Tard

Might be extremely wise to inspect those fusible links.

What you did quote was correct however. There are regulations regarding actual space saver wheels/tyres... which your scenario does not apply as it is the original that would have come with the car. A quote I once came across which sums everything up quite well however would be:

Do you intend on using the spare as just that? If so, I would be more inclined to just leave it as is. Should the case arise that it is needed, you simply use the spare, get the main one fixed up, then swap it back around again.

The posting was getting pretty redundant. Always the same people there and hardly any new people turning up. Now it's more of a case of post if it isn't happening.

I hear the tickets for the Circuit & Coffee are selling out Wildseven. Have to be quick and get yourself a ticket. It's a god opportunity to give your car a good run against others and I hear it is quite fun. I'm fairly certain you will even see some Toyotas out there too that you can race with.

Really? I found at least 11: http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xaurion+engine&_nkw=aurion+engine&_sacat=0&_from=R40

Depends on your skill level I suppose. If you have the resources to perform the engine swap, then it can work out well I would imagine. All I know is that if something like that was to happen to me, it would probably cost a fortune to get a mechanic to do it as that's what someone like me would have to do. I don't know much about all this though so someone else would have to comment. I'd just imagine that you could probably find a good deal on a car that would be less hassle. For what it's worth, I think K_san has a bit of a point. If you were to stick with the same car and just replace the engine, you may potentially have some more issues down the track. I recall hearing about various issues he has had with that car when he had one.

In other words, this is about the right opportunity to get another car instead of going through the ordeal of trying to replace your engine which is most likely rooted.

Personally, I aim to have the overflow bottle to be at about 3/4 full when the engine is at operating temperature. This should allow sufficient room for expansion should it need (in a worst case scenario it will just overflow out of the tank) then gives more than enough coolant available for the cooling system to pull in when the engine cools down. Having it mid-way at operating temperature is fine however provided that when the engine is cold, there is still fluid above the level of the tube that extends into the overflow tank.

Next meet is on the 5th of April: https://www.facebook.com/events/432053856926417/ But if you want something even more fun, I'd suggest going to this: https://www.facebook.com/events/682465708472141/ Get your ticket quick though before they sell out.

The Brisbane community is a relatively small one now. Hardly seen any new members turning up to our simple Thursday night meets over the last 4.5 years and if anything, we are actually losing members. Mixing it up may attract some new members but I wouldn't get your hopes up. When it comes to Brisbane, you are better off not trying to limit yourself to TOCAU and look into Downshift. They hold monthly meets and are guaranteed to attract a huge crowd.

Details here are still valid: http://au.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/topic/27430-the-brisbane-thread-weekly-meet-every-thursday-from-8pm/ Always going to be at least 2 people there every week. All members have moved on/bought larger vehicles/other makes/less wheels except for one Aurion.

Don't really have the club meets like we used to quite a while back if you are expecting anything like a typical car meet.

Any exhaust shop would be able to fit them. You will probably have to sort out the electrics though. Right Price Exhausts in Slacks Creek fitted my Varex a fair while back (just fit them minus the electrical connections) for not too much. Can't remember the figure though. Probably no use trying to convince you, but I would suggest saving your money and getting a decent pair of mufflers. Once you realise that it doesn't sound that loud with the valve open and you start to get used to it, you probably won't ever end up closing the valve.

Changing the battery could have simply just cleared the code so now you don't know if it was really caused by the battery in the first place. I've had error codes from some random things in the past that have simply never returned after resetting the ECU.

If you are referring to those threaded studs that the plastic screw clip things attach to to hold the carpet in place, you can get away with cutting the plastic clips in half (as the part that grips the threads is only on part of the clip) then cut the studs short with a rotary tool (or a hacksaw if you are creative like me. After a lot of mucking around with my own scrubbing issues, I found that there is part of the body near where the bumper joins the body that the tyres can scrub against. You can get away with cutting this part of the body or filing it down/bending it out of the way.

Probably because having a tacho with an automatic transmission is not of any benefit.

An AT-X with a boot release button on the boot lid? I'd be curious to see a photo of this as I wasn't aware they had them.

I've been running Penrite SIN 0 (now referred to as Penrite Premium 0) since my first oil change on my Aurion. That oil is a 0W-50, however it is really a 0W-40 just marketed to perform like a 0W-50. I still see it as a 0W-40 though. Anyways, I've always used to get the VVT-i rattle around the 9,500km-10,000km mark as others here have reported and it would always go away with an oil change. Recently, I've stated to notice it a little earlier, down as low as 6,000km-7,000km. The car is at about 190,000km. I'm considering changing to a 10W-40 (Penrite Racing 10) at this point in its life as I feel the 0W is just a little too thin at startup temperature. If the table here is anything to go by, the 10W will be thicker at room temperature than the 0W. http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/motor-oil-102/ But I don't think that really contributes much to your question though since I've been running a xxW-40 oil already.

You might be write on this, but the new 2014 range of aurions have the same engine? or is it slightly different? Exactly the same. Well, maybe with a VVT-i controller with a working lock-pin and a revised VVT-i oil line, but apart from that, same powerhouse and same aftermarket support.

The Aurion is at that age where it has been that long and no-one has done anything big to it that is easy and cost efficient to replicate. It's safe to say that there isn't too much you can do except enjoy what it is without expecting to get much more usable power out of it. If you want a faster car, you're better off looking elsewhere.

Kind of depends on how much fluid was emptied from the torque converter I'd imagine. When I dropped my sump and replaced the filter/strainer, I ended up using about 4.5 litres however an estimated 1.2-1.5 litres of that was "wasted" towards flushing a bit of the fluid inside out. And I also have a gearbox oil cooler. Straight out of the service manual:

Having changed the transmission fluid myself, I have to ask about the way you changed the fluid. Basically, with the engine off and preferably cold (under 40 degrees), you remove the overflow plug on the transmission sump then top up the transmission fluid until it overflows out the overflow tube. Once it slows to a trickle, you replace the overflow plug. Then you start the car and run it though all the gears for about 30 seconds then you return it to PARK. Then with it in idle and park, you remove the overflow plug, if fluid comes out wait till it slows to a trickle and then replace the plug. At this point you are done. If no fluid comes out, you keep adding fluid to the transmission until it does flow out the overflow tube. Once it slows to a trickle, then you replace the overflow plug and you are complete. You should so all this relatively quickly. That means if your engine was cold when you started, by the time you have run it though the gears, toped up the fluid etc if required, the engine wouldn't have been running for more than a few minutes. This process needs to be done with the transmission around 40 degrees C so you don't want it getting too warm and messing up your measurement.

I've covered more than a couple of thousand km's and all seems about the same... except for the driveshafts which were replaced at the same time. I think my aftermarket shafts have a balance issue or the dampers that were attached to the original ones actually made a difference. If I recall correctly, the cases I heard of transmissions failing were serviced by other mechanics. At the time, the transmission service was relatively new. As the Aurion does have a specific way of getting the fluid level right, it could have been possible that the procedure was never performed correctly or a non-WS fluid used.