Banjo

Hi Edward, Pretty common compression readings. If you are going to have a cylinder that is down on compression, it will always be no: 4, as the back of the K Series head runs hotter than the front cylinders, as a result of poor coolant flow around the back of the head. You could have a broken or worn rings in no: 4, or maybe even a burnt valve seat. Not sure what you mean by . . . " it was going amazing after removing the vac". Leaks into the induction system, can cause all sorts of air/fuel ratio issues, with variable & erratic performance. There are lots of places on the induction system where air leaks can occur. Manifold gasket (common), gasket under carby, loose vac hoses (common), diaphram in dizzy vac unit broken, faulty PCV valve, or hose fittings (common), vaccum brake booster & its hose. Did you manage to get hold of a timing light, & check whether the centifugal advance mechanism in the dissy, it working properly ? The good thing is, your compression test, indicates your motor probably hasn't suffered a blown head gasket. After you have fitted new leads, dissy cap, & spark plugs shortly, if that doesn't fix it, you can bet it's an air leak somewhere, on the induction system. Erratic performance due to an ignition component failure usually results in very sudden & sharp changes in the engine behaviour, whereas, air fuel ratio issues, don't normally have the very sharp & sudden changes. Does the engine feel, or sound like it is starving for fuel ? The fuel system can easily be checked by removing all plugs; removing inlet pipe to carby, & feeding the line into a container. Turn the engine over, & check that the pump & fuel filter are not impeding fuel delivery. Cheers Banjo

Hi Graeme, No one could ever accuse you of bragging, after you read this article ! https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/forward-planning/adding-value/32096-best-garages-on-the-market-design-bat-caves.html Enjoy ! Cheers Banjo

Rule No: 1 No shed is ever big enough ! Maybe we should get Kevin McCloud around to do a TV special on your "shed", once it has the kitchen & bathroom fitted out ? Cheers Banjo

Hi Graeme, Wow ! Well done ! All we need is a bowser outside; a pit in bay No: 1, & a hoist in bay No: 2, & . . . . . Rollaclub Headquarters of the future ! We could even build a box at the end for Irokin to put his servers in. P.S. Have you got NBN there yet ? Cheers Banjo

Thanks Dave ! Noted. Don't usually buy seals, as I have had a habit of buying up K Series NOS parts, when I see them on-line cheap; including full gasket sets, which include front & rear crankshaft seals. In this case, I grabbed a seal from my "shelf gasket kit", only to find the 3K/4K seals are several mm wider than the seal for the 5K. I just fitted a new Rollmaster duplex timing chain & sprockets, which I must have purchased 2-3 years ago, for a rainy day. Cheers Banjo

Well that good idea, did not work well, as it was too tight in the area I proposed. Finished up making a little additional mod to mount a magnet, that required no drilling or changing the engine, except a hole in the timing chain cover. It worked perfectly, & I now have a reliable & steady sync pulse (1 pulse every 720 degrees of engine rotation). The little magnet mounting plate can be fitted in any one of 10 positions on the sprocket, so that a perfect spot can be assigned. Just got to build a little fixed logic decoder, to get the timing pulses I need for the ECU, so the ECU only has to worry about all the engine sensor inputs & calculations. P.S. The hole in the centre is for a crankcase ventilation inlet, so that filtered air takes a much longer scavenging path, through the engine. You might have noticed that the Hall Effect sensor I used, has a little red LED built into the back of it, which makes it very quick & easy in real life, to ensure that the sensors are producing pulses. Should be good for trouble shooting. Cheers Banjo

Thanks Pete, Actually, 90311038022 was the number I had obtained from a Japanese website, but after spending 30 mins at my local Bursons store, with no luck, I was starting to believe I had the wrong part number. Research last night, found that 90311-38022 is a discontinued item, to be replaced by 90311-38053, with same OD & ID, but 7.00mm width, rather than 8.5mm. Then I found that the 90311-38053 was also discontinued, replaced with 90311-38086, with the exact same dimensions as the 90311-38053. So back to Bursons to get a hold of a 90311-38086. To cut a long story short, a supplier was rung, & advised he didn't have the 7.0mm wide seal, but did have 2 off the same seal, but a bit wider, at 8.5mm wide. As that was the original seal I was after, I ordered both of them, & they will be here in the morning. Oh the joys of obtaining olde spare parts ! Thanks for your help. Cheers Banjo

Does anyone have the original Toyota P/N, for this seal ? It is slightly narrower than the same seal, fitted to 3K & 4K engines. The OD is 58.0mm, ID is 38.5mm, Width is 8.5mm The 3K & 4K seal is 11mm in width, & cannot be substituted, as they would stick out proud, from the timing chain cover, & possibly rub up against the back of the crankshaft pulley. Cheers Banjo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6x_EGrDook P.S. The only reason Rollaclub being down, didn't make the mainstream media recently, was that some PM got ousted around the same time !

Hi Edward, The real question is what do the other 3 off spark plugs look like ? I'd remove all four (4), & clean them all. Then put them back, & drive it as normal, then remove & review again. If it is just no: 1 spark plug, each time, that is "carboning up", it can only be something wrong with no: 1 cylinder, or the control of it. Directly after removing the plugs, whilst the engine is still hot, you need to do a compression test, on each cylinder & record the max reading. If they are all around 150 PSI, and within say 10 PSI of each other, then the bores, rings & valves probably acceptable. If no: 1 cylinder has a low reading, then it could be burnt valves, broken or worn rings, or even a blown head gasket; or heaven forbid, a cracked piston. Alternatively, if all cylinder readings look OK, then it is probably a HT lead between dizzy cap & spark plug no: 1. Hope so, as that is an easy fix. You might want to run the engine in the dark tonight, & have a look under the bonnet, & see if you can see any obvious arcs or glows, around the dizzy leads. Another HV arcing area is down the inside of the dizzy cap. You can sometimes see these in the dark, through the dizzy cap. Really hope it is as simple as replacing a lead or dizzy cap, because if not, then it might just require the head to come off, for a "look see". Best of luck, & let us know how you go, or what you find. Cheers Banjo

I got around to fitting the gutted K40 gearbox, & attaching the flywheel ring gear Honda crank Hall Effect sensor in its final position. Was able to run the engine up to 3K - 4K rpm, & view the output of the Honda crank sensor switching perfectly off the flywheel teeth. Currently got the front of the engine off, fitting a new Rollamaster dual timing chain & new sprockets & chain tensioner. The camshaft sprocket will be fitted with a rare earth magnet, to switch a "sync" Hall sensor, that will mount off the back of the timing chain backing plate, near the side/back of the mechanical fuel pump, which will eventually disappear, when the 5K goes full EFI. Also received my Speeduino kit this week, which is already assembled & communicating with the TunerStudio software. i did find a great place to mount the strobe light permanently on the back hump of the gearbox frame. Lines up perfectly with the timing arrow. Soon the fun will begin ! Cheers Banjo

Hi Christopher, Glad it all worked out OK in the end ! Would be nice to find out what was the wiring error. If you ever talk to your DR mate again, please find out, what it exactly was, & let us know here. You're welcome ! We all here like a happy ending, & another Rolla keeps on rollin ! Cheers Banjo

Yeah ! 1.01 & 1.03. The 3K was screaming. The V8 was hardly raising a sweat. Surprisingly, the 5.665 ltr Rolla had amazing traction. I don't think John Tyson could afford to break it, as I think he drove it to the meet, with wife. The 3K KE20 came on a trailer me thinks. I never get over the enthusiasm of some of these "old racers". One driver, (who was giving it everything on the track), that I was talking to in the pits, told me he was 80 years olde ! Results are now on the Leyburn Sprints website. http://www.leyburnmotorsprints.com.au/ Cheers Banjo

Another great Leyburn Sprints. Fantastic weekend, of great fun ! My very favourite was the 73 Rolla of John Tyson, immaculately prepared, & sporting a 5665 cc V8, somehow shoe-horned into into the engine bay, with great precision ! The Shannons Show n Shine was also excellent. This was my standout of the classics. My guess at first sight from a distance, was a very early Alvis. Turned out to be something much rarer. Any guesses ? https://www.tradeuniquecars.com.au/feature-cars/1709/jaguar-ss1-review And how about this pit crew, who travelled & lived in style ! Cheers Banjo

Hi Dave, The problem with using a missing tooth system is, that my teeth are the flywheel ring gear, & I don't think the starter motor pinion, would take too kindly, to all of a sudden encountering 2 off teeth missing. However, the Speeduino system does cater for what I am envisaging, with a trigger system call Dual Wheel, as described below, in the extract from their manual. This allows the Speeduino to simply continuously count the full complement of teeth of the flywheel, & reset it with an external signal from the camshaft line somewhere. Currently, just building a "convertible open top K40 gutted gearbox", so I can run the engine on the test rig, at 3K - 4K rpm, and have a look at the pulses on the CRO again, & be able to strobe the degree wheel on the flywheel. An hours work with a hand held grinder, with a metal cutting disc & grinder ! Cheers Banjo

True ! https://www.justcars.com.au/cars-for-sale/search?p=2&make[0]=ford&model[0]=escort Cheers Banjo

Bloody hell Pete ! You should put this story down, & get it printed in a paperback. It would become a best seller. I'm trying to think of a suitable title. How about, the car telling the story. How about "My Life as an Escort" . That should get an initial kick off in sales. Actually, talking about paperbacks; I was given a paperback 10 days ago, called The Cockoo's Egg, which is a true story by Clifford Stoll. The paperback was first published in the late 1980s, & recounts how the initial hacking of computers took place in the USA, and how they detected it. Sounds boring I know, but the writing style, & true substance was intriguing, and I couldn't put the book down for about 5-6 hours. Unbelievably good read. Cheers Banjo

I had a good weekend experimenting with the Honda crankshaft sensor, on the 5K engine, with the engine rotating. I was delighted to find it worked perfectly, & that my concerns that the teeth on the flywheel ring gear were possibly too close, to effectively prevent the Hall Effect device/sensor from turning off, were not realised. This is the area, where I mounted crankshaft trigger sensor. It is accessible from the underside of the engine. ' The Hall Effect sensor fitted through the engine backing plate, with air gap circled. On the RHS of pic is the Hall Effect sensor & its cable. On the LHS of pic is the remains of a previous experiment, where the radial inserted rare earth magnets, let go after a few months operation. I'm still find little bits of smashed rare earth magnet, attached to various items at the back of the engine ! Before fitting the two (2) rare earth magnets to the flywheel, I used the pilot hole to drill the hole in the engine backing plate so the centre of the magnet & the centre of the Hall Effect sensor lined up perfectly. The flywheel bolts onto the crankshaft in six (6) different positions, (60 deg apart) so you will always be able to find a point suitable for the trigger point position range required for any particular ECU requirements. '' The trigger sensor accessablity from under the rear of the engine. The CRO traces of the ring gear teeth sensor, & flywheel trigger sensor, indicated they were both working well. All these tests were done with the spark plugs removed, & the starter motor used to crank the motor. 12 Volt flywheel ring gear teeth clean square wave pulses. Crankshaft trigger pulses. Next test is the fit the Honda sensor permanently in a cut-out of the bell housing, a little bit higher than its temporary position, so it is easily accessible from within the engine bay, behind the oil filter area. Honda Crankshaft sensor in temporary position for tests. (It's almost like it was physically designed for this K Series engine application ! My design criteria is, that all sensors must be accessible, & easily replaced from the outside of the engine, without any major “removals”. I’ll then refit the bellhousing & rear engine mount, & run the engine at operating revs up to say 3K-4K rpm, and check that the pulsed outputs from both sensors, still remain stable & clean. Only the non critical synch pulse to do now, somewhere off the camshaft train, & I’m then ready to do some tests on an external ecu & ignition system connected to these sensors, but not actually running the engine. Lots of fun, & a good learning experience. The timing & the absolute accuracy & reliability of these sensor signals are critical to whether the ecu works well on not. Doesn’t matter how good the ecu is, if the signals are poor, the results will be less than ideal. What do they say . . . “rubbish in, then rubbish out” Cheers Banjo

I think we all have one of those stories. Mrs Banjo had an RA40 Celica, when I met her, & we once drove it to South Australia from Brisbane. The RA40 had an electric oil guage, so the sender unit down near the oil filter was quite large, compared to the simple oil warning switch. Anyway, somewhere, a long way between towns all of a sudden the oil pressure guage needle drops to zero. I think a guage displaying zero is somehow, an even more frightening visual, than a simple red light. ( It sort of droops !) Anyways, we stop, & check out everything. Oil OK; no sound of bearing rattles; fuses OK; short sender wire to chassis & oil pressure guage moves rapidly upwards. So it appears in is just a sender unit, that has given up the ghost, at the most inconvenient of times. Next town is Mildura, about 40 minutes away. I ring Toyota dealer, not expecting them to have the part, but lo & behold, they had one in stock, but closed on Saturdays at midday, & it was nearly 11:30am, Saturday. That was a very quick trip to town, especially, for future mother-in-law, who was in the back seat. I figured 30 minutes of discontent was a better option than the remainder of the trip to Adelaide. Happy ending ! Got there with 60 seconds to spare. Got the sender unit. Drove to the banks of the mighty Murray River, and fitted the new send. Drove to Adelaide, without further stress to future Mother-In-Law, & all ended happily. Cheers Banjo

For the flywheel tooth sensor experiment, I found some Honda Civic Hall Effect sensors cheap on ebay. A crankshaft & a camshaft sensor (2 sensors) for $ 20.00. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2PCS-Car-Auto-Camshaft-Crankshaft-Position-Sensor-For-Honda-Civic-2001-2005-L4/253646611587?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649 Managed to find the connections for the crankshaft sensor on the internet last night. Hoping that the camshaft sensor connections are identical. https://troubleshootmyvehicle.com/honda/1.7L/how-to-test-the-crank-sensor-1 I hooked it up last night on the bench, and waved it by hand past the flywheel teeth, with the sensor switching an LED, and surprise, surprise, it appeared to work perfectly. I was a bit concerned the teeth on the flywheel, may be too close together, for the sensor to effectively switch off, between teeth. The purpose made toothed wheels on cars, seem to have the teeth widely spaced. So will fit the flywheel back on, the test engine, make a stable bracket to position the sensor, run the engine, hook up a CRO to the Honda Crankshaft Position Sensor, & see how clean the resulting pulse train looks. The other sensor at the top of the pic, is the crankshaft/flywheel trigger Hall Effect Sensor. It triggers off two rare earth magnets, I embedded in the flywheel, exactly 180 deg apart. P.S. Does anyone know where I can get the harness connectors for these sensors, here in Oz ? They sell them in the USA, as a repair item, complete with wires, but neither Amazon or the USA spares companies, will ship or post them to Australia. Might have to head to the wreckers, with a pair of wire cutters in my back pocket ! https://www.amazon.com/Position-Sensor-Harness-Repair-2001-2005/dp/B078JZZJWF/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1533860684&sr=1-1&keywords=Honda+Civic+crankshaft+sensor+connector+harness Cheers Banjo

Having lots of fun with this system, & just implementing the crankshaft trigger sensor at the moment, which I will document in this thread shortly. Have been reading about "GMR" crankshaft position sensors, developed by Mitsubishi, which are said to be ever better than a Hall Effect sensor. MR, the last one listed, in the table below, is I believe, what we more commonly refer to as a VR [Variable Reluctance] sensor) http://www.mitsubishielectric.com/en/about/rd/advance/pdf/vol121/vol121_tr3.pdf Wouldn't mind getting hold of one of these GMR sensors, & seeing if it can't be used in this project for the flywheel tooth sensor. Does anyone one happen to know, what current Mitsubishi model engines, use GMR sensors ? Cheers Banjo

Love it ! I'm a sucker for data also. I log it, as well as watch it real-time. Then I can look at it, at home, even when I'm not driving. There is a couple of sayings within the "measurement industry". "What gets measured, gets managed !" & Without data, it's only a matter of opinion !" Cheers Banjo

Hi Jasper, Just saw your question, & had to nip outside in the dark, & take a look under the bonnet, as I couldn't remember whether it required an adaptor or not. It did, require an adaptor, as the original Toyota one was M16 thread, & i think the one that came with the temp guage was M10, or something small. Luckily I had a box full of adaptors I've collected over the years, which include what I needed. However, I think you are right, that the brass adaptors are a bit exxy, as the ones available all seem to be VDO brand. Cheers Banjo

Hi Peter, If you can't afford a $50 temp guage, you might like to try one of these 52mm type, selling on ebay for around $ 10.00 complete with sensor & mounting bracket, & free postage. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2-52mm-Car-Auto-Digital-LED-Water-Temp-Temperature-Gauge-Kit-40-120-Black-12V/222900115049?epid=503179273&hash=item33e5e1d669%3Ag%3AQoMAAOSwVqlaOjpE&_sacat=0&_nkw=2"+DC12V+Car+Auto+Tint+Pointer+Water+Temperature+LED+Temp+&_from=R40&rt=nc&_trksid=m570.l1313 I bought one a couple of months ago, thinking, if its's a dud, then I've only done $ 10. It is still going perfectly, & surprisingly is very accurate. However, if you can afford a good VDO unit, as Dave has suggested, you will have a temp guage that will probably outlast the car. Cheers Banjo

Hi Graeme, In situations like you have clearly described above, your best friend & tool, is your multi-meter. Place the sharp probe tips into the centre of the posts of the battery, on a 20V DC range, & the reading should be around 12 volts. Have your Princess start the car, & observe how far the battery voltage dips, during the starting process. It should not get any lower that 9-10 volts. If it falls that low, then you could have a low charge on the battery, or a battery on the way out. However, if the voltage on the battery does not drop more than a volt or so, but the starter, is grinding or slow, then the issue could well be voltage drops, anywhere between battery & start motor connections, of which there are several. Each battery terminal connection. The battery -ve lead to the body. Both ends of the earth strap between body & crankcase. Last one is the +ve battery lead to the starter motor itself. If you suspect the battery terminal connections, as you described, put the multi-meter on a lower range like 5v or 6V DC, Put the +ve meter probe tip, on the very centre of the battery +ve post, & the -ve probe tip on the clamp on the lead for the positive terminal. Have Princess start car again, & check that voltage does not rise over about a volt maximum. Repeat the exercise with the negative battery terminal clamp, but reverse the multi-meter probes. (Place -ve probe on -ve battery post terminal). If you have any significant voltage drop between battery posts & respective clamps during starting, then time for a good clear of all contact surfaces, or new post clamps. Always happens at this time of the year. P.S. I have a friend in Canada, who lives up on the permafrost where the ground freezes. He drives his vehicle into his garage each night, & plugs the car's built-in crank case oil heater into the power point, so that he can start it the next morning. Don't think it get that cooooold out Buccan way. Cheers Banjo