Banjo

Hi Austin, Luv it ! "The Rolla Room" I tried to build one of them inside my house, in the family room, but not so much to work in, but to relax in. Even built a 3K Coffee Table, and planned on hanging a few olde head gaskets & things on the wall, as "art woks" to give it the right feel. Unfortunately, my wife, (who loves Rollas) deemed that a line crossed too far, & the coffee table now sits forlorn in the corner of my garage. P.S. Actually, she is interstate at the moment, visiting our son for a week, & will be back on Sunday. I might just sneak the coffee table in, & see what reaction I get when she gets home ? Cheers Banjo

Yes I had to use string, as I had run out of cotton ! https://www.forbes.com/sites/startswithabang/2016/11/25/what-every-layperson-should-know-about-string-theory/#1fb9d19f5a53 Cheers Banjo

Whilst working on my distributorless 5K project recently, I needed to remove the front timing chain cover, from the engine, to gain access to the camshaft sprocket, to fit a rare earth magnet & Hall Effect sensor. The engine was on the test bed, & I didn’t want to remove the sump, so thought I’d just take the cover off, as I’ve done it previously on a 4K, whilst it was in the car. As it was on the test frame, with easy access, I thought it would not present any issues. I was wrong ! This particular 5K engine had studs for all sump attachment points, including the four (4) off studs (2 each side), on the bottom of the timing chain cover. I’d run into this problem previously, but 2 off 6mm nuts tightened back to back, on the bottom of the stud, soon had all four studs unscrewing outwards. However, the stud would not come out completely, as they had a little raise edge in the middle, to act as a stop, so the length of stud protruding from the block sump flange, or timing chain cover, is uniform. This little raised section would not pass through the holes in the sump flange. Not to be “snookered”, I inserted a hacksaw blade between sump flange & sump gasket, & cut them off, just above the little raised section, without damaging gasket or flanges. Bingo, I was now able to carefully prise out the cover, without damaging the sump gasket, which I intended to reuse. Whilst I was fitting the sensor, & magnet, I decided to upgrade the timing chain sprockets & chain to a new Rollmaster one, I had on the shelf. I also replaced the chain tensioner & chain guide. Fast forward a few days, & I’m ready to replace the timing chain cover. I did a trial run, before applying gasket goo, (always a good idea), only to find, that the timing chain cover would not go on, without damaging the sump gasket. Close inspection, revealed that the addition of the dual sprockets & chain, prevented the cover from being lined up properly, as the sump was in the way. I’d not had this problem, previously, on my 4K-U, in the car. The reason, is that the 3K motors were produced with dual chain camshaft drives, whereas the 4K & 5K models reverted to a single chain drive. I spent 30 minutes trying every which way to get the cover on, only to come to the conclusion, that the sump, just had to come off. Luckily, It was not too great an effort to disconnect all wires & hoses to the engine, & just lift it up off the test bed, so that I could remove the sump, as if the engine was in the car, & the car was up on a hoist, (which I have not got). So we live & learn, but I thought I might just pop this on here, in case anyone else gets caught, like I did. Cheers Banjo

Love a happy ending ! Good work Edward. Cheers Banjo

Hi Austin, Glad it all went so sweet, & that we could be of assistance. Hope your relationship from here on in, with both Rollas, will be a very happy one ! Cheers Banjo

Hi Austin, i had to look up where Burekup was on the map, just north east of Bundury. Now if you were a good Dad, you'd build your kid a minature Toyota, like this Australian Dad did. You'd never get the smile off his face ! https://www.autoevolution.com/news/australian-dad-builds-miniature-toyota-land-cruiser-for-his-son-84289.html Cheers Banjo

Nice story ! Looks like a great start, & lots of fun coming up ! Keep us updated with your progress. Looks like another future budding Rollaclub member there, in your first pic ? Suggest you edit your profile to indicate where in Oz you are located. You just never know, there maybe someone on here, who is close to you, who could assist, if necessary. I've got 3-4 others members close to me, that call around sometimes for a chatter, or support for each other. Collectively, we've all got a lot of spare parts ! Cheers Banjo

Love the pictures ! Almost convinced me I've just got to paint my garage/workshop floor soon ! As you say; makes it very "civilised". When is the kitchenette, beer fridge, & coffee making machine going in ? Cheers Banjo

Hi Ausgoss & welcome aboard ! Very good advice above, from Pete & Graeme. When an engine has been sitting for a long time, it is completely dry inside. ie: the oil, if any, has drained all the way back to the sump. Cylinder walls are particularly dry, & those first turn overs, can cause damage, as you would expect. After taking out the plugs, as Pete has suggested, I would be putting a couple of teaspoons on "light oil" down each spark plug hole, & leave sit for 5 mins. It the pistons are flat top, the oil will run over the edge of the piston, & down to the top ring, and will provide some lubrication during those first critical starting attempts. Sewing machine oil is very light, but ordinary engine oil will work also, particularly, if you warm it up a bit. Once you have the engine started, & it is up to temperature, I would then shutdown, & immediately drain the sump; fit new oil filter, & then start it up again to get "fresh" lubricant, right through the system. Have fun, but let us know if you have any questions or queries. Cheers Banjo

Nope Si. Should have ! Last time I looked you said they were all gone. That was about 4 odd years ago. Have you done a rerun of the copper ones, or intend to do one again ? https://www.rollaclub.com/board/topic/64563-grouy-buy-copper-em30-all-gone/ Cheers Banjo

I just love Aussie ingenuity ! I wonder why they just didn't tie rags to the rope & polish the towing vehicles bonnet & roof at the same time ? Cheers Banjo

One of the difficult items to work on, in a K series motor is the starter motor, but with the manifolds off, it is easily accessible. The starter motor can pose an issue like the manifold bolts, as the rear flange section of the starter motor, that the holding bolts screw into, is aluminium. Now the starter motor produces high torque, so you certainly want these bolts never to come loose, & if you are like me, you make sure you tighten them up well & truly. Unfortunately, this can result is stripping the thread in the aluminium flange. Now if the bottom mount thread strips, it is not really a great issue, as you just drill the thread section out, & fit a longer bolt, with washers & nuts on the accessible rear of the flange. However, it is invariable the top thread that strips, & this technique cannot be used, so the only real option is to put in an oversized bolt & rethread it, which is a real pain, or another starter motor. While you've got the manifolds off, it is very easy to remove the starter motor & fit the same size manifold studs to the starter motor, just as I have described above with the head. This results in the uninstalling & installing of the starter motor, never causing any damage to the aluminium threads on the starter motor. Again, clean out the threads, & add some Locktite to the stud thread, & fit to the starter motor proper, as depicted below. Use some nice flanged 10mm x 1.25 nuts, again with some Loctite, & you can rest assured, you won't have starter motor mount issues in the future. Cheers Banjo

I do recall once reading a post on here by Altezzaclub, quite a few years ago, where he came across this issue, & described it in great disgust ! If I can find it, I'll put the link here. It was beautiful ! Almost as good as his comment about the cow treading on his bonnet, or eating a K series engine. It is a bummer of a design, but once you've done this mod, with care, the issue is eliminated. I'm sure it is exacerbated, in some instances, by some leaving the exhaust pipe support bracket off, which bolts onto the bellhousing, about where the starter motor sits. The omission, would create potential movement of the manifold flange. I posted this for new timers to Rollas, & hopes it saves a few headaches for some. Cheers Banjo

While waiting for some paint to dry at the weekend, I thought I'd better replace the manifold gasket on my 5K engine, currently on the engine stand, for my distributorless project. I've not had this engine apart before, but like almost everyone who has worked on a K series engine, I know this is a weak point in the design. So off with the manifold, & "sure as eggs", those tell tale black sooty marks on the head facing, at the centre, indicate it has been blowing by. Twenty minutes with a sharp knife edge & a soft wire rotary wheel, on the hand drill, & the result looked like this. Now most; if not all K Series engines, were fitted with manifold "bolts", to tighten the manifold to the head. These are well known for coming loose. Most people tighten them up a couple of times a year. However, as the steel bolt, is screwing into an aluminium head, and that head becomes "softer" over the years, the danger of stripping the threaded holes in the head, becomes more likely. For that reason, I always replace the bolts with steel manifold studs, which results in the steel stud only ever being screwed into the head once. The manifold studs are a generic stud 10mm dia. x 1.25 by 40-41mm long. I saw some of these exact size, on a rack in an auto store, labelled as suitable for a Gemini. Available pretty much anywhere. I picked up a set, complete with nuts for under $ 20. Clean the threads out in the head, with a final tap, or an old 10mm x 1.25mm bolt with a hacksaw cut down the length of one side. Put a bit of Loctite, or similar, on the thread, and screw into the head. If it is a bit tight, & you haven't got a stud remover/insertion tool, then two (2) nuts, tightened back to back, on the outer end of the stud, will do the trick. Your head should then look like this. The original Toyota two (2) piece gasket is not the way to go. This is what, they look like. The one (1) piece gasket is thicker & better made for this arduous application, and are made by several gasket manufacturers, like Durapro, Permatex etc. They are often described as an "extractor gasket". All have the identication EMS30 in their part number somewhere. The current price is around the $20 mark +/- a $ 1 or so. It will be the best $ 20 investment you do for your K Series engine. The manifold nuts are most commonly, deep, heavy duty, & of brass construction, so they don't bind & rust onto the manifold threaded steel studs, with all that intense heat. Before you refit the manifolds, run a straight edge across their mating faces, & make sure the mating surfaces of both manifolds have no air gaps between manifold & the straight edge. (A 200mm S.S. ruler is usually pretty good tool for this application) You will also need some heavy very thick washers, with a 10mm hole, to clamp across the gaps between the aluminium inlet manifold, & cast steel exhaust manifold. Do not fit the manifold without these, or be tempted to use ordinary washers. If you do have issues sourcing some, you could always recover the capitive washers, fitted to the bolts you removed, or I think once, I used some head bolt washers, which were the correct size, which were really nice & thick. Once you refit the manifold & tighten them up, run the engine until it reaches operating temperature, then after it has cooled down a bit, retighten them. Some people like to put a bit of loctite on the outer thread for the nuts, but I've never found it necessary to do this. Retighten the nuts after a week or so, & you should never have another manifold gasket issue. Cheers Banjo

Hi Dion, Put Pajero into the search field on this website, & you will find numerous posts regarding this mod. This link should help you. https://www.rollaclub.com/board/topic/72497-master-cylinder/?tab=comments#comment-703071 Cheers Banjo

Hi Edward, You are doing well ! You will get there. Almost certain that the issue is electrical, so head off in that direction. Once you receive these bits, & fit, your problems may be over. It's always nice to know what it was that caused the problem, so change one part at a time, plugs, cap, & leads in that order, & test the engine inbetween each replacement. That may not fix it, but if not, there are two other items that could be an issue. If it is a points distributor, I would be changing the points & condensor also. Notorious for breaking down. If all that fails; & I'm still placing my bets on it being electrical, I would be checking all the electrical connections in the ignition system, from fuse, starter key barrel, coil, ballast resistor, fuel cutoff solenoid etc. Let us know how you go. Cheers 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 !