Augie

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JefroBoDeen
Newbie
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Apr 10, 2017 7:33 pm
My tercel:: 1984 Tercel SR5 4x4
Location: Amarillo, Texas

Augie

Post by JefroBoDeen »

Augie.jpg
I've been a Toyota fan for a bunch of years now, but I just recently acquired my first Tercel. I picked Augie up from a local lady for $200. Her son was driving the car when it suddenly wouldn't start anymore. I have no idea what he may have done or neglected to do. I noticed it at the mechanic's and asked about it. She was ready to send it to the scrapper, so I rescued him.

The car is complete, and it will crank. It sputters a bit when it cranks, but it will not start. According to the mechanic, it has no compression on cylinder one. Based on the mechanic's suggestion, I tried some marvel mystery oil in the cylinders with no effect. I'm capable enough to do basic vehicle maintenance, but I'm certainly no mechanic. I'm not very intuitive, and really kind of dumb. Can anyone take pity on me and help me figure out what I might need to try to get Augie running and back on the road? Thank you so much!
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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: Augie

Post by Petros »

great save!

Welcome to the forum, the number of these great little 4wd wagons is shrinking every year, often due to it needing some relatively simple repairs. Good for you for pulling Augie out from the jaws of the crusher. The transmission alone on it is worth quite a lot, no matter what is wrong with the engine. We are all for you! It can be fixed!

Several things can cause low compression on #1: a broken timing belt, burnt/damage exhaust valve, blown head gasket.

1) broken timing belt, easy check, pull off the upper plastic timing belt cover and inspect it. You can also remove the distributor cap and have someone watch the rotor and see if it turns when the engine cranks (the distributor is cam driven and if the belt it broken neither the cam nor the distributor will rotate). Usually there is no other damage when the belt brakes, the valves clear the pistons (unlike most of the newer cars) so a broken belt does not damage the engine. It is not too bad a job to replace, the belt iself is only about $25, and you might also consider replacing the front seal at the same time (also about $15), though replacing the seal does make the job a bit more work. I think there are instructions for replacing the timing belt in the repair guides of this forum.

2) If the timing belt is good the next mostly likely cause is a bad or broken exhaust valve, as they age the exhaust valves get heat damaged and sometimes a piece breaks off, causing loss of compression. Usually no other damage is done, but occasionally the broken off part gets caught somewhere and does some serious internal damage. If the engine cranks without making a lot of noise, internal damage is not likely.

In fact usually it will still start, but run badly on 3 cylinders, if it is a bad valve. You have to remove the head and replace the exhaust valves, replace all of them. Parts to do this would be only about $60, it is a big job but can be done in a weekend, there is a guide to replace the head gasket that I wrote up over in the repair guide section.

3) Not likely it is a bad head gasket, usually they fail slowly and it still runs but uses a lot of coolant (and you get white clouds of steam out the exhaust). though that is a possibility. Use the same procedure in my write up in the repair guide section.

badly damage piston or cylinder wall can also cause low compression in one cylinder, but that is pretty rare. it would need a new short block, the low end of the engine: block, ;pistons, crank, etc. That is a big job and might be better to find a good wrecking yard engine, either 3a, from other Tercels (any type from '82-87), or any 4ac from corollas from '81-'88. the 4ac is more displacement and higher hp, but it is a direct bolt-in, you just have to swap over all of the external parts (oil pan, engine mounts, intake/exhaust manifold, etc).

where are you located?

Good luck.
'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)
JefroBoDeen
Newbie
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Apr 10, 2017 7:33 pm
My tercel:: 1984 Tercel SR5 4x4
Location: Amarillo, Texas

Re: Augie

Post by JefroBoDeen »

Petros, you're the hero of the day my friend. Thank you for your thorough and knowledgeable response. I'm glad to have a few steps to pursue now. It seems to me that diagnosis is the toughest part of mechanic work, although that may just be my own inexperience and case of the dumb talking. I'll try each of those in the order that you mentioned, and I love the 4ac idea too.

I'm in the panhandle of Texas. I'll see if I can update my profile to reflect that. Thanks again!
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