Banjo

Great news ! Have been looking for news of your lady, but have been out of the loop for a few days. Very happy for you & your kids, & trust Rehab is a short & sweet stay, & you will all be home together in Maryborough shortly. Cheers Banjo

No pressing required. Just give the disk a few taps around the edge with a rubber tyre mallet. That will do the trick ! Cheers Banjo

I think the Chaser SX80 was like a Japanese version of our Cressida ? Think they had a 1.8 liter engine, so maybe the throttle body would be a mite big for a 4K engine. The Mazda 121 appealed, as it, like the 4K, is 1.3 liters, so could work well, despite the 121 having crossflow head & 16 valves (we wish). All that could possibly be needed, may be a simple adaptor plate to mate it, to the 4K inlet manifold ? I might chase up my mate with the Mazda 121, next weekend, & have a very close look at the setup. Maybe the little ECU, that I assume drives the injector on the 121, would work, just as it is. Once I finish this distributorless 5K, I might get a 121 throttle body/carby thingo, & have a play. It might ultimately keep a lot more 4Ks rollin along a lot more efficiently, & smoothly, for a few more years. Cheers Banjo

Thanks Kevin, Good pics ! So what car make & model car did the compressor you used originate from ? Seems to fit well, & just what I'm looking for. Cheers Banjo

Found this on www.drive.com.au website review. "Right from the word go, the Mazda 121 of 1990 captured the attention of Australian small-car buyers. It immediately attracted nicknames (not all of which were complimentary, on the surface at least) and it's bulbous little body was not only the hot topic of discussion for a while, but also encouraged plenty of imitators. It was probably that unconventional shape that was mostly responsible, but the biggest thing in the 121's favour was that it was seen as different. And when you think about it, it was different. Even at its most basic level, the 121's design strayed from the well-trodden path by being a four-door sedan with a distinct boot, when just about everything else was either a three or five-door hatchback. According to Mazda at the time, the all-new 121 was the world's smallest four-door sedan, and compared with the stodgy old 121 it replaced, the new car was also one of the grooviest around. And despite being externally tiny, the bulbous roofline and upright accommodation meant the car was actually reasonably roomy inside. Certainly, it was better than it appeared from outside and the boot space shamed many a bigger car. Despite the small opening, the boot could hold enough gear for a small family and the large, wide-opening doors made getting in and out less of a drama than it often is in small cars. "Like the car it replaced, the 121 sedan used a 1.3-litre, four-cylinder engine, but that's where the similarities stopped in their tracks. The later car's engine was a completely new design and used four valves per cylinder operated by a single overhead camshaft. Electronic fuel injection was still far from universal in 1990, and the littlest Mazda used single-point injection (basically an electronic carburettor) to put out 54kW of power at 6,000rpm and 106Nm or torque at 3,700rpm." At around-town speeds, the car felt pretty lively, but stretch the cruising speed and there wasn't always a lot left in reserve for overtaking or battling headwinds. Mechanical thrashing and noise was another downside of the 121's engine, and while it was no worse than most small cars when really wrung out, it still managed to make lots of racket when really pushed. At least Mazda stacked most of the performance reasonably low down in the rev range, so the engine didn't need to be worked too hard to deliver. The five-speed manual gearbox made the most of what was available under the 121's bonnet, although a lot of buyers gravitated towards the optional four-speed auto, which is never as satisfying to drive and makes the driver work the engine harder. One area where the 121 led the field was in its handling. Relatively low-profile tyres and reasonably firm suspension meant it was pretty tidy dynamically, at the expense of some ride comfort over bigger bumps and train tracks. The first shipment of cars missed out on power steering, but later batches had this feature as standard and it will be appreciated by any driver without Charles Atlas forearms. In fact, non-power-assisted cars can feel a bit brutish to drive, which is at odds with the car's intended role in life, so power steering is worth the extra money and will be easier to resell. Braking was taken care of by a standard-for-the-time front disc/rear drum set-up that performed more than adequately. The quoted kerb mass of less than 900kg obviously helped in that department. Equipment levels weren't terrific and a radio-cassette is about all you can hope for. All in all, the 121 sedan broke some important new ground for really small cars and showed that they could be both innovative and classy." Cheers Banjo

Hi Ben, Yes, rewiring is a slow & painful job, but is very rewarding, as no other operation, provides more reliability to your overall car's electric systems. Consider, revamping the wiring all together, as described in my thread from some time ago. https://www.rollaclub.com/board/topic/65882-after-market-ke-light-column-switch/?tab=comments#comment-681303 You will finish up with a very clean neat engine bay, & a much more reliable & voltage drop free system. Unfortunately, I'm in Brissy, & you are in Vic., or I'd offer to give you a hand. It looks complicated, first up, but if you attack it, & treat one circuit at a time, it is quite simple to follow. Only additional outlay, is multi-fuse blocks & 12V auto relays, which are cheap on ebay. Any questions, please give us a yell. Cheers Banjo

Yep ! Just like the rudimentary one, I guess, came on the Starlets. I believe it has a TPS incorporated, & a MAP sensor. Will do a bit more research today.

Lots of people seem to have troubles with the aging Aisin carbies, we were provided with on our early Rollas. I know there are are other carbies been taken up over the years, both upright & side draught, but many are expensive. Query came to me over the weekend, that I thought someone may have already tried. A mate, which I haven't seen for 12 months called by, & drove his daughters Mazda 121, which he had been working on. I had not seen it previously, & when he lifted the bonnet, I commented that it was naturally aspirated, as a carby was what I would have expected to find under an air filter housing looking like that depicted below. However, the answer was no, & when the filter was removed, what was in view looked like a carby, but was in fact a single injector EFI throttle body, that looked like a carby. The injector is in the throttle body proper, under that dome in the venturi. The Mazda 121 engine it was fitted to is a 1.3 litre, like our 4Ks. Now this looked a lot simpler than the single injector EFI setup on the Starlets, & I wondered whether anyone on here had ever investigated trying the Mazda one out, on a 4K Rolla engine ? Cheers Banjo

OMG ! You did cook them ! Them head studs loook like they might be ARPs ? ? ? Hope it's soon back on the road. Cheers Banjo

Lovely Simon ! Love those dishies. Looks all sooo clean, you could almost put your bake beans in those dishes & have breakfast, whilst working on it ! https://www.wikihow.com/Cook-Food-on-Your-Car's-Engine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFQCrDOq-oY Love your work. Cheers Banjo

Hi James, Very common problem, with the cheaper type of ring compressors, most of us have. This video explains the issue perfectly, if everything else you have done so far, is as per the book. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1bKOQWVOaE https://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=tapered+bore+ring+compressor&_sacat=0 There is also an adjustable tapered ring compressor, which are a lot cheaper, but I've never used one, so can't vouch for it. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/4-000-4-060-Aluminum-Adjustable-Piston-Ring-Compressor/311749924622?hash=item4895be570e:g:hosAAOSwK~RaBQLn:rk:3:pf:1&frcectupt=true Maybe someone else on here that has used one, might like to comment. Cheers Banjo

Hi Tim, Personally I would not try to prise the seal out, with it in situ in the engine. Too much risk of scoring the seal journal on the crankshaft. By removing the seal holder, without lowering the sump, again, you will probably damage something. Just clean the whole sump pan gasket mating area, & get all that accumulated rubbish off, then lower the sump itself, at the back, & take the aluminium seal housing out. Cheers Banjo

Well, finally got a couple of hours over the Christmas break, to complete the 12mm dia. return coolant line from the back of the engine, to the thermostat housing, from the little "Tee" adaptor I fitted to the head rear access plate. Normally the heater return coolant line runs down the distributor side of the K series engine.. With the COP conversion, I am doing on this 5K, I wanted to keep the distributor side of the engine as clean looking as possible. I decided to run the return line down the manifold side of the engine, as there are a couple of unused mounting points, provided on the aluminium inlet manifold casting. It turned out perfectly, so am very pleased with the end result. I was originally considering fitting two (2) off return coolant lines; one for the head only, & the other for the heater, when in operation. That's how I did it on my 4K-U in my daily drive. However, as the heater is used so infrequently, here in "sunny" Queensland, I have decided to let the one return line carry both return coolant circuits. This results in a lot less complication, & a cleaner uncluttered look. Parts Required: 1 meter length of 12mm copper pipe from Bunnings. 2 off the shelf metal brackets, which I cut down to suit, from Bunnings. 2 off 1/2" pipe saddle mounts. 4 off 5mm bolts, nuts & washers. 2 off 6mm x 25mm bolts, for brackets to manifold. 6 - 8 off 11-22mm screw type hose clamps. 1/2" hoses off a Commodore or Hi-Lux. 1 off SpeedFlow 16 x 1.5M 1/2" hose adaptor, to plumb line into thermostat housing. Bit of hi temp silver paint This is surely one of the easiest & best mods you can do to your K Series engine, to overcome the inherent issue of the rear cylinder no: 4 running hotter than the forward cylinders. P.S. Although I advised it is an easy job, it is best carried out, when you happen to have the engine out of the car, or the head off. Undoing the four (4) off bolts that hold the little access plate can be fraught with difficulties, if they are corrosion welded to the aluminium head, as it is virtually impossible to drill & tap new threads with the engine in the car & the head on, as the distance between the rear of the head & the firewall, is so limited. Cheers Banjo

Most definitely leaking; & probably for some time. Remove the aluminium seal housing & replace. A very good idea to replace the gearbox spigot bearing in the crankshaft, while you are at it, if it feels in any way a bit "dry". or you can sense any movement, with your little finger. Good luck ! Cheers Banjo

Hi Tim, Is the 5 speed G/B you've got, originally from a KE55, or a later KE70 ? Cheers Banjo