New to the group, couple of tire/rim questions..

General discussion about our beloved Tercel 4WD cars
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seancromie
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My tercel:: (ROVER) 1987 tercel 4wd
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Re: New to the group, couple of tire/rim questions..

Post by seancromie »

I don't know mush about air suspension like this and such i look forward to learning lots about all this stuff from you guys, will it run at stock height when lowered? and do you need a lot of extra work to instal the air suspension?
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seancromie
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My tercel:: (ROVER) 1987 tercel 4wd
Location: Vancouver B.C.....

Re: New to the group, couple of tire/rim questions..

Post by seancromie »

as well do any of you have recommendations for a decent all terrain/ off road tire in 14" i see that bd all terrains are no longer made in 14"... what else you think?
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Mattel
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My tercel:: 1988 Corolla 4wd Wagon (AKA Corolla All-trac) 5speed, AC, Power Sunroof, Windows, Mirrors, Steering, Locking, Diff Lock, 14" Corolla SX Alloys with Silica Hankook Tyres, 4afe, King Springs, Upgraded Headlights, Full Synth oils, 210,000kms
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Re: New to the group, couple of tire/rim questions..

Post by Mattel »

Hi Sean, the air suspension is a real easy modification for the rear. It will run at the height that your springs allow normally. I have a friend who has lowered springs but uses the air to go to stock when hes driving around suburban potholed roads. Finding some cheap NOS is the hard part. good luck with it and ask any questions if you need.. no special tools needed just a few metric spanners and the car jack and some stands for safety
Previous: 83 Tercel SR5 4wd, 84 Tercel SR5 4wd
88 Corolla 4wd Wagon 5speed, All power options, Fact Sunroof, Diff Lock, 14" SX Alloys, Hankook Tyres, 4afe, King Springs, Upgraded Headlights, Full Synth oils, Tow Bar, 210,000kms
jimcrazy
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My tercel:: 1985 4wd 1986fwd 1983 4wd

Re: New to the group, couple of tire/rim questions..

Post by jimcrazy »

the air shocks I used were the Monroe ma700,they are made for the 4x4 tercel wagons ,,no mods needed,,my local car quest had them in stock they fit a lot of other vehicles,,2 shocks and air line kit was around $130.00 in Canadian funds,,i find they give a better ride than what was on it for shocks,,, running 35psi in them
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seancromie
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My tercel:: (ROVER) 1987 tercel 4wd
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Re: New to the group, couple of tire/rim questions..

Post by seancromie »

hey boys what brand or part number will i need to use to find those rear air shocks? I'm doing all my from tend next week might as well do the rear as well and get some height while I'm at it.
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Mattel
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My tercel:: 1988 Corolla 4wd Wagon (AKA Corolla All-trac) 5speed, AC, Power Sunroof, Windows, Mirrors, Steering, Locking, Diff Lock, 14" Corolla SX Alloys with Silica Hankook Tyres, 4afe, King Springs, Upgraded Headlights, Full Synth oils, 210,000kms
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Re: New to the group, couple of tire/rim questions..

Post by Mattel »

https://www.amazon.com/Monroe-MA700-Max ... B000C55SZK

and https://www.amazon.com/Monroe-AK64-Shoc ... PMQ86R3ZXT

I just noticed there was a cool onboad compressor and controller! looks like you can raise the rear of the car from the drivers seat.. cool!

https://www.amazon.com/LIFT-25804-Air-S ... 1DDKVEY47Y
Previous: 83 Tercel SR5 4wd, 84 Tercel SR5 4wd
88 Corolla 4wd Wagon 5speed, All power options, Fact Sunroof, Diff Lock, 14" SX Alloys, Hankook Tyres, 4afe, King Springs, Upgraded Headlights, Full Synth oils, Tow Bar, 210,000kms
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Petros
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Re: New to the group, couple of tire/rim questions..

Post by Petros »

that would be pretty cool, normal ride height until you need to cross a flooded creek or deep mud hole, snow bank, etc. raise it up until through it, and than lower it back down. I have been thinking of a way to do this for sometime with junk yard parts.

If you want to DIY with a less costly 12 v air compressors, many cars use a built-in compressor. Mercedies, Volvo, the Masda MPV with the optional tow package, and others. They all use the same compressor, made in the USA, and you can buy them cheap at a picknpull. They are very reliable and buying used is a good bet. You would have to run a manual switch and air lines, but simple to rig. I bought a spare one for our old MPV, but the original is still working fine at 340k miles. It also comes with an automatic lever arm that attaches to to the rear axle if you want it, but that is designed to keep the rear from sagging down when you load it up or put on a heavy trailer (so it would not work to be able to raise the rear height for off road fun).

I once ran across some air adjustable front struts at a garage sale, designed for a subaru (so they are about the right size), only $80 fior the pair. but after considering how much cutting and welding, and custom parts it would take to make them work in the Tercel, I chickened out. likely it would sit in my garage for a very long time. But it would be nice to find some kind of air adjustable front struts or springs that can be retrofitted into the Tercel, a bolt on conversion to allow you to raise the front, and with the air adjustable rears, raise and lower the whole car from the drivers seat.

BTW, it would not be a good idea to drive around all the time with the car raised up, depite how "off road" rad it looks. It not only raises your CG, changing the safety of the car when cornering (particularly when loaded up with camping gear), but it puts a lot of stress on the front CV joints with that much angle on them. You will wear out new front cv axles in less than 10k miles driving around like that. When raised up there is a lot of moment in the joint every time the wheel makes a revolution. So you would only want to use it sparingly and only when needed. I could have used such a feature a number of times where I live and when accessing remote trails in the back-country.
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
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seancromie
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My tercel:: (ROVER) 1987 tercel 4wd
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Re: New to the group, couple of tire/rim questions..

Post by seancromie »

thanks for all the help guys, i ended up finding all suspension parts i need to just keep it stock for now, except springs for front and rear, i have found KYB excel-g front and rear cartridges, mounts,boots and bump stops but if i found some springs that fit then i think this would be the best way for me to go for long distance highway driving.. plus i might get a little extra lift with new unworn springs.. any of you know where i can find some online or what i can use if they aren't for a tercel specifically?
Thanks!
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Mattel
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My tercel:: 1988 Corolla 4wd Wagon (AKA Corolla All-trac) 5speed, AC, Power Sunroof, Windows, Mirrors, Steering, Locking, Diff Lock, 14" Corolla SX Alloys with Silica Hankook Tyres, 4afe, King Springs, Upgraded Headlights, Full Synth oils, 210,000kms
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Re: New to the group, couple of tire/rim questions..

Post by Mattel »

Ebay has a few sets of four springs for $320 up (AUS) and fronts and backs. There are also a few sets of raised springs available if you search a bit. I would recomened king springs
Previous: 83 Tercel SR5 4wd, 84 Tercel SR5 4wd
88 Corolla 4wd Wagon 5speed, All power options, Fact Sunroof, Diff Lock, 14" SX Alloys, Hankook Tyres, 4afe, King Springs, Upgraded Headlights, Full Synth oils, Tow Bar, 210,000kms
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seancromie
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Joined: Sun Feb 19, 2017 3:51 pm
My tercel:: (ROVER) 1987 tercel 4wd
Location: Vancouver B.C.....

Re: New to the group, couple of tire/rim questions..

Post by seancromie »

thanks mattel i think i found them..

https://cart.payments.ebay.com/sc/add?s ... 7372,qty:1
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simon84
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Re: New to the group, couple of tire/rim questions..

Post by simon84 »

Jimcrazy, those are nice looking spacers for the front! What are they made of?
I made mine from the rubber donuts that you can wedge in between the coils of your springs. I take a sharp knife and carve off the groove on the top and bottom so that it ends up like a 1" thick rubber spring washer.Then I drill three holes for the strut mount bolts (which I replaced with longer ones that I welded in).
I added pathfinder springs and t-bird shocks in the back.
Driver: 87 Tercel SR5, white, 4ac, weber carb (aka the Tercedes)
Road Tripper:95 Mitsubishi Delica L400 2.8L Turbo Diesel
Motorbike: 94 Kawasaki Ninja ZX6
Project Car:Red 68 Plymouth Sport Fury III
Previous Tercel:Orange 84 Tercel 4wd (aka the pumpkin)
jimcrazy
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My tercel:: 1985 4wd 1986fwd 1983 4wd

Re: New to the group, couple of tire/rim questions..

Post by jimcrazy »

simon the spacers are made from alum,hope to get my wagon back out in the next couple weeks if the weather ever gets better,heres a pic of last sunday morning,,winter just keeps dragging on
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jaydee911
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My tercel:: 87 t4wd

Re: New to the group, couple of tire/rim questions..

Post by jaydee911 »

Welcome to the group! Good to see another b.c boy in the mix. :)
87 tercel wagon
87 toyota pick up 4" on 33s flat bed
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