Hiro Protagonist

http://au.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/topic/2068-throttle-body-coolant-bypass/ Seems in this case it is just for throttle-body de-icing, something which is an issue in cold Japan and North America but not really an issue here, but bypassing it can help with heat-soak issues.

You're basically running double the factory boost, are you sure the stock ECU can adjust that much? Could just be that the ECU can't handle the boost and is leaning out up top (also are the injectors bigger to suit?), which could be causing the damage to your spark plugs (also causing pinging, which in turn retards the arse out of the timing, which in turn makes it feel like you're hitting rev-cut/brick wall) Also, BKR5EYA/6EIX are the standard 7AFE spark plugs, which I highly doubt are the right plugs to be running for a turbo setup, especially with that much boost. Double check with Toyota (and someone knowledgeable at Toyota, since this is a very rare engine) as to what the turbo Sportivos run, and also consider looking at what people with 4AGZE/GTEs running similar boost levels are using for plugs - there's a good chance they're running another heat range cooler, plus gapping the plugs differently to stock.

Sounds normal to me. The IAC has coolant running through it because that is how it measure the temperature of the engine - in older cars there was a wax pellet inside the IAC valve which softened/melted at a certain temperature from the coolant flowing around it, which stopped pushing against a spring and caused the idle bypass valve to shut, lowering the idle speed as the car warmed up. Newer models simply replace the wax pellet with a temp sensor, but it is still located in the throttle body so coolant is still circulated through it. Also, flowing warm coolant around the throttle body improves emissions (pre-heating cold air, same way old-skool engines had a shroud around the exhaust hooked up to a pipe running to the carby to better atomise the fuel in the manifold and prevent carby icing)

So are you actually reaching redline? Don't confuse redline with rev-limit and fuel-cut - redline is a specific rpm marked on the gauge (which would be ~6300rpm on a standard 7AFE cluster), and if you're hitting that at lower speeds than normal then you have a slipping clutch (wheel-spin would show the right speed but wouldn't "feel" fast enough). If the engine is struggling to reach the marked redline rpm (and you feel it is hitting a wall at 40km/h, which would be ~4500rpm in 1st for a C52) then you have a fuel, air or ignition issue. You mentioned in another post that you're destroying spark plugs regularly, so there is definitely a problem there - are you using the right spark plugs for the turbo motor as they will be different to the NA ones, and a decent chance that most parts books won't list the 7AFTE. I'd be ringing Toyota and getting the proper spark plug specification from them (remember only 110 of these things were made WORLDWIDE, all in Australia, so the internet is going to be extremely empty of reliable information).

What are you calling a "TRD" cluster anyway? What makes it special compared to a normal SX/GTi cluster?

In "classic me" fashion, I finally got around to fixing a problem that has been on-going for probably 2 years minimum....my fuel cap. So a long long time ago in a galaxy far far away, my fuel cap release stopped working. Judging from my limited knowledge of Bowden cables, it seemed that the cable had stretched (was still attached at both ends but lever travel was insufficent to open the flap, and when closed the fuel-cap end of the cable sat several centimetres past the socket on the flap lever wheel. Because I could still open the fuel cap in a pinch by manually turning this wheel, I put it in the big basket of "I'll fix that one day when I get around to it", and it stayed that way for the better part of 2 years. Eventually, the Soarer stretched it's bonnet release cable (classic symptom of front driver's side wheel rubbing through the guard splashguard and wiring, price to pay for living the low life), I decided to kill two birds with one stone and order both cables at the same time. A quick consult of my Gregorys manual showed that it should be a simple case of unhooking the cable at both ends, tying a piece of string to one end and then pulling the cable through the car, hooking the new cable onto the string and then reversing the procedure. Whoever wrote that procedure should be shot. Not only did the cable refuse to budge when unclipped from each end, I had to pull apart half the interior (boot carpet trim, rear seat base, rear seat side bolsters, both B-pillar covers, both rear door jambs, drivers door jamb, driver's seat belt, driver's seat) only to find that the cable is held in place by 3-prong clips in no less than SIX separate locations. Not even Hercules could have pulled that cable through, and even if he did there would be no chance in hell of getting the new cable to clip in as it was pulled through, thus making the point moot. So an hour or two of swearing, scuffed knuckles and a front lawn strewn with interior plastics and seats, I got the new cable installed. Re-installed everything, only to find that the new cable still didn't open the flap (checked it for binding, checked it with the cabin lever moulding not screwed back down to the driver's seat mount, it all worked then, but when installed fully it suddenly stopped). In yet another "classic me" moment, I worked out that the old cable had not, in fact, stretched, but that a tiny piece of plastic clip had broken off the lever moulding, which meant that the cabin-end of the cable sheath was not anchored and thus half the lever travel was taken up in straightening the sheath. A quick visit to eBay sourced me a new cabin lever moulding (shared with the boot release), and 5 minutes later in the carpark the new unit was installed, with both fuel cap and boot release cable sheats firmly clipped in and operating smoothly, and for the first time in a long time I can now open the fuel cap without resorting to sticking my arm elbow-deep into the depths of the rear guard to manually turn the lever wheel.

Soarers are different, they have digital dashes with text error codes (mostly in Japanese katakana) as well as the normal warning lights

So the saga continues - got the driver's side wheel arch wiring repaired yesterday, headlights are now a go (although the driver's low beam seemed to cut out again last night, quick check this afternoon turned out to just be a loose plug on the back of the bulb). Unfortunately, the dreaded bong has now appeared in conjunction with the catalytic converter light and the "Alternator not charging battery" katakana. Pulled out the Power FC hand controller and monitored battery voltages on the way to work this morning, whilst driving they were sitting steady at around ~13.8-14V, with the ignition off but the key in the ON position it was around 12V, but dropped to 10V briefly when starting (and starting has been difficult on the odd occasion lately). Thinking it might be new battery time but the fact that the "alternator not charging" warning has come on every time the ignition has been turned ON as long as we've had the car (but would go away on starting) makes me think it could be alternator as we've changed the battery in the past (when it died) and the warning didn't go away.....sigh

2-speed 4AGE sounds like a horrible idea....

Got dyno sheets to prove it? There's a bit of a history of people coming on here and claiming the sky is the limit for the 4AFC with simple carby mods, yet none ever back it up with solid evidence. Actually, come to think of it, that was you....and you still haven't proven it

All 4AGEs have the same crank bolt pattern. Further, smallport 16v cranks are identical to 20V ones

Once you've taken the dizzy cap off the rotor should just pull straight out, there shouldn't be any "cover" on it or anything

Went out to get dinner the other night and I noticed that the headlights weren't turning on - parkers/indicators/fogs/tail-lights all worked fine, but lows and highs were completely unresponsive (and the dash indicator didn't come on for high-beam either). Wife then proceded to tell me that the headlights started cutting out intermittently on her a few nights previously (nice to be informed of these things...) before dying completely. Checked the headlight fuses today just in case and they were fine, next thought was the combi-switch but the dash still dims when you turn the lights on, the auto-headlight relay still clicks when you cover the sensor, and obviously the parkers are still working. Done a bit of reading and it seems to be either the headlight relay or the integration relay - apparently the integration relay is a real pain to change and I don't seem to be suffering any other symptons (door jamb lights, key-ring light and dome-lights are all fully functional), so my hopes are on the main headlight relay in the engine bay. Would this be a special relay or can I just go down to Supercheap/Repco and use any 4-pin relay off the shelf (never had to play around with anything more complicated than wires and fuses)?

You didn't get the AE112 cables when you got the discs? AE112 and AE102 should be basically the same setup (AE102s also had the rear discs), can't imagine one working and the other one not (obviously both are different to the AE101 drum cable)

Not an AE102, don't care :P ZZE122 will be Toyota's annoying OBDII-but-not-OBDII diag setup, so you can't use the old OBD paperclip-between-TE1-and-E1, nor will most generic OBDII scanners work. Try THIS

Could just have been referring to the existence of a factory 7AFE turbo engine, rather than the fitment of said engine in that particular car. Unless you're planning on selling it, I don't really see the need. The good thing about it is that except for a few things (injectors, turbo/manifold/piping/intercooler, ECU) it is mechanically identical to every other AE112 7AFE out there, so most parts aren't going to cost a bunch.

Facelift models went on sale here in November 1999 so this would be one of the first off the line. Sportivo models weren't sold until March 2001 If I had to hazard a guess, it's a normal Conquest (ALMDKQ corresponds to a Japanese trim of XLi which I think is one up from the base-model) that someone has added the engine, brakes and bodykit (re-painted or repro) from a written-off Sportivo. Without any sort of documentation for Toyota you're basically relying on someone's word that it is a prototype/test mule, and some of the things on it don't quite line up for a mule anyway.

WGMG - Cara goes to drive the Soarer for the first time since Friday night (she works from home normally), only to find the central locking won't work.....because the battery is flat....because the passenger door is ajar....because the car got broken into sometime on Saturday night....because we probably forgot to re-lock it when we were running late going out to dinner on Saturday night in my car. Fortunately no damage done to the car itself, but my camera bag and $1.5-2k worth of camera gear that was on the back seat under my suit jacket got taken. My fault for leaving it there, but we live in a good neighbourhood and have never had any problems like this before (including leaving the cars/house unlocked accidentally before)

Can't see anything that disagrees with your story, obviously not one of the factory 110 production run though (100 sold, 10 crashed) as it isn't Aztec Gold and doesn't have the build plate on the centre console, plus missing the fog lights, completely wrong interior/dash/cluster etc etc. I suppose it could be a test mule/prototype which would explain a lot of the discrepancies, although why Toyota would bother putting the bodykit on it I'm not sure (repro-kits are available though) What date does it say on the compliance plate?

Technically the late-model 4AFE cam cover (well, even more technically the 7A, but they're identical :P) First I tried a shadow-chrome style (paint black, then lightly spray silver over the top) Then swapped with a mate who had his painted a little more professionally :P (mine was done with degreaser and rattle-cans)

Upload them to a hosting site like Photobucket and then cut/paste the direct image links in [ img ][ /img ] tags. Fairly sure there is a built-in uploader in the forum too but I never use it

Corollas started getting "big" a good 10 years ago, it has hardly been an overnight transformation (the ZRE152 sedan from 2007 is bigger in just about every dimension than an SV21 Camry). Not limited to Corollas though, "small" cars in general have been growing for years, as more and more safety features are added and expectations for room/comfort have grown.

Got any photos? Interesting to see if this really is a prototype/mule or just a pre-facelift with the Sportivo bits added on (the production ones were all facelift)

So now that the Snoarer is a viable daily again thanks to the exhaust work, and the missus is working from home, I took the chance to get the front-end knocking noise finally looked at (it has been there pretty much as long as I've had the car but has gotten worse lately, and has been mis-diagnosed twice in the past as rod ends and then steering rack, both fixed with no improvement). Expecting the diagnosis to be either CVs or balljoints (although how someone could miss those twice in the past I don't know), to say that I was surprised was an understatement when the results came back - gearbox. For those not in the know, this is the situation: There is a front-end knocking (not clicking, think the same sort of sound as rapping your knuckles on a window) noise, linked to road speed (say 10Hz @ 20km/h), that only appears when going around a right-hand corner with the right-front wheel unloaded and no throttle (for instance a roundabout). It does not occur if you enter the corner from a standing start (so most T-intersections don't do it), and it goes away instantly if you accelerate. Not really an expert on FWD differentials so not 100% sure on what it would be (bearing/inner tripod perhaps?). If it was easily fixable that would be great (would prefer not to have to change a whole gearbox now, although it would give me a reason to change my 385,000km clutch), but any extra thoughts/theories before I get it sent to a transmission specialist would be appreciated.

Toyota has distributed dealer channels in Japan, with different "sub-brands" sold at distinctly named dealers - Corolla/Publica Store, NETZ, Auto/Vista Store, Toyopet Store etc....they're still all Toyotas though. Normal Corollas and the Levin were sold at the Corolla Store, Sprinters were sold at the Vista Store (which was originally the Auto Store, because all of them except the KE15/17 were not branded as Corolla, despite being superficially identical to the Corolla Levin)