I am new here. I just bought a 90 Corolla DX with 126K that had sat for maybe a year. It fired on the first try with a jump. It runs fairly well. One thing is it is running hotter then I would like. The gauge gets to about the 10:00 position before the fan comes on. the fan is coming an at almost exactly 199F which is correct. It is also pinging a lot. Yesterday I tried to time it per specs but I could not see the mark because of the dirt. I decided to retard the timing from where it was to lessen the pinging. My thought that lack of performance was better on the car then pinging. Any thought? I am slowly doing all the maintenence that you would do to a car that has sat. (everything) I am flushing the coolant and changing the thermostat on Sat. What else would you all do? Thanks.
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Pat Callaghan
90 Corolla DX
Portland, OR.
How long has the car been sitting? Guess you are also changing the engine oil and probably the tranny fluid. Another thought is to clean out the air vent in front of the windshield to get out debris that may be accumulating in there is the car has been sitting outside. Check the condition of the belts. Also the tires, they may have a flat spot from sitting but may round out after driving it a bit.
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1990 Corolla SR5 Coupe 4AFE 5-speed
"Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room!"~ Dr. Strangelove, 1964
At least 6 months, maybe a year. No one is quite sure. It is a old company car. I plan on changing everything in time. Coolant and oil this weekend. The tires will not last long. Maybe a few months. The timing belt was done back in 02 with 86K now there is 126K. I think the spec is every 80K. I have on order a Owners manual. Should have it in a few days.
PS: Would you go to a 170 degree thermostat or stick with the stock 180 degree?
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Pat Callaghan
90 Corolla DX
Portland, OR.
Stick with stock thermostat unless you have overheating problems. Mine stays pretty much right at the 12 o'clock position once the car is warmed up.
Degreaser is your friend in the engine bay. Simple Green does wonders but I've also had great luck with generic degreasers from the dollar store. Spray it on, let is sit, hose it off. Scrub bad parts.
Regarding the air vent that kcwa mentioned, you can also spray antibacterial spray down it. I used Mr Clean lemon scented stuff.
Thanks for the reply. On my thermostat the gauge reads from 7 to 11 o clock. The needle usually goes to about 10 which is higher then I like. If you go too cold you goof up the computer. I will stick with the stock one. I can always change it later if needed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ghostyman
Stick with stock thermostat unless you have overheating problems. Mine stays pretty much right at the 12 o'clock position once the car is warmed up.
Degreaser is your friend in the engine bay. Simple Green does wonders but I've also had great luck with generic degreasers from the dollar store. Spray it on, let is sit, hose it off. Scrub bad parts.
Regarding the air vent that kcwa mentioned, you can also spray antibacterial spray down it. I used Mr Clean lemon scented stuff.
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Pat Callaghan
90 Corolla DX
Portland, OR.
Stick with stock thermostat unless you have overheating problems. Mine stays pretty much right at the 12 o'clock position once the car is warmed up.
I'm assuming he has the cluster without the tach, as do I, so the temp gauge is listed vertically instead of horizontally.
The coolant may be low or possibly a clogged radiator. some of the fins/lines could be clogged with crap so the coolant isn't dissapating all the heat effectively. just a thought.
I do have the cluster w/o the Tach. I will be flushing the system this weekend. Hopefully that and a new thermostat and radiator cap will take care of it.
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Pat Callaghan
90 Corolla DX
Portland, OR.
Well, I flushed the system and installed a new Toyota thermostat, radiator cap and new coolant. Still seems to be running higher then I like. Maybe I am worrying about nothing. No oil in coolant or visa versa. It never gets into the red or even close. Just runs above the 9:00 or middle position. What do you think? Am I just flaking?
Pat
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Pat Callaghan
90 Corolla DX
Portland, OR.
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