1986 tercel 142km! Few issues/q's..

[Petros]

sometimes my car acts that way with a warm start if it was sitting for a short wile. Mine starts good cold or warm, but if warm and I stop for a few minutes, like to buy gas, especially on a hot day, it acts like that. The only way it will start is if I hold the pedal to the floor. It also sounds like it was not running on all cylinders when it first started, if it also smokes it could be oil fouling of the spark plugs. have you taken the spark plugs out and inspected them? Do so and post pictures of the plugs. You might need new valve stem seals (or throw in a can of Restore).

I think in my case it is the fuel system getting heat soaked from the exhaust manifold. That was always a problem with carburetors, especially on hot days. No good way to deal with it other than to insulate the fuel pump, lines and carb from source of heat (the exhaust manifold).

[1986baby]

havnt checked plugs yet, sorta worried me as last time i took out a plug of a truck i had the gap was so big on spark plug seemed like it was horrible for it, put new ones in, gapped them i thin thats when it started stalling dont remember tho, how could the plugs make it stall if they are new sounds dumb i know only thing i could think of was it wasnt exact same plugs but numbers was close & mechanic @ 2 stores said they are fine for my motor... that motor had 250,000 k thta was probly it, i guess im just looking for some support cause im sorta scared as the car does run fine, and it has been starting better & no noise the last ten starts, 3 pumps of gas, starts good no sound ...

i would check all the plugs as 2 of them look old(rust by where wrench would go) & the 1 that was loose.

[1986baby]

i dont remember what tranny guy said exactly but he was talking bout my km being low & would be odd if the tranny was going so soon, he said it could be diff and mounts & stuff, all he really said was a fluid change would be good,he was the owner of store & knew i didnt wanna have tranny done!! he showed me the oil on a pz of paper compared to new oil, it was brownish

anyways he took it for a ride im gonna go talk to him about an appointment to have a change done, just so i can ask him about what he thought of my tranny, i remember him saying theres a clunk there but all i really remember him saying was it could be mounts & stuff we could take a look at it for you when fluid is changed...wants 175 for a pan drop filter change gasket,and a flush...

i talked to penzoil guys(i know there just basic guys but still) they said if the mounts are tired they are tired, what you guys think of that?(they was tlaking about rubber pucks by mounts i was talking about...

i asked him if i could just do the flush for 80 bucks instead of dropping pan, he said the sedimint in the pan would still be there & that might cause some problems for sure ? is tht legit? he said he wouldnt wanna do that...

gonna highlight a few things im rreally interested in hearing from you guys

[1986baby]

finaly found wrench for plugs, gonna take a look at these bad boys

im guessing they are gonna be black, i hope they are brownish tan colour right?

gonna take pics either way so ill let u guys take a looksee

[Petros]

$175 for trans oil change, pan drop and filter is not a bad price. If you did it yourself it might cost you about $50-$60 and it is a lot of work to do yourself. If they are an honest shop they can tell you if there is anything unusal about the fluid or filter (full of gunk/particles), but many use the normal wear to scare you into buying more tranny service from you.

I do not think that sediment in the pan is that big of an issue, as the clutches wear the pan is where the particles accumulate. Not a bad idea to clean it out, but if it is not bad I would not worry about it. Some cars these days have no filter at all, like Honda and I know our MPV just has a screen (and if there is anything large enough to get caught in that the trans is done for anyway). I dropped the pan once to replace the "filter" screen on the MPV, and see no reason to do that again, way too much work. So I drain and refill from the oil cooler tubes, much less work and you get all of the old fluid out.

OR I wait for a local oil change place to run an "autotrans" special and have them mess with it for $99. AND RESIST the sales job to get you to pay for other repairs. Changing the oil on the manual trans is not big deal at all, that is one of many reason I like manual transmissions, they last longer, cost less to fix, give better fuel economy and if your battery is dead or starter goes out you can always push start it to get it home.

[1986baby]

yeah well the guys at penzoil said theres a bolt on tranny pan, but said i could only get out 2L at a time say i started it up and drained started it up and drained it.. that sounded dumb cause i would aventually run it low on tranny fluid...

ya i thought it was a ok price because they change all 7 L and clean the pan just scared me when he said oohh a flush isnt the best idea cause of the sediment in pan i was like ok well then why will everywhere else do it?.. so u think hes just trying to squeeze the extra 100 out of me? saying oohh better clean out pan

[1986baby]

yeah to bad my baby is a automatic..

i honestly just wanted to spend the 80 and have it flushed and changed, see if the clunk stopped some what

cause i could get under there myself and check the motor mounts and tranny mounts...

gonna reread over w hat u said about all that stuff, just sorta hard to tell where they are..

plus i wa slooking under there and bolts by wheels seemd rusted what would i do spray with wd40 and see if they are loose?(the mounts and stsuff i mean)


just wanna say thanks for putting up with my noobness ill stop these questions soon or just pay the 175 to have all that work done, and have them checkthe mounts as well, what are the chances they are loose on a 86 pretty high right? but shit there rusted on u think they would be rusted on tight!!!

[1986baby]

OR I wait for a local oil change place to run an "autotrans" special and have them mess with it for $99. AND RESIST the sales job to get you to pay for other repairs. Changing the oil on the manual trans is not big deal at all, that is one of many reason I like manual transmissions, they last longer, cost less to fix, give better fuel economy and if your battery is dead or starter goes out you can always push start it to get it home.

yeah man thats what i mean, they will change the fluid out there the cooler tube(by bottom of rad) he was talking about air and stuff gets it out, i was wondering if i could just unhook it and refill my self right...

said yeah we can switch the fluid out for 100 bucks.... i was intereSTED until he said he cant check my axel,tranny mount,motor mounts...its like 75 more for a pan drop filter change and gasket change,and they check my mounts sounds like a good idea or and pan cleaning..

[Petros]

the oil change will not stop the clunk, that is likely from something else (and if it is not, new fluid will not fix the trans).

Do not run the trans to get the fluid out, if it runs low or dry it will get damaged for good, very risky. You have to put new fluid in under slight pressure into the intake line while you are collecting the old fluid out of the output line, at the same time. This is done until the fluid comes out clean. This way you know you have changed it all out. The lube shops have a pump to accomplish this. If you just drain the pan yourself you only get half of the old fluid. If you are going to have the trans fluid changed/flush, it is not a bad idea to pay them to do it.

If you are going to drop the pan yourself, drain the pan and replace the filter, that is not too risky to do yourself but it is extra work.

They service the trans/filter from under the car up on a lift, so that is when they will check the mounts, etc. IF they do a fluid flush/change it does not need to go up on the lift so that is why they will not check it unless you do the full service.

Unless you want them to inspect the trans/mounts, etc. than pay extra for the full service. IF you just want a trans flush, than just pay the $100 for it, and check the mounts yourself. Not really worth the extra unless you are willing to pay them to replace the mounts or CV axles if they find a problem. That will get into a lot more money however.

If were me, I would just pay for the flush and leave the pan/filter in place. And than do my own inspection of the mounts and other parts, and fix it myself and save the extra cost.

[1986baby]

hey guys hows it going, my car is still running great i now have 190XXX so iv put like 50,000 on it already almost that is great im super happy with it.. buttttttttt

now i have a noise since the cold weather came it seems (im in canada) its been pretty cold around here lately but after my car starts a few seconds maybe more like 5 seconds and then this (tooting noise) almost like a fart lol kinda like a hmming only for a few seconds but anyways it would get louder if i was to hit the gas right as the noise was coming on..

things iv noticed

the carb gasket is leaking out some stuff (will throw up pics soon) also i notice it smells like gas outside of car(running to rich) !!! i got a mechanic to adjust it cause it was staying going after i was shutting it off, now 20,xxx km later i notice a noise on startup it is just a piss off, doesnt happen right away but after a few seconds it makes a noise and goes away , ONLY IN THE MORNING it will NEVER happen after the car has been started up(warm). then through out the day starting it , it wont make the noise it seems to only happen when the first start up of the day, any idea's guys its bugging the heck out of me i don't wanna wreck my car.

[1986baby]

also the clunk was my drive train(needs a new steering rack) tranny is fine..

it is not the belts, or pulleys i don't think as iv checked them all, greased them up and the noise is still there..

[1986baby]

[larry mcgrath]

lets hope you did'nt put grease on the fan belts!!!!!!!!!!! the noise sounds like maby the power steering pump making noise -if you turn the steering wheel you can change the pitch of the sound, thats if you have power steering? Larry

[Petros]

check your power steering fluid level, (if you have power steering, which you should). sometimes old stretched out belts will squeal on start up even when they have good tension. use belt dressing from the auto parts store to know (never use oil or grease on the belts!). Could also be bad bearings in the alternator, or the water pump. Usually if water pump bearings are bad the water pump seal will be leaking coolant, it needs to be replaced right away.

If you can not find the source you could remove the belts from alternator and power steering, let it sit over night so you can do a cold start up. And see if you get the noise when you start it. DO NOT RUN IT FOR MORE than a MINUTE or TWO at most. the car will over heat will quickly, okay for quick test, but do not drive it. Put the belts back on after test. If no noise, it means it comes from one belt or the other, install first the alternator/water pump belt and start it again. If you get the noise, it is either alternator belt, alternator, or water pump making noise. if no noise it is the power steering pump/belt.

That drip on the heat shield under the carb is from a leaky secondary throttle diaphragm. the secondary throttle is vacuum operated, sometimes they get a pin hole leak and than drip small amounts of fuel (that dries all gummy like in the picture). Mine as done that for years, the gasoline smell eventually gets annoying so I have to get a round to rebuilding my carb anyway.

You can just replace the diaphragm chamber with a new diaphragm, or have the carb rebuilt. Many replace the carb with a webber.

good luck

[1986baby]

by grease i mean tune up grease, its okay for belts.

well yeah my power steering leaks its the only thing that is wrong with the car i have been using lucas power steering fluid for the last while only reason i think the pump hasnt went yet.

it has a new alt recently, and a new water pump. it could be the water pump but it is brand new.

i'm guessing its the power steering belt but we will see, i know i tried belt grease (tune up grease it says its for belts as well) didn't help this morning so i'm gonna try taking off one of the belts and trying that you think i should start with waterpump&alt belt? cause they're brand new (the alt and waterpump) i honestly am thinking after reading this that it is the power steering belt but i have tried the grease trick already and still there..

EDIT: i also just checked the tension of the power steering belt and i got quite a bit of grease on my fingers black grease like oil... also is it just like the alt belt to take it off do i gotta find a bolt to loosen or do i gotta take off the pulley ?