ben

R31 Diff is a good conversion. Fits pretty well once shortened an has the same stud pattern though a finer thread pitch on the studs. The Disc brakes are a good bonus too and work fine with a stock KE30 master cylinder but you need to double flare the metal brake line on the car to mate up to the hydraulic system that comes with the diff. The axles are thicker than a Falcon GTHO so you won't break them! Oh and the axle flange will need a step machined into it to fit the factory wheel spigot size. The brake disc mounts to the axle flange and there is plenty of room for a step. Don't forget the tailshaft too, the factory UJs are tiny and break easily. Overall a good conversion but can be a bit fiddly. Hope that helps. Ben

G'day, My 5k runs a Camtech (from Sydney) stage 3 solid camshaft. But it used to run a stage 4 hydraulic and that was fine-made good power and wasn't too grumpy at idle and around town. I recommend you convert to solid lifters though as the hydraulics didn't last long with a big cam. I run the 5K head which I had ported by Racetech heads in Sydney also- great job they did too. It also runs lightweight oversize stainless steel valves with double springs (performance springs) at around 80lbs of seat pressure- you can run 110lb but not really necessary on the street as i have had not valve bounce issues. Static comp is 11.5:1 and it has to run 98 octane unleaded and needs to be in gear with the clutch just loaded to turn it off without run on. I run the distributor from the original 3k but with all mechanical advance for a single 40mm side draft DCOE Weber- simple and effective. I use the Pertronix ignitor as an under the cap electronic ignition and again, has been in use for 10 years with no problems. It has nearly 39 deg of total advance but i have no idea of the actual curve, but k motors need heaps of advance to make power and to be able to run that you need the head ported and polished to minimise detonation and use 98 octane fuel. Get the recurve of the dizzy done on a regraphing machine and get it done at a dyno place. Expensive but worth it. My Extractors are 4-1 and then a 2" system with 1 hot dog and a hi-flo muffler- again works fine and not that expensive. Just put exhaust insulating tape around them or you'll collapse the lower radiator hose as they run close. I can definitely recommend the DCOE Weber though- it is a pain to get set up properly but so tune-able and with one its just set and forget. Just be careful how you go about the lifter conversion as there are various methods. Did you get the bottom end balanced and blueprinted?- makes a big difference too hope that helps you a bit more. Cheers, Ben

Yeah it has worked out really well, did take a lot of work and effort to make it look like it came that way from the factory and even use the facory 14" rims, but definitely worth it.

Just to let you all know, My KE30 now has a R31 Skyline diff in the back with the disc brakes. It was shortened and the pinion offset and angle adjusted to Corolla factory specs. It also now has a custom tailshaft with much larger UJs. Just bolted right in, was a very nice conversion job. Needed custom handbrake cables to mate Skyline brakes to Corolla handbrake and the stock drum brake hyraulic system works fine. The Selby swaybar on the rear didn't fit around the new diff so got a custom one made up and it works nicely. ( Anyone want a Selby rear swaybar for a KE30? It is only 2 years old!) Oh, and as for the comments about the stock UJ being fine, maybe they are but why take the chance, as the motor is larger than anything Toyota intented to put in that car with that diff. The engineer who certified the conversion and the mechanic who worked on it both said the UJ were too small and I quote 'toys'. If anyone wants any other details let me know. Cheers.

The Stock jap diff and uni's in a KE30 aren't very strong and is the weakest point in the driveline. The 5K is modified and makes about 80hp at the wheels. It was the front Uni that sheared off so i was lucky I was only in 1st gear or bad stuff could have happened... Will definitely fit a tailshaft loop of some description now.

Cheers mate that would be tops.

I have a KE 30 2 Door with a 5K and have just snapped the UJ's and bent the tailshaft. The Diff is also on it's last legs. I want to get a R31 diff with the LSD and disc brakes. I intend to get it shortened and the spring mounts from my diff welded on to make it fit. The info I have been able to gather so far is that they come with either 3.2:1 or 3.75:1 ratio have a factory 4 clutch pack LSD and a disc brakes. Can anyone confirm that the with from flange to flange is 1480mm? I believe they have a 28 spline axle and 4x 114.3 PCD. I wish to use a R31 tailshaft and UJ's and have it shortened to fit and get a front yoke made up to mate it to a KE70 5 Speed Manual. I think a tailshaft safety loop would also be a good idea. I just want something that is going to last and be tough enough to handle a bit of abuse without breaking. Cheer's Ben

Yeah, Webers rock! But I'm thinking of EFI in the future...

Yeah, you can get 28mm choke tubes for them, I have them in my DCOE Weber on a 5K and it gets off the line fine with pretty good torque. Quick and easy to change too... See Hardiman Auto supplies in Sydney as they are the Australian importer and distributor for Weber, they should be able to get some in.

I concur! I have fiddled with the bonnet alignment til the cows come home to achieve only a minor improvement. Just a bad design. Just wonder whether a set of KE arms might fit on and alleviate the problem....

Cleaned all the valve guides with carby cleaner and then I got to the last valve.... Was about to put the spring back on the number 1 inlet when i felt air rushing out of the brake booster vacuum port in the manifold. Turned off the compressor and emptied the cylinder, pushed the valve open and turned it around on its seat and pressurised the cylinder again. With the valve closed a steady stream of air was still escaping back into the manifold. The more i turn the valve around and work it against the seat the better it seams to seal as now there is only a small amount of leakage past the valve. The question is whether or not i can be bothered to pull the head off and grind the valve or whether i can get away with a clean for the moment.... I also intend to fit to fit an oil catch can as the no4 cylinder was very oily ( PCV vacuum from that intake runner). Will the system scavenge ok if i just feed straight from the rocker cover to a catch can without the PCV valve and not plumbed back into the manifold. If I go that way should I consider removing the oil/air separator from inside the rocker cover? I know that legally only a racecar can vent to the atmosphere if the car already has a PCV system fitted. Oh well, back to fiddling with the car....

I did forget one thing. A fuel pressure regulator! I asked the bloke at the shop if this pump would require one. Reply:"Nah mate no need" Wrong answer! Wife rings me and says: Its flooded, wont start. Sure enough- it fine when the engine is running but when you turn it off, it maintains the pressure in the line, forces the needle valve off the seat and floods the manifold while it not running. Then it wont start! Took the Redline adjustable pressure reg off my KE30- as it is laid up with valve problems at the moment and fitted it to the AE82 and she works fine- problem fixed- again! Finally been able to get the float level correct with the reg now too. Now all i have to do is those pesky valve stem seals.... :y:

I think I have it sorted, sort of... If I idle it at 1500 rpm and pull the leads off you can notice a difference in the no. 4 cylinder. All the other cylinders drop to 1200 but no. 4 dropped to only 1300-1350. So it would appear that the problem lies here. The PCV valve is on the No.4 inlet too... funny thing that. I disconnected that and it didn't run any better just sucking clean air or if i blocked the port and leaned the mixture. With the PCV port blocked off and mixture leaned and idle at 1500rpm i reconnected the vacuum gauge and this time got a reading i can make some sense of. Steady vacuum at around 20 in Hg at 1500rpm with an intermitent drop to 15 in Hg and back again. A sticking valve, more than likely in the No4 cylinder! So i will pull the rocker gear off again and pull the valvesprings off no 4 and check the valves and spray liberally with Nulon carb and throttle body cleaner AKA the best carbon disolving agent known to man. The Motor was built in 2003 by Patterson Performance in Brisbane ( see latest Street Machine Mag for details). Has been balanced and blueprinted with lightweight racing pistons- I can't recall the Name but the next set up was a set of Kawasaki Racing motor cycle pistons at $1400 bucks, mine only cost arount $800. Had to to be dished to keep compression down anyway. Runs about 10.5:1 compression with 225 PSI per cylinder and consumes only 98 octane optimax with 15 deg of mecahnical adv at idle and about 32 total all mechanical. Cylinder head is a 5K with lightweight oversize stainless valves and Ford Laser retainers and collets- Better than stock K motor stuff. Runs 96lb double valve springs from Performance springs and a stage 3 Camtech solid Cam with Datsun A12 pushrods and 4K rockers machined to fit without hitting anything and lightweight Chevy solid lifters. Cam Specs are as follows: Inlet lift is 0.264" and exhaust is 0.266" with duration at 0.050" of 220deg inlet and 223deg exhaust. Head has been ported and polished on a flowbench, again can't remember figures, sorry. Running a single DCOE 40mm sidedraft Weber on a Redline Manifold with the usual extractors and the rest. It was dynoed when built and on the particular dyno they used it pullet off 89hp at the wheel at 7500rpm or 10hp less than the stock VK V8 that went on after it. I asked what they reved it to and the reply was, and I quote-" don't know, your tacho stopped at 8!" I know the bloke who built it used to built Ford laser engines for 1 Litre sprint cars that would make 200hp at 11 grand.

Help!- KE30 with a 5K engine has had a misfire which has gradually been getting worse despite my best efforts for the past month. Misfires at idle, on acceleration and whilst cruising- at all engine speeds. The 5K was rebuilt in 2003 and was converted to solid lifters in Jan 05 with no problems before or after. Fuel delivery to 40mm Weber is good and all jets are clean- Float level is correct and I replaced the manifold gaskets in Aug last year. It does however run on after shut down. It has always done so, but is now worse, but it doesn't do it all the time... Spark from the coil is good and if I pull the lead off any cylinder the engine drops that cylinder so they are all sparking. Timing is fine at 15 deg BTDC Checked primary circuit and is all good. Mech advance works fine too with no excessive play. Hooked up a Vacuum gauge which showed a misfire, fluctuating between 18 In Hg and 7In Hg, so definitely not a manifold leak. The mechanical noise sounded like it might be a chewed lifter so I have pulled them out and they are all fine with only negligable wear. Valve clearances are the same as they have been since the solids went in at 10 thou inlet and 12 thou exhaust. Valve springs are double and again are all good. Compression check was fine with 3 at 225psi and 1 at 220psi and all held the pressure for a good 20 seconds before showing any leakage which was very slow. Could it be the Weber? and would that cause a mechanical noise? Not likely I know... Maybe a worn Valve guide or a burnt valve??? I'm a bit stumped for what to do next, just want to make sure before a pull the head and it ends up being something else... Would appriciate any assistance, thanks. :y:

Problem solvered! Fitted a quiet Elec pump under chassis-suspension cross brace Vicinity of fuel tank and an in-line filter. Wired up with Ign activated relay. Sounds so easy when you say it fast! No room for hands and lying under a car make the job take a little longer however... :y:

I have pedders lowered sports ryder springs and gas shocks in my KE30 at the moment and I can't wait to change them! The shocks wore out within about 18 months and the springs are variable rate which makes the car far to bouncy for my liking. I have fitted standard height King springs and monroe GT gas to my wifes AE82 and they shit all over the pedders stuff. King springs or whiteline control springs would be the way to go. Monroe GT gas were far superior to the pedders shocks but I intend on fitting Koni shcoks when i finally rip the pedders out this year. Check all your suspension bushes as well. The pedders swaybar that i have in my KE 30 is about the only good thing i have got from pedders. Pedders do make new strut top mounts for the KE30 but if you can afford them Noltec make an adjustable strut top mount for KE30s. Lovells will make brand new leaf springs for the rear for about $240.00 ea plus extra for the bushes. Just thought I'd let you know about my experience with Pedders. Cheers

I have an AE82 Seca with a 4AC engine. Problem: Hot day- engine runs fine- stop engine and go shopping for 5-10 min- restart and drive- get about 1 km down road and vapour lock- heat soak into fuel pump i guess. Firstly- very annoying secondly- is it a common problem in this model? Has any body come up with a permanent fix? This is what i have done so far: Replaced toyota's dumbass metal fuel line on carby with rubber and double insulated it with a second larger hose. fitted a 9" redline aircleaner to allow more airflow and heat dissapation and a blocked off 99% of the pollution control crap. These have improved the situation but not fixed it completely. My plan is to fit an electric fuel pump and remove the mechanical one and then fit a set of headers and wrap with heat tape. Has anyone else encountered the problem in this model and how did you fix it? :D

I'm in Sydney unfortunately! But its OK cos i'm from Brisbane and am really a Queenslander!!! But you gotta go where the work is... Car is still registered in QLD tho, too bloody expensive down here. Have a contact down here that has somehow managed to aquire a full set of BRAND NEW 3k pushrods! From where i don't know cos the closest i got was a couple of different wreckers trying to sell me complete motors, no thanks... I'll let you know how i go when (& if) i get them.

Cheers for that, i'll see what has to be ground away from where to prevent contact. Just got my new billet steel cam back from Camtech- was still too hot to touch it was that new! Set valve lash to 14 thou and is the same specs as previous grind exept for being a solid grind. Have a set of 4k rocker gear i have to clean up and then i have to chase down these pesky little 3k pushrods from somewhere; not having much luck at the wreckers so far. Toyota don't have em any more and nor do the likes of HM Gem engines or Crow Cams. Just keep looking i guess.

When you converted the holden 6 hydraulic to solid did you just sit the pushrod seat on the bottom of the lifter? No other mods required? I'll try to find some 3k pushrods from somewhere then... Thanks for the help.

Getting a new billet cam ground to the same specs as the old one as mine was not regrindable. Have got a set of 4k rocker gear and a 4k pushrod to see how it adjusts up. Still a few questions remain if anyone can help. will the stock valve clearance be ok? Will there be adequate oil supply to the lifter given that the 4k pushrods don't have the oil hole? Should i be using 3k pushrods instead of the 4k, is there any difference? If i use the chev solid lifters an Datsun A12 pushrods, do the chev soilds have an oil hole in them? Basically is there any need to supply extra oil to the solid lifters?

Pulled out the cam and oh what a mess! No3 cyl exhaust lobe chewed up, no wonder i had lifter noise! That cam was only reground 2 years ago. Had a lot of lift though, over 400thou at the valve stem. The other new lifters i had put in still looked brand new, so i don't know why it would just chew out that one particular lobe. The other lobes where starting to pit as well though. Taking it in to Camtech for a regrind and conversion to solid. Am tempted to go for a milder cam to get a bit better fuel economy as it now gets driven to work everyday and fuel prices are so bloody expensive in Sydney: $1.10/L is the lowest price for shell optimax i've seen in a couple of months. Might get better low down torque from a milder cam too as with the current grind theres no real go until you get over 4000rpm...

Back to the topic of solid lifters again, what, if any reliability issues occur because of the conversion? A mate of mine raised the question of how will the solid lifters get oil to the top of the motor? The 5K head has an oil gallery to the centre rocker pedistal and then out along the shaft to the rockers doesn't it? From there it should also go down the pushrods to the lifters yeah?

Thanks for that, I might just stick with the single weber then, as it goes hard up top and can get reasonable fuel economy out of it if i keep lean jets and a low float level and just sacrifice the power a bit. My only concern with the SU's is how often you have to retune them. Besides, I've grown to love the sound of the Weber when its opened on full throttle! In the meantime i'd better get on with converting this thing over to a solid Cam and lifters etc. Have decided to use Chev solid lifters and will get 4K rocker gear and get a set of 1 piece puchrods of the required length. I think Crane Cams make some pretty good chromoly pushrods and a mate of mine got a set for his holden v8 for about $200 so they shouldn't be too much, i hope.

I will agree that the Weber does lack in low end power and torque but when the revs are over 4000 it just pulls very well. Fuel economy however leaves a lot to be desired, especially given that i drive it to work every day. I have twin SU's that came off an 18R engine out of the coronas. However i don't know where i can get a manifold from to fit the 5K. What needs to be changed on the SU's if i put them on my 5k from an 18R?