Serial numbers

On a '92 Celica, can someone tell me which digit in the serial number designates the engine size?? I'm looking at a '92 that has a 5sfe in it, but by looking at the serial number, I'm not so sure. So can anyone clear this up for me??? Thanks in advance, Timm ....

Reply to
Tim Klechak
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Have you tried Google?

i had some links, but after my HDD horked I lost them...

Reply to
Hachiroku

There is no character or digit in the 17-character Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) that indicates engine size. The 4th position does give the engine family, i.e., JT2ST.......

IIRC, the 5SFE engine had a 2.2 liter engine.

Reply to
Ray O

It's a VIN, Vehicle Identification Number, not a Serial Number. And the

17-digit VIN does not provide specific information about the motor. I recently jotted down the meaning of the VIN digits, and none of them identified the engine, per se. There is a block of digits from the 4th to the 8th that are generally classified as DESCRIPTOR, and the engine family can be one or more of these digits.

If you know that you have a 5JCBE motor, or whatever, then we can tell you the displacement. The motor number is on the motor in large letters on a sticker near the front and on the valve cover. There is also a sticker under the hood that will tell you which engine you have, and it probably lists the displacement too.

Reply to
Jeff Strickland

hmmm...intreresting. i punched the VIN from my Grand Voyager into some VIN decoder on the web and it told me i had a 3.3l engine...which it DOES!

Reply to
Hachiroku

That is because the VIN decoder "knew" that a particular engine family is

3.3 liters, as it should know that the "S" for the Celica (and 4 cylinder Camrys of that vintage) is for a 5SFE engine, which is 2.2 liters. If a Camry had a "V" in that position, it would know that it had the 6 cylinder engine, whatever displacement it has ;-)

Early Supras would be JT2MA...., with the "M" standing for the 5M engine and the "A" standing for the Celica/Supra chassis. A Celica of the same vintage as your JT2RA..., with the "R" standing for the 20R or 22RE engine and the "A" standing for the Celica/Supra chassis.

Reply to
Ray O

The 5th digit in the VIN is the engine family. G = 5S-FE

Reply to
Glenn Arsenault

"Ray O" wrote in news:ec4a$43337bae$180fead6$ snipped-for-privacy@msgid.meganewsservers.com:

MDT Tech told me once that Toyota removed the engine designation from the VIN around 1990.

You now have to look at the Model Number to find the old-style designations.

Our Tercel's VIN shows BC53, which tells me nothing. Looking at the Model designation reveals what used to be in the VIN: LE (L-body, E-series engine).

Reply to
TeGGeR®

Could very well be, I probably didn't read the memo.

Just to keep things confusing, the model numbers used by the sales department and parts departments are different. "BC53" is a parts department designation and used be the serial number prefix before the VIN system was implemented. A sales department model number would be something like 1525. There is a different sales department numerical model number for every body/trim/transmission/engine permutation sold.

Reply to
Ray O

Sales Departments Suck anyway...

Reply to
Hachiroku

"Ray O" wrote in news:44342$43345fdb$44a4a10d$ snipped-for-privacy@msgid.meganewsservers.com:

Sort of. But the pre-VIN prefix used to be the actual body and engine code, not an arbitrary jumble. My '75 Corolla was TE31037xxx, so the "T" signified the T-series 1600, the "E" meant the E-series body, and the "31" meant 2-door sedan.

Reply to
TeGGeR®

My "Hachiroku" is labeled JT2AE88, but the tag on the firewall says, Model: AE86

Reply to
Hachiroku

Hachiroku wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@ae86.gts:

J=Japan manufacture T= Toyota

2= passenger car (Toyota designation) A= A-series engine E= E-body (Corolla!)

So the only difference is the 8 and the 6? That's really weird. You sure you're not misreading that number?

Along with a repeat of the serial number, my '75 Corolla's firewall tag gave the model number as TE31L-KRA. It serial number was TE31037. So TE31 was common to both serial number and model number.

Reply to
TeGGeR®

Hmmmm....from what I've read, the '2' means the factory, or in this case, Supra plants. That's what I have seen.

And I KNOW it ae88! That's why I was surprised when I heard them referred to as Hachiroku (86)...

Reply to
Hachiroku

2 is a passenger car; 3 is a multi-purpose vehicle (i.e., SUV, van 4 is a truck 5 is an incomplete vehicle (i.e., cab/chassis, celica destined to become a convertible
Reply to
Ray O

The TE31L-KRA was the description used by parts departments to identify the body, engine, drivetrain, and trim. The 037XXX was the production sequence or serial number.

The sales dept. serial number would have been something like 1501A (base model 2 door 4-speed at introductory price)

Reply to
Ray O

By golly, he's right! (I have to admit, once Ray posted it, I knew I was wrong... :( )

Decoding Your Toyota VIN

**Model Years 1982-1995**

*1989: newer VIN Plate on passenger cars is located on the inside of drivers door*

*Prior to 1989: VIN Plate is located on firewall within engine compartment* Digit Position Position ---------------- -----------

#1------------------------Country-J=Japan

#2------------------------Manufacturer-T=Toyota

#3------------------------Type-2=Passenger Car

#4-#8--------------------Line,Series,Body Type,Engine,Restraint (not necessarily in this order)

#9------------------------Check Digit

#10-----------------------Year- B81 C82 D83 E84 F85 G86 H87 J88 K89 L90 M91 N92 P93 R94 S95

#11-------------------------Assembly Plant- C= Ontario, Canada OSupra plants U=Gergetown, Kentucky Z=Fremont, California

#12 - #18------------------Sequential Production Number

Reply to
Hachiroku

Here's a VIN decoder for MR2's but it caontains enough info for other models as well. From what I see, it is probably for older (80's) cars:

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This one is just for Celicas:

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Reply to
Hachiroku

"Ray O" wrote in news:4dea8$4334e2c7$180fead6$ snipped-for-privacy@msgid.meganewsservers.com:

Which, eerily enough, is precisely the configuration of my '75. It was rock-bottom spec, the cheapest of the cheap, with no options at all that I was aware of.

Is this another astounding feat of memory from the Amazing Ray O?

Reply to
TeGGeR®

We had a TA12-LKA Carina I think L = Left Hand Drive since it seems to occur on all Corollas shipped to Americas as well. I think it had a T-40 transmission, but I don't remember. We had to retitle it. It was titled as TA120038xxx and the actual VIN was TA12-038xxx.

Charles

Reply to
n5hsr

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