thank you for providing great advice and feedback on this ride!
got a picture of her up now
I am 90% sure I diagnosed the oik leak. After taking your (yall's!) advice, degreasing the engine, checking things out carefully, watching numerous youtube videos, seeing the same problem fixed on Velocity, reading through the repair manual, thinking it has to be this. Reading through the technical articles on this site too.....
I know it's laborious and a bit over my head, but I would like to give it a shot. The timing belt is slightly overdue for replacement, and the oil leak won't help that out, so I have a timing belt on hand. Researched a lot on replacing this along with the crankshaft seal.
Also I have a new distributer o-ring that maybe I can replace in the same swoop?
What else should I know before I try this? Jacks for the car?
Anything else I should replace /clean up / check out while I have this apart?
might as well replace the water pump and camshaft seal while you're in there... if you're replacing the timing belt, I'd put in a new idler pulley too if there's any question about the condition of the old one
also maybe new belts, and upper and lower radiator hoses if they're "soft" or bulging
here's a few threads from the Forum with good info on all the necessary procedures:
1985 Tercel SR5 4WD wagon, 301K
1987 Tercel DLX 4WD wagon, 6-speed manual, 277K -- got this one running Jan. 2015 (had been sitting for 2 years); this has been my primary daily-driver since 2016
i agree with garyfish. if there is any doubt as to the ages of stuff like water pumps and rad hoses, replace them. you're already in there and it's cheap insurance that those things are less likely to fail you on a road trip in the near future.
i would replace the cam seal
would not replace water pump
mainly because i have never had one self destruct and leave me stranded (three tercels my wife and i have been driving since 1988, 1999 & 2001)
the few ( and this includes the tercels my friends and family have) that have gone bad leaked water out of the hole underneath and gave us ample time to notice something was wrong
timing belt idler bearing
i have had good luck cleaning the out side up and then forcing grease into the gaps around the shields (rubber gloves)
when the grease gets inside you can tell the difference when rotating it
on some bearings i have removed the front shield and greased it
then modified a thin washer to cover it
must fit inside with just a little clearance all around and the bolt will hold it in place
Love those Tercell 4x4 wagons but they sure suffer from road noise.
ditto Xirdneh experience: the water pump is easy to replace any time, unless you decect any play in the water pump I would not replace it. I have found they last about 100k miles, usually reliable and gives warning with a slight leak (I always buy a new one from NAPA, same as factory replacement). I do not recommend the re-manufactured water pumps, they are not that much cheaper and they do not last more than about 10-15k miles, not worth it.
I have never replaced the timing belt idler/tensioner with a new one, I do not really trust the after market ones anyway. I have diveren a number of different Tercels over 300k miles in the last 10 years. If the bearing is smooth and quiet, I just reuse it. I have not tried adding grease to it but it sounds like a good idea.
When you put on the timing belt, add some extra tention by pushing on the tensioner before you tighten it down all the way. ALWAYS double check the belt alignment after it is all in by rotating the crank two full revolutions and checking the marks again.
No reason to do the distribor o-ring at the same time, In fact I would advise against it. do the timing belt, front seals, get it all back together, start it, and than test drive it. And than replace the distribtor o-ring if you think it is leaking (same day if you want, or later). That way you know it runs before you change too many things at once.
many people, even experinaced people like me, sometimes get the timing belt or the distributor alignment wrong, if you do both and it will not start, you have to check EVERYTHING to touched over again. DO ONE THING AT A TIME, that way if it will not start you only have half the things to look at to find out why it does not run.
the only trouble you might have with either operation is getting the front bolt off the front pulley, use the cord down the spark plug hole to stop the engine from rotating, and a large bearker bar and socket on the pulley bolt. once the bolt is off whack the pulley with a soft mallet and work it off. DO NOT PUT A PRY BAR BEHIND IT AND try to lever it off. it will not work and will likely damage the oil pump housing, which means a much larger and more costly repair. If you have to rent a puller, or keep working it off back and forth with a mallot, wiggle it by hand, etc.
