New wagon issues...

[4wdEconoBox]

Ok, so I picked up a 1987 SR5 4wd wagon, cali spec, today and she has her quirks, I don't know how to fix most of them... Haha

I can pull the shifter handle and everything completey up and out... The c clip isn't holding anything together...I don't know how it goes together....

When I take off from a dead stop in first gear, it jerks and bucks... Pressure plate is what the general consensus is, but I'm not sure...

When I turn the key to start, it just stays in place and keeps turning the starter until I turn the key back to on... Is there a spring I can replace in the switch itself?

There's a noticeable shaking in the steering wheel at highway speeds... Tie rods or tires? Maybe the steering rack?

I'm sure there are other things, but can't think of them at the moment....

Anyone have advice on where to start? Haha

Ohh other than those problems, I drove her 120 miles back home, running 70 mph the whole time and she didn't give me any major problems, had power going uphill, cruised at highway speeds better than my other wagon, I think the gear ratio is different in the new car though!

[irowiki]

Shaking in the wheel could be out of balance tires too.

If your other car is an 85 the gear ratio is the same. Unless it was swapped out for a 3.7.

[4wdEconoBox]

Yeah, I'm going to get new tires mounted and balanced soon!

I did notice that the rear axle and a few other things under the rear was painted red, so I don't if that means alot of stuff was swapped over/replaced and possibly the gear ratio was changed? Whats the easiest way to check and see what the gear ratio is?

[irowiki]

Jack up one side of the car, put it in 4WD, put a mark on the bottom of each tire and spin it. The mark should end up at the same spot each time.

[xirdneh]

the "c" clip that holds shifter in place could be wrong size if someone lost or broke the original
check/clean the groove it snaps into
sometimes you can re-shape the "c" clips for more tension

[xirdneh]

when key is inserted and turned to on position the ignition can be pulled out by pressing small pin on top of ignition housing
thats a start on inspecting it
once you get it out shine a light in there to see if there is a spring in the back end (controls steering lock)
on the back end of ignition housing there is a plastic unit with wires that is held in place by one small screw that is very hard to get at , i think this is what has the return spring in it
while ign switch is out you can insert a flat blade screwdriver in there and twist to see if it is still spring loaded

[xirdneh]

for shaking check inner tie rods
jack up front tire and push and pull it
if you detect movement and usually a small clunck, that is inner tie rod needing replacement
consider replacing rubber boots when replacing inner tie rod ends

[4wdEconoBox]

Thank you so much!! You've given me plenty of things to start on now!! I'll post back if I have any more questions!

[4wdEconoBox]

Well I checked out the tie rods, they seem fine, I didn't feel any obvious loosness, the boots on the inners look good and pretty new, maybe they were replaced recently. The ball joints also look good. Sway bar bushings need replaced for sure. Maybe it just needs new tires, get them balanced and a good alignment. Plus when I get it aligned the shop will let me know if I missed anything.

Ohh I also noticed a fresh gear oil leak under the front of the transaxle, I'm guessing it needs resealed. I'm also guessing it won't be an easy task. Haha

At the moment I'm trying to remove the ignition, and when I press that small pin in, it still seems like something is holding it in. I also just found out the my key will come out no matter what position the switch is turned to... Maybe that has something to do with it?

I haven't got around to checking the shifter out very much yet, once I get all the covers off and get to the top of the tranny, it has those 6, 12mm bolts to take off, and I can't reach the 2 towards the front... Maybe I'll see if I can find another wrench.

[keith]

Don't jack up the front end. Instead lay on the ground in front of the car and have someone turn the steering wheel back and forth. If something is loose, you will see it right away.

[Petros]

you have to get the key into the correct position to get the pin to go down, I think it is in the run position, but try pushing down on it in all positions. It will slip right out. sometimes you can spray carb cleaner and light lube into the ingintion switch at the back of the key assembly (whitish plastic housing) and it will unstick. if the spring is broken it needs to be replaced, not too difficult a job once you get access.

My Tercel has enough worn key and cylinder that it can be pulled out too, not a big deal, it is actually handy if I need to unlock the rear hatch but do not want to turn off the ignition. just always remember to put it all the way off at night or you could run the battery down if it is stays in the acc or run position over night.

delaminating tires could cause a bad shimmy, so get new tires first and have it aligned (they should check for worn out suspention parts before they do the alignment). also, badly worn out cv axles can shimmy at certain harmonic speeds, it can go away at higher speed.

[4wdEconoBox]

Alright keith, I'll check it out that way tomorrow.

And ok, I didn't even think to try it in different positions for some reason petros haha! I'm hoping it just needs cleaned and possibly reattached like everything else on this car!

Yeah it definitely doesn't bother me that I can pull the key out while its still running! It comes in handy forreal!

I'll definitely throw my 3 old wheels and tires from the other terc and see how it rides then!!! Plus it came with a spare wheel just like my old ones with a brand new tire! So I just need to get everything rebalanced and aligned!

I also got the shifter fixed, once I got the housing out, it was nothing to fix. The c clip had just came out at some point in time, and someone never put it back in right and decided to just duct tape all around the shifter? I'm not sure what the purpose was, but it didn't work haha. I slid the clip back into its groove and its fine now, a little looser than my other one, but I can deal with it for now!

Thought I ran into another snag on this car a few minutes ago. The alternator light came on and it turned out that the positive cable on the alt was completely loose, melted the plastic separator, but I tightened it back down and works fine, charges at 14.2 volts at idle. So like I said everything on this car just needs maintenance.

This car is gonna need a rebuild or used engine here soon, compression was 105 on the first 3 cylinders and 90 on the 4th, with oil they all jumped up another 20 or so psi.... but I'm gonna drive it until it looses power or starts skipping! haha It may be time for 4age swap or if I'm feeling real crazy a rwd conversion?!?!?! hahaha

Edit: Also, I forgot to mention, but I need a new inner input shaft bearing. And the tranny whines in 1st through 3rd gear pretty noticeably, and it may do it in 4th and 5th also but it isn't as noticeable. Would flushing and refilling with new gear oil make it quite again? I'm looking up threads right now on what kind of gear lube to use, but while I've got a thread going I figured I may as well ask. What would be the recommended type and weight gear lube for these cars?

Edit:Edit: After further research I'm just gonna use what the factory recommends, 80w-90 haha.

[dlb]

not sure what you mean by jerking and bucking on starting from a stop. that sounds like you're almost stalling it by not giving it enough gas when you release the clutch but i doubt that's it. if it simply clunks hard on starting from a stop, and sometimes shifting gears, it's likely in the front end. check the CV axles for rotational play by holding inner joint housing in one hand and the splined end in the other (after removing the steering knuckle). try rotating each end in opposite directions. there should be zero slop there. if there's any slop, that is at least part of the 'shift clunk.'

check the gear oil level immediately. if it's whining, it's probably low. don't drive it any more until you top it up or you'll do more damage. even better if you can drain the old oil, clean the magnets on the drain plugs, and put fresh gear oil in there. i've never needed to do a trans flush.

i've found the CV axle seals are the most common leak on these cars. they aren't very difficult to replace. just remove the CV axle, pop the old seal out, tap the new one in. don't be intimidated of it. the 4wd selector seal is another leak source but not quite as common in my experience.

[4wdEconoBox]

It honestly kind of reminds of wanting to stall out, but I give it plenty of gas so that's not the issue. I would call it more than a clunk, its like 3 or 4 jerks, I think the cv axles are part of the problem though, because it has a clunk when shifting too, but the jerks when first starting off seem like something else. I could be wrong though haha.

I planned on getting gear oil tomorrow and draining it, and refilling it, then I'll do it again in 3-4000 miles. So we'll see how that goes!

It did kind of look like the oil was coming from the axle seals but I wasn't sure, I'll look at it really good tomorrow.

[xirdneh]

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