Mike's 85 FWD 5dr Tercel

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Gottolovem
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My tercel:: 1985 SR5 with snow plow,1987 auto 1984 parts car,1987 FX-16 GTS
Location: Reno

Re: Mike's 85 FWD 5dr Tercel

Post by Gottolovem »

Ridlbox wrote:I did try to warn you about the rims being directional, other than that it looks good
Where?
Ridlbox
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Re: Mike's 85 FWD 5dr Tercel

Post by Ridlbox »

Apparently I was wrong I didn't post that it wouldn't let me post it that's correct but I tried last night
i will find a tercel in a music video
That's my new goal 8)
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Gottolovem
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My tercel:: 1985 SR5 with snow plow,1987 auto 1984 parts car,1987 FX-16 GTS
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Re: Mike's 85 FWD 5dr Tercel

Post by Gottolovem »

:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
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ARCHINSTL
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My tercel:: Goldie is a 1986 SR5 attualmente con Weber/also owned the first T4WD in STL in late '82
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Re: Mike's 85 FWD 5dr Tercel

Post by ARCHINSTL »

You might try this for center caps:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=6833&p=50746&hilit=daisy#p50746
Most hardware stores will carry these:
https://www.platt.com/platt-electric-su ... pid=152960
Fortunately, the 2" ID fit the Miata Daisy wheels as, while there are smaller sizes, there are none larger.
Tom M.
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T4WD augury?
"Oh, do not ask, 'What is it?' Let us go and make our visit."
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Notmikeb
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My tercel:: 85 Tercel 5dr FWD
Location: Laurel, MD

Re: Mike's 85 FWD 5dr Tercel

Post by Notmikeb »

I ended up putting 185/65r14 tires on the back wheels. Local used tire place had a pair in good shape for $50 installed and I can save the 195's for when the fronts wear out.

The 195's just were too close to the fender in the back. Every bump I hit resulted in rubbing. I tried rolling the inside fender lip up a bit and that helped but didn't solve the problem. When my wife was in the passengers seat it became undriveable and constantly scraped.

Problem solved with the narrower tire. Tested by driving slowly up a curb to compress that sides suspension as much as possible and the tire is past the fender without touching.
-------------
1985 Tercel 5dr Hatchback
2003 Chevy Suburban
2014 Ford Flex

"I don't get it! I've cut this thing FIVE times now and it's STILL too SHORT!"
Notmikeb
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My tercel:: 85 Tercel 5dr FWD
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Re: Mike's 85 FWD 5dr Tercel

Post by Notmikeb »

Did an oil change today and decided to change the front differential fluid and auto trans fluid as well. Trans and engine oil went fine but when I drained the differential, all I got was a nasty slow dripping BLACK ooze. There was also nowhere near a quart in it (maybe 1/2 a cup at best). Yikes!!

I'm surprised I didn't have any major metal bits in it with fluid that low. There was a bit of metal sludge on the drain plug magnet but nothing big so I think/hope the differential is ok. I filled it with 1/2 a quart of 80/90 gear oil and 1/2 a quart of atf. I'll drive it like that for a day and then drain and fill again with full gear oil.

After refilling it I noticed an alarming amount of leakage coming from what I surmise to be the axle seal on the passenger side. Probably why it was so low to begin with so I'll have to track down a pair of those and replace them. Shouldn't be too hard as I'm planning to do the axles anyway (clunky while turning hard both directions).

I didn't think about it until afterwards but I probably overfilled the differential since the car was just on ramps under the front wheels. Could that cause a leak? Seems to me that it could only leak from either axle seal or the front cover so I doubt it. I assume there's some kind of seal for the pinion to transmission but I couldn't see one in any of the diagrams. When I drain and refill I'll make sure the car is level.
-------------
1985 Tercel 5dr Hatchback
2003 Chevy Suburban
2014 Ford Flex

"I don't get it! I've cut this thing FIVE times now and it's STILL too SHORT!"
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My tercel:: Goldie is a 1986 SR5 attualmente con Weber/also owned the first T4WD in STL in late '82
Location: Kirkwood, a 'burb of St. Louis

Re: Mike's 85 FWD 5dr Tercel

Post by ARCHINSTL »

@ notmikeb: See this for CV seals: viewtopic.php?f=16&t=6484
Tom M.
T4WD augury?
"Oh, do not ask, 'What is it?' Let us go and make our visit."
T.S. Eliot - "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"
"Now and then we had a hope that, if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates."
Mark Twain
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lannvouivre
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Re: Mike's 85 FWD 5dr Tercel

Post by lannvouivre »

You can cause the seals to fail by overfilling. Do these cars have a vent tube on the diff? Usually excess just blows out through there. Sometimes you can pull some oil out and it will stop leaking, but if you're working on the axles anyway I would just replace the seals and refill correctly regardless.
But...did you try hitting it with a hammer?
Notmikeb
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My tercel:: 85 Tercel 5dr FWD
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Re: Mike's 85 FWD 5dr Tercel

Post by Notmikeb »

I stopped by my local Toyota dealer to see about availability on the cv axle seals and they were pretty reasonably priced. $11 per seal which is more expensive than the aftermarket cross reference seals I saw online but since no one locally has those anyway I thought since I have to order them I might as well get the OE part for a few bucks more.

The parts counterman knew the car pretty well too which was a pleasant surprise. It's honestly a pleasant surprise when I meet a counterman who knows about cars in general as most of the Autozones and Advances around me are staffed with glorified computer operators who are only capable of looking up parts numbers (and sometimes they are even pretty bad at that). I spent the first few years after high school working for Advance Auto Parts and back then they stressed product knowledge and ASE certification pretty heavily so it's kind of sad to see that doesn't seem like a priority in the retail parts industry these days.

Anyway enough diatribe about the downward slide of the aftermarket parts industry.
-------------
1985 Tercel 5dr Hatchback
2003 Chevy Suburban
2014 Ford Flex

"I don't get it! I've cut this thing FIVE times now and it's STILL too SHORT!"
Notmikeb
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Posts: 235
Joined: Wed Jun 24, 2015 4:53 am
My tercel:: 85 Tercel 5dr FWD
Location: Laurel, MD

Re: Mike's 85 FWD 5dr Tercel

Post by Notmikeb »

New axle seals and one new cv joint installed. Car is not dripping any more oil for now. This may have been what I was diagnosing as a rear main seal leak. Time will tell but the entire engine underside is now clean and spotless so the source of any remaining leaks will hopefully become obvious.

edit crap. I forgot to drain out the atf/gear oil mix and refill with gear oil while I was under there. How safe is it to drive another day with that in there?
-------------
1985 Tercel 5dr Hatchback
2003 Chevy Suburban
2014 Ford Flex

"I don't get it! I've cut this thing FIVE times now and it's STILL too SHORT!"
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dlb
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Re: Mike's 85 FWD 5dr Tercel

Post by dlb »

i am confident you will be fine with atf/gear oil for a few days of driving.

car is looking great, btw. i like the acura rims. wheels can really make or break the look of a car, i think.
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irowiki
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Re: Mike's 85 FWD 5dr Tercel

Post by irowiki »

I drove for over a week with the atf/GL mix and it didn't harm a thing. Get it nice and hot before draining.
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Notmikeb
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My tercel:: 85 Tercel 5dr FWD
Location: Laurel, MD

Re: Mike's 85 FWD 5dr Tercel

Post by Notmikeb »

I figured it would be fine. I mean, it was driving for who knows how long with NOTHING in there and it seems to be fine :D
-------------
1985 Tercel 5dr Hatchback
2003 Chevy Suburban
2014 Ford Flex

"I don't get it! I've cut this thing FIVE times now and it's STILL too SHORT!"
Notmikeb
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Posts: 235
Joined: Wed Jun 24, 2015 4:53 am
My tercel:: 85 Tercel 5dr FWD
Location: Laurel, MD

Re: Mike's 85 FWD 5dr Tercel

Post by Notmikeb »

Finally got around to replacing my busted up engine fuse box. Wow! What a pain!! All I can say for anyone attempting to do this in the future, TAKE EXTREMELY DETAILED NOTES!! Do not rely on the wiring diagrams as they only show what connects with what and not the location of said connector. While I'm sure one could figure it out with some diligence if you had too, it was much easier to draw out a map of the box and take notes on wire color, markings and destination for each wire as you go along.

Most of the connectors were simple to remove. Just push a small flathead screwdriver alongside the connector to release the pin and pull out. The larger connectors to the relays were a real bear to remove. I was having trouble getting those out without distorting the plastic box so there were several wires I just cut and rejoined (solder and shrink tubing).

If there is any interest, I can redo my notes and make a nice computer graphic map of the fuse box (my hand scrawled doodles will NOT make sense to anyone but me. I have the handwriting of a third grader :D). Is this a common problem with these boxes or did some idiot just leave his coffee mug on top of mine when he closed the hood?

Before
image.jpg
image.jpg
After
image.jpg
Typical connector head. Note the hole that the pin grabs.
image.jpg
Detachment method
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Some of the connectors for the relays that were easier to cut
image.jpg
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-------------
1985 Tercel 5dr Hatchback
2003 Chevy Suburban
2014 Ford Flex

"I don't get it! I've cut this thing FIVE times now and it's STILL too SHORT!"
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Gottolovem
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My tercel:: 1985 SR5 with snow plow,1987 auto 1984 parts car,1987 FX-16 GTS
Location: Reno

Re: Mike's 85 FWD 5dr Tercel

Post by Gottolovem »

I'm sure their are a number of people who will benefit from a good fuse rewiring diagram.

You may even end up with your own "sticky" in the repair guide section :oldgeek:
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