Ivan141 Wrote:You're wrong there Banpei... the vacuum sensor is a separate unit that does nothing else but switch the light in your dash. The TVIS butterflies are operated by the ECU and open at a specific RPM (around 4000). They are powered by vacuum. But only in the sense that the vacuum is used to pull them shut under 4k rpm. So your faulty power/econ switch is really nothing to worry about.
How do you know the butterflies are always open? If you suspect something is wrong with them then you should look at the actuator (under the intake manifold). See if the connector is in place making good contact, and check (or just replace since it's cheap anyway) the vacuum lines going to it.
From what I've read from people who removed TVIS it really doesnt make that much of an impact on performance/fuel consumption...just a little less torque.

Right. That's a clear answer.
The car always had trouble running low rpms, for instance: while driving in a traffic-jam I always have to be careful not to have the car jump all the time. It's more like the car gets choked and does not get enough air compared to the amount of air in the lower rpms. TE71Corolla suspeced the butterflies didn't work at all, but according to the repair guide it did work correctly, so I didn't replace the butterflies itself. It's not really a great bother since I won't run the car in low rpms much, but it is something I want to get rid of.

I was planning to replace the vacum lines anyway, along with the sensor and some other stuff as well (fix headlights, foglights, bumper). That's why I wanted a sensor now, but reading this it should be okay to leave the sensor itself as it is.

Passed MOT without a problem.
Only got a reccomendation to change the rear tires within a few months.

YEAH!!!! Congratulations!!!

Also found out these things during my pre-MOT fixing:
Side window leaks, so I've got water underneath my rear-seats.

Rubber gasket for taillight was the wrong one (kouki model), but since I removed the taillight I had to replace it anyway: the gasket which was there consisted of 60% to 70% of siliconekit. Atleast it leaks less worse now, but I definetly need to order a new set and get them copied this time.

Also another place is leaking in my trunk: it's wet on the floor itself, so probably behind the license plates where the old holes from the licenseplate lights are.

I fixed the lights by using a switch, so atleast my lights are functioning normal if I flip up the lights manually. Next thing to do is to put another relay instead of the switch and restore the old retractor unit.

And ofcourse when I returned to the MOT-service station I got yet another offer for my car. Another customer wanted to buy it. As TE71Corolla said: how many notes/offers have YOU already collected?

I had that water under my rear seats too... only on my car I had to get the holes that where there welded. I thinks it leaks past the rear windows into the boot area, and then runs forward under the rear seats again.
Also my boot is very leaky to. It's more likely to be leaking somewhere along the sealing rubber, especially the seams have a tendency of rusting through on a lot of coupe's I've seen.

Lucky enough I don't have to get it fixed there: no holes there (yet!). But I still think it has to come from the window: I put newspapers throughout my boot and only on two spots I had water on them. So it's quite clear where the water came from then. But that was on the other side of the boot, nowhere near the rear seats. But then again: water runs to strange places.

I finally did the bumper swap!
I'm totally exhausted right now: I couldn't get the bolts loose, but with a little help from my dad (who is a 110kg construction worker) and wd40 I managed to get the last bolt loose.
Then I found out that the european bumper is a tiny bit different: some holes are on a different spot and the big bolts which you need to fasten the bumper through the trunk are a different size and I didn't have the bolts which would fit the european. So I ended up using bolts going right through the bumper and fastened them with new nuts: I have to replace them in time, but for now they will do.
Also my fender is damaged due to rust and I couldn't fasten it on one side, so it's a bit loose on that side...
Unfortunately I managed to damage my newly sprayed bumper while mounting it so it's not as nice as I hoped it would be...

And also another picture to illustrate how huge the old one used to be:


Oh, and my estimate is that the old bumper must weight about 25kg: it's fucking heavy!

hey finally i see some kind of a muffler

TE71corolla Wrote:hey finally i see some kind of a muffler

Yeah, when I removed it I found out the mufflertip is Sebring. I was never able to see because the bumper was over it.