Advice for first time Alltrac buyer?

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reddog
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Advice for first time Alltrac buyer?

Post by reddog »

Hi all,

Big respect to this forum & commitment to these wonderful little cars. I am considering an ’91 corolla alltrac 5sp 220km, but finding it tricky to convince those in my life that this is a smart decision…

The frame is solid, but exhaust and body rusting through (rf door & floor, fenders, quarter panels). Mechanically promising. I am willing to put in the work, and think these cars are worth the time/money.

Any words of wisdom for a first time buyer jumping in with two feet?

Thank you.
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dlb
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Re: Advice for first time Alltrac buyer?

Post by dlb »

welcome, reddog. Although this forum is specific to 4wd Tercels, there are a number of members here who have also owned All-tracs/4wd Corolla wagons. I'm one of them.

I don't really have any advice or warnings about the ae95's, except that the push button center diff lock started acting up on mine toward the end of the time I owned it and I never figured out what the problem was before I got rid of it. Not that I ever needed it, the regular AWD was enough for the driving I was doing, but it's still annoying to have a feature that doesn't work 100%. And I recall a few other people having issues with the same thing. That was probably over on the alltracwagon.net forum, or whatever it is. Btw that forum is ok but not very active. There might also be a fb page for ae95's but I never checked it out.

Anyway, I guess another thing worth mentioning is that I found tercel's to be easier to work on. Better access to virtually everything, whereas the ae95 definitely had its share of annoying "remove a bunch of other stuff to access the thing you need to work on," which I'm sure most people are fine with but that drives me nuts.

All that being said, I still have a lot of fondness for ae95's. They're probably my fave-looking car of all time. I think they look like little space ships.

Where are you located?
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Petros
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Re: Advice for first time Alltrac buyer?

Post by Petros »

I have also owned one, and did major mechanicla work on it (I got it cheap with very high miles on it). check the engine compression, if an auto trans, check if the fluid is reasonably clean. the auto trans is fairly reliable on thse cars, as is the standard 5 speed that comes in them as well. do a clutch test if manual trans: put your heel on the brake (where you are in an open parking lot with nothing to hit), put your toe on the gas pedal and rev it up with the clutch pedal down, put it in gear and slowly let out the clutch. if it stalls out quickly, the clutch is good (do not do this test often, but it is effecvite test). if the engine bogs down but you can keep it running slow, or it takes a while to stall out, expecet to replace the clutch soon. I big job for DIY, but not as bad as some cars.

check the condition of the univesal joints on the center drive shaft, rock them back and forth, there should be no relative movement or play in te U-joints. Also check the front cv axles for torn boots. drive it and make sure it drives straight, press on the brakes, and it should stop straight. if not, something needs to get fixed, DIY brakes or suspension parts replacement are not difficult, but can be costly to pay a shop.

And of course the condition of the tires, glass, uplustry, etc.

none of these are reasons to reject the car, but can be a reason to negotiate a lower price. the point is you want it buy it with your eyes open (knowing what you are getting into), rather than to drive off and expect to be perfect (I doubt it). a car this old will need something, sooner or later.

once you get it you should consider to get all fluids' changed (coolant, engine and trans oil, brake fluid systm flush), and filters.

Good luck. it is a nice car, powerful and much more quite and softer ride than the Tercel4wd, with a much more modern fuel injected engine, better brakes, and other great up grades over the T4wd. but it does not have as much ground clearance, and though visibility in the all-trac is not bad, the Tercel has better visibility out the windows too.
'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)
reddog
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Re: Advice for first time Alltrac buyer?

Post by reddog »

Thanks very much for your time, and thoughtful replies.

dlb—I am based in eastern BC! So the little space ship would be up & down some big mountain passes. Thanks for sharing your experience, including with the center diff lock. Much appreciated.

petros—I really appreciate your specific suggestions. The right front cv shaft does have a torn boot as suggested. Also, the trans oil cooler was disconnected, which hopefully doesn’t mean any leaks into the transmission. Definitely agree about purchasing with eyes open.

Take care both, and thanks again.
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dlb
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Re: Advice for first time Alltrac buyer?

Post by dlb »

That's very curious about the trans oil cooler being disconnected. That's a big red flag to me because it's not an optional item, it would be like driving without an air filter -- it's going to do big damage in short order, if it hasn't already.

I'm in BC too, on Vancouver Island. If I come across any ae95's in my online window shopping I'll let you know back here.
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Petros
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Re: Advice for first time Alltrac buyer?

Post by Petros »

sometimes the trans oil cooler gets rock damage or cracked and leaky, and the easiest thing to do is by pass it.

that would be more important in a hot climate, or if towing, so it is not that critical. but the trans oil cooler is an important piece of equipment. one similar to the factory one is kind of expensive, but there are many aftermarket trans oil coolers you can use instead from any autoparts store, or on-line.

Do not just connected it. sometimes if a trans failed, and they get a rebuilt, or replacement transmission, they will by pass the cooler because it can be plugged up with metal particles from the failed trans. Just connecting will cause the replacement trans to fail too (I have seen that happen before, DO NOT DO IT).

The existing cooler perhaps can be checked for leaks, and than ultrasonically cleaned so it can be used. Or better, just replace it with a new one. it is risky to connected the old cooler back up without knowing its history. to replace the transmission is a costly repair, to buy a new oil cooler is not expensive at all.
'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)
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