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November 2009

Jan 21, 2009 - finished engine clean bad hood cable 1987 rearwheeldrive Corolla

Getting ready to close the hood on this project car when I couldn't get the hood back open The hood cable had broke. I removed the grille and then removed the bolts that hold the hood latch to the body. Latches have a built in theft proof mechanism to prevent thieves from opening the hood from under the car. Here you can see it better, the metal that runs under the cable hooks prevents you from popping getting to the hook that pulls the hood latch from under the car. Here's a photo of the new cable with the good plastic anchor I'm getting ready to hook on the latch. It squeezes in the first notch anchoring the cable, then the cable ball goes behind the next notch, pulling the latch to release the hood. I found this cable at a junkyard on a model similar to mine. Its five years older, but better shape. Here are the only tools I needed to get the new cable off the old car. I usually bring my cheap screwdrivers so if I lose one I don't miss it. I left my $200 dollar Sony digital camera in a car last week. It was hell for 10 minutes trying to remember which car it was in. They all look the same. But I found it, right where I left it. The place was swarming with people crawling in and out of cars.

Here is my nut driver with ratchet attachment. This tool is more expensive, and I haven't lost it yet in some twenty years of use. I try to keep it in sight. A 10 mm socket is common on Toyota. I removed the rubber grommet from inside the inner fender well. It runs along the inside of the fender from the passenger compartment to the radiator support.Total cost was about $5.00.

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Jan 5, 2009 - continue-engine clean-wire splices, 1987 Corolla rearwheeldrive

I finished cleaning the engine compartment and engine. A couple wires broke in the process. One wire goes to the oil sender unit and the other to the temp gauge. I wanted to fix this right away. I had to find the same wire off a similar model car at the junkyard. I found this car, it is 5 years older but works. I cut the wire off this car as far back on the harness possible. Then I removed the bad wire from my car, leaving more wire here for some extra length. This is how I make my splices. Forming a L shape I cross the wires at the corners and then wrap the wire down along the remainder of the 1 1/2 inch splice. Using a solder gun I make the connection strong and corrosion proof. Oh yea, before I do any splicing I install some Shrink Wrap. It has to be installed before you cross the wires. While I was soldering the Shrink Wrap melted to the end of the wire. I had to carefully cut it from the wire, then slide the wrap over the splice. Using a hot air source, the wrap melts over the splice sealing it. This helps prevent oil and water from getting into the splice over time.

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Dec 12, 2008 - 1987 Corolla rearwheeldrive engine clean

My last blog I cleaned the trunk, now I moved on to the engine compartment. Cleaning this area requires more detail and removal of parts.Taking the car to the self serve car wash and blasting the engine with high pressure hose is one way to get it clean. I wanted to take more care and use soap and scrubbing. I used a solution of liquid laundry soap and water and a red scratch pad. I scrubbed each part on the right fender-well, before and after. Then moved around to the left drivers side fender, before and after. Then the back firewall and radiator support. When I removed the battery I found rust on the bottom side of the fender and the tray the battery sits on. Battery acid had eaten the paint away. I neutralize the acid with a solution of baking soda and water Then I sand the paint to a feather edge with 220 grit sandpaper and water. Most of the rust is gone but some rust is deep with pits and will never be removed unless I take more drastic measure. I found this new way to slowly remove rust with out grinding away precious metal. It is Muriatic Acid. The directions recommend 15:1 ratio, but I want something faster like one to one. Yea buddy. I use this small prescription bottle and fill it half way with water. Then I fill the bottle up with the acid. Always do the mix this way, water first then acid. This assures your not getting a wild reaction by pouring water into pure acid. I place a paper towel over the rust and soak it with this solution, for a couple hours. Later it looks good. I now prime it with my two part epoxy primer. Again using a prescription bottle I only mix up what I need. I spray it on with a $20 dollar spray gun from the cheap tool store using 15 PSI from the air compressor. This cost was about 10 cents of acid and maybe less than a dollar of two part primer. While the acid was working I finished cleaning the fender-wells. This is more before afters shots.The old body seam sealer looked bad. I removed it.too.before and after. Next I moved on to the engine. I scrapped the engine clean and soaked with a solution of liquid detergent and scrubbed. Its looking spotless. Back to the acid clean of the rust under the battery. After using a two part poly primer hard finish,I cover the primer with an enamel. rustoleum white. For extra protection I could use an asphalt based paint over this coat, like undercoating. This will stop the battery acid from eating the enamel again.

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Dec 4, 2008 - 1987 Corolla rearwheeldrive clean trunk

I opened my trunk for the first time in about a year, and couldn't believe what was inside. I found my old AC gauges, R12 type for pre 1994 refrigerant service.Just in time to service my AC for next summer. The seal on the trunk was torn. I found the missing piece in the bottom of the trunk.. I can glue it back on tomorrow with some black silicone adhesive. The rest of the rubber is good, this will avoid replacing it for $$$$. Now on to the cleaning. Here's some before and after shots. I like to brush on some liquid laundry soap to dissolve any grease then scrub and rinse with the clean water in the bucket.. Its looking white again. Also this car had been painted by the original owner and some of the over-spray was still around the edges. I scrubed it off with a red scratch pad. Here is the white clean surface on the right and the overspray on the left. Much better. I pulled the trunk seal up as I scrubbed off the overspray. Lots of dirt trapped underneath there too. The trunk lid was scrubbed cleaned too. Alot of overspray around the edges here gave it a dirty yellow look. Now the orignal gloss white is looking good. Some polishing compound will finish it up. I used this vacuum cleaner I found in the dumpster to clean the mat. It works great around the shop. I put everything back in the trunk. Tire, tire support, and mat. Now Im ready to clean the engine compartment next.

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Dec 3, 2008 - 1987 Corolla rearwheeldrive

My door would not open smoothly. It looks like there's no adjustment from the front of the striker. Looking at the backside inside the door post,, the piece is welded and will not move. But if you hit it with a chisel and a hammer, the thin tabs would flex and let the striker move slightly. I did this to adjust outward. This would release tension on the door handle when I open the door. Like magic it opens smoothly.This car is twenty years old so the first check was the hinge, amazingly it was not worn out and dropping. I still wanted to shim the lower hinge up with some thick 1/8 washers I found laying around. It also moved the door back closer to the jamb. This gave me more gap I neede at the fender.I loosened the fender where it was catching on the door, and sanded all the chip paint marks smooth along this edge and the door. I'll paint them later. While there I used a wiper blade metal locking piece to clean out the leaves buried inside the fender structure. This should prevent it from rusting when snow comes flying . Oh yea it doesn't snow here in the desert. Tomorrow I'll clean the trunk. Can't wait to see what I find in there.

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Nov 4, 2008 - Gas prices coming down

I saw the price drop today. This guy dropped it I wanted to buy him a drink but he wasn't interested. This was the biggest drop ever in one day 10 cents from 2.65. Thanks, whoever you are.

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Oct 24, 2008 - Intake Removal in 10 steps

This is the step by step of do it yourself intake removal on a 1990 Q-45 V8. I have my removal down to about 20 minutes.The hoses are not stuck on the engine, making their removal easier. If your hoses are old, be prepared to spend a fortune replacing them. The big hoses get brittle and break when removing them. I found a Q-45 at the junkyard with excellent rubber. That is about it for WARNINGS, now for the removal steps.

Tools; Pliers, adj wrench, thin plumbers wrench, 12mm socket, 10mm socket, ratchet and extensions, and two 14mm wrenches.

1. I remove the Y-hose clamp on the lower part of the hose., Its centered on the top of the lower block and goes up to the IAC Valve. This is a new hose I found at the junkyard. It was a dollar,versus $30. dollars at the dealer. Later, when the manifold is loose, this hose will come off. The next pic shows the tube where the hose attaches..

2).Move on to the valve covers and the big hose on each side. Remove the clamp then twist the hose till you break the seal. These hoses will come off later when you lift the manifold off.

3). On the front of the engine there is a smaller hose coming from under the intake on the right side, running towards the coolant cap. Remove the clamp. That's all you want to do, no need trying to twist it off yet, its going to be the last hose you remove as the manifold is being lifted off, in the last step..

4).Moving on to the throttle cables. I remove the lock nuts on the cables on the right side of the manifold. The third cable, going to the left side of the manifold, doesn't need removal, photo above. Loosen the nut on the bracket that faces the firewall, while holding the opposite nut. Re-tighten the nut you loosened back onto the one you haven't turned after sliding the cable off the bracket.. IMPORTANT!! This is your adjustment point when you reinstall the cable. Always loosen and tighten the same nut when removing cables, and you'll never need to adjust the cable when reinstalling. Now slide the cable out of the guide at the end of the cable, there is a slot on the inside of this bracket to let the cable come off in next photo. Repeat for the other cable.

5). Move back to the left side of the car and find the EGR valve. It has a big metal tube connected to it. The tube goes over the valve cover to the exhaust pipe. The size is 1 3/8. I used an adjustable wrench, and it was tight.. Remove the 12mm bolts on the EGR valve next. TIP: removing the 12 mm boltsafter removing the 1-3/8 B-nut, gives you more leverage to loosen the B-nut. Don't lose the gasket .

6). Electric connectors are next. Two connectors by the opening on the intake, on the left side of the opening. Another connector on the back of the IAC valve, the connector going down to the oxygen sensor by the IAC valve. The connector from the vacuum switch on the left valve cover near the EGR valve.

7). Begin to remove the manifold bolts. Try not to drop them down into the engine. Start at the ends by left and right valve covers and work to the centers on the front and back runners.

8).Next go back to the IAC valve. Under it is a small vacuum hose that attaches to the fuel regulator. You cant see it unless you looking down from the top of engine, in the next photo. It slides right off. Then on the left side of engine, there is another small vacuum hose.. This is next to the Y-hose you removed the clamp for in the first step. Now grab the Y hose, try and slide it off. The manifold should pop up and off as you pull on it.

8). Begin to lift the manifold off and prop it up a couple inches above the engine. I use a 2x4 piece of wood resting on the valve cover. Now you can get to two more hoses, one next to the intake opening on the left and one next to the EGR on the right in the next photos. These two hoses have water in them, so the radiator needs to be drained enough to prevent the top of the engine being flooded. Remove the clamps and hoses. Here is a better shot with the manifold upside down, the rusty tube with the coolant.

10). Work the manifold up some more grabbing the Y- hose you loosened in the first step. As you lift the manifold off. the hose breaks free. Lift manifold up from the back until you clear the fuel regulator in the back, next two photo's.. Once the fuel regulator is cleared the manifold should come out towards the front. One more hose to remove. Remember the small one by the coolant cap it will twist off as you rotate the manifold up and off. Your Done!!ll. Installation I reverse the procedure. Im getting ready to roll the manifold over, connecting this hose to the 4 way connctor by the coolant cap next photo.My 1990 didnt come with metal retainers for all the intake seals. I held them in place with RTV until it dried, and carefully re-installed my manifold.

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Oct 19, 2008 - rack and pinion change

Last week I went on a trip to Ansel Adams Wilderness. I never been to the wilderness and wanted to make sure I didnt freeze, starve, or get eaten by a bear. My friend who llived there and knew the area well didn't want to go back. He said the place is crawling with people and bears, so I went it alone with my best friend. I I took along my backpack for the simple afternoon hike I had planned out. It had fruit, bread, and water. just the basic to stay light and energetic for the 14 mile hike round trip. I left my GPS in the car Starting out on the hike I decided to try a shortcut. I immediately got lost looking for the John Muir Trail. Lucky me I ran into some people who directed me back to the trail. They said they recognized me leaving the same campsite at the same time they left. Small towns. The road ended at the bottom of the entrance at 7000' in Devils Postpile NP. Here is the shot at the top of the road at 9000'. The mountains in the distance are the ones in the first shot while hiking the trail. This is the approximate location of the Steve Fossett crash site just recently discovered. What does this have to do with a rack and pinion? Not much, but I had problems steering the car after coming out of those wild bends. On the return trip if the steering wheel wasn't centered,I would do a 360 turn in the road to get it to correct itself. If I turned to the right the wheel corrected to the right and visus versa. Back to the replacement. My rack and pinon rubber bushing was worn out on the left side of the car. Here is a before and after of the bushing It allowed the rack to shift throwing off the alignment. Removal was straight forward, 4 bushing mount bolts and two power steering lines. Removing the smaller lower hose first allowed me to get a big adjustable wrench in the tight space for the one above it It was over 24mm in size and I didnt have that wrench. I discovered the secret of getting the rack and pinion out of the tight space between my frame and stabilizer bar. If You have the wheel turned all the way to the left this shortens the part of the rack on that side, then drop the stabilizer bar downout of the way. It sounds simple but it almost slides out unless you do this step. Another problem was the spiral cable. What is that you might ask? I still dont know but I figured out after reading all the caution stickers and warning its nothing to worry about as long as you dont let your two year old sit in the car and spin the steering wheel around endlessly when the coupling is disconnected from the rack. You ll break it if you do. I removed the steering wheel to be safe.

The secret to any rack and pinion install is to have equal left and right pistons rod extension before hooking up the steering wheel. I measured rack extension left and right but I was still off when I connected the steering wheel. Then I counted rotations of the steering wheel from left to right got it in the middle, removed steering wheel and reinstalled it centered.This makes sure the pistons inside the rack is at the center of travel when going straight down the road or it would be putting a constant strain on your power steering pump. I found a good hardware store with the copper washers that crush and seal the two hose connections.

In the spring I'll try and get back to the wilderness, and finish the hike to the crash site at 9600' in the Minarets. Clouds were rolling in and it was going to get a north wind,dropping temps into the teens . Here some pic's for the road!!

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Sep 28, 2008 - 1993 V6 Camry plug change.

I actually didnt change the plugs they are platinum. I removed them for some other maintenance, but the procedure is the same. My V6 is a little harder to change because of the access on the rear bank. I use a rubber 3/8 ID hose to hold the plug when inserting it down into the cylinder. I marked the back firewall with red paint as a reference to keep my extension straight on top of the plug as not to break the plug when removing and installing them. Once I get the plugs all in, I begin to tighten each one . For the rear bank I need all my extensions. The long one first then after it is down on top of the plug I connect the shorter two extensions, The socket for my plugs is a 5/8 size. This is a common socket size when the plug is installed inside the engine, versus ones that can be seen on the outside of the engine when installed. The wires go on next. On Toyota you cant get the firing order mixed up, because the wires only reach the proper cylinder. Here I line them up over the proper cylinder before placing them back on the installed spark plugs. Finally, a cover hides all the wires on the front bank of cylinders, and is secured with a 5mm allen head bolt. I tighten it finger tight, Success,car fired right up.