What mileage should an '83 4WD DLX wagon get today?

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SmilingVoyeur
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My tercel:: 1983 4WD Tercel Delux Wagon

What mileage should an '83 4WD DLX wagon get today?

Post by SmilingVoyeur »

What mileage should an '83 4WD wagon get today?
The engine has about 80,000 mis on it.
SmilingVoyeur
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Posts: 19
Joined: Sun Jan 07, 2018 3:36 pm
My tercel:: 1983 4WD Tercel Delux Wagon

Re: What mileage should an '83 4WD DLX wagon get today?

Post by SmilingVoyeur »

Have read many posts and see that there is no real consensus. I need a wheel alignment...perhaps it will help but I only get around 18mpg around town. I'll have to recheck in the near future.
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Petros
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My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
Location: Arlington WA USA

Re: What mileage should an '83 4WD DLX wagon get today?

Post by Petros »

it should not be that low. something is wrong. Check your timing is set correctly and your mechanical advance is working properly. also check that you have no vac leaks, and the Auxiliary Acceleration Pump (AAP) is good (pull the vac line and see if there is fuel in it, if so it is bad, cap off both ends as a temp fix).

If the AAP is bad, raw fuel gets into the intake manifold the carb, making it too rich, but really wasting a lot of fuel. search for pictures, or in the FSM to locate it, and which vac line to check.
'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)
xirdneh
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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: What mileage should an '83 4WD DLX wagon get today?

Post by xirdneh »

I have driven quite a few of these cars and I check mileage on every fill-up. All are manual tranny. If I'm not getting 28-30 mpg during warm months I figure something's wrong and fix it. Most of the time its the carb that needs rebuilding. But it can be low tire pressure, dragging brake, timing or spark plugs. Normal driving for me is half city half highway. Winter month mileage is less like 26-29
Edit. Added. Roof racks will knock 1 or 2 mpg off too. Probably not if only city driving.
Last edited by xirdneh on Mon Jan 15, 2018 4:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Love those Tercell 4x4 wagons but they sure suffer from road noise.
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irowiki
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Re: What mileage should an '83 4WD DLX wagon get today?

Post by irowiki »

If you have a heavy foot, then high teens is not unheard of for intown economy.
Former Tercel Enthusiast (not a practical family car anymore but they still have a place in my heart)

Site administrator, if something is broken, PM me!

87 Corolla FX16, 105k
94 Jamboree RV (Ford E-350), 90k
95 Camry Wagon, 170k
97 4runner, 275k
xirdneh
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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: What mileage should an '83 4WD DLX wagon get today?

Post by xirdneh »

if you rebuild the carb check the number on the primary main jet
most are 101
i have seen a few that were 102 and 103
had one that was 106. it was in the most powerful tercel i have driven. 3ac engine
but it never got over 26 mpg. usually ran 23-26 mpg in the warm months
Love those Tercell 4x4 wagons but they sure suffer from road noise.
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Mattel
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My tercel:: 1988 Corolla 4wd Wagon (AKA Corolla All-trac) 5speed, AC, Power Sunroof, Windows, Mirrors, Steering, Locking, Diff Lock, 14" Corolla SX Alloys with Silica Hankook Tyres, 4afe, King Springs, Upgraded Headlights, Full Synth oils, 210,000kms
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Re: What mileage should an '83 4WD DLX wagon get today?

Post by Mattel »

Like Petros said. There is so many variables before you even get to the mechanics of a car. Is your town a city with lots of stop start. do you have a lot of weight in the car. roof racks, large tyres (especially snow tyres) with low pressures. how far are you revving it before you change gear? I can get 25% change in economy just with these few things and pretending there is an egg I don't want to brake under my accelerator foot. but obviously a good tune with quality fluids and filters. and a careful replacement of emissions tubing is a good start before you start pulling apart the carb.
Previous: 83 Tercel SR5 4wd, 84 Tercel SR5 4wd
88 Corolla 4wd Wagon 5speed, All power options, Fact Sunroof, Diff Lock, 14" SX Alloys, Hankook Tyres, 4afe, King Springs, Upgraded Headlights, Full Synth oils, Tow Bar, 210,000kms
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Petros
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My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
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Re: What mileage should an '83 4WD DLX wagon get today?

Post by Petros »

one time we had a bad build up of ice on our roads for sevearl weeks of below freezing weather, which is really rare around here. I had some studded snow tires on wheels that came with one of my project cars, but I never used them. since I hate chains, and I needed to get to work on these icy roads I put them on. they worked remarkably well, butter than tire chains in fact, and could drive it at highway speeds after I got to a main road clear of ice. they were a bit noisy, but it beat putting on and off chains every day.

After a week of driving on them, my normal 27-29 mpg of mixed driving each week dropped to about 19 mpg. I took them off after that week, they eat too much gas! I see some peolpe around here drive all winter on studed tires. Not me, that would be too hard on the fuel budget. after that, I never seemed to have found anything icy enough to install the studded tires and spend a lot more on fuel,
'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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