Banjo

Hi Luca, Welcome aboard ! Where are you located, & what sort of availability to alternative engines do you have ? How much power do you need to generate ? What are you going to be using your KE38 for ? What shape is the body & the rest of the car in at present. (pics please ) What kind of transmission, is currently in your KE38 ? auto/manual/4sp/5sp ? Don't forget, if you start upgrading your engine, there are a lot of other things, like brakes & suspension, that must also be upgraded. Give us a bit more description, & your intentions/aspirations, & we'll go from there. Does your KE38 look a bit like this one. Think this one might be a 1978 model. Cheers Banjo

Welcome Aboard ! Yeah, I would be doubtful if any the main-line spare parts places stocked them, as they are in pretty small demand, these days. You best bet is ebay. There are a couple on there at present; both second hand & new aftermarket ones, out of Thailand. There are still a lot of olde Rollas in that part of the world, & it has spurned an after market manufacturing need. All the Rolla bits, I've sourced from Thailand over the years, have been pretty good. Someone, on here might have some, they can spare. Love to see some pics of you & your grandson's project. Which state & region, are you located ? Cheers Banjo

Hi Mason, Thanks for the pics ! You really have been busy on your KE36 recently. What region of NSW are you located ? I actually had a KE36, exactly the same as yours, years ago. It actually was white also. Went to Rolla heaven years ago. Died of the dreaded "cancer". Has yours really only got 73K klms on the clock ? Definitely, worth looking after. I'm a presuming it has a 4 speed manual gearbox ? If so, an upgrade to a 5 speed, from a KE70, would make it very pleasurable to drive. Cheers Banjo

Hi Mason, Glad you got it all fixed, & that we were able to help. Where are you located ? Keep an eye out for a good second hand, or rebuilt 85A Hilux alternator with built-in solid state regulator. They come up on ebay every now & then. One of the best upgrades you can do early Rollas. Pity your cars electrical wiring, has been hacked by someone else previously. Makes it a bit hard for you. Another thing you can easily do, is clean all the earth points. Battery negative terminal. Earth terminal between battery negative & the chassis. Earth/chassis strap or cable between chassis & engine block. That one is very important, as it takes all the starter current, which is the largest load in any car, & potential for the greatest voltage drop or reduction. Any other electrical issues, just give us a yell. There are a couple of "experts" on here. Don't really like using that word "expert". Ex is a has-been, & a 'spurt", is a drip under pressure ! Cheers Banjo

Hi Geoff, Certainly will let you know. Cheers Banjo

Hi Rune, Here is a better pic I found on the net, clearly depicting the difference between the long & short nose water pumps for the 2TG engine. Cheers Banjo

I have contacted the ebay seller, in Melbourne, who is producing these trigger wheels for the 4K engine. He is supplying me one with a 36:1 configuration, which I should have later this week. I had a quick look at the crankshaft pullies I have floating around my shed for 3K, 4K, & 5K engines. The 3K & 4K, appear to be all the same, at about 110mm in O.D. The 5K pullies are larger in diameter, at around 125mm O.D. I even found one 5K pulley, with a harmonic balancer built in ? I'll have a quick play, later today, to ensure the 3K/4K I.D., is the same dimension, as the 5K pulley, as I may want to fit it to the 5K engine also on my engine test bed, to experiment a bit. The water pump/fan pullies I have on the shelf all seem to be the exact same O.D. at around 140mm. If that is the case, then on 5K engines presumably, the water pump, & maybe alternator; ran at slightly higher RPM. Have never investigated pulley sizes previously, & was wondering if anyone on here, has gone through this exercise before ? I can only presume, that because the 5K was used on Toyota commercial van & forklifts etc., that they needed extra fan & water pump RPM, to improve cooling ? Cheers Banjo

Hi Tor, Yes, the "long nose" water pump, is to accept the fixed fan assembly, & the short nose water pump, accepts the viscous clutch type fan assembly. Rune may have to source the other fixed fan type water pump, to convert to thermofan. Cheers Banjo

The alloy radiators certainly do cool down quicker. I remember, when I carried out my thermofan upgrade, I was going to install a thermofan cut-out timer, so it couldn't "run on" for more than say 15 minutes, to protect the battery from ever going flat, because the fan stayed on. In practice, the engine coolant gets much hotter, after you pull up, & turn off the ignition. After you pull up, there is no fan on, & there is no "ram effect" of air through the radiator, as the car is now not moving. So if you pull up, & the thermostatic control switch for the thermofan is off, then I find, as I walk away from the car; all of a sudden the fan comes on, as the heat in the block, elevates the coolant temperature. This can sometimes take several minutes, before this occurs. However, after the fan is switched on, it will always switch off, within 60-90 seconds. I therefore decided not to put a run-on timer cut out on. The only reason, I could think, it could still be required; was if there was a condition in the fan motor, that created a high current, which "welded" the contacts in the thermostatic switch, & therefore kept the thermofan continuously running. P.S. I have watched with amusement in shopping centre car parks, after I walk away & look back, to see someone walking past my Rolla, just as the thermofan "kicks in". They stop & look & stare at the car, I presume, not expecting a car that olde, to have a function, which is so common in all modern cars. Cheers Banjo

I know what Pete is saying, because we all want out Rollas to look "olde Skool" when we lift the bonnet, but the truth of the matter is, that the aluminium finned core, is so much more efficient at removing heat than the original old brass or copper cores. From my personal experience, the change-over to an electric fan, & an aluminium radiator, is one of the best & easiest ways to improve the performance of your early Rolla, with quieter operation; more power; & better engine temperature control, being the result. P.S. I had personally been against aluminium radiators, before I did my conversion. I have a mate who is a "Mitsi" fanatic, & he was always having leaking issues with the mating of the aluminium core to the plastic header tanks, & the plastic header tanks splitting. Crossed fingers, I've not experienced that with my Toyota Echo aluminium & plastic radiator. I also installed an override switch, for the electric fan. It is positioned just down on the side of the console. It will get repositioned into the dash, one day. Mine is a three position switch, with a light that shows when the fan is in operation. 1: Fan on under control of the fan thermostat switch. 2: Fan off altogether. Used when crossing creeks, to prevent water being sprayed up over engine electrics. 3. Fan forced on, even if thermostat switch is off. Good for pre-empting a long mountain uphill run, approaching, or if you get caught in heavy, or stand-still traffic. Cheers Banjo

I still remember well, the first time I drove my KE30 after I had done the electric thermofan conversion, & got rid of the engine driven fan, altogether. It was a revelation how much energy is taken to drive that fan. I had a light on the dash, to show when the fan was switched on. It hardly ever came on, only when you pulled up at traffic lights, & there was no ram effect of air passing over the engine.

Hi Rune ! Welcome aboard. I'm sure others have come across this problem before. The clutch arrangement on the engine driven fan, is quite deep, & does take up a far bit of room. Your best option is to remove the engine driven fan altogether, & just retain the pulley, to run the water pump. Then you could obtain an aftermarket electric fan, that simple "ties' to your existing radiator. Another alternative, would be to replace you existing radiator, with another type, (preferably aluminium) from a Nissan or another make, that already has an electric fan as part of it. I used a Toyota Echo aluminium radiator, with integral electric fan on my KE30, which is covered in a post on this forum. Maybe take your existing radiator out, & existing fan off, then run your tape measure over, the space to see what dimensions you have to work with. Just make sure, if you do go looking for another radiator type, that it has in the inlet (top) & outlet (bttm), in the right places to match your 2TG engine. Please post a couple of pictures, once you've got the existing radiator & fan out. Cheers Banjo

Variable Reluctance (VR) sensors are two (2) wire, & do not require power. However, they are amplitude dependent on RPM, & can suffer from interference. They need "signal conditioning" (squaring up), before being fed to most ECUs. Hall Effect sensor, is the way to go. https://fullfunctioneng.com/info/Hall vs VR.pdf There are plenty of generic Hall Effect types around, that can easily be adapted to the K Series engine, with a simple bracket off the engine block. This one on ebay is a tubular threaded / adjustable one, & is less than $ 15. There are two (2) spare mounting holes on the K Series block, where the A/C compressor bracket goes. (exactly the same as the alternator one, on the other side of the engine) They would be ideal, & are in the right area. Cheers Banjo

I have contacted the ebay seller in Victoria, & he has advised, they have 12:1 & 36:1, ex stock, for the 3K/4K/5K motors, both at the same price. They have also previously made a 24:2 one for the 3K/4K/5K motor, so can cut another one, without issue. They are also prepared, to cut any preferred custom arrangement. The nice thing about all these, is that they come with mounting screws etc. & it will bolt straight up to the 3K/4K/5K crankshaft pulley. Anyone that is interested, should hop on the ebay listing, & contact the seller. Cheers Banjo

Hi Robert, Old 3K motors, have a few areas you should check, if you are going to take the sump off, while it is suspended. The 3K motors all had a double timing chain, but the oil pressure fed tensioner, does wear, & the timing chain can stretch. They have been known to slap on the inside of the cover, & in one extreme case I read of, wore right through the aluminium timing chain case. If you have the sump off, it is worth removing the timing chain cover, & inspecting chain, tensioner, & sprockets. If nothing else, the crankcase ventilation in this area is poor, & you will usually find a lot of hardened oil residue build up, that needs cleaning. Also if the sump is attached to the block, with "studs" & nuts, rather than bolts, I would remove the studs on the bottom, of the timing chain cover, & replace with 6mm bolts. It then allows removal of the timing chain cover in the future, without the need to remove or lower the sump, at the front. Cheers Banjo

Has anyone ever used one of these crankshaft pulley trigger wheels, available on ebay Australia, from a seller in Victoria ? They are specifically made for 3K 4K engines. Listing on ebay, indicates they have other tooth patterns available, beside the 12 - 1 one depicted here. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Toyota-K-Motor-12-1T-Crank-Trigger-Wheel-3K-4K-5K-12-1-Tooth-EFI-Corolla-Starlet/114155439025?hash=item1a9431c3b1:g:UaYAAOSwHwRedLXC Really interested in the quality of them ? Price is OK. Cheers Banjo

I plotted out the results on a bit of graph paper, to see what the linearity was like. As the last 8 litres of the capacity of the tank is not usable, I have made that point 0% full. If the linearity was perfect, then the spacings along the red line, of the LED switching points, between 0% & 100%, would be equally spaced. It was never going to be perfect, as the positioning of the reed switches inside the vertical Stainless steel tube, are not equally spaced, as depicted by the bits of tape I stuck on the tube, at the point, where the switches actually switched. The spacing between LEDs 4 & 5, & LEDs 7 & 8 switching on, are a bit wider than the others. The switching points, right at the bottom & right at the top, are a little close together. I could also not utilise switching points no: 2 & no: 13, which would linearise it a little better, & just use two less LEDs. So I think, I might just pop it all in the car, & drive it around for a couple of weeks, or a few tank fulls, & see what it "feels like", in practice. It's got to be better than the original needle gauge on my KE30, & much more reliable. Cheers Banjo

Hi Dave, Your comment reminds me of an event, in my early life at high school. There were some boys in another much higher grade, that were already into cars. I was still very much into push bikes. The word got around that they were going to be doing something in a local quarry, with one of their cars. Me & a mate hid in the bushes, & after about an hour, they turned up in an "olde" English car. I think it was a Rover or something like that. It looked a bit like this . . . It had a very long bonnet, off memory. We expected they were going to do crazy driving stunts, in the dirt in the quarry. We were wrong. They wanted to see an engine blow up ! They opened the bonnet, & started it up, & then placed a large rock on the accelerator pedal, so it was flat to the floor. It screamed, & screamed, & they ran away from it, to a safe distance, where presumably, they hoped to get a great visual of this engine flying to pieces, with rods coming out through the side of the block. Well, they waited, as did we hidden, & it just sat there & screamed, with no load on it. After about 20-30 mins, it started to smoke a bit, but never blew up. We learned much later, that they had also drained the oil from the sump, to ensure it seized & exploded. It didn't, & the true story is, they apparently, returned to the quarry, the next day, with some more fuel, & drove it home. Cheers Banjo

In most automotive electrical installations, the frame or chassis of the car, is connected to the negative (-ve) terminal of the battery, and most 12 volt devices, complete their circuit, by one connection/wire of the device, connecting to the chassis. All lights, horn, radio, & instruments, work exactly the same way. That's why the earth connection between the chassis & the battery (-ve) terminal is so important. Most, if not all of us, have experienced dim lights, or poorly performing electrical items, as a result of poor earth connections. This is also applicable to instruments. The fuel tank sender, is such a device. It has a relatively low resistance; it's at the rear of the vehicle (long wire run); It uses only one wire to the sensor, with the chassis, being the return path. In the electronic LED fuel guage design, I have built, I have eliminated the ground connection to the sensor altogether, so that, poor earth connections, will never effect it. The design provides a constant current to the sensor, rather than a voltage. The constant current, through the fuel level sensor resistance, will produce a stable voltage that is fed back to the meter behind the dash, via a two wire circuit. The lowest voltage of the sensor output, is also elevated slightly above ground/earth/chassis potential. It works extremely well. Unfortunately, this technique, cannot be applied to other standard automotive sensors like water temp sensors, as there is only one wire to them, & the return path, is via the engine block, as the sensor's screwed mounting, is the return connection. However, I have in the past, taken a standard water temp sensor, drilled out the existing sensor element, & then glued into the hole, another NTC thermistor temp sensor with two (2) wires, neither of which, is connected to the chassis. I've just come across a diagram, on the net, that depicts how the internals of these fuel level sensors work. It appears it is a set of magnetic reed switches, that switch a string of resistances, in & out of the circuit. I've also come across a Chinese supplier, that produces these same fuel level sensors, with a 4-20mA DC current, rather than a resistance output. I image, it is still a switched output, so maybe it goes from 4 to 20mA, in 1mA steps. I'll drop them a line, & see what they say. There is a nice one pictured there, that combines sensor, breather & pick-up pipe, complete with filter, all in one assembly. Would lve to get hold of one of them. Cheers Banjo

Hi Caleb, Here's a link, where you can do a bit of research on KE70 diff options. https://www.rollaclub.com/board/topic/55039-ke70-borg-warner-diff/ Cheers Banjo

If it is not a rude question, Mr P; where is the battery located ? I think I can see a battery terminal lead, sort of hanging around there, up near the thermostat cover, on the engine, but can't actually see where there is any place to locate the battery itself. Maybe in the boot ? Cheers Banjo

Enjoyable Read & Pics http://www.speedhunters.com/2012/05/car-feature-chuck-wades-te27-corolla/ Cheers Banjo

Another even cheaper, & maybe easier way to fit the Tridon switch to control your thermo-fan, would be to simply drill a hole in the top of the existing aluminium thermostat cover, where the top hose attaches, & thread it, to take the Tridon switch directly. I did this on my 4K engine, as depicted below, & it has been working perfectly for years. There is even a K Series thermostat cover, that has a threaded hole in the top of this cover, for a sensor or valve, but I've only ever seen one, in all my years playing with Rollas. There is a Toyota thermostat housing cover from an 18R motor, which were fitted to Celica RA23s through to RA40s, which had a threaded hole. I've never seen one of these in the flesh, to see if it would fit the K series motor, or whether, the spout would point in the approximately required direction. Cheers Banjo

Good luck ! I'd be interested to hear if it works. My only initial reaction would be that you are not going to derive a very big "charged air" temperature drop, across the inter-cooler, with it tucked up there, out of the direct "ram flow" air stream, with one surface so close to the bonnet. Cheers Banjo

Yeah that is the way to go ! I have used these before, & they work a treat. I used one to measure the temperature drop across the radiator, on my engine on the test stand. I already had a sensor at the top of the radiator, near the thermostat, so just needed a point on the lower outlet side of the radiator, so just cut the hose as shown. I think the one to suit your application is the 34mm one. Pretty sure the top & bottom hoses are both the exact same size. Remove top hose & check before ordering. I think the Tridon 90-95 deg switch has two (2) insulated terminals, & won't be an issue. However, when using these "hose adaptors" to mount a temperature sensor, you have to be aware that the adaptor itself, is one connection, but it is isolated from the chassis earth/ground, as it is insulated by a piece of rubber hose on both ends. Hence why there is a black wire in the pic above, to ground the aluminium adaptor to the chassis. Cheers Banjo