Jump to content

Tony Prodigy

Regular Member
  • Posts

    3,366
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    443

Everything posted by Tony Prodigy

  1. Each time I see this thread pop up a thought runs through my head about the naming of your wagon. I have to ask if you're a Frente fan.. They released the album "Marvin the Album" back in 1992. One of my favourite albums too mind you. They recently re released the 21st Anniversary version of the same Album. Marvin the Album Marvin the Wagon
  2. I tend to agree that it could be electrical over mechanical. If it was mechanical, it would persist constantly despite the pedal assembly change. These modern vehicles are totally hinged by complex electrical systems and it's like looking for a needle in the hay stack. However, in saying that, if you come across someone who knows where to look and what system to interrogate, I'm sure it can be sorted. Toyota techs aren't getting the education they need because Toyota and all the others are following the mantra of replace, replace, replace instead of fixing stuff. There's a guy on Youtube called Diagnosis Dan. That's the kind of guy you need. He has solved many complex electrical issues with modern cars, that even the dealers couldn't solve or made worse. Someone who understands how the system works and knows where to pin point the area of diagnosis. Just keep researching it. I'm sure there'll be some more info out there as the issue becomes more prevalent. I'd try and send Diagnosis Dan an email if that's possible. He may well be able to provide a starting point. If I find out anything too, I'll let you know. All the best
  3. Probably because nobody knows. These modern computer on wheels vehicles are getting far too complicated for the average man. It needs a deep dive I think and a scan with a high end scan tool to see what other underlying codes could be tale telling. Have you approached a Toyota dealer technician ? They may have come across this issue already. Is there much on the net ?? I haven't looked.
  4. Try Amayama. They are pretty good and way cheaper than your local stealer. Have your VIN ready and search parts specifically for your VIN. https://www.amayama.com/en
  5. Our pleasure. Always happy to help out another fellow motorist. All good man. I try to recommend only what I buy, use and trust. Like I mentioned, I have 6 C-Teks and all have been excellent and serve an important function in maintaining all my batteries, be they in the car or sitting in my garage for stored vehicles. I always keep an eye out for sales, especially when Amazon have those sales days where they slash prices by more than 50%. I jump on the items I need during this time. I recently got myself the C-Tek MXS-10 for under $200, normally retails for between $350 and $400. It would be good if they did, but the general consensus is that they assume we know this. I learned the hard way, same as you and have made certain never to fall back into that position again. My first C-Tek was an MXS 3.8 for my garage queen M3. All modern cars with complex electrical systems will have a parasitic drain even when the car is off and locked, so if you leave it stored for a prolonged period, it will drain the battery. I have permanently connected the eyelet adapter to the battery terminals (battery is in the boot), and just run the C-Tek extension cable to the charger. The cable is thin enough for me to even shut the boot lid and lock the car while it trickles the battery. No need to remove the battery. They call them "comfort connectors"
  6. 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.
  7. That's a monumental investment in parts shot gunning. I do feel that it's possible if aftermarket parts were used, all it takes is for one or more to be dodgy to recreate the same issue. What a frustrating experience that must be. Did you do all the work yourself ?
  8. Rubbish. They just rushed the bleeding process to get the car out of there as quickly as possible or they are just plain incompetent. I'm not a trained mechanic and I managed to do my coolant flush procedure to spec and according to the scope of works and not had any missing coolant. My overflow bottle still has the exact amount of coolant I put in when I did the service. Hasn't changed because it was done correctly. It's nothing to do with the fact that a water pump was replaced. Ultimately it's all about bleeding the air out once it's been opened for whatever reason. Glad to hear it's ok. I knew it would be.
  9. Here's the link to my coolant flush thread, incase you missed it. You'll see in the videos how stubborn the 2GR-FE can be. It can catch you off guard if you think it's bled.. You have to be very patient and wait.
  10. Damn, if you were a little closer to Sydney, I would come and get it. I just don't have the time to drive up there.
  11. Yes, definitely use the same stuff that's in there only if it isn't losing coolant. In this case, it looks like it isn't so yes, just keep adding your 50/50 premix. Never use tap water. Let's just hope it's a case of air in the system and not a potential head gasket as Rob mentioned.
  12. I have to replace both Idler and Tensioner pullies too. No big deal as they are a wear item and usually need doing at or around 150K or so. What I think is happening with your coolant Steve, is that it's likely he didn't bleed the air out completely. It's a pain in the you know what to do as it takes around 20 minutes or more to get all the air out. Some may think it's bled after only 5 minutes of engine runtime, when in fact it's waiting to cough up more as the air pockets move through the engine. The 2GR-FE is a stubborn engine to bleed. Your missing coolant in the reservoir is being pulled back in after it's burped the air out. Just keep topping it up daily until you don't have to anymore. It may need topping up a couple more times. I'm surprised it hasn't overheated. If it still persists, then take it back to the genius mechanic who sent you on your way in the first place and let us know how you go ok.
  13. So the engine has been reconditioned then did you say ? If so, Is it also possible they decked the block or head and invertedly raised the compression ratio ? If that's the case, then it's too late to fix and you may well just have to keep using higher octane fuel. Another thing you could check is the timing. Make sure it's within spec and too far advanced. That can cause pinging too.
  14. My Pleasure mate. Just keep up your routine scheduled maintenance and you'll have no issues. That's why they call it preventative maintenance I guess. Just like when you had the water pump replaced before it failed. That's a good move because the 40 series had the older style, prone to failure water pumps and they became a ticking time bomb. They fixed that with the 50 series, which Is why I'm not particularly worried about mine failing any time soon despite the 160K on it. It's all pretty much still original. I keep an eye out on the weep hole and as soon as I see a weep, it'll be changed out. I've got a nice little order of parts in the pipeline coming from Amayama too. I'll post up when they arrive. Just some refresher parts.. All the best to you Big Mike
  15. Hey Big Mike. How you doing buddy ? Opinions on whether to use engine flush can be divided. Engine flush was primarily designed for those people who don't service their engines regularly and hence have sludge and other contamination build up. Engine flush in this case would be recommended so the sludge doesn't compound over time and cause premature failure of vital engine components. If your engine has been serviced regularly, using the correct weight oil and a high quality fully synthetic, then my answer would be not to use engine flush because you'd really have nothing to flush. If the oil is changed regularly at low intervals, you'll not even really have any varnish or sludge, so I think it's not necessary to keep flushing. The oil does the cleaning for you in the meantime. You say, twice a year ? If I had to, I'd probably just do one per year or every 2nd or 3rd oil change. What happens is, the engine flush thins the oil down as it sloshes around and when you drain the oil, you still have residual "thinned oil" which is also discoloured from the cleaning process, remain inside those nooks and crannies in the engine. This residual oil will then mix in with the new oil and will degrade it almost immediately. Not by much but enough to see a discolouration. You'll probably see the colour of the oil change in a day or two after the service has been done. How do I know this ? Because the mechanic who used to do my dad's Aurion, used to upsell him engine flush each service and after checking his service reports, I could see he took proper advantage of a man who has near to zero knowledge on the subject. Dad's Aurion was practically brand new and didn't need engine flush. Said mechanic just wanted to milk more money out of him for the business. He took him to town on a few occasions and I insisted he stop taking the car there. I decided to take over his car servicing up to the time they moved North. What I observed in his oil when I did the oil change, was how brown the oil looked and how thin it was too. It intrigued me as to why it was like this because the oil in my car never came out this way even after 10K of usage. Then I remembered "Engine Flush". That was my aha moment. After draining it, I jacked the car up as high as I could and let it down several times to get as much of the old stuff out as possible. Probably got as much as 500ml extra over just draining the engine with on a level plain. So, I'm in two minds in using the stuff. I have a couple of bottles of engine flush myself and have never used them as yet. Not sure If I will to be honest. I'll wait and see how things go. I do plan to keep my Aurion for as long as humanly possible, so they may come into play at some point in the future. But for now, my engine has done nearly 160K and it's still minty inside. Not a hint of sludge or varnish. Thank you Nulon Full Synthetic 5W-30 oil..
  16. I hate subs. I live on a road where it can get some decent traffic pass through it and the amount of obnoxious, selfish turds who pass through all day, even late in the night and very early in the morning, have their subs blasting into oblivion waking up the dead as they drive by. Nothing pisses me off more than to have these abject Morons drive through my street and do this without impunity. Someone should park in front of their houses at 3am and blast their entire family and their neighbours and see how they like being disturbed. A***holes. I would just love to throw a f**ken brick though their windscreen someday ! I hate subs. Sorry: Rant over..
  17. Glad you got it sorted. Let us know how you go with your new catch can and how often you have to empty it etc. Some pics would also be great too. Cheers mate
  18. I've not used either and have not had the need for coils at this stage, but, what I can suggest is probably seeing if your local wrecker has good used "Genuine Denso" coils. I just don't have enough confidence in after market items, especially when it comes to electrical items. If you've canvassed new Genuine parts through your local Toyota dealer, then stop right there. You've been over quoted. Try sourcing new items through Amayama. I don't know the specific model code for your vehicle, but if you do, have a look yourself. You may be pleasantly surprised how much cheaper they are than your local stealer.. https://www.amayama.com/en/catalogs/toyota/camry?year=2004
  19. Happy to help. Which one did you buy ? The C-Tek has a recondition feature on models MXS 5.0 and up. You use this feature to desulphate the battery first before you attempt to charge it. This will help make the battery more healthy and take a better charge to handle the cranking amps. When a battery becomes sulphated it is practically dead, but you can bring it back if you have the correct charger. The cheaper versions usually don't have this and I'm not sure if the Jaycar one has it either. See how you go. Here's some good reading material https://www.power-sonic.com/blog/what-is-a-sulfated-battery-and-how-do-you-prevent-it/ https://www.ctek.com/uk/news-archive/looking-after-your-car-battery-as-you-come-out-of-quarantine
  20. Absolute B.S. In fact, it is quite the opposite. Without a trickle charger, most modern cars will have flat batteries everywhere due to their parasitic drain the onboard systems require when the car is locked. I would never be without one. I have 6 C-Tek trickle chargers for various vehicles I own. Has never let me down. Look into the C-Tek range if you have no joy with that Jaycar one which conrod linked. They seem to be out of stock for the moment, but if you can get one, it's good value.
  21. I suspected as much. If I recall, the frontal exhaust pipe runs across the pan. You can always loosens the engine mounts/dampers and jack lift the engine for more clearance. Whilst your in there, you could also take the opportunity to inspect the oil pick up screen and clean it if necessary.. I'm planning to replace my sump eventually as it has been whacked slightly by the previous owner and it's always bugged me when I do oil changes. I have an order ready to go with Amayama (better value than Partsouq), including those bits you mentioned to for the spark plug job. I'll share my bounty when it's all safe in my hands. Not going to be cheap, but I will explain everything when possible. In a nut shell, wifey has damaged a few bits and pieces, and it doesn't sit well with me to leave those parts as they are, so out they and in with new Genuine parts.
  22. Haha yeah, and recoup the 500, 000,000 he had to give his ex wife. A certain part of the female anatomy is quite the liability it seems
  23. Ah ok. So order 4 "individual plugs and they come as a 4 pack. Roger that. The idiots should know that the plug in question suits a V6 engine so it would be a no brainer to put the purchase limit to 6, not 5. Let us just buy one pack of 6 for the V6. Amazon can be a fickle platform. I've been navigating it for a few years now. It used to be much cheaper than before when I cast my eyes back on past orders, some items are double or even triple in price now. Another thing you need to be aware of is that Amazon tinkers with the price fluctuations, not the seller. So when you see an item that has increased by 20, 30 %, that's Bezos helping himself to your wallet, not the seller. He treats it like the stock exchange. So greedy.
  24. Thanks for that but it appears that the listing is for a singular plug ?? How did you get a 4 pack ?? The quantity to add to cart only allows a max of 5 pieces. Huh ??
×
×
  • Create New...

Forums


News


Membership