Celica Forums General Discussion General 2002 Celica GTS Please help wont stay running

My son bought his first car it is a 2002 Celica GTS 1.8ZZ He has had it since August. Tonight he was driving into town and the car just stopped running. After a few minutes it started up again and he was able to drive it down the road to his sisters. I came into town and started it but after a few minutes, it stopped running again.

Things I noticed and did NOT like.
The oil was up to the mark but looked weird runny almost and a darker color than normal.
When I took the oil cap off I noticed that there was that white dreaded milky looking residue
There is now a ticking coming from the motor that was never there before
The check engine light is now on and it has only ever come on once before and that was when the gas cap was not on tight.

The motor itself only has 138 000 it was a one-owner car when my son bought it I had checked the oil and oil cap when he purchased it and the oil looked new and clean. I always do this because I purchased a car that had antifreeze leaking in the oil and had to put new gaskets on the my car in the middle of winter.

Welcome, LauraCanada

as a next step - have you since been able to pull the CEL code (check engine light)? and have you looked in to fixing exactly what triggered it?

https://celicahobby.com/forums/ubbt...light-diagnostic-trouble-code-chart.html

I will put that on tomorrow It was dark and minus 15 tonight. I will post the code if I do not understand it. Thank you I was not thinking I know that the kid is so upset being it is the first car that he really loves.

Youre doing the right thing by asking questions. Hopefully you get more replies soon. Stay safe / dont try to solve this in neg 15d weather in the dark

Thank you for the link I will take any help I can before going to a mechanic. Just feel bad for the kid he paid 3000 for the car it was certified when he bought it I drive a tank compared to his car but the little car grew on me the body is such amazing shape the car overall is in amazing shape. So hopefully it will not be a major issue. I will put the code on tomorrow

My dear, your car is mixing the Oil and coolant. you will have to replace the head gasket. its a big aluminum foil looking gasket that separates the oil from the coolant running in the engine. Good luck

I bought quite a few cars including a few sports/sports luxury cars. I bought a 2002 Celica GTS and it's my favorite. I have 308K miles on it, still runs strong and smooth, and never broke down and left me stranded. I did most maintenance and repair myself. The car is mostly original, only a new radiator, 2 sets engine mounts, struts, tires, MAF. It's the most reliable car I ever owned. You open up the hatch and fold down the rear seat, the car has lots of room like a pick up truck. You can carry big pieces of furniture in it. It's a very versatile design for young people.

It's very nimble, stable at high speed, holds the road well, takes on curves like a dream, It's a great.high-performance grand touring car. I prefer it to the Porsche 911 Turbo ( too much front end bouncing) and all unreliable BMWs including the Z4. My friends who own BMS 3's love to drive my GTS past 100 MPH but are scared to do same in the BMWs. Go figure.

What you described, the engine may have a leaky head gasket. With low compression in any cylinder, engine would run a while then just die out. You should check the plugs. If any plug has wet and white residues like burned coolant, there are leaks.

Also a compression test,both dry and wet would confirm if the head gasket leaks.