Banjo

Hi Tyson, I think I've found your answer P.S. By "oil loss issue" they really mean oil pressure loss. Cheers Banjo

Hi Tyson, Wish you'd mentioned your engine has had a solid lifter conversion. If it has not been done properly, that's why you have compression issues. You will need to change push rods, rocker assembly, & possibly the head. Have a read on these links here on this forum. https://www.rollaclub.com/wiki/index.php?title=Tech:Engine/K_Series/5K-C/5K_Hydraulic_To_Solid_Lifter_Conversion Here is another useful link. http://www.club-k.co.nz/Forums/viewthread.php?tid=14957#pid105004 Hope that helps. P.S. That dissy still has the original factory pin holding the gear to the dissy shaft. The only way to remove the factory pin, is to drill it out, & then most people replace with an appropriate sized "roll pin". Cheers Banjo

Hi Sebastion, Loving your build, & determination to get this Rolla running again. Noticed that you have air conditioning, & you didn't even have to pay for it ! Cheers Banjo

Hi Tyson, Hopefully, whoever assembled your 5K, did it wet, & there are is plenty of oil on main & conrod bearing surfaces. As long as the plugs are out, there should not be any damage. Squirt a bit of oil down the spark plug bores to prevent any initial dry running of the piston rings in the bore, whist you are turning it over, & testing. So you've removed the oil pump & spun it somehow, & it is delivering oil, so lets assume the oil pump is OK. We can therefore assume, that the over pressure bypass valve has been fitted to the oil pump correctly. Next you need to prove that the oil pump is turning, when the engine is rotated. Sounds like a silly statement, but the oil pump in a 5K is powered by the camshaft, & there are various keyways & roll pins that lock sprockets & gears to their respective shafts. The easiest way is is to remove the distributor (that actually drives the oil pump in a 5K), to turn the engine over, & see down the distributor hole in the block, whether, the knurled camshaft gear on the camshaft is turning. If not, then It is probably an issue with the crank or camshaft sprockets on the front of the engine. There are a couple of critical keyways on the camshaft & crankshaft, that may have been accidentally omitted. If that proves OK, then re-insert the distributor, making sure that the gear on the bottom of the dissy shaft has had it's roll pin inserted. Roll Pin If all that still doesn't turn up something, then you've got me stumped. Let's know what you find. Cheers Banjo

Hey Col . . . . don't forget . . . Rome wasn't built in a day, & neither is Josh's Evo, it appears; or Project Binky's Mini, for that matter. Comment: I start to go to sleep watching Blinky episodes these days. "Rome wasn't built in a day" is an adage attesting to the need for time, to create great things. It is the usual English translation of a medieval French phrase, Rome ne fu[t] pas faite toute en un jour, from about 1190 AD" Anyway, I'm loving this Orange Cake thread, when we finally get to it. Cheers Banjo

Love the story Ian ! It's like "life in the day of a Corolla Owner" Remind me not to buy a TAG towbar. Their on-line add, says "Precision Engineered". Made in Australia. Well, actually; Queensland, so I have to apologize for that, being a Queenslander myself. P.S. Maybe the guy that welded it that day, had COVID coming on ? Covid makes your eyesight crossed a bit, I hear. Keep up the great story. It certainly looks good already, with the new wheels. P.S. Looking at it on the bright side ! It's not as bad as this poor chap in the UK, that I came across recently. https://mattersoftesting.blog.gov.uk/horror-story-modified-towbar/ Cheers Banjo

Thanks for the pics of your drive. Nice looking Rolla, with that big "fish mouth" grill, which looks like it would be ideal to suck lots of air into a turbo. Tell us a bit more about your ride. I presume the C stands for "California catalytic converter", which Californian cars were lumped with ? Have you still got the 5 speed transmission therein ? Any other things you have done to it ? What year model is that ? Lowering it can provide benefits, ride wise, but will change the appearance & stance somewhat, depending on what you like. I'm presuming it has a 2TC engine under the bonnet. Pics please ! Looking to hearing back from you. I had an Australian equivalent model which out here was called a KE55, & didn't have a single overhead cam motor. We got the old pushrod 4KC motor, where the C still stood for California, I believe. Cheers Banjo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4n2DPGZQSS0 Enjoy Banjo

I have had a 1982 corolla for a few years, I have had the engine restored, repaired the body paint, repaired the interior upholstery, and I have gotten the accessories and other parts such as the lights of the tracks, courtesies, rear and front lights, but the air conditioning system does not work not even the fan. Could you share with me the electrical diagram of this te70 / 72, to be able to repair this system of the car? I have a wiring diagram for a KE70, but it might help. If you would like a copy, please send me your email address. If my Spanish is poor, blame the Google translator! Greetings who sent me the electrical diagram of a Toyota Corolla ke70. [email protected]

Are You enquiring about front & rear shocks, or just one end ? Are you still using the original KE30 struts at the front, or have you upgraded to the larger diameter (50mm) struts from a Corona/Celica/Cressida ? Have you measured the fully compressed & hanging lengths of travel of the existing shock absorber points ? There is a real science to matching shock absorbers travel to suspension travel. Quality of shocks is usually roughly proportional, to what you are prepared to pay. Adjustable & gas ones are the most expensive, but I guess you don't really want to go to that length, if it is purely for "street use". Are you using coil-overs on the front suspension, or have you just cut the coil springs ? There is plenty of good info regarding this subject on the internet. Here is a typical one. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DDzAvByevw Cheers Banjo

I had this problem a couple of years ago. Head off to your nearest Clarke Rubber store, with the dimensions you need, & a 150mm steel ruler. Amazing the range of rubber bungs & things those guys carry. Be very surprised, if you can't find something, have decent there, that will plug any body work holes you need to blank, in the engine bay area. Cheers Banjo

Call in an interest; call it a passion; but what we do in restoring & keeping older cars going, is either extending somethings regarded useful life, or providing a connection to the past, in a world where everything is changing so quickly. Just before the start of the 19th century, cars (horseless carriages) were so dangerous that a man had to walk in front of them with a red flag ! I went to our local council waste station a couple of weekends ago, to drop off some green waste. I drove past a great big waste bin, that was full to the top, with "electronic waste"; (mainly desktop computers from what I could see) This constant movement forward, at such a pace, is hard for some people to cope with, & creates a need for some people to "collect olde things" However, like the right to repair, there are "circumstances" where this rush to move forward, creates real life problems. A couple of years ago, I had a tenant in a rental house. He asked could he run a small business in the garage, fixing computers, as He had found a local market needed such, with lots of small accounts & law firms, around His area. I agreed, & He did well. One day, (knowing I dabbled in electronics), He asked whether I had any olde 4.25 inch floppy disk drives, in my collection of things. My first question was; what would you possibly need a 4.25" floppy drive for ? Answer: A local solicitor, had a client that had died. There was no record of a last will & testament. They discovered he had a "safe deposit box. After going through the procedures, the safe deposit box, was opened. There inside was a 4.25" floppy disk, in a sleeve with "Will" scribbled on the outside. Hence the problem, of how do you read it. Hence the need for 4.25" floppy drive, but also the need for some software, to read it, as it was produced using a very early version of a Lotus editor, called AmiPro, or something similar. Long & the short of it was; that my tennant discovered, this was not an isolated case, in his locale; so He advertised to all his clients, & soon was well known for this particular service. To my way of thinking, the only guys who got it right were the Eygptians, who "wrote", on clay tablets; put them in a pyramid; & we can still read them clearly 2000+ years later. Good luck with finding a KE30 workshop manual, 2000 years hence. Cheers Banjo

I've been following this subject in the media, for the past year or so, with interest, as it resonates strongly with me; as I assume it does, with other fellow RollaClubers. It appears the talk is finally going to come to an end, & there could be some legislation coming forward shortly. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-12-02/right-to-repair-productivity-commission/100668064 https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2018-03-11/farmers-spearhead-right-to-repair-fight/9535730 Most of us on RollaClub love tinkering with our older cars mechanically. There is heaps of information, how to fix anything mechanically; whether it be in comprehensive manuals, Doctor Google, or advice from fellow members. However, when it comes to "electrical matters", there is a unknown for many. I'm the first to admit, that looking at the wiring diagram of a early Toyota's manual, with lines crossing everywhere, can be daunting to many. However, when broken down, that wiring diagram is very, very simple. Each individual circuit in the car starts with the battery positive terminal. It then passes through fuses, switches, lights, sensors, guages etc. & then back to the negative terminal of the battery. In fact, our early Toyotas, are super simple, when it comes to electrical. Enter electronics ! Whole new game. My first KE had no electronics in it at all. Even the regulator for the alternator, had a vibrating relay contact, in the regulator control box. I once discovered that the guages on the dashboard, which use a regulated 7-8 VDC, so they read correctly, even if the battery voltage was low; used a set of vibrating contacts, to produce the 7-8V supply. Later model KE Series Rollas, used alternators with solid state regulators, as Toyota also did; for the dash board guages 7-8 Volt supply. However, the modern Toyota car is full of electronics, controlling anything & everything. That's where the issues start, to my way of thinking. In the old days, your average NRMA, or RACQ roadside assist man, could usually get you going again, if the fault was electrical. Now days, if the fault is in this realm, it is invariably time to call for the tilt truck. So the electronics; & the microprocessors provide great leaps & bounds, in safety, efficiency, emissions, performance etc. This is all aimed ultimately, (so they saw) at a future time, when we will all sit back, & the car with autonomously take us to our destination. So am I a purist ? No. I have to admit I have introduced electronics, into my 1974 KE30. 1. Removed original AM radio & fitted a modern one, that allows me to answer & use my phone with BlueTooth. 2. Added a wire transmitter between steering wheel & horn relay, to get rid of that annoying spring loaded horn contact, behind the steering wheel. https://www.rollaclub.com/board/topic/75658-ke3055-horn-steering-wheel-contact-ring/?tab=comments#comment-720517 3. An electronic ignition system, to get rid of the poor performance of points orientated ignition systems, as they age. https://www.rollaclub.com/board/topic/73743-electronic-distributor/#comments Now don't get me wrong; modern electronics in automobiles are generally very, very reliable. However, When the car stops unexpectedly, on the side of a remote road, & you don't have a clue where to start looking, it can be a problem. I'm a great believer in the K.I.S.S. principle, when it comes to auto electrics & electronics. I've only had to call a tilt truck once in my whole life. It was on an interstate trip, on a back road, in a late model Camry, at the time. The dealers couldn't even find the fault. It got back to my home, in Brisbane, & it took me a whole weekend, to find the issue. I put my findings on an automotive website, & was surprised to find others who had experienced the same issue, but could never find the cause of the issue. It was a Toyota design mistake. Love to hear others thoughts on this subject. Cheers Banjo

Hi Luke, I tend to agree with Keith very much on this one. A newly, fully or partly reconditioned engine's, "first hours of waking life", can be crucial to it'd longevity, as a reliable engine. It's all about engine temperature, tolerances, & oil viscosity. My dash temp & oil guage are the most important instruments in my Rolla. There are some really good general rules. Never ever start "revving the guts" out of a newly started motor, once it kicks over for the first time. It is human nature, & an expression, of human emotion, & sense of achievement, to want to "give it a burl", but it can be counter productive in the long run. Let it idle, & even cover the radiator, to get it up to temperature, as quickly as possible. Try not to load the engine for at least 30 minutes. Never put a very high viscosity oil in a newly refurbed engine initially. After several hours of running; & only when the engine is definitely at operating temperature; you should drain the oil & change the filter. You'd be surprised how much initial "wearing" in of metalic surfaces, takes place during that "running in" period. Same suggestion for the coolant system. However, that can be done after a good week of driving. Take hoses off & really drain it; not just using the tap at the bottom of the radiator. You'd be surprised at the little bits of crud & gasket cement & the like that comes out. Keith suggests watching that temperature guage. This is really important. These engines are designed to run between 80-90 deg C. Taxi's get such incredible long lives out of their engines, because they rarely ever get cold; sometimes running 16 - 24 hours a day, & just changing drivers at change of shift. I may be olde school, but I still take my wife's Corolla out of the garage each morning, & leave it idling in the driveway for 10-12 minutes, before she leaves for the daily commute, to work. This is really important in winter. I've heard it said, by professionals, that more wear takes place in an engine in the first couple of kilometres driven each day, than the wear that takes place for the complete rest of the day's driving. I have a good friend that lives in the Yukon, up near the polar areas, north of Canada, where it is extremely cold, & there is permafrost. They have permanent electric heaters in the sumps of their vehicles, & they plug them into the power point in the garage every night, so the engine can actually turn over in the morning, & drive away initially, without any substantial engine lubricant protection, because the high pressure bypass valve opens, & dumps a substantial amount of oil straight back into the sump. P.S. Regarding your issue with cylinder number 4, you might like to take a look & read these long threads on here, where a few of us, have shared our thoughts, on this perennial issue with K series engines. https://www.rollaclub.com/board/topic/73676-oil-pump-failure/page/8/?tab=comments#comment-713644 https://www.rollaclub.com/board/topic/77718-radiatorcooling-help/#comments Cheers Banjo

Hi Luke, Are these pistons & rings going into a rebored block ? Spend lots of time getting your ring gaps correct, by placing the rings in the bore, & squaring then in the bore with a piston pushed down upside down, to normal piston orientation. http://blog.wiseco.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-ring-gap If the bore hasn't been freshly bored, then make sure any existing lip at the very top of the bore ,is removed where ring does not sweep the bore. Not removing it, risks losing your new top rings. Arh, the legendary 3KR motor ! https://www.rollaclub.com/board/topic/17848-3kr/ Here's one in full flight . . . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCwYxmbPaWY (yes, He does get past him, in the end ! ) Cheers Banjo

Like Col, I've had a fair bit of experience with 3K, 4K, & 5K engines. The 4K engine is nearly square (bore & stroke are almost the same dimension). A "square" engine, is regarding as being a more free reving motor, with higher top rev limits.; especially if the engine is balanced. One of the great attributes of any K series engine, is their bottom end. Designed before a lot of "computer input" early Japanese engines were over designed, as they did not want failures of a mass produced car. I've always been amazed at some of the HPs, people have squeezed out of K series engines, without any strengthening of the bottom end, other than maybe hardened studs & nuts, for the bearing caps. K series engines of all formats have had pretty poor inlet air flows. Lots of people have spent lots of time, trying to improve this aspect. There were some 3K engines with bigger inlet valves, which is why I asked you previously, to give us the number of the head on you 3K. Lots of people have experimented with head swaps, to get compression ratios up around 10:1. It is generally agreed that anything above 10.5:1 is counter productive. I picked up a 5K engine here in Qld. a couple of years ago, for $ 100,which was an ex dirt track sprinter car engine. They were very popular years ago, in this realm, & quite reliable. One rainy day, I'll get it going again. It has some flash improvements, including a very fancy oil pump arrangement. Have a read in the WiKi on this forum, & there are plenty of threads, where all sorts of people, who love K Series engines, have tried all sorts of things, to get a bit more grunt, out of these engines. Luke, keep the questions coming, & we'll assist if possible. Where are you located ? Cheers Banjo

Hi Luke ! I know that feeling. If you want/need torque, then you have to go for a 5K engine, out of a Toyota forklift of a Toyota commercial like the LiteAce van. I had a 2 door KE55 once, that I fitted a 5K to, after driving it previously with a 4K. It was like a whole new car, & it loved HILLS ! Cheers Banjo

The scariest article you will read today ! https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2021-11-22/petrol-stations-can-they-survive-electric-car-uptake/100627312 I went outside after breakfast to put the rubbish out. My little KE30 2 door coupe was "whippering" in the driveway. I asked "Buzzy" what was the matter. She stated "I obviously hadn't read the ABC website news feed today". (She is fitted with a 4G internet dongle, so spends her time while "idling"; GOOGLING) There are some difficult conversations, we will have to share, when next I wash her, no doubt ! Cheers Banjo

Hi Luke ! From my experience, that engine looks pretty good. As it's probably original, how many miles has it travelled, according to the speedometer ? Little olde ladies, are not known for racking up big mileages, on their cars. I accept your comments regarding the possibility of going to a 4K, but bear in mind, as these engines are probably 40 years olde, the 4K may be in more need of "care & kindness", than this 3K. Can you look at the casting of the head, on the outside, between no: 3 & no: 4 spark plugs, & take a note of the number of the two digit head type. That might assist us in identifying it a bit more. Your pics don't show it; but on the very back of the head, there is either a plate or a circular water jacket bung. This needs to come out to get access to all the "crud" inside. Sometimes pressure chemical cleaning of the head water compartments will dislodge the crud, but frequently, the plate at the back, is corroded badly on the "inside face", & should be replaced. Cheers Banjo

Yep Pete ! Completely agree. Have never been to Japan, but if I do, I would be heading straight to Nagakute & Nagoya, to wander around the wonderful car museums the Japanese have there. http://www.speedhunters.com/2013/07/corolla-to-hilux-toyota-75-continued/ My personal problem would be, that although it is wonderful looking at these beautifully restored examples, I would be very frustrated with the fact that you can't lift the bonnet, & see how they did it, & put everything together, on the working side of the cars. Many years ago I was in London, & visited the big museum there that has everything from planes, to trains, & cars. I had never seen anything like it, & returned for a further 2 days, as I couldn't drag myself away from it. Cheers Banjo

Would just love to go to one of these shows ! https://www.facebook.com/media/set?vanity=technotoytuning&set=a.4700501443323007 Cheers Banjo

Aussies to the rescue ! Read about these guys in our local Jimboomba Times just today, & found it on the net. Love the bit about building it in their hotel room in the UK, & the cleaner seeing it, & thought it was a bomb. Good on ya aussies ! "But we spoke to the police after it all and they actually congratulated us on the work that we were doing." https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-06/qld-kingston-ewaste-global-energy-poverty-indonesia-powerwells/13206106 Cheers Banjo

There are always two sides to a coin. Here is the other one, already emerging ! https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-25/electric-car-solar-battery-storage-waste-recycling/100564234 Cheers Banjo

Interesting column on this subject on the ABC website today, looking from it as "a consumer". https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-21/what-is-stopping-australians-buying-electric-cars/100524242 I occasionally travel to Canberra on business, & thought a good way to get some miles under the belt, in an EV car, would be to maybe hire one, having never driven one. I just checked the net to see if may car hire companies in Australia, are hiring EVs. Not many, it seems, but I did notice that Hertz are hiring the Tesla 3. I would be interested if anyone else on Rollaclub; has tried an EV car, either by hiring it, or a friend's car; & what your first impressions were. After reading that article today, with mention of "range anxiety", I could see how that could become very real. I've always loved driving in the outback, & in my younger days, that's where every holiday was spent. In a petrol car, you always carry one or two full jerry cans in the boot, to extend your range. You can't carry a couple of spare batteries ! The scenario, which always worried me back then, was getting lost or taking the wrong turn, because of poor or no sign posting. Driving on an outback road with few if any other road users, & not knowing how far to the next habitation, always created anxiety. I really think the hybrid solution is an idea solution short term for Australian drivers, until the EV car market gets more established, unless you are a pure "city only" driver. I recently read the detailed description of the Toyota hybrid arrangement, & it sounds brilliant. Only issue for me, is they are very expensive, & very complicated, so support Australia wide may be an issue. I've only had to call a tilt truck once in my life, but these days it is so common, as the NRMA, or RACQ roadside assist man, can do little to get you going again, unless it's something fairly simple. Cheers Banjo

Hi Dave, That's a good site, & right here in Qld. I came across this commentary the other day, which Altezzaclub, will be in full agreement with, I'm sure. https://thenextweb.com/news/are-classic-cars-still-classic-if-converted-evs-yes-they-are I agree with you Dave, that there is always resistance when major events/things, that change in the world. Remember the history of when the world went from horses to cars. These new "fangled things", were so dangerous that the authorities of the day, forced each car to have a man walking in front of it, carrying a "red" flag. It's only early days, as yet, & the next 10 years will reveal lots & lots of changes. For people like Altezzaclub & Banjo, who love the sound of all that air rushing in & out of an engine; someone will produce a little box you attach under your dash, that emits those long loved engine sounds, in complete synchronization with the position of your right foot, on the "speed regulator pedal". I do however, believe that the long distances we travel between towns in regional Australia, will mean that fuel powered cars & trucks will be around for many years to come. Every little town has a petrol station. Under that big concrete apron is a very large tank, which is just a a very big existing "battery of power", waiting to be used. Difference is, I pull in; fill up, & I'm off in 5 mins. Just before this bloody pandemic, I delivered a car to my son in Canberra. I drove from Brisbane to Canberra in the one day, including a forced stop in Grafton, to get a flat tyre repaired (1.5 hour). If I had been in an electric car, having to stop every few hours for a charge, I'm sure it would have been after midnight, before I arrived. I believe there are already people working on this problem. We all used to take our barbi gas bottles to BCF or Bunnings to get them filled. Now you just call in at the servo, & swap it", when you fill up the petrol tank. Batteries will become so light & advanced eventually, that we'll probably just do the same with cars. Swap the battery. I seem to remember early days in Brisbane, when I think there were electric buses; & the battery was pulled along behind in a trailer. The bus just called into the depot; & they hooked on another fully charged trailer. Like this . . . We are definitely in a period of "a time of change". There are those that embrace it; & those that take a little longer. Anyway, electric vehicles are not that new. Circa 1904 Cheers Banjo