggish, almost stalling, for about 3mins after startup, better after the 3mins but still feels like the turbo just isn't kicking on. It's stock. Boost gauge moves but I dont hear any different noises or feel very much power when it kicking on?
 
Exhaust still stock? Could be plugged up the ass with rust & carbon. 3" stainless is big improvement, but needs to be heated & shaped around front cross member & rear axel, then wrapped with manifold heat wrap where it crosses those points to kill the vibration noise. One time job & will outlast car.

You will do yourself a *big* favor by removing the center stainless 'resonator' when installed. :rofl:

My twin show car pics: http://www.qrz.com/db/N0PWB
 

Spectra1

Member
How does it idle for the first few minutes after start up if you just let it run and do not drive? After 3 min of letting it idle does the engine start to sound and idle differently?
 

Rallly

New member
Spectra1":qzl2twyg said:
How does it idle for the first few minutes after start up if you just let it run and do not drive? After 3 min of letting it idle does the engine start to sound and idle differently?


All stock everything. And it's idling up and down 700-600 on startup and when I give it gas it's super rough. Goes away after about 3min idling and clears up quicker if I drive it for about 30sec but in those 30sec it's hard to drive. It's like it wants to stall! Weird!?
 

underscore

Well-known member
My best guess would be the cold start injector is dumping too much fuel while it's enabled, hard to say though.
 

Rallly

New member
underscore":slp3kb8b said:
My best guess would be the cold start injector is dumping too much fuel while it's enabled, hard to say though.

How do I fix that?

Also when the turbo is engaged should I be hearing any other sounds while it's boosting?

Jay
 
Pop hood, start engine and listen carefully for hissing coming from behind the intercooler on left & right side. Hiss will indicate a vacuum leak and rotton hoses. This will easily cause what you describe. Not seen a cold start injector failure. Usually they simply plug up from old fuel varnish. Idle should be at 900-1000 RPM. Rough idle (throbbing up & down RPMs) is easily caused by vacuum leak. It's a pretty tight design & easily jacked up by rotton rubber. As engine speeds up, manifold pressure goes from negative to positive and can split old hoses. Wont see it, but you should hear 'em hissing at you when split or off-nipple.

Been there. Done that. Two cars.

How many miles you have on the chassis? aged Gaskets will turn brittle & leak oil. After 140k-150k you *must* change out your oil pump & water pump, and replace the timing belt with (preferably) a full kit - idler pulley, etc. If you see your coolant temp unsteady, replace both pumps ASAP before you lose the engine from heat.

If/when you overhaul, use a metal head gasket & forget turning it into a hot smoke-blower with turbo boost over 16 pounds. There are no major replacement parts for these cars now, and it's only gonna get worse as time marches on. Don't mistreat it, and it'll serve you dependably.

The chopped blocks available out of Japan still need strip down and complete overhaul before use. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. The chopped blocks are a GREAT source of spare parts. I've bought 2 in the past.

I have about $14,000 in both cars just for overhaul, and a decent list of where to get the parts and proper work done, Including rebuilding the 5-speed AWD transmissions - which no one will touch 'cause they are 'not in the book'. :bangshead:

Hindsight is 20/20. Good luck! :rofl:
 

Rallly

New member
nemo@nautilus.net":1dac6vcm said:
Pop hood, start engine and listen carefully for hissing coming from behind the intercooler on left & right side. Hiss will indicate a vacuum leak and rotton hoses. This will easily cause what you describe. Not seen a cold start injector failure. Usually they simply plug up from old fuel varnish. Idle should be at 900-1000 RPM. Rough idle (throbbing up & down RPMs) is easily caused by vacuum leak. It's a pretty tight design & easily jacked up by rotton rubber. As engine speeds up, manifold pressure goes from negative to positive and can split old hoses. Wont see it, but you should hear 'em hissing at you when split or off-nipple.

Been there. Done that. Two cars.

How many miles you have? Gaskets will turn brittle & leak oil. After 140k-150k you *must* change out your oil pump & water pump, and replace the timing belt.

Hindsight is 20/20. Good luck!



Now that you mention it, when I blip the throttle and listening around my intercooler I hear a rattled sputtering squeak sound.
I will look into this asap!
 

Spectra1

Member
What your describing is exactly how my car acted after I rebuilt my distributor. I know it does not make any sense but all I can think is I somehow damaged it during the rebuild. As soon as I replaced the distributor with an extra I had it instantly went away.
 
I highly recommend the BOSCH distributor rotor and cap, as they are 'Made in Japan' and higher quality that many others I've dealt with.

Also - check you Turbo intake hoses for brittle cracks. Air leaks will foul up your air/fuel calcs and create the sluggish conditions you are describing. These hoses are no longer made by Toyota, but I bought 2 silicone sets (red & black) out of Hong Kong. (eBay is your friend.)
 

Rallly

New member
nemo@nautilus.net":3gsck4q6 said:
I highly recommend the BOSCH distributor rotor and cap, as they are 'Made in Japan' and higher quality that many others I've dealt with.

Also - check you Turbo intake hoses for brittle cracks. Air leaks will foul up your air/fuel calcs and create the sluggish conditions you are describing. These hoses are no longer made by Toyota, but I bought 2 silicone sets (red & black) out of Hong Kong. (eBay is your friend.) :rofl:


I will look into getting some new silicone hoses and couplers. Should the air filter box be air tight? I guess that doesn't really matter since the beginning pipe is open under the headlight?

Ya man, ever since I did an engine shampoo, it's been running like shit after startup for about 3-5mins.
 
I pulled the wheel, opened up the drivers side fender plastic guards & chopped out the 'resonator box' connected to the air intake. This brought up the airflow into the filter box. Check those Turbo intake hoses - they turn to shit as the plastic/rubber ages, fractures & sucks unmeasured air - heat takes it's toll.

You'll do yourself another favor by whacking out the center exhaust resonator. 8)
 

Rallly

New member
Rallly":31c1hv1z said:
nemo@nautilus.net":31c1hv1z said:
I highly recommend the BOSCH distributor rotor and cap, as they are 'Made in Japan' and higher quality that many others I've dealt with.

Also - check you Turbo intake hoses for brittle cracks. Air leaks will foul up your air/fuel calcs and create the sluggish conditions you are describing. These hoses are no longer made by Toyota, but I bought 2 silicone sets (red & black) out of Hong Kong. (eBay is your friend.) :rofl:


I will look into getting some new silicone hoses and couplers. Should the air filter box be air tight? I guess that doesn't really matter since the beginning pipe is open under the headlight?

Ya man, ever since I did an engine shampoo, it's been running like shit after startup for about 3-5mins.



I used an Oem cap and rotor, ngk wires, and oem iridium plugs. Smoother up high rpms but still have down low stumbling at startup, and that squeak rattling sound when I hit the throttle. Also I should mention I only got 330kms on a full tank of gas and smells very rich at idle. Very poor mpg in my opinion. I have eliminated that notion of the oem intercooler having a leak. All good there. Wish I could find that squeak rattle! I can hear but can see it lol. I wish a CEL would arise so I could check on the OBD scanner... I still think you on the right track with vac leak or bad cold start injector. Aside from that issue I still don't feel as though the turbo is kick on properly... At wide open throttle with a stock All-Trac, does feel like a secondary "punch" of power when the boost gauge begins to climb? I wish there was a way to do a boost leak test. Supra MKIV seems easier to work with haha.

Any Ideas's nemo?
 
Pull the large turbo intake hose assembly and visually inspect it. Where it connects into turbo (curved area) is where heat & vibration break it.

Don't inspect vacuum hoses, replace them. They are cheap & a split hose will drive you crazy finding it.

Forget about the cold start injector.

*ANY* vacuum hose leak will kill engine performance - esp idle.

When that turbo kicks in, you should def feel it push you back in the seat. I get roughly 300 miles to a tank of 91 octane fuel. About 25-30 miles less in stop/go city traffic.

Take samples of your vac hose sizes into an auto parts shop & buy bulk to refit the whole engine. ASSUME (correctly) all rubber has rotted under the hood. And it has. Trust me, hindsight is 20/20. You should have a vac hose routing/connection diagram sticker under front right lip of hood. :bangshead:

It also wouldn't hurt to search eBay for Toyota service manuals for your chassis. There are 3 total. Sniff for best pricing, as service shops consider them obsolete after 25 years & no factory parts support. Don't pay extortion prices either. I scored a complete set for like $35-$45.

For turbo intake hoses, search eBay for 'Autobahn88 Silicone Intake Turbo Boost Hose Fit Celica GT-Four ST185'. These come in Red, Black & Blue from Hong Kong. eBay is your friend.

I also have recommendations for hi/low HID lighting & sealed beam glass lens conversion kits. Also some bad-ass JDM yellow HID fog light bulb replacements. Front blinkers and front sidelights got blazing amber 20 watt & 10 watt LED replacements, and clear lenses. Looks very very clean with zero bulb heat to damage new lenses.
 
Hoses REALLY affect idle when cold, then computer tries to adjust for leakage after warmup. If you can see very small cracks in the hose surface when stretched, junk 'em & replace.

See my add-on edit above.

There are several large vac hose conn behind engine manifold. Very tight squeeze between manifold and firewall. A real bitch to reach & work on. If you have one of those jacking with you, it'll be all sorts of crappy for running engine.
 
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