ClareQuilty

I had a similar problem with my old Hayate, the cause was the accelerator cable was getting water into it and it had started to fray due to the corrosion. replacement cable was plastic coated and the guy at Suzuki said it was common on the earlier ones hence they went to the improved cable.

HMM.. thank you Spoonman, I'll pass this information to my friend immediately and see if it helps.

A friend of mine has a few years old Suzuki Hayate.. strong bike, engine is strong, not many kilometers. However, for a year or two now it has had a dangerous problem - it will often 'race', to the point where he can barely control the bike. Sometimes it doesn't do this, but other times it will be racing for weeks - very hard to drive.

One time when I was on the back we overturned because of this racing engine (inherently much more dangerous on an automatic than a real bike).Anyway, of course he has had it into various motorbike dealers and repair shops about once a month for the last year, and each time they just 'adjust' the bike. Sometimes it is better for a while, sometimes no change. A few times after the adjustment the bike ran too low and would always die at stop lights.

So, I'm wondering - what could be the problem with this bike. These 'modern' bikes, particularly automatics, aren't my cup of tea.. I'm clueless.

Well today I got a call from my mechanic, said the car broke down while he was test driving it post-repair, in a new, unrelated and worse way. His English is poor, and it is always even more problematic discussing things on the phone, but he said it was 'broken because you drove it without oil'. No idea what that means, but he seemed to imply that the engine was completely defunct. Of course I've never driven it without oil, and always change the oil frequently, check it frequently, and keep it topped up. I find it a bit unlikely that it would break down suddenly in this way while he had it (makes me suspicious of him), but I have to admit that it has had for years terrible valve-clatter at start-up, which is normal for these old Toyota motors due to poor oiling. Perhaps the valves and whatnot finally wore out.

Kind of sad because the car had been a paragon of reliability - a 50,000 baht car giving 3 years of service without any repair costs. But now alas it sounds that it is ruined, and there'll be no affording a replacement on a teacher's salary.

Yes, Warpspeed, that's precisely right -it is an electric fuel pump installed to replace the mechanical one. I think it has been in the car for many, many years..

The new mechanic says that the Chinese replacement is worse than nothing, as are all Chinese parts and products, according to him (as he put it in his curious English 'part just for sell, not for use'. So, he has hunted down the now-rare second-hand-from-japan electrical fuel pump for about 800 baht. Brand new from japan would be about 2,000 he said. He said used ones used to be 600 baht have become so rare the price has gone up - he had to search all over Isaan and had one sent from about 4 hours away.

I'll probably pick the car up later today, will let you all know how it works out.

Oh, and Litlos, the temperature gauge does't work very well on this car - it usually shows dead cold under normal operating range, and just moves very slightly to the right when the car is super-hot, near overheating. Anyway during these episodes the engine temp was just fine, no overheating at all (it was at night, I mostly drive at night, but I do believe I killed the battery from trying to start it many times).

Sounds good....but I'm thinking about this little engine and all the new technology,how long will it last ?Also the transmission is something new and sophisticated(xtronic cvt??)..

Yeah anything new is dicey. For sure I'd opt for the 5-speed manual transmission.

Can you give a bit more detail on what happens when it fails. Is the fault like it is gradually running out of power until it stops or does it suddenly just shut down? if it it gradually running out of power then is probably fuel related, electrics tend give a sharper shutdown. This is a generalisation only and there can be some electrical faults that result in a loss of power. You mention earlier that it stinks after the problem. Is this an unburnt fuel smell like petrol, or something different?

Well, its hard to say about that - it is only when it is running along at a fairly high rate of speed that it looses power - say around 40-60 kilometers per hour. By 'lose power' I mean it dies right away and won't continue to run.. It has yet to lose power when idling or at low speed. When it goes out it is fairly quickly, but kind of like a half a second or a second, not instantly. And the smell you can notice afterward is kind of a very bad burnt smell - not the smell of fresh gas, but like a smell of something burning.

So the next event today was that a new mechanic came and towed it back to his shop - now I have a man about 60 or older, who can speak English basically. I gave up on the previous shop. I generally think older mechanics are more likely to be good, particularly with older cars. As soon as he got it back to the shop he decided that it was the fuel pump - that the previous replacement of a few days ago was a Chinese made product, and therefore useless and prone to immediate failure. Anyway the car did run fine idling in the shop once he had jump-started it.

To be honest I think this guy is barking up the wrong tree as well, but what can I do?

Thanks everyone for your interesting comments!

Well, the latest news is the car has broken down yet again with exactly the same problem, this time after a new fuel pump (1000 baht). First, the condenser (600 baht), a few kilometers appeared to be working better, then broke down again, then back to the same idiot shop, where they put a new fuel pump, it drove pretty well for a couple of days, then the exact same problem, only this time on a dark highway in the middle of nowhere.

So.. the thing is, I know very little about cars, but I also have no money, so its either this car or no car. I'm thinking its going to be pure luck to find a good mechanic - I think most of you would agree a good mechanic could keep a KE70 Corolla running more or less forever (certainly I still see quite a few of them on the road, and looking pretty rough while going pretty strong), while a useless mechanic will just keep changing parts and wasting my meager funds.

I'll let you all know what happens - when I get it towed to a new shop in the next few days (could be up to 800 baht or more!), I'll suggest 1) the fuel filter, 2) clogged fuel lines, 3) coil, 4) the 'float' in the carburetor... was there anything else? This is going to be hard to do, as my Thai consists of things that one would normally use Thai for, like ordering food, not complex conversations. I have heard of an English speaking mechanic in my town.. will try to find him over the next day or two.

Perhaps some of you have seen my KE70 threads before - I own a very ancient but well preserved Toyota Corolla, about 28 years old at least, which has hardly ever broken down or needed any repairs in the three years I've owned it.

Well, it now has finally broken - it didn't actually strand me, but it keeps stalling out on the road. It will start, though a bit reluctantly, but then stalls out after a half a kilometer to a kilometer, and I have to let it glide to the side of the road, wait a minute, restart it, and go again. It also usually gives off quite a stink during these stall-outs, but no visible smoke.

I had it in at the repair shop the last couple of days, and they put on a new condenser (630 baht all in). When I picked it up it seemed better for about half an hour, then the same exact problem occurred, and I barely limped back to the shop. My original theory was the fuel filter or fuel pump, because it seemed like it wasn't getting fuel, but another friend said it could be the distributor. Do any of you armchair mechanics have any opinions?

It was interesting that the condenser seemed to make the car run right for about 30 minutes before the problem came back.. also the problem seemed to get worse and worse as I limped the 6-7 kilometers back to the repair shop.

I recently had a Honda Tena engine 'rebuilt' - the guy put in a new piston and did some fiddling and filing, cleaned it up, etc. I'm not sure if this is a 'rebuild', but anyway it solved the problem of the bike being weak, and only cost about 980 baht.

I did notice that he filled up the gas tank with fuel - I think it was fuel in which he had added additional two-stroke oil, I'm guessing to assist with the break-in period.

So, since then the bike's been running great with an obvious increase in compression and power, but just today I noticed a few small backfires at different times, upon deceleration. My own guess is either the extra oil in the fuel or perhaps something he might have done wrong in the re-build has fouled the plug. I'll take it in tomorrow to find out, but I wonder if any of you armchair mechanics can have guess.

Don't own one, but I've looked at them at the Honda dealer many times. However whenever he does get one or two they are normally gone in just a few days. Very quick to sell, and often not to Thais but sent to the borders.

The bike looks great. I don't like Waves, but I wish I could test drive one of these. Alas no test drives of new bikes in Thailand.

I've two old - around 8-10 years - but decent Honda Tenas I'd like to sell.

One's silver, a 5 spd clutch with very strong twin disk brakes, runs great, everything works very well, 7,000 baht. I guess you could say it is pretty zippy and responsive, quite fun, though not 'fast' (its a small bike).

The other's red, a 4 spd clutchless with front disk and rear drum brakes, looks good, runs well, may need exhaust soon, 5,000 baht.

Both have good greenbooks and papers but are a few years out of date on the stickers. I'm told this just means you'll have to pay a little more when going in for updated stickers (around a thousand was what some Thai people told me). Around here the cops never check farangs so I never bothered and never got a ticket (citation) in three years.

If you're in the area, or maybe over in Khon Kaen or Roi-et, give me a call if you're interested:0878574824

the US is still going to be the 'last man standing' in Very Dark days.

May be more accurate to say the world's reserve currency will be the last man standing.

Whether or not it is guaranteed that the USD will remain the WRC while likely.. is not guaranteed.

True. Though it is most when everything goes to Hades that one realizes how premature is the talk about the ascendency of China, or EU, or whmoever. Ironic I suppose given that the right-wing neo-liberal agenda which has destroyed us was imposed by the hegemon in the first place.

Bad times = higher USD. Debt/deflation depression caused by neo-liberalism's inevitable crisis followed by foolhardy anti-Keynesian 'austerity' response guarantees collapse of confidence and accelerating downward spiral of economic activity, and a resultant flight to quality, and for all the talk about its uncompetitiveness and impoverished masses, the US is still going to be the 'last man standing' in Very Dark days.

Has anyone here had occasion to drive from Somdet just north of Kalasin over to Udon Thani? I was thinking the smaller highways look like a great short-cut - 2042, 2253, 2023. How long should I expect this drive to take? Are those roads pretty good?

Never, but for the past few years I've been considering getting a radio for my car.

My experience has been the converse of most of those above - I've been mostly pleased, even amazed, at the service and price of my shade-tree and small-shop Thai mechanics. Then again I'm a super-cheap guy living on 30K/month upcountry, driving around on 6,000 baht bikes.

Most times when mechanics did minor repairs for me it came out cheaper and better than I expected, and when they take it upon themselves to make ajustments to the idle or mixture, it is usually an improvement. There was one exception with an old Tiara I had, where I had to use the choke to run it after the guy adjusted it, but even though the solution was less than ideal, the bike was actually more 'driveable' that way than the way it had been before.

I've yet to have anything major done like rebuilding an engine, though.

Errrm, so you don't just ride Tenas! Did you ever get the problem with the choke sorted out? I guess you must have as the post was a few months ago. I bet it was just running lean. Anyway, hope it's OK now. By the way, I think we should start a Honda Tena Owners Club! If you see any good Honda Tenas for sale, let me know. I was in Laos a couple of months ago and every other bike seems to be a Tena. Here's a photo of one in beautiful condition.

Hey I just noticed this, wow, long time ago. I hope you're still visiting Thaivisa. I have to admit I do only occasionally.

Alas I never really fixed the Tiara, it was drivable as it was so I drove it that way till some Thais persuaded me to sell it. I got a years worth of use out of it. I miss it a lot, and I really preferred the driving position compared to the lower/smaller Tenas. I'd love to find another one in really good shape, as that one was a bit rough.

As for Tenas, well, I now have three Tenas all in good shape! I just kept buying them when the dealer had a good one (which wasn't often), if it was cheap enough. I bought them for around 5-6K each, but I've put a bit into each one fixing them up. I'd sell them for 6-8K I guess, depending on which one.

there is a bike shop in Petchabun that STILL has some BRAND NEW 2 stroke bikes in stock.

Neat. There is a similar one in Khon Kaen - old fellow with a Yamaha dealer has a lot of brand new Tiaras, a few Belle Rs, some two stroke family bikes, and about six 150 cc two stroke sport bikes, which are the Yamaha equaivalent of the NSR, buI can't remember the name of that model. He's asking about 30K for the Belle Rs and family bikes, about 38-40 for the Tiaras, and 60K for the bigger bikes.

Well, driving a car is best considered a luxury, not a necessity. I have a car but only drive it about once a week, to go to the neighboring large town about one hour's drive away. Around my smaller town I use a motorbike. If I go to Bangkok or other far-away destinations, I use the bus, which is still incredibly cheap in Thailand - one of the best deals remaining as the country gets more and more expensive.

That's why most new cars and bikes have been 4 strokes for the past few decades.

In fairness up untill around 10 or 15 years ago a very large percentage of bikes (probably the majority) sold in Thailand were two-strokes, and quite a lot of them are still on the road offering trouble -free service. I'm talking about Tenas, Tiaras, Belle-Rs, etc., but most Thais I know who have these things say they're much more reliable than the newer bikes. I know the three I have never give me the slightest trouble, and the maintainence is minimal - just add 60 baht worth of auto-lube to the auto-lube tank about every 20th tank of gas.

15-18, maybe 20 but only if it is in very perfect-looking condition. Dreams have a special demand/interest that Waves don't, and are much less common - should get a few thousand more than comparable Wave.

The appearance - paint, dings, fading, etc. - of the bike is most important to Thai buyers.

This is one of those 'don't go to the dealer' stories - my 28 year old Toyota was running a bit hot the other day, with a fairly rapidly fluctuating temperature gauge, so I stopped by the dealer as I happened to be passing. They diagnosed it as the sending sensor, and ordered one for 1,700 baht! Luckily for me that had none in stock, so I had time to go home and think, and after I checked I found it was just low on water. After filling it ran perfectly and the temperature gauge also performed perfectly.

Sorry I have no advice on clutch prices, but must commend you for being green and recycling what is nearly a 30 year old car . I remember the KE70, good design and proportion. Just wondered how you managed for petrol, and what probs you may have had regarding ethanol effecting your carb and other components. Also how easy is it for you to get general spares ?

Parts seem to be easy enough to come by with this common model, but its broken so little I haven't had chance to test this much. As for fuel, I always use 91 Red, benzine. I never ever put in any gasohol - I hate that stuff, what a boondoggle. I also have 3 old two-stroke motorbikes. So I'm one of those people who is absolutely dreading if they eliminate benzine. I think the car just might run on it, but I don't think my bikes will.

You are right, about the 'green' aspect - keeping old vehicles is very green, even if they use a bit more fuel than newer ones (actually a KE70 uses very little fuel, but some older cars use a bit more, and are still greener than buying a newly made product). Thai people don't understand me keeping old things, so I try to explain it as a green decision (even though to be honest I couldn't care less about green, I just love old things and hate new ones; find them tacky)

The design of the KE70 is wonderful, very comfortable in the front seats, very small dimensions, sturdy little push-rod engine, and most importantly its a 'real car' - rear wheel drive. The only drawback is the small rear seats, and the very low top speed (you can't really cruise comfortably over 80 kph because of the low gearing). I've driven the car all over Isaan without any trouble - 50,000 baht, 210,000 kilometers, zero repairs in 3 years of ownership.

Wow, amazing. It never occurred to me that you could get a USA bank account online. Last time I was in the USA and tried to get a bank account I remember they made me show various evidence that I had a physical address - utility bills and so forth. They made it very difficult. Maybe its not that way anymore (that was right after 9/11 2001). Thanks.

I have an old 5-speed rear-wheel drive Corolla (KE70). I love the car, but it seems to be shuddering a lot on take-off, which I guess could be the clutch. This is not a big deal, but I'm wondering if anyone has a guess what a clutch on a simple old rear-wheel drive car like that would cost to have installed in Thailand?