Tony Prodigy

The chain looks quite good actually just looking at your video there. I'm concerned a little by the sludgy deposits in the rocker cover. Not a deal breaker, but I'd clean that up and replace the valve cover gasket while your at it. I noticed some weepage around the join. I'm starting to have a different train of thought here. Noises are kind of hard to diagnose with sound over video and it did seem like an intermittent chain slap. I'm thinking that it could possibly be the water pump now considering the noise is somewhat mechanical in nature. Could be a bearing going bad, either water pump or idler pulley. If you know how to remove the serpentine belt, do so and see if the noise stops. You should be able to start the engine but don't run it for too long. A minute should give you enough time to do your check. Give the idler pulley and water pump a spin and see if they present any kind of noise. They shouldn't. If the idler pulley bearing is dry it could be salvaged with some lubrication of white grease. If it has too much play then it's time for replacement. The water pump shaft shouldn't have any play either. If so, time for a new one before it leaves you stranded by the side of the road.

To be honest, I wouldn't mess with the stock headlights. Toyota make excellent headlights and I think they are more than adequate with the low and high beams. The only thing you'll do with those white lights would be to annoy the heck out of oncoming drivers by sending them blind with the outright brightness. My aurion has ordinary Halogen lights and they are very strong. More than enough lighting for general night driving. If you are travelling on those B roads where there is no lighting, I'd suggest installing an LED light bar as Ashley mentioned. You need all the light you can get on those dark roads. Cheers mate

Don't feel too bad Ash, I procrastinate just as much too lol.. I totally understand the lack of garaging/carport and I was even thinking of getting one of these as a temporary solution. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Instahut-Gazebo-3x3-Party-Marquee-Wedding-Canopy-Outdoor-Gazebos-Camping-White/352672416769?hash=item521cea0401:g:Wm0AAOSwdaxeayZI You can drive the front portion of the car in and you'll have all the protection you need. Once your done, you can simply pack it away.

You need to apply a ceramic coating to your windscreen Ash. Those wipers will not be needed then, 😀 Watch those beads glide off the glass. As soon as I build my carport that's exactly what I'll be doing.

Hello and welcome to the forum. Sounds like you're in the U.K. when you refer to mileage and the fact your Hiace has the 2.5 lt. We have the 3.0 lt D-4D here in Australia. You say the fuel pump got tested and was found to be ok ?? Did they check anything else ? The only thing that will prevent fuel from reaching the fuel injectors would be a bad fuel pump, a blocked fuel filter, leaky injectors or some kind of blockage in the fuel lines. I think the 2.5 also has a fuel solenoid. If so, i'd be checking this too. The fuel pump could seem to be functioning but with a loss in pressure. So your guy needs to check and see what kind of fuel pressure it's putting out first.

Quick update. It's been nearly four weeks and the steering wheel that's getting the daily test is obviously the Colorado. (The other two are in dry storage). I am happy to report that the wheel still has that "airy" slickness despite daily use and I haven't even wiped it over as yet. I always try to ensure my hands are washed before driving so the wheel can stay as clean as possible but sometimes I forget, so the ceramic coating goes to bat for me shielding the leather from hand contamination. I'll probably wait another month and report back before I give it a wipe with microfibre cloth. ( preferably soaked in warm water). I'll use a bright cloth to see how much gunk I remove. Cheers everyone

Yep, I agree. We had a pretty wet weekend in Sydney. The dams should be practically full by now. I hope Professor Tim Flannery has had a look outside his window lately 🤣 I am also a supporter of Aussie made too mate, wherever possible. Sometimes it's impossible unfortunately. The Bowdens are good people and I'm glad we have Aussie made car care products that can compare with the big corporates. I have the same problem of lack of garaging and my daily's live outside too. If you put enough protection them, they will be ok and try and sneak in as much shade as you can too. I'm building a carport pretty soon so this will help alleviate some of the summer anxiety I've faced lol.. That's the beauty of applying a good quality sealant. It's ability to resist, to a degree, road grime and dirt. The pre soak is an important step in shedding as much of this gritty stuff before the contact wash. The snow foam creates a nice emulsion, lifting most of the dirt off. Best results when using a pressure washer too. There's only one thing that bugs me about the Bowden's product range is the silly 'sexual innuendo' they use to name their products. I think it quite juvenile to be honest. Yeah, it's pretty ozzie and boganish, but not very classy in my mind. Apart from that, they have some geat products.

Thanks Robert. Glad you liked the pics. Threads like this are worthless without pics aren't they ? Rupes make some high quality gear and when I first saw this kit, I was in total awe !. I had always imagined if there was a polisher that could tackle those tight spots I'd love to have one, but unfortunately, nothing of its type had existed back in the day until Rupes came out with this little beauty. It was pretty much a manual labour affair with cloth over finger to get in there and polish, (very unsophisticated with average results). The iBrid has been out for several years and I had delayed purchasing one until now to wait and read the reviews and see how well the quality has held up. I'd heard no negative reports thus far and so my decision to take the plunge was made very easy. This link provides a pretty comprehensive review of this product, by the world famous "Autogeek" team. The earlier versions came in a suitcase style pack. Not only can it be used for areas I described, you can get creative and if need be, you could use it in engine bays, engine components, door jambs, sills, trims pieces (especially those black plastic pieces for the "B-pillars" that always cop a hammering) and interior work. You can clean the leather with the horse hair brush, polish those clear coated interior trim pieces, be it, wood or carbon fibre that we find more and more of today.

Your welcome.

G'Day Gents, I added another amazing tool to my detailing kit. I've wanted one of these for ages and Rupes have released the latest incarnation of the very popular iBrid Nano mini polisher. You have the option of a short or long neck. Short neck version is a bit cheaper. I prefer the long neck so it's able to reach into those deeper recesses you normally wouldn't otherwise. This version comes in a really tidy and sturdy "deluxe" cabinet which has two layers in it to accommodate everything neatly. Rather than list everything I'll provide this link if you're interested in reading further about it. It will be so good having this machine in addition to my regular duty Flex XC3401 to get into those tight spots and narrow edges the Flex cannot. The iBrid will tackle these areas just perfectly with the choice of two polishing pad sizes, 30mm and 50mm with the option of short or long throw adapters. Having battery power also gives you the freedom to hit those small spots quickly without having to hook up to a lead and drag it around with you. It also has the option of mains power adapter if the job calls for an extended period of usage. Here are some pics

That's the only way to make it rain mate. I've been responsible for most of the rain we've had this year so don't feel to bad Your car looks great. Glad to see another fellow member use protection on their paint. I've never used Bowden's products, but I know of some who have and they're also happy with them too. The problem is that their are too many products on the market to choose from and you can wind up buying more than you'll ever need or use. If the Bowden's product is working well for you, then I'd stick with it until you run out and then you could go and try something else. That's my way of thinking. I don't like to layer the paint with different products. There are some that play nice together and some that don't. That slickness is also beneficial as the road grime doesn't stick so readily either, so even if it rains and the car is covered in road grime, as soon as you get home and aren't planning to go anywhere else, I'd give it a rinse with the hose to wash the road crud off. Or, if you are inclined, get the foam cannon out, pre soak it and pressure wash it and it will look like you've just washed it without having to do the full production with the buckets etc..

I'll take a stab and say that your timing chain tensioner is questionable. Sounds like you have excessive slop in your timing chain and that "clack" noise you're hearing is the chain intermittently slapping the inside top of your valve cover or somewhere else inside. The tensioner is tightened by oil pressure via small oil holes, but prevented from loosening by a ratcheting mechanism. So it should not lose tension when the engine is shut off unless the ratcheting pawl is not functioning properly. Root cause could be many things but the main preventative measure would be regular oil changes with high quality synthetic oil to prevent sludge and therefore blockages of oil galleries. It cannot be said enough for modern engines because any sign of sludge then you will have oil pressure issues wherever oil feed galleries are concerned such as the chain tensioner and your VVTI system. Take the valve cover off and have a good look around first. You will know pretty much then and there what condition the timing chain is in. If you don't want to, then the very least try an oil change and see if this improves things. If not, go back to my initial recommendation. Timing chains can also stretch too, even if they say it's a lifetime item. It's not really. Modern chains are quite thin and are susceptible to stretching if proper maintenance isn't being carried out. Let us know what you find. It could be beneficial to other Corolla owners here with the 2ZZ-GE engines.

Great info Ash. I'm thinking that in the event one needs to remove an O2 sensor, perhaps soak everything well and leave overnight to soak in to allow for best possible penetration. Just a thought.

I also just remembered something else the Mods can take a look at. When we have several notifications, sometimes I get 6,8 or more, up there in the bell icon, They're highlighted in bold print until you click on one to read it. When I click on the first one, the whole lot lose the bold print and you lose track which one you've actually read. If the unread ones can stay in bold print this would be pretty helpful. Saves having to double click on the same one which have already been read. Is it possible to fix this please ??

Yep. Good advice. I've heard )2 sensors are difficult to remove and you can risk damaging them. Is that generally the case Ash ?

They were a bonus I thought. Not a cheap part either and there are two. There is also a ding on one of my Y pipes on the bottom. (not by me either) It was there when I bought the car and it has always bothered me, so win win for this replacement piece as not only will it do away with the cosmetic damage but refresh the potential flow restriction when that occurs. It's bubble wrapped from tip to toe don't worry and stored safely.

I forgot about that Ash. Thanks for reminding us. I have experienced that also, which is why I don't bother doing searches anymore. Google usually yields all the posts from here strangely enough..

Interesting topic Ash. I'm not too fussed about exhaust systems these days as I was when I was younger. Remember when we ran around in our sporty versions of road cars and the exhaust sound was practically everything ? I had a few old Fords before I bought an XD 351 Fairmont. It had a 4 into one header system that merged into a single 3" system. It sounded great. Then as time rolled on I got more into the bikes and started driving regular cars till the M3 came along. That car is totally stock and I much prefer it that way to be honest. I did, however come across a good deal on Ebay recently for an Aurion 50 series catalytic converter and thought why not buy and keep it as a spare for my long term ownership plan. It came off a Sportivo model with only 60K and so it's still newish. It even looks like new compared to some you see advertised. It came complete with O2 sensors too. What a bonus. My idea was that as the car ages, the catalytic converter will degrade with time and start to become restrictive as you guys mentioned and with this I thought by having a spare low kay one I could just swap it out when the time comes.

I hate buying cars full stop. That's why, when I buy a car, I try and find the best one for the right money, look after it well and keep it as long as possible. I will NEVER buy from a yard. All my past purchases have been private. You can get better deals, as you know, buying private but you still need to do your due diligence when buying anyway right ? REVS check and a car history report should always be done regardless. I'm pretty good detecting accident damaged cars as I come from a spray painting/panel beating background so this is helpful for me and anybody I know who needs assistance. The encumbered aspect is more the issue these days as there are way too many who live beyond their means and finance just about everything. I hope the O.P made the right choice.

The OP's ad says that the car is no longer available. Hmm, I wonder if he did buy it despite the excellent advice put forward here. Not sure why he was hell bent on buying a car with such high kays when he could find something else for similar money with much less kays. There's plenty out there if you have a good dig. I hope he made the right choice.

100% true. Photobucket shafted everybody when they decided to extort money from their users. Don't worry. I keep ALL my pics in a special folder just in case of such an event, I can always re upload them. The reason why I use a third party direct link is because there's a limit as to how many you can upload in any one thread. That's what I remember anyway. Is this still the case or has this been expanded ?

Wow Robert. Cool story mate. What an honour it would have been to have sat with this Gentleman and hear all the stories of the day. What a thrill it would've been to have raced in the Glory days of motor racing. Safety was all but a word and there was hardly any safety barriers around the track. Those men were brave, much braver than today's Nanny State crop. There was always a real chance that you could be killed on race day and the law of averages was accepted. It is, of course, unacceptable today because we have learned the lessons from the past and the modern racers are very well protected. I would also wake up early with my brother and tune into Channel 7 and listen to the iconic voice of Mike Raymond. I remember then the race used to start really early, I think it was around 7am because the cars were slower then and pit stops were painfully slow too. This meant that it took a lot longer to do 1000 kays

So true. The Analogue days. When you can fix a car with a spanner and screwdriver 😄 I was 10 years old and still remember that day when my brother and I watched Tricky Dicky go around in that beast XD Falcon. We were devastated when he crashed as we were both ***** Johnson Fans being Ford guys. It was revealed that a fan threw the rock. What an A**hole. Haha, The logarithm has censored Dicky's name 😂

I would imagine the clearance would be the same on both, given there are many differences between the two cars, I suspect this is probably one of those that's unchanged. What tool did you end up using Adam ? I was planning to use a 1/4" drive 10mm socket with a uni-joint adapter, then I remembered my snap-on 10mm socket combo spanner. It worked straight off the bat and I didn't bother testing the 1/4" socket.

100% true. The cars that raced around were practically road going cars with some modifications to enable them to go the distance of a brutal 1000 kay race. The 60's and 70's cars were practically stock to some degree but as the 80's rolled on the mods that were allowed made the sport very interesting. Then when Supercars began and touring cars ended, we saw a very different kind of racing again. Track cars had little in common with the road going variants except body panels and the skeletal remains of a dash board. Jump to the modern era and it's completely chalk and cheese. The win on Sunday, buy on Monday has well and truly gone out the window. Wow ! Good forethought to hang onto it. It would be worth a fortune today !! It would be great to see it again. Gricey was a great driver.