The Definitive List of Ways to Lift a Tercel 4wd

General discussion about our beloved Tercel 4WD cars
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LowBuckCanuck
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The Definitive List of Ways to Lift a Tercel 4wd

Post by LowBuckCanuck »

This topic comes up frequently, and many of the original threads regarding it have become polluted with too much unrelated information.

Hopefully this thread becomes a sticky.

This thread is not a how-to guide, rather a list of ways to lift a tercel, and the approximate lift gained by each method. If you want to slam your tercel, please leave now.

So, without further adieu,

The Definitive List of Ways to Lift a Tercel 4wd

#1 - The Barto Lift

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5210
SynthDesign's Barto Lift.JPG
This is the most commonly referred to method of lifting a tercel. It can yield a lift of approximately 2.25" on the front, and 2-4" on the rear, depending on the spring configuration.

Front:
Coil seats/hats as well as front coils from a '83-'86 4 cylinder Toyota Camry.
Use the stock shocks

Rear:
Rear coils from a pre '95 Nissan Pathfinder
Rear shocks from a '80 Ford Thunderbird (bushings must be drilled out and replaced with stock tercel bushings)

Notes:
The 2 and 4 door Pathfinders may have different springs. This is yet to be confirmed or denied.
Cutting coils from the Pathfinder springs may be needed, to bring the suspension down a bit, there is no definitive value of how much to cut.
Typically these parts are sourced from junkyards, so results may vary.

#2 - The Abra-Cadaver Lift

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=12433
Abra-Cadaver lift.JPG
As far as I can tell, this is the same as the Barto lift, albeit utilizing brand new parts. Lift was suggested to be approximately 2.75" on the rear and 1.75" on the front.

Front:
Upper strut mounts KYB #SM5067
Upper spring seats Moog #K160075
Front strut inserts KYB #363045
Front springs Duralast #FCS254V

Rear:
Rear springs Moog #CC247
Rear shocks KYB #343162

Notes:
Abra-Cadaver's thread, linked above, is very comprehensive, and also lists part numbers for bushings and whatnot that are inevitably worn out too.
It is advisable to perform this lift over the original Barto lift, as all the parts are new.

#3 - Corolla All Trac Lift

Relatively straightforward lift, but not much information on the topic. From what I've found, the rear components bolt right in, and the front struts fit once you drill the steering knuckle from 8mm to 10mm for the larger shaft bolts.

Notes:
The travel is the same, but a lift is gained as the springs are designed for a much heavier car.
No word on how much this will lift your tercel.

#4 - Pneumatic Suspension Lift
jimcrazy 30 psi rear monroe with strut spacer in front.JPG
Rear lift only, unless you want to spend cubic dollars on getting a custom front airbag fabricated.

Utilises Monroe MA700 rear shocks and stock springs, additional air lines are also needed to complete this lift.

Notes:
Results in a highly tuneable and variable lift height.
Durability may be reduced over conventional suspension.

#5 - Spacers

The budget option. There are two ways to go about this "style" of lift.

Style #1:
not from a tercel.jpg
This is the "body lift" style, typically homemade from a dense plastic, like a cutting board, or from aluminum. Simply sits atop the strut. Only works on the front.

Style #2:
rubber spacer.jpg
This is the "spring spacer" These rubber spacers can be found cheap at most auto stores. Goes on top of or in-between the coils of the spring, and stiffens it by further compressing it. Can work for front or rear.

Notes:
Depending on how you go about this, around a .75-1.25" can be had.
Not advisable to go too crazy with spacer lifts, because they will take away from the suspension travel.

Other Things to Consider

Changing going from a stock 13 inch rim to a 14 inch rim with a bigger tire can easily add .5" + of ground clearance.

More than a 2 inch lift on the front is not a good idea, as you will start to put too much strain on your cv joints. This will lead to them wearing much quicker than normal, quickly depleting your bank account.

If you shim the transmission down, you can reduce the angle on the cv shafts, but you will lose the ground clearance you just gained from your lift.

Use caution with lifting your car, different springs may affect the handling characteristics for the worse.

This list of lifts is far from complete, but it is what I found in my searches.

I have not as of yet performed any of these lifts, so any questions are best directed at the more knowledgable forum members. I have merely stockpiled all I could find on the topic of lifting into one place.
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BaileySims
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Re: The Definitive List of Ways to Lift a Tercel 4wd

Post by BaileySims »

Brilliantly done!
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LowBuckCanuck
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Re: The Definitive List of Ways to Lift a Tercel 4wd

Post by LowBuckCanuck »

Well, it's officially a sticky now, I hope this thread will help someone else later down the road!

Maybe another forum member can make "The Definitive List of Ways to Slam a Tercel 4wd." :lol:
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Re: The Definitive List of Ways to Lift a Tercel 4wd

Post by Petros »

a word of caution on the lift, several have found that too much lift in the front results in a larger angle on the cv shortening the life of the axle by a lot. Also, if the front strut is too close to the top if its travel, it will top out when you go into a pot hole or drop off, it will damage the top seal. I would adives limiting the front lift to about 1.5 " max.
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Re: The Definitive List of Ways to Lift a Tercel 4wd

Post by YakSr5 »

Great write up!
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Re: The Definitive List of Ways to Lift a Tercel 4wd

Post by discoinferno218 »

Anyone know how much of #2 - The Abra-Cadaver Lift will work with an 1989 Corolla All Trac Wagon? I have to imagine the parts are going to be very similar, if not the same.
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Re: The Definitive List of Ways to Lift a Tercel 4wd

Post by Petros »

discoinferno218 wrote: Mon Mar 05, 2018 9:22 pm Anyone know how much of #2 - The Abra-Cadaver Lift will work with an 1989 Corolla All Trac Wagon? I have to imagine the parts are going to be very similar, if not the same.
rear axle lift should be the exact same parts, it is the same axle. might use a different length shock, but that is easy to verify.

the front will work the same way, but the strut upper mount is different, so parts are not identical. putting a home made spacer in teh front upper mount will work the same way.
'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: The Definitive List of Ways to Lift a Tercel 4wd

Post by discoinferno218 »

Petros wrote: Mon Mar 05, 2018 11:18 pm
discoinferno218 wrote: Mon Mar 05, 2018 9:22 pm Anyone know how much of #2 - The Abra-Cadaver Lift will work with an 1989 Corolla All Trac Wagon? I have to imagine the parts are going to be very similar, if not the same.
rear axle lift should be the exact same parts, it is the same axle. might use a different length shock, but that is easy to verify.

the front will work the same way, but the strut upper mount is different, so parts are not identical. putting a home made spacer in teh front upper mount will work the same way.
That's what I had figured, thanks. I knew it had to be similar, just wanted someone who knew more to verify. I think I can find upper mounts for my struts pretty easily. I am excited to finally lift it. Gonna be entering The Gambler 500 soon, so I need a little more ground clearance.
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Re: The Definitive List of Ways to Lift a Tercel 4wd

Post by SynthDesign »

Gotta step in.
I used AW11 MR2 front inserts right off the bat with 89 4door Corolla All-trak springs and upper perches netting 10mm more travel in shock stroke and said 2.25" lift over stock.
You have to drop the whole engine cross member to drop the front dif( I make the spacers for sale). Anything more than 20mm causes body roll issues. The rear carrier bearing and driveline have enogh movement that you dont need to shim down the trans-crossmember or carrier beaing mount.

And a 3" lift up front will destroy the stock CVs in a matter of few hundred miles.

Thanks for use of the Pic and tag
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Re: The Definitive List of Ways to Lift a Tercel 4wd

Post by SynthDesign »

And #6. Coil-overs. For some reason I can't post pics here but I should have a set welded up here shortly for testing spring rates and ride heights.
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Re: The Definitive List of Ways to Lift a Tercel 4wd

Post by joebeckham »

Does anyone know why Barto's method uses front strut mounts (also called "hats") from the Camry, where Cadaver's method uses thw stock Tercel mounts? I have used RockAuto's parts interchange list and found they are different, but from comparing pictures they appear the same.
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Re: The Definitive List of Ways to Lift a Tercel 4wd

Post by Petros »

the spring diameter is the different so the upper spring retainer (the "hat") has to be changed if you use a different dia spring.

also, the upper mounts is not the same as the upper spring retainer or the hat. the mount is the part that goes above the upper spring retainer on the end of the strut, and has a rubber isolator that bolts to the strut tower in the car with three bolts.
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
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'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
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Re: The Definitive List of Ways to Lift a Tercel 4wd

Post by seantp »

I would like to attempt lift #5 and have a question. I already have the strut mounts but the bolts are not long enough to accommodate a one inch spacer. That is where it goes right? What was done with the one in the picture?
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Re: The Definitive List of Ways to Lift a Tercel 4wd

Post by jimcrazy »

you just have to knock the old studs out and replace them with bolts that are 45mm long,, then spot weld the heads to the strut mount so they don't turn when you tighten the nuts up
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Re: The Definitive List of Ways to Lift a Tercel 4wd

Post by seantp »

Ok! Thanks for the reply!
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