Scored an 83 SR5, few questions

[paradox11235]

I read through some of the forums but didn't find everything i was looking for. I just picked up an 83 SR5 that was destined for the crusher. I normally deal with Audi Quattros but my first car I had to drive was a '90s tercel and i always wanted one of the 4wd wagons.

Anyways, the car started after sitting for years with just some carb cleaner in the intake and a good battery, motor seems to run fine. I think the clutch blew while trying to pull the car onto the trailer though... The car has no brakes, i'm gonna flush the whole system and hope that there's just some air in it. If need be i'll start replacing stuff. The rear right wheel seized up after using the e brake a bit, I think something in the drum assembly is corroded, i'll be taking that apart to mess with it.

My biggest question is about the shifting... The shift linkage is so sloppy it almost feels broken, the only gears I can definitively get into are 1st and reverse. Is this a common problem? Are there parts available to rebuild the linkage? I'm partially just hoping it's a loose bolt or other adjustment...

I'm excited about the car, i got it essentially for free. It's got quite a bit of surface rust (nothing eating through the panels yet) but like i said it seems to run well. I'll replace the clutch and get the brakes working, do a basic tune up, then just use the car as a beater. I'm blown away by how cheap some of the parts are (of course coming from working on 80s/90s audis). Makes me want to just rebuild the whole car...

I'd appreciate your input on the shifting issue! Thanks

[dlb]

welcome, paradox. take a look at this thread and particularly the pics i posted of the bushings found at the base of the shifter.

https://tercel4wd.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2& ... 679#p55679

if the bushings are right wrecked, it's possible that they may be the source of your problem. let's hope, anyway. to access them, just unscrew the shifter knobs, unscrew and remove the shifter console, remove the six (i think) 12 mm bolts that hold the shift linkage lid on (a wrench with an adjustable neck is very useful for the front bolts), remove the lid, use snap ring pliers to free the shifter, and inspect away.

if the bushings appear to be ok, open the 24-mm trans fill plug just behind the driver side CV and then drain the trans oil from the three 24-mm plugs—don't drain the oil until you know you can refill it! the plugs are very shallow so be careful not to strip them. inspect the trans oil and the magnets on the drain plugs for big metal chunks. if you see chunks, that's bad news for your trans.

check the FAQ for a few other suggestions on crucial stuff to check on a new-to-you terc, like sway bar bushings. here's the link.

https://tercel4wd.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7442

[paradox11235]

Thanks, I did end up finding that thread. I was concerned that I couldn't find a shifter bushing kit aftermarket, i expected it to be expensive from the dealer... That's how you know i work on german stuff. I'm hoping the trans is ok... It seems to go into gears fine, it's just hard to pick one specifically. Just need to order up a clutch kit, buy some fluids, and tear apart the brake system. Might do the thermostat for good measure too.

Anyone have specific experiences with different clutch kits? I was just gonna do the exedy kit.

[Petros]

welcome to the list paradox!

Saved another one from the crusher! good for you! I have also rescued a number of these cars from the crusher, just too nice of a little rugged 4x4 wagon to allow that to happen.

Usually the shifter bushings are worn to shreds, easy fix once you located the parts. Also, check the ball shaped pivot where the shift lever meets the top of the trans cover, there are two pins that ride in slots on the lever side. Sometimes these wear out so there is a big sloppy gap between the pegs and the slot. If these are good it is likely just the plastic bushings. If they are not good you will have to locate a good shift lever or trans cover piece. I have a collection of spare shift levers and old trans I use to salvage such parts, so let me know if you need any of the "hard" parts, I may have a used one for you.

Caution on the Exedy clutch kit, recent thread on that, they sometimes supply parts that are too thick to work properly. Try and by an Aisin clutch, that was the factory supplier and they are available after market through private label suppliers. I have also used Sachs clutches with good results, even though it is a german company they have their parts made in China. Also, the Toyota factory parts, especially for small parts like the shift lever bushings are not too bad at all. Try Butler toyota, they offer good discounts on factory parts.

Where are you located?

[paradox11235]

I'm in Colorado, haven't filled out some of the profile stuff yet. I'll pull the shifter apart as soon as it's not freezing outside and I get the stuff I stored in the car out (I have a bad habit of using wagons for storage...)

I'm hoping the brakes aren't too much of a headache, I know the clutch should be easy. I can always order the aisin clutch from worldpac at work, but having gotten this thing for what I did i'm trying to avoid dropping too much money on it. I'll check out sachs too, I use their stuff in my other cars.

Experience with any other brands? (rhinopac, centric, valeo, etc)

A few things I do know I need are some of the upper center console pieces, The control panel (or the face of it anyways) for the heater is gone, along with the radio and looks like some trim.

So seems to me that I got a pretty good one, 83 with the inclinometer and "6 speed" transmission... What's the difference between the SR5 and non SR5s? I always though SR5 denoted the 4wd when I saw these around.

[Petros]

the SR5 has an instrument cluster with a tach and a clock, improved fabric covered seats and nicer side door panels (rather than the plastic vinyl seats and side panels), on the '83 and 84 they had the inclinometer (they were deleted on all models after '84 for some reason), and they have the wider outside trim and SR5 logo.

Brakes are easy, if you are replacing the front brakes and the master, you might consider doing the front brake up grade I outline over in the repair guild section. the larger brakes only cost a bit more and it is an easy bolt-on upgrade. In a mountainous area I think it is an essencial up-grade.

Doing the clutch is a major job only because you have both CV axles and a rear driveshaft to remove, and the trans with the front diff and transfer case is a rather heavy unwieldy item to remove. A transmission jack makes it much easier. There is a thread with detailed instructions on removing the trans. You should consider replacing the rear main seal when you do the clutch, not much more work and well worth it on a car this old. Also, it will really improve drivablity much if you can shave some weight off that darn heavy flywheel when you have it out (like 5 or 6 pounds), it is a massively heavy flywheel I think designed for inexperienced drivers (the Tercel was the entry level car for toyota) so the clutch was not as sensitive to a bad shift. If you can find a machine shop to lighten the flywheel have it rebalanced with the clutch pressure plate bolted on it. IT will make the engine more repsonsive and rev faster (hey, that 62 hp needs all the help it can get!).

If you want to teak a bit more power out of it than you also might consider getting a performance cam shaft regrind from Delta Cams in Tacoma WA, and perhaps installing a weber carb,

[dlb]

i put a luk clutch in one of mine. worked fine, still working fine i guess since the new owner has no complaints about it. i guess it's 3 or 4 years old now.

the brakes should be too bad. most systems on this car are ridiculously easy to work. it's part of the appeal for me. few cars have compared in their common sense, easy maintenance design approach. if you need to replace a park brake cable, i suggest removing the park brake console and releasing the front park brake from the handle so that you can pull the whole works out the bottom and work on it on a bench. trying to tap frozen cables out of the holders is a real PITA underneath the car. the rest is all pretty straightforward.

yes, the inclinometers are sick. everyone loves them. i've put them in a few of mine and every male that rides in the car gets crazy psyched. they all say it's like flying a plane...a 62-hp plane at 60 km/h. all the manual trans t4s are 6-spds, or actually a 5-spd with an extra low gear only when in 4wd. SR5 and DLX are the two trim levels, with SR5 being the nicer and DLX being the cheaper. they are mechanically identical. the main differences are the SR5s got the inclinometer (only in 83-84), a tachometer, more adjustable cloth seats, wider rub strips, slightly different (but still crappy) windshield wiper controls...what else? i'm sure i'm missing something but can't remember what.

[paradox11235]

Clutch should be a cinch compared to what I normally work on. I'm hoping to not have to go through the whole braking system... I'm thinking new fluid, new hardware for the rear, and maybe new drums and rotors. If I have to I'll do the master cylinder...

I'm fine with stock power for now, and If I can find a machine shop that won't take a month and a half to get around to the flywheel i might do that. Gotta be in and out in a day or two, can't tie up a lift with a personal car for that long.

Has anyone swapped disc brakes onto the rear?

And if/when I want to make more power i'd probably just do a swap. Has anyone tried the 22r?

[dlb]

as far as we know, no one has swapped disc brakes on to the rear. if you do a search here you'll find some convos on it but IIRC there are some limitations that make it way more effort than it's worth.

the 22r won't fit in a tercel, too tall. however, if you do decide to go nuts about power, you can put a 4age in. check out the thread on larry's swap. he detailed it really well and has had great success with it. be forewarned though, it's a big undertaking.

https://tercel4wd.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=7576

[paradox11235]

Hmm... Maybe someday. It's really a shame that the transmission is so weak, a nice turbo setup in one of these would be a blast. I wonder what it would cost to have the transmission custom built by a shop... Or if they could even do it.

[dlb]

yes, that is one of the big concerns. i don't think larry has had any trans problems post-swap so far, but another forum member who did a similar swap (shaggymoon, i think) has had trans problems since.