Air ride suspension?

General discussion about our beloved Tercel 4WD cars
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Petros
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Re: Air ride suspension?

Post by Petros »

The rear axle assembly in the Tercel4wd is identical to the RWD corolla and likely the celica (all except the GTS which as a trailing are IRS which unique to this model and really rare), it is almost identical to the axle used on the GTS RWD corolla, the housing is the same, but the diff is larger and it has rear disc brakes instead of the rear drums (and many have a limited slip diff). All the mounts are identical and in the same location (I measured them in a wrecking yard once). The AWD corolla all-trac also has a very similar rear axle, with slightly larger rear drum brakes and the larger diff as on the GTS corolla,except not limited slip.

There are a lot various detailed parts on the Tercel4wd suspention that are used in varius other Toyota cars, the front upper strut mounts for example on first generation MR2 is interchangeable with the Tercel4wd front upper strut mount, but is 1/2" lower profile (and there are a lot of "performance" upper strut mounts available for the MR2). Also the front lower ball joints and "doughnut" bushings used on the MR2 rear are the same as the Tercel4wd front sway bar mounts. Also interchangeable are the "performance" urethane steering rack bushings from the MR2.

You might also want to go look at my thread over in the repair guides section on up grading the flimsy front brakes to MR2 master, booster and front brakes. Lots of good bolt up mods you can do if you know what to buy. BTW, if you order any parts from a toyota dealer, do not tell them you are putting them in a Tercel, they will not sell them to you.

good luck, it will be fun to see how your mods work out. I would like the ability to go from stock height to higher for the occasional deep water crossing and deep snow I have to drive through to help get through it. But want it at stock height for the 99.9 percent of normal daily driving I do in it.
'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)
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BaileySims
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Re: Air ride suspension?

Post by BaileySims »

Alright. After about a month and a half of my car sitting at the paint shop and nothing getting done to it I decided to pick it up yesterday and start putting in all my air ride suspension components. I just made a video of the front since thats all I was able to put in today. I still have to plumb and wire everything in tomorrow and have someone with welding experience to come over next week and help me put the rear bags in. Here in the link to the video and I will post 2 photos I took in an edit later on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBbVYWPgAHQ

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BaileySims
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Re: Air ride suspension?

Post by BaileySims »

Here is a full view.

https://youtu.be/nnpq5B5iYQs
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Re: Air ride suspension?

Post by BaileySims »

Finally got the rear done. This is the final stuff for the bag setup. Just have to fix my small leak and put it all back together. Then off to paint!

https://youtu.be/PGdkxSq3cBE
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Re: Air ride suspension?

Post by dlb »

that's really, really cool. can you post pics of the controls? what was the total cost of installing it all?
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lannvouivre
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Re: Air ride suspension?

Post by lannvouivre »

Petros wrote:The AWD corolla all-trac
Thanks a lot, I googled it and now I think I need it :'(

Bailey, that is cool as hell. I'm going to go cry because now I want it also.
But...did you try hitting it with a hammer?
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Re: Air ride suspension?

Post by BaileySims »

dlb wrote:that's really, really cool. can you post pics of the controls? what was the total cost of installing it all?


Thanks. As for the controls. Just these two little switches.
20150502_154607.jpg
And as for the cost it was roughly 80 dollars only to put the back bags in because I'm not too fond of my welding skills as of lately. As it currently sits I believe it is 5 inches lower than the average ride height and fully inflated it goes two inches over stock ride height. Now if your talking price on everything, then that is somewhere around 1400. The most costly was the front bags because they had to be custom. I'm extremely happy with the work and how it looks now. I still have to fix the leaks then I'll be done with it. The final result is exactly what I wanted it to look like. Maybe I'll take another inch off the rear. Now my next problem is going to be rim fitment. I want something aftermarket but I'm not too sure on what will fit now. Hahaha.
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Petros
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Re: Air ride suspension?

Post by Petros »

I was thinking for where I live that doing something similar but I would want to go from about stock ride height, to 6" or more up. That way I would be normal right height for daily driving on road and highways (which are not always in the best condition around here), but when it snows, or the local river floods and I have to drive through it to get home, I can raise it up and drive through it. I not have to walk the long way home as often.

I ran across some similar looking airbag front struts for a subaru at a garage sale for $80 for the pair. I thought about getting them and figure a way to adapt them to the Tercel. but it looked like it would have been a lot of work and welding, for which my skills are not very practiced (so I would not want to attempt it myself).
'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)
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Re: Air ride suspension?

Post by Mattel »

Petros - I have something similar to these in the back of my Alltrac that I bought for the Tercel but never got to put them on. Basically I kept the original worn springs on and when normally driving I sit fairly low (about 1.5" lower than normal) and they are nice and firm. I can by using a bike pump or compressor. pump them up and get about 7" extra body clearance when needed (great when loaded down or towing or driving a rough track). If you can find the right model for the Tercel (mine fitted various ford and chrysler cars of the time as well) I would recommend them as a cheapish option

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/MONROE-SHOCK ... 35e862ad8c
Previous: 83 Tercel SR5 4wd, 84 Tercel SR5 4wd
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Petros
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Re: Air ride suspension?

Post by Petros »

I did not think the rear would be the problem, there are various brands of adjustable air shocks that can be purchased for the rear. Gabrial makes a decent air adjustable rear for a very reasonable price, with air tubing install kit. I remember these from my youth; they were the hot item to put in your muscle car to give it more clearance for the oversized rear tires.

That is an easy solution to the rear, but the rear is not really the problem. I want to raise the whole car for short distances 6 or more inches. It is hard on the CV axles to have that much angle on them, but should work okay for a stream crossing or a getting through a snow drift.

The place where you would have to fab something up is in the front, just like the OP shows. It would be nice if there was some low cost generic air adjustable front springs that could be adapted to the Tercel strut. than all you would need is a 12-volt air pump and you can adjust your ride height "on the fly" from the drivers seat.
'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)
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BaileySims
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Re: Air ride suspension?

Post by BaileySims »

20150524_142608.jpg
Progress. ..

Don't mind me. Just posting random pictures here.
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Re: Air ride suspension?

Post by BaileySims »

dlb wrote:that's really, really cool. can you post pics of the controls? what was the total cost of installing it all?
Just because you made me feel like my last switch setup was too bland.
https://youtu.be/9rAjU-rKTs8
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Re: Air ride suspension?

Post by BaileySims »

New remote switch setup.
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Re: Air ride suspension?

Post by BaileySims »

Had to match the bumpers.
20150614_160210.jpg
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Re: Air ride suspension?

Post by 4wdEconoBox »

This is awesome!! Now I just wish there was a cheaper way to do this! I would love to do something like this with my little terc, but I doubt I'll ever have that much extra funds for to go with this setup...haha. Great job though!!
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