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Answer: A non-functioning EGR valve is probably causing your pinging problem. Verify that the valve opens properly and the ports under the valve are open.

Question: 1999 Toyota Corolla mileage: 110,000. Dear Sir, thanks for the wonderful service you are doing! I am from India and thus know very little about the cars out here. I bought my Toyota when it had 104,000 and had the regular oil changes done twice since then...one at 104,000 and then the other 107,000. Since I was doing the regular oil changes I was never bothered to check the oil level. Now it has 110,000 on it so I thought to have looked at it before I go for the next oil change. I found to my dismay, that there is no oil at all. I do not know long it was like that and how much I drove with that situation. So I panicked and added half a quart of oil with the help of my friend who knows about the cars (he has a Toyota too and it seems he adds in between). I drove around 10 miles on that day. Next day I found that again dry with out any oil. I do not know what is wrong. Help me by giving your expert opinion as to what needs to be taken care of at this point...how to fix it? Do you think it would have caused severe damage to the engine....I am terribly worried because I invested quite a bit...I am a student. Hope you will help me out. Still the car is running good. It gets started with out any problem...runs smooth ....no smoke coming out.

Answer: You probably have not caused severe damage to the engine but only time will tell. We would highly suggest checking the oil and adding more if necessary every time you fill the gas tank. Check where you park the car over night to see if there is oil spots under it. If you find large quantities under the car, you will need to have a reputable service technician take a look at it. You may have a gasket or a seal that has failed.

Question: 2002 Toyota Corolla mileage: 88,000  I was told by some service person that it is recommended to change the transmission fluid completely at 30,000 and the same for the fluid in the radiator. Am I getting smoke blown up my nose? This does not sound correct. The transmission fluid has only slight color change and the coolant had little or no color change.

Answer: Check your owner’s manual for the recommended service schedule. These schedules are only guides, however. You should be aware, service intervals vary depending on driving conditions and habits. Depending on where you live, 30,000 may not be unreasonable. Color change is a criteria but it must be viewed together with driving conditions and habits.

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Question: 2002 Toyota Corolla  mileages: 60,000. I have never had any problems with my car in the 2 years that I have owned it. Then 3 weeks ago driving down the road the engine dies and will not start again. I had it towed to a shop. They thought that it was the injector module. The distributor was replaced along with the timing belt. Computer was already scanned for codes and injector pulse code came up. Noid light indicates injector pulse. Basically, got spark, fuel, and compression. No run/wet plugs. Why? Any ideas?

Answer: First, verify that the timing belt was installed properly. If okay, you may have one or more leaking fuel injectors which are causing your no start problem.

Question: 1990 Toyota Corolla  mileage: 111,000. I am not getting much heat out of my heater. I recently had the thermostat replaced and a new water pump put in. The mechanic told me that there might be an "air bubble" blocking the flow of coolant to the heater core. I am also finding that coolant is always filling up the overflow bottle and spits out the hose that exits it. Only once in a while will I get very good heat. The heater core is in good shape and not leaking. I have had to add coolant a few times since the new water pump. I attribute this to the overflow bottle sucking out the coolant and spitting it out. There are no leaks anywhere with the cooling system either.

Answer: Check for exhaust in the cooling system as you may have a head gasket that is starting to leak.

Question: 1989 Toyota Corolla  mileage: 125,500. I found a little trick to help me pry out a stubborn passenger-side drive axle from the 3 speed automatic transmission of my 89 Corolla. Unfortunately, I'm now having trouble installing the new one. The axle makes it past the seal and I can feel it contact the gear inside the transmission. While holding the drive axle in place, I slowly rotate it while maintaining a firm and constant pressure until I feel the spline on the axle match up with the gear in the tranny. At this point, I try to push the shaft in, but it just won't go. I can see no foreign objects in the pathway. I cannot see any damaged splines. There is no key way forcing the shaft to go in only one way. I don't want to damage any bearings or splines etc, so I'm reluctant to try the hammer. However, I don't have the body strength to just push the axle back in place, either. Could you give me any hints as to how to install the new drive axle in my Corolla? Jim

Answer: Remove the axle assembly and inspect the wire snap ring on the end of the assembly. If it has been stretched out of shape and is hanging loose, it will prevent you from putting the axle in. Remove the snap ring and reshape it so that it is not hanging loose on the axle assembly. Then you should be able to install the axle assembly.

Question: 1995 Toyota Corolla  mileage: 65,500. What is the problem with my distributor? I have heard repeating noise from it when the engine running. I opened it and saw the rotor edge was damaged, so I replaced a new rotor that I bought from a local Toyota dealer. But the noise still won't go away. I also check ignition coil's primary resistance, which was 0.7 ohm [within specification?]. The secondary resistance was 12.51 K ohms. Additional information: 1. In Aug 2000, a local Toyota dealer installed new timing belts and new starter for my car. 2. Only the silicon portion that was connected to spark plug in engine # 1 turned to dark orange color. It was black color before the noise symptom. 3. My car had a new distributor at 32,500 miles.

Answer: The problem with your distributor may be a bad bearing allowing the shaft to wobble. In addition, check the ignition system, it may be time to replace the cap and plug wires.

Question: 1997 Toyota Corolla  mileage: 40,000. Sometimes when I turn my car to the left it becomes very hard to steer, like it has been turned too far but it hasn't. This is at slow speeds like in a parking lot. It becomes almost impossible to turn like it has no power steering. Also, you can hear a noise like a hiss like noise from the left side. Never happens turning right. Seems to happen the more you turn it. Checked the fluid seems to be full.

Answer: The problem with your power steering is probably due to faulty valves in the steering rack. The steering rack will have to be replaced to solve your problem.

Question: 1997 Toyota Corolla  mileage: 150,000. My condenser-cooling fan and engine-cooling fan both stop working at the same time. I jump both fan motors straight from the battery and they work. When I turn the air conditioner on the fans, they do not come on. I check all my fuses and relays and they seem to be all right. What else could cause both fans not to work because the engine-cooling fan will not come on to keep the engine temperature stable?

Answer: Check the relays again for the electric fans because from what you describe, we would bet this is your problem.

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Question: 1985 Toyota Corolla  mileage: 165,000 km. How can I tell whether it is okay to use Lead free petrol for my relatively old car ?. Sri Lanka has recently introduced a higher-octane Lead free petrol at a few outlets. Will this suit my 1985 Corolla wagon? I have heard it said that older models actually need Leaded petrol to lubricate the valves and that in these cases transferring to lead free may actually cause harm. Is this true? I think when the car came from Japan it had a catalytic converted which got blocked with time and had to be discarded. Does that suggest that this engine was designed for Lead free and that it was the use of Leaded fuel, which ruined the catalytic converter? I ask this advice because considering the slightly inferior type of Leaded fuel (two star) we use here I have no doubt that the car would run better with the Lead free alternative provided it is considered to be compatible with the design of the engine. Some years ago we had three star leaded on which the engine ran beautifully. Then they replaced three star leaded with unleaded forcing me down to two star leaded - which is my problem! I would greatly value some clarification - i.e. can I go ahead and pump unleaded fuel?

Answer: If your car was originally equipped with a catalytic converter, then the engine was designed to run on unleaded fuel (petrol). Using leaded fuel will definitely ruin the catalytic converter. You should be able to run the three star unleaded fuel without any problems.

Question: 1991 Toyota Corolla  mileage: 135,000.  High beam does not work.  All headlights originally fine, then high beams started flickering going over bumps, and finally quit entirely when pulling into driveway (moderate bump).  Low beam and flash work (flash works both with headlights on and off, as it should).  All wires, relays, fuses connectors and 2 separate grounding connections checked with continuity checker.  Headlight switch and dimmer switch also TEST good with continuity checker.  Dealer "recommends changing dimmer switch", but has not examined car, and seems reluctant to take on this problem.  Had I not already tested the dimmer switch with the VOM, I would have concurred based on the schematic (Haynes Repair Manual) alone, but if wrong, that is an $84 mistake.  Recommendations?

Answer:   Assuming you did not test all the switches and circuits under load, (headlights on) we would recommend doing this now to pinpoint your problem.

Question: 1993 Toyota Corolla  mileage: 97,500.  My air conditioning stopped cooling again. I had it charged last year and it worked fine all of last summer.  I guess there might be a slow leak.  I bought a converter kit "R-134a Retrofit & Charging Kit" and a canister of "R-134a Stop Leak & Detector".  Since my car was charged by a licensed auto shop, am I to assume they used R-134a.  Or is my 1993 corolla already R-134a equipped. What are the specific steps going about recharging my car because I never did this?

Answer:  We do not recommend recharging your own automobile air-conditioning.  If done improperly, you can injure yourself and damage your car.  A licensed auto shop would have used R-134a if that were what the manufacturer required.  The test ports are different sizes for the two different types of Freon.

Question:  1999 Toyota Corolla  mileage: 71,000.   The key to the car has broken off in the ignition; half of it is still inside.  How can I get it out?

Answer:  You need to replace the ignition lock.  A Mitchell, Chilton or Haynes auto repair manual or a specialty repair book for your make of car will have diagrams showing what you are looking for.  The manuals and books give step-by-step instructions. 

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Question:  1986 Toyota Corolla  mileage:1 75,000.  I recently bought this car and whenever it rains, the car doesn't run once I have been driving for about ten minutes.  It runs fine after I put in a can of dry gas.  I was wondering if I have a hole in my gas tank.  Someone had told me that it might be the distributor cap but since the dry gas helps I don't think that is the problem.  Will the dry gas damage my engine? 

Answer:  A reasonable amount of Dry Gas added to the gas tank should not hurt your engine.  It sounds as if you have a gas tank vent that has somehow opened allowing rainwater to get in.  Check all vent gas hoses to if any are split or disconnected.   Also, check the gas fill pipe for a leak.

Question:  1990 Toyota Corolla  mileage: 120,000.  Dear Bob and Ken, Recently my car went down so fast.  A few weeks ago, I had my radiator, alternator and starter replaced to keep me from being stuck in the snow.  Last week, I smelled a strong smell in my car and I found some kind of oil leaking from somewhere behind the dashboard down to my brake pedal.  I took the car to garage and they said the oil is from gearbox via speedometer cable.  They replaced the o-ring and seal and charged me 85 bucks.   Now here comes the worst: It starts leaking again!  Before I go back to the garage, I am wondering if you could help me out by answering the following questions at your earliest convenience?  This car is the only one my wife and I are using for everyday living, so PLEASE.  1. Is the oil really from gearbox, have the garage guys really made the correct judgment and done the right thing?  2. According to your experiences, what will be the next thing that will go down most likely or what things I should specially keep an eye on as for preventive maintenance?

Answer:    If gear oil is being forced up the speedometer cable, there is a good chance that the small air vent in the top of the transmission has somehow gotten plugged.  As for your second question, a good thing to check, as preventive maintenance, would be the battery; have it load tested.

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