Yaris 1.0 vvti 2003

[donkeychomp]

Hi everyone. Just bought this yesterday as my truck needs major surgery. I do like this car though, very quiet and comfy. Some niggles. Squeaking clutch pedal, hoping some lube will fix that but last night there was a strange clicking noise from the front of the engine. I assumed it was the fan hitting a loose wire or something but opening the bonnet...where's the fan?  Also the car has no temperature gauge (odd) and the stereo is a cassette player lol. Is it easy to plumb in a CD playet?

Thanks, Alex.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Moved to the Yaris club.

[Stevie J]

Only the CDX and T-Spirit models from that era came with a CD player as standard (my old 1999 1.0 CDX had a CD player instead of a tape deck), and I would expect they would just swap over if you can find one. the photo is of my old CDX, showing where the CD slot is on the dash.

They dont have a temp gauge - only a red warning light in the shape of a thermometer, which comes on when the engine is overheating. The light is blue when engine is cold, and goes out when it warms up. You can see the blue temp light on the far left of the display - this turns red when the engine is overheating but is difficult to see when the sun is shining on the display.

I dont know what the clicking might be, but the fan is built onto the front of the radiator and only comes on when the temp gets high - it doesnt run at most times. Perhaps its coming from the drivebelt area and could be a clicking pulley of failing water pump which is common on these cars, and replacing the water pump does not require removal of the timing chain.

Squeeking clutch pedal - yes, it probably needs some oil on the pivot point under the dash.

[donkeychomp]

Thanks for the info going to get it done today!

[Madasafish]

Fuel injectors click when on idle.. not very noisily though..

 

Check belt tensioner pully is not worn- pulley amy wobble or belt looks worn...or signs of dust round pulley..

 

Exhaust manifol leaks (small) may sound as clicking - valve noise.

Won timing chain... or tensioner - noise will come from near oil filler cap...

[donkeychomp]

Whatever the noise is it's stopped! But I am going to check everything under the bonnet. Did an oil/filter change just to be on the safe side. Trying to find the correct tyre pressures is tricky as every site says my wheels are 14" byt the tyres are 13"! So I did 30psi all round. Oh and ordered a cassette to MP3 coverter...

[FROSTYBALLS]

Re tyre pressures, is there not a sticker either on the C pillar inside the door opening (either front door), or inside the glove box?

[Stevie J]

When I had my Mk1 I went with 35psi all round, but 30 - 40 should be fine - it all depends on how much the car is loaded up, with heavy loads needing a higher psi on the rear.

You say the clicking has stopped, but hearing this, one thing it may possibly be is the evap solenoid which is under the air cleaner box, on the passenger side - it has vapour pipes leading to the fuel tank, and at a certain engine temp, it starts clicking on and off allowing the fuel tank vapour to be allowed into the inlet manifold. I know my old car, this valve used to click pretty loudly. If it was a hole in the exhaust manifold, this would click loudly all the time, moreso under engine loading. It is always a good thing to change oil and filter anyway on a newly acquired car, especially one with a timing chain like the Yaris has, as neglected oil changes will wear the chain out quicker. Severe chain wear will make the engine rattle, and may possibly affect the timing, causing the check engine light to come on, but this would rattle all the time, and it wouldnt be intermittant.

[donkeychomp]

Figured out the 'clicking'. Turned out to be the exhaust clanging around. Sounds like a click when driving, a clang when listening with the bonnet up. Easy fix though!

[donkeychomp]

The noise is still there. Funny thing is it goes away when I depress the clutch pedal, yet the clutch itself works fine. Bit stumped on this one. I really don't want to Shell out on a new clutch if possible!

[Stevie J]

Sounds like the input shaft bearing on the gearbox maybe on the way out, which would make sense, as this can cause a loud knocking and tapping noise when the engine is running at idle in neutral. The fact that it stops making a noise when the clutch is pressed in means its not the clutch, as a worn thrust bearing would make more noise when the pedal is depressed. How many miles has the car done?

[Stivino]

If the noise goes away when you press the pedal it’s the clutch release bearing.

[Stevie J]

I had this exact problem on a Rover 400, and it was not the release bearing - it was the gearbox input shaft idler bearing, and the car had to have a replacement gearbox fitted. The fact that the noise goes away when the clutch is depressed, means it cant be the thrust bearing, as this would still be spinning as it holds the diaphragm against the clutch centre plate. Once the clutch is pressed in, it takes away the drive to the gearbox, and if the noise stops, then it means that unfortunately you are going to need a gearbox overhaul, and usually the clutch would be replaced if the gearbox is replaced. This will not be cheap, and could mean writing the car off if its a high miler, as the cost of repairs would be prohibitive.

[Stivino]

2 minutes ago, Stevie J said:

as it holds the diaphragm against the clutch centre plate

Absolute nonsense

[Stevie J]

Personally, if the car still drives OK and the rattle noise is only slight, the car could go on being driven till the problem gets worse.

[Stevie J]

Just now, Stivino said:

Absolute nonsense

Absolute nonsense eh? OK, let him take it to a garage then. They will still say the gearbox will have to come out anyway to change the release bearing. And it will still cost a few hundred quid in labour.

[Madasafish]

I agree: drive it till it dies. The cost of repairs means it's hardly economic to pay someone to fix it...

 

It may last 6 months or 3 years...

[donkeychomp]

90,000 miles. Yep drive it till it stops then scrap it. Cost £400 with a years MOT so spending money on it is a bit pointless.

[Madasafish]

1 hour ago, donkeychomp said:

90,000 miles. Yep drive it till it stops then scrap it. Cost £400 with a years MOT so spending money on it is a bit pointless.

Spn's 1.0 yaris - a bit clapped out - kept on to 130,000 miles..

[Stevie J]

My old 1999 1.0 CDX had the bearing chatter when in neutral and idling for all the time I owned it, it did get worse as the car approached 70K miles, and it had some gearbox whine when driving along too, especially in the lower gears, but it kept on going just fine till I sold it, at 17 years old for 400 quid. Some transmission noise caused by wear at higher mileages is normal on most cars. Also depends a lot on how hard the car got driven during its 90K miles on the road, as some people are much harder on clutches and transmissions than others. It does not make economic sense to spend hundreds on an old car unecessarily, as you wont get it back when you come to sell it (or scrap it). Older Yaris will suffer more from corrosion issues too, which can end their lives once the MOT tester deems them too rotten on the undersides, and welding repairs to sills and chassis run into hundreds.

[donkeychomp]

Yes my Suzuki truck is now 38 years old but has NO rust on the underside! Quite amazing really. But like this Yaris for the last 7 years the bearing has made a din and it's still going fine. Fingers crossed this little car will last a while yet. 

[Stevie J]

Yeah, corrosion was an issue on my old 1.0, but it only started needing welding doing after it was 14 years old, and eventually it got to the stage where there was gaping holes in the rear arches, by the rear inner sills. The outer rear sills needed welding too, and it corroded through the fuel filler neck pipe and its breather, allowing water spray from the rear wheel into the fuel tank. My current 1.3, a 2006 T3 is showing surface corrosion on rear suspension parts, but as yet, at 13 years old, it had not failed an MOT for corrosion reasons. Heres a couple of pics of where my 1999 1.0 failed its MOT, on the nearside rear inner arches. It failed on the other side too for the same issue, but not as severe.

[Madasafish]

14 hours ago, Stevie J said:

Yeah, corrosion was an issue on my old 1.0, but it only started needing welding doing after it was 14 years old, and eventually it got to the stage where there was gaping holes in the rear arches, by the rear inner sills. The outer rear sills needed welding too, and it corroded through the fuel filler neck pipe and its breather, allowing water spray from the rear wheel into the fuel tank. My current 1.3, a 2006 T3 is showing surface corrosion on rear suspension parts, but as yet, at 13 years old, it had not failed an MOT for corrosion reasons. Heres a couple of pics of where my 1999 1.0 failed its MOT, on the nearside rear inner arches. It failed on the other side too for the same issue, but not as severe.

Our 2003 Yaris started losing all its paint in the areas described. Three spray coats of Dinitrol 4 years ago - and touched up last year - have stopped any rust..(the galvanised coating wears off... I )regularly wash around the fuel filler pipe with a hose.. It was an obvious potential rust point so I cleaned it all dwown , repainted and Dinitrolled it about 10 years ago - and checked it last year..ok

 

I am OCD on rust 🙂

[donkeychomp]

Haha! I've had a look and there is a tiny bit of rust on the bottom of one arch, Easy to get rid of so that's the next job,,,and maybe repair a couple of dents too!

[donkeychomp]

Bit of an update, Car performs as it should and getting a whopping 42.9mpg. My truck did 20! Only niggle is 2 of the 4 Speakers are blown. One in a door, one on the dash. Is this a door card off and dash removal job or is there an easier way?