21st Dec 2005, 22:05

I'm Joseph Ranchez a 2 Years owner of a 95 Toyota lite-ace and just like what others said, there are some things that are not reliable in lite-ace. Like: you can't drive the lite-ace at 90kmph on the highway, not good to drive on mountains (Baguio, Subic), not very cool air-conditioning system, hard starting, not power steering, and its overheating engine. Actually we already spent 10,000 just to fix the overheating engine. And also we already convert our lite-ace into power steering and it cost us about 12,000-16,000. Now our lite-ace is a little bit comfortable to drive.

27th Dec 2005, 20:12

Our family has a 15yr old lite ace, for the past year I have spent P60,000 on repairs and a few modifications. Here are some of my suggestions to improve performance: to increase from 90kmh capacity to 120kmh, replace the high tension wires. to solve the overheating problem, remove the thermostat and or buy an 'original/stock' radiator cap. The only problem I encountered when I replaced the high tension wires, is that I tend to have the van tuned-up more frequently. But the change really makes a difference. I am now planning to replace my ignition coil, maybe this would make a difference.

14th Jun 2006, 03:33

I am the owner of a 1994 GXL Lite ace since 2001. I had only one overheat experience and was able to solve it by having my radiator overhauled. I had travelled from Baguio to Maragondon, Cavite and vice versa and never had an experience of overheat. My only problem is my underchasis which is hard to maintain. My rack-end gets destroyed a lot.

24th Jun 2006, 08:47

Mike, your instruction is not clear. Could you please rewrite your suggestion. Thanks a lot.

27th Jun 2006, 11:13

Hi Mike. If your suggestion is guaranteed, that's grace. I'm Lai from Malaysia, owner of a 1986 Liteace. I just changed my car's (5k) engine, that's engine (used engine) imported from Japan and already test run about 800km. I felt that engine is too hot, when air-con is on, engine temperature nail reached exactly 1/2 after 5 minutes engine started at parking, thermostat already took off earlier, water in radiator is full and engine oil is maintain full, that's not normal!? I guess its cooling system has got problem.

Mike. I would like to modified my car cooling system, as what you said, can you help to solve the modification issue (on radiator, reservoir and clucth fan)? Because previous detail, maybe is not clear enough to do it, can you explain in more detail, please. If can provide any picture or drawing, that's really help a lot in understanding. Thank you.

8th Jul 2006, 22:30

Hello Mike, can you tell me how to apply silicon oil on the clutch fan. My email add is renlopz@yahoo.com. I'm Rene Lopez from Paranaque City.

3rd Nov 2006, 04:35

Hi

I have acquired a 1986 lite-ace Ute with a 1290cc k4 motor. Is there a 5-speed g/box which I can fit in order to drop the RPM when travelling over 90km/h? Where can I get the tune-up information for plugs, points and timing settings? A workshop manual would do fine. I have the owner's manuals with the ute, but they're all in Japanese.

Thanks for the valuable info in your column.

Cheers

Stephen.

1st Dec 2006, 02:50

Hello Guys! I'm intending to buy a Lite Ace GXL, but based on what I have read regarding your comments, most of them have overheating problems. I think the Lite Ace's are using the 4K or the 5K engine, right? On my opinion, the basic solution to overcome such overheating problems are, first, remove the thermostat in your engine, if any. Second, always change water in your radiator to avoid over-contamination coming from engine (rust, oil, small metal bits). Thirdly, have your engine the correct timing (8 deg. BTDC), Fourthly, have a mechanic adjust the valves, both intake & exhaust. Fifth, you may use an 8mm high tension wire. Sixth, properly adjust the correct spark plug gap (manufacturer's specs). Seventh, adjust contact point gap (accdg to manufacturer's specs), and lastly, you may use an electronic ignition (designed for engines who use contact points). You'll never have to change contact points once you install this device in your Lite Ace. I hope this would help you guys, and if you have questions please send me an email at "macgyver1432000@yahoo.com".

4th Dec 2006, 05:12

Dennis, one of the factors of engine overheating is the engine is overloaded. You mentioned that if your air con is turned off, you don't experience overheating. This is because the engine is not turning the compressor. And also having a high ampere alternator (nearly 100 amps) will definitely give the engine another load. But we can help the engine to lessen the load is to have a well maintained radiator, properly tuned-up engine that includes valve adjustment, carburetor adjustment, ignition timing, and spark plug gap. You may also flush radiator water every 2 weeks to wash off rust and other contaminants inside the engine and the radiator. I hope this will help you.

21st Feb 2007, 23:15

Hi, my name is Shane and I own a 1986 Lite Ace Van. I have been searching for a do-it-yourself service manual without success. If someone knows where I may be able to obtain one, I would be very happy. As far as overheating is concerned, I believe this is an inherent problem. However, my van goes and goes for ever and if you keep up good servicing and daily maintenance you should not experience any issues.

4th Apr 2007, 02:19

I'm Alvin and I just bought a second-hand 1992 Toyota lite ace. my question is, I don't actually experience overheating yet, but nearly. I was just parked though my air con was on and I noticed I am close to red on my gauge. I frequently put water on my radiator because it somehow lose water by at least a cup. is it normal? and I also noticed that my lite ace consumes petrol more than what I am expecting. maybe around 25 kilometers per 5 liters. so that's 5 kilometers per liter. is that normal? do I have to change the radiator to three rows?

Please help.

12th Apr 2007, 10:39

Lucky for you guys I stumbled into this thread. hehehe.

I noticed that most of you with overheating problems have been using you Lite-ace for quite a while. I had the same problem too. Even with a two row radiator, the temperature should not go past the halfway point even at noon time traffic with air-con at full blast.

Here's your problem... your cylinder head gasket! If your engine has never been overhauled, the holes in the gasket for the water to flow through is most probably clogged with sediments. Have it replaced, making sure (and I can't stress this enough) "all" the water holes are open. Most cylinder head gaskets in the market doesn't have enough holes, therefore blocking almost half of them, especially the "replacement" brands. Unfortunately, most mechanics doesn't notice this either.

I love this car. Especially when I got the kinks out.

Another reason may be your alternator. I had mine replaced with one for a Nissan Sentra (had to fabricate the pulley though). 80amps of brute energy! My fans blow like a hurricane, my battery is now more than 3 years old and still going strong, and most electrical problems disappeared. :-)