i need HELP!!!!!!

[blade]

dose any one have a carb that would fit my 3a 87 tercel 4wd that is located in BC?? my car will not run i seems to be starving for fule and i just put a carb kit in it but that didn't help so if any one could help me with geting a nother carb or fixing my old one? thanks everyone.

[terkill]

check/replace the fuel filter.

[blade]

i have replaced the fuel filter and the fuel pump i working what can i do now??

[Petros]

fuel starvation is rarely the carb, and not likely two in a row. Check all the fuel lines for cracks, it might be sucking air. Also check to see if you have a vac leak with carb spray or raw propane. I vac leak will also make it seem fuel starved (too lean). Also go through all the vac line diagrams make sure they are all in the right places. I messy job, but you may not solve the issue unless you know the cause first.

Good luck.

[blade]

ok i will do that thanks.

[blade]

i got the car running finaly it took some inkering and phone calls but found out that the cars idle needle and the fule needle were not ajusted right and i also found that i need to relace my piston rings for the frist cyl thay are gone so i will drive it as is till i have enough money to do all of the rings and gaskets.thanks for the help every one and will be updatein ase i go alonge and got some pics to put up as soon as i can figure out how to do so.

Calvin

[Petros]

It sound like it is drivable now. How do you know it is the piston rings? It is rare that one piston wears out it's rings before the others, usually if one piston has low compression it is the valves.

My experience with the 3a engine is the valves are more likely to need to be redone before the rings. It is almost always the valve that wear out/burn up unevenly and will give different cyl. compression.

Do a compression test "dry" and write down the pressures reached, and than squirt oil into each spark plug hole and do it again. If the pressure goes up, it is the rings. If it does not change much more than a few psi, it is the valves that are shot. If they go up but stay uneven, it is likely both rings and valves.

The good news is pulling the head and having the valves reground is much easier and less costly than a ring job. It can be done in one day, but there is no hurry on either issue.

Good luck

[blade]

ya i found out that it is the valves so i was rong and i did a compresion test and cyl# 4,3,2 have 140 PSI and cyl#1 has 0 PSI so im going to take the head off this weekend and get the valves done. if any one has and tips on how to fix a rad it would be much appresheatied. Thanks Petros.

Calvin

[Petros]

There was a recent thread about head gasket replacement where I posted some tips. I have done this about 5 or 6 times on my Tercel for different reasons.

You will only need to get a head gasket (get a good one, either Fel-pro or dealer), and the intake/exhaust manifold gasket. Most others you can reuse if you are careful removing them and use sealant when you reinstall them.

With zero pressure you likely have a heavily damaged exhaust valve, you should replace all 4 of the exhaust valves (they are only about $5 each, and I would not trust the rest-I learned this the hard way), and have the intakes reground, along with the exhaust seats, and the machine shop should install new stem seals. have them check the stem wear while you are at it, they are also not too costly to have replaced. IF you have them take about 0.020" off the head surface it will increase your power a bit by raising he compression ratio about a half a point (this adds cost and if your head if flat there is no reason to do it, if it has to be resurfaced because of warpage than taking more off will increase power and economy).

Ask them to do a 4 angel valve job instead of the normal 3 angle cut, it will improve performance. I always clean up the ports with a die grinder and a sanding cone as much as practical when I have a head apart (before you take it in for the new valve and seat regrind). The bigger you can go on these little ports the better. If you do not have the equipment to do this your self it might be better to skip it, speed shops always want a lot of money to do it, not really worth on this little underpowered engine.

To avoid this problem in the future run your ignition timing at about 10 or 12 deg BTDC instead of the factory 5 deg BTDC, with the retarded timing not all of the fuel is done burning when the exhaust valve opens and it makes the exhaust valve over heat. I have seen dead stock 3a motors get trashed when the exhaust valve overheats and drops into the piston when it is running (not a pretty sight). You are lucky if there is no piston damage. If you do, minor pits are okay, but if it is punched through the top, unfortunately you will also need to replace the piston (which means pulling the engine).

Also if you get a lot of ping from the engine after you get it back together and are running 10 deg BTDC, you may want to switch to the mid grade or premium fuel, that will also save the exhaust valves.

Before you install the head, use a sheet of 600 or 800 grit sand paper and a flat surface (steel bar, tile or similar) to sand off the top of the block to make sure it is clean and flat. I use a piece of polished granite counter top about 4"x 8" x 1 inch think. I use it like a sanding block with the 800 grit wet and dry paper and carb cleaner solvent. When it is flat you will have a nice even sanded surface. If the machine shop left rough marks on your resurfaced head, you can also sand the head smooth the same way. Clean both the top of the block, pistons, bolt holes and head surface with carb cleaner or brake parts cleaner real good, so when you wipe it with a white paper towel it comes off clean. Use a small amount of grease on the threads of the head bolts (to lube the threads) and torque it in steps per the FSM.

If you want to improve performance further you can get a pretty good street cam from Delta Camshafts in Tacoma WA for about $60 exchange (you send them your old one). This can be changed anytime since the head does not have to be off to change it, but it would be a convenient time to do it when the head is all apart anyway.

With the the performance cam, .020" off the head surface, cleaned up ports, 10-12 deg timing advance, and the new valve job, your engine will have a lot more power and you should also improve the economy too.

Good luck with it.

[blade]

well thank you very much and i will try to do what ever i can do off of you list of things. and if there is more ican do plz tell me thanks and hope to get some pics today so keep your eyes open.

[blade]

well the car is dead so im replaceing te momtr and going to rebuild this one for fun and doo a lot of upgrades and make more hp and dose any one konw wher to get new parts or my enigne and i don't want stock parts thanks.

[tercel4wdrules]

You should read Petros' posts on modifications that can be done on the 3AC/4AC for more power. You can find replacement parts from http://www.rockauto.com as well as http://www.napaonline.com, etc. Another good source for parts and even a rebuild kit would be http://www.importperformanceparts.net or http://www.22re.com, they both carry rebuild kits for the 3AC/4AC.

Just don't expect a lot from the 3AC/4AC engines, there is only so far you can take them before having to spend some serious money, if you want a lot more power you should look into twin-cam swaps which have been performed by some members on here.

[Petros]

replacing the engine, and than using the old one as a core to rebuild is a good idea. That way you can take your time and do a good job as your budget allows. ONe of these days I am going to write up process for the "repair guides" section about rebuilding the engine with performance upgrades, and other trix not in the service manual.

[blade]

the motor is out and not to hard except that the tork converter would not come off so i have to take it off tomorrow and some other parts to to put on the new motor. then i can work on rebuilding the old one with more power and i will hav the best of both a street car and a 4x4 monster it will be cool

[blade]

ok finaly got some pics of the car s new and old motor.