Paddy The Corolla - 1998 1.3 E11 3-Door

[mickburkesnr]

Just realised that, for as long as I've been here, I haven't actually shared photos of the car. All I've done is say "this is broke" or "this is leaking" etc. So I think now, after a good 2,000 miles put on the car, I'd like to introduce Paddy, my Corolla. 

Paid the princely sum of £250 for him in April from a friend of my mother-in-law-to-be, she had him 10 years and spent most of its life driving the 6 mile round trip from her house to the local tip. This car replaces a 6 year old Peugeot 3008 which I had for 2 1/2 years, and as nice as it was to drive it's about as reliable as a chocolate fire guard in summer. Also the name Paddy comes from the fact he was registered on the 17th March 1998.

Lets get the bad things out the way: the paint work is knackered really. Very dull on top, no shine to it however I haven't properly tackled this yet. There's only one panel with no rust on. The two front wings are dented around the arches, it's a good thing this isn't the size of a Range Rover as the previous owner would've probably written it off. Broken lightbulb behind the dashboard, no light in the cabin, no light behind the fog light button. Bit of a leak around the gearbox, nothing pouring out like a broken tap. A funny whine at high RPM only. Also the suspension is a bit soft, probably could do with new shocks.

Thats it. Nothing else wrong. Solid underneath, in a mechanical condition that doesn't give away it's true age. The only work I've done so far is the long, protracted, timing belt change and had the wheels balanced as when I hit 60mph the car felt like I was in Amsterdams red light district having far too much fun. None of the tyres - and i mean that - none of them were balanced. Since then the car has driven like a boat on a millpond.

I got the car to save money so I can get myself a Land Cruiser, but that's a while away yet. I also got it so I can build up my mechanical skills, do things I wouldn't normally do with a more expensive car. Ultimately I want to make the car look like the WRC cars of 1998 in the full Castrol livery.

But to start with, the light bulbs in the dash need doing. I've got the lights just need a few hours to do them. After that I'm going to tackle the exhaust as it's blowing now. But yeah, very happy with my first Toyota! I'm going to update this thread with what I do as I'm documenting it with YouTube videos as well.

[TomdeGuerre]

Nice enough looking wee car in the photos Michael, but I've always found that digital photos flatter a car. Bet it looks a bit different in the flesh.  

[mickburkesnr]

I think if I picked a sunnier day you'd see the paintwork better. The first photo, if you look along the side, you'll see the mixing and matching of the shine of the paint and the dullness. Definately doesn't shine too brightly!

[mickburkesnr]

So a few weeks on from this post, and a trip to Ireland under it's belt, I must say the car keeps impressing. It has a sticking thermostat which sticks to the on position so it runs cold, and there is a slight clatter from the engine which I think is a water pump bearing that's failing. I've got these two parts, just need a weekend to fit them.
 

The car handled the 1,200 mile journey from Stourbridge to County Mayo and back in 4 days without missing a beat. It had me, the girlfriend and the mother in law and kept up with traffic etc. Was fairly comfortable to, until we reached Mayo. For those of you who don't know, the roads there are particularly bad, very bumpy! It was at this point the car decided to let me know that it could really do with two rear shock absorbers. The car's backside would bottom out, rise up, bottom out again, rise up, then settle. So I adjusted my driving for fear of either losing control or breaking something. It isn't something I notice, or have noticed, since coming back to the UK, but it really does need doing. I also tried to change the interior light with a new bulb as it doesn't come on with the door opening or even being switched to the on position. The interior light is completely dead, so I need to rectify this now as well.

Other than the above, I've fitted some white LED lights to the dashboard. They're looking good, I just need to change all the other instrument lights in the cockpit to use white LED lights now as well, to keep the look of the car consistent.

So, moving forward, the main priorities are:

• New thermostat
• New water pump
• New shock absorbers

[Ant182]

That sound like a great journey for your Corolla then, these are such under rated cars these days, I have an E12 FL 1.6T3 and my best mate has an E11 FL 1.6SR.

over the years we have done driving tours of the Lakes/Wales/Scotland also trips to Goodwood Festival of Speed and never (touch wood) had a problem.

We live in Middlesbrough so they are good journeys out for them. Glad your happy with it.  

 

I also have some sets of alloys for sale if your interested PM me.

  

[mickburkesnr]

1 hour ago, Ant182 said:

That sound like a great journey for your Corolla then, these are such under rated cars these days, I have an E12 FL 1.6T3 and my best mate has an E11 FL 1.6SR.

over the years we have done driving tours of the Lakes/Wales/Scotland also trips to Goodwood Festival of Speed and never (touch wood) had a problem.

We live in Middlesbrough so they are good journeys out for them. Glad your happy with it.  

 

I also have some sets of alloys for sale if your interested PM me.

  

You're completely right. I bought the car for £250 as a long-term-stop-gap thing to help free up some money to do the house up and save up for a Land Cruiser, so didn't expect a lot. But over the few months of driving it it's just instilled confidence in me. The girlfriend was aprehensive that we wouldn't actually make it, and I did have that thought in my head due to the clatter of the water pump, but no it did it's job very well. I kept laughing to myself on the way back that I've done that journey in a £250 car when the ferry ticket cost £350.

I think as well I enjoy the car that bit more when I know it winds the girlfriend up. She doesn't like it, doesn't like me spending money on it, because it "looks crap". She should never have told me this, because the odd time I go to pick her up from work I will use the Corolla and have the best cheesy pop music blasting out. The look on her face would kill you stone dead if you weren't used to it.

I've emailed you about the alloys as well.

[Ant182]

My Yaris I use for my race/sprint car was only £550 last November  and my corolla was £3500 6 years ago (touch wood) still going strong. My GF doesn't really mind so I'm ok from that side of things.    

[mickburkesnr]

It has been a while, so here's an update.

The speedometer is still broken, however I did source a replacement for the whole length of cable for £27 off eBay. The problem now is finding a spare weekend with good weather to fit the part along with replacing the rubber seals on the engine head (the gaskets that surround the nuts that hold the head in place). Engine light still comes on although I've a feeling this is down to a dirty MAF, but I'll diagnose this properly soon enough. It's also due a service.

But, thanks to Ant182, I've managed to source some brilliant Toyota alloys for it. They're using Maxxis tyres, and in the wet weather we've had and cold weather the handling and stopping power has been improved significantly. The wheels now are showing up the soft as butter shock absorbers I have, so these will be replaced next (after the above, obviously).

Going to paint the alloy's white so they'll be close to looking like the WRC ones. But yeah, thanks Steve for the wheels!

Photo was taken this morning in lovely frosty Birmingham. It does need a really good clean.

[Ant182]

No probs fella, the wheels look a treat now you have them on,  and in white they will be even better.

Hope you get the other stuff sorted soon though.

[mickburkesnr]

Been a while since I updated this, but like buses nothing happens for ages then you're surrounded by the things.

A few weeks ago the 19 year old exhaust finally broke off when driving home. The pipe connecting in to the back box just broke, didn't fall completely off but it's just hanging. Never fear, I had planned to replace it, but it's forced my hand to do it sooner than I wanted.

As I have the opportunity to get under the car and I have time to work on it, plus the MOT runs out on it the day I get married which isn't ideal as it's in Ireland and the car will be with me touring round the emerald isle afterwards, so I've a list of jobs to do to the car which are as follows (but aren't in any order):

• New exhaust (catalytic converter, middle and back boxes - new O2 sensor too)
• Shock absorbers (all 4 corners - replacing with KYB Excel-G shocks)
• Clutch and associated seals around that area that could be leaking (clutch is from Blue Print)
• Brake lines and brake hoses (Blue Print)
• New brake discs and pads (Blue Print)
• Speed sensor, speedometer cable, speedo (whichever is broken)
• Bodywork (various bits of rust, paint - all black trim to be painted white, red mud guards)
• Gangster glass (in an effort to keep the car a bit cooler during the summer, lack of air conditioning!)
• Aftermarket air intake (removal of stock air filter)
• Oil catcher can (because I can)
• New Speakers (Would like Sony but will settle for any other Japanese make)
• Electric windows (Because the good wife to be deserves luxury)
• Heated seats (Because the good wife to be deserves a warm backside in the winter)

The most important to get done before the MOT in August is the speedo, shocks, clutch, brake lines and exhaust. Everything after that is a bonus really.

As you know, the exhaust has fallen off. I've bought a Klarius catalytic converter and a middle box as I might as well replace the whole system as it's been on there 19 years. However, I'm having a bit of fun and sticking a cherry bomb exhaust on the back of it. It's cheaper to do that than to buy a 3rd party back box, so why not? I may also need the front pipe changed, I'm hoping not to change this but I may have to. From my experience of trying to get an O2 sensor off my 7 year old Peugeot 107, I think it'll just be easier to replace it with a new one. Again, could be 19 years old and due a change anyway).

The brake lines are probably fine, but don't look like they've been done. I remember reading a post a year ago where another member who had the same year car (and same model Corolla) had the brake lines explode on them on the MOT. I've looked in to it, it's a long job to do but doesn't cost all that much to do it myself. I'd rather have the peace of mind knowing the brakes won't fail when darting around country roads.

The clutch, well it's been juddering alot, making a lot of squealing noises when cold. Not 100% sure it's the clutch, but there's a long term oil leak problem around the gearbox so I might as well stick a new clutch on and fix that leak at the same time.

Speed sensor is critical though, as it won't pass without it. New speed sensor has been purchased, and I have a replacement cable and speedo clock. The speedo sensor on the car will be changed regardless, but I will try and trouble shoot it from there on as I don't want to change the cable or speedo clock unless I need to.

I've purchased the bulk of these items from Onlinecarparts.co.uk, German based company who seem to be quite a bit cheaper than ECP and GSF. They do take their sweet time to get here (7 days), but I'm not in that much of a rush. So it's ideal for me. As you can see from the photo they stock quality parts too. 

So yeah, I've about 90 days to get Paddy back up and running and in a condition that will ensure it lasts for a good number of years to come. I will keep the thread updated as on the suggestion of "oldcodger", what I do might be helpful for other people. Yeah the car is approaching 20 years old but there are plenty still knocking about, and God knows many an E11 has probably ended up in the crusher because a job has been deemed too expensive to fix or too hard. I know even 5 years ago I wouldn't touch any of the above jobs, but I've stepped up to a new level of "part time amateur mechanic" after changing the timing belt on Paddy and it's been perfect in the 8,000 miles its done since.

I've got some household DIY to sort out this week, but come Saturday the car will be up on axle stands, with the alloys you've seen above having the tyres taken off ready for when I go to spray paint them white. (Got quoted £55 a wheel for that, I'm giving it a go myself first before I part with more cash on things like that).

Also, I'm contemplating fitting polyurethane "rubbers" to the suspension components, as I have the shocks off etc. Anyone got any idea on what ones I need to change? Or does anyone know of a kit?

[mickburkesnr]

Some updates.

Because I'm a lovely guy I had to "babysit" the fiancee's sister last weekend while she was on her hen do. So I haven't started work on the car at the moment. But I did buy the following components, again from Onlinecarparts.co.uk:

• Bosch Lambda Sensor
• Bosch Fuel Filter
• Blue Print Brake Lines
• Blue Print Pads & Discs

I had an email last week saying they've ran out of the Blue Print Brake lines for the front of the car, and wanted to know if I was happy with a replacement. I said yeah (as they're only cheap and I want to save up for steel braided lines in the future). Again, took their sweet time getting to me but they arrived yesterday.

Upon opening the box I see the two brake lines that should've been BluePrint but have been swapped for some brand called A.B.S., which I was fine about. I expected them to replace it as near like for like as they could (price wise anyway).

However, I also noticed the Brake Discs and Pads weren't BluePrint either. They were STARK Autoline components. No mention of them having issues with the brake discs or pads, so you can imagine how annoyed I was at this. After some Googling too, I found that this seems to be a common practice with this AutoDoc company (owner of the site). Often the argument they have is that the STARK product is "better" than the brand they didn't have at the time to fulfill the order. But it turns out STARK is also their brand, and the components are made for them. Where they're made, I'm not all that sure. 

So right now I'm waiting to hear back from them, see if they'll replace these wrong components with the ones I ordered. I won't hold my breath though, so they will probably end up on the Corolla anyway as a temporary measure.

In terms of polyurathene components for the car, all credit to @Ant182 for recommending GT4 Play. They've got back to me with what I can have with the prices attached. Right now I'm trying to work out what components I could get away with changing now, leaving the other components for a later date. 

But come Saturday I'm going to start work on it. First job is to take the alloys off and start prepping them for paint. Also going to start replacing the speedometer components which broke ages ago, which involves removing the stock air intake (as it's a pain to get to otherwise).

[Ant182]

Now then Mick, well I'm glad you got the info back from the guys at GT4play and I hope you get all the jobs done with not to much of a headache.

It will be great once all the jobs are done and blue print stuff is always good.  

[mickburkesnr]

Yeah he was very helpful. I can't get the anti-roll bar at the moment because of the budget, but at least 90% of the parts will be changed and the bar won't be too hard to fit later on when I get a few quid together.

And yeah I got as much as I could of BluePrint, still heard nothing back from my friends in Germany so who knows. They seem to be hit and miss with these things. But they're cheaper, so it's a compromise.

[mickburkesnr]

Order's been placed, I'm going to concentrate on the front of the vehicle in terms of polyurathene bushes as I didn't know the rear suspension had a million bushes to change. So the rear can wait for a little while until I get the cash together to do it. However just to make sure the rear is at least a little tighter I'm going to replace the bushes with new rubber ones if I can.

Also I'm looking at putting in a cold air intake with heat reflective tape and exhaust wraps along with two vents on the bonnet, to try and reduce the heat in the engine bay. Not so much for power, but to make it a little easier on myself when I'm stuck in Birmingham's rush hour traffic in this heat.

And yes, this heat. My melting point is 21 degrees.

[Agent Orange]

Hi Michael,

We know each other from the Aygo Forum and I've been keeping up with your thread about "Paddy" as I love to see what can be done with older cars....You know how much I admire Fuzz and Edd on the telly, I'm just not as keen on Tim Shaw and Mike Brewer!

Anyway, thanks for the updates and, like you say, it should be of interest and help to others in the same boat.  On that thought, I have a question....Are you doing all this work on that gravel drive?  If you are then it really does show us all what can be done with a bit of hard work and decent weather.

Good luck with the rest of the work, keep us posted and all the best for your wedding.

Well done and take care. 

P.S. For what it's worth, I like the look of the Graphite Wheels on a white car....Sorry, Mate! 

[mickburkesnr]

Ahhhh I thought I recognised the name somewhere, thought it was from Match.com though 

Yeah I'm doing it on the gravel. Not at all ideal to be honest, but what I'm doing is scraping all the gravel away from under the car so that at least when the axle stands go under it it's going to be resting on hardcore - with a bit of plywood underneath just to spread the weight around.

That said I know there's a guy on here who changed the clutch on their Corolla at the side of the road. And you consider that all those rally teams work on the cars in the desert when doing the Paris Dakar rally, as long as you're careful and make sure the car is secure you can work on them anywhere. Plus I'm stubborn to a fault, so I won't be beaten by some gravel.

As for the wheels, the fiancee said the same thing. She quite liked them, but I think when I put white wheels on it with a little flair (you'll see what I mean when I do it) they'll enhance the car no end. While on the older Corolla's I think the black/white contrast well, on this I think the black trim makes it look a little cheap. So I'm trying to get rid of as much of the black as I can.

Plus I think @Ant182 only like what you said because it was his colour choice! 

[Agent Orange]

I gave up on Match.com, Michael, I'd put my interests in as Holidays and Cars and they tried to fob me off with a Trabant Salesman from Gdansk.....Even the Wife didn't like the sound of him! 

Glad to hear that you are taking care of yourself and doing all the right things.....I still like the look of those wheels, as they are though! 

Keep smiling! 

[mickburkesnr]

Rightio, first lot of work done to the car.

I've taken the bonnet off the car, looking to remove the wings and bumpers too as I can paint these easier in the garage than on the car (it won't fit). It also means I've better access to the engine, which I have to say has been amazing.

So here's a photo of the car naked, after the first lot of work had been done.

I've removed the air box, as I want to put a cone filter on it. Haven't thrown them away, just in case I need them. Battery was removed as well as, well, it was going that way. Also the wipers came off as it made it easier to fix the speedometer issue. Plus they're a bit rusty, so I'm going to tidy them up and put them back.

Anyway. First issue resolved - and the major one - was I had no speedometer. I purchased the vehicle speed sensor which goes in to the gearbox, and the nylon wheel that goes in to the gearbox (don't have a photo of this at the moment). After removing the fuel filter (which was being changed anyway, so I changed it) and a big round cylinder (no idea what it is, a fuel vaccum thing?) I get to the mechanical speedometer cable which goes to the top of the gearbox. 

I undone the cable, and I decided to see if it moved. It did, and I initially thought it was quite loose. So I checked the replacement cable, and found the replacement was much tighter. So I go back to the original cable, pulled at it and this is the result:

The cable inside has snapped off. Judging by the condition of it, a touch of the rust had helped it along. The best thing was that it was broken at the lower part of the cable (it splits in two), so I changed the bottom part. I had intended to change the VSS on the gearbox too, but it's a lost cause. I couldn't get it out, and after seeing someone try and take the VSS off another Corolla it can shatter. So after 20/30 mins of soaking it in PlusGas, wiggling and pulling, it didn't move. So I took a risk and reattached the cable, took the car down the road and watched intently for the speedo to register a speed...

20mph!!!! A huge win, and it saved me trying to get the VSS out and replacing it. For the time being at least.

Word of warning to people who read this though, and I only mention it here because I've seen some clowns on Facebook proudly posting photos of their mate or of themselves working under a car with just a jack holding the car up. I had jacked the car up just to get the fuel filter off. You access it through the nearside front wheel arch. I did my bit under there, and left the car on the jack. I think about 15 minutes later I was with my friend and I'm discussing with him the best way to get the speedo cable off. I'm working out whether I can get to the VSS/speedo cable from under the car when I think "Hang on, there's not much space under the car..." - I look at the jack and it's collapsed without me or my friend noticing it! I jacked the car up, put the wheel back on, and took the jack away.

I never go under the car with just the car on the jack, I always put axle stands under the car. But a lot of people don't, and I don't even want to know what I'd have done if I was daft enough to go under the car without a friend nearby. And as I said, we didn't realise. We didn't hear any noises, no bang or anything. It was completely silent.

Anyway, next up - exhaust. I need to take it off and bring the back box to a chap in Nuneaton to get a cherry bomb exhaust. Won't be this weekend as I'm away on my stag, but Monday I'll be under it (with axle stands!) and getting a new exhaust. 

[mickburkesnr]

Rightio, so back from the stag (went to Prague - didn't want to come back), and this morning I went under the car to get the exhaust off. I didn't mess about, I took the angle grinder to it. Could've done with a bigger disc but I managed to get it off eventually. Took it to Nuneaton to a guy who builds exhausts for sports cars. It's cost a little bit more than what I thought it would, but it's stainless steel back box and it'll be the same dimensions as the stock box that was on it.

While I was under the rear of the car, I decided to check out the rear suspension bushes, see the state of them. One of them is clearly cracking, there are others that don't look brilliant either. So I'll be getting new bushes to replace what's on there, but I sort of knew I'd have to do that anyway.

The car will be put up on axle stands on Saturday, going to start the job of changing the brake lines, followed by some underseal.

[Ant182]

That's good going Mick, the exhaust will make difference, and its great when you start to see good progress being made. Hope it goes smooth for you.

[mickburkesnr]

12 hours ago, Ant182 said:

That's good going Mick, the exhaust will make difference, and its great when you start to see good progress being made. Hope it goes smooth for you.

Indeed!

I didn't say what happened when I went to look for new rear bushes though. Very nearly wrote the car off due to costs.

With the control arms on these Corolla's, you can't buy the bushes from Toyota. You can only buy the arm assembly. So from Toyota the cost of replacing all the bushes would've come to £1,100. Even with the guy you recommended with polyurathene bushes, I was looking at £200 (or £300 for the arms).

Ended up stumbling across Micks Garage and they sell the bushes separately, ended up with the set for £55 including postage. The rubber bushes are only temporary while I save up for further upgrades to the suspension, so this will do for the time being.

[Ant182]

A Grand omg, glad you got just the bushes then, sometimes that the only bag thing about these old cars the parts are still priced as if their were new.

[mickburkesnr]

I know, I looked at him when he said it and he said after "Don't worry I'll give you the numbers so you can find them yourself on eBay". But when I did that hardly anything came up.

It annoys me more now knowing that it's possible to get the bushes for those components without replacing the whole unit. But in fairness, so far, that price tag has been the only thing Toyota have been expensive for. I bought gaskets etc and I thought they were reasonably priced.

[mickburkesnr]

The car is now up on axle stands, wheels have been taken off to allow me access to the braking system and suspension components.

I did a bit of an inspection on the rear brake lines, and surprisingly the ones I saw have some surface rust but generally speaking they seem to be in good condition. Brake hoses however are a little crappy. But I'm going to change them anyway, whether I do the brake lines now or not I don't know for the moment.

Successfully bled the brake system, the oil didn't look too bad but I think it would've needed changing this year anyway. So that's going to be done when I finish the brake system work.

The front nearside caliper has been an absolute pain in the padded backside to deal with. First the bleed value wouldn't move so I ended up rounding it off. I did manage to loosen it properly without braking it though, so I'm going to look at replacing the valve when I put the calipers back on. However, I managed to round the bolt holding the other part of the caliper (the bit that bolts on to the hub, seems to hold the brake disc in place). I have some bolt removal nuts, but my sockets wouldn't fit them (said it needs 24mm sockets, my 24mm sockets were too small?). I've bought two spanners from Halfords, a 24mm and 25mm, and hopefully tonight I'll get it off.

On the front offside of the vehicle, it was a pleasure. Caliper and brace came off without any issues. 

I also remove the front scuttle (the black thing that the wipers attach to. It's a bit faded, so I'm going to spray it gloss black along with the wiper arms to freshen it up.

Coming in the post today (hopefully) will be the polyurathene suspension bushes for the front that I ordered, along with the normal rubber bushings for the rear of the car. The exhaust is still being worked on and I should get that in the next 2 weeks.

Hopefully tonight I will get the other part of the nearside brake caliper off, at which point I can start painting them red. During the week then I'll be able to clean the underside of the car ready for some Waxoyl to protect it (even though it feels a bit rubbery already), and then crack on with the brake lines over the weekend.

Here's a photo of the Corolla up on the axle stands, with a keyring I bought from a YouTube channel called Regular Car Reviews, bought just for the irony!

[oldcodger]

Hi,

Re your renewing the metal brake pipes and your trouble with the brake nuts and bolts on the front.

When I renewed  the flexibles I gave them an overnight soak in penny fluid, but even so the rear flexibles , where they connect to the metal pipes were real sods to unscrew, very easy to go in too heavy and screw the metal pipe off as well.

My pipes at that point were a little corroded but cleaned up ok, not sure what your older model will be like ..?