Kozmo

Unfortunatly, because there isn't any nation-wide "one stop shop" that does this sort of stuff I don't know who to point you to. I do know of a couple of jap/Toyota wreckers, and I am familiar with what the common Auto stores stock. Body parts and lights: I know of two companies that specialise in producing parts that get damaged in crashes (bumpers, lamps & lots of other exterior parts). 1: SSS 2: All Crash I don't think either companies deal direct with the public. Repco (Nation-wide business) are a distributor for both companies. If you can be more specific about what parts, what car and what part of the country you're from then us forum folk might be able to give you some more helpful advice.

Sudden burst of enthusiasm after 6 months of neglect... Ok, not all done today, but yesterday and today combined. Got some parts from the wreckers: "Clips" to stop my rear pads rattling around in the callipers Centre console lid/box Wiper washer bottle Drivers side mirror (AE96 style) Got parts for weekend service: Red Line Water Wetter Bottom Radiator Hose Gates fan belts (DAMN SQUEAK, LEAVE ME ALONE - please!!!!) And... Topped up oil with 1L Nulon Fully Synthetic 15-50 Blasted a kilo of rust out of my "front/rear wiper water control valve" Sanded + primed my new mirror.

Something I've been wanting to do for a long time now... I had the opportunity arise to buy some awesome 5" speaker cheap(carbon fibre cone, yada-yada). I thought "great, I'll get those to fit". Turns out I couldn't... I've already got the 6x9's in the back, that provides enough base for me. So now I've decided for the next pair at the front size isn't going to be the decider - clarity would instead. I would love to fit some new 4" splits but can't find anything decent to buy. So far all I have only come across some Kenwoods which are rated at a meer 20W RMS for over $120 <_< (Kenwood say input = RMS?). I think my alarm-clock radio could do better than that :D . All suggestions welcomed :) *DOH* Sorry, I now realise that this post doesn't belong here. Still finding my way around the forum . Thanks in advance for the move Mr. Admin :) .

My understanding of the matter... Rotors are made from cast-iron. When iron is flowed into a casting, it has its own individual internal stresses as a result of the flow and cooling process. (In the same way a lava-flow has a grain). After many months of temperature cycling/weather, the stresses inside the metal casting "relax" and therefore warp into a more "natural" position. I don't remember which manufacturer(s), but some of them use to (still do?) "weather" their castings to relieve these stresses before machining them. I do know that DBA do not go through this stage when producing their discs. :(

How did I know that'd be the next post . Big project = 7AGE. Bang for buck = 20V or some forced induction mayhem Slightly more rev happy engine with small power gain = Hotter cams

Engine RPM and the time (or lack of) it takes to change gear after the clutch pedal has been fully pressed is what it is all about. High throttle is obviously linked to high RPM... but the throttle position is irrelevant. If you slam any vehicles gear stick from 3rd to 4th at light speed it will cause a "crunch". Reason: Put simply... your gearbox operates at one speed and the engine at another. The job of the synchro is to match the speed of both before a gear is selected. This always takes some amount of time. There are a few things that can increase the amount of time this takes: - Wear - Incorrect trans oil (too thick) - Cold weather (makes oil thicker than usual therefore exaggerating other issues). If you have the time to read... here's my life story . Thought you might appreciate hearing someone else's personal experience... [story] I had a lot of trouble with gear crunching in my own car when first I started driving it. Some of this I admit would partially be due to me learning to drive. I think sometimes I probably didn't have my foot fully on the clutch pedal until I was already starting to shift into the next gear. I don't know for sure as whenever this was *possibly* happening, I was too busy accelerating, watching the taco and traffic to take extra notice of my clutch operation . Anyway, enough with my crummy driving... Even when I did take that extra notice and made sure Mr. Clutch Operator was doing his job properly I found that there was a point I couldn't push beyond in terms of shift speed without causing gear crunch. So... I hopped on the google and went looking for reasons behind this. After reading about the things I have mentioned above I decided it was time to change my trans oil. I had no idea what was in my transaxle at the time, or how long it had been there so that was the most obvious and cheapest place to start. As I'm going to own my car for some time and there's a long time between service intervals for trans oil, I went out and bought some fully synthetic fluid (not cheap). One fluid change later and I had a totally different car - the shift was so much better. [/story] So everyone lived happily every after? No, not quite... The shift was so so much better than before, but I still know there is a point that can't past. I only get little "clicks" rather than a "crunch" if I push past this point. I don't want to reco gearbox, so its something I've learnt to live with (taking an extra fraction of a second on changes). This is something to be expected in old cars (my corolla: 18yo, 190,000kms) but not in a car that is only couple of years old... unless it's driven like a drag-car... every day. So, long story short. A) A: An oil change is the cheapest thing to try. Side note: if you choose to change your oil and then later the clutch, it is possible to change the clutch without having to draining trans fluid again (no $ lost). However mechanics normally want to drain the oil to make the job easier and so they can sell you some new oil. B: A: There are additives out there which can reduce the time for the synchro to do its job. ie: http://www.nulon.com.au/products/Manual_Gearbox_and_Diff_Treatment/ I purchased this Nulon additive, but still haven't got round to putting it in (I don't have a big enough spanner ). C) Q: Does your definition of "lately" coincide with having colder days? D) The clutch shouldn't be a related problem until you start to notice clutch "slip". That being said, it is still preferable to change the clutch before clutch slip occurs. At the end of the day, honestly - it is impossible to diagnose (with more than 60% accuracy) this sort of problem from behind a computer. The only way of telling is being behind the wheel. As the local mechanic is the only other party with this diagnostic advantage... If they are genuinely interested in helping you, then he will know by experience that a clutch and fluid change will fix your issues. On the other hand... If he's desperate to pay rent at the moment, then he'll be after you're money for a quick service - after which you will be left the headache of reco'ing your gearbox. Ahhh, just re-read your last post: "He just said take it back to Toyota, they messed up somewhere..." In that case seems you've found a genuinely honest bloke. I think the best thing to do would be to ask him whether or not he could do all the work and ask for an estimate. Most wshops aren't set up to do gearbox or internal engine work because of the "fiddly" nature of the work, not to mention all the extra special vehicle specific servicing tools required. Most likely the case will be happy to do the oil and clutch but will then point towards a local transmission reconditioner. In that scenario, if you're lucky you might be able to get the trans fixed by the local reco mob whilst the mechanic still has your car, and then it can all be re-assembled all in the one hit... can't hurt to ask. It all depends on what wshops are set up for what. One thing that can be said... Toyota will be setup for it all. Sorry, I've gotten a little too carried away in one post, the long story really is almost over... (how did 5:00 AM creep up on me so fast)?! In the mean time, treat the car gently. The more the crunching happens, the more worn your gearbox will become. Any friends/family in the automotive trade to ask to have a drive for diagnostic purposes?

Over the last couple of years I have been trying to think of any ways to get more out of my car. Having a huge peak power figure is always good for bragging rights. However, IMO off the track/dyno and in the real world it is normally a higher torque figure that makes a car nicer to drive and pull away from the lights. If the corolla isn't a daily then sure, chasing more power at higher RPM's is a lot of fun. If the engine was built up with forged internals and all balanced the you'd definitely be able to get more RPM's and make use of them with a 280 - 320 degree set of cams. If I had the time/money I would love to build a 7AGE. I should make clear I have no experience with such a set up - I am still in the research stage myself. The basic idea is to achieve the capacity of the 7AFE whilst keeping the head / rev-happiness from the 4AGE. I assume it is not possible to simply do a crank swap due to internal bottom-end clearances. The set-ups I have read about utilise the whole 7AFE bottom-end. I don't find this to be a desirable idea as the 7AFE has a much lower red-line figure. It has been several months since I looked into all of this, I need to re-familiarise myself with all of the internal components and the differences between the 4AGE and 7AFE again. Anyway, for now I'll leave some numbers for you to think about. 4AGE - standard config - bore / stroke: 81mm / 77mm = 1587cc 4AGE - 7AFE crankshaft - bore / stroke: 81mm / 85.5mm = 1762cc That's an 11% increase in capacity before over-boring! PS. Do you notice a considerable performance drop on hot days?