after many years, I'm finally back in the T4 game

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dlb
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My tercel:: '87 sr5, '83 dlx parts car
Location: bc, canada

Re: after many years, I'm finally back in the T4 game

Post by dlb »

I don't know what I did but in the last few days the carb stopped hunting at idle. Well, hooray! The next problem then was that the idle was too high, like around 1800 rpm (that's a guess, as there's no tach) and I couldn't figure out why. Then I was texting with marlinh about other tercel stuff today and this came up, and she mentioned the throttle positioner. I had disconnected and plugged the vac line to it because the VTV is missing, and stupid me, I didn't realize that leaving the TP disconnected allows it to hold the throttle valve open at idle. Jeez. So I reconnected it (still without the VTV, that's coming from marlinh) and voila, the idle came down and could finally be adjusted properly! Once I set that and the TP, I was also able to finally set the ignition timing. I had ballparked the timing when I got it running with the wonky idle, turns out I did pretty good and nailed 5* BTDC. I advanced that to 10* and will see if I notice any difference driving it now.

So that's all the major work finally taken care of. What a great journey it's been so far. Now I'm left with fun little jobs to do, like a bunch of stuff I'm buying from marlinh -- dome lights, a horn, an sr5 cluster, etc. Can't wait to get to all those little details.

I was curious how much I've put into the car so far. Here's the rough breakdown.

car, $500
big rock auto order, $800 (clutch, brakes, rad hoses, thermostat, various engine and trans seals, cap rotor and wires)
flywheel machined, $100
carb rebuild kit, $40
alternator, $150
battery, $150
fluids and filters, $200
distributor, $150

That's about $2100, plus various other stuff like windshield wipers, spark plugs, spray foam (lol), paint and rollers, etc so it's probably close to $2500 CAD. That's more than I had hoped to spend but for how well it's turned out, I'm still really happy with it.
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Nordical25
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My tercel:: 2 4wd 1987's. One with 4a, other with 3a
Location: Finland

Re: after many years, I'm finally back in the T4 game

Post by Nordical25 »

These carbs are getting old and getting a perfect idle could get a long hunt. Mine idles with cold motor "fast idle" around 700RPM and warm motor "slow idle" around 1000-1200RPM. Yes, wrong way around. So it may take some time and effort to get perfect idle.

And I am glad that you published your cost breakdown. It suddenly starts to make sense to pay either above 2000$ for a roadworthy Tercel 4wd or a 500$ on example that needs some work. Your cost breakdown is a very good reasoning for that. And since you know so much of these cars, you knew how to pick a good 500$ one.

And SR5 cluster is fun addition for sure. It helps to understand condition of carburetor better. That is why I am building one into my both ones too.
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dlb
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My tercel:: '87 sr5, '83 dlx parts car
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Re: after many years, I'm finally back in the T4 game

Post by dlb »

Nordical25 wrote: Sat Jan 07, 2023 4:50 am These carbs are getting old and getting a perfect idle could get a long hunt. Mine idles with cold motor "fast idle" around 700RPM and warm motor "slow idle" around 1000-1200RPM. Yes, wrong way around. So it may take some time and effort to get perfect idle.
Funny, I realized today that my fast idle is also way too low. I set it as per the FSM but when I start the car cold, it just idles as if it's already warmed up, like 800 rpm-ish. I wonder if the fast idle cam is stuck. I'll take a look tomorrow.
Nordical25 wrote: Sat Jan 07, 2023 4:50 amAnd I am glad that you published your cost breakdown. It suddenly starts to make sense to pay either above 2000$ for a roadworthy Tercel 4wd or a 500$ on example that needs some work. Your cost breakdown is a very good reasoning for that. And since you know so much of these cars, you knew how to pick a good 500$ one.
That's a good point. In the last year or so I saw a few other Tercels for sale sort of near me that I contemplated buying but they seemed priced a bit high, and now after this experience I definitely feel they were. Something to keep in mind for future Tercel shopping.
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dlb
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My tercel:: '87 sr5, '83 dlx parts car
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Re: after many years, I'm finally back in the T4 game

Post by dlb »

Nordical25 wrote: Sat Jan 07, 2023 4:50 am These carbs are getting old and getting a perfect idle could get a long hunt. Mine idles with cold motor "fast idle" around 700RPM and warm motor "slow idle" around 1000-1200RPM. Yes, wrong way around. So it may take some time and effort to get perfect idle.
Ok I just sorted mine out and figured out why it wasn't fast idling when cold. I had just stepped on the throttle quickly 2-3 times when starting it cold, and when I removed the carb and watched how the throttle and choke linkages work together I realized that my quick steps on the throttle were too fast for the fast idle cam to get to its lowest steps, where idle is fastest. All I need to do is step on the throttle once and hold it for 2-3 seconds, and that allows the fast idle cam the time to get to where it needs to go. I hope that is some help to you, Nordical.

Also worth mentioning, when I rebuilt my carb the fast idle cam was stuck in place due to corrosion (the car had been sitting in the woods for 5 years). I had to gently tap on it a bunch to loosen it up, then I could remove the 10 mm bolt to get it off and clean all the gunk out.

While I was doing this, I also tested the EGR diaphragm because I realized it was the only diaphragm I hadn't tested yet. It was bad! I couldn't believe it, I think that's the first EGR on an al25 I've come across that was blown. I'm not going to bother replacing it so I disconnected and capped off the hoses that supply vacuum to it and the vacuum modulator.
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Nordical25
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My tercel:: 2 4wd 1987's. One with 4a, other with 3a
Location: Finland

Re: after many years, I'm finally back in the T4 game

Post by Nordical25 »

Thank you dlb for informing me of this trial. I will definitely inspect the fast idle cam and throttle trick after I have fully completed cluster swap. I have tried stepping throttle and holding it but not sure if I have done it for 2-3 seconds. At least I can follow up my results better since I have a tacho in my car.
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dlb
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My tercel:: '87 sr5, '83 dlx parts car
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Re: after many years, I'm finally back in the T4 game

Post by dlb »

Since I got the carb running well, I've been driving the car lots. I even took it to the city this week, and it was great. No problems at all and I became more familiar with how it likes to shift and whatnot. Here it is in town.

Image.jpeg

While I was in town, I stopped at Canadian Tire and bought a few different types of muffler patch repair stuff. The JB Weld stuff looked best so I tried out, and it was utter garbage. You put a metal tape patch over the hole and then wrap it with this resin tape stuff. The heat of the muffler is supposed to make the epoxy wrap melt and glue it all into place, but that didn't happen at all. Nothing happened. Then I looked up reviews and everyone else said the same thing. So word to the wise, don't bother with that stuff.

I eventually decided to try the old farmer fix I had heard about long ago, and guess what. It worked perfectly! It actually sounds like a normal car now.

Image(1).jpeg

I fueled the car up today and now that it's running properly, it got 30 mpg. I'm really happy with that, and I'm confident it will improve since I've done some more tweaks on the carb recently, and winter fuel economy is always worse than in warmer weather.

I have noticed some front end clunks though so I'm going to take it off the road soon and deal with those next. All I've done on the front end so far is the front sway bar end bushings so there's clearly some other stuff going on. The tie rods all seem fine but I want to take the steering knuckle and struts out so I can thoroughly inspect the ball joints and strut mounts. Both CV axles are also shot and clicking a lot so I'll do those as well.
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NWMO
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Re: after many years, I'm finally back in the T4 game

Post by NWMO »

Good job David!

Keep up the great work!

Chrid
Psalm 37:4 "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart"

In remembrance of my friend ARCHINSTL:

T4WD augury?
"Oh, do not ask, 'What is it?' Let us go and make our visit."
T.S. Eliot - "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"

"Now and then we had a hope that, if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates."
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dlb
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My tercel:: '87 sr5, '83 dlx parts car
Location: bc, canada

Re: after many years, I'm finally back in the T4 game

Post by dlb »

Yesterday I received a box of 'fun' parts in the mail from another forum member.

thumbnail_IMG_0694.jpg

It was really satisfying because most of the stuff was pretty much instant to install: both dome lights, rear wiper arm, a hubcap to match the one I was missing, the owner's manual, the VTV for the throttle positioner, the nut for the air filter lid...I pretty much just walked around the car and plunked all these things into place over a few minutes, and was very satisfied that so many little details were taken care of so quickly. I love easy fixes.

Then I swapped in an SR5 cluster, and learned two things. First, I hadn't realized that there are little plastic plates that clip into the cluster shroud -- ones with holes for the clock knob and trip meter button, and solid ones for the DLX clusters. I'm glad my friend knew this and sent the plates along with the cluster!

thumbnail_IMG_0439.png

Also, when I was replacing some bulbs in the cluster, I learned that while most al25's have the green light sleeve over the bulbs, some had a green plastic dome built into the clusters.

thumbnail_IMG_0437.jpg

I've never seen the plastic green domes before. My car is an '83 DLX so I'm not sure if this is a DLX or an '83 thing but I've never come across and don't remember reading about it here on the forum so I wanted to make note of it.

Then I replaced the horn on my car which was another first for me. I had never even known where the horn was, and had to look it up on here. I thought removing the driver side headlight to access the horn was going to be more annoying than it was, it was actually pretty quick and easy job.

My new CV axles showed up yesterday so I will throw those in on my next days off. I look forward to not babying it around corners anymore!
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Nordical25
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My tercel:: 2 4wd 1987's. One with 4a, other with 3a
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Re: after many years, I'm finally back in the T4 game

Post by Nordical25 »

What a great set of accessories. The cluster is a really good update. And Canadian cluster has same 85mph/140kmh scale with American ones in pre 1985 models.

My all Tercel 4wd had green sleeves/rests of them in bulbs. The problem with sleeves is that they get fragile and cannot be switched easily into another bulb. So I have broken many of these sleeves by myself because they were too fragile to got them intact out of broken bulb.
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dlb
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Re: after many years, I'm finally back in the T4 game

Post by dlb »

Nordical25 wrote: Sun Jan 29, 2023 3:25 am My all Tercel 4wd had green sleeves/rests of them in bulbs. The problem with sleeves is that they get fragile and cannot be switched easily into another bulb. So I have broken many of these sleeves by myself because they were too fragile to got them intact out of broken bulb.
Ditto, I have the same complaint about the green light bulb sleeves. I have shredded a few trying to get them off the original bulbs. But they produce my favourite green light so it's worth it to me. The green dome things made a decent green light but not quite as warm as the sleeves, and in another car I owned a previous owner had replaced the burnt out bulbs with aftermarket green bulbs, sort of like this:

$_12.jpg

Those were my least favourite because the green was too pale. So I'm always very careful about removing the green sleeves and try to keep them intact.
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Nordical25
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My tercel:: 2 4wd 1987's. One with 4a, other with 3a
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Re: after many years, I'm finally back in the T4 game

Post by Nordical25 »

You are more skillful than I am because I tried hard to remove them, even with knife without success. I wonder if it is possible to buy these lamps with green sleeves. Other newer Toyota models could have them too. I haven't inspected that further because I need still to sort out some basic stuff on my both Tercels before that. But I admit that I like also green color.
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Mattel
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My tercel:: 1988 Corolla 4wd Wagon (AKA Corolla All-trac) 5speed, AC, Power Sunroof, Windows, Mirrors, Steering, Locking, Diff Lock, 14" Corolla SX Alloys with Silica Hankook Tyres, 4afe, King Springs, Upgraded Headlights, Full Synth oils, 210,000kms
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Re: after many years, I'm finally back in the T4 game

Post by Mattel »

Sorry to Hijack, Hey David, I saw this ad on FB and thought of you. https://www.facebook.com/groups/tercel4 ... 953014763/ but then I realise that A/Tofino might be a long way from you and not even connected by road and B/I think you mentioned you weren't on Facebook.
Previous: 83 Tercel SR5 4wd, 84 Tercel SR5 4wd
88 Corolla 4wd Wagon 5speed, All power options, Fact Sunroof, Diff Lock, 14" SX Alloys, Hankook Tyres, 4afe, King Springs, Upgraded Headlights, Full Synth oils, Tow Bar, 210,000kms
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dlb
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Re: after many years, I'm finally back in the T4 game

Post by dlb »

Oh man. Thanks for the heads up, Matt. I am very interested in that, going to message him now.
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dlb
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My tercel:: '87 sr5, '83 dlx parts car
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Re: after many years, I'm finally back in the T4 game

Post by dlb »

Well, it looks like this latest tercel has met its end. It just blew its heater core, whenever I turn the blower on it starts pissing fluid into the front passenger seat foot well. I don't want to do that job on a nice Tercel, so there's no way I'm going to do it on a rust bucket/mobile parts car so I'm pulling the plug on this one.

Also of note, the car backfired (out the exhaust, so I don't feel like backfire is the correct term) a few times recently. I noticed but didn't think much of it, then today it lost power on the highway, stalled, started again with difficulty, idled rough but would die as soon as I tried to drive, repeat. I've had clogged fuel filters present the same way in the past so I figured that's what it was, and it was. The fuel in the filter was basically orange sludge due to the horrendously rusty gas tank. I think this filter only lasted about 2000 km before it was clogged so that pretty much says it all.

These things make me glad I didn't put any more money into some of the other repairs I had considered doing on this car, like a new muffler and windshield. Now I just need to decide whether to keep the car intact and use it as storage for parts, or strip it and just keep what I want and get the husk taken away. I hate the idea of lugging a diff and transmission around by hand so I'm not sure.

Anyway, I loved this car while it lasted! It was a great re-introduction to t4 life. And luckily, I picked up the other car that Matt pointed out just a few posts ago, so onward and upward.
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NWMO
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Re: after many years, I'm finally back in the T4 game

Post by NWMO »

David,

If you have a reasonable spot to park it, I’d keep it as a “roller”. 4 yrs in and I’ve sold enough parts to pay for my parts car, helped some folks out AND I’m stilling pulling parts for myself now and again.

Chris
Psalm 37:4 "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart"

In remembrance of my friend ARCHINSTL:

T4WD augury?
"Oh, do not ask, 'What is it?' Let us go and make our visit."
T.S. Eliot - "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"

"Now and then we had a hope that, if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates."
Mark Twain
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