Digsy

I'm wondering whether it might be down to the fact that running the engine for an additional 30 secs / 1 minute keeps the cooling fan running, which as well as the temperature of the engine itself will help lower the overall engine bay temperature - more like the open bonnet would allow the hot air to vent out. Circulating the fuel in the rail will probably help prevent the fuel from vapourising, but it won't be because the fuel is cooling the head, it will be because you are presenting a higher mass of fuel for the heat to soak into (thus lower imcrease in temperature). The question is whether the heat is conducting up the ali supports, from the surrounding air or from direct radiation off the engine. Would be interesting to see an air temp measurement from the fuel rail vicinity with and without the fan running, and with the bonnet open.

I would top up the expansion bottle with the engine cold and then run it up to temperature and observe what happens (might have to take it for a short run as tickover might not get the enging hot enough to start venting through the rad cap). The level in the expansion bottle should increase and then drop back to where is started as the engine is left to cool. Coolant only flows from the expansion bottle back into the system as the engine cools down so if you are seeing the level drop as the temperature increases then it does sound like the bottle itself is leaking. I wouldn't seal the lid as it might stop air escaping and thus prevent the normal flow of coolant into the bottle as the engine warms up.

The expansion bottle isn't pressurized.

You can do it but its fiddly. I did mine for the same reasons as you - I got a second hand odo after a code 42 error and wanted the odometer to read the correct mileage. You need a signal generator and a 12V source to power up the odo module. You also have to hook up several of the pins. Unfortunately I can't remember the precise details right now but I could probably work it out if I looked att he wiring diagram again.

Yes, that's right. Socket over the rubber part and then put the whole lot in a vice and press in by winding the jaws shut. Better than a hammer because the load is applied squarely and better than a g-clamp because there is no chance of rotation while applying the load. Is there a rubber bush stuck down the bore? I've had that happen. The bush came out of the groove in the pin and jammed it. If the bore is corroded then you will need more than paper towel to clean it, or it might be beyond repair.

If you have a vice with jaws that will go wide enough then that is better for pressing the seals in using the socket method. That's how I did mine, anyway.

The other issue is that after the engine has run the oil in the sump will be aerated. Granted this will be less if the car is left to idle but it does happen at any engine speed. When we do aeration measurements we fit the sump with a tap, then run the engine up to the required RPM and draw off a sample into a graduated beaker. The volume of il is then measured immediately and then it is alowed to settle for 24 hours and the level is read again. The difference between the two levels gives the % air in the oil by volume. I still think its a non-issue. Any errors in oil fill due to dipstick inaccuracies wont be big enough to cause any harm, to the engine.

In an enine the size of a 2JZ there's probabably about a quarter of a litre hung up in the head and oilways immediately after key off. Mind you, that's probably cancelled out by the aeration in the oil pan which will probably increase the dipped oil level oil more than any thermal expanson would. I'd always allow the oil to drain down and settle before checking.

Probably. It would be too complex to factor in all the variables to do it any other way with any degree of repeatability.

Dipsticks are usually calibrated assuming the oil is cold and has drained down fully. Don't worry. Engines are usually designed with "abuse" buffers for underfill so the difference between the hot oil level and the cold oil level won't make a differece

The car should be able to start with your foot off the throttle and the blade fully closed so it wouldn't matter if there was tension on the cable or not. The TPS wouldn't matter either as it would register the throttle fully shut. I don't think there is anything else that opens the throttle apart from the throttle cable. I just re read your first post and I see that it idles fine, so its unlikely to be the IACV.

I wouldn't touch the TPS if it came with the throttle body. Have you checked the idle control valve?

1 and 2 could both be down to a dodgy speedo conversion (the power steering is speed sensitive). 4: Mine has a knock on the front but I changed the top mount and the anti roll bar drop links and it didn't go away, so its probably the shock. The drop links are relatively cheap and easy to replace so that's a good place to start.

Air filter and diff oil. And re-check and be prepared to change your valve clearances after since you are going as far as doing your valve stem oil seals. Front crank oil seal and FEAD belt.

Cheers May give him a call (despite being one of those dodgy ex-Lotus guys )

Cheers guys. Will check out the can versus getting a guy to do it tomorrow :-)

I've got a Supra with no aircon. I had the system tested a couple of years back when it stopped working and the guy put some gas in and did a sniff test but couldn't find a leak (the car has been SORNed for the last 18 months). I'd like to regas the system. Are the DIY kits any good?

I would say so. The ECU uses the manifold pressure sensor and intake air temp sensor to work out the mass of air going into the engine, and thus how much fuel needs to go in there with it

Cats usually fail because the fuelling goes up the swanny and they get burned. I think something else might be amiss and the cat is just a symptom rather than the route cause. Anyway, as he's just bashed it out the problem has gone away (until the next emissions test )

Interesting that it jammed again after fitting a new caliper. As above, it doesn't sound like the master cylinder to me. Was the caliper new or second hand? Sticky calipers are incredibly common on these cars. I've probably replaced all four corners on mine at least twice. Have you checked to see if the disc is badly warped and catching in a certain spot, or is it dragging all the way around?

Replace the intake air temp sensor like the ECU is telling you Fit a stock airbox while you are at it.

Just had mine done by a local garage who were recommended to me for this kind of work. I haven't seen the job in person yet but I asked them to replace all four lines from front to back and especially the bit where they hop up over the driveshaft as the fuel line there was gone. They have charged me £170 cash. The car is going straight into an MOT when I pick it up as it is currently SORNed, so I will report back after that!

Its true that certain engine layouts are easier to design to be inherently stronger than others but its also perfectly possible to make a well engineered or badly engineered engine in any layout. A straight six has a relatively long and twisty, but simple, crankshaft design whereas if you take the same package and re configure it as a 60-degree V6 with even cylinder firing then the crankshaft can easily turn into a horrible spindley mess unless you throw a lot of material at it in the right places. Large displacement cross plane V8s tend to be fitted to cruisers trucks, and exec type cars where good vibration characteristics and low down torque (by virtue of no turbos and the large cylinder displacement) are important, but cross plane V8s have inherently heavy cranktrains and blocks. Again, take the same cylinder geometry and re configure it as a flat plane V8 and the engine will probably shake itself to peices.

Thing is, the key should only be there for alignment. The loads should be reacted through the bolt and the friction between the pulley and the crank. Once the bolt is tight it shouldn't matter if the there was no key in there at all. If the bolt has relaxed it might not be applying the proper clamp load, which would indicate that the bolt should be replaced each time the pulley is removed (which isn't bad practise for yield-tightened fasteners, anyway, although you can usually get away with a couple of re-uses). If the nose is damaged, on the other hand, allowing the pulley to be fitted with some eccentricity, that may well make it come loose. I would have thougth you would have felt the vibration, though.

Had the new part been off and on again in between fitting and failure, maybe to replace the timing belt? If so did anyone use a blowtorch on the crank pulley bolt?