Not sure what's causing constant stall, rough idle, RPM rise during idle, etc.

Hey guys. I had recently bought a '87 Celica GT Auto. What I thought was a great buy for only $1000 might turn out to be a bad decision. It's 102xxxkms and everything looks pretty darn good all around. The engine is a bit dirty though and shakes a bit. The car was owned by an old lady.

So here's my problem(s). I'm really hoping to get some help because I want to keep this car very badly.

The car shakes when in drive but not given any gas. Shakes pretty bad.

When reversing the electricity starts to dim back and forth and I can barely get any gas to go in reverse. It's very hesitant and weak, if you will. I was reversing up a small slope(my driveway.)

These were the only 2 problems until I decided to move the car into the garage today. I go to start the car and it starts rough, almost like no gas was going getting to it. Then the car starts to shake a lot at idle while in Park and the RPMs seemed to be at 400. I moved it a bit down the drive way to reverse it in and the car starts to sound like there was no gas moving and stalls. I turn the key, wait a bit then start the ignition and it's rough again and the RPM starts to idle high, like 13-1500, this was after I gave it some gas in park. Then it slowly starts to move down, as the temperature was moving up. The temperature was fine, it is just cold out so it had to warm up.

During the time between the first stall and starting the car and letting it sit the car would keep getting really weak and everytime I put my foot on the gas it would get weaker, and everytime I moved it into reverse it would stall. Giving gas would also make it shake very badly. After a bit it didn't ignite, it would give a screeching noise but then I let it sit in neutral so I could push it upward the drive way.

The spots where it stalled left a small area of fluid, I'm guessing gas.. It had a rainbow tinge to it. It's wet outside so it was very clear.

After pushing it upwards I tried starting it again and it worked fine to my surprise, I had my brother rev it in park and I checked underneath and nothing seemed to have been leaking. The car was moving good considering it's age. I was able to reverse down the drive way too, there was little, if at all any hesitation when reversing. The engine shakes a decent bit though when in any gear engagement.

I have literally no experience in mechanics(which was my first mistake when buying this car) but I'm looking to learn. I have no understanding, so please if it be okay with anyone looking to help kindly dumb it down and elaborate .

I tried being descriptive as possible, thanks guys. My best guess for what I don't know is that there's a fuel delivery problem. I drove the car from one city to another(80km) all highway without any problems. Was very smooth, these problems started when I got it home.

 

Thanks Stig. I've been reading your posts with trust for years now. I had a '89 All-Trac which was garbage and bought with my first paycheque, needless to say I got too excited and purchased without thought. Sold it soon after since dad didn't like it sitting on the driveway collecting rust.

Any clues as to what could be wrong, so that I can give an explanation to the shop if that's the way I go? I actually planned on trying to do work in this car myself. I've always wanted to learn how to work on cars, get around with my hands dirty etc. Not blindly, I would obviously consult a guide or somesort before hand. Anyway thanks Stig.

 

I really wish I knew how to work on cars.. I'm going to have to take it to Toyota to see what's happening. If I do, what should I specifically ask them to look for/around and any special ways of working on a st162?

So for sure I need to ask for a full tune-up/service? Again I know nothing about cars so sorry if I sound like an idiot, I just really want to get to the bottom of this and keep her healthy and keep it too lol.

 

So I was being more observant today after I got home from work. I noticed a few things.

When turning the key and I wait too long before starting the car, she just screams really loud and doesn't start. If I wait just a couple quick seconds then try, she'll start right away. Starting her cold makes the RPM idle at 1100-1300.

White smoke spit from the muffler and then continued to faintly come out more.

When I rev the engine in park, I hear some things moving, kinda like if marbles were rolling on a rough wood or plastic surface. I think I heard some sort of liquid splashing a bit too.

After letting her warm up and driving a bit, she constantly idles at 500rpm. She picks up good though, atleast it feels like to me.

When in park and I just let him idle, if I flash my highbeams the RPM drops and you can feel loss of power.

I've read all the threads with titles regarding idling, and it seems some people think it could be ground, or throttle, or pressure.. But I feel so lost about all this, hell I don't even know what ground means.. But I want to learn, really bad. I'm gonna pick up a decent tool kit and jack/stands etc. I really want to keep this car lol.

The car is really clean guys, no rust on the underbody from what I can see, engine looks good too. Brakes are okay but it takes a few cm before I hit the pads(i think that's what I'm getting at..) and the gas pedal is loose, I can tap it down without giving any gas for a couple cms. All electrical works minus the dome light. The body has almost no rust at all, just a tiny bit on the bottom of the fenders. I was tinkering around with the car, getting familiar with how I feel around it and where the jack was(right rear wheel) was lots of moisture and I was able to peel some rust around. The parts in the bad that hung around the main concentration of moisture were rusty.

Guys I really appreciate all and any effort to helping a clueless fool and am sorry to give such long messages. I plan to donate soon once I get this guy going.

Forgot to mention, I'm picking up a tool kit. If there's any work I can get done without a jack, or any testing I can do with this equipment please I'd like to get my hands dirty!