First car 1987 tercel sr5 Calgary

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skicrosser
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Posts: 9
Joined: Sun Oct 23, 2016 5:23 pm
My tercel:: 1987 tercel 4wd 6speed
Location: Calgary, Alberta

First car 1987 tercel sr5 Calgary

Post by skicrosser »

New to the forum and to tercel ownership. 21yo Just bought my first car and its a 1987 4wd wagon. Quite rusty in the rockers and fenders but mechanically its perfect and everything works including ac! Drove it back 170km back to Calgary in the gnarliest sidewind imaginable but its been treating me well the two weeks of ownership. I came from working on and driving my dad's old rwd celiacs' so I'm getting used to actually revving a car instead of riding the torque monster of a 22re :D

In terms of modification I'm looking at getting 14" inch wheels and a slightly better shock/spring setup for the winter. Ive seen camry springs work well on these. The PO said theres a popping and vibration coming from the front end thats attributed to a worn motor mount.

Only issue I'm having is the new panasonic radio i put in has blown the 15amp fuse so I'm not sure how to remedy it, any help would be appreciated. It had an aftermarket stereo when i bought it so spliced everything to the matching pin-out.
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1987 al35 sr5 6 speed (first car)
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Petros
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My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
Location: Arlington WA USA

Re: First car 1987 tercel sr5 Calgary

Post by Petros »

welcome to the forum!

Good looking car in the pictures anyway, it has the nicer composite headlight set up too. I would not count on it being the motor mounts (unless there is an obvious defect in the mounts), you would get a lot of engine vibration and movement at idle with bad mounts. I have found popping is usually from suspension parts, or CV axle going bad. I drove with suspension popping for several years trying to find it, replaced all worn parts I could find. Turn out the lower lateral link inner bushing, metal sleeve had a crack in it. It was never a hazard, but it was annoying, when I had a passenger in it and I hit a small bump or curb just right as slow speed there was a loud "pop" that would frighten people. I would have to reassure them, it was a bad bushing and not a safety hazard, just an annoyance. Also, the anti-sway bar rear mount on the lower arms can be worn out and allowing it to move around during braking or accelerating. usually you get clunking from that. Of course on a car this old it may have a number of worn out parts that need replacing. one project tercel I found on just the right side front suspension: work sway bar bushings, bad ball joint, bad wheel bearings (really sloppy), and bad tie rod end, and bad rack boot (though that does not make any noise), as well as bad strut. it made a lot of bad noises and felt sloppy at the steering wheel.

When do you year the pops? speed, steering position (straight or turning), braking/accelerating, let us know and we likely can sort it out.
'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)
skicrosser
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Posts: 9
Joined: Sun Oct 23, 2016 5:23 pm
My tercel:: 1987 tercel 4wd 6speed
Location: Calgary, Alberta

Re: First car 1987 tercel sr5 Calgary

Post by skicrosser »

Thanks!

I was told by the PO who had the inspection done that it was passenger motor mount but I'm sure it could be suspension related. It happens when I turn sharp left and sometime on the right, a consistent pop pop pop vibration from the right front side of the car and goes away when i straighten out. It doesn't affect drivability or make any harshness just a lot of popping vibrations .Steering is tight otherwise and no play or vibrations at speed or braking.
1987 al35 sr5 6 speed (first car)
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Petros
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Joined: Sun Jan 28, 2007 6:31 pm
My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
Location: Arlington WA USA

Re: First car 1987 tercel sr5 Calgary

Post by Petros »

if you can feel the pop, pop, pop in the steering wheel it is more likley the CV axle. there are easy checks for either: visually inspect the motor mount, use a pry bar to lift the mount and see if the rubber pulls away from the metal support (it should be bonded to it). If it causes the noise or not it should be replaced if it is torn or becoming delaminated from the metal. It is a fairly easy fix, jack up the engine and remove the upper and lower bolts, 17 mm. YOu will need a short open end wrench for the lower bolt, and the upper one you can get a socket wrench on it.

on the CV axle, you can crawl under the car and grab the axle, put your other hand on the cv joint at the back of the hub. Twist the joint and axle in opposite directions. If there is any play, it needs to be replaced. A small amount of play means it is wearing out and only a matter of time before it gets so bad you have to replace it, but if it is bad enough to cause the clunking on turns, the play becomes noticable and obvious.

BTW, neither of the issues are necessary to repair quickly. They will get worse but are not really a safety issue. I once drove clunking cv axles long after I would normally replace them just to see how far I can go on them. I drove a whole year, but they became so bad that all turns were a fight with the steering wheel, noisy, jerky and annoying, so I gave in and replaced them. Sometimes you can blow out a CV joints so it totally fails, but it would have to be really bad before that happens. Do not let it go that far because when it blows out the axle will swing free and could serious damage to other parts of the car if you are diving at hwy speeds.
'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)
timothygodden
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My tercel:: 84 tercel 4wd sr5 lifted, modified head, delta cam, 2" exhaust
Location: seattle wa

Re: First car 1987 tercel sr5 Calgary

Post by timothygodden »

Sweet ride.
I like your dust screen on the back hatch, way sleeker then the one on mine.
Your pop pop pop seems like cv axles as petros said.

If they are bad I would swap them, my tercel had tired cv axles when I got it and I was amazed at the difference when I finally swapped them, plus it will give you a chance to change the transaxle fluid and make sure it is filled with 4.1 quarts. I say never trust a PO when it comes to the transaxle fluid, I have a Chilton guide that says our transaxle takes 4.1 pints so any DIYer could have messed that up. I use amsoil synthetic gl-4 75w-90, best yellow metal corrosion protection for synchros, and safe for hypoid gears.
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Petros
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My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
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Re: First car 1987 tercel sr5 Calgary

Post by Petros »

yes, previous owners, or the mechanics, are sometimes well meaning but often wrong.

I once bought a T4wd that ran like crap, the PO said it "just needs a rebuilt carb". I found nine vacuum leaks or misrouted vacuum lines, fix that and adjusted the carb, it ran fine. Never did rebuild the carb on it. The same owner said the brakes just need to be bled because it has "new brakes", all the brakes were bad and the master, two out of four wheel bearings were bad (one front one was dangerously bad). other than that, it was a great running car according to the seller.

typical story. one time a decent T4wd showed up in the local self service wrecking yard, so I busied myself to save the transmission out of ir. if the car looks decent (not wrecked) usually it means it ended up there because it needed a costly repair, either a new engine or a new transmission. When I pulled the trans (which I figured would be good for parts at least), I found the clutch had pieces broken off of it and were rattling around in the bell housing. Likely this made a lot of racket, so the owner took it to a repair shop and they told them it needs a new transmission which will cost them $1500-2000. I bet they also told them to just junk it, so they sold it to the wrecking yard. All it needed was a clutch, parts are less than $100. So I got a good transmission, with a nicked up bellhousing. unfortunatly, they could have kept a good Tercel4wd on the road for just the cost of a routine clutch replacement.

I got another perfectly good Tercel4wd for next to nothing because the owners mechnaic did not know how to adjust the carb. It kept stalling in heavy traffic, really a bad issue when you live in a big city (Seattle in this case). The mechanic had jurry rigged some kind of idle step up switch, messed with the linkage, but could not solve the problem, I am sure charging the owner for his experiments and inexperience. the owner thought it needed a "new" carburetor, but did not want to sink any more money into it and bought a new car. After I got it, I yanked off all the crap the mechanic installed, adjust the linkage and idle speed per the FSM, and the problem went way. I gave the car to my daughter to drive in Austin and it served her well for many years, never stalled out.

"Experts" that are ignorant of these cars often give bad advice. This is why I say to ALWAYS diagnose the problem BEFORE you try and fix it!

Double check everything you think it needs before you try to fix it, or you could waste time and money. I have done that more times than I can tell you, so I too do not take my own advice sometimes. And suffer the consequences.
'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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marlinh
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My tercel:: 'Everett' Blue 87 4WD Wagon (Rocky 86, recently retired)
Location: Kootenays

Re: First car 1987 tercel sr5 Calgary

Post by marlinh »

Hi Petros, which bushing are you talking about that was cracked? Is it the lower control arm inner bushing in the front or something else?
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Petros
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My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
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Re: First car 1987 tercel sr5 Calgary

Post by Petros »

marlinh wrote:Hi Petros, which bushing are you talking about that was cracked? Is it the lower control arm inner bushing in the front or something else?
yes, that was it. the bushing was actually still okay, but the inner metal sleeve was cracked the long way. So as the bushing would flex it would occasionally "pop" very loudly. not really a hazard, nor did it affect how it drove, but was scary to hear. it seemed to echo through the whole unibody.
'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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marlinh
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My tercel:: 'Everett' Blue 87 4WD Wagon (Rocky 86, recently retired)
Location: Kootenays

Re: First car 1987 tercel sr5 Calgary

Post by marlinh »

Thanks, I have a car that is making weird noises under different circumstances. Not consistent with braking, steering or bumps. Right control arm was replaced because bushing was worn. I will check the left side.
LeeBiew
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My tercel:: "The Humble Bee" - Yellow 83 T4WD SR5 6spd and "The Goose" - Grey 86 T4WD DLX Auto (orphan to be saved)
Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Re: First car 1987 tercel sr5 Calgary

Post by LeeBiew »

Welcome!
"The Humble Bee" - Yellow 83 T4WD SR5 6spd
"The Goose" - Grey 86 T4WD DLX Auto (orphan to be saved)
skicrosser
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My tercel:: 1987 tercel 4wd 6speed
Location: Calgary, Alberta

Re: First car 1987 tercel sr5 Calgary

Post by skicrosser »

Thanks!

Update of the car: Fixed my radio issue by replacing the footwell fuse and bought myself an absolutely mint set of exim mesh rims! They were going to be my winter pair but seem too nice to face the winter. They are 13x6 with a 13mm offset.
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Does anyone know the stock offset and if I need to get spacers for it?
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1987 al35 sr5 6 speed (first car)
skicrosser
Newbie
Posts: 9
Joined: Sun Oct 23, 2016 5:23 pm
My tercel:: 1987 tercel 4wd 6speed
Location: Calgary, Alberta

Re: First car 1987 tercel sr5 Calgary

Post by skicrosser »

Test fit the wheels on jacks and it stick out quite a bit, 1.5 inches out from stock. As long as I'm not scraping the fender I should be good to go. Nothing rubs but I'll know better once I get tired on them.

Has anyone run a low offset and made it work?
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1987 al35 sr5 6 speed (first car)
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