Banjo

Hi Graeme, The alternator / AC bracket mounting bolts are a 10mm dia. bolt 25mm long. Comes off with a 14mm spanner. You can get them easily in the little packets of 2 or 4 off at Supercheap or AutoOne, on those revolving stands, of little bits & pieces. If they haven't got the exact length you require, just buy a slightly longer one, & cut it to length. If you still have trouble finding the right ones, give me a yell, & I'll dig a couple out of my box of nuts & bolts for you. Cheers Banjo

Hi Jeremy, Sorry if I confused you. Yes, there are two bypass valves. One to the sump, & one around the filter. Maybe we should just refer to the Sump Bypass, as the Pressure Relief Valve, which is its function. Cheers Banjo

Hi Graeme, I believe the AC bracket bolts are probably exactly the same as the bolts used to attach the alternator bracket on the opposite side of the block. I'll measure them in the morning & let you know. I've probably got a few floating around, that I can let you have. Cheers Banjo

Hi Jeremy, Glad you solved your issue oil pressure guage issue. The olde earth strap issue. Just to clarify your earlier question. The Sump Bypass Valve or Pressure Relief Valve as it is sometimes known, can be in the oil pump itself, as it is in our K Series engines, or it can be in the filter proper. This article explains why, better than I could. https://www.quora.com/What-is-an-oil-bypass-valve Cheers Banjo

Hi Jeremy, Good oil filter manufacturers have several valves built into the filter, to safeguard the engine, under various operating conditions. Cold Starts: can produce very high oil pressures, particularly in cold weather, when the oil is very viscous (thick). This high pressure could damage seals etc. in the engine, so a Sump Bypass Valve between pump & filter membrane itself, opens & closes quickly to release oil back into the sump, to maintain a lower pressure, set by the spring behind the valve. Blocked Filter: resulting from the oil filter not being changed regularly, with very dirty oil, can be catastrophic for an engine, due to partial or total oil starvation to the bearings. The Oil Filter Bypass Valve allows oil to bypass around the filter, and continue the oil feed to the engine, despite the filter being blocked. Unfiltered oil to the engine, is still better than no oil at all, but this type of valve usually requires some sort of indication to the driver, that the filter is blocked. Dry Starts: are to be avoided at all costs. You produce more wear in your engine, for the few seconds, each time you cold start it, than the total wear produced in driving the car for the next few hours. That's why taxi engines last so long. They rarely get cold ! An Anti-Drain Valve stops the filter's internal oil reserve, from draining back into the sump, after the engine is switched off. It ensures that when you first start the engine, the filter is already full of oil, & primed to go. Dry Starts: can also occur in applications where the oil filter is installed horizontal, or in an inverted position. An Anti-Syphoning Valve is fitted to the filter at the outlet or downstream side, to prevent oil draining back to the engine via journal clearances etc. "The anti-syphon valve performs a similar function to the anti drain-back valve by preventing oil from returning to the engine when switched off. The main difference between the two, is that the anti-syphon valve prevents oil from draining out from the filter outlet, whilst the anti drain-back valve prevents oil draining out from the filter’s inlet hole. The anti-syphon valve is located within the filter on the outlet side (otherwise referred to as the downstream side)" P.S. An empty oil filter is unavoidable when you change your oil filter & fit a brand new empty one. It takes several seconds for the oil pump to fill up the filter, before oil flows through the galleries to the journals. It is usually obvious from the rattles you get in olde engines after stating up after a filter & oil change. It rattles a bit, then all of a sudden, goes quiet. I have always changed the oil & filter with the engine hot, after a run. I have found that the oil is thin & empties more thoroughly & quickly, when hot & thin. If the filter is then changed and new oil added straight after, there is enough oil left in the galleries & journals, to ease the start, & reduce the possibly of a dry bearing start. Just my personal feeling, but maybe worth a thought, when next you are doing an oil & filter change. Trust that clears up a few of your questions. Cheers Banjo

Are we to assume that the dizzy has not been removed from the engine, or put back correctly ? Hardest part is getting the dizzy back in, & lining it up with the oil pump & making sure the rotor points to a HT cap connection. Quick mans dizzy insertion. Line up the mark (indent) on the crankshaft pulley with 10 deg (BTDC) mark on the camshaft chain cover. Don't worry whether it is no: 1 or no: 4 cylinder TDC. It must be one of them, so there is a 50% chance of getting it right the first time. Insert the distributor so that the vacuum advance bellows is facing the front of the engine, & the longest part of the distributor lies fairly parallel to the side of the engine. Check now that the rotor points to one of the caps HT lead points. (doesn't matter which one). If it doesn't line up, remove dizzy, turn rotor slightly & reinsert, until the rotor lines up with a HT lead point. Adjust the points using trouble lamp or bulb method. Connect spark lead no: 1 to the dizzy cap to which the rotor is pointing. Connect the remaining 3 leads in a clockwise rotation, to spark plugs 3, 4, & 2. Start engine. If it doesn't start, or back fires badly, after 2 or 3 tries, then swap leads 1 & 4 with each other, & 2 & 3 with each other. Start engine ! Guaranteed to work, everything else being equal/OK. You can always fine tune it afterwards, but this simple & quick procedure will get you started quick time. Cheers Banjo

Hi Dave, Those COPs I used are still on ebay for less than $ 17.00. They are stocked here in Australia, so it only took 3-4 days to get hold of them, & postage was free ! http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/4x-Ignition-Coils-for-Toyota-Yaris-2005-2013-Prius-Echo-1NZ-FE-2NZ-FE-1-3L-1-5L/282068263689?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649 Cheers Banjo

Hi Simon, Those rods & brackets at each end look very strong. I love the way the blue HT leads are so short. The Toyota COPs I used do have a built in ignitor. I believe they can be driven by a 5 volt DC cmos output. Have a look at this site . . . . http://www.sq-engineering.com/tech-articles/coilpack-info-guide They compare all the Toyota COPs. You will notice the one I chose, (No: 4 in their picture), is the only one where the electrical connector, doesn't cock up at an angle. I'll be testing them on the bench with a signal generator in the next 24 hours. Cheers Banjo

I contacted Brodie, in South Australia, & He was very helpful, in sending me some close-up, detailed photos of his COP setup, which helped me refine my ideas. I did a COP conversion on a head I had lying around, over the weekend, & I'm very happy with the results. THE Toyota Echo/Yaris COPs I chose, have a single mounting bolt hole, which secures them to a 25mm square aluminium black tube, about 300mm long. Four (4) off RivNuts (or NutSerts) on the rear side of the tube make it easy to insert & lock down each COP, with 6mm bolts, 40mm long. The COP mounting tube is anchored to the rocker cover with 2 x 6mm bolts into 2 spare convenient threaded holes in the rocker cover, which happen to be perfectly in line with spark plug number 3. To seal the COPs in the spark plug tubes, I removed four spark plug lead "boots" off some KE HT leads, & cut the centres out with a small sharp craft knife. The edge of the resultant larger hole in the boot was a little jaggered on the edges, so I used a large O ring to cover the jaggered edge, & prevent the spark plug rubber boot, from coming out. I'm just awaiting the COP electrical connectors to arrive. I will fit & run the leads for each COP, into the aluminium mounting tube, with all wiring exiting at the rear of the tube, which is within 60-70mm from the firewall. It will have a waterproof multi-way connector on it, so the whole COPs mounting tube assembly can be removed from the engine bay, if necessary. The aluminium tube, plastic end caps, O rings, bolts washers & RivNuts, cost less than $ 20 from Bunnings. The COPs can be purchased on line for as little as about $ 18.00 ea. If anyone is interested in doing something similar, you can view a few more pics, from different angles at the following link. https://1drv.ms/f/s!AhTw-QJW1b_6iGqfzttvHcYpjvkD Some may think that the COPs stuck up in the air like that look a little odd ! It does however, have one real advantage, in that there is plenty of air flow over them, so failure of COPs due to over heating, will be eliminated. The resultant arrangement is very rigid & strong. I was able to pick up the whole head assemble by the mounting bar, & there is no movement at all. I'll post some more pics, once I've got the wiring completed. Cheers Banjo

That can't be right Keith ! Their ICE toys don't use much "juice" ! Foot Note: This guy just needs to get to get to work quickly, & has found a way to go clear through all that traffic . . . . . literately ! Cheers Banjo

Keith, I heard the other day, that there are about 1000 SmartPhones a day, in Australia that "generate" ! Generate lots of anguish, when you drop them ! Cheers Banjo

When cars (horseless carriages) first appeared they were very, very dangerous ! There were even protests. "It used to be that in Britain the speed limit was 2 miles per hour in the city and "horseless carriages" had to be preceded by a man walking with a red flag." We'll get used to EVs, with their incredible acceleration, but we will miss that burble out the exhaust pipe. There was an EV racing car at the Leyburn Sprints last month. It was awesome to witness it's acceleration, but you couldn't hear it. How many people are going to get run over by EVs because they didn't hear them coming ? Cheers Banjo

Hi Dave, Agree totally ! Your comment above reminded me of pictures still taken in eastern Europe. Maybe this is how all olde KEs will see there last days out, when we run out of power to drive our EVs, and go "full circle" again ! Maybe Irokin will just have to add another Forum Area on the Rollaclub website called KE EV CONVERSIONS Cheers Banjo

With the head long rush world wide to introduce EV cars, with the talk of . . . . 1. Lower safety standards to get EVs up & established quicker. 2. Talk of relaxed driving licences (because you won't need to drive it). 3. Complete banning of ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) cars by as early as 2025-2030 in some countries. 4. Phasing out of ICE cars over time, by many other countries. . . . . . I was feeling a bit despondent, that it is going to be up to us Rolla owners, to make sure that the last ICE car to ever drive this planet, will be a KE Corolla. (Big Responsibility) So I was delighted to read the excellent editorial by Nicholas Vinen, in the Sept 2017 edition of Silicon Chip, who put it all in perspective. As usual, it has not been thought through practically at all, & there is hope for us all. If you don't get Silicon Chip, you can read the editorial here on SC's website. http://www.siliconchip.com.au/Issue/2017/September/Editorial+Viewpoint%3A+A+rapid+shift+to+electric+vehicles+could+be+disastrous?res=nonflash Cheers Banjo Long Live the KE

Hi Guys & Gals, These tubes have been reported on here as being very very expensive, if you buy them from Toyota, if they still have them available. Came across these aftermarket ones on ebay out of Thailand. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/ALUMINUM-SPARK-PLUG-TUBE-FITFOR-3K-ENGINE-TOYOTA-COROLLA-KE20-KE25-KE26-KE30-/152578244696?hash=item23865f4058:g:4PMAAOSwYHxWLPlu I checked with the seller overnight to see whether the price quoted is for 1 off or a set of four (4) as depicted. The seller has come back and advised the price is for 4 off, complete with the oil seal rubber ring. Has any one purchased & used these aftermarket ones previously ? Interested in the quality. Any feedback welcomed. Cheers Banjo

Hi Frank, Picture No: 2 is the end of the assembly with the nylon gear therein. If you undo that single 10mm bolt in the picture, the whole assembly will just slide out. With the assembly removed, you should be able to look into the round hole, with a torch, & see the worm gear on the output shaft, that you have highlighted in the parts listing. I sounds like someone has maybe previously forgotten to refit the worm gear, when the gearbox was reassembled previously. Cheers Banjo.

Hi Frank, You can probably determine whether the speedo cable gear is missing, without getting under the car. Simply lift the bonnet. Grab hold of the speedo cable, & run you hand down it as far as it will go. Give the cable a good shake & tug. If it is "terminated" in the gearbox, then it is more than likely that it has the nylon gear assembly. If the cable comes away or is free, then it is probably missing. I doubt it is missing, as without the nylon gear assembly, there would be a serious oil leak, unless the resultant hole had been plugged somehow. I think you mechanic would have checked this all out, & would have told you, if the nylon gear assembly was missing. He would have to have removed it, & looked down the empty hole, to see that the worm gear inside had not been fitted at some time. Cheers Banjo

Hi Neil, Yes, they did make a rear louvre for the KE55 Coupe. However, unless you could find a NOS one somewhere, or someone whose got one tucked away in a garage somewhere unused, I think you're chances of getting a brand new one are pretty slim. The genuine Aunger ones were extremely good, and were very hardy. However, if they have been left out in the weather for a long time, they will become brittle. I have a second hand one here, that came off my KE55 couple that went to Corolla Cancer Heaven recently. I'm was going to photograph it this coming weekend, & put it up for sale, as it is in excellent condition. I have a KE30 2 door now, & would really like an Aunger one to fit it. I was prepared to swap this one, for a KE30 one, or sell this one to fund the purchase of a KE30 2 door one. I have all the glass adhesive mounts for it also. Have a look at the Parts For Sales section next weekend. P.S. Re the pin stripe repair. I like people with a "Sense of Humour" ! Cheers Banjo

Hi Frank, I was thinking you were probably missing the piece that inserts from the outside that has a nylon gear & drives off the worm gear you have highlighted. Do you have the press in assembly, with nylon gear, into which the speedo cable is inserted ? Cheers Banjo

Is the 5 speed GB from a KE55 or from a KE70, with the gearstick back further, which would require the tunnel hole to have been extended back a bit ? Cheers Banjo

It could well be the flasher unit, which looks like a relay, & usually resides down behind removable the kick plate, adjacent to the drivers right foot. (that is if you reside in Australia) However, as the light bulbs's load actually determines the flasher rate, there could be a number of other things, that could stop it flashing. I suggest removing all six (6) bulbs & testing them individually, to make sure they all work properly. Clean their bayonets up, & the socket, before refitting the bulbs. Make sure that all bulbs are the correct size & Watts rating. Also look under the steering column, & make sure none of the electrical plugs or sockets, have come loose. Don't replace the bulbs with LED ones ! If all that looks & tests OK, then you will need a test lamp & a wiring diagram to work through, to work out where the issue is. Check earthing of the flasher unit. P.S. If you are pretty sure it might be the flasher unit, the best way would be to "borrow" one from a known working Rolla, & substitute it for yours. Cheers Banjo

Very Good Point ! Cheers Banjo

Hi Keith, "Now add an auto gearbox torque converter hooked up with water piped through a valve and calibrated for bhp as it pumps the water round and round!" My ultimate goal is to build something I can place on the rear end of the test bed, so that I can suitably load on the engine, to set parameters & settings under load. At present it is all done on the road, on steep hills. I've laid awake at night & dreamed of all sorts of things, that could economically & simply built & implemented. I've though of a generator with a dummy resistive load. A large water pump circulating water, that could be throttled, except the pump would probably just cavitate. I've never considered the torque converter idea. Not sure whether it would provide enough load. You might like to expand your thoughts on this, as I really want to ultimately build some sort of engine dyno load thingy. Any suggestions welcome ! Cheers Banjo

Hi Bruce, "What's the piece cut out of the bellhousing for? Can see the ring gear." The gearbox in the photo is gutted & completely empty. It's just there for mounting purposes. The little rectangular hole in the bell housing, is from an earlier experiment where I was using a Hall Effect detector to trigger off two (2) rare earth magnets, mounted in holes in the flywheel, 180 deg apart exactly, for a waste spark arrangement, which worked well. I even was using it for detecting the teeth on the flywheel at one stage, so the ECU could always know exactly where the crankshaft was. I've experimented with all kinds of triggering over the years, as I have found that K series engines, in standard format, have a lot more to give, if they are timed & tuned properly, with a more accurate & aggressive advance curve. The Japanese, were very conservative with their designs 40+ years ago, and didn't need or want lots of initial warranty claims, so basically over designed the engines, & detuned them. This is borne out by the fact that "worked" K series engines can produce at least 3 x their original HP, with the same bottom end. This is why K series engines are so reliable. Anyway, after all this experimenting, I'm now ready to do a full distributorless sequential firing ignition system with COPs, off an 1NZFE Toyota engine, and a full sequential EFI injection, based around the 7K inlet manifold. Cheers Banjo

Here's a test bed I knocked up in a day recently, to mount my 5K engine on, to do some COPs mods/experiments. I was going to sit it on the engine test bed / frame I made years ago, but it's got a 4K EFI engine conversion on it at present, & I didn't want to really undo all the plumbing etc. I recently purchased an olde ride-on lawnmower, which I only wanted for the good Briggs & Stratton engine therein. I was intending to dump the mower frame, but thought, maybe I could attach the 5K to it. It would also allow me, to wheel the whole thing around, as I only have 2 car bays in my shed, & our 2 cars should be parked there each night. Anyway, it fitted perfectly, and is so easy to work on, as everything is accessible & it is all at working height. Thought I'd throw it up, as someone else on here might want to build a simple test frame. Here is a few more shots of it, if anyone's interested. https://1drv.ms/f/s!AhTw-QJW1b_6iCOx7jZvpWJvbGuU My wife came home from shopping & thought I had gone stark raving mad. She really thought I was fitting a Rolla motor to a lawnmower, as her first question was . . . "Where are you going to sit ?" Cheers Banjo