Banjo

Thanks Browland I remembered after I posted the above, I had a complete factory manual on the 3K 4K & 5K series engine. I looked up the lubrication section, (which is pretty short on detail) but it does show that all oil pumps in all K engines had a pressure relief vale incorporated. If that is the case, then the valve in the filter body I have, has to be a filter bypass valve as you rightly describe. However, what it does mean, is that some K series motors were fitted with an oil filter bypass valve & others not. The factory manual doesn't give the filter bypass valve a mention at all. Thanks again for your input. Cheers Banjo :dance:

I've recently had two oil pressure switches fail in as many weeks. I both cases oils was seeping out of the oil pressure switch between the electical spade terminal & the plastic/bakelite material that surrounds it. I took it out, looked around the garage, & replaced it with another identical one. A week or so after it did the same thing, leaking oil out of the same point. I don't know whether the two pressure switches I used were original Toyota fitted switches or aftermaket ones, which were added to engines I have over time. When the second one failed, I dug up another one off a 3K motor that had a button type electrical connector, rather than the spade terminal. It's been in for some time now, and the problem has been cured. The electrical wire in the harness that connects to the oil pressure switch is designed with a slot in it so it can be fitted to either type of oil pressure switch electrical connector, so I'm not sure whether Toyota used both types at times or what. I'd be interested to know whether others have ever had suffered an oil leak in this area. The oil pressure switches have a tapered thread on them, and you have to be very careful tightening them up, as too tight, will actually crack the aluminium housing into which it is screwed. Believe me, I did it ! Anyway, off with the housing & filter, and scout around the garage for another one. I found two, but they were different. They both fitted OK, but one had a pressure relief valve built in & the other had none. If the pressure relief valve is not in the filter housing then it must be in the oil pump in the sump. So presumably there must be some KE oil pumps with builtin pressure relief valves, and some without. That raised the question, what happens if a motor gets fitted during it's life with a oil filter mounting plate without a pressure relief vale, and an oil pump also without a pressure relief valve. I wasn't going to pull off the sump to have a look, so I I fitted a replacement oil filter housing with a pressure relief valve, because the one I cracked did not have a pressure relief valve fitted. I figured if the engine already had an oil pump with an oil pressure relief valve fitted, it couldn't do any harm to have two in series. Certainly better than having none at all. So what if my 4K motor of unknown origins, does not have an oil pump with a pressure relief valve fitted. As the weather is now just starting to cool off, maybe the pressure was higher first thing in the morning, with no relief valve, so it blew the oil pressure switch. The oil filter was new, so there was no more than normal resistance there. It seems a it hard to believe that oil pressure could build up so high to blow a pressure switch, as a older worn motor has a lot more clearance than a new one. Anyone experienced this before or has any ideas. Cheers Banjo :dance:

I recently did an auto to manual conversion on my newly acquired KE30 2 door. The conversion was pretty easy, except for swapping the pedal box over, which has got to be one of the worst jobs on a KE if you are big, & don't fit between the drivers seat, with it right back, & the pedal area. Even with the seat removed it was a pain. Anyway, I digress. The "donner" k50 came out of KE70, so had the rear gearbox extension with the gearstick location right at the back. (actually, it fitted perfectly through the tunnel hole for the 2 speed Toyoglide auto) The rear gearbox mount on the K50 out of a KE70 is different to the mount from earlier KE series rear gearbox mounts, but lined up perfectly with the KE30 rear gearbox cross member, with just the need for two holes to be drilled a little further out to accommodate the rear gearbox mount holes. Everything went smooothly, and the tailshaft from the auto setup was exactly the right length. First run in it identified a bit of floor pan vibration. When I took a look, the exhaust pipe was just touching the floor, which it hadn't before the conversion. The rear gearbox mount from the KE70 was higher than than say a KE30 - KE55 type mount (which can't be used on the K50 ex KE70 extension housing), and was locating the rear of the gearbox upwards, such that the front uni had a bit more angle in it, & the exhaust pipe was closer to the floor. To solve problem immediately, I got hold of some longer cross member to floorpan mounting bolts (starter mounting bolts) and spaced the cross member lower to correct the added height of the rear gearbox mount. I used some very large flat washers, & just keep adding them until it was right. With 19mm - 20mm of spacing the gearbox sat properly, and I've now been driving it for several weeks, & it runs very smoothly. I am planning on making up two 20mm thick spacer blocks out of bar steel, & welding them permanently to the ends of the cross member. I'm just interested, as to whether anyone else has done a similar conversion & run into the same problem. Unfortunately the way the rear gearbox mount attaches to the late K50 externsion housing, it really has to be used, as other mounts would not adapt easily to the rear gearbox extension without a lot of fabrication. Love to hear some feed back on this one ! Cheers Banjo :dance:

The good book says . . . . 5K & 5K-C Engine Oil Capacity Dry refill with oil filter 3.6 litres Drain & Fill with oil filter 3.4 litres Drain & Fill without oil filter 3.0 litres. Hope this assists Cheers Banjo :dance:

Definitely the combo switch, if the high beam comes "on" in one position, but not the other. Unfortunately, this is one of the weak points in these early Corollas, as the full high beam electric current passes through, & is switched by the combo switch on the steering column. There is no relay interface in between lights & switch. The switch contacts are pretty small & distort or burn, with high electric loads like those from the high beam. Bear in mind that the one you get from a wreckers will also have seen service. I have been able to save a couple over the years by cleaning & bending the switch contact arms. It's worth a try, if you've got a little time & patience. The ultimate solution is to insert a relay betwen the switch contacts & lights, so the the combo switch is only switching the small relay current. I've done the mod to one of my Corollas, and it works perfectly. The other benefit is your lights will be brighter, with no voltage drops across the combo switch contacts & all the wiring & connectors between lights & switch. Always mount relays close to the lights & run a fused supply to the relay directly from the battery. I'm just about to do the same mod to my KE-30. Cheers ! Banjo :y:

Here's a link that may help you. It's pretty straight forward & written simply. http://www.totallytriumph.net/spitfire/ski...your_head.shtml Hope that helps !

Here's a picture of my KE30 with a sunvisor.

Hey Teddy Only picked up this thread lately & it's too late. They've all gone ! :) :D :y: When can we expect some more rolla stickers ? I like the idea of rolla stickers on Corolla's all over the world ! I need two at least. Regards Banjo

Here's a link to a KE-30 clutch cable currently on eBay. http://cgi.ebay.com.au/TOYOTA-COROLLA-KE30...1QQcmdZViewItem Under $ 15.00 + freight. I received one today from the same source & it's just fine.

Mike, I think I have a set of original 3K cast iron rocker pedestrals here somewhere, that have never been skimmed or shortened. I can post over to the US of A, if you need. Bit long to wait until your honeymoon here next year ! Cheers ! :jamie:

Not sure what you mean there Mike. Are you saying that you are losing oil pressure between the second front rocker pedestal & the head, where oil is fed to the rocker shaft ? The way I understand it, the oil feed to the rocker shaft is at a reduced pressure, and not at full engine oil pressure. The oil feed to the rocker pedestal & top of engine is fed via the second front camshaft journal. This journal has a hole right through it, so oil is only fed to the top of the engine when the hole in the journal lines up with oil holes in the block, which I presume is once or twice every camshaft rotation. The yellow Toyota engine bible has a picture of the lubrication system circulation that depicts just that. Someone, might have more insight into this operation, and I'll stand corrected, if I misunderstand this function. I once cranked a half reassembled 4K over, after assembly, to circulate oil around all bearing surfaces. I remember a squirt of oil emitting vertically intermittently from the oil hole in the top of the block (no headed fitted), that seems to support the operation as I understand it. I remember some early English Hillman engines, where the oil pump attached to the side of the block. The oil pressure relief valve was also removable from the outside of the engine. The only thing that was not accessible, that required sump removal was the oil pickup strainer. Anyone that has the worked on an early VW bettle engine will remember that the oil pickup strainer is accessible by removing a round plate in the middle of the base of the engine. Wouldn't it be nice if all the lubrication system components, were accessible without removing engine or sump. :jamie:

Well made some progess today, and found the problem, I hope ! Not wanting to pull the engine out again, I took the easy way out, by dropping the front cross member & getting full access to the sump. I had the sump off & oil pump in hand in just on an hour. The sight of the oil pump pickup screen, with small black fragments hanging all over it, gave me the horrors. Close examination showed they were not metal fragments, but bits of very hard rubber. When the timing chain had jumped on the sprocket, it bit badly into the tensioner rubber, & chewed it up like a chainsaw. The sump had lots of bits in the bottom. I carefully disassembled the oil pump & found the smallest fragments of a black substance, on the end of the pressure relief valve. The valve is a square cut device & is not self cleaning. I have seen tappered ones in other makes of cars that are to some extent self cleaning. I sorted through my 3K & 4K oils pumps & found a 3k one in remarkable condition. My yellow K series Toyota engine manual, which covers 2K to 5KC engines does not define any differences in specifications for any of the K series oil pumps. There are a couple of different configurations, including a picture of the one with a bolt on pickup that Tony referred to, earlier in this thread. (good book says bolt on pickup was fitted to KM20 series) I got out the vernier & steel ruler and measured everything I could & they all seem to be exactly the same. There seems to have been two main types, the ASCO & AISIN types. Anyway, I cleaned the sump, the 3K pump, checked all big ends & mains for damage, & replaced oil filter again. Just awaiting a new sump gasket which I didn't have, and I'll fire it back up on Monday, and hopefully confirm the problem was as described above. Thanks for the help guys ! :jamie:

Jamie, here is a picture of the 5K oil pump, depicting the outlet at the top of the pump shaft. If you want my old discarded 5K pump for measuements or something, yell out, and I will post it down to you. :jamie:

Jamie, I'll take a picture of the oil pump outlet today, and post it this evening. :(

Thanks for those suggestions fellas ! Before the 5K went it, I had the head done up, and I pulled the sump off & cleaned the oil pickup, so I know that is perfectly clean. When the problem first appeared, it had a Ryco oil filter on it. Only a week ago I gave it an oil change & fitted a new Japanese Osaka oil filter, and the problem is the same, so I'm pretty sure it is not related to the oil filter. The distributor is a 5K electronic one, which I had rebushed professionally, before the 5K was fired up. It had a new pin fitted at the time, where the gear at the bottom of the shaft is attached to the shaft. The distributor is in excellent nick. I've measured all the lengths of distributor shaft and distance to oil pump locator, with distributor removed to make sure that the dog at the bottom of the dizzy shaft locates OK in the slot at the top of the oil pump shaft. The dog goes into the slot 5mm by my measurements, and that correlates with the pressure marks on the dog at the bottom of the dizzy shaft. The 5K still has the hydraulic lifters, and it is the ticking noise that has me baffled. I'd be glad if it was the pressure relief valve, playing up, but the ticking noise is not related to that. The tick seems to be at camshaft speed. I'll let you know what I find tomorrow, but would love to hear from you Doug as to whether there are any differences in the 4K & 5K oil pumps. :(

Hi Guys & Gals, Been out of the loop for a while as my bastard boss sent me overseas (H.K.) for a spell. But that's another story, and I'll just say I'm going to take him to Oxley's Hotel on Coro Drive for Christmas; get him drunk, tell him what I think of him; then throw him overboard ! I hope he doesn't read this forum ! He drives a Saab ! Not that I've got anything against Saabs. But you get the picture. Anyway, I'm back and have a problem I hope your collective minds can assist with. Heaven's Nicks been at work hasn't he. There's a thing down the bottom of this page called "Guided Mode Off" (are they fitting auto pilot to old Corollas now ? And another called "Check Post Length" A new reader could think we're in to building fences. Anyway, I digress. I'll be brief. KE55 with 5K now onboard has been singing along for several months like a bird, according to my better half. When I got in it after an absence, It was just great. Anyway, one afternoon while driving normally, there was a great mechanical crunch in the engine, a big sudder & then off she went again OK. This happen another two times before I got it back home. It sounded horrible, even terminal. After that there was a mechanical ticking noise. My first guess was the timing chain, so off it came. It looked all right, until I washed all the sprockets. The single chain had been riding up on the sprocket indicating the sprocket was bent. The sprocket was not bent. The last person to assemble the engine (not me) had left a little bit of swaft between the back of the camshaft sprocket & the end of the camshaft. The camshaft sprocket was running slightly out. As the chain was a bit stretched, and the tensioner was close to the end of it's takeup, the chain rode up, which had resulted in the crunch & probably stretched the chain even more. I didn't notice whether the chain had jumped a sprocket, cause I didn't take notice when removing same. Anyway, on with a double row chain and sprockets, (thank you Rob !) and we are back to normal; well almost. There is a slight ticking noise every now and then. I drive it for a week, and except for the slight ticking noise occasionally, it runs like a new one. Then, it does a horrible thing. The oil light comes on, and I rapidly pull to the side of the road. Visual inspection shows nothing, and I restart the engine, and it provides oil pressure & drives like a good one. Back in the garage, take the distributor out & check oil pump dog slot or anything that could cause sudden loss of oil pressure. Nothing obvious. As all I have on the dash is the oil pressure idiot light, I connect up an electric oil pressure guage so I can observe oil pressure whilst driving. It runs pefectly for a week, with driving oil pressure between 60 -70 PSI, and idle around 20 PSI. The all of a sudden the oil pressure starts fluctuating whilst driving, and drops quite low sometimes, but the engine stays as quiet as if it has full oil pressure. I even suspect the guage now, but after taking it out & putting it on another motoor, it proves to be working perfectly. So I've got a problem. I've never had an oil pump fault before in any car. After pulling another 4K oil pump I have to pieces, I can't see anything that could fail that would create a fault which results in pump working perfectly at some times, & low pressure at others. The only part of the oil pump that I could see being a problem is the relief valve & maybe it's associated spring. But then it occurred to me that the oil pump might be alright, but there is somewhere in the lubrication systems where something that is partially broken is dumping oil back to the sump & lowering the pressure. Tomorrow, the pump is coming out, and hopefully the problem will be clear to see. However, if the pump shows no problems, what else could it be. I have a few other 3K & 4K oil pumps here, so I was just going to change the whole pump out, and see whether it has an effect or not. Does anyone know if 3k, 4K, & 5K oil pumps are all the same & interchangeable ? Has anyone ever had a oil problem with any similar symptoms to those I describe. Whatever has happened to the pump, or something else mechanical. appears to clearly have happened when the chain jumped the sprocket. I'm here scratching my head, so any thoughts or suggestions your collective heads can offer will be gratefully accepted. :( :) :)

Awesome Tony ! Congrats ! * thinks* Quick I want to stand my 5K upright. :)

That was awesome ! Followed it for the last hour & a half on-line directly from NASA. What a blast ! So glad it all went well. :jamie: :dance: :dance: