Banjo

Hi Graeme, The dizzy aluminium body should have a little plate on it down on the side, with all the details, including which K series engine it made to be fitted to. The Bosch dizzies are usually larger in dia. than the Denso ones. Toyota used both brands at different times. Do you know whether this dizzy is the original one fitted to this particular engine. I presume it has points. Post a picture of it, if you can. Cheers Banjo

Nice thoughts ! Cheers Banjo

Wayne, Do you realise Mark is in Arkansas in the USA, & that postage of a pump to him would cost many times more than the pump is worth ? Someone will have some N.O.S. over there somewhere. There are a couple of types of mechanical fuel pumps used on K series engines. There is a sealed unit, which has a return line on it, back to the tank. I've got one of those, but they are throw away, when they die. The really old ones with brass hose fittings & two halves can be disassembled easily, & I'm sure again there are repair kits for these with diaphragm, spring & little valves. I've seen them on ebay some time back. I think I actually rebuilt a pump like that once. I came across a Tridon oil pressure switch today, that looks like the STANDARD brand PS-64 one, I saw on the internet in the USA. The Tridon one even has a similar P/N, but the specs confused me, so I dropped their tech department an email today, to see if it works the same way. This one seems to be different, as instead of just 3 off voltage free connections, the Tridon one effectively has 4 terminals, with the normally closed terminal connected to the frame of the oil pressure switch, which is chassis. I'll let you know what they advise. Would solve my problem of getting one locally. They cost more to freight from the USA than they are worth. Cheers Banjo

Mark, The olde mechanical fuel pump on the K series engine is very simple, very reliable, & have performed well for many standard engines over many years. They do not entail any sort of electric power involvement, & are therefore basically trouble free. Most people never even think about their fuel pump. It just works, and about the only failure ever experienced is if the diaphram develops a hole. The mechanical pump doesn't need a pressure regulator; as soon as it experiences a back pressure from the carby, when the bowl fills, the fuel pump just stops pumping. To replace a fuel pump on the side of the road takes all of 15 minutes, & doesn't even require getting under the car. I have occasionally thrown a spare in the boot when i've gone of a long trip, but never had to use one. However, the mechanical pump is not good at sucking fuel over the length of the car, especially if there are partially blocked lines or there are issues with the tank breather system. I have also looked at fitting an electric pump, at the rear of the car, to overcome this possible issue, but there are a requirements for an electric pump to be primed, to run, & to be automatically shut down if the engine stops for any other reason, other than normally turning off the ignition. The added requirement of power means that an extra fuse, & relay are also required, so the ignition switch is not forced to carry the extra couple of amperes to run the electric fuel pump. The use of a oil pressure switch is a good addition, but then it gets a bit complicated to prime the pump. However, there is an oil pressure switch, which incorporates a changeover switch, rather than the simple "normally closed" switch. This switch is available in the USA, and is called a model PS-64, but I can't find one ex stock here in Australia. The use of this switch makes the electric requirements of this conversion much simpler, as detailed in this sketch I found on the internet. Cheers Banjo

Hi Max, Never heard of a K Series engine jumping a link, although I can't confirm it "cannot happen". K Series timing chains get pretty sloppy sometimes, to the point of the chain slapping against the inside of the timing chain cove, however to jump a link is a "big ask". Some K series motors had double row timing chains, & I would think it would be less possible with one of them. The chain could be fitted incorrectly, but as I presume as this motor has run successfully previously, that is probably not the cause of your issue. A possibility is that the location pin between the camshaft sprocket & end of camshaft could have sheared. No amount of adjusting of the dizzy timing will ever cure this, as the valve timing will be totally out. As previously advised, you really have to go back to square one & check the valve timing, by fitting a degree wheel, & noting the opening & closing of inlet & exhaust valves on cylinder no: 1, with reference to the engine specs. I assume the cam in this engine is stock standard. Whatever, the cause, you are going to have to check valve timing out, unless you want to remove the engine & the timing chain cover. If you can provide some history on this engine, and whether it has ever been stripped recently by yourself or others, that may lead to other possible reasons why this has occurred. Good luck with your investigative efforts, & let us know how you go. Cheers Banjo

Max, l've been thinking about this. Probably one or more of three things. ! 1. Running whilst very retarded. 2. Running very lean, which often causes it to race. 3. Has a big vaccum leak on the inlet manifold or under the carby. Cheers Banjo.

Hey Max, Just leave it now until tomorrow & it cools down ! Dave said you can't break a 4K, but you've got a serious problem there. if I was in Sydney, rather than Brissy, I'd be round there in a flash. Love to know what's causing this issue. While the engine is running & this exhaust manifold is glowing red hot, does the engine make any unusual noises ? I think it's back to the drawing board. Forget about carby & dizzy tune & settings. Time to pull all the spark plugs out, do a compression test, and maybe a leak down test, with compressed air. My guess is that big bang you experienced has blown something. I think there is something basically wrong with the engine, and you need to check out the engine integrity first before anything else. Cheers Banjo

Hi Joey, Thanks for your answers & feedback. Before you go pouring money into your little KE35, a couple of other thoughts. The body is the basis for everything you will do to this car. If the body is not up to scratch, then you are putting good money after bad. Your pics indicate a pretty clean little car. What do you know about the history of the car, & from your close inspection ? Has it got any rust in it, or any signs of rust being cut out previously ? It the paintwork original, or has it been resprayed at some time previously ? If it's got lots of "bog" in it, then I'd give it the miss, for any sort of competition work. Cars in excess of 40 years old tend to get a bit "floppy" & unstiff. I've seen Rollas that age, doing a bit of "crabbing", when you follow them from behind. The pillarless coupes like yours are the worst. Your body relies heavily on the strength in the upper rear quarter panels, where there are multiple layers of metal, and they rust out in there, out of sight. If you take it to a good wheel alignment place, they'll be able to tell you how far out the back & front wheel alignments are offset. They can be jigged, & all the floor pan stitch welding, can be seam welded, which will usually pull them back in, & stiffen them up considerably. Jacking them up high on one corner & seeing how far the other side droops is usually an eye opener, & will give some indication of how "soft" the body rigidity is. There's a lot of inspections & tests you can do, pre spending money on it, that won't cost a lot, but could save you a heap down the track, if you discover "surprises" later on during the build. Cheers Banjo

Hi Joey, Welcome aboard ! OK. Others on here will need a few more details, before providing suggestions on what you could/couldn't ; should/shouldn't do. I presume it has a manual gearbox ? Is it a 4 or 5 speed ? Is the "adjustable front suspension" referring to coil-overs on the original struts ? Has anything been done already to upgrade the brakes ? How much have you budgeted to spent on your little beauty ? (Just love those KE35s) Had a KE55 coupe for years, but it went to "cancer heaven". As a very minimum, with minimal mods & costs, I'd suggest looking at replacing the 3K with a 4K, unless you are competing in club classes for 1200cc & under. It always comes down to how far you want to go, & how much $$$ you can afford to spend. Another big consideration, is how much of the intended "conversion" work you can do yourself, & how much you will have to pay others to complete. What other vehicles do you have in your "bunch of cars" ? Cheers Banjo

Hi Kevin, The whole body of the car is the return path for all accessories to the negative terminal of the battery. Because the fog lamps & front turn indicators are on the bumper bar, both turn & fog lights will have an earth wire going back to the body, which I'm guessing is not grounded at all, or is rusty. When this earth is not present, both lights will try to work at the same time in series, which means each has 6 volts across it, which makes them both dim, & the turn indicators flash at a slow rate, because there is less current flowing through the turn indicators flasher unit. Do as Jon has suggested, & run a wire from the negative battery terminal to the turn indicators & the fog light earth wires, which could be a white wire. I'm guessing that the where the bumper bar bracket bolts onto the chassis is very rusty also. Let us know if that fixes it. Cheers Banjo

Hi James, Sorry, you are right ! That was off the top of my head. 0.8mm or 30 thou is the plug gap, & 0.45mm or 18 thou is the points gap. Haven't had points in my Rolla for so long. Went solid state long ago. With points gap & olde cars, with worn dizzy cams, it is always advisable to set the points gap on the cam lobe with the with the smallest gap. This will result in the other three (3) lobes providing slightly larger gaps, but this is not an issue. Usually the gaps will always decrease between points adjustments, as the fibre rubbing block on the points wears down/away. That's why you must put Vaseline or a grease lubricant on the dizzy cam. I always used to set my points at 20 thou to cater for this. Cheers Banjo

Hi Tim, Welcome aboard !. KE series cars were built before baby cars seats were a commodity, so I'm not sure they were ever originally designed to accept car seat mounting & loading points. When I've had the back seat out & the parcel shelf removed to reline it, I noted the "iron work" in that area supporting the parcel shelf didn't look thick enough to be used as archorage points for the back/top of a baby seat. The existing rear seat belt anchor points are from the floor under the seat, & above the rear wheel wells, To ensure you are legal, I would suggest going to a company that professionally fits baby car seats & modules. I'm sure they would have come across this issue & know a solution, or could advise you. Maybe there is someone on here who has been through your exercise previously, & can shed some light on a solution. Let us know how you go, & good luck ! Cheers Banjo

Hi Max, Just love these who dunits ! I'm with Keith, in that I definitely think that its ignition timing or settings. Particularly, as the bang occurred straight after you checked the plugs, points & timing. To ensure that the engine isn't damaged in some way, I'd be pulling all the plugs first, checking the insulator colouring, to see if they have been running lean or rich, & that their colours are all the same. Then if you can get hold of a compression tester, check all four cylinders & see if any one is low, or that they all don't have about the same readings. As far as the ignition timing & settings go, I would start from scratch as others have advised, & during the process, you will discover what the problem or issue is, by working systematically through the settings. Did you perhaps remove the distributor completely from the engine to clean & set it ? If the dizzy is removed, there is always the risk of fitting it 1 tooth out, when reinserting the dizzy & engaging with the camshaft. 1. While the spark plugs are out, turn the crankshaft (19mm spanner) until TDC markings line up on the camshaft chain cover. Bear in mine that this maybe TDC No1, or TDC No 4,so to be sure you may have to remove the rocker cover & watch the sequence of the inlet & exhaust rockers on No: 1 cylinder. 2, Once you are sure that you have TDC No: 1, lift the dizzy cap & make sure the rotor is directly pointing to the pin in the cap inside, whose associated HV lead goes to Spark plug no; 1 at the front of the engine. The remaining leads should be connected to spark plugs 3, 4, & 2, from no: 1, in a clockwise direction, looking down on top of the dizzy. 3. If the leads are not as above, then swap them around, until it is as I describe. 4. Check the inside of the dizzy cap very carefully after cleaning it, that there are no carbon tracks between contact pins. Also make sure spring loaded carbon pin is OK, and that it provides some downward pressure on the top of the rotor. 5. If all OK, then turn the engine by hand until the points open maximum, with the rubbing block on the top tip of the cam. Set to the recommended gap 0.45mm or 18 thou & tighten. Turn the engine & check the gap on the remaining 3 lobes, to make sure the gap readings are essentially the same. A big difference indicates the cam is worn. 6. Now turn the engine over slightly until the points are fully closed, just before no: 1. With a trouble lamp clipped across the points, turn the dizzy ever so slowly, unit the trouble lamp lights. 7. Now check where the pointer on the crank shaft is pointing to, on the markings on the timing chain cover. 8. It should be pointing to somewhere between 8-12 deg C. If not then turn the engine until the crankshaft pulley points to 10 deg BTDC. Now unclamp the distributor clamp slightly & rotate the dizzy carefully, until the trouble lamp just lights again, as before. 9. This is called "static" timing and ensures that at 10 deg BTDC the points are just opening, so that the coil current collapses & fires spark plug no: 1. After that it's time to run it & see what transpires. There could still be other things causing mis-firing like a dead plug, or an open circuit or or HT lead breaking down, but at least you will know that the timing is OK. Trust that assists. Cheers Banjo

Welcome aboard Alana ! You are one Luckie Duckie ! Lots of jealous folks on this site reading your post. Pics please ! By my reckoning, that means this KE70 did less than 2000 klms per year average ! ! Was it stored for any length of time during its life, where it wasn't driven ? Love to hear its story, & how you came by it. Good Luck ! Any help we can provide, give us a yell. Cheers Banjo

Hi kevin, If the engine spins freely without spark plugs, then it sounds like the added compression, with spark plugs in, is too much for it. I'd squirt some engine oil down the spark plug holes & spin it with the starter motor for a minute & see if the spin speed increases, as the oil does its thing. It should spin very freely, at speed, without spark plugs. Remember every drop of oil has drained to the sump in a motor that has been sitting for years. If it has been sitting for some time, there could be other issues like stuck valves & the like. Clip spark plugs back on the leads, with spark plugs out, but touching the block or head, spin the motor again, & see if you get sparks across the spark plugs. Removing the rocker cover & observing the tappets, will show you whether you have any stuck valves. Cheers Banjo

Hi Kevin, If the starter turns over with the key in the ignition, whilst you have the starter earthed via the jumper lead connected to frame of starter & presumably the -ve battery terminal, but does not turn when you bolt it back onto the engine, it is a good indication that the earth lead between engine block & chassis & battery -ve terminal is at fault. Maybe one of the cables joining these items is missing or cactus. With the starter still in the engine, put your jumper lead as you had it before; onto the starter frame, & onto the negative battery terminal. If the car then starts OK, you've found your problem. The starter draws more current whilst starting, than any other component in the car. Any resistance between battery -ve terminal & the starter case will cause the symptoms you describe. The clicking is the solenoid or starter relay trying to pull in through this same resistance. Let us know how you go. Cheers Banjo

Sounds like a carby problem. How long ago was the carby stripped, cleaned & reassembled ? With the air cleaner off, can you see a squirt of petrol into the venturi, when you open the butterfly quickly by hand ? Common for the accelerator plunger to wear out, or the passages feeding it inside the carby, blocking up. Cheers Banjo

Hi Keith, I've heard that the KE20 inner hub bearing, is slightly smaller than the inner bearing on the KE30, so not sure whether the stub axles are the same profile. I'll know in the next week or so, as we are about to try and upgrade a RollaClub members KE20 to KE30 or KE55 rotors and calipers. We will have all the bits here to do a trial fit in the next few days, to work out what fits & what doesn't, so will be able to let you know. Cheers Banjo

Good work Peter ! I just love stories with a happy ending ! Cheers Banjo

Hi Peter, To prove the issue is a defunct fuel pump, simply remove it, put a piece of tube on the inlet; put it in a can of petrol, & work the lever by hand, & see if anything comes out. If it doesn't, then you've solved your problem. If it does work, then look for a blocked fuel filter, or a blocked fuel line from the tank. I think you are nearly there ! To check the fuel line, remove petrol cap, and get someone to listen at the tank filler, while you blowing back down the line. Do not use compressed air. If there are any rubber sections in the fuel line, then these can break down inside & block completely, even if the line looks OK on the outside. Good luck ! Cheers Banjo.

Hi Peter, In your response you said . . . . How did you determine the spark plugs were igniting ? Was it trying to start ? (Spasmotic combustion) Or did you remove spark plugs and just connect them to the leads, with the spark plug base grounded ? Cheers Banjo

Hi Peter, Unfortunately, it may have been the distributor, but if you changed it over, & didn't get the replacement one inserted correctly, with timing right, it will still not start. Are you sure the timing of the replacement dizzy is correct ? Turn the engine over slowly by hand with a 19mm spanner or socket on the crankshaft pulley, until the timing "nich" on the cranshaft pulley lines up with the 0 deg timing mark on the timing chain case. Then carefully remove the dizzy cap & see if the rotor is pointing towards the cap point where either No 1, or No 4 spark plug lead is connected. If the rotor does not line up with either, then the dizzy has been fitted incorrectly, & therefore should be taken out, & reinserted. There are plenty of instructions on this website, how to fit & time a dizzy properly. If it does line up, it could still be out 180 deg on the dizzy. You can correct this temporarily, by moving all the leads around the dizzy cap 180 deg. I'm presuming you have measured +12V at the positive terminal of the coil with the ignition turned on. If not, it could be an open circuit coil ballast resistor. I would also suggest removing all spark plugs & inspecting them. Whilst out, undo the union of the incoming fuel line into the carby, & turn the engine over with the starter motor. If fuel comes out around the loose union, then there is fuel available & the pump is working. While the dizzy cap is off, ensure the points are opening, when turned over by hand. Try those suggestions & if it still doesn't work, then let us know the results of my suggestions, & we'll see if we can't narrow it down at least to either fuel or ignition. Cheers Banjo.

Hi Lochi, Don't know how I missed your post & this thread. I love a "who done it" scenario, requiring a little collective detective work. Did you remove the head to discover this, or just peer down the spark plug holes with a light ? I'm very skeptical that a running engine, could just get to a point in time, where the engine suddenly arrived at a locked condition every 360 deg, as a result of carbon build up alone. Hmmm ? Love to hear some more details on how you found that, & if you have permanently solved the issue, & it is running again. Cheers Banjo

Most dashes look olde & tired at night, with those little 5W filament bulbs getting olde & dim. I quick fix, is to buy a few of the T10 LED bulbs on line. They are now quite cheap. http://www.ebay.com....Qhzotr_c_tmU8Bw I grabbed a few, stuck three (3) off them in the 3 x "back light" holes, & the effect was immediate and brilliant. The blue LED light even makes the "orange" needles on the meters look new & fluroesent. If the bulb does not work when you first plug it in, then remove, rotate 180 degrees, & reinsert. The LEDs are polarised, unlike the filament bulbs, & will only work with the right orientation. There is a 50/50 chance you'll get it right the first time. The LEDs will not allow you to use your dash light dimmer, but you won't need or want to, once you've got these cool blue LEDs. Almost makes my 42 year olde Rolla look modern at night. i wondered why the clock back light did glow blue, until I remembered it is an independent unit that fits into the dash, & has it's own torch type filament bulb. A few months ago, I needed a cheap tacho to do some ignition testing on the bench. I purchased one on ebay for < $ 20.00. http://www.ebay.com....MQAAOSwTA9X62qZ At the weekend, I had the dash out, fixing the guages' voltage regulator. I noticed the clock assembly is only held in place by 3 screws, & looked to be about the same diameter as the 52mm tacho I had on the bench. A few minutes later I had the clock out, & couldn't believe the 52mm tacho slid perfectly into the hole left by the clock. It even jammed itself with the little plastic ribs on the meter face surround. When I hooked up the two tacho back light wires to the dash, I was pleased to find it had a blue LED in it. The whole dash now looks totally co-ordinated. If you are going to buy one off ebay, get one with a black face & white lettering to match the speedo meter face. They come with simple instructions. Just 2 wires for the back light. 2 wires for 12V ignition "RUN" & one green wire to the trigger dizzy or ECU, if you've got electronic ignition. So there is a way, for < $30, you can really spruce up your dash. Cheers Banjo

Got up on Saturday morning & started my KE30 Rolla, but no fuel or temperature gauge movement. Everything else worked fine, & no blown fuses. As the fuel tank & level sender is at one end of the car, & the temperature sensor is on the engine, it was a fair bet it was not a wiring issue. Then I remembered it will be that little voltage regulator, that sits on the rear of the dash assembly, & powers the fuel & temperature gauges. These two gauges run at 7 – 8 volts instead of 12Vdc, so that the two gauges read accurately, whether the battery is fully charged, or very low. So out with the dash assembly, to have a look at the regulator. Now I had one go bad years ago, & I knew where it was located, but on my dash rear, there was no regulator. There was a little bit of blue plastic sticking through the PCB, where it should be mounted, but not on mine. The PCB had 12V IGN & 7V marked on it, with the posts & nuts for locating the meters, but no regulator. I hooked up 12V to the dash, & measured a big fat 0Vdc on the 7V posts to the meters. So I knew what the problem was, but where was the regulator. I looked in the garage & found two other dash assemblies, both out of KE55s, & both had regulators visible on the back of the dash PCB. I noticed the fuel gauge had three posts; 12V IGN - 7V - Chassis/Ground, whereas the temp gauge only had two. I took the PCB off the plastic dash frame & removed the fuel gauge. Careful study of the fuel gauge working, indicated that the 7Vdc regulator, is built into the gauge, which then supplies 7Vdc to the temperature gauge. However the regulator is not an electronic one like the KE55s, but a rather simple electro-thermic pair of contacts that maintain an “average” 7Vdc to power the meters. This works because both gauges are electro-thermic, & have very slow response times. This contact is constantly opening & closing at varying on/off ratios, dependent on what the battery voltage is. The lower the battery voltage is, the longer the points will remain closed. So even if it was working perfectly, you will not get a steady voltage when you check the 7Vdc point, with your multimeter. You get 12V or 0V, but never exactly 7 volts. My fuel gauge regulator had pitted & worn contacts, & I could have delicately cleaned them, & possibly got it working again. However, after seeing how basic & crude the regulator was, I decided to insert an electronic LM317 DC regulator. This regulator will handle DC voltages up to 37V, & can be set to output basically any voltage between 2V to 35V, using just two (2) resistors. Altronics sell a little Silicon Chip kit using this regulator, called a model K3220. You can buy then on line for about < $ 10.00 + P&P. However, my fuel gauge had never read quite full, when the tank was topped up. I now had the chance to fix that, so that the gauge would read full properly. I filled my tank up at $ 114.9/ltr, & I put my variable power supply across the 7Vdc terminals. The fuel gauge indicated about 90% full. I wound the power supply up to 8.0Vdc & the gauge read almost 100%. I thought, if I make one of the resistors variable in the K3220 kit, I could then adjust the DC gauge supply to make the fuel gauge read exactly 100%. I used a 500 ohm multiturn trim pot, & to cut a long story short, the gauges work just like they did when the car was new; maybe even better. The little regulator can be mounted anywhere behind the dash, with only three (3) wires to be connected. If you fit Utilux post lugs to these wires, you don’t have to even solder it to the PCB. 12Vdc input to the regulator goes under the post nut for 12V on the fuel gauge. 7-8Vdc lug goes under the 7V post on the fuel gauge, & GND goes under any of the outside edge screws holding the PCB to the blue plastic frame, that pass through the ground plane on the PCB. However, you must disable the electrothermic regulator inside the fuel gauge. Don’t butcher it, as it may effect the operation of the gauge itself. I simple placed a strip of thin cardboard (manila folder) between the contacts, and stuck it with some double sided tape so that it would never fall out. Probably the hardest part of this little exercise is getting those two round multipin plugs on the wiring harness to plug back onto the back of the dash assembly. If anyone wants the resistor values for the regulator to produce a 7-9Vdc adjustable output, just give me a yell. Cheers Banjo