Stark

Gentlemen (and Ladies) So two weeks ago, my middle section decided that it no longer wanted to be attached to my back box. After a week of driving with what sounded like a bags of nails in my exhaust, I decided to go for a stainless catback system. My thought was, I would like a bit more noise, and it should be more efficient, due to reducing back pressure. For the week before the mod (without the backbox attached), i seemed to get really good mpg, but on the first half a tank after the mod, the fuel gauge is dropping remarkably quickly.....and my driving style hasnt changed- if anything I'm being even more efficient so as not to get an ASBO (it's a lot louder than I thought it would be...gulp). The new catback comes from after the post cat o2 sensor follows the standard exhaust route, and then bends under the rear suspension before bending again into the new back box. I've removed the middle box, and the new backbox is not far off being the same size, only difference is the new pipework from after the cat is 1/4" diameter bigger. That'll slightly kill air velocity, i know, but surely not much. Any ideas on why this mpg seems to have taken a nosedive? I know the celica fuel guage likes to play about a bit, but this is a little bit too much. I'm thinking of doing an ECU reset, my thinking being this could be to do with the air/fuel mixture. I'll maybe do a MAF sensor clean too, but I'd be surprised if that was it, i clean that every time i do a service. Is there a set procedure for resetting the ECU? On other cars i've owned, if you don't follow a set procedure you can end up messing up the BSI etc. (they were french). Any help appreciated, Stark

Fastbob, That could prove to be a decent shout. I've just had a geoffry down the back of the engine and taken a few snaps. You can see a bit of an leak coming from what looks like the timing chain tensioner- either that or the head :/ I've since googled, and found that other people have had this before. Now, I know that there doesn't look to be a massive amount of oil there. But one thing I have noticed is that I burn a significant amount of oil when I'm raking it. How much of a possibility do you reckon it is that the oil is leaking from that tensioner, and is being burnt off on the hot exhaust manifold? I'd appreciate any opinions!

Hi guys, So I've owned my 140 vvti for about 4 months now and love it. However...I've noticed (fortunately quickly enough) that it seems to like to either drink oil (which I know was a common problem on the pre-facelift) or leak it. I can't see any noticeable leaks from the oil filter, or sump plug, and the block seems to be bone dry. The only think I can see is a bit of a seepage from the rear of the valve cover...but I'm not convinced that what I'm seeing is big enough to be responsible for the oil consumption I'm seeing (I am still in the process of calculating how many miles per litre) but the dipstick will drop a few mm is I really rake it.. Now after noticing my oil was going somewhere, my first though was blocked oil returns- so I changed the oil again after 1000 miles and ran a can of Wynn's engine flush, refilled with 5w30 and fitted a new Fram filter. I am still noticing my oil is draining- I know these engines naturally will use a bit, but IMHO it shouldn't be using as much as it is. Really I'm hoping someone else out there has had similar problems on a facelift and managed to solve them without a rebuild. My next port of call will be to replace that valve cover gasket- my hope is that my oil is seeping out onto the exhaust manifold and is being burnt that way. That's a lot easier fixed! If that doesn't work-or even if it does- I think I'll be switching to 5w40 for the future. Any opinions would be appreciated! Stark

Hi guys, Has anyone tried painting the black plastic skirts that come as standard on the Celica? Considering painting mine the same colour as the body (Super Red, 3PO). Also, has anybody fitted a spoiler to an undrilled boot lid? I'm spoiler-less at the min and I'm not sure I like it! I assume there's some sort of fitting kit available....and possibly some rubber grommetts for the feet of the spoiler? Cheers for the help, Stark

Hi Auldy, Yep, clean your OCV's and their filter/strainers first- I'm just after having this issue on my 140, and after cleaning the strainer on my VVT OCV the issue is gone. You have 2 OCV's on your 190, one for VVT and the other controls your lift. The VVT OCV is on the left side of the engine, the Lift OCV is on the right hand side of the engine beside the battery- with the problems you describe, I'd say cleaning that should be your first port of call! There's a thread on here with step by step instructions! Stark

Hi Guys, So....I serviced the car (full oil and filter change) and then reset the fault code with my OBDII reader. The CEL came back on again after a few hundred miles of driving. So since then I've topped up the oil and cleaned the VVT OCV strainer and the CEL has stayed off-TOUCH WOOD! My next port of call would be to clean the OCV itself if it was to rear its ugly head again, but at least the whole fiasco gave me a crash course in VVT-i! Cheers for the help, hope my findings prove helpful. Stark

Hi guys, thanks for the responses. I've read some of the other guys posts on doing the OCV's- am I right in thinking there are two? One for "Lift" and one for "VVT"? When you say clean the valve...are we talking about removing the filter/strainer thingys from both and cleaning them up? Or is there much of a benefit in removing the valves and doing some sort of a clean on them as well? The "Lift" valve/housing seems to be handy enough to remove, but the "VVT" one looks like it could be a b***h. That is assuming i've been reading the right thing! I think I'll pencil that service in for next weekend...I would have done it yesterday but...I'm lazy :( I have the parts, but unfortunately i didn't have the motivation to do it in the rain. Thanks!

Hi guys, New to the group, but unfortunately the new baby I've just bought is a wee bit sick as it turns out. So driving home after about a week of owning it (in the snow a few weeks ago) I had my CEL illuminate. After having a listen to the engine idle, and through the rev range, I couldn't hear anything out of the ordinary. My first port of call was to clean the MAF sensor and reset the code by d/c-ing the battery. However, I've just bought a OBDII reader (and not too soon as it turns out), and the CEL came on again-about 500 miles after the first time. This time I'm getting fault code "P1349-VVT System malfunction". I'm guessing then that the problem could be: Crappy/dirty oil (I was trying to wait until it got warmer to service it, but I assume a service now won't sort the issue) Lift bolts? Some sort of valve/filter on the VVT system? I am mechanically minded (being a mechanical engineer you kinda have to be), but I've no experience with VVT systems at all. Any expert advice you guys could give to point me in the right direction would be appreciated! Thanks in advance!

Hi Guys New to the club, after buying myself an 04 Celica VVTi a few weeks back. And already the engine management light is on Just my luck! I daresay there will be a post in the "HELP!" section soon :) As is tradition, here's a pic of my new baby! Gareth