Recommended bits and ends for long trips in a Terc??

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Turdcelbrother
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My tercel:: 1987 tercel 4wd sr5

Recommended bits and ends for long trips in a Terc??

Post by Turdcelbrother »

Wasn’t too sure where to post so apologies in advance!

Going on a decent length voyage in my terc, it’s made it plenty before and here’s hoping it does again (knock on wood) however what are some bits you won’t leave without just incase??

I was thinking an extra clutch cable and drive belt??
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Petros
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My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
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Re: Recommended bits and ends for long trips in a Terc??

Post by Petros »

you want to bring parts that would leave you stranded. you can actually still drive it with a broken clutch cable (with very careful shifting), I have done it. fan belt, timing belt, spare alternator, a good working complete distritor assembly (contains the coil, ignitor and other ignition parts and worth bring along, get one from a wrecking yard, test drive to make sure it is good). some fuel line, spare upper radiator hose (lower one has less pressure on it and usually lasts a long time). a quart or two of motor oil, filtered water for the radiator. I always carry a new head gasket, they do not cost much from Rockauto.com, and I have had a lot of bad luck with leaky head gaskets. i Have installed them on several road trips, mostly from driving home distant purchases with unknown history. if the car was ever over heated, the head gasket is likely compromised, and it may not show up for a long time after the event.

most common items you can get in any autoparts stores, or even at Wal-mart auto dept.

somewhere on this forum there is a thread with this discussion, and I give a detailed list of spare parts and what tools to bring as a minimum.

where are you going? how far?

good luck.
'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)
Turdcelbrother
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Posts: 28
Joined: Mon Jun 05, 2017 4:59 pm
My tercel:: 1987 tercel 4wd sr5

Re: Recommended bits and ends for long trips in a Terc??

Post by Turdcelbrother »

It isn’t too bad of a drive, from Victoria B.C to Parksville.
Just over and hour if there isn’t any traffic on the one highway up island!! About 170km. Speaking of distributor, I noticed a slight oil leak from where the dizzy meets the block on the outside, would that be the distributor mounting gasket that need replacing?
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Mark
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My tercel:: 1984 Automatic, 1981 sedan
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Re: Recommended bits and ends for long trips in a Terc??

Post by Mark »

Ha! I do that drive several times a year in mine. The steep Malahat is the initiation for that highway. Especially with all the construction and Summer tourist traffic, there can be a risk of overheating if the cooling system isn't running well. I carry a spare timing belt and alternator belt. I think I might add an upper radiator hose to my parts list. When I drove down to California I carried a spare of just about every accessory (alternator, fuel pump, etc...). I once broke a cv joint in a drive axle up near Nanoose and had to be towed back to Victoria. It was way past needing replacement though. There was a violent clunking that shook the steering wheel every time I did a sharp turn so that one was totally my fault.
jimcrazy
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My tercel:: 1985 4wd 1986fwd 1983 4wd

Re: Recommended bits and ends for long trips in a Terc??

Post by jimcrazy »

the only thing i carry is a spare dizzy and a tool bag,i also drive to much hit the road on a saturday morning and before the day is over can put on 500-600kms,
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Petros
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My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
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Re: Recommended bits and ends for long trips in a Terc??

Post by Petros »

oil leaking from the based of the distributor is pretty common, if not too bad that can wait. there is no gasket there, it is a large o-ring around the base of the distributor mount. it is an easy fix, most autoparts stores will carry the correct size o-ring (bring the old one in to match it). when you take the distributor out, you have to take off the cap first and carefully mark the location of the rotor before you pull it out, and than line it back up when reinstalling it with the new o-ring in place. you still may want to check your spark timing with a timing light after that, but it should run okay with the rotor match marked.

I like to add some none hardening form a gasket to the o-ring just to help prevent it from leaking, but it should not be necessary. I just find it reduces the chances of damaging the new o-ring when you reinsall the distributor.
'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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