1983 Tercel 4WD, has some clutch/engine power problems

tonythayer · Post by **tonythayer** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 10:47 am

I just picked up a 1983 Tercel 4WD Wagon yesterday, and it has some problems that I don't think are insurmountable.

First, it has 183k miles on it. It had a rebuilt transmission and new clutch installed at 155k miles.

When I gas hard, it feels like the clutch is slipping because the RPM's will shoot up but the wheels won't spin any faster. Letting off the throttle just a tiny little bit brings it back in line.

When I have it at 4k RPM or so and depress the clutch fully as I'm coming to a light, the RPM's will drop very quickly and the engine dies. If I downshift coming into the light and wait for the RPM's to drop down to 1800 or so and then depress the pedal, the engine comes to idle at 800 just fine.

I've been told that the water pump is going bad, and it is sqealing. Could it be robbing the car of enough power to kill it like that?

Edit: It looks a lot like Ed's problem here: viewtopic.php?t=2670

keith · Post by **keith** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 5:53 pm

To check the clutch, you have to look under the dash. Near the pivot point of the clutch pedal, outboard side, is the self adjuster for the clutch. There is a larger gear section pointed down and a small pawl pointed up. As you push the pedal down with your hand, you will see the pawl engage the gear above after about an inch of travel. If it engages the gear near the back of the gear (end closest to the driver), the clutch is worn out. If it skips most of the gear, the clutch is OK and it should not slip. If its slipping, then something is wrong inside the clutch assembly. If the pawl does not disengage from the gear when you let up, it needs to be lubricated, spray with WD40 or similar.

The carburetor has a hold idle up diaphragm to keep the idle up while decelerating. I thinks its probably ok, but not designed to work from that high an rpm.

tonythayer · Post by **tonythayer** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 6:25 pm

The pedal travels an inch and the pawl engages the gear on the first tooth, closest to the driver. That would mean very worn, right?

keith · Post by **keith** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 6:34 pm

No, sorry, I got that backwards. If it engages close to the driver, good, if it skip to the end near the firewall, bad. Engaging that close to the front does worry me a little though. With the pedal up, check for a slight bit of slack in the cable. If its taunt, it may be keeping the clutch from engaging fully. If its taunt, you might want to spray a little wd40 on the cable and the self adjuster assembly. Also check the business end of the cable for binding.