The battle wagon

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TURTCEL
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Joined: Mon Dec 10, 2012 11:42 am
My tercel:: 1985 4WD SR5 Wagon, Brown (TURTCEL)
Location: Everett, WA

Re: The battle wagon

Post by TURTCEL »

Like I said, we take out turns.

Peace
1985 Tercel 4wd SR5 Wagon, WEBER Carb, Brown (TURTCEL)
1988 Corolla DLX All-Trac Wagon, 4 speed AT, Silver (Wife's new car)
1993 Ford Escort Wagon LX, 5 Speed, Smurf Blue (Smurfette)...selling
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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: The battle wagon

Post by Petros »

well you should not have tried to pull the car into a rock!

I think it was Colin Chapman, designer behind the early lotus cars in England, who would quip when something would break in a race "if it did not break, than it was too heavy; if something breaks, we make it stronger"
'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)
TURTCEL
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Posts: 662
Joined: Mon Dec 10, 2012 11:42 am
My tercel:: 1985 4WD SR5 Wagon, Brown (TURTCEL)
Location: Everett, WA

Re: The battle wagon

Post by TURTCEL »

Here Here!

Peace
1985 Tercel 4wd SR5 Wagon, WEBER Carb, Brown (TURTCEL)
1988 Corolla DLX All-Trac Wagon, 4 speed AT, Silver (Wife's new car)
1993 Ford Escort Wagon LX, 5 Speed, Smurf Blue (Smurfette)...selling
Tercel__jon
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Posts: 465
Joined: Thu Dec 23, 2010 1:44 pm
My tercel:: 1983 4wd Wagon

Re: The battle wagon

Post by Tercel__jon »

Funny thing is petros, thats not a rock, its a stump and I was going to the right of it. I would have cleared it if the bumper would have held. Its ok, its getting reinforced with 1/8" angle iron. New mounts, and Ill be building some supports that will tie everything in. Its gonna take longer to mount than last time, but its gonna be solid like a rock. Gonna tie in with the old tow brackets and whatnot.
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Petros
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My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
Location: Arlington WA USA

Re: The battle wagon

Post by Petros »

You also might make a strut tower brace and a similar brace that runs under the engine from where the lower arms attached to the lower frame. this will stiffen the front end considerably, pulling at an angle like that will pull the front end out of square pretty easy since the frame is so light. Consider that the whole front end was originally designed for 2 door hatchback entry level econ-box 2wd car, they put in two light braces at the cross member, but these are not very strong and the front end usually has a noticeable amount of flex (especially as it ages and the spot welds start to crack and pop-off). Most people can feel the difference after adding a strut brace, and adding the lower frame/suspension lateral braces is a good idea too.
'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)
Tercel__jon
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Posts: 465
Joined: Thu Dec 23, 2010 1:44 pm
My tercel:: 1983 4wd Wagon

Re: The battle wagon

Post by Tercel__jon »

I like the Idea of the extra braces. Rest assured I wont be trying soupy hills again though. It was the whole, "Hey Ive got a winch, Ill be fine" attitude that got me stuck like I was.

I have been wanting a strut brace ever since I saw one on the forums and Ive been waiting for some materials to fall in my lap that are strong enough. She'll be braced before going off road again. Also Im getting Tired of doing front end alignments after every time I hit a trail...I need to check my rack bushings cause I ran the passenger side through some mud, and afterwards it pulled to the right real bad. I dont know whats going on with that, but we'll find out soon enough.
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Petros
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My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
Location: Arlington WA USA

Re: The battle wagon

Post by Petros »

that does not sound correct, you need to do a detailed inspection of all of the suspension components and the mounts. I have several hundred very hard miles on my tercel, many off road, and have yet to do the alignment. this includes several strut and and suspension part replacement. It always came right back to where it is was set without pull or wear on the tires. In fact I am surprised it has not needed it more often, particularly since I drive gravel roads daily, and often drive through some pretty rough conditions. It has in fact kept the alignment better than any other car I have owned.
'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)
Tercel__jon
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Posts: 465
Joined: Thu Dec 23, 2010 1:44 pm
My tercel:: 1983 4wd Wagon

Re: The battle wagon

Post by Tercel__jon »

Nothing was really messed up, it must have been my home-alignments not being exactly perfect. Im not sure, but I re-aligned it, and its staying put for now. Also, pictures tomorrow. I got the bumper back on. This time super securely. Dont have the winch back on yet since Im still putting braces in before work for the next couple days, but its on there.
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dlb
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Joined: Mon Jul 06, 2009 9:03 pm
My tercel:: '87 sr5, '83 dlx parts car
Location: bc, canada

Re: The battle wagon

Post by dlb »

i recently replaced both front axles on my corolla and i saw in my corolla FSM that it said to check the alignment after replacing them. so i compared the old and new axles side by side and i noticed they were just slightly different lengths between the diff and wheel hub, which i was surprised by and double checked to make they were the correct axles. according to a few parts sites and the parts place i got them from, they were correct. so i put them in and did find that my alignment was just slightly out. i got it straightened out easily enough using forum member keith's technique but in the future, i will definitely compare all axles before installation, and check alignments after replacing them.
Tercel__jon
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Posts: 465
Joined: Thu Dec 23, 2010 1:44 pm
My tercel:: 1983 4wd Wagon

Re: The battle wagon

Post by Tercel__jon »

Thats weird. I did just replace my drivers axle too.... Anyways though, picture update time!

Image

Image

Bumper is mounted again, no winch at the moment, still putting in braces and reinforcements. Gonna box the bumper too for strength.

The hood is painted with chalkboard paint like LittleRed4wd's. I saw his and loved the Idea. Still need to mount the new skull.
Last edited by Tercel__jon on Mon Mar 23, 2015 1:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
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marlinh
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My tercel:: 'Everett' Blue 87 4WD Wagon (Rocky 86, recently retired)
Location: Kootenays

Re: The battle wagon

Post by marlinh »

Replacing axles shouldn't change the alignment. The mounting points of the hub should not change. The ball joint, upper strut (as long as the camber adjustment hasn't been moved), and tie rod. The axle 'floats' in this configuration.
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dlb
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My tercel:: '87 sr5, '83 dlx parts car
Location: bc, canada

Re: The battle wagon

Post by dlb »

i agree marlinh, but if the new axle is a different length between the diff and the hub, won't that push or pull the hub and thus change the angle? my new axles were just slightly longer, like 5 mm, and my toe in/out which had been neutral became toed out.
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marlinh
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My tercel:: 'Everett' Blue 87 4WD Wagon (Rocky 86, recently retired)
Location: Kootenays

Re: The battle wagon

Post by marlinh »

If an axle is too long, it wouldn't fit. The axle in my opinion is never fully compressed when it is installed. Before the axle nut is tightened you should be able to move the axle fore and aft. If that play isn't there then you have a problem. That's why I am surprised the alignment is out.
larry mcgrath
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My tercel:: 83 tercel v20 B/T (The ROCKET)98 toyota t100
Location: Wilds of Montana

Re: The battle wagon

Post by larry mcgrath »

marlinh your right the length of the axel wont efect the alignment..... the axel length does change as the strut is compressed or uncompressed ,other wise the spider gears would catch hell . Larry
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dlb
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My tercel:: '87 sr5, '83 dlx parts car
Location: bc, canada

Re: The battle wagon

Post by dlb »

i guess something else must have changed when i replaced the axles. i had to disconnect the ball joints and tie rods to remove the wheel hubs, but i assumed that everything would go back together the same as they were before. the toe definitely changed afterward because the car previously tracked straight with the steering wheel neutral, and afterwards the steering wheel was slightly off to one side, and the car pulled to one side as well. anyway, i will check alignment both before and after when doing similar work in the future, just to be sure.
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