What would you do? 2000 CE

#1
Picked up a 2000 CE cheap. The city was threatening my neighbor to tow it away as an abandoned vehicle. The neighbor was dealing with a Toyota dealership for diagnostics and repair and could not afford the repairs so it sat for a couple of years. The engine light is on. Getting a temporary tag and taking it to an Auto Zone and got a reading, a misfire and bad coil on #1. It had misfired on me when I drove it so I went ahead and replaced the coil. Twenty miles later, the engine light comes on again. Took it to a different parts store and had it read. This time it was the cat converter. I figured as much having found this forum beforehand. Wondering what will show up after I replace the cat.

Additionally, this car is in excellent condition. It was used as a commuter car doing sixty miles a day during the week. The body has zero flaws in the paint other than the black trim around the windows. It has seen no road salt living in central NC. The seats and the floors were covered when it was new because she occasionally traveled with her dogs. They show very little wear.

Aside from this engine issue, it will need shocks all the way around. It has a bad window regulator on the driver's door which will get replaced tomorrow. The AC compressor is fine but no cold air. I'll fix that when all else is OK or sooner. Almost forgot the headliner, didn't notice the deterioration when I bought the car. Already have the materials for that.

The engine... This car had its engine replaced with one of those Japanese export engines. It has around 90 to 100 thousand miles on it. It has plenty of power. It was a quart low on oil when I got it. Haven't driven it enough to get a measure of its oil consumption. Expecting the worst, hoping for the best.

With all of this in mind, I have a few questions. Do you think that the Oxy sensors are OK if I am not getting an error message on them and only an error on the cat? Would you replace them anyways? Are there aftermarket pistons or solutions to correct this oil consumption thing once and for all?

The biggest problem for me when it's done is whether or not to keep it or sell it. it should be pretty tight at that point. I'm a Yotta freak, a forty year shade tree dude, former VW air cooled fanatic. The wife's car is a '13 Venza, mines a '95 4Runner, the son has a 2000 MR2, '98 Tacoma and a '82 Tercel (one of about a dozen still alive in the USA.) We likes em.
Thanks for the forum. You have helped me a lot already.
 
#3
First thing I would do is get your own obd reader. They're really not that expensive and will save you from having to go somewhere to get it read. Also, sometimes the advice given based on the readings is wrong; better to investigate online. The CAT error code could be an exhaust leak. Sometimes they're small but enough to throw a code. Look especially at the flex pipe, if it has one. With that mileage and in good cosmetic condition I think it's definitely worth the effort. Good luck!
 
#4
First thing I would do is get your own obd reader. They're really not that expensive and will save you from having to go somewhere to get it read. Also, sometimes the advice given based on the readings is wrong; better to investigate online. The CAT error code could be an exhaust leak. Sometimes they're small but enough to throw a code. Look especially at the flex pipe, if it has one. With that mileage and in good cosmetic condition I think it's definitely worth the effort. Good luck!
Thank you Timmmm. Been thinking about getting my own meter.
Been running this car with 10-day temporary plates. Can't get through inspections with a CEL on. Have taken it to the local big box auto parts stores for a free reading three times now. The first reading came back with a misfire/bad coil on 1 report. It had misfired when I first took it out on the highway, so I replaced that coil. After twenty miles or so the CEL came on again. Took it to another place. This time it said it was the cat. OK, so I did the cat. This time the light stayed off for fifty miles. Took the car back to the first place and got another reading. Same as the first time. Misfire on 1.
The car is running fine. Like you I am thinking a small leak in the exhaust. I went cheap on this cat and cut the old one out of the one piece exhaust and used collars and clamps to install the new one. Had the exhaust on and off three times that day because of big leaks. Oh, and the old cat was fine after I removed it. Looked almost new inside.
Plugs are good and look new. After talking to the previous owner, I found out that they had already run the gamut with this car, including replacing the engine as a last resort. Our local Toyota dealer could not give her any answers except spending loads of money. No surprise there.
Decided to get the new cat welded and get rid of the clamps and also checking the pipe leading to the manifold per your suggestion. Gonna check the mass air flow sensor and clean it. If all that fails then maybe the carbon filter and gas filter. Worst case scenario: my son gets the long block to put in his 2000 MR2. That car had the same problem with oil sludging and blowing cats with the added adventure of having a very short exhaust system. When the cats go in those, the valves have a habit of sucking the cat debris back into the engine. We'll see. I just want to get past this so that I can move on to upgrading the engine in my 95 4Runner.
 
#5
Success. Once the exhaust system was sealed the light stayed off. Got through inspection. Yay fer dat.

In retrospect, I believe that the original problem was a bad gasket between the head pipe and the cat connection. The donut one. That gasket disintegrated when I attempted to reuse it.

Think I'll drive it for a while.
 
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