Archive for January, 2008

Fuel Filter Change On A 1995 Corolla

Changing the fuel filter on the Toyota Corolla is no easy task. Unlike most fuel filters that just snap on and off, the Corolla fuel filter in mounted on the bottom of the firewall right in front of the driver. You just can't reach down to the filter and get a wrench on it to loosen the compression fittings, you will need to remove some parts to gain access.

First I removed the air cleaner and the air breather hose going to the plenum. It was necessary to remove the tire to gain access to the filter from a different angle because the threads were hard to turn. They weren't cross threaded, just hard to turn either on or off.

Before I started any of the work to remove the fuel filter I disconnected the battery to be on the safe side. You really have to crawl around to get at the fittings and the possibility of creating a spark was a concern. Once you get on the fittings you just have to wrestle them off, there is no quick way.

Re-installing a new fuel filter is just as challenging. I just had to keep turning the fitting one flat at a time until it bottomed. I hope my Corolla is unique in the difficulty in getting the fuel filter on and off as the rest of the car is great. But plan on spending some time changing the fuel filter, it is no five minute job.

Once you are finished installing the new filter make sure to check for leaks. If you do see a leak, and you are positive you didn't cross-thread the fitting it just may need another turn of the wrench to stop the leak.

Eureka Upright Vacuum Cleaner Brush Stops or Won’t Work

After using my Eureka Upright Vacuum to clean-up a dust used to take the stains out of a carpet the brush would not start when I switched the vacuum to the carpet mode, after checking the belt and finding it in good shape I had to look into the problem further.

I took the vacuum apart and found that there is a Cherry micro switch that completes the circuit for the brush motor when the hose is inserted into it's holder. When the hose is pushed down into the holder it contacts a lever that activates the micro switch. The micro switch is "normally open" so when the hose is removed the lever comes off of the switch opening the circuit.

I tested the switch with a meter and found it to be open in both directions, N/C and N/O. After calling several appliance parts houses and learning that no one has any switches like the one I needed I tried to clean the one I had with alcohol by submerging the switch in alcohol and blowing it dry a few times it began to work.

It turned out that the switch was full of the dust from cleaning the carpet. The dust was so fine that it found its way into the sealed switch and prevented continuity to the brush motor.

So if this happens to your Eureka Vacuum, don't throw it out before you check the switch. The switch is located in the bottom section of the upright part of the vacuum right next to the vacuum motor.

Toyota Corolla Power Door Locks Won’t Move

On a 1995 Toyota Corolla the power door lock on one of the back doors stopped working, the lock wouldn't even move by hand. It was actually stuck in the unlocked position and it would not move when it was pushed down manually so there was no way to lock the door.

After taking the door panel off I checked the locking mechanism and it seemed to be unobstructed so there was no real reason why it wouldn't work until I checked the locking actuator and found it to be seized up and unable to move at all.

I removed the actuator, a small gear driven solenoid made by GeCom. Carefully removing the cover from the GeCom unit I found two broken plastic gears inside the unit. The teeth were broken right off from what looked like plastic fatigue. How the actuator works is when the door is locked there is a constant pressure on the gears from a spring inside the unit holding the lock down. All of that pressure just wore the gears out after ten years of service.

One thing you can do to be able to use the lock manually is to remove the actuator and leave it off, you just have to remember to lock the door by hand when you leave the car. I had tried that for a few months and got tired of it so I put a remote door lock kit on all of the locks so now one button locks them all.
It gives peace-of-mind knowing all of the kids are locked in when driving through town.
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Find out more about power door lock replacements for your Corolla, visit: http://www.alltoyotacorolla.com