New to Toyota - 2005 Corolla Sportivo!

[Tony Prodigy]

16 hours ago, Squalled said:

Got a chance to give the beast a wash over the weekend, making some time to do a quick mid arvo wash before sun went down.

I decided to go for a quick drive locally and get some quick shots since I haven't got any non driveway shots for almost the entire year if I'm honest. Not too much has changed, currently experiencing an issue with transient throttle side of things where my car seems to hesitate or cut out throttle on and off temporary when on partial throttle which I'll hoepfully get sorted soon. It's nothing major since I can drive around it, more of a nuisance.

Those are my parker LED globes and they are not as bright in real life as the images suggest, I think it's probably the phone camera and time of day making them look like HIDs.

Looking sharp as usual mate. Those Dusky shots give it a warm glow too.

Not sure what to make of your throttle issue either. Is it a cable operated throttle ?

[Squalled]

Didn't think I would post this but anyway, I can look back and have a laugh at this now.

So a fortnight ago I washed the car with one of the nice days we've had in NSW recently. The following morning my car wouldn't start, even though I let the car run after washing it and drove it, it still wouldn't start. It hasn't been unusual since over the last year and a half, I've had to have the car jump started 2 or 3 times and I've been putting off replacing the battery for some time but after more than 5 years, the battery finally called it quits.

Out with the old battery.

So I got the replacement battery and by no means has this been the first time I've changed a battery on my own. I've always been super cautious and always tend to check before what terminal I need to remove first and put back on and so on which confirmed I remembered how to do it. In all my infinite wisdom, for some reason I couldn't figure out how my battery went in and even after referencing photos I was having a giant brain fart. I was pretty half a sleep when doing this so lesson 1 of this encounter. Long story short, I ended up connecting the incorrect leads to the incorrect terminals with is lesson 2 of mistakes I'll never make again.

So after connecting the battery correctly, I found a number of things weren't working which wasn't a total surpise. Parker lights, fog lights, headunit, cluster, power windows, brake lights and center console were all not working but, the car turned over and ran. After a few checks, I replaced all of the mini fuses with brand new ones to be sure but after replacing them, there was no change. I was pretty down in the dumps about it but I never gave in and read the owners manual to check for any fuses I may have missed. Lo behold I found a fuse that I completely missed which at the time, I'd hope would resolve my issues.

Yeap, I'd blown the main 100 amp fuse. Thankfully my mate Dazz works at a local mechanic and tyre shop and had a brand new fuse I could use. I took the day off work as I was far too stressed and worried to go in let alone leaving the car in the state it was in. Got the fuse and followed a very handy video on YouTube who had done something similar to the same model of car overseas on how to replace the fuse as it wouldn't budge. It was a fuse box out job with the bottom of the box requiring removal before removing 2 bolts, in my case I found one was 10mm and the other was 8mm. Once removed, the old fuse came out and the new one went in. The hardest part was getting the bolts back in while lining the terminal up with the fuse. I think I honestly dropped the bolt at least 10 times each side but I eventually got the bolts in, closed up the fusebox and returned it to it's spot.

Moment of truth came and once I put the key in, the cluster and center console lit up and the car started again. Checked all of the features not working before and they were all working bar the headunit which I've likely blown the fuse on as well. So all in all I was happy I was able to fix my mistake and had a really good laugh to myself afterwards seeing as I got quite lucky I only blew the 100 amp fuse and the fuse on the headunit. As Dazz's Dad said to me, "it's a mistake you only make once".

Anyways, I have a few things coming up to get done to the car so I'll be sure to keep the thread updated.

Edited August 1, 2023 by Squalled

[Tony Prodigy]

Don't feel to bad mate. It can happen to anyone.

That's why the factory put fuses in so it can live to fight another day.
I had a feeling you zapped the main fuse reading from the start. It's a big whack to the system shorting the mains out. Could've been worse..

Keep your chin up man. Glad it all worked out ok. 

[Squalled]

On 7/4/2023 at 4:22 AM, Tony Prodigy said:

Looking sharp as usual mate. Those Dusky shots give it a warm glow too.

Not sure what to make of your throttle issue either. Is it a cable operated throttle ?

So my car is cable, one of the last of the Corolla's I believe to run it. But ironically, since the battery change, it hasn't done it.

20 hours ago, Tony Prodigy said:

Don't feel to bad mate. It can happen to anyone.

That's why the factory put fuses in so it can live to fight another day.
I had a feeling you zapped the main fuse reading from the start. It's a big whack to the system shorting the mains out. Could've been worse..

Keep your chin up man. Glad it all worked out ok. 

I agree Tony. Just another lesson I should say and something I definitely won't be doing by mistake again!

[Hiro]

8 hours ago, Squalled said:

So my car is cable, one of the last of the Corolla's I believe to run it.

Yep, whilst the 2ZZ in the Sportivo stayed cable the 1ZZ changed to drive-by-wire at the ZZE122 facelift, and every Corolla since has been DBW

[CONROD]

Surely you would of had trouble getting the smaller Earth Terminal Lead going down over the Positive Post, and how did you manage to get the Positive terminal tight on the Negative Post

[Squalled]

On 8/2/2023 at 6:13 PM, CONROD said:

Surely you would of had trouble getting the smaller Earth Terminal Lead going down over the Positive Post, and how did you manage to get the Positive terminal tight on the Negative Post

I certainly did and honestly no idea how I managed it but it was never right by the time I realised what I had done wrong it was a little too late. A good lesson to learn and thankfully not a very expensive one.

[CONROD]

Good to hear it didn't cause any real dramas, fusible link saved the day seeing how it was a Dead Short

[Squalled]

Bit of an update, no pictures this time sadly.

Got the clutch replaced recently and the gearbox oil changed while getting the work done. Clutch actually has some decent bite once again as I'm doing through the wear in process over next 1000kms. Gear changes still feel nice and smooth, even smoother than before which is a good sign but obviously I haven't driven it too hard during the wear in stage. 

From what the mechanic noted, he noted my clutch was actually in still decent condition but, some of the teeth on the pressure plate were damaged which may have caused the issues I experienced where I found it would slip quite badly. A change was also made to the master cylinder adjustment as the mechanic believed I may have been inadvertently slipping/riding the clutch a bit too much.

Other than that, more to come over the next few weeks.

The reason for this work and the other work soon to appear is I'm getting married very soon and my car is making an appearence in our wedding photos along with being the car I'll be arriving in with my bridal party! So very exciting times ahead.

[Tony Prodigy]

1 hour ago, Squalled said:

The reason for this work and the other work soon to appear is I'm getting married very soon and my car is making an appearence in our wedding photos along with being the car I'll be arriving in with my bridal party! So very exciting times ahead.

Good to hear it's all good and congratulations are also in order. Marriage is a big step my friend. 

You will have a blast at your reception. Enjoy it.

[Squalled]

Been a busy and expensive few days but here's an update.

Last weekend, I got some brand new tyres fitted. After almost 4 years running Hankook RS4 semi slicks and going through 2 sets in that time, I honestly got really sick of how often I had to replace them since I'd always forget to arrange a rotation for longer tyre life. Since I purchased the RPF1s, I'd always had 225/45 profile which was great for acceleration but being a semi slick, they were fairly noisy which didn't bother me too much seeing as I had some awesome dry grip. The main problem fo rme was because the car isn't low, the wheel gap was quite noticable which is what lead me to looking towards a new tyre setup and with the help of some mates I moved to a new tyre setup that's a lot more suitable for my use.

Here's the old RS4. My front tyres had reached the wear indicator and I wanted to be sure that I was going to have good tyres before the big day.

With the help of my mates Dazz & Kyle and their team I got some new RE003s in 205/55 which fill my guards much nicer while giving a much chunkier look.

Pretty happy with how the car looked before it when onto the next step.

New coilovers! After over 7 years running my first set of BC BR Golds which mind you, when I first got the coilovers for the car, BC only offered 2-3 variants where as they now offer well over 10! After looking into rebuilding them, I found that it was likely going to cost me as much as getting a new set just to keep my older BR series ones then moving to a newer model. After again working with some mates to confirm what I should go for, I decided to go with the BC DS coilover kit. This kit in particular utilises digressive shocks which are described by BC as "The digressive valving offers more stability and enhances cornering ability at low shaft speed, giving you a different ride feel from the conventional linear valving." There's quite a few sites online which go into detail on the differences between each shock absorber, a lot of which goes over my head so it's easier to search then for me to explain the main differences. Basically the short story for me was that for a bit of extra coin, I'd enjoy more comfort while still gaining improved handling.

Dropped of the car to a local reputable suspension shop not too far from home after inquiring if they'd install the coilovers I'd bought, which thankfully they did. A few later I received a call advising my lower control arms would require replacement as both the larger bushes were damaged, one bush had a completely split through bush and the other was very close to completely splitting. Using an example as I couldn't get a good photo of the control arms to explain.

The bush was split completely through as shown above. I'd had a feeling for some time they'd require replacement as I've never found a receipt for replacement so after over 285k kms, they've finally been replaced. I had been hearing some unusual sounds for some time from the front end, feeling a sense of "looseness" when taking off from a standing start and found the handling had been "sloppy" as well and I think the control arms were the likely culprit.

After discussing further I gave them the go ahead which meant the car would be in the shop for extra day as the parts needed to come from Queensland. The following day the car was ready and I collected it. The guys seemed to really like the car which was cool given they had some fairly nice old school muscle cars around. The car was also aligned and I advised them if they could lower the car a little more, mostly to reduce the wheel gap seeing as I now run a much taller tyre.

This the only photo I have currently but comparing it to and earlier photo, the car is a little lower than before but not too much lower to a point where I'm scraping everywhere. After having some driving time all I can say is WOW. Such a massive difference in terms of noise, comfort and handling! Overall I'm really impressed and happy with the new setup and will spend the next few days and weeks adjusting dampening to suit my driving.

Anyway, that's all for now.

Stay tuned 🤙

 

[Squalled]

Got around to completing my oil change today. Basically the only day over the next few weeks I had the opportunity to do so. Oil consumption is still very manageable, no major oil loss between changes at this stage despite having over 285000 kms.

While the car was jacked up, I got some more shots of the new suspension.

All look very new and clean, for now. Compared to the old coilovers, I went with a rubber top mount which doesn't have camber adjustment as the pillow ball ones did which is probably the most noticeable difference in the engine bay. Seeing as I don't track the car currently, it's not a major loss for me as the handling and comfort is far superior compared to the previous units when they were new.

Stay tuned.

[Squalled]

Gave the car a little love today, probably the last minor clean before I give it a bigger detail in a few weeks time.

Decided to go for a little drive afterwards and get some pics seeing as I don't take many of my own car clean these days.

[Squalled]

Been a while since I've updated so here goes.

So the long weekend came around and although I was detailing the car, it wasn't for Toyotafest since my wedding was fast approaching and I had to use the Sunday to detail the car along with the Monday to finish it off. I didn't get any photos since I was quite busy trying to finish but compared to last year, I was able to garage the car and apply the wax which will hopefully allow it to last longer compared to last year where the car was still been parked outside. It was a long 2 days of hard work but I was really happy with the end result. 

I also experimented with using meguiars compoud and polish on some parts, primarily the roof and bonnet seeing as they are generally the roughest areas. I found since I was doing it by hand that I'd run out of time so I than switched to the paint, cleanse and restore that I used last year for the remaining parts.

My wedding day fast approaching I prepared a care kit to take with me since my wedding was 1.5 hours from home. Before leaving, I realised that my wheel nuts were absolutel disgusting so I went out to a local Jax Tyres in the morning and got some brand new black wheels nuts. It was only a small change but it made such a massive difference. The day arrived and I got the quick detailer out since someone washed their car next to mine earlier that morning and left water marks all over my car. Once it was all cleaned, it was time to make it look like a wedding chariot.

Originally, my groomsmen and I were going to drive to the venue 5 minutes away in it but due to not having air con at the moment and been fairly tight we ended up opting to go in the limo booked for the bridal party. Since I wasn't taking the car with my groomsmen, my now awesome wife still let me leave the car at the venue so we could have photos with it as she understands the sentimental value I have with the Sportivo.

I left it at the chapel for the day until we got married late in the afternoon. It was our first photo destination so we could get "the car photos" and then move onto the traditional wedding photos. I had an absolutely awesome time and I am forever thankful to my wife for letting me take my pride and joy to our wedding and having photos with it. Before we knew it, we were back home and the rush began to get ready for our honeymoon which has since come and gone. The day before we flew out, I had plenty of local driving to do and got a quick shot while it was still relatively clean.

Since returning from my honeymoon, I haven't had a chance to give the car some love, especially with some of the wet weather we've had in Sydney recently. Hopefully this weekend or next I can get a chance to give it some love.

Stay tuned.

[Squalled]

Kicking off the year with an early update. Got fairly busy towards the end of the year with work and life so really didn't get much of a chance to do much with the Sportivo. My wife and I purchased our first brand new car so a lot of my attention has been directed that way in terms of keeping it clean and protected. We ended up purchasing an Isuzu MU-X, the LS-U 4x4 variant which is essentially the middle tier of the range. We did really want to get a Prado but after realising that it wouldn't be the wisest financial decision, along with the fact that I felt the interior albeit great quality was very outdated, I put forward the MU-X and after a test drive we fell in love. So far we're really happy with it, nice and comfy for long drives which we've done plenty of since getting the keys and the engine and transmission combination is effortless and just chugs along.

During the time between my last post I was able to give the car a clean here and there but decieded to end the year with inside and outside clean.

I also received my wedding photos and the photography managed to take this awesome shot of the beast at the chaple before we had our 'car guy' photos with the car.

So, what are my plans this year? Well in terms of modifications, I personally have reached the level where I'm genuinely happy with how the car is. It looks better than I ever imagined, handles great, is comfy and has enough ICE for me. This year I'm focusing on fixing the main issues with the car at the moment.

Firstly, the lack of air conditioning, unsure whether this is a leak or some other issue but I have noticed that when I turnt he AC on, I don't hear the compressor turn on and the idle drop with the additional load so I can't say if the compressor could possibly be the main cause. Secondly, the power steering leak. I have a list of parts from my mates workshop with the part numbers they received from Toyota and I will be ordering the parts from other sources soon. Other than that, I just really want to get out and enjoy the car on some windy roads. I have been contemplating selling the car soon but this will likely come in 2025 or never since I have grown fairly attached to it and I can never bring myself to let it go. In saying that, after spending some decent coin on the car getting it ready for my wedding, I'm going to enjoy it as is!

Stay tuned!

[Squalled]

Long time no update.

In all honesty, not an awful lot to update on. Life has been super busy and inbetween life, I get a chance here and there to clean the beast and also arrange for the usual 5000 km oil change. The car is showing it's age with more noticeable paint fade on the roof. After some time I've decided to order the parts to fix my slow power steering leak. After receiving the quote from Toyota, I was able to get the parts from overseas for not even a 1/3 of the cost it would've cost me to order here. The parts are due here in 2-3 weeks and I'm thinking of getting this done with the major service which will be due later this year at some point seenig as the car is quickly approaching 293000 kms this month.

Other than that, I'm still enjoying driving the car and the money spent late last year was well worth it.

[Squalled]

Got a good chance a month a go to give the beast a good wash. Sydney weather and the usual weekend jobs have stopped me from cleaning since but I also got a good chance to top up the HydrO2 coating. Decided to go for some quick shots not to far away from home.

For a few months now, the car has been running a bit rough in terms of the tune. I had noticed for some time it seemed to be running quite rich, especially on cold starts where it would run as rich as 10.7:1 where as it would normally start in the mid 12:1s before. It was also showing random signs of hesitation on partial throttle in particular and occasionally moments of full throttle from a stop. All of this resulted in some pretty poor fuel consumption amongst other things but I caught up with Adam and did some logging and tuning last week to sort out the issues.

After doing some driving and logging, Adam could definitely see the car was running way too rich. When checking through the tune, he also adjusted the temperature settings which now read correctly to not stop me from revving out all the way, especially when in stop start traffic or letting the car sit for some time with the engine bay heat. The main cause of the issues I was having was that the open loop tune was tuned to run too rich and the closed loop tune was over correcting too much which caused the sudden hesitation and throttle input delays. Once the open loop was corrected, the closed loop was re-enabled and the manifold pressure settings changed for when closed loop would take over as this reading was set too low.

After addressing the concerns, the VVT and Lift tune was adjusted accordingly. Lift was set at 5500 RPM and has been raised to 5700 RPM and it honestly feels much better. Since the exhaust uses a 4-1 header/extractor, it really gets going in the higher parts of the rev range. Raising lift 200 RPM to 5700 RPM actually reduced the dip from small to large cam and the car feels much more linear now. After the hours of logging and tuning, it was a great result to have the car much more driveable at lower revs and singing all the way to redline when giving it a boot full.