'New' Tercel. Worth the price?

[Henry]

I'm looking at a 1983 Sr5 near me for sale for $500. I don't know much about this car, other than the seller said that he thinks it has a broke shift linkage. But he said he originally thought the clutch went out, so I'm not completely sure what makes him think that it is the shift linkage. From the camera phone pictures he sent, it seems like the body is fairly solid and being a North Carolina car, I can't imagine there being too much rust up underneath it.

First question, what all is going to be involved with replacing the shift linkage if it is the case? Is it something I could do in an apartment parking lot with a decent set of handtools? I saw the thread on water getting into the transmission, (viewtopic.php?t=2382&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0) but I'm not quite sure what I would need to look at from there.

Second, not knowing too much about these, how hard is it to get parts?

Third, being a toyota, should I just assume that they are bulletproof and not worry about too many miles?

[ARCHINSTL]

This is the one in Hendersonville?
The shift linkage is pretty direct, if you noticed the pictures; no cables or rods. If you push in the clutch, just check to see if it seems to select all gears - the EL gear (6th) can only be selected when the car is in 4WD.

No experience with bad clutch - although sometimes the pedal linkage/cable can be whacky; others can weigh in on this.

Parts are virtually no problem; most everything is available through reular auto parts stores/chains/online. Some items, of course, are only OE-Dealer, and frequently quite dear. This Club is a great aid for parts info.

The FSM is available on the Home page, and this AutoZone link is REALLY invaluable: http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiBroke ... 1b94ee.jsp

Welcome - this is a great place!
Tom M.

[Henry]

Yes, this is the one in Hendersonville. I suppose this board knew about it before I did

[ARCHINSTL]

The Administration in D.C. ain't the only one who can monitor electronic transmissions.....
We are everywhere......and nowhere...
The T4WD Underground....

Tom M.

P.S. I forgot to add to my earlier post: This is truly a pretty easy car to fix with a modicum of tools; one of the last generation of unsophisticated cars that the average schmuck (ie, moi) can actually fix and have it work pretty well again. Note that this is NO reflection on any others on this board; there are some really clever and resourceful people here.

[Henry]

Got an email back from the guy...

no major repairs to my knowledge, rust is minimal and not through, miles 169k and the the shifter moves like its not even attached

So am I looking at something minor or major?

[Petros]

So am I looking at something minor or major?

Maybe, maybe not. Other than the rusty shift socket, the linkage rarely fails, thou it could happen. The trans can fail and cause this kind of action in the shift lever. A worn out clutch or stretched/out of adjustment clutch cable can make shifting difficult, but it will not make the shift lever loose. This sounds like the trans may have bundled itself up. They can go anywhere from 150k to 300k miles, with it failing any time in there. It is not practical to rebuild the trans since new parts for this old of a trans are pretty rare. Can this be driven at all?

The trans is the one issue that is getting more difficult to replace and is not that easy to work on. As this model ages, there are fewer available, and the Tercel 4WD trans is unique to this model (all other mechanical parts are used on other models so all the other mechanical parts are available). If you can get a trans from a self service yard (like Pull-a-part) they are only about $50. Most wrecking yards, if they have them at all, want from $450-600. for them. And of course the wrecking yard trans will usually have the same amount of miles or more. But then you could get another 100k or more miles out of a used trans. Some on this list are stockpiling used trans where ever they find them, so they can keep their Tercel running forever. I might do the same thing if I can find them cheap enough. These tercels 4wd are great little cars, and it is always cheaper to keep the old one running than buying new.

It is a pretty major job to swap out the trans if you have not done a clutch change before, an experienced mechanic can do it in 3-4 hours or less. It can be done in the car port in one day if you have all the right tools and parts. Otherwise these cars are very easy to work on, and most other jobs can be done in a few hours without special tools.

You will want to replace the clutch while the trans is out, and possibly the half shafts if the CV joints are worn. If the trans is indeed failed, $500 is a bit high price for it. It is likely worth only $150-300 at most if the trans needs to be replaced, and that would depend on the condition of the rest of it. Good drivers are available for $500-$1000. If he will not budge on the price, look for another one, there are still plenty out there.

Good luck.

[Henry]

So I went and looked at the car today.

The shift socket was indeed rusted up. The grease was completely dried up and just dust, plus the bushing had crumbled. After playing with it for about an hour, I got it free enough to be able to take it for a drive. The shifter was very loose (which I assume on account of no bushing) and it would go into most gears, but I never could find reverse and I doubt I was able to get it EL in 4wd, or the gate between 1st and EL is gone so I could freely shift out of it and never got it into 5th.

Oil level was fine and no signs of water in there, but I did notice I tiny bit of smoke after a while. I'm not sure if it was from the exhaust or a leak. There was no smoke on startup, and it did start up fairly well for sitting for a couple years.

While driving, I did notice a bit of a whine coming from the transmission. I didn't have the big rubber boot on, just the transmission cover.

The clutch needed adjusting

And the brakes could use a bleeding.

So. What's do the experts think? This forum is such a wealth of knowledge. Thank you!

[ARCHINSTL]

OE (only)shift bushing/link/boot link: https://tercel4wd.com/forums/viewtopic.php? ... it=bushing, about third or fourth post down; this whole thread is about this very problem. Not expensive or difficult to replace. This could very well be the problem with finding reverse, as there is a "knob" at the left side of the case that the lever engages.

Perrsonally dunno about the transmission; I defer to those with more know-how here.

If the smoke was blu-ish, well, just oil - could be just valve seals. If white - cracked head or more (been there in '85 with my '83). My experience with the latter situation with two cars was not just a wisp of white, but clouds of white - but that can differ, I suppose...
Original engine?
Plus what anyone mentioned above.
To me - it's quite tempting. A lot would depend on your work space and desire to be "hands-on" and the depth and breadth of your tool selection. As mentioned, though, these are quite easy to work on with a modest amount of ordinary tools; the specialized ones you can rent from AutoZone or the like.
Tom M.

[Henry]

It is the original motor, but the guy said he did have the front main replaced on it. I imagine there is bound to be a drip or two after sitting.

[keith]

You don't adjust the clutch, it's self adjusting.

[Henry]

So something I'm just thinking about (At three in morning Got to love rotating shift work) is that when the car was in gear the shifter was still very loose back and forth. Could that be from there being no bushing left at the bottom of the shifter shaft? I also have seen a retainer C clip mentioned but I never noticed one while taking the boots off. Where is the C clip at?

[Highlander]

Check out the FSM, (link above) page MT-7 under 4WD transmission removal- It's after you get the upper housing off.

[Petros]

The whine from the trans is normal with the boot off, if you change/top up the gear oil it may even become less noticeable (search the forum on how to change the transaxle oil, you have to follow the correct procedure or you risk under-filling it). As noted above, the linkage is fairly easy to fix. Worn or damage linkage bushings will make it loose and sloppy in any gear and make it hard to find the right gear. You might have to replace the lever itself if the ball and studs on the end of the lever are badly worn, a wrecking yard one will work fine (and is cheap). I even have several "spare" shift levers if you want one. With corrected linkage, It sounds like the trans is serviceable.

The clutch is self-adjusting at the top of the clutch pedal, so if it is out of adjustment either the adjuster is not working (less likely), the clutch cable is stretched to the limit, or the clutch is worn and needs replacement (most likely). A clutch kit cost about $150 and is a pretty major do-it-yourself job (about $600 from a shop) if you have little auto repair experience.

Some smoke is to be expected after sitting for so long, it does not sound unreasonable. White smoke (steam) is bad, bluish smoke is oil and if not bad can be lived with or controlled with oil additives. Blackish smoke is unburnt fuel from either bad spark, or bad carb, both of which are fairly easy/inexpensive to deal with if you follow the FSM (and advice on this forum) for narrowing down the cause and fixing it.

Find out how old is the clutch. If it needs a clutch, it might be still a bit overpriced. With the linkage, clutch and perhaps minor engine/carb tuning issues, $350 would be a good buy. $400 would be worth it only if the rest of the car was in very good shape (interior condition, good glass, body, paint, tires, etc.) and/or if it has had recent brakes or tires.

If the seller will not move on the price I would walk, there are a lot of these cars out there with relatively minor problems to get at good prices. OTOH it would not be a "bad" buy if you understood what you could be facing and are willing pay the price if the rest of the car is worth it. I have regularly found "fixers" pretty cheap, some running ones I bought for as little as $100 as a parts car (I actually drove it home). I really hate body work, so I would be willing to pay more for a good body/paint, even if I knew there was major mechanical work to do since almost all aspects of doing mechanical repairs on these cars is straightforward.

Good luck.

[Henry]

Well, doesn't matter. He sold it yesterday for the full five hundred... probably only after I told him probably what it would need to be fixed. Oh well, back to craigslist.

[jetswim]

Wasn't meant to be. Sounds to me liked you dodged a bullet.