new to tercel 4x4, but long time toy owner

[bumblebeecaz]

Hey guys , new to tercel ownership , i was given an 85 wagen 4x4 , it has 167k miles on it , the owner said the car overheated and blew the headgasket. He told me it needed a new head. I am going to try and install a head gastket set and see what she does.
Is there annything i should look for on the head or block for overheat damage. I put up 2 pics , will put up more when i can .
Now about me , i live in virginia , i have been a auto technition for about 25 years , ase certified under car specialist . And love tinkering on my Air cooled VW sand rail.

Attaced below are 2 picks of the toy and 1 of my vw

[bumblebeecaz]

This is my vw project/hobby

[bumblebeecaz]

Pic 1 of toy

[bumblebeecaz]

Pic#2

[bumblebeecaz]

One more pic. Im not a Honda fan , i built my rail so i could have fun messing with the hondas with my 75hp vw . So im planning on doing some major upgrades to it, . I think my tercel would be proud to sport my personalized license plates

[Petros]

welcome to the forum!

Your dune buggy/sand rail brings back memories. I used to own a vw power sand rail when I lived in california (used to use it a Pismo because before they closed it). Also had a 1956 VW window van (6-volt).

Very nice looking Tercel, you did good! The head gasket is an easy fix compared to most modern cars (I can do one in 3 hours with hand tools). But the old obsolete 8 valve head on the 2ac has some cooling issues, one minor over heat and you need to replace the gasket. Not likely the head needs replacing, the head is very durable, it is the gaskets that are vulnerable because the head design does not cool evenly. I have never found a cracked head (I have replaced perhaps 20 plus head gaskets on 3 and 4 ac motors), I occasionally found one warped if it was run for a long time without coolant. That can be resurfaced for much less than the cost of a new head.

I wrote up a detailed head gasket repair guild, with lots of useful information the service manual does not tell you. Use this procedure and it will go well, and result in a more durable gasket. It is the definitive head gasket repair guild! viewtopic.php?f=7&t=6059

I highly recommend you replace the thermostat when you replace the head (use a good quality one, not one made in China), and check out your radiator and all the houses once you have it apart. These cars are not prone to overheating if everything is working properly, so it was overheated there is a reason, look for it before you drive it very much. Or you risk damaging the new head gasket too. If you have to replace the radiator make sure you get a double row one for the Tercel4wd, lots of shops will install the lighter (and cheaper) single row radiator for the fwd sedan. I warm climates the single row one can be inadequate on long up hill drives.

Also, when you have the head off you might consider replacing the exhaust valves, and the valve stem seals. Neither cost very much and the exhaust valves as they age are at risk of overheating and breaking off, destroying the engine when they go. You can avoid this by setting the timing to 10 deg BTDC, rather than the (emission controls) 5 deg. It will result in cooler exhaust and no burned valves. Intakes are fine to reuse, regrind if necessary. I like to clean up the ports if I have the time when I have the head apart, helps add a few more hp to this already under-powered car. Both the porting and the better spark timing will results in slightly improve fuel economy and power.

Good luck.

[bumblebeecaz]

Thanks for the info , i saw and read your topic about head gaskets done in awsome detail. .

New problem , the P.O. took the head off 2 years ago and then let it sit exposed. The engine is now locked , in a pinch all i could find was some ATF and filled up the cylinders to let it soak until i could get some BG Enforce or PB blaster. Hopefully it will free up.
Any ideas would be great

[dlb]

two years of exposure is a long time -- that's bad. i think you're on the right track soaking it in oil but i would expect the cylinders and rings to be so corroded that they will be beyond repair. i would either do a full rebuild or find another engine.

[Petros]

ATF is the best thing you can use. I have a friend that had a diesel tractor he had not driven in 4 years, and found the engine rusted in place, some of the exhaust valves were open and the diesel tractor exhaust sticks straight up into the air (it was out in the rain). I told him about the ATF soak, he took out the injectors and filled the cylinders with ATF, monitored it every day. he pulled the drain plug because it was slowly leaking into the oil pan. After about 5 days of refilling the cylinders with ATF he was able to turn the crank by hand by gentle pressure. He cleaned it up, flushed out both the oil pan and the cylinders, put it back together and fired it up. the diesel mechanic said it had to be rebuilt for $2000.

It may not work on your engine, but worth a try. If the engine is out of it you may consider a complete rebuild anyway, not that much more cost to get a fresh engine. If you can not clean up the bores with honing than it will have to be over-bored and over-sized pistons used in it.

[Mattel]

If you know your way around cars it might be worth your while to replace this old 3ac with a 4afe or 7afe from a newer corolla. some on this forum have done this. there is a bit of work with machining the flywheel I believe and making allowances for the much more efficient fuel injection but they are great engines and cheap to buy and run

[bumblebeecaz]

Im going to try and keep it as simple as possible to get running. I will keep yall informed. Im on a very tight budget.

[bumblebeecaz]

I went out this morning , hooked up the battery and on the 3rd bump of the key , the rings came free. now im going to clean it up and go from there. And hope for the best

[irowiki]

It might run, but you're going to have an oil burner and probably low compression (power) unless you rebuild it.

You could do a "cheap" rebuild and hone the bores and replace the rings, and hope for the best.

Keep in mind water and crap got into the oil pan too.

[Petros]

it would have been better if you put some penetrating oil down the spark plug holes before you tried to turn the engine, it lowers the risk of damaging the rings and bores. the corrosion build up may have already done damage to the cylinder walls (pitting), if not too bad oil consumption should drop off after you drive it for several months (change the motor oil several times, give it a Seafoam treatment between oil changes, should help a lot). flushing the old oil out is important, there could be a lot of condensation accumulated in the bottom of the oil pan, the pick up will circulated the water first before it gets to the motor oil floating on top of it. You should also flush out the coolant and replace the thermostat before you drive it very much.

After that you could try an additive called "Restore", I have had good luck with it, but it does not always work. you can still drive it with high oil consumption and low compression, just make sure you check the oil level regularly. Too much smoke of course you will likely get a ticket, but these small engines rarely put out enough oil smoke to be noticeable.

Good luck.

[bumblebeecaz]

The head was left off for 2 years by the p.o. , it never got rained on , the rust came from common moisture on exposed untreated metal. I didnt crank it over i used the starter to bump it free . Im on a strict budget , so im going to clean it up and asemble it together and do a compression and leakdown test to her .