all trac previa

DaveG1 · Post by **DaveG1** » Thu Dec 23, 2004 11:32 pm

Dudes, anyone know anything 'bout the all trac previa? I love the tercel, but we have a baby on the way and I need a family type ride. I have seen fotos on the net of guys in CO doing some off road stuff witha the previa. they look sorta cool and funky, any one had any experience w/ the beastly moon rovers?

Baldy · Post by **Baldy** » Fri Dec 24, 2004 4:57 pm

Only driven the 2wd version sorry.

The gear shift is VERY stiff on the manual (on the 1990'ish model) and Toyota did'nt ever modify the 'box to rectify the problem.

There is also a Lucida (looks the same but slightly smaller) also available. Both came with the 4X4 option but I think are "full time" 4WD.

3A-C Power · Post by **3A-C Power** » Tue Dec 28, 2004 11:16 pm

Now that you have 3 people instead of 2, you need a car that seats 7 instead of 5?

DaveG1 · Post by **DaveG1** » Wed Dec 29, 2004 1:21 am

Bro, I said I liked toyotas, i didn't say I was good at math.

3A-C Power · Post by **3A-C Power** » Wed Dec 29, 2004 10:42 am

There are some good pages about the older 4WD vans. The previa is basically a newer version of one of those.

Adelard of Bath · Post by **Adelard of Bath** » Thu Dec 30, 2004 12:14 am

Someone else that calls the Previa a "moon rover"!!!!
I went through a phase where I wanted one so bad, actually that was earlier this year, there were two of them for sale at a dealer near me, and damn they looked like the lap of luxury that is for sure. And I looked at others around town....they were kinda spendy, Toyotas sure seem to hold their value.

Then one day I was driving on the highway and I saw one leaving a junkyard I know, where they sell cars they fixup or whatever, and it had written on the windshield "$850" oh god I was so pissed!!!!

Anyway I did TONS of research, I was worried that since it was a "mid engined" vehicle, working on it would entail lifting the body...but it turned out to have access panels if you pull one of the seats or whatever. Then I found a page carsurvey.org where people write reviews of cars they have had....there were plenty of reviews on the Previa of various years and never ever EVER have I made myself want to puke by reading for HOURS the ENDLESS glowing reviews....they never stopped! FINALLY I found a complaint....some guy complained that the "Toyota" badge on the back of the van lost its chrome after like 250k. A couple people didn't like sitting atop the engine, it would be something to get used to. Everyone loved it to death, and as it was a RWD vehicle (sometimes with all wheel drive) it had a place for people who wanted to tow stuff. It even came with a supercharger at one time during its life.

The seats all fold crazy, one row folds up into the wall somehow, some guy said he can carry a full 4x8 sheet of plywood in there on the floor with the doors closed and still seat five people....I want one so bad!

Plus they were reputed to get good mileage too, some guy said he could get 31 on the interstate. That's what i'm talkin bout.

What is that Toyota minivan that replaced it...the one they have now....also starts with a "P" I think...well maybe it is "sienna" or something, doesn't look like a moon rover....everyone said they didn't like that nearly as much.

Go ahead and take yourself over to http://www.nctd.com (stands for New Car Test Drive) and under "used cars" click on "archives" or whatever and pick Toyota, then scroll down, the earliest they have is 1994 all-trac LE, but basically they are contemporary articles written when the car came out, several pages of good things to read, basically if you could travel back in time and pick up "popular mechanics" and they had an article about the car you want to buy...that is what it is.

You know as to taking it off-road...that depends on what you are going to do, but as I recall, the ground clearance was about the same as our Tercels, no more than a normal car...theoretically you could put wheels and tires on it, that would be interesting! But it is kinda long to be navigating some of the trails I have been on, plus longer makes it more susceptible to scraping bottom and getting hung up on "hills" or bumps that would otherwise not be a problem

The one I wanted was the sweeeeeet light blue metallic with a SLIGHT purple in it....damn. Velour seats......cd AND tape....a/c controls in the rear as well....yeah baby!

DaveG1 · Post by **DaveG1** » Sun Jan 02, 2005 10:14 pm

thanks for the info, and Happy New Years to all you guys! There is (or was) a 94 all trac at a car for causes donation place up in ventura, if it is still there on next week I am going to go check it out. I would have never even thought of taking one off road until I saw these photos of guys rock crawling out in Colorado in one. I'll post the website if I can ever find it again. they seem to be typically toyota bullet proof and functional. and kinda expensive and hard to find.

DaveG1 · Post by **DaveG1** » Sun Jan 09, 2005 12:55 am

Got that Previa, all wheel drive, supercharged, leather quad seating and sweet cool A/C. Of course it is dumping down rain for the next 40 days and 40 nights so I won't need it. I might have to use the 4wd to get to work when the hills of Malibu start sliding. Adelard-- many thanks, reading the carsurvey stuff threw me over the edge of buying the van and I think I am going to be really stoked on it for a while. I might have to start my own group now though, not so many Previa4wd websites.

Adelard of Bath · Post by **Adelard of Bath** » Sun Jan 09, 2005 7:58 pm

Sweet dude! I wish I could find one; how much did you end up paying for it? What colour is it? I need one too!

DaveG1 · Post by **DaveG1** » Mon Feb 14, 2005 1:38 pm

I got the van for 3,300 and put about a grand in maintenance after that. Not bad because blue book goes from 4200 to just over 9700. I have had it for a month or so and love it. One of the best cars I have ever had. Love it. Comfortable, spacious, decent power w/ the supercharger. I highly recommend one, if you have the means.

DaveG1 · Post by **DaveG1** » Tue Feb 15, 2005 12:08 am

Hey A, if you are still thinking of a previa, check out toyotavanpeople.com and yotavans.org. Pretty cool sites, but not as cool as tercel4wd.com, but lots of van info if you have any interest. I am soooo stoked on mine.

hornett22 · Post by **hornett22** » Fri Feb 18, 2005 10:06 pm

they are great vans and easy to work on.only two problems i ever saw were SAD shaft vibrations and you have to make sure the output shaft seal for the rear driveshaft doesn't leak out all the fuid.if it does your viscous coupler will be toast.not a cheap part but easy to repalce.

DaveG1 · Post by **DaveG1** » Sat Feb 19, 2005 12:06 am

Yeah, the van site has a bunch of posts regarding the SAD. Seems to be pretty common complaint. Thanks for the tip on driveshaft, I will check it out when the rain stops.