Banjo

Hi, Your distributor is definitely one from a 5K engine, with reluctor pick up & ignitor built in. Not sure if you can buy the spare reluctor & ignitor modules for this distributor. If so, they may be very expensive. There is always the possiblity that the you could replace the distributor, & it still doesn't work. My suggestion is that you take the coil & complete distributor to an auto electrican, who can test both units, & tell you exactly which part is faulty. I'm not even sure if the after market dizzy on ebay has a built in ignitor or not. More likely not ! You can always ask the seller. My only suggestion is that you take a photo of the distributor without cap, just like you have above, then unbolt the clamp & extract the distibutor. While the distributor is out of the car, ensure the engine doesn't turn over at all. Then, when you get the distributor back, or a relacement one, simply reinsert the dizzy, so the rotor button finishes up in the exact same place. That will ensure you timing stays pretty much the same, and the engine should start straight up, all things else being equal. If you are not mechainically minded, you might want to read this helpful site suggestions. http://www.aa1car.com/library/no_spark.htm Cheers Banjo

Hi, Is your electronic distributor a genuine Bosch or Denso one, (not after market) ? Does it have the ignitor built into the distibutor proper, or does it only have the reluctor inside the distributor body ? Does it have two wires between distributor & coil, or is there only one ? Does it use an external ignitor ? When you pull the cap off the distributor does it look like this. That's a 5K one, with ignitor & reluctor pick up, all inside the dizzy. There new aftermarket ones on ebay like this. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/toyota-3k-4k-5k-corolla-electronic-distributor-ke10-ke20-ke30-ke55-ke70-ke38-k-/131269208731?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item1e90412a9b Alternatively, if you just want to get the car going & save money, put a standard points dizzy in. Should be able to get one at the wreckers. New points & condensor & you are away. Cheers Banjo

Hi Conah, When the steering column was assembled originally in the factory, the bolt had a head on it, that snaps off once it is tightened, so no one can get it off again, to circumvent the steering lock. From your pictures, it looks like one bolt you have removed, or has fallen out, and the other one is still in there. Happened to me a few years back. I put the bolt in a vice & cut a slot with a hacksaw right through the centre of the domed head section. Then you can use a big screw driver with a large blade to tighten it up. If you use a large screw driver with a square shaft (rather than round), you can put wrench on it, to get some extra leverage. Bit of Loctite on thread probably wouldn't go astray either, so it won't come loose in future. Good luck ! Let us know if my suggestion worked out for you. Cheers Banjo

Hi Leigh, Try this link here in Australia.http://www.weberperformance.com.au/index.php?cPath=29_132_156&osCsid=kpff5e9biceko1ghpg1frdbbn2 Cheers Banjo

Hi Peter, Real pain getting a heater core out & then back in. Been there; done that ! It's one of those things you only do once hopefully. Cheers Banjo

Hi Peter, Welcome aboard ! Try reading this post. It may help. Not too many subjects or problems that haven't been tackled on here before. http://www.rollaclub...heater-problem/ I'll have a look at KE30 setup when I'm in the garage. I assume the heater box inlet on the firewall with the heater tap on it; is the inlet from the hot side of the water pump, which is the LHS, looking at the engine from the front. The heater box point on the firewall with no tap, would be the return to the same side of the water pump, where the bottom radiator hose is connected. Cheers Banjo

Hi Peter, Yep ! Have used the Altronics one, and they work well. On another Corolla I had, (that's since died, and gone to that great garage in the sky), I even used an all "plastic" fridge door switch, which has the switch contacts sealed. It had two spade type terminals on the back. Worked great. Haven't quite worked out where to fit a switch in the boot, to turn on a light there, everytime the boot lid is opened. Any ideas ? Cheers Banjo

If you've got the time, it wouldn't hurt. The original MC will be suited to the front, and the rear will get what fluid it gets, which will probably not be enough, but that's what you need, as the rears are so big, compared to the front. If you want to "buzz" off the limiter for the rear end, get a 3 way line adaptor off the front of a KE30-55. The "goldie" coloured one in the photo above, and put a blanking plug in one port. Let us know what effect it has. At least you'll be very good at bleeding after all this is finished ! Cheers Banjo

Interesting discussion, as I just fitted a Pajero master cylinder to my KE30 this week, after upgrading the front rotors & calipers to Cressida. I used the same Pajero MC to move more fluid into the larger front caliper pistons. Was your Pajero MC a new one, or a salvaged one ? They are only $ 61.00 on ebay + postage, so a very good idea to use a new one. I did notice, as mentioned in the Toymods link, that there are several different Pajero MCs, with all the same dimensions. The only difference is the out line ports position & style. (Models JB1712, JB1762, JB6069) Here's one with both outlets on the same side. The JB1712 model, doesn't need the "banjo" adaptor for the front brake line. I was able to use the existing lines by just bending them around a little, as seen in these before & after pics. Before: After: I did notice, as Altezzaclub mentioned, that the actuator pin/rod coming out of the booster was adjustable. I used the rear depth guage on a vernier to measure accurately the depth of the MC actuator pin/rod socket to the mounting face of the MC. I then adjusted the actuator pin/rod, so that it stuck out proud of the booster MC mounting face by exactly the same distance. Very important, when you are mixing & matching MCs and boosters. I believe the pressure limiting device on the rear line, is the one on the firewall as in the pic below. The darker slightly bigger one at the bottom. I think I'd be getting rid of that, as I believe it is only needed for combo systems where you have disks in the front & drums at the rear. I've retained my rear drums, but am upgrading to the larger 9" KE55 ones, when I fit my BW diff in. It sounds like your car has too much rear braking, with original disks on the front. Like the others have advised, the caliper piston cross sectional areas are probably all wrong. You could try an adjustable pressure limiter on the rear line, and if that doesn't work, upgrade the front brakes to something bigger, so the MC is pumping approximately equal amounts of fluid into front & rear caliper pistons. Let us know how you go. Cheers Banjo

Hi Liam, The circuit for the reversing/back-up lights is one of the simplest in the Corolla. The 12 volts is supplied by the ignition switch, so the ignition switch must be "ON" or "RUN" position for the reversing lights to work. They will not work with the ignition switch in the "ACCESSORIES" position. The 12 volts is then fed to the DEFOGGER fuse, which often also feeds the dash guages & dash lights. If your dash lights & guage are working, then you should have power to your reversing lights circuit. The 12 volts is then fed to the reversing switch on the top of the gearbox. From the there the 12 volts is fed directly back to the reversing lights. If you are concerned that that the fault maybe the switch itself, simply unplug the loom wires from the switch & short them together. If the lights then work, you've found the problem. If not, then you will need to chase the 12 volts with a test lamp from the fuse, at every connection point right back to the bulbs. Let us know if you still can't get them going, or find the problem. Cheers Banjo

Good one Chris ! Glad it was something simple, and finished up not being a drama. Cheers Banjo

Hi Chris, It's possible you have shorted the constant power to chassis before the fuses, and that's why none of them are blown. Most likely it is one of the main fusible links. According to the wiring diagram I found on the net, there are three (3) main fuses in a box. the 100A one is for the alternator & the 40A & 30A one are for ignition & accessories etc. I'd be finding that box and checking in there first. Not having an AE96, I don't know where the main fuse box is. Maybe someone else on here can point you in the right direction. I would thing it won't be to far away from the battery. Cheers Banjo

The interior light cover is simply clipped on. Prise it off with a small bladed scewdriver. If the switch & light are OK, then the problem will be a door switch. Cheers Banjo

Hi Liam, Parking lights on the rear are traditionally referred to as "tail lights". They are red, not clear. They are usually part of a single, dual filament bulb; one filament being the tail light, & the other being the stop light. The tail light circuit also includes the rear number plate illumination light. So with parking lights on, you should have 2 x white lights on the front, 2 x red ligts on the rear, and the number plate light. Are they the only lights on the car that are "not working" ? Have you checked the stop lights and indicators all round ? I'm just trying to work out whether it is an earth fault, which is often the culprit. The fuse for the parking lights in a Corolla is usually labelled "TAIL" not parkers. Hope this assists. Cheers Banjo

Hi Liam, Are all four (4) parking lights out, or just the front or rear ones ? Cheers Banjo

Hi Asiri, There is a new after market Rollmaster 3K chain on ebay at present. http://www.ebay.com....=item1e8eaa6f07 I've used the 3K Rollmaster on my 4K & 5K engines, as they were better than the single row chain on the later K series engines. Always a good idea to replace the hydraulic chain tensioner at the same time. You can usually find after market ones for the 3K on ebay also. Cheers Banjo

Hi Jack, Yes altezzaclub is spot on. Only real difference between looms could be what type of alternator was originally fitted to your KE30. If it originally had a Denso unit with external regulator box on the drivers side inner guard, then there will be a few extra wires between alternator & regulator. You can fit a Bosch alternator with internal regulator, but you will then need to remove regulator box & bridge two wires together, so the alternator warning light on your dash works. There is a post here somewhere on this forum, about which two wires to join. Cheers Banjo

Hi Kai, Here is the part of the wiring circuit you should be looking at. All tail lights, front parkers & licence plate lights at the rear are fed via the 15A "TAIL" fuse & the lighting relay. The dash board lights are fed from the same source. If your tail lights and parkers are working, then the fuse & relay are working OK. If the dashboard lights are not working, it is most likely you have lost a main earth connection for the dash. Off memory it is a "white" wire, or a "white" wire with a black tracer line on it. The tail lights & parkers are earthed seperately, so that's why I think it is a common dash earth wire you've lost. Hope that helps. Let's know how you go. Cheers Banjo

Hi Kai, There are only three (3) backlight globes on the KE30 dash. One either side of the speedo, and one to the lower right of the fuel guage. The one on the RHS of the speedo serves to light the temp guage. It is highly unlikely you have lost an earth, because the other warning lights are working. Does you fuel guage work, as it shares an earth with the dash backlight globes ? It sounds to me like there is an o/c on the printed circuit board on the back of the dash assembly. The trackwork is "narrowed" in some areas, so that it acts as a fuse if a bulb goes s/c. Have a close look at the pcb track work between each of the three (3) back ligh bulbs. There are three narrowing of the tracks. Cheers Banjo

Hi Kai, Are you using LED replacement globes by any chance. If so, then the ones that are not working could be back to front, as they are polarised, whereas a normal globe is not. If they are LED globes, then take the ones out that are not working & rotate them 180 deg, and they should work. Cheers Banjo.

When you changed the alternator, was it with another Denso ? Did you change the external regulator also ? The warning light works quite differently from the Bosch unit to the Denso unit. If you changed the alternator, but not the regulator, that would be my first bet. Try changing the alternator regulator & see if that fixes it. Cheers Banjo

Hi Odin, Does your KE35 have a Denso or a Bosch alternator fitted ? If Denso, is it one with an external relay regulator box ? Cheers Banjo

Hi Josh, More than likely to be the combo switch on the steering column. Well known weak point. I presume you have high beam, but no low beam ? Give me a yell, and I'll look up the KE70 wiring diagram & see if I can work out exactly where the problem could be. Cheers Banjo

Hi Jose, Which model Pertronix module did you fit to your 3K distributor ? Was it the original Ignitor, or Ignitor II, or the Ingnitor III ? Did you remove the distributor from the engine block, to fit the Pertronix module to it, or did you fit the module with the distributor in place / in situ ? I presume the engine was running OK, before you fitted the Pertronix module, in regard to this pinging & lack of power that you describe, and these results only occurred directly after fitting the Pertronix unit. What altitude are you living at in Costa Rica ? Early Toyota K series engines were notorious for changes in performance, as a result of altitude changes. I once had a 3K Corolla in a developing country where I drove it from a high mountainous area to the coast at sea level. The difference in preformance was enormous. I used to have to change the static timing once I got down to sea level, and visa versa when I returned home to the mountains. If you can answer my above queries, we'll see if we can assist you some more. Cheers Banjo

Thanks Guys, After starting this thread I found another thread from Evan G back in 2010 about the same subject, which was very useful. http://www.rollaclub...-insert-in-faq/ I finished up using the Pedders 22mm D bush, cat# EPB22, which works well. This bush fits a number of Ford, Holden, & a few Toyota Corona & Cressida models. Pedders have a universal bracket/saddle for this bush, cat#4246. However I found the standard KE30/55 bush can be utilsed perfectly, with a little modification. When the Pedders EPB22 bush is pressed into the KE30/55 saddle/bracket, it squeezes it ever so slighly sideways, so the bush swaybar hole dimension is about 1mm elongated, vertically 21.8mm x 20.5mm. By opening up the bracket slightly, it fits perfectly and the bush hole is perfectly round. However the bracket/saddle mounting holes then have to be elongated/filed slightly towards the bracket so that the bracket can be bolted to the subframe. There was a small gap under the D bush of 1-2mm, when it was bolted up. You could cut a small square of flat steel or aluminium to fit under the bush to take up this gap, but I found a couple of strips of double sided tape on the bottom of the bush worked well for me. You can clearly see the white strip of the tape in the photos below, Cheers Banjo