Introduction & Tech Questions

General discussion about our beloved Tercel 4WD cars
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ARCHINSTL
Goldie Forever
Posts: 6369
Joined: Sat Apr 30, 2005 1:52 pm
My tercel:: Goldie is a 1986 SR5 attualmente con Weber/also owned the first T4WD in STL in late '82
Location: Kirkwood, a 'burb of St. Louis

Post by ARCHINSTL »

Hello -
This is the first posting from the new owner of a 1986 4WD SR5 Wagon.
Yep, I bought the gold one that was on eBay a few weeks ago. The best one can say of it is that it is totally rust-free. The seller, alas,was not entirely candid about its condition, but only partially through ignorance. I will not go into the details, as we will be involved in "negotiations".... Suffice to say that the drive from Nashville to St. Louis was the slowest 380 mile/7-hour Interstate trip I've taken in my life, and that includes rides in deuce-and-a-halfs back in the 60's.
Actually, I owned (new) one of the first SR5 4WDs in St. Louis back in 1983, so I am coming home. That car was so sweet after a 14-year sentence in a '69 VW Bus - real HEAT ! ! !
My real, hands-on mechanical experience, however, is limited to a 1946 Ford V8 and owning a succession of Morris Minors from 1959 through 1979, but doing everything from valve jobs to installing clutches, etc. I never had to do any work on the Tercel and succeeding modern cars, save changing the oil and stuff like that. I sometimes think I've forgotten everything I ever knew. Consequently, some of my questions will seem pretty dumb, but oh well...
I HAVE looked through the various posted questions, so hope not to waste anyone's time by redundancy; if so, I apologize in advance.
1. The seller stated that it "hesitated when cool, but that it disappeared when warm"; not exactly an accurate statement. What I have done so far is to replace the PCV valve, grommet, and preformed OEM hose, plugs, wires, air cleaner, and fuel filter. Since it is hard to start and keep running at all until it is warm, I reasoned that the choke was not functioning. Sure enough, when the accelerator is punched (or the linkage operated manually), the linkage to the butterfly will not click open. If that particular part of the linkage is moved by hand, it will stay open, but will immediately close when the accelerator cable is touched, thereby closing the butterfly again. I have also cleaned all of the pivots with carb cleaner, but do not notice an improvement. Additionally for ? reason, the highway "power band" is from 2850 to 3100 rpm.
So - the clutch has to be slipped to move off, which was not awkward in the small amount of "traffic" I encountered on the Interstates, but is obviously not practical in regular local road driving (as well as embarrassing). Even when warm, the engine virtually dies between idle (900+ rpm) until something over 2000 rpm. So, that makes stop and go driving really difficult and hard on the clutch.
My immediate goal is to make the car driveable enough to get to Missouri's safety and emission inspection stations. Even if it flunks the emissions test, I will still have at least 60 days to resolve that issue one way or the other before licensing it.
Suggestions will certainly be appreciated.
2. My other question involves a loud "clunk" and "shudder" from the front end when the foot is removed from the accelerator. This is quite pronounced at "highway" speeds, but barely noticeable at "town" speeds of 25-30 mph. The only other front-driver I have owned was an '86 626, so am unfamiliar with this symptom - motor/transmission mounts or CV joints/axles? I didn't hear anything from the front end when turning, though.
3. I noticed that there is an unblanked hole in the top of the water pump(fairly new). I saw that on another member's photo, but still wonder if this should be plugged with something, as it looks like it could permit dirt to enter the pump.
4. The car has other issues, but they are more solveable by moi(brakes/shocks/radio/cosmetics) without bugging anyone. The A/C is a good story which I will save for another time. Suffice to say that his description of "blows cool" is hard to do if the belt has been missing for a few years....of course, it helped that the ambient temperature was in the 60s...

Again, Thank You All for your help, and I really enjoy the site and your enthusiasm!

Tom M. (ARCHINSTL
T4WD augury?
"Oh, do not ask, 'What is it?' Let us go and make our visit."
T.S. Eliot - "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"
"Now and then we had a hope that, if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates."
Mark Twain
takza
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Post by takza »

You are about to embark on the greatest adventure of your life! :D
Well..maybe not....but good luck anyway. ;)

No rust is a BIG head start...

1) I haven't had problems with the auto choke on mine...sometimes they are adjustable? You can find a manual choke conversion kit at JCWhitney.

Might try pulling the vac line on the EGR and plugging it till you get it figured out...might help the running problems. TVSV?...black easily broken THING with a lot of vac lines coming from it (Front). Redo all vac lines...or at least check them?

2) Sounds like motor mounts? Might haver an axle come out of the trans if too loose?

3) Hole in the waterpump is there to allow bleeding of any coolant leaking past the seal...no problemo?
Give a boy a gun-give a biatch a cell phone-and pretty soon you almost got yourself a police state.

Orwell said: War is peace! Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength...

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Lateer
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Location: Tasmania, Australia

Post by Lateer »

Motor mounts?

What would you be looking for for that?
1983 Tercel SR5 with 185/75R14 tyres, 32/36 DGAV Weber carburetor, lumpy cam and upgraded Pioneer sound system. Veteran of several fire seasons (with the scars to show it) and known as "The Racing Turtle"
takza
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Location: Tibetan plateau

Post by takza »

Haven't looked too close at mine, but this engine has a "mount absorber"...shock absorber on one side...could be loose or not working...rubber mount on the other side? Rubber mount at trans xmember.
Give a boy a gun-give a biatch a cell phone-and pretty soon you almost got yourself a police state.

Orwell said: War is peace! Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength...

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Lateer
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Post by Lateer »

I'll have to have a look at mine.

You mentioned it can cause problems with the CV shafts pulling out of the transmission, which is why I mentioned it.

I can see a huge headache on the horizon...
1983 Tercel SR5 with 185/75R14 tyres, 32/36 DGAV Weber carburetor, lumpy cam and upgraded Pioneer sound system. Veteran of several fire seasons (with the scars to show it) and known as "The Racing Turtle"
takza
Highest Ranking Member
Posts: 4414
Joined: Fri Apr 02, 2004 4:28 am
Location: Tibetan plateau

Post by takza »

I payed more attention to my car and noticed the same kind of "clunk" at highway speeds. FSM says that the engine/trans mounts are purposely made to be extra flexible to reduce engine/trans noise.

Must be a test for the shock on the engine...probably weak after a lot of miles?
Give a boy a gun-give a biatch a cell phone-and pretty soon you almost got yourself a police state.

Orwell said: War is peace! Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength...

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ARCHINSTL
Goldie Forever
Posts: 6369
Joined: Sat Apr 30, 2005 1:52 pm
My tercel:: Goldie is a 1986 SR5 attualmente con Weber/also owned the first T4WD in STL in late '82
Location: Kirkwood, a 'burb of St. Louis

Post by ARCHINSTL »

Thank you all for the information thus far.
The "(engine) mounting absorber" was a new one on me. As mentioned, I had no probs with my new '83 in the 3+ years I owned back then, so did not have occasion to look for it.
Sure enough, there is a little shock on the driver's side. There is mention of it and a pix of it being removed in the Autozone site (extremely helpful!). However, neither in the Autozone, Advance, NAPA, or Lou Fusz Toyota National sites is this item mentioned/shown/stocked (the two regular front mounts - yes). I've tried various combinations of the name to no avail, as well as "Googling" for it. I guess I'll call Fusz tomorrow and try to discover more - it is located right here in St. Louis. I have found no mention of this in the Tercel4WD.com site, either.
I had a '52 Singer Roadster that had a sorta similar part on one side that SEEMED to perform a similar function, but then again, that little beastie had only a single large front engine mount - BritEngineering... Do other Toyotas have that part as well?
I suppose it and the three other mounts could be weak, after 19 years and 171K miles...
Can the axles REALLY come out of the transmission with motor mount probs?
Tom M.
T4WD augury?
"Oh, do not ask, 'What is it?' Let us go and make our visit."
T.S. Eliot - "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"
"Now and then we had a hope that, if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates."
Mark Twain
takza
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Joined: Fri Apr 02, 2004 4:28 am
Location: Tibetan plateau

Post by takza »

The axle coming out due to loose engine mounts was mentioned in the Cardone axle info I got with a rebuilt axle...have not heard of it happening with the 4WD wagon though. Axles might have a lot of ability to move lengthwise?

You can test the rubber mounts by prying them around or up with a prybar...the rubber is bonded to the steel...if it separates from the steel...then it's an issue?

I pried on the trans mount at the back and found that it was stilll bonded OK...but they do flex a lot. Probably the mounts are why the backuplight switch connector on top the trans was cracked...from the trans coming up against the body offroad....not a lot of room for it.

Does "Lou Fusz Toyota National" sell parts?
Give a boy a gun-give a biatch a cell phone-and pretty soon you almost got yourself a police state.

Orwell said: War is peace! Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength...

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User avatar
ARCHINSTL
Goldie Forever
Posts: 6369
Joined: Sat Apr 30, 2005 1:52 pm
My tercel:: Goldie is a 1986 SR5 attualmente con Weber/also owned the first T4WD in STL in late '82
Location: Kirkwood, a 'burb of St. Louis

Post by ARCHINSTL »

The Lou Fusz Network is a huge conglomeration here in St. Louis which sells just about every car imaginable. The site is http://www.fusz.com, and just follow the icons. There is a specific spot for parts, and then for Toyota specifically.
It is one of the oldest Toyota dealerships in the country, and has advertised its parts services in various car magazines for years. I purchased my '83 SR5 from it back then, but have had no experience with the Toyota arm since those days. Of course, they don't have a lot in stock for the older cars, though, but the Kansas City Toyota America warehouse is supposed to be well stocked and 2 days away. I would imagine CA would be as well?
Someone is supposed to call back on the "engine mounting absorber" later.
Tom M.
T4WD augury?
"Oh, do not ask, 'What is it?' Let us go and make our visit."
T.S. Eliot - "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"
"Now and then we had a hope that, if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates."
Mark Twain
Teddy1
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Posts: 75
Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2015 10:26 am

Post by Teddy1 »

ARCHINSTL,

The minature damper you are referring to is about $80-$100 at local Toyota dealers (in the NW) and is ONLY available from a dealer.

The function of the little damper is to minimize excessive engine yaw, due to the longitudinal mounting.

The clunking you hear is the rear trans mount (available from Napa, by the way) and certainly not the little damper.

Note that many of the tranny mounts from Napa have SAE threads, instead of metric ones like the fasteners that came on the car originally (which can cause some confusion when the nuts won't thread back on!)

-Ted

<a href='http://www.skiwagons.com' target='_blank'>http://www.skiwagons.com</a>
User avatar
ARCHINSTL
Goldie Forever
Posts: 6369
Joined: Sat Apr 30, 2005 1:52 pm
My tercel:: Goldie is a 1986 SR5 attualmente con Weber/also owned the first T4WD in STL in late '82
Location: Kirkwood, a 'burb of St. Louis

Post by ARCHINSTL »

Ted -
Thank you for the info re the rear transmission mount. I will check it tomorrow (usual insomnia tonight). It does make more sense for this to be the cause of the clunk than the regular front mounts, although I will check them as well.
It is difficult in the extreme to discover any info on that damper you mentioned. It seems like quite a mystery part. Fusz Official Toyota Parts has nothing, and I tried substituting Corolla as well as Camry in the search to no avail (even using the Camry official part number from ToyotaNation's site).
Tom M.
T4WD augury?
"Oh, do not ask, 'What is it?' Let us go and make our visit."
T.S. Eliot - "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"
"Now and then we had a hope that, if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates."
Mark Twain
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