campbeam

Just for the record, I gave the tyres on the Yaris a treatment today, Saturday 28.11.2020 . I just jacked up the car and applied the Aerospace 303 Protectant to the tread and sidewalls. It got about 4 hours to penetrate before the girlfriend needed to go out. Tyres looked as new which is what I expected for such a light car. I didn't bother with taking any tyre depth readings so will leave for next time. Tyres on my Aurion have been impacted by wheel alignment being out of adjustment. Thinking of swapping the front tyres side to side and try and even out the unexpected wear on the outside edge of the passenger tyre. In the meantime, I have been giving the outside tyre wall and outer tread more of a regular tyre shine treatment.

Have a read of the following URL. You will have to consider whether the narrower width will result in a consequential difference in the bearing load. https://blog.k1technologies.com/what-is-a-narrow-bearing https://www.enginelabs.com/engine-tech/engine/tech-choosing-the-proper-bearings-for-your-engine/

The Toyota Dynamic Force engine does have a timing chain. https://toyota-club.net/files/faq/18-03-20_faq_df_r4_eng.htm

I have to eat my words. AutoBarn does have a worthwhile oil special. Castrol Edge Titanium Syn 0W40 5L Dpf Diesel Engine Oil @ $19.99 {limit of 1 per customer, no rainchecks} https://www.autobarn.com.au/castrol-edge-titanium-syn-0w40-5l-dpf-diesel-engine-oil?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiWWpGaVl6azJNR1ZpTXpneSIsInQiOiJHelBielZYMWdNM2VwRGRMd2t3QnhhblNIckFkWE5VdGttXC9tcitkM05qTXphNXhsdzlnUGg0TjF3RTdibjF1c3VkRlBQdVVFV2lpUElpbUVUV0dIQ21YSEZsTVIwMVNKcHQ5WHVialhhME5EOEV2ZzNnWmlrY2pIU21wZG80dU0ifQ%3D%3D

I am thinking that this Black Friday Sale is mostly hype and little substance. Repco has continued with their catalogue sale as previously reported. Some good oils are @ 50% discount. Checked SuperCheap Auto and AutoBarn but nothing much there in the way of oil specials. I am not expecting any outstanding oil specials in December and maybe not until Australia Day 2021.

Being contrarian, instead of doing the Y pipe modification, I upgrade the central catalytic converter. Catalytic converter was not blocked and was in good condition following inspection after removal. Ended up being more of a change for change sake as it did not produce any obvious attributable benefits.

Shopping and browsing at my local Aldi Supermarket this evening. Ended up buying a Workzone brand fluid transfer pump for $9.99 http://offers.kd2.org/en/au/aldi/pfIVH/

We can only hope that sales of the new Camry V6 are sufficient to warrant continued availability. I am more thinking that the Camry range could eventually be consolidated to just the Camry Hybrid model. Perhaps then, there would be consideration for the Avalon Hybrid model. Toyota is developing a new V6 turbo engine to replace the V8 so I am dreaming that that engine will become available in a sedan. https://www.autotrader.com/car-reviews/2020-toyota-camry-vs-2020-toyota-avalon-whats-the-difference

I immediately thought of heavy duty King Springs. Unfortunately, looks like only standard height rear springs are available for your purposes. https://kingsprings.com.au/catalogue/vehicle/953/toyota-corolla-zze122-wagon-12-2001-4-2007 https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/King-Springs-Suspension-Standard-Rear-Springs-KTRS-106/153336545477?epid=2063571572&hash=item23b39200c5:g:79YAAOSwxZBdYJee&frcectupt=true

Very good reason to thoroughly diagnose a problem for the underlying cause instead of just throwing parts and lots of $$$. Time to get out a good magnifying glass to look for possible cracks in the coil pack, as suggested and/or do a diagnostic test. In other vehicles, when there has been a coil pack issue, a Check Engine Light has appeared. A good idea to also do an OBD II scan looking for an stored error codes. Something else to look for is vacuum leaks so check the hoses and their connections.

Welcome to the Forum. It pays to read the Owners manuals even though we do not do it often enough. Recommend always fitting quality known brand tyres. Same goes for using a quality full synthetic engine oil and other fluids. Check your Owners manual to confirm that the recommended oil viscosity is 5W-30 [as per an internet search]. Regular oil and filter changes are a must. As a guideline, think about an oil change every 5-7.5K or 3-6months depending upon your driving conditions.

It is the power to weight ratio. Bit of fun doing some different Google searches. Never been a "temporary Australian" but I did enjoy watching this video.

Very naughty. Xmas is coming so be good. At least that Ducati could not have been a potential unmarked police vehicle.

I am happy knowing that I have 200KW under the bonnet and the Aurion is a comfortable highway cruiser. Rightly or not, I have always thought that automatic transmissions do not handle being abused as much as a manual. Attached document is worth reading about what happens to the transmission case so more keep to apply a smooth and steady acceleration approach most of the time. Leave it to others to thrash their vehicles and end up with the repair bill. Toyota U660E Dust Problem Finally Solved.docx

Are you getting old and grumpy like me? 🤣 I have got the grey hair to get away with it too. Certainly not afraid to express an honest opinion. In turn, have to be open minded enough to also hear some brutal truths and consider another person's perspective. Just had a good nap in air-conditioning while avoiding the heat of the day. TIme to go have some therapy with the mower.

I have only recently become aware of the need to grease the slider pins on the brake calipers. Rear passenger side wheel was not rotating as freely as compared to the rear driver's side wheel. After looking at a number of YouTube videos on the topic of seized or binding slider pins, the recommendation was to be using an anti-seize grease as a preventative measure. I just happened to have Penrite Copper Eze anti-seize grease. There was also a difference in the thickness of the rear brake pads on one wheel so I ended up swapping them around when I greased the slider pins. Just mentioning this as something else to inspect when checking the rear brakes. Definitely give the control arm bushings a thorough inspection and look for any cracks in the rubber bushings and movement in the control arms.

Yes "Sludgy" is finally getting a lot cleaner. It has been a painfully slow process but less intrusive than dropping the engine pan and removing the valve cover. I did shine a light into the oil filler cap and there is more cleaning to be done before I will do a big reveal and remove the valve cover. That is a non-genuine oil filter cartridge so probably only good for 5000 kms before needing to be replaced. There were also sludge particles at the bottom of the oil filter cartridge housing which also got a good clean. I am also thinking that refilling the engine with diesel via the PCV opening would have flushed out any loose sludge particles in the baffles of the valve cover. I should make a note for next time to keep using the PCV opening whenever I am refilling the engine whether it is diesel or engine oil.

I initially noticed a Castrol oil @ 50% discount then decided to keep looking and found the Shell Ultra X plus others @ 50% discount. Mobil 1 never hit the radar. Seeing that you asked, I did an internet search and it was last on a decent special back in June 2018 and SuperCheap Auto no longer stock it. Guess that Mobil 1 have changed their marketing approach to a premium price model. AutoBarn has Mobil 1 on sale but not much of a special worth mentioning. Guess you will be waiting until Mobil 1 has excess stock and needs some urgent cash flow or regain lost market share. In the meantime, there are plenty of ongoing specials from Penrite, Nulon, Shell and Castrol. I should also mention Gulf Western which is Aust. owned and worth further consideration.

I used the Penrite Copper eze anti-seize grease on the slider pins. After last 2 road trips and about 6000 kms, I am intending to check the brakes pads and slider pins again. It is available at Repco. https://www.repco.com.au/en/oils-fluids/greases-lubricants/greases/penrite-copper-eze-anti-seize-grease-500g-ceze0005/p/A9307309

Hello Steve, it pays to be active to get the most benefit from the Forum. In recent weeks, there have been a number of posts about the topics you are interested in. Best to help yourself by doing some Forum or Google searches to locate these posts. Also take the time to read all of the posts on a thread After quite some internet searching since joining this Forum, I believe that the best upgrade is a set of new quality tyres from a trusted brand name that meet your driving needs. If you are interested in performance tyres, a few members have recently bought Michelin Pilot Sport 4. Sometimes it is a case of selecting your tyres then upgrading to the required wheel size. Next upgrade is a good set of quality brake pads. Plenty of information in recent posts about which brake pads members are using or recently bought. There was a recent post about suspension upgrade and there are previous posts from 2007 on particularly about upgrading the rear sway bar. Also a recent post where the member has replaced the rear mufflers with pleasing results. There are also a few threads about the Y pipe modification. Rather than do that modification, I upgraded the catalytic converter before the resonator. Combination of all those upgrades, modifications and regular servicing will maximise the performance. If you want more performance i.e. KWs then buy a performance car.

Odometer reading is now 224,784km after the recent road trip to NSW. Plan was to check the oil filter cartridge for sludge particles then fit new cartridge and do an oil change later. However, oil was looking a bit brown in colour so decided to do another oil change, overkill style. Dropped the oil out of both the pan and the oil cartridge housing. Remembered Tony's suggestion, so I refilled the engine with diesel via the PCV opening in the valve cover. Idled the engine for a few minutes while I emptied the drain pan and cleaned it. Surprised at the amount of accumulated sludge particles that were on the bottom of the drain pan. Put that down to the combination of the road trip and using Shell Helix Ultra engine oil. Dropped the diesel out of both the pan and the oil cartridge housing. Surprised that even more accumulated sludge particles on the bottom of the drain pan. Attached photo hopefully gives an indication of the sludge particles caught in the filter element. This time I forgot to do an engine flush with a cheaper oil before fitting the new oil cartridge and refilling with synthetic engine oil. Ended up using 5 litres of Castrol Magnetec 10W-40 and topping up with Nulon 5W-30.

Repco's latest catalogue has a good number of quality brand oils with 50% discount. https://www.repco.com.au/en/oils-fluids/engine-oils-fluids/engine-oil/c/1862918079 Ended up going and getting Shell Ultra X 5W-30 @ $37 after doing a price check against SuperCheap Auto.

Road trip and Shell Ultra 5W-40 have done another great clean of the engine. Surprised at how much sludge particles were in the filter cartridge and came out during the oil change. Even more impressed with its cleaning properties so on the top of my hit list to buy more when it comes on special.

Following YouTube videos are by a Toyota Master Diagnostic Technician. Amazing engineering marvel that makes previous engines like dinosaurs. However, the video Part 2 outlines a few potential DIY issues.

Welcome to the Forum. Good to see that you bring over 25 years of Toyota ownership. Shame about the demise of your '09 Camry but I am sure that you are enjoying the V6. Sportivo has that little bit extra in the handling.