Tercel4WD.com

I got a question that's more structure of installation than wiring. (I redid all the wiring, so that's all good, and it fires up nicely).

I'm trying to put in a one-din Pioneer unit in my 85 wagon. The old stereo was one of those two-post junkers, an aftermarket tape deck from the 80s sometime ...

So I started going through all of the wires and connections again, cleaning all of them to a spotless shine, making sure that they were nice and tight....

And when I got to the main red line that connects to the starter, I figured out that the nut holding that wire on was completely gone! A 2.1 ...

Tested the starter and figured out it was bad. Replaced it. (It was a gear reduction, surprisingly).

It started a few times just beautifully.

Now, it won't start again. Turn the key, you get a single click and nothing else.

Any ideas?

I think I've figured out that it's the starter. I checked and cleaned all connections and fuses and everything is go. I also did the ignition bypass test and got no action out of the starter.

Now, how do I figure out if it's a gear reduction or a regular starter? NAPA wants to know?

TIA.

When my Tercel is in drive and I'm stopped, my car runs like absolute crap. It's even worse in 4wd. I touch the gas, and it's fine, but idling makes me think it's going to die. Weird thing is, I put the car in park, and it clears up. Any ideas where to start looking?

My 1985 has been acting funky with starting. Sometimes, when you turn the key, it does nothing. I know the battery's charged and connected well, because all the lights come on just fine and sometimes it does eventually crank and start.

Is this the starter, the solenoid, the neutral start switch? Is ...

You said you spray transmission fluid with a bottle... what kind of bottle?

Used motor oil also works, like you said... any good way to spray this? I got a ton of this sitting around, and I really need to rustproof my guy before the salt eats him alive.

Thanks for the advice everyone!

I never did find a Tercel old enough in a local junk yard, but I ordered the bolt and washer from the dealer for $4.00.

Bolt came in today, and I followed the steps.... took out the radiator, pulled the pulley, cleaned it up, did the sparkplug/rope trick (which was ...

I love this little car so far.

Once I get my pulley problem fixed, I'm planning to baby it with some of the basic welcoming stuff that I had to put off for a while (oil change, tune up, filter change, transmission flush, etc). Being a grad student means no money to pay someone else to fix it, no ...

Thanks for your help everyone!

This project is going to have to wait until after the holiday, because I don't have enough time off or money until Dec 1. But, I have a much better idea what to do now, though the idea of pulling a spark plug and filling the cylinder with rope seems a little outside ...

Please be gentle, I'm a mechanical idiot.

I've got a 1985 Tercel 4WD with no AC, with PS. When I bought this feller about two months ago, it'd been sitting for a bit and I tore up the dried out serpentine belt the first day. Easy replacement, right? Took off the big pulley at the bottom (the one ...

I just bought a 1985 Tercel 4WD about two months ago. Imagine my surprise to find a whole group of people dedicated to this little car!

So far I love it. A few mechanical problems here and there that I'm working on (I'm a complete novice with anything mechanical, so this is a learning experience ...