Car Has Non-Original Engine - How to Tell What Year and Car Engine is From?

You don't have any paper work from the shop that replaced your old engine with the current engine that is there? I would call the shop and ask them what they put in it. They must have paper work on your car. Most shops now have everything on computer. Should be no problem to tell you what they dropped in it.

The guy who put in the engine also lied to me about repairing the transmission. When I asked him the next day if he could look at the transmission, he told me that he fixed it yesterday and whatever problem now is new and I would have to pay him again. I told him that is a bunch of crap. Big argument ensued. So talking to him again is not really an option.

Well, usually when you buy a crate engine you have to use the existing parts from the old engine. It's usually just a block. You have to put on the old exhaust manifolds, intake, throttle body and so on. So if it had a "98 Camry engine in it, he should have used a '98 Camry crate engine. How much did he charge you for the crate engine?

Around $2000 (to install it and to fix a few other things). On the receipt it says long block only in regards to the engine. Any idea what that means? It could be a 2.2 liter but I'm pretty sure it is a 2.0 liter.

I have no idea why he would say a long block. A 2.0 and a 2.2 are both 4 cyl. engines. If it were a six cylinder engine I could see why he would have said long block. 2k seems about right for a crate engine plus install. Both the '98 Camry and the Celica had the identical engine, the 2.2 liter DOHC L4 (5S-FE). So knowing that, we should be able to assume that he used the same exact block. Why do you need to know the exact engine?

There are four potential things wrong with my car (it shakes when idle). 3 of those potential problems are located in the engine (ie throttle position sensor). I need to know the engine to figure out which parts are the correct parts. The engine does look like a 5S-FE or a 3S. I found out in front of the engine oil cap, it says 3-2. On a 3S engine I saw, it has a 2-2.

Clean the IAC (Idle Air Control) Valve. I bet that will solve 90% of your rough idle issues. Here is a how to video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsP2-HKz7vE If not going to attempt it yourself, buy an after market one from Rockauto .com. As you know you can't trust anyone to do anything. I just brought my '99 Camry to the Toyota dealer to have some work done before I drive across the country. I told them to mount and balance 4 tires, replace two O2 sensors, replace a broken lug stud, and replace my E-brake shoes. 2 and a half hours later, they called me back to the shop with some concerns. In that time, they hadn't done a thing. They took off my tires and laid them on the floor. They then tried to give me a load of crap that my exhaust was too rusty to remove the O2 sensors. They then said they had to write me an estimate. Almost an hour later, the estimate came out. Guess how much they were going to charge me.....$1785! What a joke! I can do all the work myself for under $500. Needless to say 5 hours later, all I got was my tires mounted for $97! Now that's service! And no, I did not pay those idiots a dime other than the mount and balance. I told them to stick that estimate.

I'll try getting to that valve. Even though you said it is more of a band aide than a fix, anything that reduces the shaking is worth it to me. I'll have to wait until tomorrow though. I just took a look at the throttle position sensor and there is no way I can do that myself. Too many things need to be taken off for me to be able to reach the bottom screw. I have had so many bad experiences that I only go to repair guys as a last resort. The one guy who does tops around my area put the top on in such a way that my passenger door can't close without putting the passenger window slightly down, the top didn't stretch enough because he put the top down right after he put it on and he broke both my windows by trying to push the windows down manually. The best part was he didn't tell me any of this and thought I wouldn't figure out that my windows didn't work anymore. That isn't even the worse experience I have had. It is so damn hard to find a good repair guy.

The IAC valve will not be a band aid. If not curing your idle issue totally, it will help out greatly. I would replace the IAC before worrying about the throttle position sensor.