Tuff Tercel Truck

[Mark]

The fuel pump is a diaphragm pump. It should have a small "tell-tale" hole in the body. This is to let you know if the diaphragm is ruptured (fuel leaks past it and eventually comes out the hole). Even with a very small leak, you'll probably smell fuel when you're driving. You could give it a quick check by stopping the car and putting your finger on the hole. If your finger smells like fresh fuel, you have a leak. At first it might not be bad enough to see any fuel mist coming out of the hole when the car is running, but you should be able to smell it when you're driving. Even when there's no leak, there will be a rhythmic puff of air coming out from the hole when the car is running. My 83' hatchback had a leaking pump so I replaced it with one from Rockauto ($10 or something ridiculous like that). It clicks abit when the engine is running. I assume there's play in the lever arm or the cam is worn or something. I think a slight click is normal.

[Mark]

Also, in the photo of your engine bay, I noticed lots of sand(?) in there. I'd lube up all the linkages/springs/levers on the carb. Something might be sticking.

[dlb]

fuel pumps can definitely become intermittent towards the end of their lives. that's actually usually how they go.

more details on when you get the clunk in the front left corner, please. while going over bumps, while turning on acceleration, is it rhythmic, etc.

[Rokkatansky]

The sound happens when I go over bumps.

[dlb]

i would check the tie rods (both inner and outer), ball joint, and control arm bushing on that left side. play in any of them could manifest as a clunk while going over bumps. not likely the strut. all the worn strut mounts i have seen manifested in a clunk on clutch engagement and shifting gears and all the worn strut inserts i have seen manifested in saggy front ends and mushy handling.

also, if you haven't already, remove the sway bar and check the bushings, metal collar, and ends of the bar. these things are crucial. another member had his sway bar snap while driving, very bad. worn out sway bar end bushings could also cause the bar to clunk in the control arm when going over bumps. i made a thread on doing this job a while back. here it is.

https://tercel4wd.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=7481

[Rokkatansky]

That reminds me when I got the steering aligned the guy said both my inner tie rods are worn. The wheels have light play.
So this may be causing problem?
Was looking at replacing all the front bushes with polyurethane soon.
Snapping a sway bar? damn!!

[ARCHINSTL]

Stick with OE regular bushings.
See the Part Numbers - OE and Aftermarket Forum for a thread on the numbers: https://tercel4wd.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=6438
Tom M.

[peculiarodor]

I have a similar clunk when hitting bumps or driving rough roads. slight play in the steering. i was told that based on this and uneven wear on the inside of my front tires that it is time to replace the tie rods. the person that told me this said that the inner tie rods on our tercels are integrated into the steering rack and that the only way to replace the innner rods is by replacing the entrie rack. can anyone confirm this? thanks

[dlb]

the person that told me this said that the inner tie rods on our tercels are integrated into the steering rack and that the only way to replace the innner rods is by replacing the entrie rack. can anyone confirm this? thanks

whoever told you that is incorrect. the inner tie rods are easily removed from the rack. there are even some pics of how to do this here on the forum, as well as being covered in the FSM.

peculiarodor, you can determine which tie rods need replacing by jacking up each side, locking the steering wheel, and then trying to 'steer' each tire by hand. if there is no or virtually no play on a side, it is likely fine. if there is play, look underneath at the inner and outer tie rods when you manipulate the tire and you will be able to see which components have slop in them. this is good to do since there is no point in replacing parts that aren't worn out.

[ARCHINSTL]

Nope - both the inner and outer are separate pieces, not integrated with the steering rack. Not hard to replace, but the front end will usually need to be realigned. It would also be a good idea to replace the ball joints while you are at it. I got my tire rods at
See https://tercel4wd.com/forums/viewtopic.php? ... ols#p24331 - photos.
Tom M.

[Romulux]

Wow Rokkatansky, That's a beautiful Tercel and you take some really beautiful pictures. Even the dirty ones make the car look clean.

Nice one, mate.

[Rokkatansky]

Have an oily discharge coming from where my spark plugs sit.
Is there a way I can stop it from leaking?

[dlb]

must be from the valve cover gasket or distributor o-ring. both are easy to replace. if you don't think it's either of those, clean the oily residue off really thoroughly and check again after each drive to positively diagnose where it's coming from.

[Petros]

almost certainly it is coming from the valve cover gasket. If the old one is still intact you can put sealant on it and carefully tighten down the cover (not too much, it could crack the valve cover). If the gasket is brittle and cracked, best replace it.

[Rokkatansky]

Got a big clunking sound in front end when driving.
Thinking its the steering rack (is this the part that fits to the tie rod end?)
Its on the passenger side, just changed the tie rod end.