Squalled

Finally found some time to update my post. I usually try and do this once/twice a month but life happens I guess. So about 2 weeks ago, I finally got around to getting my calipers painted. With the help of my mate Alec, who pretty much did most of the job they were done in a few hours. The colour I went with was a custom colour done and other required paints at VG Paints. I got paint matched to the paint code of my old Honda Prelude which has always been my intention. Got the car up on stands and took the wheels off when we both we had a visitor arrive.. Our new apprentice ready to get working on the Sportivo. We started the process with cleaning up the calipers with wire brushes and using brake and parts cleaner. Alec than took the calipers off and the pads out to paint the calipers only, since it definitely looks a whole lot neater that way. Front and rear calipers after clean and before removal. Still the same paint when it left from the factory more than 13 years ago. Primer applied, roughly 2-3 coats to make sure the caliper was completely covered before paint. Time for some colour. Applied roughly 3-4 coats of colour to make sure all the areas seen had a nice layer. Now clear was applied. Roughly 2-3 coats again. This colour really has a nice metallic fleck, especially in the sun. Now the finished product... I was really happy with the way the colour turned out, it's not too bright but a nice little touch of my first pride and joy. It honestly looks the best in the sun when you can see the fleck through it. A massive thanks to Alec for helping me out with the job. I also had a set of Super Pro end links to fit while we had the wheels off but, I ordered the part for the stock Sportivo suspension. Since I have BC BR coilovers, they were way too long to fit. So back to drawing board for replacements. With Sydney's unpredictable weather recently, I haven't been able to wash the car until today. Looking a whole lot nicer! Before that, my area managed to get as low as -2 degrees which pretty low for where I live. It managed to be this cold at almost 8 in the morning too leaving a nice layer of ice. Other than that, I've been getting around to things on my to do list which I'll be posting on the forum once they're all done. I'm slowly getting the car prepared for my Melbourne trip at the end of this month. Getting the car checked over the weekend before I head down, along with getting a nail out one of the tyres (hopefully it can patched as it's not on the sidewall and no air has being lost). Stay tuned for more updates!

Not a problem mate. Let us know how it goes. Generally that tinge is normal, I've seen some go quite dark brown and it can result in sludging not only in the pick up but also OCV filters.

I'd suggest checking the pickup and the sensor in the sump to be quite honest. If you look through where you would top up the oil, does it look golden or have brownish tinge from oil? Could possibly be just bad service history. 2ZZ's can easily go to well 300 000 so lets hope a faulty sensor for the best.

Yeah it definitely does, something different which is cool. Never seen that colour before.

Great pics man. I'm really loving the wheels and the valve cover colour too! Engine bay looks so clean.

Thanks a lot Blacksheep! Yeah I'm pretty happy with them, may redo them again, if I can be bothered Quite a bit actually, I'll shoot you a message with what I can remember. Also I need to get cruise together asap so we can catch up!

When does the oil light turn on? Is it when first turning the ignition or white driving? The sensor for it is on the back side of the sump, it could be faulty.

As promised, here's a minor update. So I haven't done all too much to the car in the last month or so. I've being trying to keep it clean, as long as Sydney's unpredictable weather holds off. With fuel prices sky rocketing over the last month, I for some reason have never had more of an urge to drive everywhere. Not long after my last update, I had the car serviced by my mechanic just to give everything a good check over. It appears the valve cover may have been slightly loose and was tightened but not long after it was tightened and cleaned up, the oil leak slowly came back so I'll need to address that sometime this year. Other than that, I haven't had any major issues recently at all. Here some various shots after washes in the last few weeks. Also note the newest addition on the front windscreen, my mate Alec provided the goods and I joined the growing number rocking Gorilla Industries. Some night shots from a mountain run with some mates a few weeks back. I've also decided to attend a few meets recently, one been a Downshift x Tuned meet and a Toymods Monthly Meet. I haven't been to a non Toyota only meet for well over 3 years now, since I owned my Honda Prelude, and it was the first time taking my car into one. It was a smaller turnout but none the less a great day out watching some racing and admiring other people's creations. We were the only 2 Sportivo's that were there and surprisingly my car managed to turn some heads which is something I'm definitely not used too. Sadly I didn't get any photos at the Toymods meet due to the poor weather on the way. So the list still remains the same as last, I've really got to get started before the end year not only for Toyotafest but another trip I'll be doing. I'm doing my first long distance drive with the Sportivo along with my partner from Sydney to Melbourne. We're mainly heading down for some much needed relaxation time, do some exploring and also getting the chance to meet some fellow Sportivo mates down there. In the final stages of booking now and really looking forward to the trip. Hopefully my car doesn't fall apart! Fingers crossed Other than that, I'll keep updating when I can.

Update coming this week. Stay tuned, just need to get some photo's uploaded.

Does it only make the noise while moving or even on idle? It's not a belt squeak or anything at all? (although the belts are well away from the clutch).

I've used the Rainx water repellent after using their glass scrub on my windows. I must say after following a video on YouTube on how to get the best results from it, it worked an absolute treat. Driving in the rain was great, the water beaded easily of the windscreen on the front and rear. It's made it just that bit safer when driving in heavy rain conditions. I haven't had any issues since I applied the coating almost a year or more ago. I was pretty impressed overall for literally 20-30 minutes of work, that I recommended it to my parents. I put in some time to do both of their cars, ironically enough it rained not long after and they both said how well it worked.

Most ZZE model Corolla's came with remote locking keys. What trim level is your car? Also, does your current key look similar to this key? The best possible way to add the remote locking function would definitely be to invest in an alarm system with locking. It would be better than most factory locking systems. Price would be depending on what model and brand you choose.

Going from a 2005 Corolla Sportivo to what ever comes next, AEB has definitely saved the car plenty of times with some emergency stops. Traction control would be a bonus, although the European ZZE123 models came with traction control. I have driven various newer model cars recently, one thing I do find quite annoying is the lane departure assist. At times I find even when travelling in a straight line in the middle of a lane, it will want to correct the steering.

Definitely try some of those steps and give it a nice service. There's actually quite a few things I've seen over the years causing cars to not engage lift correctly. As campbeam has shown, you can also remove the battery terminals to reset the ECU.

No idea mate