New to Toyota - 2005 Corolla Sportivo!

[Squalled]

Not a whole lot to update with the beast, have been quite busy lately with the house and family 🙂 

Got a chance with the great weather over the weekend, and some spare time to give the car a good clean. Had been at least 3 weeks since the last wash so was curious to see how easy it would be to clean.

The front wheels especially but a nice show or purple once again. If you look closely, you can see along the lower section the door and side skirt how filthy the car was.

Foaming time and all of the loose dirt and some stuck on grime that I used Bowden's Own Bugger Off on came off with ease once the foam was applied, dwelled and rinsed off. The actual wash process was quite fast and due to some perfectly timed cloud cover I was able to rinse off the car in much larger sections instead of doing it fairly regularly.

I also recently got a workshop blower with some vouchers I got as gifts to use with the drying process and was not disappointed. I'd been using my larger leaf blower up until this point to get water out of the annoying tight spots whether it be the grilles, wheels, mirrors and other annoying trims but this smaller unit is so much easier to go around with and it worked and absolute treat.

Now that the car was dry, over the weekend I collected an order from Supercheap Auto since I had a decent amount of credit and I did need a new wheels mit which left me with a huge chunk spare. I purchased Autoglym bumper & trim restored, primarily for my black trim since I heard some great feedback from mates and wanted to get some expereince with Autoglym products as I've never used them before.

Was very happy with the first application, was super simple and easy and made a huge difference. The rear door treated compared to the untreated front door, made a great difference with the lower trim along the window section especially!

Some more comparisons, this time with the roof trim. I ended up doing all the door trims, mirror trim and the front windscreen trim.

The end result. Panels are still feeling super slick and the water beeding is still strong all round too.

Stay tuned.

[Squalled]

For the last few weeks, I noticed that when I turned on my aircon that the air wasn't cold and if anything, quite warm. I had a feeling that my aircon needed a re-gas as it was either low on gas or had none at all.

After dealing with it for a few weeks, my Dad got me in contact with a local air-conditioning and electrical specialist who was able to have a look at the issue for me after work this week.

He connected all the equipment and we turned the car on and he confirmed that it was likely low or no gas. He was able to scavenge a very small amount which he said would've likely caused the warm air. Prior to a re-gas, he checked for any leaks which he couldn't see and also added a fluro dye of some sort into the lines so if there are any leaks in future they will be easily noticeable. Once the dye had gone through the lines for some time, the re-gas started and within 5 minutes or so it was topped up and ready. Turned the car on and within 10 seconds of turning the aircon on, the air was once again icy cold like I remember.

I'd say this was likely the cars first re-gas given that I've had it for over 7 years and it's a 17 year old car so I wasn't entirely surprised that it would run out. I was glad I got the job done before summer comes around as I wasn't dealing with the afternoon drives home, particularly if I needed to make a phone call. That's all sorted now so hopefully in the new year I can move onto some other maintenance tasks that I'd like to get done and dusted.

[Hiro]

7 hours ago, Squalled said:

For the last few weeks, I noticed that when I turned on my aircon that the air wasn't cold and if anything, quite warm. I had a feeling that my aircon needed a re-gas as it was either low on gas or had none at all.

Admit it, it's because you forgot to swap the heater hoses around from WINTER to SUMMER...

[Squalled]

Update time.

Sadly not long after my last update, my airconditioning has seemingly begun running hot again. I suspect there must be a leak somewhere I can't see or another component has failed. At this stage I just keep my windows down while I drive which is a little annoying especially at this time of the year but, oh well not the worst thing to happen with a car really given its age.

The end of 2022 got quite busy so I really didn't have much time to give the car some love. We had some great weather too which made it harder to not be able to give the car a wash but I finally had the chance to give it a good clean,

The front wheels had a decent amount of iron build up which I generally save the wheel cleaner for these days.

Pre snow foam and wash. Got the bug remover sprayed on all the annoying spots to help loosen it prior to snow foam.

Nice thick foam doing its job.

Post wash. After a little assessment, the coating I applied in late September and early October appears to be holding up well albeit, it's not as slick as it once was but I don't seem to have many issues with removing heavily bonded contaminents from the paint and it still does have hydrophobic properties which at least gives me an idea that it's still hanging in there protecting the paint. The car is kept outside after all and will hopefully get the garage some time this year once it's all cleaned up and space is made.

Stay tuned.

[Tony Prodigy]

57 minutes ago, Squalled said:

Sadly not long after my last update, my airconditioning has seemingly begun running hot again. I suspect there must be a leak somewhere I can't see or another component has failed.

Hey mate, sorry to hear that. Toyota Air is usually very reliable and rock solid. The trick is to use it as often as possible to enable the lubrication of the O-Rings. Some people choose not to use it that often to save on fuel but are really doing themselves a disservice by not using it.As the refrigerant circulates, so too does some oil from the compressor. It's totally normal, and in doing so this helps keep the O-rings conditioned. If they dry out, then you know what that means right ?

Have you verified if the compressor cuts in ?

Are you able to see any dye from the visible connections ?

Gas leaks are a bugger sometimes. Check around the compressor connections, liquid line filter, high and low pressure switches and if the evap suction and return connections are accessible. Better hope it's not the evaporator..
I suspect it's a bad seal somewhere, because I've rarely heard of any Toyota A/C going bad to be honest. 

If no dye is present, and it should be, you can get your guy to pressure test the system with dry nitrogen before wasting money on refrigerant.

I hope it works out ok mate. Let us know how you go.

Cheers and Happy New Year !

[Squalled]

18 hours ago, Tony Prodigy said:

Hey mate, sorry to hear that. Toyota Air is usually very reliable and rock solid. The trick is to use it as often as possible to enable the lubrication of the O-Rings. Some people choose not to use it that often to save on fuel but are really doing themselves a disservice by not using it.As the refrigerant circulates, so too does some oil from the compressor. It's totally normal, and in doing so this helps keep the O-rings conditioned. If they dry out, then you know what that means right ?

Have you verified if the compressor cuts in ?

Are you able to see any dye from the visible connections ?

Gas leaks are a bugger sometimes. Check around the compressor connections, liquid line filter, high and low pressure switches and if the evap suction and return connections are accessible. Better hope it's not the evaporator..
I suspect it's a bad seal somewhere, because I've rarely heard of any Toyota A/C going bad to be honest. 

If no dye is present, and it should be, you can get your guy to pressure test the system with dry nitrogen before wasting money on refrigerant.

I hope it works out ok mate. Let us know how you go.

Cheers and Happy New Year !

So I fall into the category of not using my aircon all that often, I mean in the last few years I have but for the first few years I didn't use it a lot. So when I turn the aircon on, I can hear what I'd think is the compressor click over and my idle usually drops slightly as it usually does but I also find there is a noticeable "hissing" type sound while it's running.

So far I can't see any dye from the connections in the engine bay and front bumper area after having a good look with a torch on.

Cheers for the tips Tony! Hopefully I can get it sorted seeing as it's probably the most major issue I have at the moment sadly.

[Tony Prodigy]

1 hour ago, Squalled said:

So I fall into the category of not using my aircon all that often, I mean in the last few years I have but for the first few years I didn't use it a lot. So when I turn the aircon on, I can hear what I'd think is the compressor click over and my idle usually drops slightly as it usually does but I also find there is a noticeable "hissing" type sound while it's running.

So far I can't see any dye from the connections in the engine bay and front bumper area after having a good look with a torch on.

Cheers for the tips Tony! Hopefully I can get it sorted seeing as it's probably the most major issue I have at the moment sadly.

That hissing sound is definitely telling you you are short of refrigerant. Liquid refrigerant from the bottom of the condenser feeds into the receiver dryer and goes all the way to the Expansion valve for metering. When you're low on refrigerant, not enough liquid gets to the TX valve and as a consequence starts flashing off before it can pass through the orifice. It's called "flash Gas", so yes the hissing sound is a good observation from your end.

If you see no dye anywhere you have connection points in the engine bay, then I'd turn my attention to the evaporator if you are able to work out how to access it. I'm not familiar with Corolla's heater box set up. Looks like a decent leak, if it's dropped off that much in a couple of months.

One would assume that the evap pipe's connections should be accessible someone under the dash, but if other Corolla owners can chime in who has fiddled under there, that would be great. 

Another trick you can utilise is a spray down of all visible connections with soapy water in spray bottle mate. (Dish washing liquid is excellent). That's usually the best and easiest method. I'd do it while you still have enough pressure left in the system, otherwise you'll need someone with some nitrogen to come over and pressurise the system.

Start the engine and run the A/C so you can build enough pressure then spray everything. This way the leak can present itself much easier.
Also, when I say spray, not misty spray, but rather a direct stream , so you don't create your own bubbles. Open the fluid tip on the sprayer so it streams out. But if there is a leak, it will start making larger soap bubbles. I hope you find it in an easy location.

Cheers mate 

[Squalled]

22 hours ago, Tony Prodigy said:

That hissing sound is definitely telling you you are short of refrigerant. Liquid refrigerant from the bottom of the condenser feeds into the receiver dryer and goes all the way to the Expansion valve for metering. When you're low on refrigerant, not enough liquid gets to the TX valve and as a consequence starts flashing off before it can pass through the orifice. It's called "flash Gas", so yes the hissing sound is a good observation from your end.

If you see no dye anywhere you have connection points in the engine bay, then I'd turn my attention to the evaporator if you are able to work out how to access it. I'm not familiar with Corolla's heater box set up. Looks like a decent leak, if it's dropped off that much in a couple of months.

One would assume that the evap pipe's connections should be accessible someone under the dash, but if other Corolla owners can chime in who has fiddled under there, that would be great. 

Another trick you can utilise is a spray down of all visible connections with soapy water in spray bottle mate. (Dish washing liquid is excellent). That's usually the best and easiest method. I'd do it while you still have enough pressure left in the system, otherwise you'll need someone with some nitrogen to come over and pressurise the system.

Start the engine and run the A/C so you can build enough pressure then spray everything. This way the leak can present itself much easier.
Also, when I say spray, not misty spray, but rather a direct stream , so you don't create your own bubbles. Open the fluid tip on the sprayer so it streams out. But if there is a leak, it will start making larger soap bubbles. I hope you find it in an easy location.

Cheers mate 

Thanks a lot for the tips Tony! As far as I know, it's somewhere behind my dash which I think I should be able to remove at least my climate control unit to access. I think that will give me a good idea of what's going on. I was hoping it wasn't something in the dash area but I guess it looks like it at this point.

[Tony Prodigy]

30 minutes ago, Squalled said:

Thanks a lot for the tips Tony! As far as I know, it's somewhere behind my dash which I think I should be able to remove at least my climate control unit to access. I think that will give me a good idea of what's going on. I was hoping it wasn't something in the dash area but I guess it looks like it at this point.

No problem mate. Happy to help where possible. I wish I could offer more assistance, but this one looks like it needs a deeper dive in that heater box.

I was thinking that if you have one of those borescopes, you may be able to probe inside the heater box before full disassembly. You can scope out any signs of Fluro dye. That should confirm our suspicions without having to spend all that time and effort for little to no gain.

Try going through the pollen filter chamber and see if the evap is close by.

[Squalled]

Have had quite a few productive weekends to start off the New Year.

The first 2 weeks of the year consisted of organising storage in our shed along with clearing out the garage to move everything we needed into the shed. In doing so, I am proud to say that my car now proudly lives in the garage when not driven! The first time during my ownership that it's got the post driving love of being in the garage. It was a long time coming, 11 months or so but who's counting and I'm honestly chuffed.

Last weekend I finally got the chance to do an oil change which was basically on time for when I'd like to do them.

Everything went as expected however, I did find that one of the power steering hoses appears to be leaking fairly badly along with the coolant overflow bottle having a hair line crack which tends to leak only when the bottle is full. Hopefully I'll have a day off soon so I can take the car to the mechanic to have the issues sorted.

Went for a drive on the Saturday night and in doing saw caught up with Adam who was able to look into the unusual issues I've been having lately while driving. While cruising along at partial throttle, my throttle would randomly close and re-open, usually violently while I had the accelerator pedal pressed. Long story short, Adam was certain it was the transient throttle settings causing the issue. He did some logging and found also that the car was running fairly too lean for his liking and was able to adjust not only the transient throttle but also adjust the tune as well. He took it for a quick spin and he was happy with the results so I'll be keeping an eye on the partial throttle issue. Since the changes, it hasn't happened again!

The following day I gave the car a wash since I had done all the usual house work and had a heap of time spare.

I got towards the drying stage and noticed a storm heading our way ever so slowly but I didn't have to worry and just moved it back in the garage.

Stay tuned.

[Tony Prodigy]

I can appreciate where you're coming from.

It's always nice to have storage space to suit all your needs. The main thing is to be able to protect your prized possession, that being the vehicle, and have space to store all the bits and pieces you accumulate over the years. 

The car will keep longer if you keep it out of the sun. The sun is our worst enemy here.

How's the house renovations coming along ?

Hope you're settling in ok now. These things take time, but once it's all done, you can relax and spend more time doing the things you love... like detailing your car more 😜

It's a work in progress as they say right ?

 

[Squalled]

On 1/17/2023 at 12:54 PM, Tony Prodigy said:

I can appreciate where you're coming from.

It's always nice to have storage space to suit all your needs. The main thing is to be able to protect your prized possession, that being the vehicle, and have space to store all the bits and pieces you accumulate over the years. 

The car will keep longer if you keep it out of the sun. The sun is our worst enemy here.

How's the house renovations coming along ?

Hope you're settling in ok now. These things take time, but once it's all done, you can relax and spend more time doing the things you love... like detailing your car more 😜

It's a work in progress as they say right ?

 

Yeah it's probably one of the most satisfying things I've been able to get done with the house, just organising everything, storing it and getting the car in the garage.

Coming along great thanks Tony. We completed a lot last year and have put the remaining things on hold for the year given they're not urgent and I'm also getting hitched later this year so we're saving for the big day and honeymoon too.

But I honestly feel everything people say about home ownership, is so true. It really is always a work in progress and the to do list is honestly never ending 😅

[Squalled]

Gave the car some much needed love yesterday.

Decided to give the interior a good clean. The last time it had a good clean was probably for Toyotafest last year so it was looking pretty messy. Spent a good hour or so cleaning inside and had a chance to apply some protection to the front floor mats after I cleaned them so we'll see how well it works especially when it rains.

Got to work on the outside with nothing much to add other than the usual experience.

[Tony Prodigy]

When can you come over and do mine next ?? 😄

I've been so busy, I've not had any time to wash any of our cars let alone anything else. I need to clone myself just so I can catch up 😜

[Squalled]

On 3/6/2023 at 12:18 PM, Tony Prodigy said:

When can you come over and do mine next ?? 😄

I've been so busy, I've not had any time to wash any of our cars let alone anything else. I need to clone myself just so I can catch up 😜

Bring her round Tony 😅

[Tony Prodigy]

55 minutes ago, Squalled said:

Bring her round Tony 😅

Thanks Bud. She's on her way 😁

[Squalled]

Not much to update here in all honesty. Haven't done anything worth reporting lately with the car. I get to wash it every now and then when the weather is good and I have some free time and I also get to go on the occasional mountain run or drive but I do still have a list of things I'd like to get done but with a wedding coming up, most of my savings are going towards it rather than addressing some of the issues with the car, mostly suspension related with parts just being worn down and needing replacing. 

Anywho, here are some photos of the last wash I completed a week or so back. 

[Tony Prodigy]

I did something similar to you but on a two wheeled machine. I had to pull it out and give it a once over as it's been sitting in the garage collecting dust for nearly 6 months whilst doing other stuff around the place. It's going to get a very thorough going over once my shed is built. 

Gotta love a good foam cannoning 😜

 

[Squalled]

On 5/19/2023 at 5:18 PM, Tony Prodigy said:

I did something similar to you but on a two wheeled machine. I had to pull it out and give it a once over as it's been sitting in the garage collecting dust for nearly 6 months whilst doing other stuff around the place. It's going to get a very thorough going over once my shed is built. 

Gotta love a good foam cannoning 😜

 

Nice wheels Tony! God how many Toys do you have?! Don't really know much about bikes but my mate had a Ninja 250 many moons ago and loved it until he got his full license and bought a CBR100 RR.

[Squalled]

Got around to doing my oil change over the weekend. Got it done nice and early but this time I decided to do it outside to degrease the underside of the engine and gearbox. I believe my power steering hose has a leak which seems to be spilling onto other areas so I've given the area a good clean. Oil consupmtion is still fairly good, I'm not really noticing a major amount of oil loss between changes despite using 5W-30 and now well over 280000 clicks.

I keep the drip tray under the car when I park it in my garage so allt he spillage is from when I spilt some coolant along with the on-going power steering leak.

[Tony Prodigy]

21 hours ago, Squalled said:

Nice wheels Tony! God how many Toys do you have?! Don't really know much about bikes but my mate had a Ninja 250 many moons ago and loved it until he got his full license and bought a CBR100 RR.

Yeah, thanks. I have several bikes actually, but this one in particular is a 2001 Kawasaki ZX9R Ninja. I also have another one identical to this which is in storage that has only 4,300 kays on it since new. I purchased it from the original owner who hardly rode it. It is in absolutely brand new condition for a 2001 model bike and very sought after model/colour combo. It's totally unmolested and 100% original.
I just love old school bikes. Proper riders machines. I previously had a 1994 ZX9R which I sold many years ago prior to getting married and have regretted it ever since.

I too was like your mate. I rode a 250 around for a few years then went straight to the 900.

I suffer from sellers remorse these days, so I try to keep them if I can help it. I have a weakness for cars and bikes, sorry to say.. 😜

Edited May 22, 2023 by Tony Prodigy

[Tony Prodigy]

21 hours ago, Squalled said:

Got around to doing my oil change over the weekend. Got it done nice and early but this time I decided to do it outside to degrease the underside of the engine and gearbox. I believe my power steering hose has a leak which seems to be spilling onto other areas so I've given the area a good clean. Oil consupmtion is still fairly good, I'm not really noticing a major amount of oil loss between changes despite using 5W-30 and now well over 280000 clicks.

There's always something satisfying doing an oil change. It's the one job I'd never pay anyone to do largely because it's so easy to do as a DIYer. No excuse for regular oil changes either.

Not a bad effort considering it's travelled 280k. Usually the thinner weight oil can seep through the smallest of clearances. I guess it's been good to you because you drive it daily. If it sat around, then I'd say for sure the oil will start seeping through the gaskets.

Cars need to be driven on a regular basis.

[Squalled]

An update that doesn't involve cleaning for once LOL. For about a year or so now, I'd noticed when turning right that I'd hear my exhaust rattling or rubbing which initially didn't really bother me. Last week though, I began scrapping my muffler on basically any speed hump, even the ones where I work where I never scrape at all. When I went to check my muffler I was greeted with this lovely site.

After inspecting I found that one of the rubber exhaust hanger mounts had split completely and caused it to not only sag but also detach from the 2nd hanger closest to the end of the muffler chamber. Thankfully I was able to find a replacement at Supercheap that looked almost the same in the hope it would fit as I was confident to do this job myself.

I headed to Supercheap but before hand I did a rather dodgy temporary repair to at least raise the muffler for the trip.

The fix worked for the short time I used it. As you can even see on the top of the rubber, it's quite worn and showing some pretty bad signs of cracking. So when I finally got the change on a busy weekend to get the time to replace it. I decided to cut the old mount off seeing as it was going in the bin anyways. 

You can see easily the clean break with the hole also being elongated over time.

This was practically how the exhaust was sitting when I first discovered it at work and it's safe to say I have a heap more marks under it now from all the additional scrapping.

Now after some time spent yelling, swearing and some advice from my better half, I managed to get the rubber mount in and the exhaust is back in it's correct location.

[Squalled]

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.

[Tony Prodigy]

On 6/19/2023 at 1:20 PM, Squalled said:

An update that doesn't involve cleaning for once LOL. For about a year or so now, I'd noticed when turning right that I'd hear my exhaust rattling or rubbing which initially didn't really bother me. Last week though, I began scrapping my muffler on basically any speed hump, even the ones where I work where I never scrape at all. When I went to check my muffler I was greeted with this lovely site.

After inspecting I found that one of the rubber exhaust hanger mounts had split completely and caused it to not only sag but also detach from the 2nd hanger closest to the end of the muffler chamber. Thankfully I was able to find a replacement at Supercheap that looked almost the same in the hope it would fit as I was confident to do this job myself.

I headed to Supercheap but before hand I did a rather dodgy temporary repair to at least raise the muffler for the trip.

The fix worked for the short time I used it. As you can even see on the top of the rubber, it's quite worn and showing some pretty bad signs of cracking. So when I finally got the change on a busy weekend to get the time to replace it. I decided to cut the old mount off seeing as it was going in the bin anyways. 

You can see easily the clean break with the hole also being elongated over time.

This was practically how the exhaust was sitting when I first discovered it at work and it's safe to say I have a heap more marks under it now from all the additional scrapping.

Now after some time spent yelling, swearing and some advice from my better half, I managed to get the rubber mount in and the exhaust is back in it's correct location.

That would've peed me off too mate, but what can you do after the fact. There was a time when I would've reacted the same way, but these days, I tend to take a more collected approach and just get it sorted by whatever means necessary. 
Probably a good idea to keep a few of those rubber hangers in your stash just for moments like that.

Glad you got it sorted and no further damage resulted.