just a few KE corolla related questions.

**PRPL55** · 08-11-2006, 09:12 PM

Ok here goes..

Sorry in advance for the long post!

First time poster, Long time reader, ive been coming here for a while to gather information and decide on choices for a first car, and in the end this site helped alot with my final choice.

Behold...My Purple ke55..so i bought the '55 off a guy on the beaches in sydney, who said he'd only had it for a few weeks and was moving overseas on business, he was a middle aged guy and didnt know too much about it, but from what i saw i liked it, he also told me that the guy who had previously owned it had a larger engine in it, but chose to remove it and return it to stock, and thats when he picked it up. So anyway, i bought it off him, got it regregistered a few months later when it was due and continued to drive it.

One night when i was driving i seemed to lose all power, the car still seemed to be on, but the accelerator did nothing, until finally it turned off, luckily it was late at night and i just turned off into a side street, where i tried to start again, but...with no luck, gave up and went home. then a few days later went back to check on it and tried again, but still, nothing. So anyway, we got it back to my house where it's sat, dormant for a few months now and i cant bare look at it any longer, my mate and I with modertate mechanical knowledge decided to check the head gasket this afternoon but havent managed to remove the head yet, we'll be continuing in the next few days.

Anyway, my questions are, do you guys think that the head gasket could be the problem? and is it worth fixing, or is it time to toss out the old engine? this brings me to my next point, ive got my eye on another corolla of the same model and year that i've spotted, but its apparently set up for race only, it has a race seat, 2ltr celica engine and 5 speed gearbox all installed, as well as front brakes and suspension upgraded, if i were to purchase this car, how hard would it be to remove these items from the transplant car and get them into mine? would it be a straight forward job?

Sorry about the long post again!

Thanks for taking the time to read, i look forward to all responses and if you have any questions dont hesitate to ask, i'll do my best to answer as quickly as i can, as well as to the best of my knowledge.

Thanks again,

PRPL55 (Nathan) .

**oldcorollas** · 08-11-2006, 10:42 PM

sound slike you either lost fuel (ran out of fuel? jets in the carby blocked?), or, you lost spark (possible, but.. you can check by cranking it over, and pulling off a plug lead and seeing if there is a spark jumping (only if the metal part of the lead is 10-15mm away from the plug or the block)

**twentyEight** · 09-11-2006, 08:29 AM

I'd second the fuel or spark... (Could be as simple as a fuel pump)

I wouldn't be jumping the gun and replacing the head gasket! Does it have any symptons of a blown head gasket?

**slapper** · 09-11-2006, 09:56 AM

it does seem (from the info you've provided) that hoicking the head off might be just a tad premature!
Usually a blown head-gasket will creep up on you rather than just shut the engine down all of a sudden - much more likely to be a fuel/spark thing ... followed by the obvious timing etc etc head gasket is way down on the list of broken things to look for - unless you were seeing blown headgasket symptoms that you haven't mentioned (overheating, creamed oil under oil filler or on dipstick, bubbles in radiator, excess water dribbling from exhaust blah blah).

Your engine/stuff transplant ideas are not likely to be a great path to head in unless you knwow a bit more than you (forgive me if I'm wrong) seem to ... Dropping a 2 litre engine into a car that came factory with a 1300 (or is it the 3K for KE55?) is not likely to be legal without extra work - and may even require engineering, which will cost you. You may also discover that the engine, tuned for racing as it probably is, will be a dog to drive on the street and may not have enough of the requisite emission controls to actually be "engineerable" - without considerable extra work.

I know that in SA (where I is at), a 2 litre into a KE55 requires an engineer's report - which is going to require bigger brakes and maybe some work to address the emissions concerns. Maybe someone from NSW can give you a better idea, but I doubt whether the news will be better than I bring!

chairs,
Slapper

**Mr_Toyota** · 09-11-2006, 02:20 PM

sounds like something wrong in the spark/ fuel area as the other guys have pointed out...also check the points, i lost all power in my old KE30, the points had completely burnt out and couldnt send any spark..

on a side note whats the celica 2lt motor?.
i know there is the 1.6 2T engine, and the 1.8 3T right?..

And slapper, KE55's came with the 4K, 3k's were stoped in the KE30 as far as i know.

**twentyEight** · 09-11-2006, 02:23 PM

Originally Posted by Mr_Toyota

on a side note whats the celica 2lt motor?

18R or 18R-G, and their variations...

EDIT: Hang on, your profile says that you have an 18R-C in your Hilux... I'm surprised you weren't aware that these were a 2 litre engine!

**Mr_Toyota** · 09-11-2006, 02:36 PM

ahhh whoops, forgot about the 18RG...(which no one seems to have one near me!!)

and have never seen one in a corolla before...sorta slipped pass my mind i guess...
Only really seen 2t and 3t's, 2TG's and 4AGE's in rolla's down in tassy here!!...

**slapper** · 09-11-2006, 03:48 PM

Originally Posted by Mr_Toyota

And slapper, KE55's came with the 4K, 3k's were stoped in the KE30 as far as i know.

thanks man ... couldn't remember just when we switched to the 4K ...
I know the KE3Xs came with the 3K, and I know the KE70s were super-enhanced with 1300 cc of raw power, and .. blah blah ... can't remember ... ... ow!
in fact ... I should have known that ... I drove what must have been a KE5X wagon in ooh ... late 1983 or so ... that had the "Hi-Cam" badge (went like a veritable shower of shit too!)

oops ... showing my age now - back to work you swine,
Slapper

**oldcorollas** · 09-11-2006, 03:50 PM

KE55 is a KE30 with a 4K

**Vios-GT_07** · 09-11-2006, 04:10 PM

1. if ur mate has moderate technical knowledge, and straigth away wants to pull out the head, don't let him near the car

i learnt this the hard way

2. did you run out of fuel perhaps?? could be your gauge is faulty coz u said u just bought it not too long ago..

and yeh.. air, fuel, spark.. that's all u need to go.. if it cranks it's got ignition so that's all good.. pull out one spark plug and see if it's firing..if it's not then u got a sparking problem.. most common would be the coils, then distributor rotor, contact points, condensor, and leads.. if it is, then yeh u've got a fuel problem.. narrowed down to the carbie..

profit ???????

good luck with your 55 mate they're good solid cars...

**Mr_Toyota** · 09-11-2006, 04:48 PM

No worries slapper,

Old corolla's,

There is a few difference's in the 55 to the 30...
mainly cosmetic stuff...IE bumpers, grill, bonnet ect....
and interior a "bit" more classy...though i prefer the KE30 dash...

Vios GT 07 could be right on the fuel gauge problem...how many times i ran out of fuel cause of a dikky gauge is not funny..., !!

**oldcorollas** · 09-11-2006, 04:52 PM

Originally Posted by Mr_Toyota

There is a few difference's in the 55 to the 30...
mainly cosmetic stuff...IE bumpers, grill, bonnet ect....
and interior a "bit" more classy...though i prefer the KE30 dash...

i know

but it's still just a tarted up KE30

(and 5 speed option that wasn't a T series

)

**Mr_Toyota** · 09-11-2006, 04:59 PM

haha, tarted up KE30....good call!!

also, just re read the first post,
usally a blown head gasket send the temp right up, will use more oil and water...
white mucky stuff under the oil cap, and oil bubles in the radiator...

thats what ive found with my last blown headgasket...though it looked like a aero bar under the rocker cover!!

**Hurricane** · 09-11-2006, 09:19 PM

Originally Posted by Mr_Toyota

sounds like something wrong in the spark/ fuel area as the other guys have pointed out...also check the points, i lost all power in my old KE30, the points had completely burnt out and couldnt send any spark..

on a side note whats the celica 2lt motor?.
i know there is the 1.6 2T engine, and the 1.8 3T right?..

And slapper, KE55's came with the 4K, 3k's were stoped in the KE30 as far as i know.

you can make a 2lt t motor buy ether puting the 3t crank in the 2t block and boring it to a 89mm bore or just boring the 3t to that. the T motor really jusy bolt in almost its easy as, and you can just get the car regoed first and then drop the motor in but it will not be legal like mine

but the cops never pick it

**slapper** · 09-11-2006, 09:48 PM

Originally Posted by Hurricane

and you can just get the car regoed first and then drop the motor in but it will not be legal like mine

but the cops never pick it

it's not the cops you have to worry about ...
it's when you have a stack and rear-end a car ... and your insurance is voided because they discover you've got a bigger displacement engine than you told them.

and the car you hit was a new commodore ... totalled .... oops, you owe the insurance company $40k

really .. is it worth the risk just to get a few more cubes under the lid?

when I hit the back of a car with my leg ... on my uninsured bike ... it cost me $2500 I'd rather have spent on something else. It was 'round about then that I decided that no insurance (or any excuse for an insurance company to deny my claim) was a really bad idea.

It's probably not a good idea hopping on a public newsgroup and declaring that your car is illegal either