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Mark B

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Everything posted by Mark B

  1. Thanks Xanadu. I thought others must have experienced this issue, particularly those who like me drive few miles each year. I'll have a go at that and hopefully it'll clean up the parking brake surfaces. I'm about to put it in the garage for the winter months, probably at the end of this month after road tax SORN (sooner if the weather gets colder and the salt grit spreaders are deployed) so I'll go through that handbrake process a couple of times before then and another couple of times in March when it comes back out of hibernation. If I get positive results I might repeat the process once a month. You say you have done this in the past. What do you do now to prevent this rust build up issue from recurring in your car? Thanks for you help. Mark.
  2. Hello. Just wondering if others have an issue with rust build up in parking brake drums inside rear discs? I do less than 2k miles a year on average in my Celica gen 6 GT and during the winter months and mostly during the summer I keep it in the garage with the handbrake released. The brakes aren't seizing but there is some dragging noise and slight vibration coming from them. A little bit more dragging noise and vibration than I would like, especially when driving round a corner and even more especially if I have some weighty objects in the boot and I drive round a corner. My mechanic is happy that the wheel bearings and brake callipers are healthy. The rear discs were replaced about 8 years ago (11k miles). We believe the noise and vibration is being caused by the parking brake. Any thoughts on how I can keep the level of rust down during my limited use of the car without having to strip down and clean out the rear brakes? I read a post which mentioned a parking brake shoe bedding in process whereby the parking brake is applied to a small degree while driving at 30mph for 1/4 mile. Maybe this would be a suitable method of preventing the build up of rust on the drum - shoe contact surfaces? Perhaps on a monthly frequency? Thoughts and suggestions most welcome. Thanks. Mark.
  3. Had a pretty horrible end of year 2021 due to both my beautiful 14 year old Cocker Spaniel dogs reaching the end of their life. 10 days apart. It seems the second one couldn't survive without her sister. Had them since they were 8 weeks old. Lots of great memories. Winter and general coldness and wetness put me off doing things on the Celica and I couldn't be bothered moving another car out the way to get it out. Did one job during the winter though. Noticed the rear wiper motor stopped working. Check power supply to it. All fine. Got a replacement wiper motor from Ebay. Working fine now. Anyway, things are improving. Gradually getting used to not having my dogs around and nice warm weather starting to come through now and then. Had a fantastic day at the Anglesey Vintage Rally last weekend. Steam engines and classic cars galore. Lovely warm sunny weather. Had a great time. There was a stunning yellow Celica ST Gen 1 there. I didn't see anyone around it to chat to though unfortunately.

    I don't mind having a go at some jobs on the Celica but there are limits. It has been holding back and a bit jerky when driving (perfect on idle) since I got it 7 years ago but generally tolerable. A few years back I replaced spark plugs, HT leads, adjusted timing slightly, cleaned out throttle body, EGR etc but no improvement. Suspected fuel injectors.  Tried fuel injector cleaner.  No difference. I have always used premium 97-99 RON fuel but I don't think the previous owners did. So I decided I needed to replace the fuel injectors. No new genuine OEM injectors available anywhere. Managed to get the part number off the old injectors without dismantling bits of engine to get to them (nuisance). Part number: 23250-74160. Phoned Toyota main dealer expecting "computer says no" kind of response. Yep, that was more or less the response however they did tell me they had a different part number: 23209-74160 mmm oh well I thought I would stick with the part number from the ones in the car as I have a lot of service records from the previous and first owner and there's no mention of the injectors being replaced. So, TCB to the rescue. Phoned them up. Used (known good ones) in stock and a new set of seals. I've had the new injectors sitting in a box for a while now never actually managing to get a anywhere near the engine bay. Couple of weeks ago... took the Celica out of the garage. Spotted a small damp patch on the floor. mmm translucent, oily (not rain water), about where the middle of the car would have been in the garage between the back wheels. Yep you've guessed it... brake fluid. Checked the reservoir. Yes indeed, it has lost some fluid. Probably a rusted pipe. A job I wouldn't get into. So booked it in to my mechanic to fix / replace the brake pipe and decided to get him to do the fuel injectors while he's at it. Rocker cover leaking engine oil into one of the spark plug tubes too so he replaced the rocker cover gasket at the same time. He also mentioned the cam belt has a groove on it otherwise the belt looks OK so he recommended replacing that soon although not urgently. Cam belt was replaced probably getting on for 10 years ago, about 14k miles ago. So will get the cam belt kit done when it goes for its MoT in a couple of months time.  Not sure whether or not to do the water pump as I've recently replaced the coolant with the Super Long Life stuff.

    So, back to the fuel injectors... took it for a drive after collecting it from my mechanic the other day... any better? Oh yes. Massive difference.  Much smoother when driving now. I only went a few miles so need to take it out for a few more drives and maybe some longer drives. Next job? I have a new rear number plate to fit before the next MoT. The current plate is the original and the orange reflective layer is fading. Thinking of getting a black mounting backing plate for the new number plate though. I'll keep the original number plate for future enthusiasm. Get the wheels refurbished I think, or maybe change the stereo. It have the original Toyota stereo in it at the moment (which I'll also keep for future enthusiasm) but unfortunately that stopped working at some point during the past year. Been driving about with my phone sitting on the centre console playing music / BBC Sounds or probably more typically no music at all, just the pure sounds of the car and engine doing their thing. Really must give it a wash soon too.  Not particularly dirty, just looking a bit dull. A good wash and chamois and probably some polish coming soon.

  4. Yep. New thermostat looks good.

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  5. Coolant bottle cleaning. After soaking it in white spirit overnight, rinsed it out. Put sharp sand in and did a whole load of shaking. Found some 10mm gravel and added that in and spent a long time shaking. Then shaking some more. Emptied it out. Rinsed it out with the hose then put the sand and gravel back in. More shaking. Think I might make a good cocktail shaker! Arms wrecked though. Emptied it out again. Rinsed it out with the hose again. Washed it out with hot water and washing up liquid then left it to soak overnight with fresh washing up liquid and hot water. Rinsed it out again this evening. What a transformation. Couple of very small areas I just couldn't get clean but a massive improvement. Almost 100%. And I'll be able to see the coolant level through the bottle. Yay! Ready to go back in the car. Super long life coolant has arrived. New Thermostat has arrived too although I haven't opened the box yet. Hope its the right size. I got a couple of new hose clips too. Not sure when I'll put it back together. Might be the weekend.

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  6. So I've dropped the old coolant, if that's what you want to call it. Not sure it was doing much cooling by the state of it. Nasty shade of very dark brown. Full of rusty bits. Removed the thermostat (that's seen better days) and refitted the housing before flushing the system with the hose. Flushed the rad too. Both passing clean water now. Then remembered I needed to turn the temperature control in the centre console to hot. So, got the hose back out again... and flushed the engine again. No dirty water coming out. I'll flush it again before I put it all back together. Thinking I might do it again in a year's time. Maybe add some system cleaner first. Now I've got the old thermostat out I can make sure I get the correct replacement. Also going to get a new clip for the bottom rad hose. Looking quite rusted. The others all look fine. Removed the coolant reservoir and gave it a rinse out. Pretty nasty in there. I've put some white spirit in it and left it to soak. See how that goes. Not really expecting much Improvement though. Wondering if Killrock might clean it. Supposed to be safe on plastics. Next bash at it at the weekend, assuming I can get the new thermostat, clip and coolant.

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    1. Old Red Celica

      Old Red Celica

      Fill the coolant bottle with rice/sand and use that to scrub the inside of the coolant tank, then rinse thoroughly. Kettle de-scaler also works (rinse and rinse again).

       

       

       

      Refill using Toyota Super Long Life coolant.

    2. Mark B

      Mark B

      Fab. Thanks very much for the tip.

    3. Mark B

      Mark B

      Toyota Super Long Life coolant ordered. Hopefully be delivered tomorrow so I can use it at the weekend. Yeah the Killrock stuff I mentioned is a kettle de-scaler. Works well on the kettle. I'll give the sand a try first though. I have some sharp sand.

      Note to self - stop faffing with Celica stuff and get some work done...:)

  7. Celica back on the road. Living the dream again? Erm well sort of. I can feel that under-lying Celica-ness while driving. Haven't felt that in a few years. Its good to be back! But... needs a few jobs doing to it, probably in part due it being off the road for the past four years but mainly just due to age. Welding all done at least and passed the MoT. Apparently there are some cavities near the suspension mount that fill up with water. There's a cap on the bottom to stop muck getting in but its also stopping water getting out. Mechanic temporarily removed the cap from the near side that doesn't need welding and about a litre of water came out. So this was the cause of the problem on the off-side. So some holes in that cap now to let the water out.

    Anyone have any ideas why its filling up with water in the first place? Might there be a blocked drain somewhere? Any ideas where?

    I suppose I should get it wax oiled.

    Ok so the first job: coolant change. What type of coolant does it need? What quantity? And are there any bleed valves I need to use or do I just use the standard process for changing the coolant?

    I want to fully flush it out though too so I'll probably need to get a thermostat gasket so I can do that properly. Also, you can't see through the sides of the coolant tank so it's difficult to judge the quantity of coolant in the tank. Currently guessing by the amount of moisture on the drop hose in the tank filler neck. I wonder if it might be possible to remove the tank and clean it out? If not I might look for a new one.

    Finally joined the club as a full member.

    I'm guessing this is the best place in the Celica Club site to post my updates.

  8. Ok. Just had my 48th birthday and decided it's time to get the Celica sorted out and back on the road (hopefully).

    The ball is rolling!! Celica booked in to get the welding done and then get it through the MoT. Fingers crossed it doesn't need a lot of work to pass the test. I think my only worry is the brakes as they haven't been used for nearly four years although it has been kept in my garage with the occasional venture to just outside the garage for an engine start and warm up. Will the caliper pistons be seized?

    There isn't much fuel in the tank so I'm hoping that means I won't have to drain it out. Thinking to add 5 litres of fresh petrol from a jerry can before I start it, just to dilute any old fuel in the tank. I have been starting it from time to time anyway and letting it warm right up so the fan cuts in and out several times although not for the past 6 months or so. Had no starting or running issues whatsoever when I started it last around Christmas time 2020. I did add a couple of litres of petrol about a year ago (I think) so maybe that will have helped dilute and use up older fuel since then. Getting excited now to get my baby back on the road and out for a nice cruise. Might be quite a quiet cruise as I've noticed the original Toyota stereo has stopped working.  Mmm strange. Well I'll enjoy listening to the engine instead. So tomorrow evening after work get the cover off, tyre pressures topped up, oil and coolant checked, 5 litres of petrol added and out of the garage for a final check before it goes for welding and MoT.

     

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