Does Anyone Out There Know Which Sensor It Is?

[Pat2u]

Talking about gears ect i remember a mondeo 2ltr one owner from new "HERZT CAR HIRE" 2nd and 4th gear was a swine to engage that too had a heavy clutch pedal feel or so it seemed at the time, it turned out the car had been owned by hertz car hire before it came into our ownership. In other words it had more drivers than we first thought due to day/weekly hire and different drivers all of course with different driving methods the car had some warrantee left on it so off to the ford garage it went and the outcome was a badly worn gear selecter it was as thin as a paring knife when i viewed it after the the gearbox strip down and the oil in the box was just a sludge of metal filings left from the selector wear. Thank god we caught it whilst it was still under some warrantee.

HI Pat2u...

Thanks for the info...well when i drained the gearbox oil a few months back...yup did it myself...i found no filings or anything...crazy but i though of that and syphoned it when i poured the old oil back into a disposle bottle! so hopefully i have no wear in the gearbox i hope!!!

Sammy

Hi Sam,

I only saw an open gearbox on a bench it was that housing which was full of the sludge, i never actually saw the oil being removed as it was done at a ford garage.

[SAM LOVERS HER TOYOTAS]

i should drain it and refill and that should improve things...he recons when pressing on my clutch pedal its quite hard as if the car must have had a new clutch fitted before...told me i could adjust the gear ratios from inside the engine somewhere without needing to open the gearbox etc...recons he can get it to change gears like new...so i've told him to give me a hand at the weekend as he's a neighbour and helps all the lassies out in my area...please do let me know what you think...cheers

Sammy

Hi,

Like the brake fluid, the clutch fluid should not just be drained and refilled, but 'bled' to remove all traces of air as well as the old fluid, otherwise you will have spongy pedal problems. You should ideally change your brake and clutch fluids every 24 months - the darkened appearance is an obvious clue on either.

Apart from lubricating the gear lever to gear box linkage/cables I have never heard of being able to adjust anything else in or on the gearbox ??

( not the ratios which are fixed by the gears )

Would be interested to know what that is..?

Any progress on the O2 sensor ...?

"he's a neighbour and helps all the lassies out in my area..." Hmmmmmmmm.................

Hi Richard...

Good to hear from you...hey enough about the lassies blah blah blah...dont know why i said that...what i meant is he knows a lot about cars as he's always repairing em for his customers but he aint a qualified Mach!

Anyway i def wont let him adjust anything to do with the clutch/gearbox...if the weathers okay this weekend i'll be fitting my new o2 sensor (yup picked it up from euro carparts today finally)...and i'll be bleeding my clutch fluid and refilling...hope and pray i get that right! I might also have a look at my drivers side cv, see if it just needs greasing and will check to see if it may be a possible loose anti rollbar drop link that just needs tightening as my friend on here previously mentioned...SO wish me luck...and oh yes i bought a bottle of cataclean today...so im wondering if i should pour it in now or wait a week before my mot which is 11/08/10???

And Rich please please tell me more about "lubricating the gear lever to gear box linkage/cables"...is it easy to carry out???

Thank you guys for all your kind help and advice...really appreciate it all...

Regards...Sammy

[SAM LOVERS HER TOYOTAS]

hi sam,

glad to hear you have nearly sorted out those problems, my advice to you would be buy both sensors, at £115 inc vat for both verses £149+ vat each from toyota's its a no brainer, you can always take 1 back to euro carparts for a refund.

the knocking noise your getting when turning might possibly be a loose anti-rollbar drop link witch just needs tightening.

if you do decide to buy a new ignition switch get it from ebay they are only about £35-55 compared to toyota's £87 + vat, i had to replace mine last year, its not a hard job to do just undoing a few screws and swapping its that simple.

once you have fixed your car you will have peace of mind that these jobs have been done and it should pass its MOT, whereas buying another car could be as much trouble as this one.

regards.

mark.

Oh and by the way Mark...i only bought the right hand side o2 sensor that i needed today...long story...the guy i spoke to the other day in regards to the price got it wrong apparently...so i paid the normal selling price £65.00...and SO only bought the one as they dont do refunds on any ELECTRICAL ITEMS!!! Guess you'll say its okay coz why waste money on something that doesnt need replacing...well thats what my other half said lol! So i pray its the right one and solves the problem...

[toyotaavensis]

hi sam,

this should explain the difference between dot 3 and dot 4.

Department of Transportation Requirements

1.DOT 3 brake/clutch fluids meet the minimal requirements set forth by the Department of Transportation. DOT 4 fluids endure tests that are more rigorous and are used in high temperature performance vehicles.

Chemical Formulation Differences

2.All brake/clutch fluids begin as ethylene glycol or antifreeze. DOT 3 fluids, for regular vehicles, are made from polyalkylene glycol ether and other hydroscopic glycol chemicals. DOT 4 fluids have borate esters added which raise the temperature of the boiling point for better performance under extreme racing conditions.

Dry Boiling Point

3.Boiling points are the major differences between formulas. As brake/clutch fluid heats up because of friction, it boils, forming gas bubbles that lead to soft brake/clutch pedals. Dry boiling refers to new, unexposed brake/clutch fluid. DOT 3 brake/clutch fluid has a dry boiling point of 401 degrees while DOT 4 boils at 446 degrees.

Wet Boiling Point

4.Wet boiling refers to old brake/clutch fluid or fluid that has been exposed to moisture from the environment. DOT 3 boils at 284 degrees while Dot 4 boils at 311 degrees.

Water Tolerance

5.As brake/clutch fluid sits in the line, it collects moisture, which evaporates to steam, interferes with braking capabilities, reduces the boiling temperature and leads to corrosion. DOT 4 is designed to tolerate water levels better than DOT 3. Regardless of the type of brake/clutch fluid, water levels should be less than 3 percent of the total fluid in the line. For this reason, brake/clutch fluid should be changed often to reduce the amount of moisture in the line.

so i think you would agree that dot 4 is the better choice.

regards.

mark.

[richard.c]

Hi Sam,

TA certainly covered the DOT 3 / 4 for you, but if you intend to continue doing yor own car servicing then can recommend the Gunson automatic Brake Bleeder Kit - it uses the air pressure from a tyre to pressurise the system so its a easy one person job.

Re the Cataclean - you need to follow the instructions on the bottle and really give it a high rev run on the motorway to get things really hot.

As it needs to use a full treated tank of petrol to take full effect I would use it now.

Have never had a problem with the gear linkage, assume yours is similar to many earlier model, but when I service it, looking down the back of gearbox from the engine back you can see all the linkages coming out, so I just spray them with some White Grease - was told by a Mot examiner that thats the best stuff to use as it does not affect any rubber parts so you can coat your brake pipes etc.

Comes in a spray can for about £3-4, but not all motor shops stock it.

[SAM LOVERS HER TOYOTAS]

Mark And Richard...

What would i do without you guys...your the best and deserve a medal truely...Thank you yet again...kinda looking forward to carrying out my likkle diy jobs but lets hope the weather permits...Coz it aint looking good out there!!! Hope you boys are having a great weekend...im off to the sales now...takecare