Tercel4WD.com

I'm glad my Tercel is a basic econo-box: no power steering, no power brakes, no air conditioning, no automatic transmission. Less stuff to maintain and less congestion under the hood. A small car doesn't need power assists IMHO. But it does have 4WD when I need it !

The canister purge line (red) to the carburetor needs to be plugged. The line that vents the fuel tank (green) needs to vent to atmosphere, preferably through a filter. Normally I advocate keeping all of the original equipment but I did end up removing my carbon canister because it was plugged and I...

I installed a trailer hitch on my Tercel over 20 years ago, using a piece of flat steel plate 6" x 11" x 1/4" bolted to the the underside of the rear bumper. I drilled the holes in the bumper and used stacks of fender washers to space it down to clear the flange, also used big fender ...

The Toyota Tercel cell was at the 1981 Toyota auto show in Japan as the RV5 if I am correct there should be a link somewhere on this site to it Thanks for the RV5 mention, it helped me find a previous post on this subject: http://tercel4wd.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=11937&p=91685&hi...

I found this entertaining old Japanese ad on Youtube and am interested about the international heritage of the Tercel wagons. If this has been discussed before, I haven't seen it.
https://youtu.be/BFhzWyjnIhA

Shucks, I went to all the trouble of making my own battery hold-down bracket after the original rusted out, and I could have bought an original equipment item with authentic rust and peeling rubber for $99.99 and free shipping ...

Spark plug gap specs from my 1983 Tercel Factory Service Manual: Canada 3A engine only 0.031" 3AC (except Canada wagon 4WD) 0.043" Canada wagon 4WD 3A & 3AC 0.031" The way scheduled maintenance info is arranged in my 1983 service manual, it's possible to overlook the notes between...

I burned out a couple headlights on a motorcycle before I discovered the ground cable from the battery was loose (or maybe some other connection, I forget), which probably fouled up the voltage regulation so the voltage went too high.

Back home I took my original rear axle apart and discovered the rear wheel bearings had water infiltration. This was because I had backed my car too far into the water at a boat ramp, helping a friend launch her jet ski. Live and learn. that bearing should be in a sealed compartment within the axle...

I once had a rear brake auto-adjuster foul up and cause the brake to drag heavy. Fortunately I discovered it right after it started; the car was obviously dragging when I rolled up to a stop sign. It happened right after driving an exceptionally rough road/trail which apparently shook something loos...

Wondering how much current those remote locks use. Heavy current can cause wires to degrade like that, especially if the wires are undersized as often done for cost savings. Or if a kid was playing with it and overheated wire with repeated cycling.

Years ago I had a rear wheel bearing failing during the start of a long trip that I had to abort. I had ominous noises coming from the tail end of the car and wasn't sure what it was. Instead of returning straight home I took a shorter detour to visit a friend. Before I got to the friend's place I h...

On an older car the locks can get worn and sloppy so, and it may be possible to turn the lock with any key that fits by jiggling it around. An older car would be an easier steal because the thief figures it's less likely to have anti-theft features. So it's a good idea to consider a hidden kill swit...

I failed the rear bearings on my 1983 Tercel because I used to back my car too far into the water to help a friend launch their boat. The rear bearings got noisy and then starting leaking oil behind the wheels during a trip. I replaced the entire rear axle because it was the expedient thing to do at...

Emily, you have bought a high-mileage car which is developing various maintenance issues. My gut feeling is that this car is not going to be practical for you unless you know how to wrench on it yourself, or have a very good friend who can do the work for you. If you have to rely on professional mec...