My $550 '86 4x4 wagon

[nwTercel]

Just picked this up yesterday.. Guy was asking $850 and I ended up getting it for $550. It has 314k, apparently was owned by a preacher before the guy I got it from. Fairly straight for the amount of miles, interior could use a good cleaning. Little bit of smoke on start up but it smells kind of gassy and idles a little rough so I think it may be carb related? My plans for it are a slight lift, some 14's with bigger tires, I have a yakima rack for it, probably some off road lights and just a general tidying up of everything. I want to fix the rough running/bogging at low rpms, and probably do a head gasket, water pump, and timing belt just for peace of mind since I don't have any service history and the high miles. The fuel gauge doesn't read quite right and temp gauge only goes up to about 1/5 of the full span once running so I'll have to figure that out. Sometimes its hard to get it out of 4wd, but other times it comes out just fine. I just want it to be a daily driver that can manage logging roads and trails on the weekends. Currently my leg is broken and will be another month or two before I'm back full duty so I'll spend some time here getting versed as this is my first Toyota after owning 20+ VW's. Anyways onto the pictures.



you can see my other ride in the background, 1980 Scirocco with a 2.0l 16v from a 91' passat, still a work in progress.

Here is my friends sr5, definitely will be some Tercel trips this fall when I'm able.

[dlb]

welcome, nwtercel. for $550, that looks like a swell deal. good score.

i think replacing the water pump and timing belt are probably good preventative maintenance but i personally wouldn't do the head gasket unless you have a reason to believe it's already damaged.

it's common for the fuel gauges to read inaccurately in these cars. it's easy to remove the sender from the tank, bend it slightly so the contact points meet better, and stick it back in.

the low temp after warmed up is probably a faulty thermostat that is stuck open. another easy fix.

it's normal for it to be difficult to shift out of 4wd at times. make sure the wheels are straight, tire pressure is the same for all four, and only engage 4wd on surfaces with give (mud, gravel, snow, etc).

your carb probably needs a little adjusting. follow the instructions in the factory service manual that can be downloaded here to set the idle, fast idle, and throttle positioner. then make sure all the vacuum hoses are correctly routed--there should be a vacuum diagram on the underside of the hood, or use the scans of those diagrams found here as well. then check all the vacuum diaphragms by putting a clean hose on each, sucking, and plugging the end with your tongue: if any don't hold vacuum you must disconnect and plug the hoses that goes to them until you can replace the diaphragm. check the AAP on the passenger side of the carb, it has a rubber diaphragm and when it ruptures, it leaks gas into the vacuum system and causes the engine to run rich a lot of the time. also check the choke to make sure it is closed when cold and wide open once warmed up. that might sound like a lot of stuff to do but it shouldn't take more than an hour or so.

[nwTercel]

Thanks for the info dlb, I'll definitely be taking care of all that stuff when I'm not on crutches anymore. Coming from VW's I'm used to having to fiddle with stuff, hoping this thing is a little less tempermental haha. I was surprised at the lack of interior rattles on the way home in comparison to my VWs! My driver side window will only roll up a 1/4 inch away from being full closed, sounds like a gear is stripped from the way it slips and sounds when near the top, are the internal drive mechanisms the same on all tercels of this generation (2/4 door/hatch)? . I know this isn't the place for tons of technical info, but are webers worth the hassle on these? Judging by the amount of vacuum tubes it looks like it could be a CA emissions car, contemplating whether I should eventually switch to one for more power.

[irowiki]

Coming from VW's I'm used to having to fiddle with stuff, hoping this thing is a little less tempermental haha. are the internal drive mechanisms the same on all tercels of this generation (2/4 door/hatch)? . I know this isn't the place for tons of technical info, Judging by the amount of vacuum tubes it looks like it could be a CA emissions car, contemplating whether I should eventually switch to one for more power.

You might be disappointed, these cars need a lot of fiddling over time!

The CA and Federal emissions have similar amounts of vacuum piping, you need to check the sticker on the hood to know for sure.

Yes, all second gen window regulators should work.

[nwTercel]

I'm ok with fiddling, as long as its not constant VW style wiring gremlins!! haha.. honestly though I can't wait until I am able to start wrenching on it, any 28 year old car will need some work. I'm wondering how much life is left in the bottom end with 314k, along with the drive train, I've seen people with 400k and over so I think I'm I might be good for a while as long as I don't smash on it too much

[dlb]

i have found that once the stock carb is properly tuned, it doesn't require any further maintenance for quite a while. i had an '82 air-cooled westfalia and hated every minute of it. non-stop gremlins, like you mentioned, and almost everything on that damn vehicle was impossible to access without removing 6 other things first. worked on a few other vw's and found the same thing so i stay away from them now.

if you are concerned about the bottom end, you could hook an aftermarket oil gauge up to the engine and check the oil pressure on warm idle. i think the FSM says the minimum acceptable level is like 5 psi but that's way too low IMO, and impossible to read with most gauges, so i prefer 10-15 psi which is what i've usually found. low oil pressure on warm idle would indicate worn engine bearings and point to a rebuild in the future.

i personally prefer the stock carb. in cold wet climates, the weber is prone to icing while warming up. not a big deal, it goes away after 5 mins, but it's a hassle. plus i drive slow and don't need the performance aspect of the weber, and i like to keep emissions stuff as intact as possible, and webers cost about $300 up here in canada. way too much for me.

there's lots of useful info in the FAQ on weber's, crucial new-to-you maintenance, how to download the FSM, etc. take a look at it here if you haven't already.

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

[nwTercel]

I started reading the FAQ right after the last post, makes me feel a lot better about the needs of my terd. The aircooled vanagon's were definitely a low spot in VW's vans, a heavier chassis paired with a anemic aircooled motor wasn't a good combo. I will always love mk1-mk2 VW's as I think they are the best engineered out of all the watercooled, though wiring still was still problematic as usual. I'll probably end up replacing all my wiring in the scirocco with a universal painless style harness to bypass trying to fix the patched up wire nutted crap from the previous owners. I downhill skateboard and have set up events at Maryhill Loops road for the past 7 years and get to blast up it at the end of the day, I guess now with the tercel when I go out there I'll make my own off road route up the property! Anyways, I've lurked on this site for the past couple years and seems like a supportive community, I'm stoked I've got my own now, better than some crappy subie!

[dlb]

The aircooled vanagon's were definitely a low spot in VW's vans, a heavier chassis paired with a anemic aircooled motor wasn't a good combo.

I KNOW! i wonder who thought that would work well. what's even worse though: who thought that flimsy non-vented brake rotors were enough for the the regular vanagon, and who thought that they were enough for the even heavier camperized version?? that has always baffled me.

[nwTercel]

Haven't been on here much lately, but my leg is closer to being healed and I went out and did some off roading in the Terd yesterday..

[drege]

My driver side window will only roll up a 1/4 inch away from being full closed, sounds like a gear is stripped from the way it slips and sounds when near the top, are the internal drive mechanisms the same on all tercels of this generation (2/4 door/hatch)? .

https://tercel4wd.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=78884#p78884
This is what I did in a pinch to fix my window crank Tl;Dr same problem, didn't wanna replace it.

[KZ750]

If I was a VW guy, I'd be all over a Golf Country or or a jetta Sincro. So rare, so expensive!

[nwTercel]

That is an awesome idea dredge! I will definitely have to do that for the time being. KZ750, I would love to own any of the syncro VW's, Vanagon, Golf, Passat, etc.. but yea generally they are wayyy out of my price range. There werent very many Jetta syncros made, I found a production numbers sheet online somewhere and there were like 6 imported here when they were new. Of course Europe and all the other countries got all the cool stuff. You can find Quantum Syncros for pretty cheap actually, I've see them for under 2k locally now and then, a guy that owns a local shop here bought a syncro drive train out of a passat from Canada and put it all into his 1990 golf with a 500hp 3.2 turbo'd vr6..insanity!