Rebuilding

[WarWagon]

Hello, i guess this would be my first post. And i have a couple of questions.

First and foremost let me introduce my trusty steed, and a quick story! I have a 1983 tercel with the two tone gold/brown, sunroof, clinometer and EL 5speed manual. I grew up with these ugly things all my life as a child, because they were all goldies. I swear its the most common color haha. Last year when i was 16 i was looking for my first car. Something that was cheap. Cheap to fix, good gas mileage and 4wd would be awesome. I knew what i wanted and found a couple on craigslist and mine was listed for 1200$. So my Dad and I went down to Colorado Springs and found him parked in the back of this guys autoshop. I think he was the kind of guy that flipped cars. Anyways I noticed it was a high end model so that was awesome. My Dad drove it because he knows lots about these and revved it while driving blah blah blah. It leaks oil and coolant like a mofo. We haggled and my dad wasnt paying more than 800$ so i went over and sealed the deal for 860$. BEST 60 BUCKS I EVER SPENT!!!
Leaking oil, coolant, no sway bar bushings, and bald tires we drove her on home. Amazingly it leaked NOTHING back home. NOTHING!!! I think he liked us because we would take care of him. Fixed up a couple things, went junkyarding. Had 153k on him when he was purchased and flash foward to the present. 173k and counting because he my car and i drive him mon-fri roughly 90miles a day commuting from home to school to work back home. I know i didnt buy a race car these things get the job done regardless. Tatanka is what i named him. One day one NatGeo a buffalo was trekking through a bunch of snow. Not fast, but not slow and thus the name in Cherokee was deemed.

Im a smart kid and rather than buying a truck and go broke 5 years later like all these wanna be cowboys around here. Mind you i live 40 miles from town and raise livestock. Id rather fix up Tatanka and keep him around so i wont have to buy another vehicle... and its cheaper to insure when i graduate. So would like to do pretty much a bare body restoration as i work at a successful autoshop. One of the technicians there assured me he can find parts for almost anything. So here are my questions

How much does a full 3a rebuild cost (full tranny rebuild), can it be bored a little with the stock carb? Where can you lighten the fly wheel? What is a cam regrind? Are webers tunable to my specific application(daily driver in colorado, better for eisenhower pass, occasionally mild offroading, maintain 33mpg roughly)? What size diameter is best for a straight pipe to muffler application? Could i find wiring odds and ends to replace so i can have an almost brand new tercel in the end? Since the tercel was built by toyota from existing parts the rear end is from a corolla... so can i find parts to overhaul that? Can i put some mild speakers, and a 12 in sub (can the alternator handled it) And im probably forgeting some stuff but that should give you guys a good idea of what i want.

Thanks for reading and thank you in advance for any ideas, questions, and concerns i am all ears(eyes haha) I love Tatanka and wont be undertaking this project for a while so i would like to gather all knowledge and recommended parts first. Thank you and may your Tercels stay on the road!

[irowiki]

Brown two tone you say? Like this, you say?

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-4l5b ... 146376.jpg

That is my 83 SR5.

How much does a full 3a rebuild cost (full tranny rebuild)

The engine and transmission are two very different things in regards to rebuilding! Can't really rebuild the transmission anymore unless you manage to score one of the scarce, expensive rebuild kits.

A master rebuild kit on rockauto is about $210 all told, before 5% discount. You can get a better deal by piecing together your cart bit by bit.

Are webers tunable to my specific application(daily driver in colorado, better for eisenhower pass, occasionally mild offroading, maintain 33mpg roughly)?

Coming from cold, high elevations myself, I think the stock carb will suit you better.

What size diameter is best for a straight pipe to muffler application?

What exactly do you mean?

Could i find wiring odds and ends to replace so i can have an almost brand new tercel in the end?

Not new, but from junk yard tercels, sure. Most of the wiring would match from an 83-86 hatchback, for example. Also the 2WD wagons, most parts match right up.

[WarWagon]

Like this one http://www.imcdb.org/i088600.jpg

I understand that there is a difference thats why i put parenthesis. What diameter exhaust pipe would best suite my set-up is what i implied. (2",2 1/4", 2 1/2")
I believe i read a forum on here where a man went to a tranny shop and they had a "6" speed on the shelf and that they were capable of rebuilding one themselves. Would this be a feasible option?
What does a master rebuild include? I have found some kits on rock auto just include Connecting Rod Bearing, Crankshaft Main Bearing, piston and piston rings. Would a machine shop be capable of locating a complete kit? Also i forgot to mention. How would you achieve 10:1 compression?

Thanks for the reply and forgive my idiocy if i come across as.

[irowiki]

That's actually what mine looked like before the paint faded (due to arizona), inside the doorjambs is still Gold.

If you could find a transmission shop that still has a good six speed, yes, but it'd be expensive!

Rockauto has a "master rebuild kit" with everything in it. From there you can piece your cart together yourself and probably save money.

[WarWagon]

Perfect! I'd imagine the transmission would be a pain, but thats great news. RockAuto will be a savior. Thank you for the information.

[irowiki]

don't forget the discount code

[Mattel]

I always change the gearbox oil on my 4wd toyotas to good but expensive synthetic oil as soon as I can to extend their lives as chances are it's never been changed. if it saves you from rebuild down the line (and can improve the gear shifting) I would do that and the rear dif at the same time.

[Petros]

welcome to the forum,

most macheancial parts are still available, and most of the transmission parts too, except the sycros (unless you can find a rare full kit, not sure there are any left in North Amercia). If your trans is good now I would just do an ATF/gear oil flush and put good quality gear oil in it. It will last a long time with care, if it needs seals replace those ASAP. Cheap and still available, and not difficult to do with the trans staying in the car.

If the engine has good compression, I would not bother rebuilding it, at least not yet (if it needs it than go for it). If it is more power you want do not waste time with the 3a, it is too flimsy to tweak (I have done it several times and given up on it, getting much more power out of it makes a reliable stock engine very unreliable). If youi want more power do a direct swap with 4ac corolla engine, Delta cam regrind from Delta cams in Tacoma Wa (about $50 exchange plus shipping, not a bad deal). stay with the stock carb, the weber can be made to work but will give you trouble when you change altitude, in extreme cold or hot weather (either icing or vapor lock). Use a 2" exahust sytem, factory ex, manifold is okay, and much cheaper than a custom header. you will get much more reliable hp by going to the 4ac engine, find one in a wrecking yard and than overhaul it at your time table (take your time and go a good job), than replace your 3ac on a weekend so you will have something to drive while you rebuild your new engine. A good auto machine shop should be able to take weight off the stock flywheel, and than balance it.

Good luck.

[WarWagon]

Plenty of good info! I think i will replace some seals and change to a good gear oil for the trans. Thanks Petros a 4ac would be a lot better. I read some where it can be too overpowering to the drivetrain if i go nuts but its a daily driver and i believe it will suit my needs perfectly. Thanks again!

[WarWagon]

So what year 4ac would be most suitable?

[Petros]

same years corollas as the Tercel4wd. should be '83-87, or there abouts.

[WarWagon]

Just got some questions. Is there a tried and trued method for dropping the trans and engine in one go? I'm starting to replace all the seals and gaskets. Ill be doing a compression test on all four and kind of rebuilding the front end. What should the cylinders be reading for psi?Also does anyone know how to get a hold of the sway bar bushimgs that run on the outsides of the control arms? And I was looking at the vacuum diagram under the hood and the specs say when everything is working good it idiles around 8-900rpm. When I'm under there for the real go time Ill be sure to trace and color code the lines so ill know if its all hooked up correctly. Is that a good thing to tackle since its Feb? And when the car is warming up it closes the choke type deal in the airbox intake and once its been goin for like 5 minutes it starts jumping continuesly from around 1700-2200 until it is giving a shot of the accelerator pedal. Is this a fuel pump problem? It has done it ever since I got it. I got a lil excited in that there first post but I am slowly acquiring parts for the car. Engine and trans will get a little work this summer for now.thanks guys.

[dlb]

i'll try to answer each of your questions.

1) if you just want the engine out, pull it out the top. if you want just the trans, take it out the bottom. if you want both at the same time, take them out the top (unless you have a lift in your shop).

2) healthy cylinder compression is 180 psi.

3) the sway bar-to-control arm bushings, or sway bar end bushings, are still available through toyota but are pricy. tom has written them up here.

viewtopic.php?f=16&t=3203

there are also aftermarket polyurethane bushings for this application, do a search on here to find more info about where to order them from. i think they cost a little less than the OE bushings but remember that PE bushings require regular lubing.

4) doesn't matter what time of year it is for this job, unless you're working outside with no cover in the pouring rain and snow. you couldn't make me undertake that job.

5) if you have an erratic idle once warmed up but before you have touched the throttle, i think you probably have a vacuum leak in the choke opener or choke breaker devices. they're easy to check, follow the steps in the FSM.

good luck.

[WarWagon]

Thanks dIb! I found those purple polyurethane bushings yup. Beautiful. That ll git her done. I'm finally figuring out the site so ill do my research for sure in the faq and ill find the FSM. Thank you sir

[WarWagon]

Ok now gettin a little crazy. 7afe block 3ac head. 1995 chevy geo prism.... is that a 7afe? Looks horizontal to me. Forgive me I'm very dull. Will this motor go in how the 3a is and the head will keep the exhaust on the same side. Ac and power steering? Please inform me. My sister has a beat up geo prism of this year. I've seen the engine bay. It matchs the 7's on a google seach I.e. 16 valve with the fuel injection and stuff towards the firewall. Once she is dine with it I would be alll in. Thanks guys. I read teddy1's thread. He mentioned a 95-97jdm 7afe is the ticket.