Whats the best engine to swap into this? 4AC How sweet it is

[keith]

Hi, I'm new here, just found it today. I have an 86 Tercel SR5 4WD with about 312k miles on it. The original engine went 306k of those miles. My dad bought the car new, my sister got it after he died and now my son drives it daily. The head cracked due to one of those "all copper" radiators. Anyway, the new engine doesn't look like it will be around all that much longer.

I would be interested in putting in a slightly more powerful engine and I've been reading many of the posts here about doing just that. In your opinion(s), what would be the best engine to replace the 3A-C engine thats in it now. How would I go about finding a good engine, my last search didn't turn out so well.

I read at wikipedia that the 91-94 Paseo engine is a good swap, but you guys seem to favor the 4A-C with a Weber. I also see that someone put in a 4A-G engine but had to modify the flywheel. Is that true of the 4A-C too?

One more thing, anyone know where I can get a passenger side parking light. Some one backed a trailer into the light and broke the lens. It seems that this one is a little smaller that the parking lights used on the non 4WD Tercels.

[Gasoline Fumes]

I don't think a Paseo engine can be put in these cars. But it's probably a good swap for the newer Tercels that aren't wagons ('87-'94).

Stick with an A-series engine for the wagons. 4AC is easy. The other "A" engines will be more work.

[Typrus]

The "A" series of engines (3"A"-C, 4"A"-C, 4"A"-GE) will bolt in clean.
For practicality purposes, stick with a 4AC. The Paseo engine will be a pain in the butt, require a custom transmission-engine adapter, as our bellhousings are cast into the tranny, EFI setup....
I'd go 4AC. But if you want EFI, I'd go 4AFE. Less likely to make the tranny go "pop" versus a 4AGE, especially if your son has a heavy foot.

[Starfire]

Modifying the flywheel wasn't the best idea ever.

I am currently getting a new one made out of some crazy military spec alloy that they make submarines out of.

That said a steel one would do.

In the scheme of things getting a tercel flywheel made is not a hard job for an engineer, especially as the ring gear is just a press fit.

If you want an easy swap go for the 4AC. Anything else then a 4AGE is the way to fly. They dont make a bucket of torque so youre unlikely to break the gearbox unless you like dropping the clutch at 5000rpm.

[Lollypop]

If you swap over to a 4AC you will never regret it.....might even wanna kiss me.

They shoulda been in our cars from the factory

=====Justin=====

[Mickey_D]

So what years and models were the 4AC in? If I find another Terc to play with, I might think about doing that swap. My current one isn't worth doing a swap to.

[MootsMan]

I am at the point where I am going to have to replace the engine in my car. Rear main seal is shot, and have probably lost compression in 3 cyls. Can anyone tell me a good source for a remfg. 4AC that would have a decent warranty on it ??

I either am going to do that, or take another 3AC out of my "parts" car....which actually still runs and drives, but has serious body rust and suspension/steering issues.

[Starfire]

Unless you can find one really cheaply I simply wouldn't bother with a recon 4AC. The engines are so common and so cheap that your best bet would be to give a potential secondhand one a quick compression and leakdown test. Provided that the numbers that came back were in specification then you can just throw it in the car.

When that one breaks find another...

For the cost of a recon you could get 10 secondhand ones or more and I doubt your Terc will last long enough to go through that many!

[gatemaster]

The head cracked due to one of those "all copper" radiators.

Can this be verified or is it an assumption? I did an extensive search on google and could not find any info to suggest that a copper or brass radiator causes migration of the aluminum head resulting in cracks or pits.
The thermostat is copper. Any corrosion would be due to using water with no or insufficient anti-freeze which has corrosion inhibitors. In plumbing situations different metal pipes are seperated from contact using a dielectric union even though the water is traveling through and contacting both pipes and they are grounded as is the case with a car. the radiator hose acts as a diectectric union. Aluminum does have better heat dissipation properties for a radiator than brass.

[keith]

I uses a 2:1 Antifreeze to distilled water solution (that works out to about 64% ethylene glycol since it has 4% water in the bottle). The inside of the radiator was coated with aluminum in two years. Part of the problem could be with the uncontrolled alloys in places where these are made. No telling what's in the copper or brass. This one was made in the Philippines and sold by AutoZone. It appears that AutoZone no longer sells them.

[gatemaster]

I have a brass or copper 2 tube radiator from another tercel I owned that was used in the car for about a year and I don't see any coating inside.
I don't know where it was made I bought it at a local radiator shop. thanks for the info.

[Typrus]

(Takes a deep breath)
The 4AFE is an engine that was here. Easy to find, easy to maintain, easy to get any parts for, easy to have guys work on.... Heck, easy to find turbo info if you want.
You should like, so totally do the invincible and ever-amazing killer nitrous porting because that will solve world hunger and bring John Lennon back to life. Dee-dee-dee!

The 4AC is, again, an easier swap than the EFI as it is carbureted. Meaning that nothing much has to be swapped out. No electronics and such for the MPFI EFI systems and such. Or TBI. Or DI. Whatever kind of injection.

Never once have I heard a 4AFE called pathetic... Hmmmmm.... And you know, when suggestions are being made for the sake of preserving the transmission, the extra 10 horses is utterly unwanted regardless.


Sorry to drag anyone into this.

[gatemaster]

I dream almost every night of what performance modifications you can do to a T4WD.

Then why not do a V6? It can be done.

[ARCHINSTL]

"...U for Japanese emissions. This in the engine that I'm going to swap in (sic).....I may sell it to Typrus....I dream almost every night of what performance modifications you can do to a T4WD.

Aaaaccckkkk !
And how much, dear terceldude, would the postage be to ship this lump of iron from Japan to the Wellesly, MA?
A solution to save on postage would be to just move to Japan and look for Caribs...
I'm certain Typrus would be grateful to scarf up each 4ZXYABC-DLU motor you have heavily modified with your own hands. Motors which would be underpowered for your purposes would be more than enough (if not too much) for him to handle.
Tom M.

[kamiphloj]

Shoot,yall dont know nothing.In the old Ford Motorsport catalogue they had those 700 some cubic inch shotgun hemis with the swirl port heads.Put a currie enterprises 4 link 9 inch under the back.Or the 392 hemi out of a 59 desoto.I could have an adapter made.Maybe at the local plumbing supply.
Oh,now on that extensively modified transmission;do you know how to just rebuild a transmission?Thete are a lot of wore out ones.I figure if you can extensively modify one you could probably make a lot of people happy just making good stock ones.Or were you going to call the extensive transmission modifier guy?
The classic Brit Sports car was born of motorheads with farm tractor engines.It is easy to get the juices flowing with 9500rpm high horse motor fantasies.They are dogs til they are on the pipe.That is when you attract attention and lose your license.Maybe your life.I'll take a broad ,balanced powerband and reliability.Gets me there and back alive.
PS,some girls like going on 4wd picnics in cute little Tercels.

To get your race yaya,s try a dirt bike.kamiphloj