T190 Toyota Corona, things to watch out for?

morrisman1, Apr 5, 3:25am
Looking at one of these for a friend and I don't know much about them. its manual, 2.0 3s-fe engine. What are the common faults with this vehicle and what should we specifically look for when inspecting it!

noswalg, Apr 5, 3:50am
Nothing till over 500,000kms.

phillip.weston, Apr 5, 4:23am
Got a friend who has one with 330,000+ kms on the clock. It's a 1.8L 4S-FE 5spd manual. The oil pump seal leaked and the power steering hose has been leaking for some time also. The bearings in the gearbox are noisey, the rear shocks are starting to leak. Wheel bearings can get noisey on these things too from around 150-200,000kms.

They're a pretty good solid car and they do the A to B job nicely enough, but that's where it ends. They aren't an exciting drive in the slightest way, and they aren't particularly an attractive car to look at either. It's the equivalent of driving your dishwasher or washing machine to work.

masterx0100, Apr 5, 5:47am
check the cooling system. My radiator needed replacing when i got the car @ 180k and the thermostat housing was corroded as well. Have had it for 90k and only thing ive had to do on it in that time except general maintenance was replace the LF hub assembly.

vtec101, Apr 5, 9:43am
3s f and 3sfe are bullet proof motors one of the best engines toyota ever built

dasfi, Apr 5, 9:45am
Must be pretty good for a honda lover to admit that lol

robbo36, Apr 5, 9:55am
How many kays are on the clock!
3SFE's are non interference engines.
A few things get tired around 200k.
Like; Radiator top tanks (plastic) crack/split. Camshaft seal, crankshaft seal and rocker cover gasket start to weep oil as rubber ages. Waterpump can start to weep at housing gasket joint. CV outer boots split.
Still, really reliable cars. Have owned a ST191 for 15 yrs now.
As stated above, bulletproof.

_peas, Apr 5, 9:55am
And the rocker cover will leak.Not a major but something to watch for. leaning an engine back in the engine bay has its disadvantages.

franc123, Oct 3, 3:06am
check all the gauges work properly, some of the clusters can get dry solder joints inside, although this seems more common on import Caldinas.