Zach's 1985 4WD Tercel Wagon

[lannvouivre]

I got everything sorted with the wires. Got it running, turned it off after about 30 seconds because I don't have any coolant for it. Oinked just like a piggy, but ran pretty smooth and steady and was willing to rev.

My main issue turned out to be

wait for it

No, you're not done waiting


WHATEVER THIS STUPID EFFING BOX IS. Also, the terminals inside of it are green, as are the wires, so I'd like to replace this stuff with newer, although I need something hotter to solder wires this fat.

I also identified why the temperature sender on the thermostat housing had two blades. It's because THAT SENDER DOES NOT GO TO THIS CAR.

[lannvouivre]

Forgot to mention there must be a short in the instrument cluster circuit, as I found the fuse had been replaced with the wrong size, blown, and then they used copper filament to increase fire haza--I mean, jumper it.

[marlinh]

There are fusible links in that box.

[Petros]

there is no temp sender on the t-stat housing on a 3ac, there is one on the coolant outlet at the front of the head (next to the TVSV). That one is for the emissions control ECM, if you are installing a weber than the sender on the coolant outlet is not even used, you can just plug it off.

The sender for the temperature gauge is on the front of the head next to the plastic timing belt cover.

That fusible link in the box is a like a "main" system fuse, if there is a total grounding of the system that one blows and stops any further damage. I have blown it once, and ended up replacing parts of the wire bundle because of melted off wire insulation.

[lannvouivre]

Oh, good. It looks stupid anyway. The emissions sensor thing, I mean. Why can't they just be like MODERN cars? ...oh, yeah. I'm seeing yellow/green stripe for the temp sender wire.

I'll need to also look at the following wires:
4WD indicator switch red (all transmission wires were apparently ripped in half)
Parking brake switch red/green (parking brake light did not work)
Extra low gear switch yellow/red
Charge warning light circuit (low battery light is on permanently)

I need to print a fuse panel diagram for the engine fusebox because it is almost illegible.

Fun fact:
There was a 7.5A fuse in the Engine slot. It was blown. Possibly because the fuse it calls for is 15A, but what am I to judge? I mean, it's what the manufacturer specifies and I'm just an automotive graduate. WTF do we know? It looks like all it does is supply voltage to the emissions-control computer, which isn't being used, but jeez...! Why can't people just do it right?!

[Petros]

may be that is all they had at the time. it got the car running again...for a while.

On my old '65 volvo 122s, every once in a while (usually after hitting a big bump at high speed), the tail light fuse would blow out, it would also cause the dash lights to go out too (designed to give you a signal that the tail lights were also out). I found the fuse blown, and put in another one. Went several months, after another big "bump", the dash lights blinked out again, and yes another blown fuse. I spent a Saturday crawling around under the dash and in the trunk looking for a short...no such luck. without the hard upward acceleration on what ever was shorting it was not giving a clue as what was the cause. I ran out of the 7.5 amp fuses, and put in the next larger one I had. a month later than one blew as well, so I put in another, it too eventually blew, so I put in all I had left, a 20 amp fuse. This time when it blew all the lights in the car went dim for several seconds, and I could smell slight smoke somewhere. So I of course put a larger fuse in the slot, I had already been pulled over by the cops once for having no tail lights, and I could not afford a ticket (I was in collage at the time). I figured eventually I would find the problem where I find charred insulation and melted metal. I never did find the short, the car got totaled when someone ran into it while it was parked in front of our house.

those kind of shorts are not easy to find, it was always a guess as to what was making contact that was not supposed to be after a hard bump.

[lannvouivre]

Yeah, but it's just kinda dangerous. Why couldn't the seller at least say, "by the way..."?

[marlinh]

The wiring harness from the distributor can chafe above the starter around the clutch cable. I had that happen on one of my cars after I replaced the block heater. It blew one of the large maxi fuses. I can't remember which one. I went straight to that harness because I had worked in that area and found a direct short. Had it happened after hitting a bump, it would have been more of a process of elimination to find. After that I checked all my other cars and found insulation in various forms of chafing. Worth a look.

[lannvouivre]

The harness to the distributor was the one I repaired because it was soaked in oil and the wires going to the transmission had all been ripped in half. I think there may be excessive corrosion on the wires to the alternator's main stud going to the battery and fusebox, as those are really green and ugly.

Also, the thermostat housing was leaking. I went ahead and tried drying the old gasket and putting RTV on it, but the RTV was chunky and my quick fix turned out to be a miserable failure. Cry. Anyway, went to NAPA and got a new thermostat gasket and new permatex grey RTV and absolutely drowned (well, as much as I could without feeling wasteful) the gasket in it. Tomorrow I'll refill the system and maybe I won't have to cry myself to sleep for the rest of my life.

Also wanted to say that the clutch feels right with the engine running the couple of times I've had to let off the pedal to get a better grip. We'll see when I get it back on the road. May even be tomorrow or the day after!

[lannvouivre]

I am now a drain plug away from having the Tercel actually driving away. I hope the last person who installed that fill plug steps on a rusty nail and must walk on legos in the dark to reach his or her bed for the rest of his or her miserable life.

[marlinh]

Oh do tell. What happened?

[lannvouivre]

I can't get a socket on it where it's at without dropping the tail of the transmission down, which I don't want to attempt since it might not go far enough anyway, and it's so tight the crescent wrench backs off on it. The differential drain plug was also so tight that I had to put a wrench on the back of my 1/2" drive and make grunting noises at it. I ended up replacing it because, for one, it's a 24MM plug. 2, it had no gasket. 3, it was chewed up. The new one is a 18Mx1.50 plug from Oreilly's and it looks absolutely baller. Probably going to also replace this fill plug. The plugs are only $3 each.

[Petros]

if it is a manual trans, you can fill from the front plug on the side of the diff near where the cv axle installs. You can get a socket on it and run a long extension out the wheel well and rig it so you can put a really big cheater bar on a big ratchet handle. It is also easier to fill from this front filler plug because there is more room to work (I put an extension hose on the filler attachment and fill from the engine compartment).

It is also useful to grind the end of your 24 mm socket to eliminate the lead-in taper on the flats so more of the socket engages the hex face. or you can get a big box end wrench on it (do not use an adjustable crescent wrench on it, it has too much flex).

filling from this front plug works since all of the internal chambers are connected on the manual trans. but it fills slowly, so make sure you measure out the amount of gear oil it will take and that it all gets inside.

[ARCHINSTL]

In the future for removing trans plugs:
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=6976&hilit=socket
Tom M.

[lannvouivre]

Are you serious? Stupid service manual only showed one plug! I can probably get the socket on that. Right now I only have a deep impact socket (also I just remembered I do indeed have an impact gun--DUH) in that size. What I was planning to do for leverage was make this

And then use a knee to drive it, which is what I had to do on the rear diff plug. However, I'm putting the impact gun on it now that I remember I have it. I haven't mangled a fastener with the impact gun. On the subject of tools, I'd also like to share some pictures of the Toyota double-hex tool for their modern head bolts (it's not tri-square, it's two hexagons, I swear) if I can remember. It's pretty...proprietary, I guess. Apparently they don't want people rebuilding their engines themselves.

I'm probably going to run a hose left over from making hoses for the transmission cooler on my car and shove one end into the plug through the shifter hole and shove a funnel in the other end and fill from the comforts and amenities that only a filthy '85 Toyota can provide, and just make someone watch it from below or something.

I still need to get an exhaust gasket for the manifold-to-downpipe connection, so I might still grab a new drain plug anyway. It's only $3 and the hex cap is nice and tall. Maybe I can paint it red, for the horsepower

(I have to admit, modern Toyotas have spoiled me. This is the cheapest plug design I have seen: no flange and hardly any height on the hex cap. Also, pretty much all modern Toyota bolts are flanged and not coupled with stacks of captive washers, so the Tercels are really weird to me).

Can I seal the differential cover with some RTV, rather than a gasket? I'm not used to using a big rubber thing for these, nor am I used to the cover being on the other side. It's definitely seeping and as you've noticed, I hate seeping.

Also, the oil that came out of the diff was really glittery and there was a mountain of metal powder on the drain plug. I don't think it's been changed in about 200k miles, so I am really hoping it won't immediately making a noise when I drive it tomorrow.