campbeam
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Posts posted by campbeam
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This is where I use RedBook to compare the used car pricing guides and standard equipment between the models. When new, there was a $4000 price difference. Personally, I would consider paying the extra (but not too much) to have the better equipped model.
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Highly recommend that you read Tony's initial post so that you know the correct procedure. It will save you from a lot of trials and errors until you get the desirable end result of a smoothly changing transmission.
Following YouTube video by The Car Nut emphasises getting the fluid level correct. I noted how he described/defined the ATF fluid changing to a trickle. Original Toyota procedure was having the ATF fluid changing to a series of drops. This difference in methods would explain adding the additional 200ml.
Following shortcuts/workarounds are suggested only after you know how get the correct fluid level. It also assumes that your transmission currently has the correct fluid level and the ATF is cold.
Method : Drain and replace the exact same amount of ATF.
For this, I have used a number of 1.5litre plastic bottles to compare levels between the drained ATF and the new ATF. I have found this to be very accurate. With this method, you do not need to have the engine running and it can have the benefit of being able to change more of the ATF.
Method 2: Do the ATF change procedure without measuring temperature. I am located in Brisbane so more likely to use this method later in the morning after ambient temperature has increased. You will need to be organised and move quickly.
I start with parking the car on a level driveway and measuring the ride height for the front passenger wheel. Jack up front passenger and remove wheel to be able to access the transmission fill plug.
Remove the fill plug and inserting a plastic tube ready for the refill. I use a length of plastic tube and a funnel inserted down near the battery to the side of the transmission.
Remove the drain plug and internal fill level plastic straw for the pan drain. Lower passenger side to the previously measured ride height. Refit the plastic straw and finger tighten the drain plug. Fill with new ATF; at least same volume as drained.
Start the (cold overnight) engine and with foot pressed down on the brake pedal then cycle through the gears Park , Neutral, Drive then back to Park. I use a slow count of 10 for each gear change. Remove drain plug then refit after drain of ATF has slowed to a series of drops.
Turn off engine and add another 200ml of ATF. Tighten fill plug and refit wheel.
On a final note, there is another video (5:00 minute mark) by The Car Nut where he talks when you should be replacing the ATF. This made me realise that I had been doing too many frequent pan drains and causing more wear on the friction plates. A pan drain approx. every 2 years should now be quite adequate for my vehicle.
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I have come across another YouTube video by The Car Nut where he is repairing an engine timing cover leak and the VVTi rattle requiring the replacement of the camshaft head gear.
I thought there were a lot of lessons based upon his experience. He makes specific mention of when he replaces the crankcase seal and why. Also why he disconnects the battery for safety reasons.
Thorough cleaning of surfaces is so greatly important to get the right results the first time. Being OCD or making the extra effort is an advantage.
Thorough planning and preparation is essential. Curing time of the adhesive necessitates moving quickly within a short time frame to complete necessary steps.
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10 hours ago, SX6flyer said:
my exhaust bloke told me to leave the middle factory resonator as it is large enough to flow well and it cancels out unwanted exhaust sound frequencies and helps to stop droning.
Nice to know that my "amateur" thoughts are confirmed by the opinion of an experienced exhaust bloke. Exactly why I have not thought about replacing that section of the exhaust system.
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3 hours ago, ZZT86 said:
You should try ethanol or E85
I assume that you mean to use ethanol or E85 as a better cleaning agent than petrol for cleaning the oil sludge off the valve cover. At the time, it was a case of using 91 ULP petrol which I had on hand.
I will keep it in mind for when I next remove that valve cover.
I anticipate that next time I will be planning upon doing a more thorough clean up of the cylinder head and camshaft retaining hardware including an initial wash/flush of any loosened/dislodged oil sludge out via the sump drain hole before starting the oil change procedure.
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On 9/27/2021 at 4:08 PM, Sebastian Woodhouse said:
There’s a rather significant part of me that admires your persistence, but that’s tempered by the “damnit man, valve covers off, sump off, diesel and a brush”
The sludge must be like a sandbar in the upper parts of the motor and really a day of effort on “mechanical” removal followed by another few of your extreme flushing changes would deal it it.
That said I get the logic of what you’re doing and to each their own 🙂
Which does remind me I do have to give Sebastian an oil change and fresh plugs. Will send him to my gearbox whisperer for a gearbox flush before too long also.
I have kept your post in mind. Finally removed the front valve cover last weekend hoping to see the valve train and cylinder head to be relatively sludge free. Not to be. No reward for persistence in this case. Others with their experience have confirmed that removal and thorough clean of the valve cover is the real immediate solution.
I was totally surprised and disappointed at the amount of oil sludge still present after 6 years of short interval oil changes. Following are the before pictures. Only saving grace is that the VVTi system and timing chains were relatively clean.
Following screenshots are of the valve cover after being cleaned using 5 litres of petrol and a toothbrush etc. Cleaning of the cylinder head and valve train was more of a wipe down and using a screwdriver to scrape off the oil sludge deposits.
After re-assembly and a test drive, I ended up with the engine revving higher and a P0021 error code. Solution was fortunately a change of oil. Oil being changed was very dark in colour and slower to drain indicating a high oil viscosity.
I did swap over the oil control valves so was able to eliminate a clogged valve as a contributing cause. I would say that loosened oil sludge made its way into the VVTi system resulting in the timing being too advanced. Change of oil filter cartridge and a flush using diesel then another flush with recycled engine oil did make a difference to the idle speed reducing it from 1500 rpm to about 1000 rpm.
After some more driving this morning, all is back to normal.
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Another YouTube video showing the sensor locations on the 2GR-FE. This one shows both older and newer models. He did well to show the location of the knock sensors which are hidden away in the centre of the cylinder block.
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Welcome to the Forum.
I have got fond memories of my now departed 1989 Toyota Corolla Hatchback in my pre-family years.
Look forward to any future posts.
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7 hours ago, Jamie Edwards said:
can some 1 give me some ideas on what would be better out of the 2 options that i mentioned in topic please...halogens dont seem to be cutting it any more
Similar to yourself I have the 40 series Aurion with an early build date of Oct.2006.
After using and having to replace performance halogen bulbs, I finally moved over to LED bulbs with their later plug and play design. I started off with the cheaper LED bulbs from eBay China based sellers and they did not last as long as halogen bulbs.
Finally dug deeper into my wallet and bought the STEDI brand H11 bulbs. Best upgrade ever IMO. If STEDI bulbs are out of stock then look at this website. https://www.powerbulbs.com/au
After a bit of recent internet searching, I ended up buying these as a backup replacements. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/353908835685 They are still in transit so cannot give any further opinion.
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Yes. Differential oil change interval is about every 50000 kms. In the following YouTube video, you will notice how black/dark in colour is the used differential oil.
https://cartreatments.com/how-often-to-change-front-rear-differential-fluid/
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43 minutes ago, Henstepper said:
My local battery shop that was open gave me this battery for $140. Its made in korea, is it a good battery? I didnt really have a choice to get me back on the road
Sounds good to me. You are back on the road. With a 2 year warranty, hopefully you will get 3 years or more out if that battery.
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50 minutes ago, R0nsta said:
If it was a bloody actual fishing sinker, those thing's ain't magnetic right?
Usually, those sinkers are lead and not magnetic. This is where you may need that hook and pick set to be able to flick that item out of the spark plug opening. A pair of tweezers or some mini long nose pliers are some other options.
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Good news that it was the battery and not the starter. Good idea to check the battery terminals and check that they do not need to be tightened.
Bad news is it looks like battery prices have taken an upward hike.
I would be looking at a Century Ultra Hi Performance Car Battery 75D23L MF or equivalent.
Unfortunately no battery sales on at SuperCheap Auto, AutoBarn or Repco at the moment. They will hopefully appear for EOFY or early July.
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Certainly sounds like the starter motor is starting to go bad and need replacement. This URL should be applicable for your issue.
https://www.firestonecompleteautocare.com/blog/maintenance/signs-of-a-bad-starter/
Following eBay listings are from the same seller that I have previously bought from. Both come with a 5 year warranty.
$166.10
$222.00
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15 hours ago, R0nsta said:
I'd say the stooges down the rd at ultra tune put it in there. That was 2.5 years ago also. Never took it to another shop since 👎
Precisely why I am DIY. I would rather invest time and effort to offset the cost of extra tools.
Guess that you would have worked out the high importance of removing that offending object before even thinking about removing the spark plug. A hook and pick set may also be useful to loosen that ball bearing and make it easier for the magnetic pick up tool to attract and hold it.
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2 hours ago, Tony Prodigy said:
Have you ever removed the VVTi oil lines to inspect those mesh filters Ash ?
A few years ago, I did have to replace the front VVTi oil line. I do remember cleaning a small cone shaped metal mesh filter. Otherwise I have left the VVTi oil lines be.
I have removed the oil control valves and the camshaft position sensor on the front bank a few times to give them a clean.
It has been a long time since I have occasionally noticed the VVTi rattle on start up. I give credit to the frequent oil changes to clean up the engine internals.
Being DIY, I do extra oil changes to avoid any expensive tear downs of the engine for costly repairs.
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11 hours ago, Tony Prodigy said:
Also, I wonder if the issue as described by AMD was only for the U.S market and how much of the information put forward translates to Australian built Toyota's of that same era in question. I've never heard of any such engines grenading due to a poorly designed VVTi. There may have been, but I'm not aware of it to be honest.
We're all aware of the cold start rattle some have faced, but that's as far as it went. Whether the issue was corrected or not is another whole story.Thankfully my engine operates perfectly which is why we always advocate regular oil changes with high quality synthetic oils.
I found this URL that the 2GR-FE engine has been produced since 2004 at factories in both Japan and the USA.
https://shop.korea-motors.com/new-engine-gasoline-2gr-fe-toyota-vehicles-2004-20-.html
I am thinking that it is fortunate that the engines for our Aurions would have been sourced from Japan after that initial production period.
I took particular note of The Car Nut's comment "Look after your Toyota and it will look after you" which supports my preventative maintenance approach and also the use of good quality engine oil.
Because I am battling an ongoing oil sludge issue with my Aurion, I have removed and cleaned the oil control valves a few times in the past.
His recommendation of a 5000 mile or 6 month oil change interval is noted but I use a much shorter OCI because of my daily drives are very short distance.
Planning upon removing the front valve cover in June so I will be closely inspecting the VVTi system as well as giving the valve cover a thorough clean.
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I have recently acquired a 2007 Toyota Yaris from the girlfriend and it looks like it will be a weekend car instead of my Aurion. She has previously complained about the headlights not being as good as her daughter's later Toyota Corolla. I had no complaints except that it was the yellowy halogen light instead of a bright white light. Looks like I have better night vision than her. LOL.
Finally, decided to buy some replacement headlight bulbs as the existing ones could be either 6+ or 3+ years old. The Yaris has the reflector type headlights and my preference was the Phillips brand halogen bulbs for both quality and cost. I ended up ordering the Philips X-tremeVision Pro150 H4 (Twin) which comes with a 12 month warranty rather than the maximum performance Philips RacingVision GT200 H4 (Twin) with a shorter lifespan and 6 months warranty. https://www.powerbulbs.com/au/product/philips-racingvision-gt200-h4-twin
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This YouTube video shows the location of the headlight adjustment screw. Clockwise to adjust headlight pattern down. Counter clockwise to adjust up.
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22 hours ago, Joe 777 said:
I recently noticed A white substance across the top of the engine.
Looks like it's coming off the fan belt, does this mean the fan belt is on the way out?.
Can anyone recommend a good Toyota Mechanic in vic... Berwick area.
Cheers
Joe
I think that the white substance could possibly be silicone grease from the idler pulleys. This would be applicable if the pulley bearings were repacked with white silicon grease.
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7 hours ago, RoicyQ said:
My aforementioned problems seldom occurs tho. It doesn’t make any noises in changing gears but it jolts.
My question also, if changing the transmission fluid (considering the fact that it wasn’t changed since day one (14 years) from the factory) will do damage?, while I was researching there were some who opined in this forum that fluid that was not changed that long should not be replaced due to the probability that the transmission will be damaged per se from the new fluid that will be poured in.
I can very highly expect that the transmission fluid level is low and needs to be corrected. This would explain the jolting.
The transmission fluid needs to be changed. However, at this stage DO NOT FLUSH the transmission which would replace all of the old fluid with new. Instead, what I would recommend is to only perform a drain of the transmission. This will replace about 2+ litres given that the overall fluid capacity of the transmission including the torque convertor is 6.1 litres. Perform another pan drain of the transmission every 12 months. Very important that the fluid level is correct.
Following YouTube video by The Car Nut who is a Toyota Master Technician in the USA has a section on the transmission fluid.
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1 hour ago, TRD_Aurion said:
I almost purchased a Renault Sport Megane 225 but the thought of reliability issues brought me back to sanity!
What should I be checking for in this Aurion to keep it running well? I've noticed on the forum about the oil sludge issues, so regular oil changes are a must. Does the supercharger feed off of engine oil or have its own dedicated supply? Thinking of a catch can from reading another thread on this forum.
Definitely have to agree with your consideration of reliability. Plenty of "high strung" performance vehicles that spend lots of time as "garage queens" waiting for replacement parts.
Only question that I feel confident to answer is that the supercharger uses the engine oil and does not have a dedicated supply. Based upon my readings, using quality engine oil with the correct oil viscosity is an absolute must. Also frequent oil changes because the high operating temperatures impact the longevity of the oil additives.
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22 hours ago, ZZT86 said:
Yep except I test drive my car's after I do the work to prove its ok before I button everything & close her up. Not being satisfied with one test drive, I did another the following day & I almost instantly smelt the fumes. I filled the tank up the previous night & after deliberately trying to slosh the fuel about violently via quick left right steering manoeuvres & sudden braking she leaked & leaked well. Easy fix 👍
Excellent idea to thoroughly test what has been done particularly when you have had to do a fair bit of dismantling to get to the part to be checked/replaced.
Something that I do after an oil change is to recheck the oil level the next weekend or a few days later.
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Exhaust leak harder than thought
in Aurion / TRD Aurion Club
Posted
Initially I was thinking of foam filler but then realised that it would be so messy and then difficult to remove.
Next thought was this foam tape available at Bunnings.
https://www.bunnings.com.au/moroday-150-x-10mm-x-1-8m-adhesive-foam-roll_p4000003?store=8152&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_te75_jJ-AIVUpVLBR1ESwrwEAQYBSABEgL37_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds