Re-styling

In two weeks both bumpers, rear and front, got scrapped.
The rear one seems to be of easy fixing, some polish and it probably be as good as before, the one in the front... well, that one cracked the licence plate, which most certainly will have to be replaced prior to the annual vehicle inspection due in a couple of months.
At this pace, sometime in the summer, I'll get to work driving a Smart fortwo sized Toyota Corolla.

The chain tensioner o-ring

The engine started leaking a very small amount of oil, after some googling, I came to know that the responsible was the chain tensioner o-ring (it also seems that this is a common issue). 

Got to the dealer to buy a new one and get it replaced in the next service, even found a YouTube video featuring the chain tensioner o-ring replacement, so that shouldn't be to hard.

2013 year analysis

Almost 25000km driven this year, a annual distance record for the Corolla.

This year's costs.

Scheduled maintenance: 52,26€

Periodic compulsory inspection: 28,18€

Road Tax: 54,76€

Insurance: 160,84€

Spare parts: 45,91€

Tires and steering alignment: 32,62€

Fuel: 1533,73€ (which 138,95€ in petrol)

Total: 1908,30€ (0,08€/km)

This was the first full year running on lpg and, as a result, the fuel expenses dropped from 14 to 8cents/km... in other words, in petrol alone, the bill would've reached a total of 2526,19€!

One year after

One year after getting the Corolla to run on LPG almost half of the value spent in the system installation is recovered (if it can be said like this).

The Corolla covered 24859km averaging 7.94l/100km (22.4% more than the average shown in the board computer) saving 43.5% on fuel expenses.

For every 100km the fuel expenses (LPG and petrol) are 6.56€, the equivalent of a Diesel that averaged 4.5l/100km.

The engine hasn't died, the valves haven't melted and the tank didn't blow up... still running.

152k service

One more!

Again, oil (5W30), oil filter, air filter and, this time, lubrication of the left front brake calliper guides, they were clanking on rough pavement.

Gladly, this has been a rather dull daily driver... hope it keeps that way.

The odometer is at 152659km (24300km on LPG), next service in 15 thousand kilometres.

Saving 1/4 of the installation

After six months and 12755km after getting the Vialle LPi fitted, a quarter of the value paid  for the installation was achieved in fuel savings, still need more 37752km (estimated) to break-even, his should take approximately one and a half years at current pace.

In other words, the commuting expenses dropped 43.3 per cent... nice!

Engine performance wise, everything is pretty much the same as it was when running on petrol, there is no loss in power or pull in any rpm range.

2012 year analysis

The first full year and a driven distance of 16800km, the only relevant expense this year with the Corolla was the lpg system fitted in early July, making it the daily driver since then (it was used every other week).

This year's costs.

Scheduled maintenance: 94,91€

Periodic compulsory inspection: 28,18€

Road Tax: 54,06€

Insurance: 160,84€

Spare parts: 9,00€

Tires and steering alignment: 192,00€

Cleaning products: 24,85€

LPG system installation: 2337,00€

Fuel: 1338,45€ (which 649,45€ in petrol)

Total: 4239,29€ (0,25€/km)

Everything seems to go just about fine, estimated total distance to break even is 50646km... 38805km to go!

Valve clearance check... take 2

Once again, after 11500km on LPG, I decided it was time to check on the valve clearance. This time the engine was cold, so the measurements should be more accurate than last time.

After removing the engine cables, the coils, the spark plugs, the valve cover breather and, finally, the valve cover, I could take a reading on those clearances... these were the values measured:

Intake valves: 0.25mm

Exhaust valves: 0.35mm

Since the problem is the reduced clearance... I'd say I have a pretty good chance of getting away with it.

The second pair of tires

A new pair of tires was needed, the remaining pair of Bridgestone's in the front axle (I always fit the new tires on the rear) were worn almost to the limiters, so a new pair of Yokohama's C.drive 2 were bought to fit the rear axle, leaving the older ones the job of steering the front end.

In place they costed me 192€, including steering alignment. The Bridgestone ran for about 32 thousand kilometres.

After a short run, the already used Yokohama's seem far better then the Bridgestone's, although this just might be a natural consequence of reaching the final life span of the Bridgestone's.

Servicing again

At 460km/week after the LPG installation, it got to the service distance quicker.

This time rear brake discs and pads were fitted adding to the oil change (5W30, Toyota recommendation for the 3ZZ engine), oil filter and clutch/brake fluid. Also there was a annoying squick when pressing the clutch pedal, this was due to dirt and lack of lubrication on the clutch actuator (it seems to be something usual in this cars), after cleaning and lubricating with cooper grease... silence again.

Service distance 137237km (8878km on LPG), service cost was 94.91€.