87 SR5 4wd from Vancouver!

[entrax]

was able to get the head and block down to 0.002, valve seals replaced, but i chose not to replace the exhaust valves due to time constraints.

just need to get a torque wrench that is capable of smaller ratings such as 16ft lbs (to tighten the hg in steps) to finish the job.

[entrax]

head gasket back on, everything reinstalled, no more smoke, no more overheating, instant start up anywhere/anytime! 200km so far and no problems!

only downside is one of the bolts bolting the intake and exhaust manifold together (where the exhaust heats up the intake) snapped and now I have a leak. also, there was no new gasket for that in the kit that i got...

i do have some idle issues, this persisted from before the hg issue.

the only thing that is bothering me is when the car is starting to warm up, but still cold enough. on the temp gauge, it's when the gauge is just touching the bottom line that indicates "C". cold start is great, 2000rpm. 1/4 on temp gauge and higher is great too, 850rpm. warm start up is great too, comes to life to 1200rpm then comes down to 850rpm idle. however, at this temp where it's just on the bottom line, til about 1/8 on the temp gauge, it will always drop to 600rpm, symptoms seem too rich, no power.

i thought that it had something to do with the 2000rpm idle coming off way too soon, so i adjusted the choke housing to be "richer" according to the bgb. this worked to keep the rpm's high for a longer amount of time, but the car is almost undrivable until the car warms up more, as soon as there's any load on the engine, it will sound like it's flooding.

so now i've tried setting it to be "leaner" according to bgb, but now it comes off the fast idle cam within 5 seconds of dead cold start, however, the car will be more drivable, but it will idle at the 600rpm for a while.

is there a way to keep the higher idle longer, without flooding the engine with more fuel?

i'm really tempted to just get a weber and call it a day.

[dlb]

sounds like a vacuum leak in one of the cold start components. check the diaphragms, like the choke breaker A and B.

the weber is much more simple but i wasn't a fan of it. with our cold, wet climate, it was prone to icing in the winter so every morning on my drive to work, it would die or almost die when i came to a stop. i have since talked to old motorcycle guys who deal with similar problems on their bikes and they suggested just letting the car warm up for 5 min or so on cold mornings, shutting it off while you finish getting ready, and then driving. after the 5 min, the engine has warmed up a bit, and then by leaving it you give it time to warm the carb body which prevents the icing. you would think you could just let the car idle for longer but with the weber, it would die from icing around the 10 minute mark, just like on my drive to work.

so be aware that the weber is not necessarily the end of all carb woes. they can be a real pain sometimes but man, is it satisfying when you finally figure out what's wrong with one.

great work on the head gasket, btw. i'm happy your car found its way into the hands of such an enthusiastic owner.

[entrax]

i find that the new vacuum lines that I bought were kind of crappy and too loose. i think i'll go over them again with toyota ones...

interesting about the weber. that wouldn't be good when my car's a winter one...

and thanks! car is running well and i'm happy with is, minus the exhaust leak

[entrax]

few problems...

since the HG blew, and after the rebuild, engine smokes blue quite a lot in the morning, and just a hint of blue when warmed up...suspecting piston rings were damaged when coolant was seeping into the cylinders.

and here's the major problem:
the passenger side front control arm, the part of the body that it connects to, it is cracked where the body connects to the frame. anyone come across this and what is the best thing to do?? I was thinking to weld it back together, then protect it with undercoat, build a crossbrace that spans to the other side.

i don't mind adding oil to the car once in a while, but the suspension/body issue is a lot worse as it causes severe wheel vibration under braking.

[dlb]

dang, that's bad. i know that this has come up here a few times but these are the only threads i can find right now. the first and second links sound like your problem but while i salute tercelwill's ingenuity in finding a solution, i'm not totally sold on it. the third thread may not apply to you at all.

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=5062

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=5139&p=37768

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=8459&p=61035

can you post a pic of your control arm problem, entrax?

[entrax]

dang, that's bad. i know that this has come up here a few times but these are the only threads i can find right now. the first and second links sound like your problem but while i salute tercelwill's ingenuity in finding a solution, i'm not totally sold on it. the third thread may not apply to you at all.

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=5062

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=5139&p=37768

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=8459&p=61035

can you post a pic of your control arm problem, entrax?

will post pics later, but yes, the 1st and 2nd link is precisely my issue.
my solution in my head was the same thing.

weld the unibody part back on, then build a crossbeam to further support the V shaped support bars.

[dlb]

i just read more of those posts, i didn't realize tercelwill welded the crack first before adding the extra support. that's much better than just adding a brace.

[entrax]

this is the camera in the passenger wheel well, facing towards the back of the car. to the left of the photo is the wheel, black bar on the bottom is the control arm.

Crappy timing as I just broke my MR2's diff...although I now have 100% lock up all the time, from a viscous LSD unit lol.

[entrax]

Good news! The tercel is now safe once more! Welded up that piece and tomorrow I'll build a brace for it. The car is rusty down there so hopefully this stays on the best it can.

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction dlb, lifesaver!

[dlb]

good to hear, fingers crossed the weld holds and the car sees many more years and kms!

[entrax]

Agh. I'm toying with the idea of selling the now affectionately named "turd".

I've fixed up pretty much everything on this car and essentially now it's a "add gas/oil and go" daily driver. Not to mention that i've been getting ~26mpg now...

The reason is: 1988 Celica Alltrac with 160k original KM, with leather/a/c/sunroof/auto climate...not to mention awd/turbo...

But overall I don't know yet, the Tercel4wd forum has been the most helpful forum (and active) out of pretty much all of the car forums I participate in.

[dlb]

do you have a link to that celica you're interested in?

there is a JDM 4wd corolla wagon in armstrong that i have found really tempting, although it's ad has been up for quite a while now so i think there must be something fishy about it.

http://www.kijiji.ca/v-cars-trucks/vern ... nFlag=true

[Petros]

do you have an all-trac celica? I would love one of those. about 5 years ago a really nice one came up on Seattle Craig's list for $2000, it needed a head gasket and the guy did not wnat to fix it (too many other projets). It would have been a good deal even with a blown engine, had custom wheels and tires, nice custom paint, and lots of nice extras. I did not have the money or I would have got it (likely it would be still sitting in my garage anyway).

Those are pretty rare, too bad it never sold very many (high cost). It was way a head of its time, now most all of the "big name" sports cars come in AWD.

[Mark]

There's one of those 4wd turbo Celicas up the road from me. It's the first one I've ever seen. I didn't know they existed.