Banjo

In all my years working on K series engines, I've never been aware of "coolant system air bleeding" being a major issue. I understand that a lot of modern cars have low front profiles, where the top of the radiator, & therefore the radiator cap, can easily be below the highest point in the engine's head water jacket, and henced trapped air in the coolant system needs to be bled from the system. Manufacturers, in this case fit a bleed tap, to the highest point, & there are plenty of videos on the web, depicting how to bleed the air out. I think Honda was one I remember having a bleed fitting, which looked just like an oversized brake bleeder fitting, so you could fit a tube over it, & drain any water that comes out of the tap with the air to the ground. In my KE30 the radiator cap is a good 100mm + above the thermostat housing, which is the highest point of the coolant system, in the engine proper. So if some people are having this particular issue with K series engines, then is it not a simple fix to just fit a air bleed tap ? To my way of thinking, a simple place would be in the alloy thermostat housing, either just below, or on the top of the thermostat cover/spout. (If it was below, you could bleed even before the thermostat opened). However, there may be another place on the head where this could be implemented even easier, without having to drill & tap the thermostat housing. On the top of the head, either side of the centre head bolt, directly behind the carby, there are two 17mm threaded bungs, that look like "head bolts. These allow access into the head water jacket. i'm not sure why they are there. Maybe they were used in casting manufacture of the head originally ? I think I read somewhere, there were possibly K series engines with water cooled manifolds, so maybe these were the take-off points, & when not used, are just plugged. I know what Jeremy is saying, but I'm not convinced at the moment, that getting that extra 0.5 litres of coolant into the system is that important, or will make it function any better. To me, the single biggest issue with the K series cooling system, is the poor water flow at the back of the head. This results from the fact that water enters & exits the front of the engine only, unless you have the heater on where on some models the heater take-offs are the rear of the head & then via a pipe running along the engine behind the distributor to the water pump at the front. That is why if you are going to suffer a burnt exhaust valve, it will invariably be on no: 4 cylinder. Likewise, if you blow a piston or rings, it will often be no: 4 again. Cheers Banjo

With several items not working, it will be a power feed problem to or from the fuse box, or possibly an earthing issue somewhere. You'll only solve this by tracing it out with a test lamp, & the wiring diagram, which will also provide the wiring colour codes. Use a test lamp with a very sharp point, that can pierce cables. The KE70 wiring diagrams, are available on line, if you Google KE70 Wiring Diagram / Images. Altezzaclub has posted them on this forum, in his various posts. I found if you are having issues trying to follow the wiring digram, then just draw the particular circuit you are interested in, on a fresh piece of paper, starting at the battery +ve terminal, & finishing at the battery -ve terminal. Mark in the colours, & the whole thing becomes much easier. Alternatively, do as Altezzaclub does, by highlighting the circuit you are interested in in a bright texta colour. Makes it easier to follow. Cheers Banjo

Hi Stuart, Just noticed that SCA have a special universal funnel for bleeding cooling systems. http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/Product/Toledo-Coolant-Filler-Funnel-Set-305092/SPO1061622 Look at the price ! Jeremy's technique is a lot lot cheaper. There is a few videos on the net describing this technique. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nThsFGa1vuE Cheers Banjo

I'll try it next time Jeremy, & let you know if it works for me. Short of fitting a water relief hole in the highest point in the head, I would think it would be very hard to eliminate all the air totally, inside the head's water jacket. I'm not so sure a bit of air inside the head or block is detrimental. I can't image Toyota providing an instruction, as you describe, in the owners manual. Cheers Banjo

Hi Luke, Think Jeremy is probably on the money here. Purging air from the coolant system, particularly if you done a complete drain & coolant change is very important. My technique has always been fill it up, then run the engine without the radiator cap on, & wait until the coolant heats up & expands & opens the thermostat. Once that happens, put the radiator cap back on, & usually everything works fine thereafter, everything else being equal. However, the radiator cap's built in valve, the thermostat at the front top of the head, & the overflow plastic bottle & its pipework joints & pickup pipe, are all import factors in ensuring that the cooling system, works as intended. For your sake, I hope it is a water coolant issue. Easily fixed ! P.S. If you haven't put a new thermostat in the engine, then do so. Out of sight, but they cause all sorts of issues. As a general rule, should be changed every couple of years. Cheers Banjo

Hi Luke, Serious stuff, if it is the pump, as the result of low pressure or starvation can be a stuffed motor. I wouldn't drive the car, until I had done a few tests. I presume the oil light on the dash is extinguishing, when you first start the car cold ? I would get hold of an oil pressure gauge and check the oil pressure, cold & hot. If you haven't changed the oil & oil filter recently, then this is a must. Carefully check the colour & viscosity of the oil you drain out. Remove oil cap & listen to the "bubbling" noise. If not strong, see if you can get a stethoscope & listen on the side of the sump, above the oil line. You need to determine, in what area the noise is loudest, as this will assist in determining its origin. Let us know what you find. Cheers Banjo

I finally got my 4 Wire connectors yesterday, for the Echo/Yaris CPOs, I am using . What a drama ! Just wiring them all up on the head & frame I made. Used a micro programmed to four outputs, at any rate (rpm) I want, & with adjustable dwell. Went searching for what sort of input voltage/ current is required for the IGT (trigger) input. Came across this video. https://www.scannerdanner.com/chapter-22-no-spark-troubleshooting-ignition-coil-module-testing/154-operation-and-testing-coil-over-plug-ignition-4-wire-toyota-lexus.html If you are interested in how the COP system actually works, as a few respondents to this post have; then this video is a must. It actually refers to the Toyota COPs used on the Echo / Yaris. Cheers Banjo

Altezzaclub is perfectly right. Unless the rocker arms have been ground, then, any of our olde Rollas with lots of klms on it, will have "gaps" worn into the mating surface of the rocker arms. The rocker arms are softer, than the valve stem, so will always wear first. They are also bigger in area, so it will always wear a groove or gap into the rocker arm. There is only one way to fix this permanently, and it is not that hard, or time consuming, and can be done DIY at home. 1.Remove the complete rocker sharft assembly & mounts. 2. Dissemble rocker shaft carefully, and lay all removed components out on a large piece of clean newspaper or the like, so it can be reassembled in the same order. 3.Wash each rocker arm. 4.Using a fine linisher, or a fine rotary grinding stone in your drill in a vice, carefully & gently grind the rocker mating surface until the wear groove or gap has been removed. Use both hands to hold the rocker, & use a curved action, as you pass the rocker surface over the wheel or linisher surface, to follow the curvature. Finish by hand on an oil stone if you are fastidious. 5. Reassemble rocker shaft; refit to head & regap each valve in your preferred manner to the factory settings. The manual gives hot & cold setting gaps. 6. Take your Rolla for a run for 30 minutes; then check all gaps again with hot gap feeler setting after run. Adjust any that are out slightly. 7. Result: your tappet noise will be eliminated & the engine will sound like a new one; all other things being equal. Cheers Banjo

Good one Graeme ! Another successful Rolla fix it job. Cheers Banjo

Hi Ronnie, What are the exit & entry angles of the now, single tailshaft out of the gearbox, & into the diff ? You need to measure these with the vehicle on the ground. Best done over a pit. Cheers Banjo.

Hi Dave, Got an email from Haltech today, announcing the release of the newest Elite 950. http://www.haltech.com/elite-950-is-here/ Cheers Banjo

Hi Dave, I've always admired the Haltech gear. Have always followed their video tutorials. Mighty Car Mods have always used them, with good results. I've got an olde Haltech E6K that I bought off a guy in Tassie several years ago. It is robust, & still woks perfectly. I just keep running out of old clunker PCs to run the DOS based software on. They have also got a good foot hole in the USA market. Hmmm ! So many decisions. Let us know how you go with the MS on your BMW E30. Cheers Banjo

Ha Ha ! I just got back from the shed, & found I had two (2) bonnet latch cables complete, so if you find out ultimately, you still need one, just give me a yell. Cheers Banjo

Hi Graeme, Was it right there ? Cheers Banjo

Hi Graeme, I've probably got a KE55 one here somewhere, at Greenbank. Bit dark now, so will have to wait until morning. Where about is the cable broken ? I presume the catch itself is OK ? If my search doesn't turn up something, then I'm sure Adrian (Nesta) will probably have one. Cheers Banjo

Like anything, if you are going to jump into something, do bit of research first. Here is a good site with some views from both side of the fence requarding MS https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/whats-wrong-with-megasquirt/33731/page1/ Love to hear from anyone in Rollaclub, who has a MegaSquirt up & running on their Rolla. Cheers Banjo

For the general overall performance, in regard to A/F ratio, a wide band A/F O2 sensor is really required. There are lots of things in an engine, that can limit revs, besides the A/F ratio being too lean. Have you experimented slightly with ignition advance ? Unless your engine already has some mods carried out to improve its breathing & ignition, remember that these engines were detuned from birth, so that they couldn't over rev., to limit warranty claims in the early days of Toyota development. Experiment with different aspects, for sure, to see what makes a difference, but only change one parameter at a time. Do too many things at once, or you won't know which parameter had the effect, you are seeing. Cheers Banjo

There is a lot of difference between thinking you are possibly running lean, & actually knowing you are running lean. My advice is . . . . Take the car for a good 30 minute run, on the open road. (not in stop start traffic) As soon as you get back home, remove all four spark plugs, in order, and inspect them carefully. The colour of the spark plug centre insulators will give you a reasonable idea, whether you are running too rich, or too lean. Bear in mind, this only works, if your engine is not burning a lot of oil. There are plenty of good pictures on the net of spark plugs, in different states, operating under different states of A/F ratio. If the test is not conclusive, because the plugs are pretty dirty, then clean well, or replace, & do the exercise again, I have suggested above. If you really want to know the real A/F ratio, then I suggest you search Altezzaclub's posts on this forum, for his setup with two (2) sensors & a switched A/F ratio meter between the two. If you are only using a single carby, you don't need two (2) sensors. This is where I have mounted my O2 Sensor That way, you will really know where you sit, in regard to A/F ratio. If you put the A/F ration meter on the dash where you can glance at its readings, under different driving conditions, it will provide you with great insight into how your engine works, & what part A/F ratio plays. Let's know what you find with your engine. Cheers Banjo

Hi Jasper . She is SWEET SWEET SWEET. Next you are going to tell us it was owned by a little olde lady that only drove it to church on Sunday mornings ! Enjoy ! Cheers Banjo. P.S. Get a black cable tie, & put it around the top of the vinyl boot around the gear stick. The rubber boot below it, often gets a crack in it, when Rollas get that olde, & let a bit of fumes in, from under the car. A good simple temporary fix. Cheers Banjo

Hi Jeremy, I think I'll just get me a Megasquirt, with adaptive mixture & idle control, that learns as it drives, & when it finds a new norm, just loads those settings to the maps. With high speed feedback control these days, with very fast micro processors, it should be possible, to constantly change all parameters, back & forth, around a base curve, to achieve the ultimate tune, which is the maximum speed possible at a combination of any load & throttle position. You can have various other "closed loop" systems working within that, but It really is that simple, when you think about it. Cheers Banjo

Looking at the pic of his solenoid, that Jasper posted, when he eventually got the solenoid off, I'd say there is no need to grind it off. Looks like someone has either ground or cut the brass valve bit off altogether ! Don't forget, the idling solenoid is powered, whilst ever the engine is running. It only has one job. Its whole purpose is to stop any fuel flow, the instant you turn the ignition off, to stop engine run on. 700 rpm is a bit low for idle on these old motors ! 800-900 rpm is a better figure I have found. 30 degrees advance at idle is also a bit extreme me thinks. I think I once worked out with the centifugal bob weights in the dizzy flung right out to the stops, & with 10-12 deg of static advance, the maximum advance you can get out of a Rolla dizzy is about 34 deg. Cheers Banjo

You've got a 36 Y.O. Rolla with a Anti-Pollution tubing diagram on the inside of the bonnet, that you can still read ? This is some pristine Rolla ! Please post some pics here. If I was in Melbourne (which I'm not), I'd be around in a flash to give you a hand, & have a geek at your Rolla. Cheers Banjo.

Very likely ! Sucking in extra air at idling, makes the mixture very lean. You can but some little plastic "caps", to close these off at SCA. Alternatively, get a foot of 3mm rubber hose, cut short lengths & saw up a 6" nail and plug the "ports" that way. Always works for me. Cheers Banjo.

Hi Jasper, Definitely, unscrew the solenoid from the carby body, using a 12mm OE spanner. It will come off. Then place the body of the solenoid on the negative battery terminal like I previously suggested, & connect battery +ve to the power wire of the solenoid. This test eliminates any possible earthing problems that may exist between the battery -ve & the engine/carby itself. With the solenoid out, give the bass protruding fitting, a good blast with some carby & throttle cleaner, in case it is seized from "gunk" build up, inside the working parts of the solenoid. When it "clicks", you should also be able to see the little "shiny" pin moving up & down, through the small holes in the brass barrel. I'm not saying these solenoids can't fail, but from my experience, they are very reliable, & I've never had one fail altogether. Cheers Banjo

Hi Jasper, I was going to add what Altezzaclub has just mentioned, to my previous posting, but my post, was getting a bit long winded, as it was. (which is quite normal) The bit of expoxy I suggested cutting off with a knife, is not actually part of the black moulding on the end of the solenoid. During manufacturing, the solenoid was simply stood on its end, as in my last pic. above, & a big dob of black expoxy dropped over the bare terminal, to insulate it. You can see from the last pic. that strain relief was achieved by the wire entering the moulding, then doing a tight U turn, up through the terminal/ferrule, where it was soldered. By soldering a new wire to the ferrule, you will lose the anchoring effect of the original wire, so Altezzaclub's suggestion, is a very good one. So many electrical gremlins, in these olde cars are caused by poor of bad connections. Lets not add to them ! Cheers Banjo