These improvements result in much better onroad handling (much less corner sway and nose-dive when stopping) AND they increase clearance offroad a little.
What I did:
* Added (2) rubber donuts (circular rubber spring boosters) to EACH front spring. These fit real well in this spring, you just need to jack the car up, take the wheel off, and use some soapy water to get them into the coils. They will last at least several years.
![Image](http://www.nonags.org/members/nijqk/rubberdonut.jpg)
You CAN start with one per side and then try 2 per side later if wanted.
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* For the rear springs, I ONCE used (4) of the 2-bolt type spring clamps with the "saddles", 2 assemblies for each spring.
![Image](http://www.nonags.org/members/nijqk/saddletypeboosters.jpg)
With the wheel off, you generally want to adjust these so that they fit between 2 coils at at least the width they are at with no weight on the springs.
I put these on exactly opposite each other, 2 to a spring and use them to hold the coils APART.
Be sure they are on opposite sides of the spring (180 degrees apart) and that you have no interference with sheetmetal. The outside corners of the metal saddle brackets can be ground down some to help with any clearance problems.
To keep these in place (they won't fall out, just slide), I use (2) small hose clamps over 4-5 layers of elect tape on BOTH sides of each booster for a total of (8) clamps for both springs.
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The rubber donuts are easiest and best to use in ALL FOUR springs. I use 2 in EACH spring...though you can start off with 1 in EACH spring.
Just need to be sure to do BOTH the front and back the same to keep the car balanced.
With the rear springs you will probably need to take the lower shock bolt loose in order to drop the spring enough to open the coils.
TWO doughnuts in each spring ALL AROUND will improve handling greatly.
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* For the rear sway bar, the method I use to tighten these up is to
insert squares of thin plywood, metal, or plastic under the rubber
attachment blocks to snug them up, and also an extra flat washer in the
endlinks for the same effect.
* For the front sway bar, I did the same for the attachment blocks.
Just don't shim so much that the rubber splits. Usually 3/32" thick
is about right. I use a thin layer of grease on the bars where the
rubber rides after I clean them up with fine sandpaper. Since the old rubber is hardened and shrunk...shimming them puts you somewhat closer to urethane.
If the rubber parts are oxidized too much (split & rotted), they need to be replaced.
** Have found that replacing the bushings on the ends of the swaybars helps handling a lot....as they wear you have both front to back and up-down slop...a solid swaybar mounting makes a big difference.**
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The Tercel wagon has a pretty good suspension setup as-is with the
swaybars front & back and the 5 links on the rear axle.
These improvements might seem pretty simple, but they are very effective on-road.
These mods work best for on-road driving...but for off-road, boosting the springs doesn't allow them to collapse fully...which is best in rough terrain...though this setup does OK offroad...just not optimal. Also, the swaybar mods do not really help any for off-road driving...where some offroaders remove the swaybars entirely (not with the T4WD though).
On the other hand...I did some fairly serious offroading with these boosters and swaybar shims and really had no problems...the MA700 rear shocks allow greater extension in the back...keeping the wheels on the ground over gullies.
Cost is around $50.
With the typical lower & sagging springs seen on older cars....a stiffer suspension...& some 14" wheels with 60 series tires you can take full advantage of the handling. You'll be surprised. B)
NOTE: There are many other options as far as suspension improvement...some have found other cars with springs that willl fit the rear....some have boosted the front springs and/or replaced them. As far as struts and shocks...the MA700 air shocks can be used in back (or other longer travel shocks?)...some have modified the front struts also.
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