Just Another Update, Also Looking For Advice

"Adam Stickland" (goldman27) 08/15/2017 at 17:08 • Filed to: None

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As the title states, am looking for advice regarding my car. If you just want to know what I’m asking, skip to the last paragraph.

So, last week we took my Celica over to a friend my uncle knows of who has a hydraulic lift on his property, and we took a look. The rundown was, it’ll need new rear brakes, new front stabilizer links, parking brake shoes and hardware, and some repairs on the exhaust (turns out the muffler wasn’t loud, the holes in the exhaust were causing that). Then on Tuesday we brought it to our local Toyota dealer for them to inspect it and give us a rundown on what it needs and costs. So, here’s what they had down:

Basically what we assumed it would need. As of now we fixed the spare (turns out it was a full-size spare stock from factory with a matching 5-spoke rim), we’ve added new front wipers, and we talked to the local muffler shop in town, saying that it’d cost us $130, which isn’t that bad.

Now, dealer handed us an estimate saying all repairs (sans spare, wipers, and exhaust), would be $2250. However, my uncle has graciously decided to take on the repairs for us, and will simply charge us around $950 for the parts! We’re still waiting for him to give us a call saying he’s got all the parts, but we’re not in any extreme hurry, since we have to renew the temporary permit to drive it around and get the repairs done, as the current temps expired last Wednesday.

The only thing that might be tricky regarding repairs is the MAF, since my Celica is equipped with an Injen short ram intake, which we presume is why the check engine light is on (because lean air-to-fuel mix most likely). In any case, here’s hoping that the repairs go well.

On the topic of repairs and such, we have no idea when the last oil change for the Celica was. We completely forgot to ask the previous owner, but my dad and I were thinking it wouldn’t be a bad idea to do an oil change regardless. On that note, any advice on oil and oil filters for a 2ZZ-GE? I know it’s running synthetic, just not sure what I should go with ( meant to post this as a comment on the Countersteer article, but forgot).

HammerheadFistpunch > Adam Stickland 08/15/2017 at 17:15

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Just use quality oil and filters, brand doesn’t really matter as much (at least for oil). I would use WIX filters and whatever synthetic is cheapest.

crowmolly > Adam Stickland 08/15/2017 at 17:17

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Do you have a gauze/oil air filter? You can try just cleaning the MAF.

jonny11quest > Adam Stickland 08/15/2017 at 17:18

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If it has the right amount of oil and it doesn’t look awful (very black, smells, or milky) then it’s not a big rush. You can worry about it after the other repairs and getting it registered. But within a few months especially if the oil is dark. Personally, I like Penzoil Platinum Full Synthetic and Wix XP filters. Can get them from Walmart and O’Reillys, respectively.

Nice car btw!

notsomethingstructural > Adam Stickland 08/15/2017 at 17:18

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I’d look into what’s causing the MAF issue before you spend a couple hundred on it. That sort of thing - especially with an aftermarket intake - can very quickly turn into the kind of issue where it feels like you’re just throwing money into a pit. Get the issue properly diagnosed. Find a FSM somewhere and buy a $20 multimeter and learn to test it. The MAF doesn’t care what kind of intake is attached to it so just having an aftermarket intake would be a weird reason to trigger a MAF code.

Your ECU sets the air/fuel ratio based on the info it receives from the MAF. If the car is running lean, it could be a vacuum leak after the MAF. Or the MAF itself! But if it’s lean, you’re going to probably have fuel trim codes, in addition to (or instead 0f) a MAF code. It could just need a cleaning, it could be toast, it could be a vacuum leak, it could be a bad wire, it could be a bad filter, it could be a bad ground. Saying “I have a MAF related code, time for a new MAF” is not the way to handle this IMO. I’ve never seen a MAF go bad on my car or any of my friends.

Bytemite > Adam Stickland 08/15/2017 at 17:26

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How many miles you got on it? I’d stick to 10W-40 conventional on that 2ZZ since it is likely to burn quite a bit of that oil anyway. Seriously keep track of your oil consumption as the VVTL does not have as stringent requirements to engage lift as VTEC. If you go into lift with low oil level and pressure...no bueno.

Adam Stickland > Bytemite 08/15/2017 at 17:29

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She runs with 251k km on it (so hovering around 140k miles), but I’ll keep that in mind regarding the oil level and pressure, thanks. :)

Bytemite > Adam Stickland 08/15/2017 at 17:39

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Mhm. Happy VVTLing. It’s supposed to be an even stronger kick than my H22 VTEC kick which I think is already massive. Must be awesome. I would’ve got a GT-S if I could find one around my area.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > Adam Stickland 08/15/2017 at 17:44

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Oiled air filters can screw up the sensing wire on an MAF if the oil starts coating the wire and attracting dirt. Sometimes they can be cleaned, and with an aftermarket intake, I’d start by cleaning it well and resetting the ECU. If it doesn’t work, you’re only out a can of MAF cleaner.

Steve in Manhattan > Adam Stickland 08/15/2017 at 19:11

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When you get to 240K miles you will have reached the moon - then you get to come back. And if you like driving the car and plan to keep it, throw money at it. Especially brakes and suspension and other stuff that can save your life.