RPMs at speeds... and a couple other questions

[Woz2000]

Hello folks!

Just received a 96 DX 7A-FE with 4 speed auto, 86k miles.

Is it normal for these things to have power windows, locks, gas, but NO trunk release? What a pain since I use the trunk a lot and the key is sticky. Any room in the trunk lock area to attach a solenoid? The aftermarket alarm has an aux relay control.

My dash doesn't have a tach, so could someone with the same motor/tranny let me know what the RPMs are at 50, 60, and 70MPH (coasting at top gear - assuming torque converter locks up???)? This would be much appreciated. Also, I checked the speed with my GPS and the speedo is fast by almost 4MPH, my experience is most cars are only fast by about 2MPH. Anybody else test theirs?

[Piloter]

Power....gas? That's a new one on me. If you mean when you pull the lever, the door pops open, that's a flat bit of compressed metal, not a solenoid.

Trunk release should be a little tab just above the gas door release, pull it and the cable mechanism 'bumps' the trunk open just a little. No power-latching, no power-opening, but it should dislodge.

50 to 70 should be about 2,000 to 2,500. I'll try to get exact numbers for you tomorrow if somebody else doesn't.

Congrats on your new acquisition, welcome to the forums, there's a ton of good information on here if you're not afraid of the search button.

[Woz2000]

Took me a few reads before I got the humor. I guess it was funny.

I'm familiar with the little levers on the floor just in front of the drivers seat. Unfortunately for me there is only one lever...and its for the gas door.

I didn't bother with the search, just read much of the stickied DIYs and the first 30 pages of threads in this subforum!!!

Originally Posted by Piloter

Power....gas? That's a new one on me. If you mean when you pull the lever, the door pops open, that's a flat bit of compressed metal, not a solenoid.

Trunk release should be a little tab just above the gas door release, pull it and the cable mechanism 'bumps' the trunk open just a little. No power-latching, no power-opening, but it should dislodge.

50 to 70 should be about 2,000 to 2,500. I'll try to get exact numbers for you tomorrow if somebody else doesn't.

Congrats on your new acquisition, welcome to the forums, there's a ton of good information on here if you're not afraid of the search button.

[96coroll]

Perhaps the latch under the seat broke off(some one pulled it tooo hard)

but it would be interesting if you did add a power truck release. If you do DIY that lol. But as for advice i don't know i never worked with my trunk really. Besides trying to stop it from rattling.

[Matt94MR2]

According to the factory sales brochure at http://www.toyotareference.com/corolla all the Corolla sedan models had the remote trunk release as standard equipment. Someone must have broke or unistalled it at some point. As for the RPM issue, if you can find a gauge cluster from a Corolla that came with a factory tachometer you can swap it into your car. It was one of the first things I did when I got my Corolla.

[Dirty Dude]

I bet the lever is just broken off; the one in my car had been at some point. Open the trunk and look at the underside of the decklid. The release cable should be visible and goes into the cabin, indicating that a remote truck release is there.

[Woz2000]

You guys all got it right.

I didn't look at it close enough. But when I got down and stuck my face into the floor area, I can see the plastic remote arm is broken off right at the cavity where the plastic widens. The owner must have pulled hard at it with the trunk remote bypassed or something. Wonder if its a PITA to replace. Anyone got a R&R procedure?

Is there any Toyota dealers with the parts catalog online?

Originally Posted by 96coroll

Perhaps the latch under the seat broke off(some one pulled it tooo hard)

but it would be interesting if you did add a power truck release. If you do DIY that lol. But as for advice i don't know i never worked with my trunk really. Besides trying to stop it from rattling.

[Woz2000]

I'm not too concerned with the RPMs, its a slushbox...

Was just wondering what they are so I can pretend it's a stick and hit the O/D off button!

Originally Posted by Matt94MR2

According to the factory sales brochure at http://www.toyotareference.com/corolla all the Corolla sedan models had the remote trunk release as standard equipment. Someone must have broke or unistalled it at some point. As for the RPM issue, if you can find a gauge cluster from a Corolla that came with a factory tachometer you can swap it into your car. It was one of the first things I did when I got my Corolla.

[kickfli12]

lol. i thought the same thing when i got my 96 corolla. my trunk release lever is broken off as well. im going to get one here in the next day or so so ill write up a DIY on it. from my knowledge of putting them in other toyotas all you have to do is pull the door trim and the carpet up and its only a 12 or 14mm bolt holding them in. but like i said, ill get one tomorrow or the next day.

[Woz2000]

Fantastic! I was thinking about screwing a small screw into the remaining part and using that to release the truck...

I have got a lot of other things to do before I get to the remote release.

Let's see...
Timing belt, water pump
All the fluids...

I'm hoping the previous owner can get the maintenance records from the mechanic for the last two years, but I'm just going to assume nothing was done unless I hear otherwise.

Originally Posted by kickfli12

lol. i thought the same thing when i got my 96 corolla. my trunk release lever is broken off as well. im going to get one here in the next day or so so ill write up a DIY on it. from my knowledge of putting them in other toyotas all you have to do is pull the door trim and the carpet up and its only a 12 or 14mm bolt holding them in. but like i said, ill get one tomorrow or the next day.

[Piloter]

Originally Posted by Woz2000

so could someone with the same motor/tranny let me know what the RPMs are at 50, 60, and 70MPH (coasting at top gear - assuming torque converter locks up???)?

50 - ~1800
60 - 2000
70 - 2500

Tested on flat ground via GPS speed measurement. Don't remember how off the stock speedo was, the tach speedo seems to have some inaccuracy from 60 MPH to haven't-bothered-to-verify, but it's more like 3-4 mph off, not too bad.

If it's TOO terrible, you can pop the cover off the cluster, throw it back in the car, go for a drive, and replace the needle in motion to exactly where it should be. I recommend a pair of pliers and an assistant to hold GPS device (be it phone or laptop) and keep a hand on the wheel if needed. There is spring tension when it's at 0, making it effectively impossible to replace on the pin unless the speedometer is showing velocity.

Of course you could just swap in a tach cluster...completely plug and play, with only minor (known) inaccuracies in the fuel gauge. E is still E, F is still F, the range in between is off, the light still comes on at 10 gallons gone.

[Woz2000]

Thanks for the checking the revs! Those are pretty decent numbers, I thought they would be higher given the small output from these little 4 bangers!

I don't mind the speedo being off, I just don't want to be going any slower than the posted limit - given safe conditions

FYI, the speedo is actually designed to be fast straight from the factory. They do this to accommodate tires that come in slightly different diameters even though they are the same size as well as a slight tolerance in accuracy. Ultimately they do not want a speedo that is under speed (showing 60mph when actual speed 61mph) because of lawsuits and other niceties.

Originally Posted by Piloter

50 - ~1800
60 - 2000
70 - 2500

Tested on flat ground via GPS speed measurement. Don't remember how off the stock speedo was, the tach speedo seems to have some inaccuracy from 60 MPH to haven't-bothered-to-verify, but it's more like 3-4 mph off, not too bad.

If it's TOO terrible, you can pop the cover off the cluster, throw it back in the car, go for a drive, and replace the needle in motion to exactly where it should be. I recommend a pair of pliers and an assistant to hold GPS device (be it phone or laptop) and keep a hand on the wheel if needed. There is spring tension when it's at 0, making it effectively impossible to replace on the pin unless the speedometer is showing velocity.

Of course you could just swap in a tach cluster...completely plug and play, with only minor (known) inaccuracies in the fuel gauge. E is still E, F is still F, the range in between is off, the light still comes on at 10 gallons gone.

[kickfli12]

sorry man, i didnt get to go to the junkyard today due to the rain. ill go get the lever tomorrow and write up the DIY.

[samiam2013]

regarding speed, my 97 dx was getting passed a lot a month or so ago so I checked it against GPS, and up until 20 mph, it's fairly accurate, but after 20 it's 2 mph slow, 30 4 mph slow and 40- 110 or so it stays around 5 under (but I don't know that for the record). My uncle works at the princeton indiana plant and has owned about 5 toyota vehicles and tells me that they tend to be a little slow.

[kickfli12]

posted the DIY for you like i said i would. sorry it took so long, weve had 4 days of non stop rain here in north carolina.