hohocc

1 hour ago, HighLUX said:

Bets are the 02 sensor or ECU coolant temp sensor are cooked so its just dumping im fuel as a failsafe 

1 hour ago, chris r said:

could be coolant temp sensor (2 wire) being cooked  - try unplugging it and see if it changes things

(edit beaten my Mr lux)

Thanks for the leads...

Checking the codes as mentioned gave no results. However didn't know how to do it previously so have learned something...

Unplugging the water temp sensor made the fan go, it started ok and idled a little slow, bogged when touching the accelerator. Engine was pretty cold so given ecu appeared to think it was hot it seems it needed a richer mixture on a cold engine. Plugging it back in started and ran normally. 

Stepdaughter has been complaining lately about her Starlet/4efe occasionally feeling like "the brakes are coming on", so naturally assumed misfire, looked at plugs which were a bit sad so replaced them. Started and ran fine afterwards so job jobbed... Not...

Anyway now it's started to not start quite frequently. Seems to be getting very rich, so when/if it does start it takes full throttle/maximum air to get it to fire then eventually clears itself and settles down. Sometimes it won't start at all. 

Got it started earlier today and left it idling for 20 min or so. After about 10 min heard it slow down and stumble (trying to run on 3ish?) then pick up again about a minute later. 

So clearly fuel air and ignition are working when it's running, but something is getting mucked up from time to time. Have read of leaking injectors flooding the intake on small Toyotas so not starting if parked for lots of hours but starting ok if they have been running recently. On that point it just started normally perhaps 15 min after it was last running.

Stepdaughter is very fond of running on fumes so the possibility of muck getting into fuel system is high.

Aside from pulling the plugs out a couple of times have not done any dismantling to check anything.

Any ideas beyond dirty/leaking injectors?

Thanks in advance! 

10 hours ago, kicker said:

Is it wrong that I wanted the jack to collapse?

Has she measured how much it's actually using? 

My stepdaughter had a similar complaint with her Starlet from a similar era recently. Trying to explain to her how to fill the thing up, then note how many km it goes and how many litres it took when she next filled it was excruciating. She hasn't done it, but has stopped talking about the amount of fuel it uses. 

1 hour ago, ThePog said:

HBI engineering in chch, they did the suspension arms on my Fiat X1/9, and rejigged a ball joint on the Dynafari, mint both times. 

Any recollection of price? Thanks for the info.

1 hour ago, tortron said:

suzuki sidekick in the USA isnt it. Rockauto has your parts ranging from $16 to $60 nzd

Yep have found the required bits on rockauto but given they are heavy and therefore expensive to ship thought I'd look at the recon option since it's probably a higher likelihood of a good part. Well that's my theory anyway! 

My old Suzuki Escudo needs the front lower control arms to have a birthday. 

Anybody got any experience with having suspension parts reconditioned rather than replacing? Replacements would probably be chinese and a lottery, getting the originals reconned makes more sense but I've got no idea if reconditioning is a patch up type job or a really good result.  Naturally company websites offering the service claim it to be as good as new. 

Any recommendations for practitioners of the art in Chch would be good too.

Cheers.

It was Independant Signs Ltd, in Jones Road Rolleston. Very helpful.

8 hours ago, Bling said:

Not sure they do retail on site anymore? I had to get my metal delivered out.

I have a section of 3mm (could be 2.5 at worst) somewhere in the shed, depending on what dimensions you are making the tank.

Thanks for the offer but found a local sign making business that sold me some 3mm and did the cutting and bending based on a cardboard mockup of the tank. Probably get it welded up this week and car back on the road!

Cheers for the advice folks.

Gidday all,

Need to make a coolant expansion tank from aluminium. Rough estimate is about 1.5 square feet/0.2 sq metre of material required so buying a whole sheet will produce a bunch of waste that I won't have a use for in the near future.

Has anybody got any good leads on a scrap bin in Christchurch that might be worth checking, or a supplier that will sell smaller bits? Sounds like 3mm thickness is the way to go but given it's replacing a tank made from milk bottle plastic I can't see that being too critical.

Cheers in advance.

It would be most appropriate if you got a pic of your xjs parked across multiple hairdresser car sorry ev charging point parks. 

Lots of good leads there, thanks for all of them!

Thanks for the info, much appreciated. Will try bnt for the right thing and failing that go j30r9. 

Cheers.

I'm replacing the coolant lines on a Suzuki Escudo V6, most of them (bar the radiator hoses) are half inch/12mm so no problem getting hose by the metre in that size.

However the first 2 parts of the engine that were assembled (OK not quite but they are pretty well hidden) are 2 short lengths of coolant/heater hose that are quarter inch...

Any leads on where to get some? Repco and Butler Automart say to use fuel hose but I'd rather keep that to plan B and try to find the right stuff. Given they sit in the middle of the V under a lot of stuff it must get pretty hot in there and I don't want to have to redo the job every couple of years as a precaution if I use fuel hose. 

Thanks.

Thanks for the leads folks, much appreciated.

Crash- thanks for the EJ20 offer, at this stage the owner of the engine wants to stick with it, if it's a disaster when we get it apart will consider other options!

Ranter- hadn't heard that about them normally going soft, will get it checked, cheers.

Have got a wee project coming up to do some head gaskets on a Subaru EJ25 (DOHC). The heads needing planing appears to be a certainty.

Any recommendations on where to get it done in Christchurch, or possibly Ashburton (or in between)? Any idea what the rough going rate is?

Thanks in advance!

Gabriel M55999 front struts for Corollas of roughly this vintage are $12.17 NZ on Rockauto at the moment. Sure there's some freight and Jacinda tax to pay but that's not a bad starting point. If they only last a couple of years she will probably have bought something else by then anyway.

Thanks folks, lots of good options here. 

Turns out I've got a spare distributor so will be able to convert that with the Stealth kit and still have the original as a spare. Like the idea of the new accuspark but am trying to keep the spending on a shortish leash. 

Appreciate all the info provided, cheers. 

Sounds like the 25d4 was used in about everything british in the 70s with 4 cylinders. There's talk on an oz mini forum of a couple of Nissan options which sound of interest: http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1498

As mentioned above I could just put some new points in (may even have a couple of sets laying around), or lose the points in the current distributor, or get a new reproduction that's electronic. Or find the French alternative which is one that came out of left field a bit, will do some googling on that.

Am still keen to find out about Japanese off the shelf (or more or less) bits that might do the job. Have had the car since new and the electric bits have always been fair to average at best, a few incremental improvements to ignition, starter and perhaps the alternator would go a long way in making it more usable. When I stopped using it as a daily about 9 years ago it had a bigger battery (550cca vs the original 300) and a water heater in the bottom radiator hose which made winters much more bearable. Really like the old thing but some improvement in practicality would be great.

Way back in this thread:

There was mention of a Mitsi Lancer electronic distributor fitting a Billy Bunter/Minx engine, the words suggesting later Hunters had them from new, but no detail was forthcoming. A Nissan Bluebird CA20 dizzy was also mentioned but that sounded less bolt on-ish.

After extensive factfinding on wikipedia (yep that may be a contradiction) it would appear Lancers in NZ in the early 80s had a 4g32 up front. Is anybody out there able to fill in the gaps and confirm or deny if the 4g32 dizzy is Hunter compatible?

I've got a 72 Hunter and it's about time I got it roadworthy again, if there's an easy cheap bolt on alternative out there for the Lucas distributor I'm keen to find out about it. Japanese ignition from the 80s was clearly worlds apart from British 60s/70s. 

And assuming it's a goer, has anybody got a dead 4g32 they are parting out?

Cheers.

23 hours ago, shizzl said:

you are correct...it even has the Dulon sticker on the engine bay stating such fact...

so thats a factory colour obviously

Yep the paint code on the makers plate will be DC.

Any true Hunter Barry would know the colour is not green, but "Deep Chartreuse"...

At least it is on mine, which is not quite so tidy.

I've used molasses a bit and also citric acid. Personally prefer the citric acid as if you mix it a bit weak it's easy to add a bit extra and it's dirt cheap. If you mix molasses too weak it's harder to mix more in as it's pretty gluggy.

Citric acid is probably cheaper as it's lighter when transported to the seller, get it from Bin Inn. Molasses from stock feed places.

Another option I've not tried is using a battery charger, think it's electrolytic rust removal if you're looking on youtube.

Cheers, thanks for the info.

Next issue is the car is in Westport, which has no AA/VTNZ... Must be a local agency so will sort that with the seller.