Newbie question

[Andy wright]

Oh. Also seem to have bumped into a pair of Tillet seats so they are also installed .The last image is of the handbrake ECU and a fuse box. The cable routing from the ecu to the Calipers follows almost exactly the route taken by the handbrake cable , so that bit at least worked well. I think there are easier ways of installing a separate handbrake caliper , and I have certainly not saved much weight overall as the o.e Brembo with pads was about 3.8Kg,The combination of the front two pot and its adaptor, the electric caliper and its bracket comes in at almost exactly the same . Ideally one would live without a handbrake but the MOT tester may have a view on that option . 

[Lithopsian]

Notoriously difficult to shave much weight off the rear brakes, and lots of people have tried.  The Brembos are big, quite complicated, lumps of iron, but they do everything in one package.  Of course if you're putting 2-pots on anyway, then the Brembos really are an overweight over-complicated lump of iron   Well done for getting to a decent spot caliper setup, probably more work than I could have managed.

[Andy wright]

Thank you . The electric spot caliper is very good. That’s the upside. And it enabled me to dispense with the handbrake lever . Fitting the Tillets and keeping the edges on made the lever access difficult. That problem could have been overcome but….. 

The real downside is the amount of effort needed to get the spot caliper to fit the hub. Now I have done it , doing it again would be very much easier  . Once on the hub, wiring and the rest of the install is straight forward. . And in use it’s quite nice too , not that it gets that much use . 
Overall, glad I did it if only because the disabled handbrake caliper developed the very irritating habit of its pads dragging , especially after some heat had been put into the rotor by the two pot caliper The noise was a real pain in the fundament . 

[Andy wright]

And now I have started yet another chapter in my horror novel. As my avid reader may recall, I have the low rent 1ZZ power unit and its C56 5 speed box. Enter stage right a 6 speed C60 from a 7th gen Celica . These boxes are identical to the Elise C64 except for 6th gear, which is taller in the Celica.Anyway , box now in many parts and shopping list constructed . What is astonishing is the price variation on exactly the same part depending upon its source. And the Toyota dealer is up there in terms of price with DeRoure . Monkey Wrench racing is a brilliant source of information and is better value than the above but places like Megazip and Yoshiparts are significantly cheaper . ( yet to hear from Ben at Silverstone via Pi, another contributor on here ) 

More to follow .

[Andy wright]

Next vitally interesting step. Removal of the bearings from the front casing . The workshop manual shows them being removed with one of the many special tools that Toyota have available . Plan B Insert casing face down into electric oven . Switch on and turn up to 150c . Allow to cook for 15 mins and then listen for the ‘ clank’ as the bearings fall out and hit the bottom of the oven. Switch off oven , remove casing and bearings and allow to cool before serving . 
 

[Lithopsian]

Probably more fun that way than using the special tool

[Andy wright]

It was . And to put the new ones in, I will do the reverse: heat the casing and then drop in the bearing . 

[Phil Hutchins]

Enjoy gear oil flavoured roast this Sunday!

[Andy wright]

There is a small addendum to my recipe for bearing removal. Step one in the procedure is to ensure that wife has just left the house. Step 4 includes removal of casing and bearings and turn off oven prior to return of person referred to in step one. 
 

[Andy wright]

A slight diversion. I was at Blyton Park track yesterday so used the car and its brakes in anger . The brakes are so controllable , progressive and utterly reassuring. Yes, more pedal effort is needed, but it’s not leg breaking ( read tiring ) and as the pads heated up, they of course got even better. No hint of rear lock up, though I did not when checking on temps after a 20 min stint that the rear discs were very nearly as hot as the front . So at one level , target achieved. I more skilful ( read faster ) driver may well uncover any limitations in balance but as a James May disciple ( captain slow ) I didn’t . 

[Andy wright]

Gearbox parts. Mega zip seems the best option. All genuine Toyota parts but at planet Earth prices. Order placed so we will see .

 

[Dopper85]

On 17/09/2025 at 18:42, Andy wright said:

One pin in particular looked very dry but most of them didn’t look great. A replacement LCD panel would have been nice an is still an option if mine doesn’t behave itself. However, I am lusting after an AIM MX2E dash, complete with reversing camera . Lot of money but a real step improvement on the o.e dash and has all the track data loaded .

 

Hi Andy,

I’ve recently purchased a 2007 s touring with the Toyota 1zz unit.

I’ve been reading through yours posts and wondered if you could shed a little more info on your original dash and the DIY lcd repair? 

I have the same issue where the small LCD comes and goes and would like to attempt a DIY but don’t really know where to start.

Also, saw you mention an AIM shop in Stoke, where about is this as I’m local?

PS - love the aim digital dash, maybe one day..

Edited July 9 by Dopper85

[Andy wright]

Morning. . First. The Aim shop. It’s not really a shop I had to call them to let them know when I was coming and what I wanted. But they were very helpful . Location. I looked up the address on their site but can’t remember exactly where it was. I know it was the Uttixeter side of Stoke as I came in on the A50 . Now the dash. I did fix the problem but damaged the rev counter ( the needle was very difficult to remove and I ended up damaging the spindle , so really my dash, though it now works properly , really needs a replacement rev counter . Right. The fix. Instrument panel on the table. Front clear plastic removed. This needs a very fine sharp blade and a little patience but it does come off. Next the bit that should not be difficult but was: carefully prise off the speedo and rev counter needles . Once they are off, the clocks and pcb can be removed from the housing . The screws are small but obvious. The problem is the soldering of the lcd display to the pcb. Fine tip on the soldering iron and some thin flux cored solder and I simply re -soldered each pin . Then rebuilt it, plugged it in and it worked a treat . Except for the rev counter. 
You are welcome to my instrument panel if you want it and then transplant your counter. Only snag will be the odometer . Mine reads about 71000  . 
Andy 

[Andy wright]

Gearbox parts arrived earlier this week. No important duty and just over one third of the cost of the same items from a U.K. Toyota dealer or Bell and Covil. I have now started to reassemble the input and output shafts with the new bearings and synchro hubs. So far so good …….. Back to the press to get that centre bearing in place, then choose the correct width circlip to get the end float right( Toyota list 6 but at 83 p each I got all 6 even though 5 will remain un used ,

[Lithopsian]

Looks like fun.  I've never played inside a 6-speed box.