Toyota Corolla T Sport 2003 Clutch And Other Issues

August 4, 2013

Hello

My first post so pls go easy on me, I'm not mechanically minded ha :-)

Just bought 2003 t sport 77k miles for a very good price, lovely drive very happy however has a few issues....

1. Not driven toyota before however clutch seems to engage at top of pedal in 1st and 2nd quickly, means I am struggling to pull away without making loud revs, feel like i have to lift the clutch right up then gently apply gas to avoid reving, sometimes (maybe 1 in 4 times) I hear a slight rattling for 1-2 secs when pulling away in first (stops when clutch pedal fully released) wondering if it is my rubbish gear changes (last car was an auto) or clutch issue?

2. Eng management light on, vsc light and trc off, any ideas?

The car was just mot'd and it failed on corroded Battery restraints (replaced) and fuel cap not sealing (new cap fitted) and headlight alignment wrong, guy I bought it off appeared genuinely surprised that the eng management lights etc were on, he wondered if the guys doing the mot days before tripped something

Sorry for repeating sure there are a million posts like this but your comments are appreciated, thanks

August 5, 2013

High bite point is a sign of wear usually, although both my T sports have had relatively high bite points and they have been absolutely fine. Its probably getting around the age for a replacement clutch mind at 77k. But yes I occasionally over-rev myself, particularly when I haven't driven it for a week or have been swapping cars.

The only rattling I get is from the exhaust heat cover when I don't give the engine enough revs and it causes the manifold to shake under pressure. Doesn't seem to happen as much when hot, not sure if its a similar thing your talking about. Try a start in third and see if you get any slippage, you should be able to pull away without bouncing off the rev limiter.

Note that you do tend to get a lot of deceleration noise through the gearbox, this is usually quite normal.. worse case scenario its the gearbox bearings that need renewing.

With regards to engine management, I'd perhaps pull the two 30 amp fuses in the engine fuse box to reset the ECU before paying for a diagnostic. If the problem comes back, inspect all your fuses and then see if you can get a garage to read the code for you fairly cheaply. Unless its fairly obvious you have a problem component you wont know where to look until you have that code.

August 5, 2013

Thanks very much for your comments, very helpful

Well latest development today..,

Clutch pedal making quite loud squeaking noises, think I may get clutch changed anyway, can anyone suggest reasonable clutch that does not cost the earth and is pretty good

Also the eng management lights traction not on today/ all ok

I dropped car in my local garage today for full service which includes free diagnostic so they can check it out and also clutch,

Will post back when I hear more

August 6, 2013

Clutch squeak is very common, I have to lube mine once per year with white grease.. lots of info in this post towards the end ..

http://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/topic/103022-clutch-squeak/page-4

Did mine again about 2 weeks ago, ignore my earlier posts.. learnt a lot about this car since 2009.

January 19, 2015

Hi guys. I'm new here too, had my Corolla since Oct 2014, it's just the 1.6 VVTi colour collection without the lift, but I'm also having to replace the clutch. When I bought the car it did have a slight judder when on the biting point, but has got worse, now preventing gear change when warm in stationary traffic. It is only when moving or when starting off in the morning, the gears are smooth, so I'm fairly certain it's nothing gearbox related. When the cars moving or the engine is off, the gear changes are smooth. I've dropped the old tranny oil out (it was black!!) and replaced with a fully synthetic grade (75W 90), but no improvement. With a juddering clutch and difficulty selecting gears when stationary, I know I'm in the market for a new clutch.

So... just wondered how you got on really. Did you get the new clutch fitted and if you don't mind me asking, what sort of prices were you quoted / paid. So far, I've been getting quotes between £200 - £300, just for labour alone if i supply the clutch, which i would prefer. I so wish I could do clutches myself, it kills me...lol.

Thanks

Mark.

March 2, 2015

i replaced the clutch on my 1.6 a few weeks ago .. took me about 3 hours on my own with a ramp rattle guns engines crane ect the worst bit was putting the box back in as they are quite heavy on your own! 200 labor is about right they are a bit of a pig to work on

April 11, 2015

i replaced the clutch on my 1.6 a few weeks ago .. took me about 3 hours on my own with a ramp rattle guns engines crane ect the worst bit was putting the box back in as they are quite heavy on your own! 200 labor is about right they are a bit of a pig to work on

Any tips you would like to share, 3 hours seems very quick for diy, or are you a trained mechanic ?

What make of clutch assembly did you use and did you find it was lighter on the clutch pedal than the old one or heavier ?

Thinking of doing one but with the front end on jacks / stands in a domestic garage.

I was looking on ytube at the ways to do it, seems the one with the Toyota mechanic is the right way,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hCL2s-Gv_0

However I thought this guys method was the way to go, :!Removed!: dare you watch it all :excl: