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

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

You've done a good job at cleaning the PCB. However, that harness wiring, & plugs look like they have "had a hard life" ! Let's know how you go. P.S. If you are concerned/worried, that you might short the "Check Light" solid state switch, inside the ECU; you could always disconnect the wire on terminal 10, & connect a small watt 12 volt bulb, with the other side to +12 volts; or just use a 12 volt test light/probe. Your "best friend" electrical tool ! Let's know how you go. Cheers Banjo

The full 7KE workshop manual, is available on line. It is described as July 1995, on the cover. The file is about 52Mb, so quite large. It is a bit "grainy", but readable. From my reading thereof, the engine check light is connected to pin 10, of plug/socket E5. E5 is the smaller of the two sockets on the rear of the ECU. I trust that assists. Cheers Banjo

Not familiar specifically with the 7KE hi pressure fuel pump, for an EFI fuel injection, but there are a lot of safety features that turn off high pressure fuel pumps, when they are not required. This is particularly relevant in the case of an accident, or a roll-over, where you certainly wouldn't want raw fuel pumping out, & possibly creating a serious fire. Logically, you wouldn't want a high pressure fuel pump running, when the engine is not running; so maybe that's the way the 7KE ECU is designed. Others may be able to add to this. P.S. You maybe interested to read this info regarding the 7KE on this sites Wiki, which I'm sure you could find useful. https://www.rollaclub.com/wiki/index.php?title=Tech:Engine/K_Series/EFI Cheers Banjo

A credit to you Russell, for keeping it so clean & neat. One thing puzzles me. I love the alloy radiator, & I assume, maybe you have ditched the mechanical radiator fan, & have fitted an electric thermostatically controlled fan. However, I cannot see any plastic ties through the radiator core, which is the common way of mounting them, on the engine side of the radiator core. However, I can see a bit of a black plastic cowelling, which may house an electric fan ? Looks very big ! Enlighten me please. Cheers Banjo

Well, all good now, & the Rolla is mobile again. It was just a case of the commutator section of the starter "collapsing". Nothing externally, caused this fault. Just olde age ! I did pull the "spare starter" I had, apart, before installing it. I cleaned up the commutator with some 2000 grit emery paper, & also greased & oiled it, in the appropriate places, & "shinnied up" all the electrical connection points. A quick test with the starter in a bench vice, with a battery & a couple of pieces of appropriate thickness wire is always a good idea, as it removes the need to remove & reinstall it, a second time, if you put it in, & it still has issues. Most people removed the exhaust piping under the exhaust manifold, to get access, to remove the starter. This can be a pain, because the threads on pipe flange to manifold, usually need a few hours of WD40, before they will move without issues. I decided to see if I could get it out, from under the car, without removing the exhaust piping. It is possible, but is a tight squeeze. The obstacle is the long cross tie rod on the steering. I found if I removed the two (2) mounting bracket bolts on the passengers side, securing the steering pivot assembly; & pull it downwards, it creates that little more room, to allow the starter to come out or in. Some have commented, that the operation of the starter is a little more involved, than what most people would believe it does. The following extract from a Gregorys manual I have here, explains it well. Even the solenoid operation is a bit more involved. Reference to the starter schematic below, indicates that the solenoid has two parallel windings. The "operate/pull-in winding" draws more current, & power, than the 'hold-in winding", as more "force" is required, to engage the pinion with the flywheel ring gear quickly. Once the pinion is engaged, it requires a smaller amount of power to hold the solenoid in position (hold-in winding). When the solenoid operates; at the end of it's travel, it closes the large contacts, that feed 12 volts to the starter motor windings. However, these contacts closing, also short out the "operate/pull-in winding', so only the "hold-in winding" is left energized. I believe in some very early Corollas, the starter solenoid, was directly powered through the ignition switch in the start position. As this current is fairly high, & the ignition barrel switch is a distance from the starter; the addition of a start relay, close to the starter, makes a lot of sense, reducing considerably the current passing through the ignition "start" switch contacts. Ignition barrel switch replacement can be a horrible job, as they are designed specifically, to be very, very difficult to remove. (hacksaw blade without handle, a very large blade screwdriver, & about 40 minutes of swearing, if I remember last time I had to swap a barrel out) Cheers Banjo

Here is a link to a page where Toyota's use of NE & G signals are explained. https://www.toyotaguru.us/engine-control-systems/ne-signal-and-g-signal-1.html Cheers Banjo

I gather that the "Suzuki Samurai"attracts a lot of upgrades, using different engines, fitted to them; all with more torque that the original Suzuki engine. I presume your Samurai, is one of them. Some good videos on the net, showing their off road clearance & abilities. The 7KE had the best torque output of any of the K Series engines. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLUGYr8KRc4 I would imagine, if the 1.8 litre 7KE was fitted by others, to your Suzuki, that they mated is engine wiring, into the Suzuki original loom, or simply, built a new wiring harness from scratch. I would suggest that you get hold of the 7KE wiring diagram, which appears to be available on line. The 7KE ECUs are still available on ebay, but you'd certainly be better served, getting hold of an aftermarket MegaSquirt, of Speeduino, etc. as a kit & build it yourself. Lots of fun ! So have you actually had your 7KE engine running, or are you trying to get it going ? What's the engines history ? Where are you located ? There is some ECU pin-out info on RollaClub at the following link. https://www.rollaclub.com/board/topic/52562-7ke-pinout-drawing/#entry535781 Also a bit of stuff, on the Club K website, also. Cheers Banjo

You can download the 7KE manual on line, in a pdf format at https://www.academia.edu/31028809/Toyota_7K_Engine_Repair_Manual I would assume that one temp sensor is for the dash temp guage, & the other is fed to the very basic ECU that the 7KE engine had. The thermostatic valve will probably connect to the dissy vacuum advance bellows to assist timing emissions requirements, until coolant temperature has reached temperature. Good luck getting the original ecu to work properly. Best option, would probably be to "ditch" the original olde factory ecu, & fit an aftermarket programable ecu. What sort of vehicle is your 7KE fitted to ? Cheers Banjo

Hi Keith, I think you are spot on. That is the same conclusion I came to yesterday, after delving into it a bit more. You will see from the pics below, once I "hammered" the armature out of the casing, that the enclosed area of the armature appears fairly contained. I'd agree, that probably a dislodged commutator segment, caused all that havoc. I'll put another starter in this afternoon, & will hopefully have my Rolla down off ramps, by dusk ! Cheers Banjo

Dissembled the solenoid this afternoon; half expecting to see the contacts inside the solenoid, to be welded together; or at least showing indication of burning & sticking. Imagine, my surprise, when the all the contacts involved it the solenoid, had no "welding" or indication of sticking. The solenoid was very smooth in it's action. I referred to a Gregory's KE Series manual, & it describes the Bosch starter motor as having a clutch built into the pinion arrangement, so that if the ignition key was held in the "start" position, after the engine had started, that the pinion could not drive the starter motor. My starter is a Nippondenso, so I looked closely at it; & it also has the same type clutch arrangement. I tested the clutch, & it was performing perfectly. This sort of blew my theory out of the water, that the pinion was stuck, & driving the starter motor at revs it couldn't withstand, & destroyed itself. I then got a big soft hammer, & drove the damaged armature out of the starter body. With the armature, separated from the starter housing, it was very easy to see what had occurred. Basically the commutator, where the brushes press up against; had broken down, and all those chunks & bits of broken copper were what remained of the commutator. It's such a mess, that it is hard to tell, how the commutator broke up. Suffice to say, I'm pretty sure there is nothing "external", that has caused this issue; so I'll go ahead, & fit a spare starter motor I have here. Starter motors fitted to K series motors have a hard & unloved life. Living there, just under the exhaust manifold, they are subjected to lots of heat, & can't readily be inspected, unless removed; which I previous advised, is a bit difficult. It would be a very wise move, if you ever have your manifolds off, to simply remove the starter, remove the cover & see what state the commutator & brushes are in. Cheers Banjo

Hi Si, Yes I remember the video in The Hoonicorn vs The World series, on Utube. I quickly looked at it again, when the 4 Rotor had it's first run, & you can clearly see them in the engine bay shot. However, they didn't work; because the 4 Rotor lost it's "engine bonnet/cover, in the very first run. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8_2rWB5vRw Cheers Banjo

My 1974 (48 yo) KE30 2 door Rolla has a tow bar, & often gets asked to tow a load of green waste to the local dump. This weekend was such an occasion, & after dropping off the second load, I started the car up, as normal; without issues, & slowly drove out of the dump. As I drove up a slight rise towards the entrance gates, I heard a scratching/grating noise, emanating from under the car. I assumed I had picked some scrap up under the car, that was caught; & was grating on the asphalt. As soon as I exited the dump, I pulled onto the side of the road, left the engine running & quickly looked under the car. Nothing at all ! I then lifted the bonnet, & the engine was still running, but making some strange noises, from what I thought; was it's "inner workings". What could it be ? I have had 4K motors, that with failed timing chain tensioners, or with low oil pressure at idle; resulting in a "stretched" timing chain "slapping" against the inner side of the timing chain cover. However, my 4K-U has a dual chain, so it wasn't that. As I was only 3klms from home, & the trailer was now empty, I decided to head for home slowly, & investigate, once I was in arms reach of a selection of tools. Within 1/2 a klm, the engine started to deteriorate in performance, & a quick look at the voltage reading, on a dash guage; indicted that the battery was about 8-11V, & fluctuating. Eventually, I knew it wasn't going to make it home, so pulled over, turned the engine off, & again lifted the bonnet. Nothing was obvious, so I tried to restart the car. Dead with the battery voltage around 7-8 volt. So a quick call to my wife, She arrives with her 2009 Corolla, & I tow the KE30 + trailer home, as a trio, with firm instructions that She will have to push the brake pedal harder, as there is now no vacuum assistance. My head is now taking in all I have observed in the last hour, & trying to determine what could it be ? I have read & heard of a situation, where a starter motor pinion; will not disengaged after the car starts, & the engine then drives the starter motor at rotational speeds, it was never designed for. Although I had read about this particular scenario, I had never ever experienced it, in all my years with playing, & working with Rollas. As any other possibility, involved internal engine investigation, I decided to remove the starter, as it is an external component, & relatively easy to remove, although not without some fiddling. With starter motor removed, & looking quite normal; with the pinion retracted, I decided to put it in in the bench vice, & power it up, & see if it worked. Here is a good schematic, from the K Series "Yellow Bible". Only difference, with my KE30, is that there is a "starting relay", between the ignition switch, & terminal 50, to prevent the ignition barrel having to handle the high current of the pull -in solenoid. Notice, once the pull-in coil does it's job, & closes the "main contacts" to power the starter motor; those main contacts also s/c the pull-in coil, & the hold-in coil is only left with it's lower current requirement With a 12V battery on the bench, I connected same to the starter motor with some heavy electrical wiring, as you would use with 10-15A power points. I turned to pick up a piece of wire to temporarily active the solenoid, but as I did so, I could smell something, & saw the connecting wires I had just connected, starting to melt their insultation. Grabbed a side cutters, & cut one of the wires. The plot had just thickened, but at least my first guess of the starter motor, being the culprit, looked like it was a reasonable one. To my knowledge, there are basically two types of starter motor arrangement, where the starter motor is a direct drive onto the flywheel ring gear. One type has a scroll on the starter output shaft, so as it initially spins, it "throws the pinion towards the flywheel ring gear", which engages & turns & "cranks" the engine. The second type, which is used in our Corollas, is a solenoid, on top of the starter motor, which via a lever movement, engages the pinion gear with the ring gears on the flywheel. Just as the engagement takes place a large switch on the solenoid, is closed & feeds 12 volts to the starter motor proper. This system is preferred as the lightly spring loaded pinion, will always be engaged before the starter begins rotating. I then remove the starter motor solenoid, & it looks & feels OK. As it needs a big soldering iron, to fully dissemble it, I put it aside, & remove the cap from the end of the now upturned starter in the bench vice. As the cover came off, my eyes were met with devastation like I have never seen before. The internals of the starter motor, had been pulverized, by the starter motor never disengaging from the flywheel ring gear; & being driven at speeds it was never designed for. I suspect, that the contacts at the end of the solenoid, that switch power to the starter, have welded, & not released when the engine started. I'll find out later this afternoon, when I get home, & unsolder the solenoid, & inspect. There are a couple of other suspects like the ignition barrel, where the spring that returns the key switch from "Start", to "Run", has broken. There is also a "start relay', energized by the ignition barrel key start position, that switches power to the starter motor solenoid. However after removing, the starter motor, & finding the above pictured; a quick test with a test light on the output of the starter solenoid relay, indicated these items are both working perfectly. So my question is; is this a problem others have suffered, or heard of, as I have certainly not ever heard of it on these pages in the nearly 20 years I've been enjoying the threads on this forum ? Cheers Banjo

Fully Agree ! Now, don't get me wrong, the 3k in it's day, was a great engine. There was a speedway series once, where the engines were limited to 1200cc, & I've seen some amazing pictures of 3K engines that produced amazing results, but that was at very high revs, & after a lot of expensive modifications. A fully balance & engineered 3k, could produce twice the number of revs, Toyota designed it for. However; as the yanks have always said "There's no substitute for cu inches (CCs)" I drove an early Corolla for 18 months once, with a 3K engine, & frankly it wouldn't pull the top off a custard. Alright on the flat, if you got it wound up, but as soon a hill appeared, it was not up to it at all. If your Rolla is a "daily drive", then keep a lookout for a 4K-C, which was probably the most popular 4K produced. If you need more torque, then consider a 5K, which has always been my favorite. There was a 4K-U, which nearly produced almost as much HP, as a 5K, but they are a bit hard to find. Even with a 4K engine, there are a lot of things you can do, to make it a more enjoyable drive, but at least with a 4K, you are at a much better "starting point", than with your 3K. Cheers Banjo

The Weber 32/36 looks like this . . . which looks to me, very similar to yours, from what I can see. Does it have an adaptor plate underneath it, to match it to the original K Series inlet manifold ? The other thing to check with the Weber, is what size main & idling jets have been fitted, to this particular Weber. I've got little or no experience with the Weber adaption to K Series motors; but the ones I have seen on-line, were side draft Webers; & I think there was a special inlet manifold for them for K series motors. There maybe someone on here, that has this setup, & can advise what size jets they fitted. In theory, you should be able to fit the carby either way around. It really comes down at to which side of the carby, the accelerator cable is fitted. The K Series cable pulls, to open the throttle, but in the case of the Weber 32/36 you have, it looks like it would have to push to open; so they have turned it 180 degrees. Hope that makes sense. A year or so ago, I took the fuel tank out of my 1974 2 door KE30, with the intention of fitting an in tank high pressure fuel pump, for EFI, & also building a better fuel guage sensor. What I was not prepared for, was how much "crud" builds up in the bottom of the tank over 40+ years. I went to great lengths to clean it out with acid, & other techniques, & it may well be, a good idea, to remove your tank, & do similar, if necessary. One thing I have learnt over the years; that those suction fuel pumps right up at the engine; are not real good at pulling fuel over such a long run, especially if the fuel filter is a bit blocked, or the lines are a bit choked, or have a tiny leak in them. For this reason, lots of people seal off the fuel pump hole on the side of the block, & fit an electric pump, down near the tank, so the lines from the back to the front of the car; are under pressure, rather than vacuum. Cheers Banjo

Hi Guvna, You are totally correct ! There are four (4) of the total of six (6) manifold studs, that clamp/hold down both inlet manifold, & exhaust manifold or extractor assembly. It is imperative if you are going to achieve good manifold/head seals, that not only are the mating surfaces in total alignment, but that the the outer sides are also level, so that the extra thick washers used underneath the four (4) manifold nuts clamping these "shared" joints are parallel to the head manifold surface; so equal pressure is exerted on both inlet & extractor tabs. It may require a bit of filling, on the outer sides of the tabs, to achieve the same thickness, but is very worth while, in the long run. Also support the extractor exhaust header, to the engine / bellhousing joint area, so that any movement of the exhaust system, is not transmitted to the head/manifold joint area. Another suggestion is to now add a bug in your exhaust extractor header, assembly, just beyond where the four pipes all join. This allows the addition of a O2 sensor later on, if you really get into the K Series engine, & want to either, just monitor your air fuel ratios, or get really excited, & want to go EFI. The bungs come with a stopper, so even if you don't get an O2 sensor now; when you do, you don't have to remove the exhaust system to add a sensing point. Cheers Banjo

Hi Russell, One of the reasons I had not purchased a pair of bonnet "lock downs", is that the ones with the pins, eventually go rusty, as the plating is not very thick. I did buy some on ebay this week, & found some quick release "push type" ones, that actually come in colours, so they do not stand out, visually. They will be here in a week or so, so I'll let you know, how they work out. About $ 16.00 for a pair with free delivery. Has anyone else on here used this particular type on their bonnets before ? Cheers Banjo

Hi Guvna, The K series engines of that era, came standard with an "Aisan" carby. ASIAN is usually in the casting, on the outside of the bowl area. The accelerator cable is usually on the side of the carby, closest to the rear of the engine. I'd suggest the carby on your engine is sourced from elsewhere, as it is on the opposite side to the Aisan carby. Asian Carby on K series Motor below Has the engine ever been running, in it's current form, or did you buy it, as an uncompleted/finished project ? If you remove the starter motor, & take a couple of close up pics of your carby; someone on Rollaclub, might be able to visually identify the currently fitted carby. If the engine has been stripped & rebuilt by someone else, & never run; it would be very wise to check everything out, timing wise, before you start cranking it, indefinitely, trying to start it. Bear in mind that the K Series engine, requires the dissy to be fitted for the oil pump to work. One of the first tests I would do, on an "unknown" engine, is to put oil in it; & with all spark plugs removed, crank it over, & check there is oil pressure. If OK, then you can then start to work through ignition & fuel functions. A simple test of basic ignition operation, is to remove all spark plugs; connect one plug to the HV output of the coil; ground the base of the spark plug; then turn the engine over. Without any compression, because the spark plugs are removed, the engine will turn over relatively quickly, & if you have a timing light, you can do a basic check of timing as one in every four (4) flashes should illuminate the TDC markings on the crankshaft pulley. Alternatively, connect the spark plug to the output on the dissy cap, for no: 1 spark plug. Cheers Banjo

Hi Russell, That's a bummer ! Actually, when I posted you last night, after seeing the glorious engine bay of your KE-70, I meant to add a note at the end, to see how you went with your front brake calipers. Had you stripped a caliper down, & removed the piston, before ordering them ? Cheers Banjo

Hi Russell, Oh, I wished my engine bay was as clean as yours. Very nice ! Love the alloy radiator. Makes a big difference, doesn't it. Do you have an electric radiator fan, in there behind the radiator ? By all means put the battery in the boot, but make sure you get the fattest, thickest cable you can find, so you don't suffer voltage drop, to the starter, at the very time you need it most. Did you fit the two (2) bonnet lockdowns on the front ? I once had a bonnet fly up at high speed, years ago, which didn't break the windscreen, but did put a crease in the bonnet. Scary episode ! It wasn't a Toyota. I vowed, I'd always fit some front bonnet lock downs to my Rolla, but still haven't got around to it. You have jerked my memory of that time, & I'll have a look on ebay tomorrow. Thanks ! Cheers Banjo

Welcome aboard Gav ! Your little KE30 looks pretty straight. As long as you have a good rust free body, then the rest is "all fun". Nice area to work on it. I can see a few late nights coming up, in there. I'm presuming the engine is a 4K-C ? Make sure you get hold of the one piece aftermarket inlet & exhaust manifold, & a new set of manifold studs, which are stock standard, & readily available. If someone has had the cam out, & it hasn't been run since, then it would be a very good idea, to check the valve timing before trying to start it. If someone previously hasn't fitted the timing chain perfectly, then the valve & ignition timing could well be out. Remove the sparkplugs, rocker cover, & dissy. You could attach a timing disc to the front crank shaft pulley, & line it up with a marker at TDC No: 1 cylinder. Tthen turn the engine over clockwise ever so slowly, with a spanner on the crankshaft pulley centre bolt, & take a note of when the No: 1 cylinder valves start to open & finish closing. https://www.rollaclub.com/board/topic/74148-one-piece-manifold-gasket-k-series/ Cheers Banjo