Hiro's AE102

[Hiro]

So now that the Snoarer is a viable daily again thanks to the exhaust work, and the missus is working from home, I took the chance to get the front-end knocking noise finally looked at (it has been there pretty much as long as I've had the car but has gotten worse lately, and has been mis-diagnosed twice in the past as rod ends and then steering rack, both fixed with no improvement). Expecting the diagnosis to be either CVs or balljoints (although how someone could miss those twice in the past I don't know), to say that I was surprised was an understatement when the results came back - gearbox.

For those not in the know, this is the situation:

There is a front-end knocking (not clicking, think the same sort of sound as rapping your knuckles on a window) noise, linked to road speed (say 10Hz @ 20km/h), that only appears when going around a right-hand corner with the right-front wheel unloaded and no throttle (for instance a roundabout). It does not occur if you enter the corner from a standing start (so most T-intersections don't do it), and it goes away instantly if you accelerate.

Not really an expert on FWD differentials so not 100% sure on what it would be (bearing/inner tripod perhaps?). If it was easily fixable that would be great (would prefer not to have to change a whole gearbox now, although it would give me a reason to change my 385,000km clutch), but any extra thoughts/theories before I get it sent to a transmission specialist would be appreciated.

[KRaZi 101]

Good to see you've still got this! Great pics as well.

[Hiro]

Now there's a name/face I haven't seen in a while :P

[Hiro]

In "classic me" fashion, I finally got around to fixing a problem that has been on-going for probably 2 years minimum....my fuel cap.

So a long long time ago in a galaxy far far away, my fuel cap release stopped working. Judging from my limited knowledge of Bowden cables, it seemed that the cable had stretched (was still attached at both ends but lever travel was insufficent to open the flap, and when closed the fuel-cap end of the cable sat several centimetres past the socket on the flap lever wheel. Because I could still open the fuel cap in a pinch by manually turning this wheel, I put it in the big basket of "I'll fix that one day when I get around to it", and it stayed that way for the better part of 2 years.

Eventually, the Soarer stretched it's bonnet release cable (classic symptom of front driver's side wheel rubbing through the guard splashguard and wiring, price to pay for living the low life), I decided to kill two birds with one stone and order both cables at the same time. A quick consult of my Gregorys manual showed that it should be a simple case of unhooking the cable at both ends, tying a piece of string to one end and then pulling the cable through the car, hooking the new cable onto the string and then reversing the procedure.

Whoever wrote that procedure should be shot.

Not only did the cable refuse to budge when unclipped from each end, I had to pull apart half the interior (boot carpet trim, rear seat base, rear seat side bolsters, both B-pillar covers, both rear door jambs, drivers door jamb, driver's seat belt, driver's seat) only to find that the cable is held in place by 3-prong clips in no less than SIX separate locations. Not even Hercules could have pulled that cable through, and even if he did there would be no chance in hell of getting the new cable to clip in as it was pulled through, thus making the point moot.

So an hour or two of swearing, scuffed knuckles and a front lawn strewn with interior plastics and seats, I got the new cable installed. Re-installed everything, only to find that the new cable still didn't open the flap (checked it for binding, checked it with the cabin lever moulding not screwed back down to the driver's seat mount, it all worked then, but when installed fully it suddenly stopped). In yet another "classic me" moment, I worked out that the old cable had not, in fact, stretched, but that a tiny piece of plastic clip had broken off the lever moulding, which meant that the cabin-end of the cable sheath was not anchored and thus half the lever travel was taken up in straightening the sheath. A quick visit to eBay sourced me a new cabin lever moulding (shared with the boot release), and 5 minutes later in the carpark the new unit was installed, with both fuel cap and boot release cable sheats firmly clipped in and operating smoothly, and for the first time in a long time I can now open the fuel cap without resorting to sticking my arm elbow-deep into the depths of the rear guard to manually turn the lever wheel.

[Hiro]

Perfect condition never-fitted NOS ultra-rare optional Hella grille. Hella cool...

Even comes with all the wiring, just need a new grille emblem. Had to cut part of the air-con fan shroud off though, guess Euro models don't have much need for air-con...

[juvenile]

Just when I thought I knew my Corollas, this comes along :D Never seen this grille before,where did you find it? OEM or aftermarket?

[Hiro]

Dealer-fit optional extra I believe, Euro not JDM though.

[sw20_3sgte]

Curious if you still have this ride mate? It always inspired my car enthusiasm :)

[trentmeyer23]

Curious if you still have this ride mate? It always inspired my car enthusiasm :)

He still has it, probably has 500,000km on it now. :P

[Hiro]

Curious if you still have this ride mate? It always inspired my car enthusiasm :)

He still has it, probably has 500,000km on it now. :P

Close

[Hiro]

Well, the old girl turned 400 earlier this year, and coming up on her 18th birthday she was really starting to act like most 18 year olds - insolent, lazy, and demanding money all the time. So, I did the maths on what would be needed to get her through the next 12 months to a state where I'd be happy and content with her again, and to say it was a small figure would be lying. In addition, even after all that work I'd still have a 400k+ car at the end of it.

So on and off over the last few months I've been trawling eBay and Gumtree on the faint hope that I could get a donor to swap over all the good bits and keep her spirit alive. Didn't think the odds were that great of scoring exactly what I wanted, since most old people don't need a big-block 1.8L manual to drive down to lawn bowls and the RSL every Saturday. Those that were out there were still in the high 200s, and I knew they would be in worse condition than what I've got at the moment (which is saying something).

To say I was surprised when I stumbled across what has been temporarily named "Charlene Mark II" is putting it lightly. September '98 build (so 11 months newer than Mark I), with an aftermarket towbar, but in every other way identical. Same model (AE102), same trim (Conquest), same colour (OKA Diamond White), exact same options (air-con, remote central locking, power mirrors, no ABS or airbag), one/two owner from new (husband and wife, compared to my dad and then me), even bought from THE SAME FREAKING DEALERSHIP.

Oh, and with only 161,000k on the clock. For those playing at home, that's 240,000k less than what Mark I has. For some cars (not Corollas), that is a lifetime. The price was a little high compared to others on the market, but the condition (excellent, barely a mark on the paint and one tiny dent on the bonnet), history (also excellent), compatability (almost impossible to get better) and mileage meant that I'd be an idiot not to snap it up (plus it had rego until October next year, whereas Charlene Mark I runs out a few days before Christmas).

So I did. And here she is. Only blemishes are some slightly oxidised alloy bits in the engine bay, a torn drivers seat (will be putting the Levin seats in) and a saggy headlining (which I'll replace with my professionally re-trimmed one). As bone stock as they come, still with original Fujistu Ten tape-deck, chrome exhaust tip (yes, Conquests came from the factory with a chrome exhaust tip), original uncracked Toyota headlight protectors, a spare wheel well that is whiter than my old exterior was, and a bottle of the original touch-up paint that was still liquid.

Plans are to live the stocko life over Christmas, and then take a few days off work in the new year to strip all the goodies off the old girl and have her spirit reborn in the new.

[trentmeyer23]

What's not to like about this?

Forced induction this time?

[Hiro]

Nope no engine changes just yet, depending on what happens I might keep the old 7A and give it a full strip-down rebuild into a 7AGE, would love to do a 7AGZE if i had the patience and money but that's doubtful.

[trentmeyer23]

I will do a 7AGZE

Fixed.

[dwee.]

I will do a 7AGZE

Fixed.

I like this. :D

[Hiro]

I will do a 7AGZE

Fixed. And I'll fly down from QLD and help

I like this. :D

I like it too

[Hiro]

So, over the last few weeks I've been removing bits and pieces mainly from the interior so it could still be driven if necessary, but since the rego has now lapsed and Toyota Nationals is fast approaching I decided it was time to get started on the big stuff.

First up was the wheels - still needed rubber between the suspension and the ground so acquired a set of AE82 Twinky S2 wheels for free.....some things from the 80s should stay in the 80s.  Had some "fun" getting one of the hub-centric rings off (had to resort to the old boiling-water trick after attempts with a flat-blade screwdriver had turned it into a porcupine instead of a ring).  Also, by some miracle one of the tyres had a screw embedded flush in one of the tread blocks but was still holding air some 3 months after it was last driven

Then came the front end - lights, Hella grille and FX bumper.  Haven't seen the front end this exposed in a _looooong_ time.  Figured once the front bar was off I'd might as well get the intake off too, which meant pulling the TRD 3-point strut brace as well.

Next up will be cam cover and probably the front half of the exhaust, followed by the suspension which will mark the start of installing on Mark II (since I don't have a spare set of struts around and can't afford to have Mark I sitting on blocks in the driveway).

[Hiro]

Anyone know what this big long metal tube thingy is called?  I undid a couple of random bolts under the car and it fell off...

[trentmeyer23]

I wouldn't worry too much, that's just the supercharger...

[Hiro]

11 hours ago, trentmeyer23 said:

I wouldn't worry too much, that's just the supercharger...

I've been told it's actually the swaybar

[Hiro]

So picked these up for a steal last weekend, for those not in the know the top-spec AE101 Levins/Truenos came with a Superstrut suspension option and twin-pot 275mm front discs, which are a sizeable improvement over the factory non-superstrut 255mm single-pots.  A common upgrade for AE92s in the past, common practice required the discs to be turned down to ~260mm through as the caliper mounting points on the MacPherson struts were closer in to the hub compared to the Superstrut.  In my mind the whole point of buying big brakes is to have big brakes, so going back down to a disc only 5mm bigger than factory seemed like a backwards step.  Fortunately, other trailblazers out there have found out that you can the pad-carriers from the big-brake ST20x Celicas with a tiny bit of grinding for clearance, so I'm currently hunting down a set of ST204 front pad carriers (fortunately Toyota Aus spec'd the big front single-pots for the ADM models, otherwise I'd be trying to find an SSII/III 3SGE ST202 import with the big brakes but WITHOUT Superstrut).

Should be looking at getting the exhaust fitted soon too, just need to go over the joins to make sure the welds are still good (it's 10 years old now) and get a fresh set of gaskets front to rear.

[Hiro]

Gone but not forgotten (well it's only been 5 hours, but still.....)

[trentmeyer23]

It had a pretty good run.

[KAA]

yes sob.sob..yes well you and it had your adventures..try an extra intake of alcohol ease the pain

KAA

[Hiro]

10 hours ago, KAA said:

yes sob.sob..yes well you and it had your adventures..try an extra intake of alcohol ease the pain

KAA

Having the almost exact same car still in my driveway helps a lot too...