Banjo

Hi Max, Welcome aboard ! Have you got a Rolla ? Have you ever had a problem with a sterter ? Cheers Banjo

Wheel spacers are very common; & readily available on line; but there are some serious implications if you "go overboard". Are you wanting to put bigger wheeels on, just for "appearance", or are you wanting to do it, as a performance improvement to the car ? Once you start fiddling with the geometry on front suspensions of cars with McPherson struts, then you have to get the geometry right, or you will finish up with "srubbiing" issue with you front tyres. Here is a good article, that describes the implications; with diagrams; much better than I can. https://suspensionsecrets.co.uk/why-you-should-not-fit-wheels-spacers/ Have a read, & if you have any more questions or queries, please come back, & ask them. P.S. I love what some of you Rolla owners do to Corollas in Malaysia. You really worship your cars ! Cheers Banjo

Hi Graeme, Yes you have something there, that could well be the case. All the dizzies that appear on ebay, are titled as being suitable for 3K, 4K, & 5K. The 5K was only used in commerical Toyota, like vans & forklifts etc. They are designed for torque, but can be made to rev well, if given the right curve. I'm a great fan of the 5K, as it is nearly a perfectly "square" engine. I had one in my KE55 coupe for years, & I got it perculating very well. Many of the 5Ks here in Australia had hydraulic valve lifters, & were very reliable. I bought a stripped down 5K a few years ago, for $ 100, from a guy up in Gympie Qld., who had modified it for speedway racing. With good preparation, & balancing, they could easily achieve 8K revs plus. The bottom end of them was almost unbreakable. I know Altezzaclub used to "play" with the springs in dizzies, to change their curve, but there is nothing like a locked up dizzy, using it as a trigger only; & feeding that signal into a progammable ECU, where you can play to your hearts content, with advance & retard curves. Cheers Banjo

I complete concur with Altezzaclub's conclusion that the extra weight in the mass of the double row camshaft sproket & chain, would have little, or no tangible effect on the total rotational mass load on the engine. It's good to hear your fitment of the new chain & sprockets has instantly improved the idling & mid range performance of the engine. It's now simply a matter of finding a way to improve the top end, in that 4500 - 6000 rpm range. Over the years of "playing" with K Series engines, I've changeed a few timining chains & associated sprockets. I've never been able to get a complete kit here in Australia, with all the components you listed, as being in yours. I've always had to purchase them indivually. i did, in recent years replace sprockets & chain on a 5K, & was interested to note that the camshaft sprocket did in fact have three hole in the back sde of it, to fit to the location pin. I had never seen this on any other aftermarket double row sprockets I had purchased previously. I was very tempted to try the alternative position to get the valves to open a little earlier, & see what effect resulted. Hoewever if it didn't work out; & I had to revert to the standard pin position; I would have to go & remove everything again, and changing timing chains & sprockets is an absolute pain, with the engine in situ. There are other simpler ways of maybe improving the top end performance, if it is impeded by something else. The standard ignition coil is well known to drop off it's output at higher revs. If you already have a electronic distributor, it is possibly one with the "ignitor" built in. You could replace your coil with a low impedance "sports type" coil, which will improve the top end performance noticably. You may however find that the electronic dissy you already have; has an ignitor that may struggle to switch the higher primary current of a performance coil. A simple way around that, is to use the existing ignitor in your electronic dissy, switch an external heavy duty ignitor, that will power the sports coil. If that works, & I'm putting myself out there, & saying it will; then you might even be interested in fitting a programable ignition system, which will not only be able to drive the sport ignition coil, but would allow you to map an ignition advance/retard curve perfectly, to give you the best perfomance possible with the engine, as it is. I did that to a 4K engine in my daily runabout years ago, & it works perfectly; & I've never touched it since, as it is totally maintenance free. https://www.rollaclub.com/board/topic/73743-electronic-distributor/?tab=comments#comment-712657 Cheers Banjo

I'm not questioning that you've noticed a difference, in the performance, but there could be a couple of reasons, which may not be related to the timing chain at all. 1. Did you ensure the little location pin between the back of the camshaft sproket & the front of the camshaft was reinstated, when you fitted the sproket to the camshaft ? The crankshaft sproket has a giant keyway, that locates crankshaft pulley & the timing chain sprocket. The camshaft sprocket does not have a key, but a pin, that it relys on totally to lock the camshaft & chain, in the correct position. There have been those on here, that have had this pin shear, with dramatic results. 2. Did you replace the tensioner at the same time, as I assume you had a kit with it in ? 3. It could be that with the sloppy old chain, & a tensioner not working well; that the timing was out enough to effect the performance slightly, as the cam shaft drives both valves & the distrubutor; & hence has a slight effect on the ignition timing. It could be that you have to adjust the ignition timing slightly, in both directions, in increments, & see whether it makes any difference. Have you got a timing light ? That could throw up the fault, as it will indicate, whether the automatic advance/retard mechanism is working OK. Have you got a standard points type distributor ? Maybe it is time to give that an overhaul ? Let's know what you find. Trust this assists. Cheers Banjo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcv5pyXVV1Y I don't think I've ever seen Scotty smile so much ! Enjoy. Cheers Banjo

Toyota has had a long association with the IOC. I quickly Googled it, & surprise surprise, a post by Teddy turned up, from this forum in 2005, listing all the different models. https://www.rollaclub.com/board/topic/5551-ke70-models-what-do-they-mean/ Cheers Banjo

Hi Graeme, The KE70 is a wee bit easier to remove the starter, as it has a rack & pinion steering; mounted down there behind the front cross member. The earlier KEs have the cross tie rod, & pivot points thereof, which get in the way just a bit. I had to unmount the cross tie rod pivot point on the exhaust side of the car, & pull it down, to be able to remove my KE30 starter. Cheers Banjo

Putting a thermostat in that starts opening at 76 deg C, is not the answer. The engine should run at say 86 - 92 deg C, for best engine operation. That's why Toyota put a 92 deg C thermostat in the engine in the first place. That's why in very cold climates, they block the radiator off, to push the engine & coolant temperatures back up. What part of the world do you live in; & what are the outside abient temperature ranges in Summer & Winter ? Get rid of the kink in the lower radiator hose. Ensure there is no air at all in the coolant system, as described earlier in this thread. If the radiator is new, we can assume it has no crud in it, & is not partially blocked. Does that "blue" aluminium block in the top radiator hose, house the thermo-switch for the electric radiator fan ? That is the right spot ! What are the On & Off switching temperatures for this switch. If it is not a new switch, it might be worth testing it in pot of water on the stove. is there a gap on the LHS of the radiator, as the Honda Civic radiator is narrower, than the original ? If this area is blocked off, it might force more ar through the radiator, but might also restrict air flow to the RHS of the engine, where the exhaust manifold, creates the hottest engine bay temperatures. Let us know what else you find, & whether you can sort this issue out. P.S. Do you have a temperature guage in the car, where you can "watch" the operation of the cooling system. I have one right behind my steering wheel, & it is a wonderful engine monitoring tool. Cheers Banjo

Interesting set of issues. The results you describe are certainly "not normal", & unsustainable, long term. You haven't advised where you are located, & what the ambient temperatures were at the time, that these observations of increased coolant temperatures occurred. If you drive the car at night; when presumably the ambient temperature is lower; does that make any difference ? Prior to changing the radiator ( which I assume was recently), was the engine coolant temperatures normal ? What was the reason for changing the radiator to the Honda Civic radiator, in the first place ? Did you ensure there was no air trapped in the "coolant system", when you first filled up the system, after fitting the new Honda radiator ? If all else is normal, then the answer could well be in the first line of your post. It could well be, there is simply not enough air passing through the radiator. Another question. How long, prior to changing the radiator, did you fit your 4AGE 16V big port engine ? Removing the thermostat permanently, should not be a permanent solution, as it is only "masking" what ever is the underling issue. If you can answer some of my queries above, it may assist getting closer to the cause. However, if the coolant temps were OK, prior to changing the radiator; maybe the quickest way to solve the issue, is to get hold of a new radiator, the same as the one, that was in there previously. P.S. Sometimes a picture tells a thousand words. Maybe if you add a few pics of the radiator & engine setup, it may indicate to some one reading this thread; what the problem is. eg: Maybe the smaller radiator is reducing the amount of air passing around & over the block of the engine, & that is creating a situation, where the engine block is hotter ? Cheers Banjo Cheers Banjo

From my comments in the link, in my previous post to you, regarding removal of the starter motor. A multimeter would help, but even a test lamp, will display a sagging battery voltage, by a dimmer light. Cheers Banjo

Welcome aboard ! That's a bit of a "bummer", first up. Sounds very much like there is something that is dragging the battery voltage down. If that is happening whilst you were driving it; that could well be the reason, why the engine misfired & "running rough" It could well be the starter motor, as a similar thing happened to me recently, which I detailed on Rollaclub. https://www.rollaclub.com/board/topic/82207-4k-corolla-starter-motor-problem/ I would disconnect the battery, & charge it up. Then reinstall the battery but disconnect the large cable to the starter. Then check that any other loads, like radio, or accessories,; lights, or ignition, are not dragging the battery voltage down. If all good, then touch the starter lead to the battery positive terminal, & see if the battery voltage takes a dive downways. If so; then it is definitely time for the starter to come out. It is not that difficult, but with patience; can be removed, without having the drop the exhaust pipe work. Let's know what you discover. Cheers Banjo

Simply Inspirational to all those that tackle long term projects; & for various reasons; never finish them. That will certainly not happen to this project, as it's now 24 months later, & you are undoubtedly more advanced than these pictures indicate. Cheers Banjo

I note the number plates, appear to be of South australia origin. Is the 1984 KE70, still in S.A. or elsewhere. Is it's present abode, in the shed as pictured; in the city or a regional area. The reason I ask, is that it's going to be difficult, for the buyer, to move & transport, without a diff & rear wheels. I totally agree with Altezzaclub, that the addition of a diff & tailshaft, & getting it running, will probable double the price it is worth right now, as is. However, after all these years, I've learnt; if there is someone out there despareately searching for a project like this, with nothing seriously missing, sometimes the heart controls the mind, & you'll be pleasantly surprised what someone will pay. For a 38 year olde car, it looks pretty straight, & I'm impressed with the state of the front & rear bumper bars. Let's know how it goes. God luck ! Cheers Banjo

Thanks Sebastian, i've been hanging out for the next episode in your Rolla journey for weeks ! (as I suspect others on here have also) Keep up the good work ! You're an inspiration to all of us, that would not be game to tackle something this epic. I guess once the floor is finished completely, you will be giving it a good coat of that black "mastic" tar like sealant, above & below; to prevent any further rust taking hold, in your good work ? Cheers Banjo