New Tercel Guy

General discussion about our beloved Tercel 4WD cars
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Blank_Man
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Joined: Tue Aug 04, 2020 7:37 am
My tercel:: 1984 DLX
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New Tercel Guy

Post by Blank_Man »

Hey Everyone,

Am a proud new Tercel guy. I've searched for one for a long while and never found the "right" one. I helped my friend move a few weeks ago & his new neighbor had a beautiful Tercel in the drive-way - It was meant to be. She bought it new in 1983 and loved it - driving 183k and keeping up with all the maintenance from the same service station. She wanted the car to go to the right person & here I was.

It's a DLX Manual with the white wheels. Clean in & out. Good vacuum & a wash it was ready for the road.

It will need a new front end (joints make some noise) and a clutch this fall.

Excited to learn more about this car and make some awesome memories with the wife and dogs.

Oregon Located

Thanks!
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Mattel
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Posts: 1788
Joined: Tue Aug 17, 2004 12:11 am
My tercel:: 1988 Corolla 4wd Wagon (AKA Corolla All-trac) 5speed, AC, Power Sunroof, Windows, Mirrors, Steering, Locking, Diff Lock, 14" Corolla SX Alloys with Silica Hankook Tyres, 4afe, King Springs, Upgraded Headlights, Full Synth oils, 210,000kms
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Re: New Tercel Guy

Post by Mattel »

Welcome, Looks in great shape and with a parcel shelf as well!

Check the tie rod ends and change the oil in the transmision as a good start (make sure that you can open the filler plug before you open the drain plugs though)

Plenty of SR5 parts fit on the DLX as well if you want a factory Tachometer etc.
Previous: 83 Tercel SR5 4wd, 84 Tercel SR5 4wd
88 Corolla 4wd Wagon 5speed, All power options, Fact Sunroof, Diff Lock, 14" SX Alloys, Hankook Tyres, 4afe, King Springs, Upgraded Headlights, Full Synth oils, Tow Bar, 210,000kms
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NWMO
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Re: New Tercel Guy

Post by NWMO »

Welcome to the site Speedy :)

Chris
Psalm 37:4 "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart"

In remembrance of my friend ARCHINSTL:

T4WD augury?
"Oh, do not ask, 'What is it?' Let us go and make our visit."
T.S. Eliot - "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"

"Now and then we had a hope that, if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates."
Mark Twain
Blank_Man
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Posts: 29
Joined: Tue Aug 04, 2020 7:37 am
My tercel:: 1984 DLX
Contact:

Re: New Tercel Guy

Post by Blank_Man »

Thanks for the replies.

I come from the 1st gen 4runner side of Toyota's. Where almost everyone makes parts and sourcing parts is pretty easy. Specially 22re parts along with suspension packages/parts/upgrades.

The Tercel doesn't seem to have the same presents in the aftermarket world.
Any advice for sourcing - suspension, engine parts, or otherwise?

I badly need Tie Rods, Ball Joints, & i'd guess sway bar bushings, plus shocks all around.

Thanks Mattel, Tachometer would be handy. I'd keep in eye out for a SR5 cluster & an Altimeter Gauge if my current dash will support it.
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NWMO
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Re: New Tercel Guy

Post by NWMO »

Blank_Man,

Tie rods, ball joints and shocks should be Rock Auto or your preferred auto parts store. KYB GR2 are reasonably popular. The bushings are a little more challenge, but poly replacements should be available online. If you search here (or sometimes easier to internet search with “Tercel4WD.com” included in your search, there should be some good discussion threads here. Some of the more substantial suspension parts may be easiest to grab from somebody parting one out. Certainly not supported like the trucks, but not impossible either.

Chris
Psalm 37:4 "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart"

In remembrance of my friend ARCHINSTL:

T4WD augury?
"Oh, do not ask, 'What is it?' Let us go and make our visit."
T.S. Eliot - "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"

"Now and then we had a hope that, if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates."
Mark Twain
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Petros
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Posts: 11930
Joined: Sun Jan 28, 2007 6:31 pm
My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
Location: Arlington WA USA

Re: New Tercel Guy

Post by Petros »

Nice looking Tercel! welcome to the forum, you have come to the right place!

where are you located? looks like somewhere in the PNW based on the number of evergreen trees in the pictures.
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
Blank_Man
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Joined: Tue Aug 04, 2020 7:37 am
My tercel:: 1984 DLX
Contact:

Re: New Tercel Guy

Post by Blank_Man »

Hey Petros,

Thanks, good eye. Am in Eugene, Oregon. Would be great to hear some adventure stories from other Tercel Oregonians. Like to take forest RD 19 outside West Fir up and out to Bend. Nervous about ground clearance. Plus, it's a bit warm & I need to complete a bunch of work first.
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MrWrench
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Joined: Sun Feb 03, 2019 9:10 pm
My tercel:: 1985 Tercel SR5. aka Spud
Location: Michigan
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Re: New Tercel Guy

Post by MrWrench »

Hey! Your IG friend here (Lemonsblockheads) Welcome to the forum and congratulations again on the beautiful tercel!
1984 SR5. Lifted offroader with a snorkel. Aka "Thunderbucket"
1985 SR5. Daily driver. Aka "Spud"
1986 SR5. Dakar Rally clone build.
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Petros
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Joined: Sun Jan 28, 2007 6:31 pm
My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
Location: Arlington WA USA

Re: New Tercel Guy

Post by Petros »

if by "its a bit warm" means it runs hot, better get that fixed. the head gasket is sensative to a hot running engine. the head gasket will often be compromised just when the engine temeprature just gets towards the top of the gage, not even when the needle is in the red zone. it will still run, but it will consume coolant. so once you have it on the road, and you keep adding coolant, and can not find a leak, likely you have a leaky head gasket.

flush the radiator to clean it out, it should BTW have a double row radiator (edge of core is about 1.2" thick) vs. a signle row radiator (about 5.8" thick at the edge). if not, you should replace it with a double row radiator. they are both interchangable, and the single row rad is cheaper, so many people choose that. but the 4wd wagon is heavier and has higher cooling demand.

I always replace the thermostat right away, only buy a good quality one (cost should be about $20 or more), made in Japan or the USA. Do not install a Chinese thermostat, most are junk right out of the box (cost is about $8 to 10. not worth it). if any of the radiator hoses are old or lock questionable, replace those too. blowing a house will almost certainly result in it needed a new head gasket.

Also, reset your spark timing from the factory 5 deg BTDC to 10 or 12 deg BTDC. it will run cooler and get slightly better economy. check the service manual for how you set the timing.

those should solve your cooling problems.

Good luck.
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
Blank_Man
Member
Posts: 29
Joined: Tue Aug 04, 2020 7:37 am
My tercel:: 1984 DLX
Contact:

Re: New Tercel Guy

Post by Blank_Man »

Petros,

That was my fault & I should've thought about my words I used on a car forum. I meant the weather has been a bit warm & since Covid my garage has turned into a storage/home office and my car projects have been pushed outside. This is still great information and thank you.

When you say the single row radiator is 5.8" thick did you mean 1.8"? Mine radiator is clearly a cheap aftermarket unit - I'll give a look for a new one. Thank you.

Thermostat was on my list of replacement parts right away. I've learned my lesson from over cars that cheap ones rarely work.
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Petros
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Posts: 11930
Joined: Sun Jan 28, 2007 6:31 pm
My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
Location: Arlington WA USA

Re: New Tercel Guy

Post by Petros »

I should have proof read it, that should be the single row radiator is thinner, one row of tubes, the edge is about 5/8" thick, very noticable at the edge, double row is over an inch thick. After market radiator is not so bad as long as it is the correct size, you can not buy "factory" radiators anymore.

I have mixed feelings about the aluminum radiators with the plastic head tanks, they are light and relatively inexpensive, most modern cars come with them. but the plastic ages and they tend to blow out all at once without warning.

I was backcountry skiing this spring, 18 miles up a remote logging road when the whole top tank on the radiator just blew open. we went skiing anyway. but return by mostly coasting down hill back into town without the engine running, I would stop to put in water when it got warm again, but mostly ran it only for short bits to get over short up hill sections. it would have been a very long walk back to get help if it was not mostly down hill back to town. There is not really any way to test if the tank is about the blow open, it looks the same after it is degraded, and when new. this BTW was a factory 2002 honda civic radiator, so quality did not seem to make a difference.
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
Blank_Man
Member
Posts: 29
Joined: Tue Aug 04, 2020 7:37 am
My tercel:: 1984 DLX
Contact:

Re: New Tercel Guy

Post by Blank_Man »

As I sort out of parts from RockAuto- I found some gutter mounted brackets for my roof rack. Had this old basket from another project - I think it looks pretty good. I like how close the basket sits to the roof.

I know there's tons of info about lifting the car but I might try this idea of swapping in just rear springs & shocks. thoughts?

I was planning on ordering the MOOG CC247 for the rear & keeping it stock up front (rebuild the shock/strut).
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Blank_Man
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Posts: 29
Joined: Tue Aug 04, 2020 7:37 am
My tercel:: 1984 DLX
Contact:

Re: New Tercel Guy

Post by Blank_Man »

Hey everyone -

Wanted to make a quick post about some parts i found to fix my sloppy shifter. My gears weren't overly hard to find but the shifter was really loose because of the worn bushings. I found the parts from Camelback Toyota for fair deal (shipping sucks).

Seat Sub - Assembly Shift
33505-16010

Bush Shift Lever
33548-1410

I'll add some pictures & maybe a short video of how it turns out.
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