i was thinking about adjustment on the carb, and maybe regapping plugs but man iv had bad times doing that coulda just been tht old ride iw as working on tho... adjusting plugs is easy and would it help with starting ? what else could be making sound on startup?
thanks for all the help guys
Clunking is NOT normal. IF you have clunking when you drive off from a stop, it is not likely the transmission. Check rear axle mounts, front suspension bushings, CV axle condition, and motor mounts (including one under the rear of the trans). Not likely a safety issue, but it could be a worn ball joint, or loose bolts in the suspension, which could be a safety issue. No matter what causes it, it should get fixed before it causes greater damage to something else..
Good luck.
how can i check all those ? just see if they are loose or what? (sorry im a super noob i know i should buy manual soon!!!)
save the $110 and do the tranny flush yourself. it's easy and there are lots of threads on how to do it here. just search for them.
still need more info on the clunk. is it rhythmic? that is, when it occurs does it happen repeatedly or does it just clunk once? does the clunk happen in all gears @ 20-30 km/h or just 1st gear @ 20-30 km/h? FYI, the tranny is underneath the gear shifter, not at the bottom of the motor. the front diff is located sort of near the bottom of the engine but if you had a problem there it would be present all the time, in all gears. a quick check to see if a CV is causing it is to look at all four of the rubber boots on them. if one is ripped open, that joint is likely hooped and the CV will need to be replaced. CVs can go bad without the boot tearing but if a boot is torn, it's an indicator that there is likely a problem there. if the problem winds up being in the trans, you are better off to find a used replacement trans from a wrecker than trying to get it overhauled. many parts are no longer available for these transmissions. the '83s and '84s had a 3.73 final drive ratio and the '85-'88s had a 4.1 final drive ratio so if you replace the trans, MAKE SURE TO CONFIRM WHICH KIND IS IN YOUR CAR AND WHICH KIND IS GOING IN. there are threads here on how to check this. mixing the different trans/diffs up can cause more trans problems very quickly. first though, you need to determine where the clunk is coming from before you go spending all that money on something that may not be the problem.
your wobbling wheel (more commonly called a shudder) is likely from tires being out of balance. go to any tire shop and have them balanced for $20 or $30. if that isn't it, it could be your CV. check the boots like i mentioned.
a new key will have no effect on starting. a badly worn key will either not fit properly in the ignition or it will snap off but that's it.
remember what petros said above about starting the car. on cold mornings, i pump the gas pedal twice and then turn the key. it fires but dies quite quickly. then i pump the gas once more, turn the key, and it starts and idles fine. this is normal for a carbureted vehicle in cold weather. in warmer weather, i can just tap the gas once and car will start and idle fine.
usually clunking does not come from the trans, that is if I am understanding what the clunk is; if it is cyclic clunking that goes with speed, only in one gear, like "clunk, clunk, clunk" than it could be inside the trans and it means rebuild it or replace it (very expensive). If it is just a single clunk when you shift into the gear and accelerate, it is likely in the suspension or mounts (easy and fairly inexpensive fix once you isolate it).
Usually when trans goes bad you get grinding noise that is very loud, or it just stops working all together. The cyclic clunking that goes with acceleration could mean it is about to give up altogether.
Also, a bad cv joint in the axle can also produce cyclic clunking on acceleration, but this will be in any gear when accelerating and usually is worse when turning and accelerating. If one side it bad it will be worse when turning on that one side only, when it is loaded more than the other side.
As far as the starter is concerned, there are 4 key positions, as you turn the key to the right: off/locked, accessory (allows you to run radio, clock, etc.), run (position the key should be in after it is startered), and start (only time starter should be engaged). Once you release the key from the start position it should return to "run" position on its own. You might spray some lock lubricant into the key to keep it from sticking, it is possible the lock is worn out and has broken tumblers that are sticking, or that the return spring is broken or sticking and not returning to the run position.
There is nothing that should make the starter make noise after you release the key when you start the car. Is it possible that you are simply holding the key in the "start" position too long? You MUST release the key as soon as the engine starts or you will damage the starter.
If you are releasing the key, and the starter is staying engaged, than is likely sticking or the spring is not returning the key to the "run" position.
Petros wrote:... Check rear axle mounts, front suspension bushings, CV axle condition, and motor mounts (including one under the rear of the trans). Not likely a safety issue, but it could be a worn ball joint, or loose bolts in the suspension,...
how can i check all those ? just see if they are loose or what? (sorry im a super noob i know i should buy manual soon!!!)
first you inspect the CV boots for tears or damage (might take pushing on it with your fingers to find), same with motor mounts. Take a socket wrench and extension, 12mm, 14mm, 17mm and 19mm sockets, and put pressure on every bolt you can find in the suspension, tighten any loose ones. Visually inspect all of the rubber bushings for tears or shreaded rubber. And finally take a large pry bar, with the car solidly supported on jack stands (not on a jack! too dangerous), go under the car and put pressure on every suspension part and watch for excessive movement. There should be some, but if any of them clunk, that is likely the cause. The ball joints is the connection between the lower control arm and the bottom of the steering knuck or hub at the end of the strut (it holds the wheel, brakes, and wheel bearing). If you push and pull hard on the wheel with it up on the stands, you should get no wiggle or clunk. If you do than you need to find the cause and fix it. If it clunks at the hub, it is bad bearings, if it clunks at the steering tie rod, it is likely a tie rod end, if it clunks at the lower ball joint, it is the ball joint.
None of these are too costly to replace, and most are not too hard to do yourself.
Clunking is NOT normal. IF you have clunking when you drive off from a stop, it is not likely the transmission. Check rear axle mounts, front suspension bushings, CV axle condition, and motor mounts (including one under the rear of the trans). Not likely a safety issue, but it could be a worn ball joint, or loose bolts in the suspension, which could be a safety issue. No matter what causes it, it should get fixed before it causes greater damage to something else..
Good luck.
how can i check all those ? just see if they are loose or what? (sorry im a super noob i know i should buy manual soon!!!)
jack up the front end of the car. put a jack stand underneath so it doesn't fall and crush you. take the key out and lock the steering. grab a wheel and try to turn it as if the car was steering. if it wiggles (called slop or play), either your inner or outer tie rods, or both, on that side need to be replaced. look closely at them to determine where the play is. for ball joints, i find it best to remove the threaded stud from the control arm so you can mess with it since it's difficult to tell if it has play or is too stiff when it's in place. while the control arm is disconnected from the ball joint, check to make sure its bushing is good and snug but grabbing the outer end of it and trying to swing it forward and backward. if it feels loose and sloppy, that bushing needs replacing. take off the sway bar to check those bushings and metal collars, there is a guide in the guides section on how to do that.
check the FSM for a lot of these procedures. there are good diagrams to help you figure out what's what.
Aha! I see a missing vac line on the second picture of the carb. It is a missing vac line from the vacuum manifold on the right of the picture. check the vac diagram to see where the vac line that goes there is supposed to go. Either use the vac diagram from the Service manual link at the top of the page (FSM), or the one under your hood (if it is legible).
Best to double check the routing on all of the lines while you are at it, it is really not too difficult to do, just trace each one from start to finish and compare it with diagram. It should not take more than 10-15 min to check them all.
sharp eye, peter! but if you look at the vacuum diagram that '86baby took a pic of, it appears that that particular line is unused at both ends and left not hooked up.
still a good suggestion to double check the routing of all the lines.
alright ill search around on some threads, i just liked how penzoil said they could use the tranny pump to get ALL of it out...
it clunks once when i pass 20-30 km/h.. just first gear.. it seems like the whole front of car shakes sometimes, when i go faster through the gear it isnt so bad(i think), when im sorta on a hill it doesnt clunk much(downwards) gonna try going up hill inlike 20 mins when i go out for a bit...
alright i just gotta find out where the CV boots are, probly gonna buy a manual there only 30 bucks... i wanted to take it to my friend mech, cause he can throw it up on his LARGE jack and check everything under there but if he wont do it or doesnt have time im gonna climb under there , well im gonna climb under there now with a flash light in the freezzeing cold, im in canada victoria b.c!!!!, but yeah im not pro right...
it is not a clunk clunk clunk its one clunk and @ the 20,30 mark on the speedo so only first gear..... and im not shifting its a automatic..... i know its only one clunk for sure0 but only @ That speed which worrys me....
the key returns back to run as well sorry im typing on adress bar wont let me quote stuff keeps showing up blank..
and yeh that line is hooked to something its the one beside it that has nothing connected to it... gonna double check all that now when i get dressed warm and tkae a flash light out there....
last day i have been firing up with 2-3 pumps of gas ..
i gotta check all those boots and stuff i just got no flat ground outside of my place id have to park it next door and give it a go, gonna really read over these last few replys after i run outside and check carb lines make sure they are all good for something to do
i cant seem to find any threads on changing tranny oil but i did find some stuff.. on this ford truck i got you gotta drop pan to drain tranny
is it the same with this toyota tercel? dang if its a bolt ill do it myself, penzoil said they would splice into my pump and have the pump push all the fluid out
Do you have the 3-speed AT 2WD, the 3-speed AT 4WD, the 5-speed MT 2WD, or the 6-speed MT 4WD?
If you have a MT, there is no way "Pennzoil" can suck out the fluid from the trans and diff.
Tom M.
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
at about 1 min i said it wont start unlesss i hold pedal to floor thats only when its acting up has done this about 5-6 times out of a bunch of starts ... normaly i can pump it a few times or not even and it will start normal...
also just looked at my manaul the car came with ...was looking at the dipstick in manual and it shows me when its low & high, i think there is to a bit to much fluid in there..
it says keep fluid at proper level, overfilling may cause transmission damage and low fluid may cause slipping, well seems it might be damaged huh guys?
im pretty sure its over its right at the de where it says dextron on my dipstick.... ill say about this much over filled from the hot rivet in the stick ---- maybe ----- if that makes sense lol... if it was overfilled wouldnt all of the gears clunk? thought i checked it maybe it wasnt warm enough or something this time i wramed it up for 5 mins then checked it (heat was able to push hot) then noticed it was above full i think if that rivet by Hot on dipstick is full, it is... thats what its showing in manual wel it stops at rivet doesnt say full but i think thats what they are getting at... i seen a bolt on the transmission pan is that the drain bolt? not to long ago we had a truck with to much tranny oil in it i sucked it out from the dipstick with this lil thing i made from the drug store lol, it worked great tho i might do it here see if it stops , cause i dont wanna drop the pan just to change the oil, if its a bolt ok ill do that but for right now i wanna check everything else make sure its not tranny, but a tranny oil change never hurt nobody...
what i mean by rivets is this, manual picture.....
add | if hot add->|<-ifhot ok->|
----|COLDDDDD | HOTTTTT |
add |if cold ok |
DONE :: that last | is the rivet then its over that by this much ---- lol wow i feel silly hope uguys get that ..couldnt get it all to line up properly with my lil doodleing but all the | are spose to line up the last ones on end is the lil dip in the dipstick lil cut will say..oh gosh i hope u guys know what im saying i feel stupid lol
video is uploading to youtube just waiting on it
Last edited by 1986baby on Fri Mar 09, 2012 1:44 am, edited 4 times in total.
