I bought another one! I shall call her MINT and she'll be FRESH

[Mark]

The rebuild kits that are still available for the A55 (2WD) and A55F (4wd) Tercel automatic transmissions usually just include the seals/gaskets. Any hard parts can be salvaged from scrap 2wd and 4wd 1st and 2nd gen transmissions. I personally wouldn't bother rebuilding the trans unless it started slipping or stopped putting power to the wheels. I would definitely do something about the black fluid though. The reduced lubricity could be wearing down the clutch disks and of course the hard metal parts. Who knows if it's even the correct type of auto trans fluid for the Tercel.

[Tercel__jon]

Oh I know mark, thats why shes not gonna move again till I go to the dealer and get the right fluid. I know it cost more, but dealer fluid stopped the slipping in my cressida trans. Not saying the tercels trans is slipping, hopefully it never does. But thats good to know about the hard parts and the availability of gaskets and seals. Thanks!

[dlb]

I am not a huge fan of the power steering though. I cant turn as fast as with the manual steering, the fluid slows the rack down.

i don't understand the purpose of power steering in these, and small cars in general. a previous terc i bought was manual steering and i didn't even realize it until after i had driven it home and looked specifically for the PS pump. i didn't notice a difference while driving at all. i bought another terc this last xmas that also has manual steering and same thing, it's really light and easy. maybe it takes 4.5 turns of the wheel to go from lock to lock versus 4 turns with PS but i'm not racing anywhere so i couldn't care less about that. it feels virtually identical while driving and it's just another system to get in the way and potentially malfunction later so to hell with it, i say.

i took the belt off the PS in my ae95 a while ago and it's fine driving around but really heavy when moving slow, like in parking lots. however, i just learned from an ae86 guy that lots of ae86 and miata enthusiasts disassemble their PS racks, cut the seal off the middle of the rack, and cut and plug the lines on the rack housing. this effectively converts PS to manual. i may consider doing this on my ae95 one day.

[irowiki]

I notice the lack of power steering most in tight parking lots.

[Petros]

when you drive on a lot of rough gravel roads you notice not having the power steering (like I do every day), sudden off-center bumps can snatch the steering wheel out of your hands with manual steering. you have to "white knuckle" the steering wheel if you have any speed to keep from ending up in the trees.

Also, power steering is really nice when parallel parking.

[Tercel__jon]

I havent driven it down any gravel roads yet, but Ive never had a problem with my 83's wheel being ripped from my hands and I practically rally it down the gravel roads around here. Its always steered easily with no problem, and i can even "flick" it when offroad.

I dont think Ill be disabling the power steering. It will help numb vibrations out. <-thats the only complaint with my manual steering by the way. But when Im not highway driving, I do like being able to feel everything and know exactly where my tires are.

[dlb]

ditto jon's comments. i've driven numerous cars with manual steering down rough logging roads as fast as i was comfortable going, zero issues. maybe you had other front end issues going on. either that or you gents just need to work on your scrawny limp wrists, haha.

[Tercel__jon]

I posted some videos in the general section. In the first video you can see how fast the manual steering can really turn and why I love it so much.

[marlinh]

Hi Tercel__jon, I don't know if you've had a chance to dig into your car yet. Didn't want this thread to die. If and when you get a chance to trace the wiring for the intermittent wiper, I thought the quickest thing to do would be to disconnect the small two wire plug below the column and see if the intermittent function still works. Thanks in advance.

[Tercel__jon]

This threads not dead Marlinh. Its just taking a break. Fall/winter is coming and thats HOPEFULLY when Ill get her all fixed up. Ill look into those wires in the next few days. Behind the panel at the base of the column right?

[marlinh]

Yes. A separate connector with two wires on it.

[Tercel__jon]

10-4 Ill take a look.

Good news! Ive got a line on a parts car! Its a 2wd automatic, the rocker panels are already cut out and it doesnt have a title, but that means Ill feel less bad about cutting it up for patch panels. When I get it to the house in the next week or so Ill have some pictures.

So stoked about this...Mints gonna have patch panels and shell actually be getting fixed this winter! heck yeah!

[Tercel__jon]

Here it is! The parts donor.

The parts of the shell that I need are in great shape, totally rust free. The doors are SPOTLESS. Inside, outside, they're GREAT. Which is awesome cause Mints doors are completely rotted out. The windshield is also pretty much perfect which makes me really happy. The Battlewagon can finally have hers replaced along with a rear hatch thats 99% dent free and has the hole for the wiper.





















For what its worth, if anyone needs, or knows anyone needing anything thats 2wd specific, let me know, Ill practically give that stuff away since I wont be needing any of it. (keeping the auto trans cause the guts swap into my 4wd one though)

[irowiki]

Hatch might be different on a FWD, let us know, I've never actually compared but there's more room inside a FWD cargo area, so always thought it might.

The HAC (high altitude compensator) is worth keeping.

[rer233]

Hatch should be the same- extra cargo room comes from the rear seat being moved farther forward in the fwd cars.