Tercel interchangable parts

[Robinson]

Hi i am new to this site but have a few 86 tercels to repair and get through inspections. I was wondering how many parts are interchangeable off the 4wd corola altrack with the tercel. Also is there any model that has rear disc brakes that can fit a tercel. Thanks

[dlb]

hey guy. i personally don't have much info on this topic but it you use the search feature on here you will find TONS of info on the topic. i've seen lots of people discuss it, i think the struts or strut springs might raise the front end an inch or two... but yeah, i don't know much on it, just search it.

[Petros]

the RWD corolla GTS rear axle with the rear disk brakes can be swapped out as a unit. This axle also has several LSD rear ends available. YOu would have swap out the ring and pinion to a 4.1:1 to match the front (85-87 Tercel4wd), and have the drive shaft modified with the larger rear flange to mate with the larger diff. Also the bolt pattern on the hub is different, so you would either have to use different wheels front and rear, or have a machine shop drill the rear axle flanges to the same 100mm circle as all the other 4-bolt Toyota wheels have.

I am considering making some adapter plates to see if I can get a set of MR2 rear disks to fit on the Tercel rear axle. I will abandon it if it too complicated (costly) since the rear brakes are not as critical as the front. I have MR2 front brakes and master cyl on my Tercel4wd (see thread on the subject) with the later '92 and newer Tercel front brake rotors (closer off-set to Tercel than MR2 rotors).

[Robinson]

Thanks guys. Yes heaps of info but had to find specific info on this site. Good reading though as learning lots.
Petros was wondering what year this corolla diff comes off you mentioned and what car might have a lsd fitted that is the same ratio i need for a Tercel?
Missed out on a getting a parts car as the wreckers keep crushin them as they don't have many demand for them here. Shame to see so many go to waste.

[Petros]

The '88-94 (?) corolla all-trac (awd model) has the larger rear axle with 4.1:1 ratio, this can be swapped into the tercel but it has rear drum brakes (larger size than the Tercel4wd). Also the front struts on this car are larger dia. (2" dia vs. 1.5" of the Tercel) and can be swapped into the tercel. I think these are the same heavy duty struts as come in the Camry, and can also be interchanged with the Tercel front strut by changing the top spring retainer.

The '83-'87 Corolla GTS model only has the same rear axle assembly as the '88-94 corolla all-trac, except the GTS has rear disk brakes, and a lower rear end ratio. Some of the GTS models have the LSD diff in them (it was an option), more likely you can get it on e-bay since this RWD model of the Corolla is popular with the drifters. So to switch to rear disks and LSD you would need a '83-87 Corolla GTS rear axle, the back half of the drive shaft, and a 4.1:1 ring and pinion set from the all-trac. And you would have to have the rear axle flanges drilled and wheel studs installed to match the (4) x 100mm wheel bolt pattern. A lot of work to get rear disks and LSD, but this is a way to get the "ultimate" Tercel4wd.

While you are at it you might want to install a set of Nissan Pathfinder rear springs and longer shocks as Barto did.

No one has tried it yet, but it looks like the IRS rear suspension assembly from the '85 Celica GTS can be made to fit in the Tercel, but that would take a lot of cutting and welding. Now that would be my ultimate Tercel4wd: IRS, 4-wheel disk brakes, 4age engine w/ EFI and custom exhaust. It would be a "Tercel4wd GTS twin-cam"

[danzo]

No one has tried it yet, but it looks like the IRS rear suspension assembly from the '85 Celica GTS can be made to fit in the Tercel, but that would take a lot of cutting and welding. Now that would be my ultimate Tercel4wd: IRS, 4-wheel disk brakes, 4age engine w/ EFI and custom exhaust. It would be a "Tercel4wd GTS twin-cam"

While deep in surgery, you could shoehorn in the current 4 cylinder Tacoma engine/gearbox (22re?) that puts out 170hp. Then it would be a "Tercel RWD twin cam V V i"

Seriously while we are on the subject of interchangeability - is there an alternator from another car that will fit our T4wds? Mine gave up the ghost after 24 years and it looks like a new one is in the neighborhood of a Ben Frank. There are many j-yards near me, but none have much in the way of '80s cars, certainly not T4wds. I was thinking I could grab an alt from a newer Terc for cheap and maybe even have a few more amps. My car has the internal regulator type. Thanks for any help.

I'd like to think last weekend's autox had nothing to do with my alt failure. I'd also like to think My Texas Rangers will win the World Series the next 17 years in a row.

[hberdan]

Seems like there must be someplace in the Dallas/Ft Worth area that could rebuild your alternator cheaper than replacing it with a newer one...

[Petros]

I think that all of the toyota models used the same internal regulator alternator from about 1985 and newer. I have seen a newer corolla alternator in an '86 Tercel 4wd, it had the wide poly-v belt pully on it (used on the newer serpentine belt installation), but it bolted up and plugged in just fine, even used the wider pulley with the narrow poly-v belt on the T4wd. It looked funny with the wide pulley but it worked fine. They could have just swapped the pulley out. Since you have a spare car you might pull your Tercel alternator and head to the wrecking yard and see what matches. I suspect many other Japanese cars will also use the same alternator. I know my daughters CRX uses a very similar looking alternator as my Toyota. Getting a used alternator is a good bet, the factory alternators are pretty reliable and should be good. I have now owned 5 T4wd ranging from about 200k to 300k miles, all with the original factory alternator in them. One went out at about 275k miles on my current daily driver, and I put in a used one from one of the parts cars I junked. Still running on it.

Note that sometimes even if the out housing looks different for the different size and models of alternator, if the mount and the connector is the same, it should work.

good luck.

[Petros]

While deep in surgery, you could shoehorn in the current 4 cylinder Tacoma engine/gearbox (22re?) that puts out 170hp. Then it would be a "Tercel RWD twin cam V V i"

The 22r engine is a single cam engine as I recall. And though powerful and lots of performance stuff available, I do not think there is any practical way to make it fit it the Tercel. The main shaft height is in the wrong place, way too high.

The IRS installation is not as bad a fit as it might seem. I almost bought the whole assembly from the local Pull-a-part when they had one last year (I even had it all unbolted), to "stash" in my garage for experimention later (should have been less than $100 to get). With it I would not only get the IRS and 4 wheel disk brakes, I could have also gotten an LSD for it. The shock and spring mounts were in the same place, as were all the main mounting points (I carefully measured). The '85 celica GTS pan looks identical to the TErcel, same width, same sub frame shape, same gas take location, size, shape and mounts, (in-fact I have that particular Celica GTS gas take to install in my Tercel so I would have the EFI fuel pump for my 4age conversion). The only cutting and welding required would be to change the current rear axle horizontal through-bolt mounts to vertical bolt mounts. Looks like everything else lines up. It would have been a fun project, but I decided I did not have that much time, nor a welder, to commit to it, and it is very unlikely I would improve the value of the Tercel enough to justify all of the work and messing around to make it funcitional. The rear suspension and rear end would have likely just sit in my garage until I moved, died, or became too old to care about it.

If I had lots of money and time to "play" with, it might have been different; building up a custom "hot-rod" Tercel4wd would be an interesting exercise. But I figured if that should ever happen to me I can always locate an old Celica GTS junker and do it than.

[danzo]

Seems like there must be someplace in the Dallas/Ft Worth area that could rebuild your alternator cheaper than replacing it with a newer one...

The days of the old geezer with his one man electrical rebuild shop are pretty much gone. There are plenty of auto parts stores around that sell rebuilds, but they are about $100. In fact the alt I took out of my Terc is a rebuild. The car only has 117k miles so it obviously didn't last long. But I'll get it tested today just to make sure it's the problem. I have had bad luck with these econo rebuilds in the past and would feel better with a factory unit from a newer car for $20 at the yard. Time to mix 'n' match; I'll let you know what I discover.

The 22r engine is a single cam engine as I recall. And though powerful and lots of performance stuff available, I do not think there is any practical way to make it fit it the Tercel. The main shaft height is in the wrong place, way too high.

I meant (in jest) to butcher the front end to make it sit low enough to use the Tacoma gearbox. My brother's truck has this 16 valve engine. Cool thing is that even though it is designed for torque (180 ft lbs), it still pulls fairly strong to redline due to the VVT-i setup. Too much work to get it in though.

[Petros]

I have found the rebuilt or "remanufactured" alternators, water pumps, starters are pretty much all junk. They last about a year, they are hardly worth the effort. I would much rather install an old used factory alternator or starter than a reman. New is always better, but also costly. Go find a factory alternator in a junk yard.

[hberdan]

I buy rebuilt alternators and starters from this old geezer with his one man electrical rebuild shop:
Vanatta Auto Electric
Boulder CO
(303) 443-5775

His work is excellent and I've not had any premature failure rates with his rebuilds. Might want to give him a call.
Shipping these days is not too bad if shipping by flat rate priority. I just pick em up since it's close by.

[ARCHINSTL]

hberdan - interesting. What's an average charge? He rebuilds your core, right?
Does he do the same with distributors?
Tom M.

[hberdan]

I think you're looking at prices comparable to the rebuilt parts from a chain auto parts store, but the quality of the work is better. I've just exchanged cores, never asked for a rebuild of the same unit, don't know if that is possible or necessary. I've never had a distributer rebuilt. Why not call them?

[tercel4wdrules]

While deep in surgery, you could shoehorn in the current 4 cylinder Tacoma engine/gearbox (22re?) that puts out 170hp. Then it would be a "Tercel RWD twin cam V V i"

Seriously while we are on the subject of interchangeability - is there an alternator from another car that will fit our T4wds? Mine gave up the ghost after 24 years and it looks like a new one is in the neighborhood of a Ben Frank. There are many j-yards near me, but none have much in the way of '80s cars, certainly not T4wds. I was thinking I could grab an alt from a newer Terc for cheap and maybe even have a few more amps. My car has the internal regulator type. Thanks for any help.

Are you talking about the current generation Tacomas with the 2TR-FE 159 hp DOHC engines? I wonder if that engine will even fit, but it would be a lot of fun. I've driven a few of these, but this engine pales in comparison with the much larger and powerful 4.0L V6 engine in the Tacomas.

I had the alternator die on my '86 SR5. I went to the junkyard and there were no mid '80's Tercels. So I yanked an alternator from an AE82 Corolla, the one with the transverse 4A-LC engine. I had the pulleys switched out and then when I tried to install it I realized it would not bolt up, the bolt locations were different on the body of the alternator . It was also bigger than the internally regulated one in my car. I needed an alternator and did not have time to go to another junkyard to search for another internally regulated AL21 Tercel, so I bought a reman one from a local parts store. I swapped it in and problem solved, now to see how long it will last. Now I know the AE82 Corolla alternator will not work, but I wonder if the one from the AE86 Corolla SR5 will work.

Down in LA there are a few shops open that still rebuild starters and alternators, I wonder how good their work is.