New Owner With Questions

General discussion about our beloved Tercel 4WD cars
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Newbie4
Newbie
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Jul 30, 2017 8:29 pm
My tercel:: 1988 4wd hatch

New Owner With Questions

Post by Newbie4 »

Hey all,
New to the forum and toyotas (:
I picked up a 1988 Tercel 4wd Wagon. I love it. Its got 280k miles, and still going strong. Previous owner did an engine rebuild.

Anywho, down to business:
1. How long will the trannys last ?
2. My TVSV went out. Why make them out of plastic!? Anyways, the housing snapped clear off and I lost the metal pin inside. Right now its looming like 160$ from a toyota dealer or an hour+ drive to pull n save. Before I make the drive, is this part neccessary? Can i rig the hoses together somehow to bypass the switching valve? Right now its running with the hoses connected, but leaking air. PS, I hotwired my radiator fan.
3. Where can I get through the firewall!? I just spent a good hour or two looking and tearing apart the poor wagon. I cant locate any plastic tab to pull off on the drivers side. I found one that looks similar, however it is metal and looks like it breaks off. Any suggestions would help. (Trying to wire in a small soundsystem)
4. At what point should I upgrade my battery/alternator? Ive got small offroad lights, radiator fan, and a hopefully soon to come audio system (250watt amp w 10 in sub for now)

Thanks!
Mickey from North Idaho.
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Petros
Highest Ranking Member
Posts: 11930
Joined: Sun Jan 28, 2007 6:31 pm
My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
Location: Arlington WA USA

Re: New Owner With Questions

Post by Petros »

welcome to the forum!

I know of people that put half a million miles on the trans, the most important issue is that you change the gear oil (and make sure you get the correct amount in it) at the recommended intervals (30k miles) and you do not abuse it (no "speed shifting", harsh treatment, heavy towing, etc). Always watch for leaks in any seal if if there are any replace ASAP, and add new gear oil. there are also some manual trans oil additives that are supposed to reduce wear, might be a good bet. You can also do a trany flush: fill with cheap gear oil and ATF 50/50, drive it for a day or so, get it good and warm at high speeds, but go easy on it. Change out the oil mix, the ATF should cut all the sludge and you drain it out. Than put high quality gear oil in it, or 50/50 gear oil and synthetic manual trans fluid (costly). I would not go more than 50/50, this old design was not ment to use synthetic gear oil and it shifts badly with 100 percent MTF.

you can by pass the TVSV by setting up all the vac lines as it would be in the normal warm "run" position (study the service manual for normal operation). though at cold temps it might be balky until it warms up, but should run okay after. there are TVSV occasionally available on line at various discounters for $24 to $45, they show up randomly, you just have to keep checking. Other models of toyota cars from the '80's used them, so they are still common.

there are a few places to get through the firewall, the easiest is where the big wire bundle that goes to the fuse box under the dash goes through to the fuse box under the hood. also, might try and sneak it past the heater hose outlet. I advise not to drill a new hole, unless you seal it up with silicone. It will let muddy water, rust, cold air, etc during the winter months.

there is a thread on up sizing the alternator. someone found another model of alternator (from a larger toyota truck or sedan), that uses the same mounts, so was an easy swap over. You will have to search in the archives for it.
'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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