Valkie2

On 12/13/2023 at 11:08 PM, campbeam said:

I feel your anguish. Tough lesson but it should not have happened if the trailer was relatively empty.

Best not to say anything if it was filled with whatever.

You are going to need at least a Camry for towing an 8x4 trailer.

https://www.carsguide.com.au/toyota/camry/towing-capacity/2002

It were empty, but the poor old dear had 300,000 klm on her, it was a stinking hot day and the air con was working flat out.

She had never even hinted at any overheating issues, so I assumed it wqs good to go.

Oh well, such is life.

Well, I have done went and dun it.

I broke my Echo.

Towing a 8x4 trailer up a steep hill on a hot day, I cooked it and appear to have blown a head gasket (or worse)

I cannot drive more than 10-15 minutes without it overheating and there are bubbles in the radiator.

No oil in the water, no water in the oil, just bubbles in the radiator and overheating.

Looks like the poor old dear is off to the wreckers, cant be bothered fixing it.

paid $2000.00 for it 3 years ago, driven 68000 klm so I figure I got my moneys worth.

Sad to see the old dear gone, now I gotta find another car.

The last two weeks have been hell.

Yes, the little Echo rattles, its 20 years old and severely treated in that time.

So it has a few battle scars, lots of klunks and ratles, but most of these I could live with.

But about two weeks ago it got this annoying little rattle in the dash.

Not all the time mind, just when idling and through the gears...Rattle Rattle Rattle.

I started pulling everything I could think of out and was about to embark on a full dash removal.

Then I was just doing a few adjustments under the bonnet and I sighted the cause of my persistent and annoying rattle.

It was the damn accelerator cable hitting the fire wall.

Wrapped some sponge around it and took the car for a drive......Noise gone.

I could have pulled the whole dash down and never found that damn thing.

Just a warning to all you who have an annoying rattle................Sometimes its not where you think it is, sneaky little beggars.

This morning after rain, I had water, quite a bit, in my footwell, soaking the carpet.

I've only had the echo 3 months and driven in through very heavy rain and had it parked in heavy rain many times in that ownership.

Any ideas?

On 6/26/2020 at 1:00 AM, Nafis Malik said:

The Echo is a great car to learn in, It has taught me quite a lot. It is old enough to be simple, yet new enough to still be reliable.

Yeah, the first car I bought my daughter was an old Nissan Pulsar.

It looked pretty good, but mechanically it was just so-so.

I spent a bit of time working to it to keep in running until I fixed all the issues.

It ended up lasting 4 years with her and then I gave it to a friends daughter to learn on.

Then, when their car broke down it became their day car, lasted another 4 years before it finally died.

This little echo is the opposite, the body is crap, no rust, just dings and crappy paint.

But mechanically its fine, not perfect, but good enough that Id have no hesitation in driving it to Queensland and back any time.

In the last two months Ive done 10000k freeway driving at 110, not even so much as a backfire.

The battery issue isnt the cars fault, its mine, so all good.

Ill probably give this one away to someone who needs it eventually.

But it will look better when im done with it.

The best thing about the Echo is that I fear nothing.

I can pull anything apart without worry, if it breaks, Ill get another from the wreckers.

If someone bangs their door into it, who cares

other drivers fear me becuase they see a bomb, they just know I dont care (I do but they dont know that)

So when I push in, they always let me, and If I stop someone from pushing in, they never try to bluff me, one look at the guard and they just know I dont care.

I can test wiring up things and never be concerned.

In my $50k 4x4 Im terrified to even touch it for fear of damaging something.

and, of course, everything is expensive.

a $10.00 part for the Echo

is worth $700.00 for the 4x4.

But , all said and done, I really enjoying this little buzz box.

Its a great car, great milage and even after 20 years, everything works.

Bet my 4x4 wont be able to say that.

OK

Does anyone know what seats from what cars can be used in the old 2000 echo sedan?

My drivers seat is killing my butt, no padding at all on one side, Im starting to walk with a limp.

just to close out this post.

Replacing the MAF sensor fixed the problem.

No more stalling and the car runs better.

who woulda thunk it?????

yep, sillly of me to not check the battery, but in honesty I think it would have been too late even then.

The new battery starts the beast like a jet taking off, great.

As for the radio.......binned.

I got a newer one from the wreckers, same brand, later model.

Works a treat, but it has RED back lighting, I think I can change it will see tonight.

Talk about easy, its a 20 min job to get the old radio out and the new one in.

But my dash now looks like a xmas tree.

Life has just turned to ******* with my little echo.

well, not quite that bad, but I'm an unhappy chappy.

I was asked to tow a trailer (empty) for a mat who had bought it sight unseen.

I picked it up and drove home to park up overnight.

The next morning, I could not get the car out of park.

This was because the brake light fuse had blown. 

Replace fuse back on the road.

Towed the trailer, no problem, but arrived sans brake light fuse, blown again.

This was Monday.

Tuesday, car no start, flat battery.

Check battery, no water. Dry as a brickworks kiln.

Nearly a liter of water later I had a nasty looking mess inside the battery, (all black and yucky) charged it up and went on my way

Then the radio stopped working (aftermarket unit Kenwood) Reset it and its ok, but all stations deleted.

Flat battery again this morning, getting a new one at lunch time.

But every time I start the car I have to reset the radio.

Im hoping the battery change will fix this, if not Ill have to pull the damn radio out and find out whats going on.

All because a mate asked for a favor.......................never again.

PS, A trailer on the ECHO only affects the drivability going up hill.

It tows very well, but dies on hills, You have to turn off the overdrive and then its all go go go

but my milage was sadly affected.

Such is life.

I have made up a simple diagram of wiring for driving lights.

This is for toyota echos 2000 models.

Most toyotas are the same, negative switching makes it a little different from normal cars.

Cheers

Wiring diagram for driving lights in a Toyota ECHO 2000.pdf

OK, as with all things electric you have diagnosed your problem yourself.

If all doors except the passenger open from the drivers door.

And all doors open when opened from the passenger door.

The problem is the passenger actuator.

You will probably find either a rusty or clagged actuator in the passenger side.

It wont move when opened from another door, but when it is forced from the passenger side it actuates the other doors.

I had that same problem with another car a few years ago, it was water getting into the little electric motor which rusted it up and stopped it from working.

But when forced, it set the other doors off.

you can either replace or clean out the damaged one and all should be good.

17 hours ago, Nafis Malik said:

That would be really helpful if you could do a wiring diagram.

I found these Narva Compac 100 driving lights at Repco (www.repco.com.au/en/globes-batteries-electrical/globes-lighting/driving-lights-accessories/narva-halogen-driving-light-round-12v-combo-beam-kit/p/A8760739). They come with a wiring harness and diagram, which I thought were quite good, though it would be good to hear your thoughts on them too.

Those blue lights are looking really good in the center console!

Yeah the early 2000’s Toyota paint didn’t fare too well against the Australian climate. The bumpers and door handles on my Echo are all faded, though in certain angles and lighting you can’t tell they are. The rest of the body, however, is in decent condition, apart from some of the panels, which have some deep scratches that are the result of automatic car washes.

This video on YouTube seemed like a good method to touch up some of the panels (www.youtube.com/watch?v=4f9zqVbcZDQ&list=WL&index=47&t=0s), though the bumpers and door handles are definitely going to need a respray.

Never thought that the Echo could cope with towing! Is your Echo an automatic?

I had them on my old X Trail.

With the standard incandescent halogen lights the Narva were more than adequate, give a good distance.

I have also put a set on my daughters Yaris, perfect for her and she is amazed at the penetration the lights give

But  when I got my MUX, they were yellow in comparison to the standard LED lights on the car, so I had to go brighter.

.

You can do it cheaper using LED light bars or LED spots, it all depends on what you want the lights for.

In my case, I often drive home very late at night down unlit country roads where Kangas like to wander.

The spots I have on my MUX could burn their eyes out at 2 klm, but I didn't need that for most driving.

So on the Echo I went down a bit and bought the cheap lightbar off fleabay for $28.00.

The wiring is minimal and a few metres of wire, a switch, a relay and a fuse is all you need.

all up, using quality parts, it cost me $65.00 to wire up the light bar.

The light bar is nowhere near the powerful as the MUX spots, but the spray beam catches anything on the side of the road and the spots give me about 1 klm up the road ahead.

unless you plan to do some extensive off road or long distance driving, Id suggest the cheap LEDs

The Light bar completely wipes out the high beam of the echo, cant even see high beam when they are on, but with that much light, who cares?

This Echo is my run around car, so I like to do everything on the cheap, but good brakes and lighting is a must in my books.

Ill be back home on Thursday, Ill do up a wiring diagram then and give you some tips to assemble.

Its really quite easy and the improvement in lighting is amazing.

As for towing, Id prefer to use the MUX, it has a 3 ton towing capacity.

But for a lark , and the fact that I have a tow bar on the Echo, I thought Id give it a go.

My Echo is an auto, so I turned off the O/D, but overall it didnt seem too worried.

Wouldnt like to tow anything serious though.

Cheers

Wiring in additional lights to the echo is quite easy.

You just have to get over the damn stupid reverse wiring setup.

Il do a diagram when i get the chance and post it for you.

The heater controls look good with the blue LEDs, but I also had to add a few LEDs as the LEDs are very directional and tend to point ratehr than spread.

It was as simple job of finding the positive and negative feeds on the flexable PCB and then soldering a feed to them.

Then I glued in some additional LEDS. Ill take a picture of the back when I get the chance.

It even lights up in daylight now, looks cool.

As for the paintwork, yeah, mine is a mess.

I plan to give it a respray sometime in the future as I hate blotchy paint.

Apparently it has something to do with the early water based (cacogenic) paint.

It deteriorates quickly , so they put a thick coat of clear, but any small flaws in the clear coat allow air to get under it and deteriorate the paint.

The clear then peels off and you get the dreaded toyota scurvy.

They are getting better now, but give me good old acrylic any day.

Forgot to mention;

I hooked up the trailer and did a trip to the tip yesterday.

Surprisingly, the old ECHO towed it quite easily, and even braked quite satisfactorily and safely.

I towed without the overdrive engaged and I'm not sure about fuel usage, but it didn't notice the trailer all that much.

This little car surprises me more and more. 

And cheap.

$30.00 ebay, got it in 3 days.

not quite the power that my 4x4 serious headlights have, but I paid considerably more for them than this light bar.

Stupid toyota wiring had me stumped for a while.

I couldn't work out how to trigger the relay.

Turns out it switches to earth not the other way around, so I have to run a positive feed to the relay and then from the relay back to the headlight wiring.

But now it works a treat, nice spray beam and a reasonable spot.

Just have to fix the paintjob and it will be a great little runaround.

Oh, and I added a few LED lights to the center controls, BLUE ones.

But the initial install didn't fully illuminate the whole cluster, so I added a couple and wired them into the circuit board.

Now I have a bright blue centre heater control setup...noice.

On 5/21/2020 at 3:49 PM, campbeam said:

Initially, I was going to suggest looking for vacuum leaks then I did a Google search to confirm those thoughts.

https://www.google.com/search?q=engine+stalls+only+when+cold&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

http://www.autotap.com/techlibrary/solving_intermittent_stalling_problems.asp

Just noticed that one URL mentions the crankshaft position sensor which I have recently replaced on the girlfriend's Yaris after it displayed a Check Engine Light.

An other URL is mentioning the coolant sensor.

After reading your post I checked all the vac hoses, all good.

But I did replace the MAF sensor, I had a spare in the shed.

This seems to have fixed the problem, hasn't done it since.

And on the matter of engine check lights.

I pulled the plug from the MAF sensor while the engine was running (the engine stopped, go figure?)

But the engine warning light came on.

The trick to turn it back off is simple, thought you might like to know.

Turn the engine on and off three times in succession....light out.

However, if it comes back on again, you got issues.

Cheers

Another upgrade for the old ECHO.

Fitted a light bar.

I found the standard candles insufficient to see the road at night, I even got out and checked to see if my headlights had failed and I was driving on the parkers.

But no, they were working, just poorly.

And the high beam, honestly?

Its no brighter and it simply shifts the focus from 3 feet in front of the car to 6 feet.

This light bar makes all the difference, I can now see kilometers up the road.

Next, I'm looking for a cruise control, I drive an hour each way on the freeway every day.

My poor old foot is getting cramps, I have not driven a car without cruise control in 25 years, its killing me.

Oh and I replaced the MAF sensor last week.

Cannot say it made all that much difference to the power or performance, but its stopped that damn first stop stalling issue.

Hi All;

Just a question, someone might know.

My little 20 year old ECHO starts first kick every time.

Idles away, no problem.

I can take off and drive it, and as long as I don't stop for at least 1-2 klm, it never has an issue.

But I drive 50 meters to the corner of my street, stop, and then drive up the road...every day.

The car stalls when I hit the gas after stopping, nearly every time.

Only this once, once its warmed up or has driven 1-2 klm, never an issue.

It has also done this at work, where I drive about 50 meters to the front gate, stop and drive off....again, occasional stall.

The car is otherwise performing faultlessly, if a little gutless (but that's because I'm used to much bigger engines)

I drive 75-80 klm each way every day, at highway speeds, no problem.

and I can start it and drive any time after its warmed up without any stalling, its only when its cold that it has a problem.

I recently replaced the plugs, made no difference.

Any suggestions??????

Well, did a service on the little Eco on the weekend.

Nice new oil and filter.

Nice new plugs 

Replaced the rear brake shoes finally.

What a shocker of a setup.

you need three hands and fingers the size of a child with the strength of Hercules to fit the damn things.

But they are in now, all nice and new

no problems with the seals, no leakage, but I think the brakes were last blead back in 1999.

The colour and condition of the brake fluid was terrible.

But at least now the brakes feel better and even the handbrake dosen't have to be pulled to the roof to lock the back wheels.

such fun old cars.

On 5/5/2020 at 4:30 PM, Nafis Malik said:

Hi There,

Topped up the engine oil in the Echo today as it had been going down little by little. I used 15W - 40 Castrol GTX ,and I could definitely feel the difference! It felt a little more responsive and smoother. So far since the last fill up I have been able to get aroung 550km, and I still have about 2 lights left on the instrument panel. I am definitely convinced 15W - 40 is the oil I am going to service with when it is due. Thanks Glen for the recommendation!

The 15w40 made a huge difference to my daughters car.

It was using around 1 litre between services, sometimes more over summer with the heat and air conditioning going all the time.

But since using 15w40, there is no noticeable oil usage and it seems quieter and smoother.

I cant say its improved the performance any, but at least I can be confident that she wont run out of oil.

Many years ago, my sister brought her Capella to me because it was "running rough" and mum said I might be able to fix it.

When she pulled up it sounded like someone has tipped a bag of marbles onto a cement mixer and run it dry.

Lifting the bonnet, I was confronted with radiant heat and a smell of burning oil.

It went like this.

the radiator was virtually empty, when it cooled down it took 7 min before the hose overflowed. (the bottom hose clamp was loose)

Checking the oil, there was nothing on the dipstick, 2 litres later it was at the add mark nearly three litres to fill it.

The No  3 spark plug lead was hanging in mid air, not connected

The air filter was drenched in oil, probably from the oil burning and going out the PCV.

The plugs were gapped at nearly 3mm, not the 0.8 specified

The tyres were all low, one was 15 psi

When I asked her about the warning lights(i didn't check before I started filling) she said they always come on, all the time.

That damn car went for 3 more years, before she finally wrote it off, not giving way.

I serviced it every 6 months and it hardly ever used any oil again and the water stayed in the engine.

Them were the days.

On 4/23/2020 at 1:27 PM, campbeam said:

I do believe that you are correct.

As for the acceleration, I recently replaced the Mass Airflow Sensor on the Yaris and it was back to normal.

regards,

Ashley

I might be a little overcritical of the poor little Echo.

It's a small, old and abused car.

I have driven mostly 6 cylinder Ford's and Holdens over the Years 

Company cars all, so they always go harder and faster, and can jump gutters at speed.

But my new job sees me without a company car, and it's horrible.

35 years of company cars and now I have to buy a car, pay for petrol and rego and insurance and servicing , its a nightmare.

But, such is life.

At least I have my echo, so life is good.

2 minutes ago, campbeam said:

I was wondering how you found driving the Echo on the highway on a very regular basis. Girlfriend's Yaris is brilliant as an urban runabout and don't mind sitting in the passenger seat.

I would anticipate that Unleaded petrol has gone down a few more cents where you are so something else to be happy about.

The road noise is dreadful. I blame to tyres that appear to be the cheapest that the previous owner could source and they are quite hard.

The engine itself is quite quiet, and the gearbox only whines as you are getting up to speed.

Acceleration is an interesting exercise though.

1) stamp on accelerator

2) listen to the engine rev its guts out

3) watch the speedo climb, very slowly.

I buy 95 not the crap they sell cheap.

it does too much damage to the various fuel and engine components to drive on the cheap crap.

My 80 horsepower Mercury outboard strongly suggests only 95, not 98 or the Estuff.

I figure if that engine needs good stuff, because it works at near full revs all the time, I should stick to the good stuff for my other vehicles.

On 4/20/2020 at 11:44 AM, campbeam said:

More like a Super Bat out of Hell. Vertigo did probably save your life. I am always looking for drivers running a red light. One good reason why I am not always the first off when the lights turn green.

You must be really happy with the fuel economy of your Echo. Last night I noticed that unleaded petrol was 89.9cents [Brisbane Southside] but I have only done 100km since Easter Good Friday.

I am quite happy being on the bus to work then look forward to being in the car for the shopping trips. LOL 

Yeah, the Echo fuel economy is great.

Nearly as good as my wife's Suzuki Ignis (5.1l/100k)

But her car is only 2 years old, the mighty Echo is 21 this year.

I actually bought it so I could cut back on the milage I was doing in my new MUX, I have clocked up 45000 in less than 12 months just driving to work and back every day. The warranty would run out before I start towing my van around Australia. 

But the Echo is brilliant, a little noisy, a little uncomfortable, but heaps better than many cars I have owned in the past.

There is no public transport for me, wish there was, but it would take two trains and two busses to get me to work from where I live and I dread to think how long it would take.

Tomorrow is MUX day, I drive it once a week to keep it running nice.

The Echo gets filled up today, Ill have 700 klm on this tank (or thereabouts) when I fill it this afternoon.

I'm expecting less than 39 litres to fill, cant be unhappy about that.

On 4/17/2020 at 5:20 PM, campbeam said:

Slow and steady wins the race. I just accelerate nice and steady away from the lights. Lots of cars race away only for me to catch up to them and pass.

On the highway you would have noticed how someone speeds along only to get caught behind a slow vehicle and unable to pass safely. Their impatience lowers their fuel economy. In contrast, you are waiting fairly patiently for an overtaking lane ahead.

With daily practice of highway driving, you get to know the road and hone your skills.

It was a bit different when I was riding my bike.

I owned a Valkyrie (hence my forum name) 

This is a 1500cc, 6 cylinder boxer engine with 6 carbys (just to get plenty of fuel into the pots)

From a standing start, I could get the beast up to 100 klm/ hr in less than 3 seconds (basically across a largish intersection)

Which was pretty impressive considering it weighed over 340kg and was a cruiser, not a sports bike.

But it did tend to go through the petrol a bit. 32 MPG (about 9.2l/100k) was about normal.

And I had to replace the tyres every year at over $400.00 a tyre.

Full synthetic engine/ gearbox oil was a hit to the hip pocket and don't even ask about the insurance.

But I loved my bike, did many miles on it and had a ball.

Had to give it up when I got vertigo (and the damn vertigo went away a couple of years later)

Probably saved my life.

19 hours ago, campbeam said:

Fuel gauge in the girlfriend's Yaris is better behaved and the bars drop down gradually.

We refuel all the time especially when it is down to the mid point with 3 bars remaining.

Also I think that the car drives better with a full tank probably because the fuel pump is more effective. Maybe the fuel filter needs to be cleaned/replaced.

Remember that the fuel pump is cooled by the fuel in the tank so not a good idea to be driving with a low tank.

Yep, that's why so many people have issues with them after they let the tank run dry.

But I was reasonably certain that I would have plenty of fuel

Well, I filled up last night, after driving with the little flashing light for 150klm

It took 34.8 liters to fill her up (leaving around 10 liters in the tank.

I drove a total of 633.3 klm

Thus giving me a 51.4 MPG or 5.5 l/100k  or  18.2 klm/ liter

I do have to admit though, I drive freeway every day, no real hills and I'm an easy driver.

Not in any hurry, no need to overtake most cars and I don't think powering away at lights is really anything important.

I'm happy with the little beast, clocked up nearly 4000 klm in a month and filled her up 8 times.

I'm even starting to knock out a few dents and I'm considering giving her a spray job.

We shall see.