Celica Forums General Discussion General Help me maintain my GTS

Hey guys.

So yeah, you all know that I purchased a used GTS. Now, I am wondering what I should do to maintain the car. The oil has been changed and is not due for another 2K.

Other than oil change, what should I do to the car to make it so that it performs well? The car has 54K on it. It is a 2000 model GTS.

Thanks and looking forward to some advice.

Have the air filter checked out, hoses, belts?? Haha, without looking at my manual I can't remember. Take it into your local Toyota dealership and talk to them.

Take it to my local Toyota dealership? Are you sure about that? Last time I took my Auto GT, they ripped me for $800 bucks, for a WHEEL ALIGNMENT!

I dunno, I am a bit scared now when I take my cars to a dealership.

But thanks for the tip on those things listed above.

But usually at 55K what am I suppose to replace?

The info in my manual is a little different...but here's some tips of things you could or should have inspected ...

Oil and filter
Coolant, brake fluids.
Check drive belts for damage, adjust belt tension if needed
Inspect steering gear box, linkage and suspension
Ball Joints and dust covers, drive shaft and steering rack boots, chassis nuts & bolts for looseness or damage.
Inspect brake linings, drums, pads, discs, lines and hoses
Rotate tires

You could take your Celica to any auto shop to have those things checked, whatever you prefer. It seems $800 for your last visit seems pretty extreme. But I think just a basic check to make sure things are in order will give you peace of mind. Then you just have to make sure to schedule regular oil/fluid changes ,etc. You won't have to worry about changing trans fluid on your auto for another 100k miles. Also your spark plugs are fine for about 77K miles.

i would suggest you get a radiator flush and new tranny fluid. if you havent yet, take it to a guy to see if everything is good on ur car, including ur engine, tranny, ...

Jon's steps to proper car care:

1) Keep gas in car
2) Change oil every 6k
3) Don't hit anything too big

Reduce or eliminate the number of fat bitches in the passenger seat...it saves $$$ on your suspension

Thanks guys!

Since you bought it used w/55K miles, I would go ahead and pull the sparkplugs to ensure that they aren't fouled and if it's an auto go ahead and change the tranny filter/fluid.

U never know how the last guy used the car! Better a little extra work/$$ now than sorry later!

So the check list that I must do are the following:

Inspect
Air Filter
Hoses
Belt
Coolant, brake fluids
Check drive belts for damage
Steering gear box
Linkage and suspension
Ball Joints and dust covers
Drive shaft and steering rack boots
Chassis nuts & bolts for looseness or damage
Inspect brake linings, drums, pads, discs
Spark Plugs


Replace
Radiator Flush
Tranny Fluid
Rotate tires
Oil

O also, it is a 6 Speed GTS, so are there anything extra that I must do than what I listed above because it is a manual?

check ur lift bolts. check ur rotors. the things i would worry the most is the engine and tranny, cz it got 55k miles on it and a recent driver can abuse them the most

Engine and tranny huh? Then I think I should just bring it to a dealership then. Is there like a term or something if I want to inspect the car? Basic inspection? Would that cover the inspection of the engine?

these are on the website take a look if you need more maintanance info

55K mile Severe service:
https://celicahobby.com/tech/tsb2/ARTICLE_MAINT_SEVERE_55K.pdf

60K mile Normal service
https://celicahobby.com/tech/tsb2/ARTICLE_MAINT_NORMAL_60K.pdf

O thanks, nice little checklist and everything. Never noticed that part of the Forum, cool.

are you serious? i change my oil every 3k miles

I change mine every 3k now. Before it was every 5k.

Question, for oil change. Can I use Mobil 1 15w-30?

hey im sure you know chelica that you have to put premium in that bitch cause i know i have too hehe..

Yeah, using that Shell V Power thing, hahahaha.

yeah every 2,500 miles for me means another trip to wally world for Mobil 1 full synth 10w-30, valve and fuel system cleaner and new oil filter and the normal toyota check-up.


maybe a new lift bolt haha

But guys, would it be okay if I put some 15W-30 Mobil 1 Oil??

its good to put synthetic in now. ur engine is broken in. so it would be better to put synthetic, but once you start with synthetic, you can never go back to the cheap stuff

haha...thats great...dont hit anything

OO yeah, question about Engine Coolant. My car would make this like water noise when I start the car up. I saw a thread talking about this and they told the other guy to put some Coolant in. I should do the same? And I can just add some more Coolant, nothing tricky to it?

you don't need to replace full synthetic oil every 2.5k miles...or every 3k miles...synthetic oil can be changed every 5k miles without any damage to the engine; it can last many more miles after 5k, its just kinda a rule of thumb...

fyi, big truckers change their oil every 15k miles, and change the oil filter every 5k miles

Thanks Twisted.

O yeah, checked out my Coolant level today, and it was on the low mark. Thank god I checked it. Added some more up to the full mark and will let it settle till tomorrow.

Hope it won't make that annoying water noise anymore.