KHIEM

... in addition, i have just opened the engine bay, and have a look at the brake fluid reservoir, the fulid inside is about 2 cm over the MAX level :( :( :( It looks not ok, doesnt it?

He mentioned something about the master cylinder (a very smally chance that this part might be broken, he confirmed), but I told him that there must me nothing wrong with that cos i ve only done only 75k, not that much to get that cylinder broken or something.

If the pedal was fine before the pad change and went soft afterwards then the pads will wear to the required taper and be fine. A way to avoid this is to have the rotors machined at the same time, however I am not a fan of it for two reason; it costs money to do and you have to replace rotors more often which costs more money again. If the pedal was long before hand then it might be something more serious. Seals in the master cylinder can go that early and cause a long/soft pedal. Since brake fluid is hydroscopic it aborbs water and that can cause a soft/long pedal too.

Let say 100% is the hardest a pedal can have and 0% is nothing, means we can press the pedal all the way down with the no resistant. Before the pads replacement, it's about 60% or 70%. I had expected after the replacement, it should be as hard as 80% or 90%, cos the new pads that are thicker are fitted in! But after replacement, it's still the same as before, so it's still at 60% to 70% even the brakes performance is a bit better than before.

if you have the bendix ct pads, then yes theyre good for general purpose with minimal brake dust.

with regards to the master cylinder, it quite possibly could be worn at 75k. it could be a couple of things, such as the brake booster pushrod, worn caliper piston seals, or just that the brake lines havent been bled properly.

what brake fluid have you been using?

ow :(.

I don't know what fluid in there, that came with the car from the last owner. This is the first time i service the car "by my-self", normally, i got it to the dealer and they did everything for me there. The old pads are of Toyota.

So what's your advice for me? Should I just try to run that way for several kilometres? I plan to go interstate this weekend, do you think i really need to get it checked again by Toyota?

Everything he has said is right. Tapered rotors/pads (in your case it will be rotors) will cause a soft pedal. That is about right for bedding pads in, just don't come to a stop during or soon afterwards as you risk ruining the rotors.. As for the brake fluid he really should have taken some out so it didn't over flow. Give your engine bay around the brake master cylinder a gentle hosing to remove the brake fluid in there.

Thanks Dav,

Yea, i saw him opening the hood, flush water in the Brake fluid reservoir, now i know why he did that. So the answer is: just be patient with this for a short time, then it should get hard back soon, is that correct? He mentioned something about the master cylinder (a very smally chance that this part might be broken, he confirmed), but I told him that there must me nothing wrong with that cos i ve only done only 75k, not that much to get that cylinder broken or something.

Is Bendix a good brand for just general purpose braking? i.e. minimal dust and good performance? I got that for $60 for just the front, intended to get the rear as well but they do not stock the rear ones...

Again, thanks for your help, Dave

Hi everyone,

I have just purchased a set of Bendix brake pad (DB1431) for my ZZE122 rolla and got it done this afternoon. it was done by a mechanic near my place. After doing everything, I don't know why the brake pedal is still "deep", not shallow as I had expected. I think if the new pads are fitted in, the pedal should be very shallow cos the pads are much thicker.

I asked the mechanic about that and he told me that because he didn't sharp the discs before fitting the pads in, the brake pedals would be a bit "deep" at first; after about 50 or 80 kms, it should wear more even and the pedal will be shallow again. He told me try to get to 60 kmph, then brake hard and do that several times for the pads and the discs to fit well together. I am not sure if this is true or not, not sounds too rasonable to me.

Have you guys met this before?

When he tried to fit the new pads into the caliper, he used a tool to push the walls of the caliper apart. I saw some liquid dropping on the floor from the engine bay, I asked him what was that and he said :"it's the brake fluid, because i press this out so the fluid is pushed out, it's normal, don't worry"?!! Is that actually normal?

Thanks everyone!

Cheers

TK

i just have a quick + noop question: Why do we have to warm the oil a bit before chianging it? Won't it get very hot and we can get burn if the oil accidentally contact the skin?

The seller of the first item replied me, and he said the fog light will be compatible with the Aussie corolla. I asked him to check, and make sure with me one more time because I was affraid that the model of Corolla isdifferent in countries. He replied, and confirmed the second time.

What do you guysthing? Will that fit my corolla?

Thanks so much for your help,

TK

i seriously doubt the first item fits our facelift corollas, did you send a photo of your car to the seller to confirm?

the second item is the one i bought, i bought both sides and asked for wiring harness for H11 bulbs and switch and it works fine :)

Yes I did send him a photo, this is it , http://pdftown.com/image/4762-toyota-corolla-2004.jpg

and this is what he replied me:

Thank you for your email.

I’m just confirm our fog lights is compatible with Toyota Corolla (05 - 06) model no matter the car is made of Australia or China. I hope that answers your question.

Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any further questions.

Kind Regards,

Elaine Huang

That was the second time I asked him, and he replied lik that. What do u think?

The seller of the first item replied me, and he said the fog light will be compatible with the Aussie corolla. I asked him to check, and make sure with me one more time because I was affraid that the model of Corolla isdifferent in countries. He replied, and confirmed the second time.

What do you guysthing? Will that fit my corolla?

Thanks so much for your help,

TK

anyone drops me an advice? :D :D

Yea, i have seen many people driving with the fog lights on (even at daytime). The law that I quoted itself doesn't say about the condition to use it as well, so i think it should be fine.

Beside the led ones, I also had a look for a ... proper fog lights. There 2 two that I found:

1.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi...E:X:AAQ:AU:1123

2.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi...E:X:RTQ:AU:1123

#1 seems to be a better deal. However, do you guys it looks nice when fitter in my car (hatch)? What do you think about this model? Will that gonna fit Aussie Corolla, since the item is in China, I am not sure about this. I have asked the seller.

#2 will cost a bit of extra money to buy the wires and the bulbs. However, i like the look of it.

Which one is better? If there's another better choice on ebay, please share with me.

Thanks a lot

Have you guys every been in a 25 kmph zone and the car behind didnt want to slow down? I have encountered such situations where I needed to slow down because of road construction, at 25 kmph zone (that's what my driving instructor told me to do!), there was a guy behind me who kept tailing me in a dangerouse distance. He showed an angry face like "why da hell do you have to be slow like that", changed to another lane and accelerated, i guess about 30-40 kpmh

I keep seeing those kinds of things, where people don't agree with the speed limit which I am obeying. Rude words, rude gesture are the thing they often express to me.

There are some people, on the 60 kmph road, I think 65 or 67 is the speed they are going. Because of that, the Government in my place has an ad saying "STOP CREEPING OVER THE SPEED LIMIT". That's true, isnt it?

yea, i think the Daytime Running lamps are the one that you talked about. I don't see any car with those DRL in Aus rite? I think in the US, most of the new cars have the DRL, its like more amber than the normal high-beam, abou 30% power of highbeam like you said, and its in the highbeam position of the headlights.

It looks like this rite:

What is the purpose of those lights? and why we hardly see anycar with those DRLs in Australia? Is that only for the place where they have fog most of the time? Like North America?

I found this in the Transport SA website

http://www.transport.sa.gov.au/pdfs/person...pdfs/Info27.pdf

Where lights are required to be fitted in pairs the following applies:

• A light must be fitted on each side of the longitudinal axis of the vehicle;

• The centre of each light in a pair must be the same distance from the longitudinal axis of the vehicle;

• The centre of each light in a pair must be at the same height above ground level;

• Each light in a pair must project approximately the same amount of light of the same colour.

DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHTS

A pair of front daytime running lights may be fitted to a motor vehicle. The centre of each light must be at

least 600mm from the centre of the other light and not more than 510mm in from the side of the vehicle.

A motor vehicle less than 1.3 metres in width can be fitted with a pair of front daytime running lights not less

than 400mm from the centre of the other light.

PERFORMANCE

When on, a front daytime running light must show a white or yellow light visible from the front of the vehicle

and not use over 25 watts power.

Daytime running lamps must be wired so they are off when a headlight, except a headlight being used as a

flashing signal, is on.

FRONT FOG LIGHTS

A pair of front fog lights fitted to a motor vehicle must have the centre of each light not more than 400mm in

from the side of the vehicle and the centres of the lights at least 600mm apart.

Where the top of the front fog light is higher than the top of any low-beam headlight on the vehicle the centre

of the for light must not be higher than the centre of the low-beam headlight.

A front fog light must, when on:

• Project white or yellow light in front of the vehicle; and

• Be a low beam light; and

• Be able to be operated independently of any headlight; and

• Be fitted so the light from it does not reflect off the vehicle into the driver’s eyes.

Yea, thanks everyone, so i think it pretty much answers my question :-)

P.S: nice Aurion DJKOR ;)

thats a really clear explaination.

Where did u find it? I wanna find a version of the city i m living (Adelaide, SA)

Fog lights can only be used when it's either raining heavily, or in a fog situation. I'm fairly sure it's fog lights that have to be dependant from your high beams, whereas driving lights can only be used when your high beams are on.

It would be fairly easy to install, just a process of wiring up a relay, switch and power wires. Keep in mind it won't illuminate the road or anything (nothing like a halogen or xenon lamp), but will be fairly easily visible from a distance.

THanks for that,

did u mean fog lights have to be independent from your high beams? shouldn't we turn it off while headlights ON? I am a bit confused there :D

Yea, like the little leds on AUdi, its visible from a great distance. That's the reason why I want to install my rolla one :-D.

So in fact, we can safely install that? I think its true that only the fog and the parker can be turned on at the same time, not with headlights.

Can anyone who already installed somethin like this confirm again with me please :(.

How much roughly u think installing this may cost?

THanks in advance :-)

hey i wanted to do the same thing. i saw these down at repco asked the dude and he said he wasnt sure so he rang up the company and they said its not legal to have them on at night as with all fog lights. though you can use them during the day as daylight drivign lamps.

Yea. I heard some mates on this forum saying that we are not allowed to leave 4 of them (2 headlights + 2 fog lights) on at the same time, however, i usually see ppl driving with them all on, dont know why?

Will they get pull over if the police see that?

Hi everyone,

Looking around on ebay, i found this interesting: http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Car-Truck-Universal...%3A1|240%3A1318

Is it legal to put it in my rolla just like the Jazz in the photos?

Is it legal to turn it on with my headlight on at night at the same time? (so 2 headlights + 2 bar of this fog lights)

Thanks a lot :)

Khiem

A few of what i have,have more Toyotas but this just a sample.

Man they look so nice and cute. Where did u get them.... i wanna get the black one (sportivo???) straigth awayyyy

No.. i dont think so. he just has like 1-way insurance, not comprehensive one.

Will that gonna be $800? I heard my friend bought a car from Vic and get delivered for just $600.

Hi everyone,

My friend's car was robbed a week ago. Then a few days later, the police called him and told him that his car was involved in an accident in Port Augusta (300 kms away from Adelaide). After all the papework was done, the police asked him to come to Port Augusta to pick the car up and advised him that the car is non-drivable. how bad was that.

So he's looking for a service which come to that police station in Port Augusta and pick the car up, then deliver it to Ade for him. Cops said they would just need basic information of the car owner from the picker then they wil allow the picker to get the car. So it should be easy.

Do you guys know any kind of service that do the job? How much roughly it would cost?

Thanks in advance,

TK

Thanks everyone.

These are really valuable tips. They gonna help me a lot.

Cheers,

TK

One of your biggest problems will be boredom... around Bordertown and onwards is pretty damn bleak. If you are going the coast road, once you hit Port Fairy/Portland area you have hit normal roads again.

I also concur: just be wary of ALL road signs. I imagine you are not familiar with the roads, let alone the road rules across the border.

Oh yeah, and on the long stretches you are almost guaranteed of getting overtaken by bikies. Best veer left a little and let them all fly past. ;)

Good point. I have never been told about this until now. So they usually in a group of 50 or so? That sounds a bit worried for me then hhehe

nah being deadly serious... !!!! these guys are ruthless and are copping a fair bit of ego inflating press at the moment... i'd be staying well clear of any such bikie gang activity at all costs.

I'd be more worried about coming up behind a slow-moving gang of bikies. It's a lot easier for a lot of bikes to overtake one car than it is for one car to overtake a lot of bikes. If you get up their ***** and start getting impatient because you can't overtake, thats when I'd be rolling up the windows and reaching for the tyre iron, just in case.

One thing I've noticed about bike riders (of all kinds, sports bikes to cruisers to hogs), is that they WILL find a way to overtake, no matter what. It is impossible to hold up a bike for more than a few seconds if they are a competant rider, just don't do anything unexpected and they'll get around (kinda like giving way to an ambo/firey, sometimes the best tactic is to just keep doing what you are doing and let them thread their way through, no point moving over into a hole they were just about to scoot through)

So the best thing to do is just drive normally (slow down a bit and wait until overtaken) and don't try to block their way or do any other silly things with them (including overtaking)?

Have u guys ever heard about anything serious like if they think the car is blocking their way, they may just go and bash the car or do some other bad/rude things like that?

Again, thanks for all these valuable tips, they just seems very new and useful to me. havent been told before.

howabout kangoroos or other kind of 'road-crossing-animal', will i see them very often? I have heard about some serious car accident because of those animal. Is there any tips?

Cheers,

TK

Thanks for your advices everyone,

yea i think i can have as many pit stop as possible cos that would maintain the alertness, and like jaderd said, we may need food very oftern hehe :-). couples of months ago, i drove my parents around the Adlaide Hills, Handolf region, where theres a lot of mountain pass, dangerous road i think. But it all went ok and I really enjoy those challenges.

Do i need to prepare anythin for my car? I have changed the oil and the filter last week.

Thanks for your advices everyone,

yea i think i can have as many pit stop as possible cos that would maintain the alertness, and like jaderd said, we may need food very oftern hehe :-). couples of months ago, i drove my parents around the Adlaide Hills, Handolf region, where theres a lot of mountain pass, dangerous road i think. But it all went ok and I really enjoy those challenges.

Do i need to prepare anythin for my car? I have changed the oil and the filter last week.