Hi everyone!
I've just bought a 'G' reg Town Ace (about a month ago now) and fortunately for me I had not read about what the turbo lights on the dash should do; in fact I didn't even see them when I road tested it!! I read about them, on this site...very good indeed...., and then realised that I had some and they weren't working; but came on with ign. I get a 'farting' exhaust..ish sort of noise under mid to hard accelleration and thought that it was probably linked to the turbo when I bought it but because of it's incredibly good bodywork condition I bought it; because I thought it would be worth spending money on the mechanics because the body will last.
Anyway, after snooping around at home it looked like it had had a replacement turbo onnit at some time...and a head - which looks freshly black to the rest of the engine. My neighbour was over one day swooning over it and I showed him the engine compartment. Whilst we were looking I noticed a vacuum pipe off that was linked to a diaphragm housing on the top of the injector pump. I connected it back up and Hey Presto, my turbo lights work perfect now!
That leaves me with the farting noise, which, after reading this site, makes me think it could be that manifold leak everyone seems to have problems with?? Wodderyerfink?
and
I get black smoke! I've never had a diesel before so I'm a bit in the dark here. I changed the oil and filter (air/fuel filters had been done for the MOT before I got it...9 months left) which seemed to be very sludgy. I've put in some Wynns fuel additive and that seemed to make a difference. We've just been on a grand holiday and I've worked out I'm getting around 26-29MPG and thats varied driving, gentle accelleration wherever poss and using the air cond quite a bit so I know that it can't be that bad; but, now the additive has gone through I've noticed more smoke again. Under middle to hard accelleration I can see it in daylight in my rear view mirror. If I floor it accellerating out of a roundabout up an incline there is a big black cloud behind me that gets less as it starts to get a bite.....But it does seem to be alot.
Any ideas on what I ought to check out first to cure this, or at least reduce it as much as possible....Could the exhaust noise be effecting it? By the way, breathers are all ok - not a spot of oil anywhere underneath it.
Other than that I love it. I like the way people look at it in a car park and you know they wish they had one. I've had a Spacecruiser before and loved that, but this is so much better. My compliments on such a good site, it's helped me quite a bit already. I hope I can put in my twopenneth and help some others too. I've not read up onnit yet but my Spacecruiser cab heater was not very warm and this seems to be the same....Is that another little trouble thing with them?
Thanks in advance, Stewart
- (#9853) Stewart, 11 Aug 03 2:27
Have a look at the exhaust back box on the engine side (not the exhaust pipe side) you'll possibly find that either the pipe has come completely detached or is on it's way out. It may not be immediatly visable from just a quick glance so you'll have to get under the vehicle with a torch and have a good look. BTW I managed to get a new exhaust for £160 trade and fit it myself but You'll probably have to pay £200 plus to get the exhaust from Toyota (don't forget to order the gasket as well) and pay fitting extra unles you DIY, but bear in mind the flange bolts may not come undone very easily I had to heat mine with an oxy acetylene torch to free them.
- (#10177) Martin King, 11 Aug 03 6:26
When I got my hiace the heater was rubbish - simple reason was probably little/no water in it. The pick up tube in the expansion tank was not connected so coolant was not returning to the system on cool down. Took over 1/2 pint in the pressure cap. Keep your eye on that cooling system esp. in the early days
- (#10178) chris turner, 11 Aug 03 11:22
Thanks Chris, I've checked that and it seems to be ok. I don't get any overheating problems and the expansion tank has water in it when it's cold. When I take the rad cap off it is full too, so that seems to be working ok. If anything it seems to run cold sometimes, so I may have a thermostat problem?
Should the heater be "GOOD" or just 'warm' enough to stop you feeling too cold in winter.....Because my Spacecruiser was poor I don't know what to expect!
Stewart
- (#10291) Stewart, 18 Aug 03 6:42
Thanks Martin, I'm gonna get under there as soon as I can and check it. Too busy painting the house at the moment!! Cheers.
- (#10292) Stewart, 18 Aug 03 6:46
Stewart - mines a hiace which has a 88c stat and the heater is nice and toasty on the coldest of days.
Think your townace runs on a 82c stat - if your stat is old it may be overcooling slightly as older worn stats can open early. It is possible that a new 82c stat will see a higher running temp. When I renewed mine it ran 4c higher. Basically though, the coolant running through the heater matrix should be the same temp as that circulating round the engine.
Is the rear heater as hot as the front one? You could also check to ensure the heater control is fully opening the valve to the heater.
If you do put a new Toyota stat in you may as well flush the system through thoroughly, to remove any silt etc. that may be in the system
- (#10293) chris turner, 18 Aug 03 8:43
Chris, How can you be so accurate about the 4c bit....Have you fitted the other type guage that I've read about on some of the posts on this site? I've only had my Townie a few weeks so I'm trying to take in all the information at once!! If you have a guage that gives such an accurate reading I suppose I'd be best to fit that first to see what I'm really running at; then change the stat if neccesary and see what the result is.
- (#10294) Stewart, 18 Aug 03 18:34
I used a 'Clarke' multimeter (CDM45 around £35 uk from Machine Mart)which has a temp probe. Put the end around the temp sensor thread, smear of silicone to insulate and cable tie to secure. Wire comes under engine cover to multimeter in cab.
This was reliable for some time but if you try such a method be sure to calibrate in boiling water at 100c.
Mine gradually started to give higher readings (over some months)which gave me quite a few grey hairs worrying and prevented me using the bus on long journeys and fully enjoying it.
This may not be due to equipment as my young son kicked it off the dash quite a few times.
Now that I have discovered the fault I can recalibrate whenever.(on mine its the middle bottom preset screw once the case is opened). It now drives happily around 90c.
I think this is a good method of temporarily checking things as you can use the meter for other things also but I must emphasise that you will need to check the calibration periodically. I have a spare probe so don't need to disconnect the one on the block to do this - if you go this way try to get a spare probe also - then the one in engine can be left hooked up
Hope this helps some...
- (#10295) chris turner, 19 Aug 03 12:14