restoration2

The 1989 Toyota Camry

Page last updated December 18, 2007

Even though most repairs listed on the previous page were all started at approximately the same time, I'll show them one after another to avoid confusion as to what followed what in a specific repair (this is just in case some of you attempt to do what I did).

THE ENGINE:

Even though it had excellent compression, the engine leaked like the Exxon Valdez. The only recourse was a complete teardown and re-seal, as the front and rear main engine seals were leaking worst of all, and they are only accessible after removing the crankshaft pulley (for the front seal) and the transmission (for the rear seal). To make everything easier, I just removed the engine and tackled this problem in it's entirety. Here, I remove the engine with my new Harbor Freight two-ton engine hoist. My younger brother Junaid is in the background, leaning on Glenn's Corona:

No, the engine didn't clear it as is, as the hoist is almost at the limit of it's range in the picture. We let the air out of the tires, and the nose of the car dipped just enough for us to slip the engine over the grille (with just 2 mm to spare! No kidding!).

Once it was out, the engine had to go on a stand so I could work on it, and what better tool to use than a (ta-daaaa!) Harbor Freight half-ton capacity engine stand. Bought at the same time as the hoist, it is just serviceable and NOT fancy. You get what you pay for, and it works, so I'm not complaining!

I should say, you need to remove the transmission and torque converter from the engine before you can mount it to a stand! You can just see the red transmission jack in the background (bought from Northern Tool online, but Harbor Freight sells them too, in orange, of course!). The torque converter is sitting on the lowest shelf on the right.

Also, the threaded holes in the engine block casting are M12 x 1.25 FINE THREAD! Which is NON-STANDARD!! Your average hardware store M12 bolt has a coarse 1.5 pitch. And no, the transmission mounting bolts can't be used. They aren't long enough. I used 80 mm long grade 8.8 bolts from McMaster-Carr, with a half-dozen grade 8 washers under the head. Worked beautifully. I chose the 80 mm length for the longer threaded section, so that it would engage the entire length of the hole in the engine casting.