new suspension ideas

General discussion about our beloved Tercel 4WD cars
scrapz253
Advanced Member
Posts: 70
Joined: Sat Oct 05, 2013 8:38 am
My tercel:: 84 sr5 6 spd

new suspension ideas

Post by scrapz253 »

hello everybody. i am new to the platform and obviously to the forum and my have some fresh insight and new ideas to some commonly asked question. Now I've been reading for a few hurs now and it seems to be the general consensus that people want the lifted tercel when playing off-road and the lower tercel for commuting and gas mileage/ handling reasons. I happen to be in the same boat; I am torn between laying it out and jacking it up.

So..... has anybody considered doing an airshock set-up in the rear? I'm going to do some measuring tomorrow, but i believe that if i cut a coil or two off the factory spring just to get the drop i want then the air shock should compensate for the loss of spring rate and also raise the car a few inches when needed. with a 8 inch lift on the air struts, there should be plenty of lift. And as far as the front goes, just replacing the strut and top hat and doing a coilover set-up. maybe using a 7" spring would give a 1" drop when all the way lowered and a few inches of lift when raised. not 100% yet, gotta do measurements still, but just thinking. what do you guys think?

Just got the car today btw. 84 sr5 6 speed. body is a little rough, so it may be getting a flat black paint job soon. and it runs, on 3, but it runs. $450. should do as a winter car/ toy.
larry mcgrath
Highest Ranking Member
Posts: 606
Joined: Mon Aug 16, 2010 3:23 pm
My tercel:: 83 tercel v20 B/T (The ROCKET)98 toyota t100
Location: Wilds of Montana

Re: new suspension ideas

Post by larry mcgrath »

Welcome to the forum. there is a lot of inf on lifting these cars in Bartos lift post. One of the problems encountered is to much cv joint angle, but with air shocks (with an independant air pump,I have air ride air bags on my T100 which works great) which would alow you to lift front to rear,side to side which would be cool ,that way you could go back to stock when on the highway,a great idea.Post some pix of your car ,where do you live. good luck with your project. Whats with the dead cylinder? Larry
scrapz253
Advanced Member
Posts: 70
Joined: Sat Oct 05, 2013 8:38 am
My tercel:: 84 sr5 6 spd

Re: new suspension ideas

Post by scrapz253 »

thanks for the welcome. not sure yet on the dead cylinder. just cleaned up the interior yesterday. the previous owner didnt do much maintenance. thinking for sure the cap, rotor, and wires need to be changed out. pretty sure it has a bad ground also because when i jumped the car, it wouldnt jump while the ground was connected to the battery. as soon as i put the ground jumper to the block however, it fired right up. need to go to my shop to get a few tools and check it out today.

yeah, i was reading on barto's lift thread, and no offense but it just seems like people are getting whatever they can off of whatever they can find and switching out used junk with more used junk. just my 2 cents. not to say that it doesn't get the job done, i just figure if i'm going to go through the trouble of removing all the crap that has been on there for 30 years, im going to replace it with brand new reliable parts. i am doing lots of research and measurements before i do anything, but ill will keep everybody posted and my findings. as cheap as air shocks are, im suprised more people aren't using them. i'm trying to figure out the correct length that we will need. so as soon as i know, i'll post part numbers.
larry mcgrath
Highest Ranking Member
Posts: 606
Joined: Mon Aug 16, 2010 3:23 pm
My tercel:: 83 tercel v20 B/T (The ROCKET)98 toyota t100
Location: Wilds of Montana

Re: new suspension ideas

Post by larry mcgrath »

I totaly agree new junk for old junk usualy does'nt work out like planed, plus my time I figure isn't Free, Just my 2 cents. Larry
scrapz253
Advanced Member
Posts: 70
Joined: Sat Oct 05, 2013 8:38 am
My tercel:: 84 sr5 6 spd

Re: new suspension ideas

Post by scrapz253 »

oh. and Richland wa. to answer your other question. lol
User avatar
Petros
Highest Ranking Member
Posts: 11930
Joined: Sun Jan 28, 2007 6:31 pm
My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
Location: Arlington WA USA

Re: new suspension ideas

Post by Petros »

welcome Scrapz,

I had the same thoughts on being able to raise and lower it. I sometimes have to drive through a flooded river or uncleared snow to get home, so being able to raise for a short distance to get home, and than be able to lower it back down when on paved road, would be ideal.

There are conventional rear air shocks that likely can be matched up, there are also these rubber air chambers than can be incerted inside the rear spring coils. Mazda MPV with the towing package, Mercedies and some larger domestic luxury cars all use the same US made air pump, very reiliable and easy to install with a regular switch. I was at a garage sale a few months back and he had some front struts from I think a volkswagon jetta or similar model that had front air bags. I stared at them long and hard to see if they could be adapted to the Tercel, might be possible and if they were cheap enough I might have bought them (they wanted too much, and as usual it would take a lot of time and messing around to make them fit, and it would be low on my priority list). So we need to find some front air adjusting system that can be adapted to the TErcel strut, or the whole strut be adapted to fit in the tercel suspension. Might be worth spending some time at a pick-n-pull removing one and hold it up next to a Tercel suspension.

with front and rear air height adjustment you can push a button on the dash and raise the car up for getting through the deep stuff, and than lower it back down for normal driving. That would be the best set-up. and the "default" would be the normal ride height, so if anything malfunctions in the system you will not be dragging on the ground.

something like this could work in the rear, kit is around $100:
Image

here is what a front air adjustable strut looks like, these are for a Subaru and quite costly:
Image
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
scrapz253
Advanced Member
Posts: 70
Joined: Sat Oct 05, 2013 8:38 am
My tercel:: 84 sr5 6 spd

Re: new suspension ideas

Post by scrapz253 »

here is what i have found for the rear. something more conventional and you can upgrade the shocks and not worry about over extending them with air bags. these ones will go 3" taller than factory and about 6" lower. the only concern is the tube diameter. it might take some shaving on the car to get them to fit up by the upper mount. but i think i may just go for it and see how it goes. the only other issue is then figuring how to hold the spring in place while its jacked up. the car is so light though that i dont think the spring would do much good when these struts are fully inflated anyways... maybe ill fabricate a hold-down so the spring stays attatched to the rear end when it is jacked up, so the spring cant just fall out of place or bind up when lowering it back down. and also with a 3200lb curb weight and these support 1100 pounds per pair. Is it safe to assume that they will hold the rear of the car up for a prolonged period of time off-roading? and will it also be comfortable enough with enough stability for a dd. i figure later down the road maybe do a small compressor and give each strut its own valve which would help greatly off-road, making the suspension much more independent. just some thoughts from outside the box.
http://gabriel.com/product-search/light ... tnum=49178

as far as my misfire goes. i have great spark on all 4 plugs. i have yet to do a compression test, but im pretty sure it will need a rebuild. just hoping the exhaust valves aren't burned out on it. getting a lot of oil in #1 and some in #2. so either rings or valve seals shot. found a rebuild kit with new pistons and everything on ebay for 170. beats spending 200 on another used motor. at least i will have a sound mind knowing it should last another 250000 miles. however petros, i saw that you are selling a motor. what's going on with that?
scrapz253
Advanced Member
Posts: 70
Joined: Sat Oct 05, 2013 8:38 am
My tercel:: 84 sr5 6 spd

Re: new suspension ideas

Post by scrapz253 »

did a compresion test. 90 psi across the board. rebuild time. or hopefully petros will log in and sell me his motor. lol

edit* so for shits and giggles today, i fired it up and let it warm up, drove up the street to air up the tires. and after driving it for 10 minutes, it's a whole different car. tweaked with the idle some and took a quick glance for anything out of place. it smoked like a train till it warmed up, then it was all good. seems to have plenty of power. the only thing i found to be wrong besides the rusted out almost non-existent exhaust is a vacuum hose that comes from the carb and goes to a canister of some sort towards the rear pass side of the engine bay. at least i think thats where it goes. gunna try to connect it and see what happens. but man she runs like a top after warmed up. may just run this motor till it blows.
User avatar
Petros
Highest Ranking Member
Posts: 11930
Joined: Sun Jan 28, 2007 6:31 pm
My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
Location: Arlington WA USA

Re: new suspension ideas

Post by Petros »

the vac line sounds like the one that goes to the charcoal canister, it should not affect the way the engine runs other than creating a small vac leak.

You might try some sea foam in the oil for a 100 miles and than do an oil change, put in some STP or Smoke Stop or something similar. I have had good luck with "Restore", drive it a bit and than do the compression test again. you can drive it with low compression as long as there is not too much blow-by, it will pressurize the crank case and cause it leak oil, or blow it up into the air cleaner through the PVC system.
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
scrapz253
Advanced Member
Posts: 70
Joined: Sat Oct 05, 2013 8:38 am
My tercel:: 84 sr5 6 spd

Re: new suspension ideas

Post by scrapz253 »

yeah. i later figured that out while reading my chilton to pass some time. the air cleaner is so dirty im surprised any air is even getting in the carb. the points and rotor are extremely wore out, and the plug wires are disintegrating. and the valve cover gasket is shot, its leaking oil everywhere. so i've got a few things ordered including the struts. i'll post my findings in a week or so. thanks for the help.
scrapz253
Advanced Member
Posts: 70
Joined: Sat Oct 05, 2013 8:38 am
My tercel:: 84 sr5 6 spd

Re: new suspension ideas

Post by scrapz253 »

so today i decided to adjust the high idle because it is pretty rough when cold and smokes like a train. smells like unburnt fuel (running really rich) when its cold. after it warms up its night and day difference and no more smoke or sputter. so i then noticed that it's not going into high idle... i turned the screw all the way in and backed it all the way out with no change. being my first carbed car, i need to ask... where do i start? what do i check? is this a common issue? if so, then how do i install a manual choke. being my winter beater, i need this resolved soon because its getting colder and colder here in washington. thanks.
User avatar
dlb
Highest Ranking Member
Posts: 7305
Joined: Mon Jul 06, 2009 9:03 pm
My tercel:: '87 sr5, '83 dlx parts car
Location: bc, canada

Re: new suspension ideas

Post by dlb »

when you start the engine, step on the throttle once or twice and make sure you let the pedal up. then turn the key. this squirts gas into the carb and sets the choke, which should be closed when you start and then open as the engine warms up. don't give it throttle while turning the key because this will not set the choke.

when you start it this way, it should idle quite high. this is the fast idle setting. on the passenger side of the carb, there are two screws. the smaller one closer to the firewall is the one used to adjust the fast idle so adjust it while the engine is still idling high. the other larger screw closer to the front of the car is for the regular idle and should be adjusted at idle once the engine is warm.

there is a procedure in the FSM on setting the fast idle so i would just use that. you can download the FSM here.

https://tercel4wd.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=8103

if you are having cold running issues, check all the cold start components. the most common failures are the AAP and choke breaker diaphragms. i have found the auto chokes to be very reliable, and they're easy to test. again, use the test in the FSM. to check any diaphragms, i just put a clean hose on the port and suck. no air should come through. if air comes through, you need to disconnect and plug the hose and port until you can replace that component.
Last edited by dlb on Fri Oct 11, 2013 11:05 am, edited 1 time in total.
scrapz253
Advanced Member
Posts: 70
Joined: Sat Oct 05, 2013 8:38 am
My tercel:: 84 sr5 6 spd

Re: new suspension ideas

Post by scrapz253 »

awesome! i'll look through that later today. thanks a ton!

also i finally found a soultion for the front suspension that is relatively inexpensive to raise and lower the front of the car on the fly. these airbags are fairly unique in that they can slide over your factory strut and replace the spring all together without the need of buying a whole air strut system. just need to get some more measurements from the car but im feelin like these should do the trick. my plan is to flatten out the trunk (remove spare tire well) and mount a 5 gallon tank, compressor, and all the valves under the rear of the car. my air shocks and a few other parts are coming in late next week so i will see how they will do in the rear and post my results.

http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Air-Aer ... over+strut
scrapz253
Advanced Member
Posts: 70
Joined: Sat Oct 05, 2013 8:38 am
My tercel:: 84 sr5 6 spd

Re: new suspension ideas

Post by scrapz253 »

so i've been tinkering with her today. changed the oil and threw in a can of restore. after the car warms up and i shut it off, i hear the tvsv leaking around where the plastic portion of it connects to the metal portion of it. i can actually physically see it leaking too (small bubbles around the base). turns out the aap diaphram is bad and is leaking fuel into the tvsv and thats what i see bubbling around the base of it. shouldn't the tvsv be sealed airtight? could this be the issue for my rough idle and choke working intermittent? i tested the hose on port "m" and i could blow through it but not suck through it. the aap hose however, i suck straight fuel through with ease. might just be the tvsv and aap.... btw toyota want $185 for the tvsv!!! anybody know where i can get a new one for a lot cheaper? went ahead and ordered the rebuild kit since it seems that's the only way to get the stupid aap diaphram. is it pretty easy to replace with the carb still on the car?
User avatar
dlb
Highest Ranking Member
Posts: 7305
Joined: Mon Jul 06, 2009 9:03 pm
My tercel:: '87 sr5, '83 dlx parts car
Location: bc, canada

Re: new suspension ideas

Post by dlb »

yes, the AAP is easy to replace with the carb in place. i have just pulled them off of spare carbs i had laying around but if you don't have that, the rebuild kit is the way to go.

it does sound like your TVSV is bad. don't bother with junkyard ones, most of them are worn out too. forum member 4doorvip had some that he ordered direct from japan or something. i think he might be sold out but you can send him a PM and check.

for the suspension lift, i don't know if it would work but the JDM corolla all trac wagons came with a push button lift. the entire system might be swapped into a terc. i have no idea since i've never messed with anything like that but it might be worth looking into.
Post Reply