New Member with newly acquired 1987 Tercel!

[Kwaiin]

Hello everyone, wanted to tell you all about my new to me 1987 T4wd. Ive been lurking around a little while, but this past weekend I traded my old 1982 Toyota Hilux that i bought for $600 (it had 272,000 miles on it and was more of a rat/beater truck) for a 1987 Tercel 4wd 6 speed with 170k.

Ill start off with whats majorly wrong with it, it runs beautifully, but doesnt drive. Guy told me it was transmission issues, so he sourced a parts one (woohoo). But it honestly sounds like its just a throwout bearing. It will occasionally catch in gear and go, but if you let the clutch out in neutral it makes a slight whine/grind. Any input? Also, recommendations on a clutch kit?

Aside from that, its pretty clean for spending its life in the northeast US. 2 small body rust spots I will fix, but the rear bumper is rotted out pretty good. The windshield trim is missing mostly (any ideas on replacing it? easy to find? or something universal i can use?), A pillar trim panels have cracks. Interior is pretty clean.

My goals right now are just to get it on the road, get it operating well, get some snow tires on it, and run it. I want to build it although im not sure just how yet as I will probably just commute and travel with it so who knows what will become of this.

Im happy to be a part of the community!

[Gottolovem]

Welcome to the group
Do you get a any movement with the 4wd lever engaged?
I think you may have more than just a throw out bearing or clutch problem but let's hope for the best.
Your throw out bearing is only in use with the clutch pedal depressed the rest of the time its not spinning.
If your getting a slight bit of movement once in a while my money is on the front diff.

[Petros]

Welcome to the forum!

try it in 4wd. if it goes in 4wd and not reliably in 2wd, likely it is a bad cv axle (easy fix) or the front output shaft failure, not too bad a fix but requires taking out the trans.

not likely it is a bad t/o bearing, that will not make it NOT go, but will make a lot of racket when you engage the clutch. it might be a bad clutch. either way the trans has to come out to change/check the clutch and the t/o bearing. But check the cv axles first, they have to come out to change the clutch anyway, and that will eliminate the front cv axles if one is broken at the stub or spline shaft.

good luck.

[Kwaiin]

Thats exaxtly what it does petros, If it's in neutral and I engage the clutch it makes a shit ton noise. I'm afraid to put it in gear due to not knowing exactly how it will act but I'll give it a shot where I have some room. Guy told me "it will occasionally grab and go"

Haven't had a chance to really look at it and play around with it but I will soon and I will update. Thanks guys!

[dlb]

it's definitely not a t/o bearing. the t/o bearing and pilot bearing spin when you disengage the clutch, aka step on the clutch pedal, so that's when they make noise if they are worn out.

if it's making bad sounds when you engage the clutch (aka let the pedal up) with the shifter in neutral, it is likely either a bad clutch or a bad input shaft bearing. the 'occasional grab and go' makes it sound more like a clutch than an ISB.

[Kwaiin]

Good thing I have a clutch kit coming Thursday. Trans us getting dropped this week I hope if not next week. Is there a how to on dropping the trans?

[Gottolovem]

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=7148

[Kwaiin]

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=7148

Thank you very much!

[Kwaiin]

Also out of curiosity, while i dont plan on selling it, what would this be worth?

[dlb]

it looks pretty clean in and out, minus the rust in the usual area just in front of the rear wheels. but the issue you've described essentially kills 90% of the value of the vehicle -- not many people want a car they can't drive. there are ones with similar issues that have been sitting on craislist for many months at $500, so somewhere south of that figure.

if you fix the problem and the other things you mentioned and everything else works well, you might get $2000. i'd need to see the rust better but that's my estimate.

[irowiki]

Not running, with transmission issues, body rust, etc? $200 - With a spare transmission? Maybe $500

Running, with all major issues taken care of? $1,000-2,000 maybe?

edit: haha David and I posted about the same thing at the same time

[dlb]

great minds think alike!

[Kwaiin]

well im going to get it running and driving, and i plan on fixing the rust. its very minimal in front of the rear wheels and those are the only spots

[Kwaiin]

Update:

Worked on getting the trans out over the past two days during the time im not in class. Just dropped it out tonight, and sadly, its not the clutch. Seems to be one of the gears that the input shaft spins stripped out/lost teeth. The rest of trans itself seems okay.

Now i have a parts trans, but the fluid in it is absolutely disgusting and in seems to be more water than anything, there are bad seals, etc. Given the blown trans is in much much better condition, I may just pull the parts I need out of the parts one. I have no problem with that and feel better about it anyway.

Also, im not 100% sure of the year of the parts one, guy never told me. They look identical except for on the stock one, there is a third sensor on top that isnt there on the parts trans.

[Petros]

all came with two electrical connectors: reverse light, and 4wd indicator. Model year '85 and newer also has a thrid connector for the "extra low" indicator (shows up on dash as "EL" light). the one with two connectors is from '83-84 model year, the front diff should have a different ratio (3.37:1) ring and pinion that the latter model years (4.1:1). So you can not use the front diff assembly, but you can separate them and use the gear box, and install your old front diff assembly, presuming it was not damage by the metal parts from the disintegrating input shaft gear.

Your other option would be to change the rear diff assembly to the 3.73:1 to match the older trans assy front diff ratio.

Or find a good transaxle assembly that has the correct 4.1:1 front diff ring and pinion ratio.

if you clean out the debris from the trans really good, you might get away with just replacing the input shaft with a good gear. though usually the mating gear is also trashed, or damaged enough where it will not last very long if you put in a good input shaft and gear.

Any time you have parts breaking up inside a trans, all the other parts are at risk of being pitted and damaged, which may cause later damage. best to eaither do a complete overhaul (if you can find the parts) or replace the whole transaxle assembly as a unit.

good luck.