Chris Wilson

It has similar internal volume to a stock side mount, but better flow, so if anything lag will decrease, and most definitely not INCREASE. These are made to order, with about an eight week lead time. Thanks. intercooler.zip

Nah, cable has been great, welder has packed up twice though and is showing signs of being a PITA again last time I used it (high frequency start seemed iffy....).

They are certainly not an outrageous size to be fair. But I would have concerns as to the make and model , especially in the wet, my experience of these is they are good ditch finders in the damp / wet.

borrow a set of wheels and tyres like the car was designed to run on (17 inch with the correct offset, and the correct width and profile tyres). If the issue disappears then whoever flogged you the rims and tyres sold you stuff unsuitable for the correct operation of the car. IMO the cars are horrible on 19 inch rims and tyres, manageable OK on 18 inch, very nice on 17 inch, and in difficult wet or slippery conditions and poor road surfaces, a dream on 16 inch. But appearance usurps practicality in many cases, hence the sweaty palm, whoooah, where's it going now feeling driving poorly modded cars and wallet damage and court time with exotic women, especially if you marry one

Lay the head gasket on the head, if the corrosion does not encroach under the gasket it will be OK. The crack(s) in the wastegate seat are typical, you will be hard pressed to find used turbos that are not cracked. That crack is not severe and won't affect the wastegate sealing. The crack(s) will get worse though... Now, take the old head gasket, find the rivets that hold the laminations together. You can clearly see one of them in your photo. Drill them all out and separate the gasket into its laminations. Clean them all in something like petrol or cellulose thinners. Examine them all, especially the inner ones, under a bright light, flexing them. You may find an inner laminate is cracked. Often going between cylinder bores. It's common on NA's, less so on TT's. Outwardly, before splitting the gasket, it can appear perfect, but a crack in an inner lamination can and does cause overheating and / or water loss. If the gasket seems OK, check the block face is not warped. If OK get the head pressure tested by someone who knows how to do it properly. I'd estimate 90% of places do it wrong and will miss cracks due to their poor test method. Bear in mind some cracks only show when the head is at operating temp. Pray you don't have a head like that.... Make SURE the rad cap has not lost its none return pintle valve. If in doubt fit a new genuine Toyota cap. DO NOT fit a high pressure one or the next thing is you will be taking the interior apart to fit a new heater matrix as the abnormal pressure will rupture the tired old thing.

Round the back of the head, are two steel pipes, going to rubber and back to steel, they feed the pressure vessel, one may be off, loose or split. With the engine in they are a nightmare to get at, you have to work by feel. Get some bandages ready for your grazed hands and wrists. have fun...

If the TB is worn and leaky blanking off the PCV valve can help reduce closed throttle air flow, but you need to vent the grommet in the cam cover to a pipe and catch tank as it will emit some oil droplets. I remove the PCV on all my long term car engines as inhaling its own fumes is bad for the engine, (although venting them to atmo could be said by the Greens as being bad for the environment. Your call on that...) The price of a new TB may help you decide though

It doesn't really HELP closure, the opposite in fact, it slows closure by adding resistance.

It should hold boost PRESSURE for operation of parts of the turbo control system during periods of engine operation under conditions of intake vacuum.

Thanks TRD-1, received it earlier, many thanks, that's a great help, cheers.

No, not as yet, do you have his number? Thanks.

You'd have to remove the casting it is inside, (exhaust mid section or second CAT off, first cat or decat pipe off, then difficult to reach nuts to drop the casting with the flap in from the turbos and you may need to remove remove the O2 sensor to clear the steering column shaft. I made a special spanner to remove the awkward nut. Risk of stud breaking, nuts seizing, personal injury, bad language, unexpected expenses.... I can't remember if the thing uses pressure or vacuum to open, but to test it you need to apply one or the other to the capsule. If 9PSI above atmospheric won't open it, or a vacuum of 22 inches Hg, it's stuck, or the actuator is knackered. Don't drop the flap part that can come out of the casting, it's ceramic, will shatter and is VERY VERY expensive if you need a new one. Tapping or prising at the thing will do terrible things to it as well... It's a sophisticated bit of kit.

That's the CAT overheat sensor in case someone puts leaded fuel in it. It's a simple K type thermocouple inside a metal probe and can be tied up out of the way, I usually drill the return flange on the chassis rail and tye wrap it up there, although you can stuff it behind the cat heat shield and hope for the best

EGT sensors are fitted BEFORE the first cat on Jap spec TT models. I don't recall having seen any NA Jap specs with an oxygen sensor after any cat either, just UK /EU model TT's A photo or two showing the thing, the number of wires to it and its location would be interesting.

Thank you, I'm still here and battling on, quite busy actually, despite "social distancing" Hopefully once we see if this vaccine gives elderly people and NHS staff two heads we can re-box this gift from China and send it back with "a thanks for nowt" note attached, and the the bill

All the stainless braided flexible BRAKE hoses I have seen are Teflon lined, there may be air hoses and suchlike in -3 that have a nitrile or somesuch liner but I have never come across them. Stuff like Goodridge and Aeroquip -3 is Teflon lined.

Need to speak by phone with DavidP, lost his number, can anyone help please? Come in DavidP, you are needed Thanks.

As Dnk says, measure along the bottom of the cam bearing saddles. ideally they should be in line within a couple of thou inch, but if it's been run a while like a banana and the cams haven't seized they have probably aligned themselves, albeit with some having a lot of clearance The head needs hardness testing to see if it's gone soft. I can do this. Don't waste time skimming a soft head, the gasket will just go again. It;s effectively scrap if it's soft. Stock gasket will be fine unless skimmed a LOT. Check for corrosion allowing coolant passages to have become enlarged and the gasket unable to seal them. Do the guides BY LINERING ONLY if it's off and usable, and the stem seals if you are keeping the thing long term. DO NOT replace the guides, you have been warned....

Throttle body probably worn, air leak somewher, or TB adjustment, which is tricky and time consuming. Also block off the PCV valve and see if it cures it, they can leak...Have fun, the issue can be expensive to fix if it's the TB, as most are now worn.

I replace loads of rusted brake lines with -3 stainless braided hose to stop having to drop the tank / subframe. But I retain stock or separate lines to the calipers due to routing issues. You will find no difference in pedal feel or travel with branded braided stainless Teflon lined hoses over steel lines.

Get proper adapters, I have seen some utter abortions that look like someone's first attempt at playing with electrics. That's if you MUST have LED's. I also get cars in with utter joke LED or other headlamp conversions that require smacking the headlamps every few miles. IMHO leave all this stock unless really well done to OE standards, you can @#*& up the looms in no time by adding gizmos.

It can be removed and replaced by a simple 30 Amp relay if you can't find a good used one. I have never had a problem with one so haven't had cause to try and effect a repair to the actual control unit. It uses PWM to control the fuel pump voltage to aid fuel heating and current consumption. It's probably quite a complex circuit.

The TRAC pump on UK / EU spec cars differentially applies the brakes to help control traction in association with throttle control.

Very hard, it has a robust spring inside it. You need a Mityvac pump and gauge to check it properly. they can and do seize up. The arm the rod goes to on the ceramic flap can break, or partially break, away. It's also adjustable... But don't fiddle with that just yet!!

Tracking a mile out, probably toeing out? Wrong offset wheels, silly size wheels and tyres? Could be a problem from the back end, also. Bushes in lower front wishbones could be shot. Should be easy enough to trace. On sensible rims and tyres the car shouldn't do this.