Transmission? Binding when turning.

General discussion about our beloved Tercel 4WD cars
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jordan
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Joined: Wed Jul 14, 2021 7:11 am

Transmission? Binding when turning.

Post by jordan »

Hey all,

I am not a t4wd owner at this point but I am looking at one that has an issue I have not been able to find on these forums.

It is an 83, and has an issue that causes at least one of the wheels to bind, almost lock up when turning. I’ve been thinking it over and can’t figure out what could possibly be causing it. Owner says that he put it up on a lift and turned one wheel. The opposite wheel would turn the opposite direction as expected, but would lock up/bind after a short time. He stated that it did not happen when the vehicle was in neutral, so he suspected it was the transmission and not the differential.

When I drove it a short distance in the parking lot, I encountered the issue while doing a three point turn. I don’t think it’s specific to a certain gear either, but I will check it’s the owner. To me it sounds like what would be happening if it was in 4wd, but it wasn’t. My hunch says that perhaps it’s something with the linkage that is keeping it stuck in 4wd, but not sure. Has anyone here ever experienced this?
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dlb
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My tercel:: '87 sr5, '83 dlx parts car
Location: bc, canada

Re: Transmission? Binding when turning.

Post by dlb »

Welcome, Jordan. That's a very odd problem. If it's just one wheel that is affected, I would suspect a diff problem. If it's all of them, then yeah it might be the 4wd linkage being loose or partially stuck in engaged. Regardless, it could end up being a fair headache so I would only go for the car if it's priced accordingly.
jordan
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Joined: Wed Jul 14, 2021 7:11 am

Re: Transmission? Binding when turning.

Post by jordan »

Thanks for the response, dlb. I would obviously like to get it looked at by a shop before making any decisions, but in its current condition it would have to be towed. The car is nearly rust-free. I don't know its full history but I'm located in FL, so that seems consistent with its condition. has nearly 450k miles on the clock, though the current owner indicated that the previous owner had the 3ac rebuilt within the past 2 years and the interior is in decent but not great condition.

He was originally asking $2,500 but has reduced it to $1,850 which is still WAY more than I would want to pay for a non-driving vehicle. Hoping that if I can get the issue diagnosed he can be talked down on the price a bit.

From cursory research it seems that finding parts or parts cars in the southeast is not easy and if it did need a new transmission, it would be a pretty penny to get shipped.
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dlb
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Joined: Mon Jul 06, 2009 9:03 pm
My tercel:: '87 sr5, '83 dlx parts car
Location: bc, canada

Re: Transmission? Binding when turning.

Post by dlb »

I'm definitely on the 'extremely cheap' end of the spectrum but I'll still throw my 2 cents in and say that $1850 for a t4 with the kind of problem you described is outrageous. If it was completely mint otherwise, ok, but I wouldn't pay more than $500 for it myself.

Like I said, take that with a grain of salt. I hope some other folks here chime in with what they think it's worth to get a good consensus for you.
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NWMO
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Re: Transmission? Binding when turning.

Post by NWMO »

Owner says that he put it up on a lift and turned one wheel. The opposite wheel would turn the opposite direction as expected, but would lock up/bind after a short time.
Based on the above statement, I would be inclined to think tranmission issues as well. I wonder if one of the bearings has partially failed, still rolls going forward, but binds going backwards. I was still driving mine when I pulled the trans and found a failed bearing (need to repair sometime).

Chris
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xirdneh
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Joined: Thu Aug 04, 2005 11:38 am
My tercel:: 87 tercel 4x4 wagon w/reringed engine, 83 tercel 4x4 wagon w/salvaged engine and 4.1 Diff's
Location: seabeck, washington, USA

Re: Transmission? Binding when turning.

Post by xirdneh »

Your sure it’s not in 4wd?
Love those Tercell 4x4 wagons but they sure suffer from road noise.
xirdneh
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Posts: 2121
Joined: Thu Aug 04, 2005 11:38 am
My tercel:: 87 tercel 4x4 wagon w/reringed engine, 83 tercel 4x4 wagon w/salvaged engine and 4.1 Diff's
Location: seabeck, washington, USA

Re: Transmission? Binding when turning.

Post by xirdneh »

Jack up both tires on one side. Put tranny in neutral and rotate a tire. If the other tire rotates it’s stuck in 4wd
Love those Tercell 4x4 wagons but they sure suffer from road noise.
xirdneh
Highest Ranking Member
Posts: 2121
Joined: Thu Aug 04, 2005 11:38 am
My tercel:: 87 tercel 4x4 wagon w/reringed engine, 83 tercel 4x4 wagon w/salvaged engine and 4.1 Diff's
Location: seabeck, washington, USA

Re: Transmission? Binding when turning.

Post by xirdneh »

While doing that count the rotation on both. If unequal the front and rear diffs at mismatched
Love those Tercell 4x4 wagons but they sure suffer from road noise.
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