Keisari

Hey mate, sorry for the lateness, work has been a real killer this week. Anyway, I have taken the photos. They show the routing of most of the vacuum lines, however some run behind the engine. To make it a little easier, I've also uploaded a some vacuum routing schematics from the BGB. Good luck! Engine shot EGR hoses EGR hoses 2 EGR hoses 3 B-VSV B-VSV (aka. TVV) schematic EGR, VSV, B-VSV, charcoal canister schematic

I haven't experienced that 5000rpm wall, but I do experience one between 2500 to 3000 that I have yet to sort out. You say the timing is at 20 degrees - the stock timing is 10. I wonder whether that ticking at 5000rpm you described is engine knock and timing retardation. I will try to take the photos you asked for tomorrow morning.

Sorry mate, I've never taken one apart before. I hope someone can answer...

Ahh sorry, I didn't read the part about it being in the exhaust fumes. D'oh. I think what others have suggested is reasonable. There's also the possibility that the coolant temperature or air temperature or pressure/flow sensors are giving an incorrect reading, making the system run very rich. Did you look for any problem codes?

Once I could literally smell fuel after parking my car. After a bit of sniffing around I finally discovered that the person who had serviced my fuel system a week earlier neglected to reconnect the purge line into the charcoal canister. Worth a quick look I guess.

2. A bad O2 sensor circuit will throw a code 25, yes. 3. That would be the bimetallic vacuum switching valve (BVSV). It's part of the fuel evaporation anti-pollution system, though I don't fully understand its function. One end goes into the charcoal canister, the other *I think* goes into one of the three vacuum ports on the top of the throttle body near the EGR valve - probably the one missing a vacuum hose. 4. Many things can cause high and irregular idling. Cleaning the TB is a good place to start (I'd do this after sorting out the vacuum hose issues though). Also check the ignition timing. If it is significantly out the engine can idle high and, if too far out, can make it run poorly. The next thing to check is the ignition components. Take the plugs out and make sure the tips are in good order, look for white corrosion on the spark plug lead ends on the distributor cap side (also take the cap off and look for corrosion, cracking and oil leaks there and on the rotor button. When you put it back together, spray the outside of the cap with WD40 to exclude water and inhibit further corrsion). Make sure the battery terminals are happy. Failing this and the dozen other things it could be, there's always the idle adjustment screw on the top of the throttle body. It can only adjust the idle so far, of course. Good luck, hope some of that was useful.

I do not own that particular model, but I have replaced the front side markers and bulbs on my 5gen. The best way I've found is to get a thin plastic spatula or similar and slide it between the body and the rubber gasket (along the short side, not the long side), whilst protecting the edges as much as possible with a small rag. Once it's under, push hard so the clip underneath is depressed and pull it off. The bulb either slides out or you need to twist the harness about 25 degrees CCW, I can't remember. Good luck mate!

Your best bet would probably be a 3S-GTE or 3S-GE front-cut with manual transmission and appropriate ECU, depending on whether you want to go turbo or not. Swap the auto box and linkages out for the manual, recondition the turbo or bore the head, custom pistons etc. It will be an expensive and time-consuming process either way. I've never even come close to doing this though - Mick's the one to talk to.

Before you go to bed, hit F2 or DEL or whatever on startup and go into your BIOS screen. Look for an option called something like 'battery calibration' and let this run with the laptop NOT on a/c power. This will calibrate the charge state of the battery by completely draining it then attempting to charge back to 100% when you plug a/c back in the next day. 4 years is a long time for a laptop battery used every day. I'd say it's more likely time for a new battery (ie: 35% probably actually is '100%' for that battery now).

Just for the record, all unleaded petrol sold in Australia can (and does) contain a maximum of 2% ethanol. If anything, ethanol content correlates with an *increase* in RON rating, rather than a reduction.

Ward While Motors in Box Hill - I just gave them a call today but the phone's been disconnected. Does anyone know if they've relocated or something? They truly knew their stuff... failing that, does anyone know a shop of similar calibre?

Toyota Australia maintains a list of vehicles compatible with E10 blends: http://www.toyota.com.au/faqs Hope that helps.

In this case, 85 is in reference to the volume fraction of ethanol, rather than the octane number.

This seems to be a popular myth, yet I've not seen a mechanism for how this is supposed to happen. Ethanol cannot spontaneously 'condense' into sugar. One way it is produced, and the most common way for petrochemical applications, is by the fermentation of sugarcane. The ethanol is obtained by distillation (sugar cannot be distilled, and so stays behind. In fact it decomposes somewhere around 250 C instead of undergoing phase transition to gas). The distillate contains water, which can then be further distilled down to 5% and drying agents used from there. Put another way, if the ethanol in my lab spontaneously became sugar, there'd be surprised and angry phone calls to the supplier. It is true that high ethanol concentrations are incompatible with some plastics, especially some rubber seals, and so the fuel system needs to be redesigned to work with it.

Most likely the cable (if 'ludes are cable-driven) or sensor (if they're electronic, which I'd say is more likely). I don't know of a way of checking the cable without inspecting it, but sensors are a simple matter of reading a fault code. If the ECU had not logged input from the sensor for X seconds, it will push out a code.

To be sure whether it's the fan, start the car with the hood popped and let it get up to operating temperature. At some point, the fan will start turning. You'll know when it does - it's really unmistakable. If that sounds something like the roar you hear driving around, that's probably what it'll be.

You also need to get the crank pulley off. This can be achieved using an enormous breaker bar or pry bar, but it's just easier with a pulley removing tool (eg: Repco) and an air impact hammer. edit: there's a few miscellaneous things you might want too, such as a timing light and some white paint or liquid paper to mark the positions of the other pulleys to make them easier to ensure proper alignment.

The mechanic was mistaken about ethanol turning to sugar if left for a period of time. Sugar is usually used to produce commercial quantities of it (by yeast fermentation, similar to beer), which would then be extracted and distilled. By the end of the process, it is no longer sugar, does not contain sugar, and cannot revert back to a sugar in your fuel rail spontaneously. I am a chemist BTW.

The cooling system should really have been flushed, refilled and bled several times by now, having replaced the water pump, radiator, thermostat and head gasket at different times. Assuming that's been done properly at least once, go back to basics. You say the problem is intermittent and especially prominent on hotter days. Does it happen at idle or during running? If during running, is it under 'normal' driving conditions or under hard driving? If it happens mostly at idle, check the cooling fan for correct operation. When the car is at normal operating temperature, pop the hood and listen for the fan switching on and off (it's a very loud roar that should go on and off every 30 sec or so, accompanied by a blast of hot air over the engine). If you don't hear anything and the car starts overheating, switch the car off. Follow the wire from the fan to the fan relay and disconnect it. Then attach two wires from the battery terminals directly to the two terminals on the fan's electrical connector. If the fan now spins, the fuse, relay or temperature switch could be bad. If it doesn't, the fan motor is bad. Keep us posted!

Good to hear you're running smoothly again. Yes, $165 for the battery was a rip-off. I've bought a battery for an Echo before and it was about $110 from K-mart, though I did put it in myself. The spark plugs are very easy and cheap to replace. They are about $2.50 each (about $10 total) plus labour (they will probably charge half an hour, about $40, even though it only takes 10 minutes). Or it's very easy to do yourself if you buy a spark plug socket (About $7 - just make sure you get the right size).

Excellent guys, thanks very much.

Healthy crank but no start will be either an ignition or fuel problem. If you get a can of engine starting fluid and spray it into the air intake plenum, you can diagnose between the two - if the car starts then dies again, the problem is likely to be fuel. If it still doesn't start, it's likely to be ignition. Ignition: Broken connection - check battery terminals, grounding cables, spark plug leads. Make sure all accessories are off. Low battery charge (old battery / poorly charging alternator / slipping alternator belt). Try hooking up some jumper cables if you have some. Totally malfunctioned ignition coil - check with a multimeter Massive air or vacuum leak / plugged ports - make sure all of the air hoses are connected and not broken. Malfunctioning MAP/MAF sensor, crankshaft position sensor - check with a multimeter or, better yet, OBDII scanner Security system on the fritz? Try disabling it Igniter - check with a multimeter Distributor (unlikely, and hopefully not) Ignition timing off (unlikely in your case) Fuel (I've never checked these before): Fuel pump Relay Pressure regulator Broken connection

I've been to three in Melbourne's south-east. Unfortunately I would not recommend any of them...

I'll be performing the installation myself, so it's really advice and ability in establishing the final alignment specs I'm looking for. I have some idea of what I'm after (more a street setup rather than a race one), though I am indeed interested in doing a bit of testing and definitely want a corner balance.

I'm going to be rebuilding my suspension very soon - struts, springs, bushings, camber bolts, everything - and was wondering if anyone knows of an exceptional suspension place anywhere in the Melbourne area can advise on and perform a proper custom alignment. Money is no object so long as I get what I pay for - quality and no hassles. Thanks!