Had a Previa. Want a Tercel4WD!

[loess]

Hi all, I've been reading through the forums for a couple of weeks now while hunting for something to replace my beloved 1991 Previa All-Trac van that sadly got the kiss of death from a big ol' 4x4 pickup back in May when we collided at an intersection. I've been riding my bike to get around over the summer and fall, but now I'm in need of a daily driver for the upcoming winter...while I'm keeping my eyes peeled for another Previa, I've also been more and more drawn to the Tercel 4WD. Been reading up and enjoying the great travel stories and valuable info from the members who have posted here.

I'm in Nebraska and I think I'm ready to get a little more serious about pulling the trigger on one - I have a window of opportunity in a couple of weeks to book a flight out of the rust belt so I can pick one up in the west to drive back home. Have a Previa friend near Colorado Springs who can help me look, but I haven't found a T4WD in his area for sale yet.

I don't have a garage, and here in the winter months the rust dragons are always lurking amongst piles and piles of road salt, so I'm not aiming for a cherry Tercel or anything, just something that's pretty clean and sturdy and that I can bag for ~$1500 or less and be relatively certain that it'll get me home, where I'll do my best to rinse the evil salt off of it regularly in the winter. Ideally I'd wait and maybe find a fixer for less, but it's about to get real cold and snowy in about a month or two here, so I'm trying to cast as wide of a net as possible with my price range so I can go pick up a Tercel before the weather hits. The west coast is a little too far (which is a shame because there seem to be a good number of these wagons in WA/OR/CA that have been well cared for), but I've found a few in between here and the coast that might be worth the trip.

So all that being said, here's my short list for the moment. What do you guys think? I'm liking the description of the one in Boise...

http://boise.craigslist.org/cto/5780426084.html

https://albuquerque.craigslist.org/cto/5811901352.html

https://billings.craigslist.org/cto/5795802853.html

http://missoula.craigslist.org/cto/5806544843.html

http://helena.craigslist.org/cto/5809951672.html

[Mattel]

Boise one sounds good. Have you checked the thread about what to look for in a Tercel 4wd.

[NWMO]

loess,

I would check out the Montana cars first and finish at Boise. The Missoula and Boise cars are my preference (based on limited info), not excited about Billings, not enough info on Helena (plus the car looks a little rougher) and NM is a loner (plus shows rust that would indicate it's not a SW car). Look for rust-out issues at the rear stabilizer bar connections and where the front end connects to the sub-frame. Mine also has significant rust along the sub-frame right below the front of the front seats. I'm tackling my rust issues out of stubbornness and low mileage car, but most folks don't want to or feel poorly equipped to fight these issues.

Chris

[Petros]

welcome to the forum!

I like the SR5 in Missula, it is an '83 which also has the inclinometer.

The ''86 in Billings might also be good, but he wants too much for it with a bad engine. if the body is decent than $900-1000 would be a fair price. Likely an exhaust valve is bad. This means you can show up there with a tool kit, replacement exhasut valves (buy all four), and a head gasket and fix it in about 4 hours, and drive it home. And you get a spare engine. It is also listed as an SR5 and have low miles on it compared to the others. I have done trips like that, if the seller will let me sack out on their couch, the trip can be done in a weekend.

The boise one looks like an excellent driver, great shape too, but it is not an SR5 (not a deal killer, but less desirable, mostly because of the seats and the tach, but you can replace those later). It would be my first choice.

There others are rusty and rough, and cost too much for that condition.

If you use lots of WD40 in the doors, and in the frame/body cavities, plus wash the car regularly, you can keep the rust under control. Most people do not maintain their cars, particularly cleaning off the underside with a spray washer, and allow their cars to rust away.

Make sure you go look in the FAQ thread and do a detailed inspection before you buy it, once you fly out to a location you are committed, but if you find any issues you can use it to lower the price. Bring a tool kit and most things you can fix on the road, and realistically only a few things will keep you from driving it home where you can fix it later.

Alternator, fuel pump, timing belt, blown trans are about all that will leave you stuck. all other repairs can wait until you get home, or can be fixed on the road (bad spark plug wires for example are easy to fix). Alternator and fuel pumps are very reliable, so you can chance those for a drive. I have a spare fuel pump I bring on these kind of trips, but never needed it.

Good luck.

[loess]

I'm drawn to the Boise one as well. Billings could be a deal, but I'm not quite ready to roll the dice on unknowns and potential an on-the-spot repair away from home in someone else's space. I don't quite understand why one would post an ad for a car without photos, but to each his own...

I have a set of driver and passenger seats from an MKIII Supra (1987-1992). I bought them from a local guy to swap into my Previa but never got around to it. Heavy as heck but comfortable with motorized lumbar & side bolster adjustments. Of course, they certainly don't look as snazzy as the plaid ones.

I read through the FAQ, kudos to dlb and anyone who helped put that together. Also have taken notes while reading through lots of other threads. Learned a lot! Here's a few that I bookmarked, for anyone who might come across this in the future:

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=517
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2398
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=4020
viewtopic.php?t=9261#p67154

Thanks very much for the replies, guys! I've yet to go through the process of buying a vehicle long distance like this, but I think I'm up for the adventure, and the resources here are super helpful. Going to get in touch with the seller in Boise and see what happens...

[Petros]

I have bought perhaps 7 or 8 Tercels sight unseen from out of state, many were fixers too. even the ones that were not supposed to be fixers ended up needing repairs on the way home anyway, including up to replacing all four tires, CV axles and bearings, head gaskets, transmissions, etc. Always an adventure, but I always managed to get it home, sometimes 4000 miles worth of driving, several times I had to leave it and come back a few weeks later with the parts I needed to fix it. Just take a good took kit (it actually does not take that much, metric sockets and open end combo wrenches, pliers, screw drivers, and a few other odds and end I get to fit in a small tool bag that gets checked in my luggage...airlines will not let you carry on tools anymore).

Always leave a few extra days in your schedule to make unexpected repairs, or if getting stuck because of weather, etc. That happens on over half the road trips we make, in our daily driver or on a rescue trip buying an unknown car out of state.

When I call and talk to the seller, I tell them I have cash to bring them, that I am coming from out of state and plan on driving it home. Than ask if there is anything they know about that would prevent it from making a cross country trip. Usually they have been honest with me, often they are easy fixes (like spark plug wires, filters, etc). Oil change, tires, battery, etc are best done at a local retailer and than just get on the road. Most major items can be deferred until you get home. If you buy new tires getting a front end alignment at the same time a good idea.

Make sure you top up the transmission gear oil before you get on the road, a road trip can trash a trans that is low on gear oil. I would not even trust this to quick lube place, too important and not easy to double check their work. Top it up before you get on the road, and than flush and change it when you get it home.

Good luck.

[loess]

Tried to contact the ad in Boise but no response. This just came up, I haven't called yet but am going to: http://boise.craigslist.org/cto/5805408156.html

I remembered today that I have a friend who lives in Seattle with whom I could likely stay, so Seattle and surrounding areas are back on the map. If anyone in that area happens to see this and has a reliable Tercel for sale, hit me up!

Thanks much for the trip advice Petros. I was at my storage space the other day and started pulling out tools to throw in a go-bag, thanks to a number of helpful posts on the forum that listed out essential tools for such a trip.

[Petros]

A forum member offered me a Tercel4wd that likely needs new exhaust valves, which means a head gasket replacement. It is a good price and not far, I was going to go look at it when we can get together. We have a guest room and you are welcome to stay with us as well, the only problem is we are about an hour north of the Seattle airport, but there is a shuttle bus that will take you to a hotel about 30 min away (about 15 min from my place of work).

If it looks like a decent buy perhaps you can come and we can replace the valves at my place, check out the rest of the car (brakes, fluids, etc) and than you can go on your way.

[Petros]

that boise Tercel you listed looks like a good buy. follow up on it.

[loess]

That's a really generous offer, Petros - thank you!

I talked to the owner of the Boise Tercel yesterday. From my distant/newbie perspective it seems like it could be a good one for me. No rust, all of the glass is good, window regulators are a little fussy but they all work. He was a Toyota mechanic for 25 years and he's had this car for 10. Actually he said he's owned dozens Toyotas over the years and several T4WD's. Said he has driven it regularly for periods of time, and other times it's been parked for a year or two but after those periods of sitting it started right up without any issues except for needing to jump or replace the battery since it was sleeping for so long. He's replaced a number of parts - most recently tie rods, new brake master cylinder, new front struts. Didn't press him about listing every single thing he's done to it because it's been 10 years and he couldn't recall it all, but after talking to him for a while I got the feeling that he knows these cars and did the appropriate maintenance when he felt like any component was having issues.

One thing it does definitely need is new tires. He said the tires on there aren't matched; I forgot to ask for sure but I'm hoping that what he meant by that is that they're the same size, just different brands/spares that were lying around. If they are mismatched in terms of the actual tire sizes, hopefully he hasn't driven too much on them...that's not good for a 4WD vehicle, correct? Anyway, I'd need to put a new set on there before I drive it home and prob should get an alignment as well after that. Any suggestions for a set? Wally World special? Something inexpensive that will get me home, and then I'll put better ones on later.

I asked him if there were any leaks, he said that there is a bit of slow seepage on the underbody which probably indicates gaskets getting old but it's not dripping out pools of oil anywhere. He offered to take some pictures underneath the car so I'll post here when I get them.

The one thing that concerns me is that one of the CV boots has ripped open. I don't know which one, I'll have to ask him. Depending on how much he's driven on it like that, might it potentially be necessary to replace the entire axle assembly? In any case I don't think I'm comfortable driving it all the way back with the boot torn open like that. Any thoughts? What should I ask him to look at to discern whether I'd be good just replacing the boot or if it needs more? Like to know beforehand so that I can obtain whatever parts I need and have them shipped there so that I can work on it there (hopefully in decent weather; I can't get out there until first or second week of November). Anything special or odd about these components on the Tercels?

[loess]

See anything worth pointing out in these photos?

RE: the tire thing - he said the two front tires match but the rears are different sizes. I asked him if he had driven much in 4WD with it like that and he said he hadn't. Hasn't engaged the 4WD in about a year but every time he's used it while he's owned it it's worked well so that's good!

No muffler so I'd be going loud and proud for a while until I get one on there

[loess]

Here's the torn CV boot.

"This is a birfield type joint rather than a rzeppa which has balls in it that wear and rattle when turning"

[ARCHINSTL]

Looks nice! That underside is super clean!
Candidly, if that is his lift (!), I would pay him to replace the cat back pipe and muffler while it is up on the rack - that is a heck of a lot easier than you lying on your back under a car raised on jackstands - been there, done that!
There are replacement "booties" for torn CV joints, but I have no experience with them - perhaps others do and can comment on their efficacy.
Tom M.

[Petros]

I would not worry about the tires for the diver home, I have driven on much worse for 4000 miles with no issues. The tires size is only important when in 4wd, and on snow or loose gravel, it is not really harmful, it just makes it hard to get it out of 4wd. of the tires I can see, they look fine. the only issue to get it home is if they are safe (cracked, bulges, delaminating, etc). Otherwise wait until you get home. If you want to replace the tires anyway, no reason not to do it on the trip, but if your plans are to get 14" alloys (recommend) with larger tires, than wait until you get it home so you can shop for the price and tires you actually want.

CV axles is a different story, I have driven 10,000 miles on torn boots and replaced the whole axle later, but I have also had cv axles give up on road trips as well (fortunately I was able to find a used one at a picknpull on the way). It takes me about 45 min to replace a cv axle, most shops will charge about $250 to replace it.

If you commit to buying this car, which looks like an excellent buy (I would send him money right away, or get a commitment out of seller). Tell him you will be having an axle shipped to his house. Order one (or a pair) from rockauto.com (get air filter, spark plugs, wires or what ever else you think you might need at the same time), and have them ship it to the sellers house. get a flight (usually the best deal is about 2-3 weeks out, though this time of year you can get great prices on flights), and than bring your tools. If it all drives fine, and the tires look good (even if mismatched), than just take it on the road. if the axle gives you trouble along the way you can find a place to replace the axle (motel car port perhaps), but likely it will make it home if it does not have any noticeable problems besides the torn boot.

If the cv joit itself is not too badly worn, you can flush out the old dirty grease in the boot, put in new grease through the tear, than clean off the outside and wrap it with 5-6 layers of duct tape or vinyl tape (something flexible). I tried 4 or 5 wraps with plastic sheet, duct tape and zip ties as a boot repair, but it did not last very long (of course I drive rough gravel roads daily) It may hold up long enough to get you home. But the new grease alone may be all you need to keep the cv parts from destroying themselves. think of something tough and flexible, even heavy fabric might hold up better (the plastic sheet just shreads) and act as a good enough dust shield.

If the cv axles is clunking, squeaking or shows any sign of wear, replace it right than and there with the next axle (otherwise just bring it with you). The only large tool you will need is a big pry bar and a braker bar to get the axle nut off. You could also take it to a local shop and have them break it loose for you, or rent the big tools so you can DIY. All the other bolts and fasteners are easy to do with hand tools. While you are there you can also check the trans lubricant level in the tansaxle assembly.

I would not have any trouble at all driving it home the way it is, and just plan on replacing tires and the axle after I get it home.

Good luck.

[loess]

Oh, I should have specified when I said it needs new tires - his concern isn't that the tread is low or that they are different sizes, but that they're old (assuming that means brittle/dried out). After I posted earlier he told me he's got three (maybe four?) spare wheels with it. Dunno what they are or what size, but yep, end goal would be 14" alloys. I'll have to remember to ask him tomorrow. I did do a quick search here and it appears there are a number of vehicles from which 14" wheels can be harvested which gives me yet another excuse to go funning in the scrap yard . Might I add that searching for such a topic on here rewards the searcher with some pretty sweet pics of Tercels with different wheel setups!

CV boots - he offered to replace the boot and pack the joint with new grease. I bet it will be fine. I think I will ahead and get one though since I'm already ordering filters, odds and ends, etc, just to be safe.

@ARCHINSTL - thanks! I will read up on the cat back and make a note to maybe order it and a muffler to be sent along, see if he wants to and has time to do that.

You guys are awesome, thank you so much! Talked to a friend today who may be down to make a road trip out of it if we can work out the timing, otherwise I'll fly out there. Gonna do this thing...super stoked!