4wdchico wrote: I find that the t4wd will cool better with the original plastic splash guard in place below the rad & engine.
Really? That's awesome-- I always figured it'd be better to have it off. I'll have to go throw the guard back on before summer.
Chad-- Like everyone else has been saying, your car should be fine for highway speeds. I don't usually drive fast roads, but when I do everything is fine. I have no trouble with holding 60-65 up I-70 for all but the steepest hills. (And that's the lack of power, not the heat keeping me from hitting the limit).
I recently replaced the thermostat and it helped keep the temperature steady and the heater warmer, though I never had overheating issues with the bad one.
If you need a new mechanic and don't mind driving a bit, Charlie's in Boulder is great. I had him do some carb work on my ride when I first bought it and had no idea how to fix anything, no complaints at all.
Awesome! I believe I need some carb work done as well. Do you remember how much he charged you?
Thank you everyone for your advice. This forum is incredible! I'm pretty sure my water pump is leaking so I'm going to try changing that out. Does anyone know the difficulty level for that job?
it's not a big deal, easy with a standard set of tools. be sure to verify that it is in fact your water pump and not one of the other components in the same area (thermostat housing, bypass tube o-rings, upper rad hose housing) and then replace as necessary. apply a thin, uniform layer of high temperature sealant (red RTV) to both sides of any gaskets and o-rings to ensure no leaks. some people have found the gaskets and o-rings alone will still leak but the RTV works well. check the FSM (link at the top of each page here or download the PDF version from the FAQ thread in the 'general' section) for exact removal of whatever you find is causing the leak.
My tercel:: 81 tercel sr5 GTS (4age RWD and 4WD application on build up for the moment) now im running a 3a with weber 32 dmsa 100,corolla gts front suspension, sway bar and steering, troush exhaust
water pump is a pretty easy job. you should only need a 10mm, 12mm and perhaps a 14mm socket and open end wreches (the 14mm is to loosen the fan belt from the alternator). It can be done in well under an hour. Drain the coolant into a clean bucket or pan first, save it to reuse it when all done.
As noted above, make sure it s actually the water pump (if the spindle can be wiggled back and fourth, than it likely needs to be replaced, usually bearing goes bad and than wipes out the seal).
Do not buy a re-manufactured water pump, they are all junk. Buy only new water pumps, NAPA has a life time warranted pump for only about $45, a great deal. I have found they last about 100k miles. the rebuilt ones are lucky to get 20k, hardly worth the effort.
The tercel I bought recently is an automatic and I replaced the instrument cluster with one with a tach and almost fainted when I saw the revs at 3800rpm at 60 mph. I will definitely change my car to a standard when I have the time. A comment about the water pump...the housing behind the pump seals against the block with an O-ring that is not included with the pump and sometimes they are a crusty mess. If that housing gets disturbed when breaking the pump free they can leak. I have only found a replacement seal from the dealer and keep one on hand just in case. They don't keep it in stock where I live.
marlinh wrote:The tercel I bought recently is an automatic and I replaced the instrument cluster with one with a tach and almost fainted when I saw the revs at 3800rpm at 60 mph. I will definitely change my car to a standard when I have the time.
haha, that's wild! i had actually considered swapping a gauge cluster with tach into the automatic i just got too but decided against it since it wouldn't make a difference. interesting to know though. i had wondered how the measly 3-spd auto trans would handle hwy speeds.
on the topic of doing a swap, unless you have an attachment to your particular tercel i would just find one that is already a standard transmission. they're more common than the autos anyway. but if you do decide to do a swap, you should take pics and make a guide for the forum. such a thing doesn't exist on here but the question does come up now and then.
Another discovery I've made is the temp light is now the E L light.
I will take photos of the changeover when I get around to it. Tercs with a good body are hard to find, hence the automatic.
My tercel:: 1986DLX (K.I.A. by a Texting Driver, currently being uses as a parts car) 1986 SR5 AC, Cruise, Sunroof a.k.a. TERC II Electric Boogaloo (restoration in progress). 1984 SR5
I routinely drive over mountain passes in 100+ degree weather with the AC blasting and never have overheating issues. I have to agree with previous comments in this thread, check your cooling system, and find a new mechanic. Also, that raises a question, do we have a trusted mechanic listing here somewhere? Click and Clack have a locator service at http://www.cartalk.com/content/mechanics-files
i just recently had an overheating problem with my 84 FWD a few weeks ago and replaced the thermostat and water pump unfortunatly that did not solve my problem it tured out to be the fan relay switch and now that it has all new waterpump and thermostat it runs at below quarter temp driving at 75 no problem. i recommend if it is not cooling properly after changing the thermostat change the water pump it drematicly improved MPG for me from 20-23 to 27-30 still need to make some adjustments cant get more MPG but this worked well for me and i have got my 84 FWD tercel up to around 90mph for about 20 min and it did great still got 30mpg on that trip. these cars are beasts get a new mechanic these cars love the mountains they may not have much power but they have torque and strength yours just needs a little TLC and she will be better than ever
water pump is very very rarely the reason it is over heating. Either the pump is working fine, or the seal leaks and lets all the coolant out (which you can see while it is running). Very rarely does an impeller fail or separates and will not circulate the coolant with no outward sign of trouble. So check everything else first: the thermostat is bad/marginal opening, the radiator is scaled up or plugged, the hoses are soft and collapsing and blocking coolant flow. If your head gasket is leaking it might run okay but consumes coolant and than overheats because all the coolant went out the exhaust in the form of vapor.
One of those things are almost always occurring before the water pump is not circulating coolant. If the radiator is circulating coolant, the t-stat is working properly, and the hoses are not blocking the flow, it should cool the engine in even the most severe driving conditions. I drove across the west Texas desert at 80 mph in 104 deg F heat with an old Tercel with a single row radiator. Never even ran hot.
For last three years , my wife's Tercel was having head gasket problem , At third attemp replace the haed gasket , my Torque Wrech were giving me false reading ,it all fix about 1 and 1/2 years ago BUT the heat temperture some times goes quite high once a while ( pull over to let it idle to cool it down ) , I try did this and that , I gave up , then I stop by to the coolant Specalist shop . I was the biggest goof of my life , the problem solved . It was the coolant fan which was blowing to the wrong direction , The wire was backwards .
The fan was suppose to blow towards the Engine < Not toward the Grill. >
bought my '85 back in 1999- same situation- fan blew toward grille. bad head gasket too- didn't matter tho- i was swapping engines anyway (fixed the fan too.) car's still running today!
if it aint there, there's a good chance it won't break!
83 SR5 Silver/Blue (Snowmobile/work beater)-totaled but drivable
85 SR5 Blue
88 SR5 White (the 'good' one)-not anymore-totaled
87 fwd silver wagon a/t
87 4wd dx Cream (a/t- not anymore- now m/t)
