Banjo

Hi Jamie, Sorry about the late reply, but I've been "off the radio" for a few weeks. Your problem is probably related to that "pesky little guage voltage regulator, I referred to in my links earlier in this thread. Unfortunately, you are going to have to remove the instrument cluster, & measure the volts on the regulator on the back of the cluster. Depending on the model the voltage can be anywhere between 7 - 9 volts. If the voltage is OK, then your problem is, that the resistance wire used to repair your sender, has too high a resistance. If however, the voltage is low, then you need to replace the voltage regulator, which powers both the fuel & water temp guages. If the voltage regulator is damaged or burnt out (very common), you will have to replace it with an adjustable aftermarket one, from the likes of Jaycar, or Altronics. If the voltage is OK, then you will either increase the volts to say 12V, by shorting the regulator out, although, I suspect, that may still not get your fuel guage to read full scale. There is another possibility, that the guage itself is "crook", (high resistance) but this is highly unlikely. Does your water guage also read low ? That info might assist. Cheers Banjo

Hi Jamie, Usually, fuel tank sender units use a Nichrome wire to make these resistance devices. However, as there are lots of different Nichrome wires, & I don't know specifically which one, Toyota used. They come in different thicknesses, & can be enamel coated, or not. You would need one about the same cross sectional area, & O.D. without enamel You would have to find out the "ohms per foot" of the wire Toyota used all those years ago. You could dissemble your sender carefully, & unwind the bobbin. Then take the longest length you can extract, & measure it's resistance over a given length, & work it out. Commonly, the resistance can be as low as say 30-40 ohms per foot. Lots of trouble & mucking around, & no guarantee it will ultimately work. The real problem is, that when they get that old, the pivots & other electrical connections, are also suspect. My best suggestion, is to find a new sender unit, from a later model car, & modify it to fit your fuel tank, using the existing sender unit mounting plate. There are plenty of posts on this forum, about the fuel sender units. Your issue, is a reoccurring problem, when they get this old. Here is just one. https://www.rollaclub.com/board/topic/9780-ke55-fuel-sender-issues/#comments Cheers Banjo.

Hi Jamie, Usually, fuel tank sender units use a Nichrome wire to make these resistance devices. However, as there are lots of different Nichrome wires, & I don't know specifically which one, Toyota used. They come in different thicknesses, & can be enamel coated, or not. You would need one about the same cross sectional area, & O.D. without enamel You would have to find out the "ohms per foot" of the wire Toyota used all those years ago. You could dissemble your sender carefully, & unwind the bobbin. Then take the longest length you can extract, & measure it's resistance over a given length, & work it out. Commonly, the resistance can be as low as say 30-40 ohms per foot. Lots of trouble & mucking around, & no guarantee it will ultimately work. The real problem is, that when they get that old, the pivots & other electrical connections, are also suspect. My best suggestion, is to find a new sender unit, from a later model car, & modify it to fit your fuel tank, using the existing sender unit mounting plate. This is reocurring issue, & there are a lot of posts on this forum about worn out fuel sender units. Here is just one of them. https://www.rollaclub.com/board/topic/9780-ke55-fuel-sender-issues/#comments Cheers Banjo.

Can't quite work out how the exhaust header gets routed to the other side of the engine ? Surely not under the sump ? The bit on top of the carby, looks like something out of the Wizzard of Oz. I thought it was the Tin-Man ? Glaring error there, not being able to add oil, unless the intake "Bunnings System", is completely removed. Would like to see a utube video with sound, of it running ! At first I thought this was a joke, but then I noticed the oil feed to the turbo bearing. Cheers Banjo

Oh I love treasure hunts ! Especially if there are gold nuggets involved. ! watched a doco on TV, on Lightening Ridge recently, where these olde miners just keep digging, hoping to find that illusive opal. You'll love this article on the ABC website today. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-07-13/vintage-toy-collector-and-australias-post-war-story/11299538 Cheers Banjo

Agree with Pete's sentiments. Was driving along the road the other day, & saw a young guy on his front lawn, with a KE Rolla with the bonnet up, & a mobile engine hoist next to the car, so assumed something like an engine transplant, might be the order of the day, Pulled into his driveway, & introduced myself as Banjo from RollaClub, & asked what was up with his Rolla. (chassis had rust, so engine was coming out to go into another donor Rolla) Asked if he was a Rollaclub member. Yes was the answer. Heard of you, he said, but I don't go on the website very often; stick to Facebook. He was in his early 20s. He was no less enthusiastic that any other Rolla guy I've ever come across. The engine he was about to remove was a 7K EFI with a LiteAce ECU. Really nice guy, just a different generation. This is so true ! Not only will rich history & knowledge be lost, but we won't be able to read it anymore, at the rate we are going. The only people who got it right were the Egyptians. They wrote everything down on clay tablets, with impressions, & today after 2000+ years we can still read it. My evidence: A tenant in my rental house, who services computers for small accountants & solicitors in our area, knew I was into electronics, & asked whether I has a an olde floppy disc drive. We are talking the original the original 4.5" "floppy" disks. I asked, why on earth would need one of those ? One of his solicitors had a client who had died. They opened his safe deposit box at the bank, & there was his last will & instructions, . . . . . . . on a 4.5 inch floppy disk. Luckily, being a hoarder, I did actually have one, & my tenant became a hero to the solicitor. Apparently, he has since discovered this is not an isolated case. Cheers Banjo

Hi Jamie, Unfortunately, the problem you describe is very common. The only way you can fix this problem is to purchase a new indicator "indicator stork" assembly. In the Rollas, as designed and originally built, there are very few relays involved. The electrical current for head lights passes through all the switches. In the case of high beam, the currents drawn are higher, & the associated switch contacts within the "indicator stork" assembly burn out. You can buy replacement indicator storks on ebay, out of Singapore or Thailand, that are relatively cheap, & work well. I remember replacing one in my KE30 several years ago, & it has been reliable. I would however, suggest that you insert a relay or relays for the head lights, so that the "indicator stork" contacts don't burn out again. Here is a link to this subject, from a post I did about 6 years ago, which covers your exact issue, in greater detail. High Beam Headlight Issues Cheers Banjo

Fuel Level Sensor/Sendors are a pain, when they get old & wear through the resistance wire, as yours has. Basically you don't have too many options, as I've never been able to find an aftermarket one, specifically for the KE30/35/55 Rollas. They were never perfectly linear in operation to start with, so if looking for an alternative, then the angle of movement from dead empty to completely full, is the issue. I bought one, cheap off ebay once, that was suitable for a Toyota Supra, but could never get the linearity correct. Maybe, an electronic adaptor could correct this, but I never went that far. Temperature guage & Fuel guage issues, in the same car, can often be the result of a damaged or U/S voltage regulator, as both guages use the same low voltage regulator. In some Rollas it is 7 volt, others 8 volt, & I think I came across one that was 9 volt. There is even one early one, that uses an electro-mechanical regulator. I put in an external 9V regulator years ago, & it solved all my guage problems. Corolla Guage Issues Link Any time, I've ever come across an old Corolla, with the fuel tank still on-board, I've whipped the fuel sender out. Out of about 3-4 attempts, I've only retrieved one, that was any good; which now sits on my shelf, awaiting the day, the one in my KE30 eventually fails. But don't throw away your complete fuel sensor from the tank. If the resistance winding is worn out, but the pivot arrangement is still reliable & works, it may still be useful, by fitting a special Hall Effect IC, & an associated magnet, so that the original guage can be used. The following article describes it. Hall Effect IC used for Fuel Guage Sensor Might have a play one Saturday afternoon, when it's raining ! Cheers Banjo

Hi Jamie, Welcome aboard ! A quick picture posted here would help us identify your issue. Usually there is only one temperature sensor, with an electrical wire attached, which is for the dash temp guage. There are often one or two temp sensors that are not electrically connected, but are actually valves, or switches associated with the Californian emissions controls on the carby. They had rubber hoses connected to them originally. Most Rolla users have either removed these, & plugged the hole. Have a read of Altezzaclub's post in the following thread. Might help. https://www.rollaclub.com/board/topic/54569-4k-carb-setup/ Cheers Banjo

Hi Francisco, Very glad, to hear it was something so simple, & nothing like a head gasket or a breakthrough into the water jackets anywhere. Cheers Banjo

Hi Francisco, I'm finding it hard, to think of anything else related to the radiator change, that could cause all these issues, if the use of the new Pimera radiator cap, does not change or solve anything. As you have advised, this problem has been there, right from the first start, after the engine rebuild, I'm left with no other answer than it is something in the engine. The only way you can completely prove this to yourself, is to fit back the original K series radiator, as you suggested. If it still happens, then it is the engine. I seem to remember a post where you were considering porting the head slightly. Is there any possibility, that you have taken too much out, & you've got a crack or tiny opening, into the water jacket it the head ? Something like that, could certainly cause a problem, similar to what you have described. Cheers Banjo

Hmmm ! Not looking good. When you "rebuilt your 5K" did you . . . . Skim the top of the block ? Skim the head ? Repair any corrosion around any of the water jacket transfer holes in the head ? Use a new head gasket with built in sealant bead around the water jacket transfer holes ? Ensure you fitted the very heavy/thick washers back under each head bolt ? The LittleRedSpirit man's suggestions are now your best suggestion, of getting to the source of this problem, now that we have ruled out the other more common, easily fixed ones. Let us know what you find. Cheers Banjo

Hi Scott, Can't really say, as mine is not in a closed situation, as you can see from the pics. Has got rid of that "tinny" sound you get from a bare exhaust pipe, so probably changes it's vibration frequency a bit. I put it on to basically stop me burning my leg, when walking around the test engine, & not concentrating, because I was intent on something else. Cheers Banjo

Hi Viterbo, Just looking at your pic of the Pimera radiator. I'm presuming that your line to your overflow/expansion bottle, is connected to the spout circled on the RHS of the above picture. Is that round bit directly below where the radiator cap fits on, a "bleeding" point for the coolant ? Looks to have a hex socket in the plastic, so could be screwed out. Is the point where the spout comes out of the Pimera radiator the same distance below the top, as the spout on the K Series radiator ? If the new Pimera radiator cap, does not solve the problem, then the question arises, why is the system not pressurising, when you unlock the radiator cap after running, & there is no pressure exhaust obvious ? That can only mean that the coolant system is not sealed elsewhere, & is not allowing the system to pressurise. Have you hooked up a cabin heater or anything other coolant line elsewhere ? There aught to be a leak displaying somewhere. If no, then the only other explanation can be an internal leak, within the engine itself., which is serious. Check oil level & discolouration etc. I do hope the new Pimera radiator cap solves the issue, because if not, I would not run the engine, until you solve the issue, for fear of damaging the engines internals. Cheers Banjo

Think we might be close to solving this. There are lots of different radiator caps, & it's "pulling a long bow", to expect an early K Series radiator cap, would work perfectly with a later model Nissan Pimera. Let us know what the results are. Cheers Banjo