Yaris Breakdown--advice Pls.

[dolce vita]

Just bought a used D-4D, 2002, from a nice fellow here in Milan. Condition great, car looks like it was babied. Service done by the book, every 15,000 km. Still one year of warranty. 51K. I checked the numbers and the first three letters are JTD so I presume it's a Jap made one.

Driving back from the beaches near Genova this weekend, a week into having the car, there was suddenly a loss of power (about 50%) and a high pitched revving noise when I stepped on the gas (no, not the normal engine sounds). I saw smoke behind us but I don't know how much or from where, but obviously our car. Luckily we were right at a service area and pulled in. The mechanic there quickly identified a hose attached to that air filter (or cooler?) looking thing on the top of the engine had popped off. He reattached it, said the engine sounded OK to him but that I should take it to the dealer. He thought it was the air intake or something and the engine wasn't getting enough air or something like that. He didn't know the engine well.

Question--Can something like that harm the engine, and when I take it to Toyota should I insist on any particular tests? It needs to be rock-solid reliable for me (why I bought a Toyota) and we're about to go on Vacation to the south of Italy and can't imagine trying to get a repair done in August here when EVERYTHING closes down.

Also, could this be an indicaiton that the prior owner did not push the engine hard? We were doing 130-140 in a strong headwind, and if it was a factory defect perhaps he's never pushed the engine hard.

Also, the fuel gauge on the 3-D panel doesn't seem very accurate. Last time I filled up, it dropped at bar at just 15km. When I get into the car the gauge is often at a bar lower than when I parked it. Is that typical or should I have it also looked at? The car still has a year of original warrantly on it.

Thanks for any thoughts. So far loving the car... Except for it breaking down the first week I owned it.

[Ryan1985]

I think it may have been the pipe off the intercooler which keeps the Turbo cool!Don't know much about engines though especially diesels!

In reply to your petrol gauge question i find that too, if u park uphill the gauge goes down and if u park downhill the gauge goes up, nuthin major to worry about though!

Cheers

Oh and welcome 2 the club and your English is spot on! :group-cuddles:

[Viper_7]

It's very hard to hurt a diesel. Water is really the main enemy.

If indeed the airhose was the problem...that would also account for the smoke, and the loss of power...as the engine may well be flooding.

It may have just popped off if the jubilee clip wasn't tight enough...not an indication that it's not been pushed before. The speed you were doing including the hill and head wind would not do your motor any harm at all.

All these diesels you see driving around billowing smoke is becasue their owners don't change the air filters....and starve the engine of air.

Yes...take it to the dealers. they will know what tests to carry out. Perhaps as you've just bought it..also get it fully serviced.

May cost up to £200 ( sterling) but it will give you peace of mind...and a reliable motor.

The D4d is a cracking engine, and im sure following this incident you'll have trouble free motoring.

Vipes

[alanbradley]

Yeah, see above... (Viper 7 seems to know much more about these things than I do!)

It could just be a one-off thing, but your dealer should be able to plug into the engine's diagnostics and get an idea of what happened.

If you have any other questions then don't hesitate to ask!

Cheers,

Alan

[Viper_7]

aye...I'm a diesel man...will never get another Petrol car again! The T-sport is fun.... but turbo Diesel's are the dog's danglies.

So cheap to run...not just in fuel but in labour and parts...there is nothing to go wrong!...and they last for ever.

Diesel rules....change the Air filter on a regular basis....air restirctions results in black smoke on acceleration.

Regular oil changes.... I'd say every 6000 miles...after all...oil /filter plus 30 mins of your time is nothing....and she'll love you for it.

NEVER turn your engine off straight away...let it tick over for a moment or two.

otherwise you'll have a spinning turbo in no oil...same on startup...let her warm up before giving it some welly..again to protect the turbo.

Let the glow plugs do their job.... crank it up without waiting..and you'll half the life of the engine.

Diesel's also good on weeds..... it kills everything!!!!!

ohhhh I want one again!

Vipes

[dolce vita]

Thanks Everyone!

It still has a year of warranty so I presume the dealer will take a look for free, as it did break down. I forgot to add we drove it another 50km home afterward, though taking it easy at 120km. No further problems. But life passes one by at 120kmh...

yeah it looked like it was attached to something turbo-ish! I know the basics of a gasoline engine but I'm lost on a turbo diesel. Very excited about this car though. Was originally looking at a Golf but they're so expensive. We got this one in great shape with some extras for €7,800. In all of Milan it was the only used D-4D for sale under €10,000. Got it from a private party.

I just don't want this to have damaged the turbo or engine or anything. That's very interesting about the smoke we see coming from clogged air filters! that hadn't occured to me.

Is just a little smoke from the tailpipe when revved up (after parking) normal for a diesel? I get just a bit but nothing after a couple revs.

Love the forum.

[Viper_7]

Yes...a bit of smoke is normal...after all Diesels...are "dirty fuels"...they are un-refined..and the ignition is not "exact" as the fuel/air mixture ignites under pressure...rather than a spark...and since you can't 100% control the amount of fuel/air mixture...the firing point is going to vary...hence they run a little rough..and sound like a clapped out old bus when cold!

The more air you can get in though..the cleaner the burn..hence the purpose of the Turbo....all it does is compress and force in the air into the combustion chambers giving a better burn..and thus more power.

hmmmm 700 miles on a tank... of gas..nice!

VW TD's are great.... the Passat although a Large car...is a cracking turbo diesel..as are the VW BORO and my old favorite Renault 19 TD.

People say thay are dirty...but you burn use half the fossile fuels compared to a petrol engine...and they last twice as long.

Vipes

[dolce vita]

Hmmm... So I bet in my breakdown that very short hose was the one carrying the compressed air from the turbo to the engine which would explain the only partial loss in power, the loud whirring/revving noise when I tried to accelerate, and the smoke from the back would be the engine not burning the fuel efficiently or something?

I can't think of how that would damage the engine, especially since we drove like that for just maybe three or four minutes...

Make any sense?

Thanks again!

[Ryan1985]

Makes sense 2 me! Hope everything turns out okay mate! :D

Cheers

[fazzy]

you guys sound like you def know your diesel ****.

Change oil and air filters ever 6000 miles. Just to check how you change them??

Also what are the best engine mods for a diesel?

thanks

[Viper_7]

Don't forget to change your oil fiter at the same time as changing your oil.

Doesn't help passing clean oil through an old mucky filter....and the filters are less than a fiver anyways.

Was that a question? how do you change the filters? Varies from car to car..but it's dead easy. check the manual...locate the airbox... pop off the top...or remove the hose and pop off the top if need be...and swap out.

Oil, warm her up a little, then drain and replace....including oil filter...one of the easiest and most rewarding jobs, dealers would charge nearly a £100 for that.

It's recommened you change the sump plug washer as well...I never bother to be honest, and have never had a problem...but they are only a quid...so you might as well.

Mods...engine wise...not a great deal you can do. There are chips out there that claim 35% increase in horses...but I've never really looked into them....and I doubt they do what they claim. At the end of the day... the fuel fires on compression....so you can't exactly re-map the timing.

An intercooler would make a difference...but nearly every diesel these days have those standard.

Oh...and driving in winter is great!! you really notice the performance increase due to the cold air ( hence denser)

The "whirring" noise is the only thing that doesn't quite make sense to me..but if by replacing the hose fixed it...then must have been related.

Aye..diesel needs pleanty of air and compression...apparently throw a match into a puddle of diesel..and it will go out. ( don't try this at home!)

Vipes

[fazzy]

cheers, i heard something about the following what will it do for the diesel?

bailey dump valve: makes a cool sound anything else?

twin turbo?

really what can i do to my diesel to make it better: faster, better handling etc

my knowledge of normal cars is not the biggest and diesel knowledge is even less

thanks bye

[Viper_7]

Dump valves release the pressure when changing gears, which aims to keep the Turbo spinning mid gear so you don't get any lag, they also help to prolong the life of the Turbo...but to be honest these days Turbo Reliability is pretty good, unless your talking about huge amounts of boost/overboost.

Most people go for a dump Valve becasue it goes Woooosssshh!

On a Diesel, that's more likely to be a psssst. The Boost pressure isn't too high.

I'll have a look into that though, mate at work has a misubishi GT4 pushing out just under 500 BHP, he's pretty good on performance modding.

Vipes

[Viper_7]

Yup...as said.

Dump valve can be added to reduce turbo lag ( thus increase acceleration when changing up) and will lenghten the life of the turbo..but you won't get a huge Swwwooosshh...especially over the noise of the engine!

Could look at performance exhausts as well.

Vipes

[alanbradley]

really what can i do to my diesel to make it better: faster, better handling etc

Hmmm! I'm not so bothered about the outright speed, and the the overtaking performance should worry all but the T-Sport gang just as it is (maybe it's the cold, dense, Scottish air )

As regards handling - I can't really lower mine as otherwise it won't actually be able to get to my parent's house so I have a strut brace on order from Rob as part of the group buy. I'm not sure if the intercooler and assorted plumbing will be in the way when I try to fit it but I won't know until I've tried...

I'll let you know how I get on...

Cheers,

Alan

Edit: I thought about a performance exhaust, but my already sounds like a Massey Ferguson - I'm not sure I want it any louder!

[fazzy]

erm, what does a induction kit do?

can you use it on a diesel?

and how does it work?

[Viper_7]

No, you wouldn't normally have an induction kit on a Turbo diesel.

Most inducation kits usually just replace the airbox, giving better air-intake.

Better would be to have forced induction, this can be easily done with some ducting so as you move forward, the air is forced into the engine.

However that's what a turbo does....but with the help of a turbine, so the effects are more noticible. You also find with Turbo's that the air intake is already set low down in the Front bumper, in in the Case of the D4d there's a clever over the engine duct wich ducts the air from the front drill directly into the intercooler sitting atop the engine....so it takes in cool air rather than hot engine air...and is cooled further by the intercooler.

Vipes

[fazzy]

Thanks for that,

also with the diesel you get understeer, i am guessing its because of the heavy engine at the front and the tall body.

Is there anything that can be done to improve handling?

Cheers

[jaxx]

Thanks for that,

also with the diesel you get understeer, i am guessing its because of the heavy engine at the front and the tall body.

Is there anything that can be done to improve handling?

Cheers

thats the yaris' general problem in all states!

they all sit too high and have soggy suspension

best bet is a set of koni shocks and some TTE springs. the handling tightens up lovely and they become a right go-kart! also a set of alloys with some wider and more grippy tyres will help no end

the car will look loads better, sit alot better and handle amazing ok so youll loose a bit of ride quality but then thats for wusses!

[Viper_7]

or for people who live in Yorkshire! If I had her lowered...I'd never get out the end of my street!

Vipes

[fazzy]

So, you said normally you wouldnt have a induction kit added for diesel, but could you?

What are the cons and pros off adding one. Would it make any difference at all? Would it do any harm etc Would you considering i dont have many upgrading possibilties with the diesel engine to start of with

I want to make the diesel faster, what else can i do?

[earpl]

hey viper if you want a diesel im selling a audi a4 1.9tdi (110 bhp) quattro avant? available with chip to take it to 150 bhp + also available 1 set of 4 17" 6 spoke TT alloys? cars done 110 000 k. slightly leaking water but its ready for a head gasket. all new front suspention, original exhaust (like new, no rust at all!) a great reliable car, looking for about £4750. car cost 25995 new. oh yes it R reg.

as for yaris fuel guages, you know how its curved so the bars get smaller? is the tank acctually like that because if its about 1/2 full and i top it up to full it costs £20, but if its near enough empty and i 1/2 fill it (to the 1/2 way mark) it only costs a tenner??????? tis !Removed! wierd.

[fazzy]

So, you said normally you wouldnt have a induction kit added for diesel, but could you?

What are the cons and pros off adding one. Would it make any difference at all? Would it do any harm etc Would you considering i dont have many upgrading possibilties with the diesel engine to start of with

I want to make the diesel faster, what else can i do?

[SuperRetard]

An induction kit ain't much use on the D4D 'cos it's already force-fed by the turbo, and the air is from a cold-feed anyway. I'd look at a dump-valve (you want it in between the turbo and the intake manifold) for smoother boost between shifts and maybe a performance exhaust... the straighter, less baffled exit the better if I'm correct. 'cos it's a turbo you want zero backpressure.

[GT4 BOOSTER]

i had a induction kit on my escort turbo diesel made a difference on tick over , and throttle responce was improved,small hp gains around 4 or 5 but it was 1800cc and already 110 hp, oh and the unforgettable roar from under the bonnet , it used to whoop many a petrol motor too , up to around 60 mph then i was <I thought I could get past the swearing filter - what a sad muppet I am eh?>ed . lol