Rumesh88

Remove the plugs and see if the tips are covered with carbon and if there are oil deposits. If your rebuilding job is done in an acceptable manner you should not have any oil deposits but may have some carbon deposits. During the overhaul did you change the valve guides and plugs? How long did you use the car after the rebuild job? Some times even the new plugs may develop leaks fail prematurely.

Hi Dayanpad - I think we are not tuned to the same frequency. Take a picture of the distributor with the cup opened and post it. Then ask your doubts. This will save time.

You mean play of one mm when you hold the distributor housing and move the shaft either way with the distributor finger? That's normal. It is the first time I heard of a rusty distributor in a running car???.Is it the rust or the white powdery deposits on the finger. Can u upload a picture o your distributor.

Oops! I think I made a mistake in writing above comment paying attention only to "platinum point" part of the post and not realizing this may be a 2E engine with a electronic distributor. In this case please ignore my post and go with Don's advice.

Do you mean that there is a mechanical play in the shaft? Then of course you should follow Don's advise above. As I understand if you mechanic is able to adjust the contacts and make the car running "smoothly" every time then it looks more like you have a problem with the contact point mounting (Either the two screws or the base plate). If it is the base plate there is not much you can do other than replacing the whole thing. Also you say your mechanic adjusts the "timing". There are two things to set when you adjust a contact point ie timing and the dwell angle. Dwell angle is set by adjusting the contact gap (Usually to 0.5mm provided the haft is not worn out) and the timing either looking at the mark on the pulley or with a timing torch with the engine running. The other thing that can go wrong is the vacuum advance mechanism. Check if there is a vacuum leak. I have seen mechanics adjusting one thing to counter a problem in another thing (it's a general comment. Not meaning to downgrade your mechanic though).

It is common knowledge that these ventures are run with the blessing of people having a political clout. Hence, you can buy an assembled car and run without a problem at least for sometime. Unless the matter is resolved in a court of law (Remember the time of one former lady head of RMV trying to make the existing heavy vehicle licenses renewable but a court ruling reversing the decision), it is not wise to invest your hard-earned money on this type of vehicles. Political clout is temporary. Take a cue from what happened to a former Chief Minister of North-Central, former Chairman of a state bank and what is happening to his wife...... and the list can go on. You can do anything and get away as long a you have the influence but the moment you fall out you are in deep trouble.

Yes VVTi you are right with regard to FDI and BOI companies not necessarily being export oriented. Also I agree with Speedy on his concerns over the possible future tax issues. I am sure you all are aware that the Customs Ordinance is a draconian law and the imports with tax concessions under BOI regulations falls into the category of uncustomed goods. Hence even with a slight let off, SL Customs can intervene and apply their Ordinance to the letter. When that happens no one including the BOI would come to rescue you believe me. (During my career with a BOI company I came across such situations twice and the company ended up paying hefty fines for cases which, if challenged in a court of law, would have won in the company's favor. But situation does not always warrant such action). Customs can and will trace uncustomed goods and if found used or stored in a manner not complying with applicable regulations they have the power to seize such goods and impose a fine on who-so-ever who has the title.

Well, there is something that does not sound right here (or am I deaf?). What does the BOI has got to do with this? BOI was established to promote export oriented industries in SL (At least so the Act says). One can set up a factory to assemble vehicles under BOI and export after whatever the value addition. But if they sell the stuff locally, they should pay all the taxes which otherwise would have been paid to the Customs when importing the same item in the usual manner. In this case, there should not be much price difference between a locally assembled vehicle with imported parts and a vehicle imported as it is. When you come across something that does not fall in line with common logic you always get the feeling of a scam. When I read the posts in this forum, I felt that most of you are under the wrong impression that "since these vehicles are imported, assembled and sold by a BOI company it should be a legal deal and there should not be any hiccups". That's not the case. BOI, Customs and Finance Ministry are at logger heads although they are under the same minister. However, if this venture succeed that would be good news for those who are after the used or reconditioned car market like me.

Hi LancerL I happened to see this thread a bit late. If you are still on the subject I feel it is something to do with the clogged up emulsifying tubes or the high speed throttle opening up a bit prematurely. You can clean the emulsifying tubes easily if the are accessible from top and if you suspect the high speed throttle, lock the mechanical linkage preventing it from opening and run for a day or two without speeding up above 60kmph. Then check the plug deposits for improvement.

Is your engine GDI 4G9x type or any other? Check if you have any vacuum leaks between throttle and intake manifold. Also have a look at http://www.pajerio.com/forum/idle-problem

Did you get your PCV valve checked and cleaned? It is fairly easy to check if it is working for it is a one-way valve and if faulty does not cost much to replace (hope it is the plastic version with an L-bend).

Hi Guys Interesting to note your all your comments on this subject. I will add a few lines below just to summarize. 1. Adding HHO to air-fuel mixture will enhance it is burning properties but how it will reflect on the actual fuel consumption is questionable. 2. This will definitely not work on fuel injection engines with O2 sensors. 3. OEMs would not consider this type of design as a standard part even if it was known to improve mileage because they have already moved to fuel injection system offering optimized air-fuel mixture. Also it would be a nuisance for users to add water to another container in addition to what is an already long list of checking the radiator, wiper washer, engine oil, ATF, fuel, battery water etc etc, not to mention the associated risk of having a highly combustible in the air passage. (Having said that it reminds me of some people using domestic gas cylinder on the back of their cars. We are a proud nation of RISK TAKERS aren't we?). 4. This kind of experimenting is definitely not for fit-and-forget type white-collared vehicle owners. If you are one of those, forget it. However, if not for those who are are prepared for tinkering around and take the risk of experimenting, we would not have the chance of enjoying many of the so-called modern conveniences today. 5. Someone wanted to know where to plug the HHO gas. You can insert it at any point on the air passage preferably after the air-cleaner but before the carb. I had some experience tinkering with one the home-made HHO units on a Honda Civic which belonged to a friend of mine. Although there was a marked improvement in cylinder balance, particularly on idle, (I do not want to comment on the fuel savings for I could not have a first hand experience), I was only involved in tuning the engine and ended up with the impression that the efforts were not worth the results. Still I do not want to discourage those willing to experiment. FYI and comments, if any, please.

One thing I forgot was that the battery used for this type of repeated charge-discharge cycles should be of a special type NOT the regular vehicle types. You can use vehicle batteries but then the should not be discharged down to 70% or else you would be compromising its service life.

Hi Nishan Although the subject is not in line with this forum, I will give you the required information. Assuming you operate all lights for four hours each night and further five lamps for another two hours your to total energy consumption would be (20X12X4+20X5X2) 1160 watt-hours. A battery having a capacity of 12V 70AH can provide only a maximum of (12X70) 840 watt-hours under IDEAL conditions. As a rule of thumb you can go for a 70% discharge of the battery each night hence the available energy from one battery is (70%X840) 588 watt-hours. Assuming a conversion efficiency of 80% when you convert this to 240V you will end up with (588X80%) 470.4. Hence, working back on the same formula if you want to end up with 1160 WHs you need to keep in store at least (1160/0.7/0.8) 2071 WHs. Basically you need around 180AH battery of 12V or 90AH battery of 24V. My advice for you is to go for a 24V system but keep in mind that above calculation is only for the storage for ONE NIGHT! If you need more back up time you've got to increase the battery capacity. Then comes the question of solar panel. assuming you expect your 24V 180AH battery which is discharged by 70% charged back in ONE day of full sunshine (ie four hours from 10am to 2pm of full solar panel output, which is reasonable unless you have a motorized solar tracker in which case you can add another 3 hours or so, and a lot more investment!!!), you need a solar panel which can provide something like 30A at 24V. (I am using round figures here). Hence the regulator may have to handle something like 40A. However, you can bring down above figures if you intend to use this system only as a back up in the event of a power failure. The most important point of above explanation is to show you that it is not that easy to go for a total solar solution for a house that has been on CEB power all along unless you are prepared to invest a lot. However, if you can change your load, ie if you can change to 10watts CFLs instead of 20watts an reduce the number of bulbs etc... Good luck..

If I add to what Chan5 has explained, it is not totally a scam either. Those who advertise these products say they improve gas mileage by xx percentage (half truth) and on the sideline show that you can get "gas for free"(that's the scam). By adding a mixture of HHO as they claim (ie hydrogen and oxygen as separate gases) to the existing GAS (Gasoline) and air mixture one can improve on igniting the fuel mixture in an Internal Combustion Engine (ICE). This may work for some engines but not for all - definitely this will not show a significant change in fuel injection engines with O2 sensors. In most of the carburettor type engines one can expect an improvement in GAS mileage but whether that would be in the range 35% to 185% is questionable. My point here is it not totally a scam and neither the whole truth. Please go by the principle of "caveat emptor". However, if you have a vehicle which is a gas guzzler it is worth giving a try!

Hi Nishan I would be in a position to help you with your project but the details that you have given here do not reveal the whole story. For a system of this nature there are four main items. 1. Power source (Your solar panel. You can decide the capacity later based on the insights I would provide) 2. Storage device ( Your battery. You need to decide its voltage and capacity based on other items in this list) 3. Your load (You do not say anything on this in your post) 4. Regulator (This is to be decided based on the three items above and your intended usage) As a person having long experience in the subject I would be willing to give you much needed advice but please let me have a clear picture on your intended load and the usage.

Thank you guys for your thoughts on my predicament. However, I found my point well endorsed by none other than the OEM. Please refer to the following excerpt from Toyota maintenance manual which explains the belt tightening procedure and the correct method to prevent damage to the OCV.

Tensioner pulleys are not fitted in all engines. Of course if you have one it is handy.

Thank you for the comments. It is not practical for me to stay at a service point for a few hours and that is why I opt for a place known to me. My point is that almost all the mechanics use a lever to tighten the belt. This the most common method. In the particular engine this particular connector is located very close to alternator body, even with a slight mistake o the mechanic you may end up with a broken connector. You will understand my point if you take a good look at the process of removing and tightening a fan belt of a 121 engine when the mechanics are doing it. By the way, is there any other method other than using a lever to tighten the fan belt? Appreciate a comment from an experienced mechanic.

I had a nasty experience when I took my Corolla 121 to service my AC. I thought of sharing it with everyone to save others going through the same trouble. The AC job was neatly done by the mechanics when I went to collect the vehicle after a few hours but the owner told me that when they removed the fan belt they found the VVTi connector broken but they fixed and to drive and check if it is OK. When driving back home after a while I got CHECK ENGINE indication. When I checked the VVTi solenoid connector the following day I found that it was broken and fixed back with some kind of adhesive. I was absolutely positive that the connector was intact when I took it to the AC service point. However, since I did not have a proof and also because the owner of the AC service was a freind of mine I did not took up the matter any further with them. However, when I removed the VVTi solenoid which is mounted just above and very close to the alternator I found that the connector was forcibly broken by applying an external force. This can only happen if an inexperienced mechanic tries to use a some kind of lever on the alternator to tension the fan belt. If the lever (They usually use a large screwdriver or a pipe) slips and touch VVTi solenoid connector, that would be the end of it. Usually at most places fan belt replacement or re-tightening is done by an apprentice who is unaware of these details. It costed me over Rs. 10,000.00 replace the VVTi solenoid. Hence please beware when you allow someone in a garage to allow meddling with your fan belt on a Corolla121 or similar engines. Please comment if this has already happened to you.