Squalled

Sorry for the late updated - Another busy week for me! Finally have the chance to upload some photos of the gearbox parts. My mechanic was kind enough to take some photos of the gear sets for me too as I was quite curious what condition mine were in. So, as mentioned I had the synchros from 2nd - 4th replaced as they were giving me the most grief. 2nd - Definitely my main concern for a long time. Crunched on downshift anytime above 20km/h and became hard to shift up on some occasions. 3rd - Started becoming an issue when downshifting on some occasions and cruching when cold. Doesn't look all to bad though although there are some teeth worn a bit more than others. 4th - Getting blocked out sometimes when downshifting when cold and at operating temperature and also crunching when cold. Looks a little worse than 3rd. So far I've done roughly 500 or so kilometers with the new synchros and it's definitely feeling a lot nicer now then when I first got the car back. Taking it very easy and shifting gently to get them worn in nicely. Great to have no more leaks from the gearbox anymore either! Anyway, I'll keep this updated as much as I can!

I would say engine mounts like above. Does feel like the engine moves when changing gears at all as well? Usually a sign of worn engine mounts.

Appears the thread pitch for Toyota wheels nuts is M12x1.5. Any good wheel and tyre shop should be able to help you out with a set of lug nuts and a key for them. I got a set of 5 with a key for less than $30.

Little Update Just thought I'd add a little update here. No photos just yet, have been really busy recently to upload them or take them but I'll definitely be adding them here next week. I have photos of the complete gear sets and also I have the synchros that were replaced to take photos of. Not long after getting the car back, all is going well. Car feels a lot nicer to drive, gears were quite notchy at first but there getting better now. Really do miss getting into lift but patience is key. On Monday, 6th gear began to pop out and became unusable. Luckily all other gears were all good. I took it back to the shop and it turned out the C clip for 6th had too much play causing it pop out of gear. Car is back on the road again and running great, having to take it very easy on the gears at the moment but enjoying the driving experience now. Will update soon!

UPDATE TIME Great news, just this week the gearbox has been rebuilt as I mentioned by one of local mechanical shops. He did it for an awesome price and the end result is amazing. It definitely feels like a different car when changing gears now. I have some photos from the mechanic and also some additional photos to be added to the thread later. So, what was done: - 2nd, 3rd and 4th gear synchros replaced - All seals replaced - Input shaft bearing replaced - Speed Source extended push rod installs - Penrite gearbox fluid used to top off the rebuild I've only been for a quick drive so far but it feels great driving it again after almost a week. It will now last a long time with the main gear synchros replaced. Pictures will hopefully come in the next few days or so, stay tuned!

Hahaha. I love the look but, I've recently scraped the side skirts and a mechanic scraped the side of my front lip (Don't really now how but yeah)

Small Update! After a long time waiting for some quotes, the gearbox is finally getting a rebuild next week! Got a local shop doing the work which also comes with a 1 year/20000 km warranty. Other then that, I think the car is slowly coming back together again although the list seems to keep to growing and growing. Keep you all updated

Was awesome to see the car running! Was great getting to chat with you as well!

Update time! So in the last month or so, nothing much has really changed. I've been really busy recently due to a new position at work and not really having enough time to work on the car on weekends. I still haven't had any shops give me a quote for a rebuild as of yet so I'm still really pushing my luck. I recently gave the leather seats a nice clean with a leather cleaning kit. It's not to noticeable in photos but the leather looks a lot cleaner and feels a lot nicer too. I'll need to re-do it as I did miss a few spots. One thing I did recently was give the cluster a nice polish. Since I bought the car, the cluster was fairly dirty and scratched and I was had the idea of cleaning it up. I did so with Meguiars Plastx and ended starting a trend with some mates who later cleaned theirs. Safe to say I'm happy with the results. Before After Needs a few little spots cleaned a little more but overall it's a great improvement. Sadly the list still remains the same as last time, with it probably growing ever so slightly to: - Raising the car to a more suitable height, kind of over scraping every time I get into work no matter how slow I go. - Hiding the Dash Cam cabling - Installing engine mount inserts + getting custom washers made to hold them in. Will keep updated!

Loving it!!

May not help but maybe an ECU reset set? Other then that I'd probably take it to a mechanic to diagnose.

So just this weekend I decided to replace my shifter base bushings. It took me roughly an hour after a lot of fiddling and double checking on how it should be done. It's safe to say that it has made more of a difference then I first thought. Gear changes are a lot more smooth for every shift and doesn't seem to feel as notchy or sloppy like it was with the stock rubber bushings. Here's the stock shifter base rubber bushing which has since been replaced with the solid aluminum bushings from Speed Source. Standard bushings installed. The standard bushing. Can't really see it but now the solid bushings are installed. Will keep updated! Hey Trent, have made multiple checks on the diameter to get rough estimate of 0.7cm in diameter for the pushrod.

Hey Anton, I found a guy from Melbourne selling a set on a Facebook group. He to had an 2005 model and was just checking if anyone wanted them for their own. I contacted him and committed to buy a week before he was going to put them on his own Corolla. I got them for $250 shipped from Melbourne (Previous person got them direct from Japan). Now for the installation. The lights will obviously fit in no worries, just check that the tail light seals are all good, in my case they were and also check the bulbs. With the lights, they will be plug and play for the 03/04 model. For the 2005 model on the other hand, the plugs on the tail lights are different. I had to get a friend of mine who is good with wiring and what not to make a custom addition to the harness. I got a plug that matched the 2005 tail light harness, but was able to match the older style plug on the Runx lights. They work amazingly, although I need to check one of the brake lights as it is a little duller then the others. Only issue was the grounding at first as when I hit the brakes, the indicators would slowly light up and stay on. If you are after the JDM style light setup, that can easily be done on the standard 2005 light, pretty sure there is a DIY on here. Hope that helps.

Use the above thread for some assistance with the intake side of things. Finding a Sportivo catback is as easy as checking with wreckers if they are available. Unsure of a rough price but I'm sure they shouldn't be too expensive if they are in good condition.

I'll get a measurement of the pushrod and let you know Trent. EDIT: The extended pushrod measured roughly 7.4cm in length, so 1/4" shorter is apparently the standard length. So standard length if my maths is right is roughly around 6.7cm.

That would be correct, so roughly 6mm longer then the standard. Here is the description from MWR for reference on the size and what it is meant to do. This clutch slave cylinder push rod is ¼” longer than stock and is made from CNC turned 303 stainless steel. A slightly longer shaft puts the slave cylinder piston further back in its bore, thus allowing a longer stroke and more disengagement.

Hey Trent, the picture attached shows the length different between a standard pushrod. I believe they are the same diameter. I can get some measurements later and add them in.

Update time! So the box of goodies arrived from MWR in good time. Have yet to install any of the parts yet, probably only going to do one of them myself anyway. So I got the Speed Source extended pushrod and shifter base bushings along with Energy Suspension engine mount inserts. Since the last update, I have since returned back to the stock gear knob which feels a bit nice to drive due to the gearbox issues present. Other than that, the car hasn't been too much of an issue. The do list seems to be getting bigger though with the above, and along with: - Finishing Black housing headlights. - Fix some rust in the engine bay - Installation of Whiteline torsion beam bar - New light bulbs inside and out - Detailing inside and out Here's the most recent photos of the Sportivo, will still be keeping updated as much as possible. Until next time, take care.

Not yet. I will get in contact with them now. Thanks Trent!

DELETE

UPDATE! A package from the US has finally arrived today. Will upload a picture when I can!

Not Paulo's, very similar though. I know Paulo's is a silver top 20V with the Toms plenum. My mate knows him I think actually.

Also I might like to add some info about my mates old AE92: It was originally a base model with a carburetor 4A-F engine rather then the 4A-FE fuel injected engine. He bought the car with the swap completed and the engine running perfectly (i.e. people usually have issues with the VVT cam not engaging correctly). The swap was done in Canberra but I don't think the engine was ever registered to the chassis. The car itself had fairly wide wheels, lowered fairly low on coilovers so it did stand out. Again he never had any issues with the police as the engine was literally stock (had the standard 20V plenum and intake setup along with the standard extractor/header). The only modification engine wise was a cat back exhaust which was fairly loud. It also had the standard drum brakes on the rear which he was planning to upgrade to disks but never got the chance. In saying that, the car still had good braking ability.

I've commonly seen both the Silver Top and Blacktop 20V's swapped into the AE101's. Again you'd have to check with state roads about if this will be a legal swap. In NSW, generally any engine swap is illegal for P Platers, mind you it doesn't stop people from driving 20V AE92's, B18 EG's and what not. Personally, I had a mate that owned a Blacktop 20V AE92 who never had any issues with the police when pulled over, and he got pulled over a lot.

Thanks Kramersteen! I wish I could but there a way out of my budget sadly. I'd love to get the Jubu gear set. Sadly it's not an LSD either, smaller items that will hopefully make driving experience better and more enjoyable.