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

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

Post by dlb »

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I bought it for $500. It's an 83 DLX, manual trans, VERY rusty, has been sitting for 5 years. It's still at the seller's place, today he and I got it running and got the seized rear brake un-seized, but when I took it for a drive down the road to see if it would make the 35 min drive home, I found the clutch slips like crazy on any incline. I never adjusted the clutch cable on any of my previous tercels so I didn't think to try that until after I left, but I think I'm going to borrow a friend's trailer to bring the car home anyway at this point -- too many issues currently and I don't want to end up stuck on the side of the highway waiting for a tow truck.

Anyway, I'm way too excited to finally have another one. I love how rusty it is, it has so much character. I'm sure I will be posting lots once i get it home and start working through everything to make it a reliable DD.
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MrWrench
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My tercel:: 1985 Tercel SR5. aka Spud
Location: Michigan
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Re: after many years, I'm finally back in the T4 game

Post by MrWrench »

Congrats! I love my rusty 84 for the same reason. The patina is awesome!

Is it missing the rear glass? I can’t really tell. If so, I have a spare I can send for the cost of shipping.
1984 SR5. Lifted offroader with a snorkel. Aka "Thunderbucket"
1985 SR5. Daily driver. Aka "Spud"
1986 SR5. Dakar Rally clone build.
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NWMO
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Re: after many years, I'm finally back in the T4 game

Post by NWMO »

Glad you’re back in the club David! I look forward to your posts and pics!
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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dlb
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Posts: 7305
Joined: Mon Jul 06, 2009 9:03 pm
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 »

MrWrench wrote: Wed Aug 03, 2022 6:21 am Is it missing the rear glass? I can’t really tell. If so, I have a spare I can send for the cost of shipping.
Thanks for the offer! It has the rear glass though. Must be the crappy camera on my ancient phone, ha.
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Nordical25
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Joined: Tue Feb 08, 2022 11:49 pm
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 »

I am glad to hear that. I know that you have already lots of skill to revive that car back on the road so I hope that you would provide us project pictures when you proceed with it.
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dlb
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Joined: Mon Jul 06, 2009 9:03 pm
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 »

Got it home today. The same brake is still sticking but I managed to get it on a friend's trailer, off the trailer, and into my yard today. Once the hay elevator is moved from the front of our garage next week, #8 will go in and the work will begin.

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

Post by NWMO »

Fantastic, I look forward to your posts!
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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Nordical25
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Joined: Tue Feb 08, 2022 11:49 pm
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 »

That is a good start to get it to your own yard. Sticking brakes are a very common issue for revival Tercels. Hopefully brakes will loosen easily in your garage.
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dlb
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Joined: Mon Jul 06, 2009 9:03 pm
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 »

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Just got it into the garage. Took some messing around. Even getting it on and off the trailer and then into my yard, I noticed some brakes were dragging really badly so I had to address that first. Turned out both the front calipers were seized so I had to bang on em with a hammer to loosen them up a bit. The battery is toast so I had to borrow the one in my 1991 corolla wagon, luckily it fit. The battery connectors in the tercel are also hooped so I had to hold them on tightly while my wife started the car. Then she had to get some momentum to get up the little hill going into the garage, barely made it with me also pushing. But it's in now, and the fatal flaw inspections can begin. Basically just going to look for life-ending frame rust, do a compression test, and mess around with the clutch adjustment. I'm up for dealing with one or maybe two of those more serious things but am not sure I want to bother if it's going to be one big job after another. Regardless, I'm excited to start and dig into it.

Edit: just checked the compression. 180/180/165/155. The fourth cylinder is lower than I would like but it should be fine for a rusty old beater.
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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 »

G'day David, great to see that you are back in the game! I forgot to ask. do they salt the roads there? I still have my alltrac and its been used in a few TV ads of late which pays about $1,000 a day. So its' paying for itself! most of my time is taken with my Vanagon though these days. Matt
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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Joined: Mon Jul 06, 2009 9:03 pm
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 »

Hey Matt. Salt isn't used on the roads here as much as it used to be, but this car is so rusty that I think it must have spent part of its life somewhere they use LOTS of salt, of which there are plenty in BC. I don't mind, as long as the frame is good I just consider it character.
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Nordical25
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Joined: Tue Feb 08, 2022 11:49 pm
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 »

Great that you have started checks and frame rust check is a very good point.

Do you do rust proofing to car frames in areas where they use a lot of salt? They can help even if there is starting rust inside frame by stopping or delaying it.
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dlb
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Joined: Mon Jul 06, 2009 9:03 pm
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've been picking away at this as time permits. I did a preliminary clean of the interior, got both of the driver side doors working (got the passenger ones open but the exterior latches are still sticking), fixed the driver's door window (glass had come out of channel and was loose in door), lubed all the window mechanisms, and started removing stuff in order to drop the transmission. If all goes well I should have the trans off tomorrow and will know if it's oil contamination or a bad pressure plate causing my clutch problem.

Of course, along the way I've found lots of little things that need attention eventually too: passenger side park brake cable needs to be replaced, distributor o-ring leaking like a sieve, torn steering rack boot, both diaphragms on the vacuum advance unit are busted, etc. All fun things I look forward to getting to eventually.

I also discovered some happy surprises along the way too: despite being rusted right out, there car still has a lot of things that haven't usually survived 40 years. It still has the engine splash guard, still has the cargo cover (although the carpet material needs to be replaced), the driver window regulator is in perfect shape. And the trans was topped right up with gear oil, which makes me very happy. The previous owners must have looked after it pretty well.

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Nordical25
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Joined: Tue Feb 08, 2022 11:49 pm
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 »

It is really great to hear that your Tercel has been taken good care of because it makes revival a lot easier for sure.

I have never had in any Tercel cargo cover nor side pockets left in Tercels I bought so I had to search them for many years. So you are definitely a lucky Tercel 4wd owner right now.
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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 got the transmission out, many thanks to xirdneh for his trans removal write-up that got me through this so easily. The only hiccups were some rusted screws that fasten the shifter trim in the interior, and I couldn't remove the input shaft until after the trans was out but neither was that big a deal.

For the rusted screws, I used these stupid "speed out" tools that I'm still convinced are junk. I've tried them numerous times before and this is the first time they worked (on 2 of the 3 screws, anyway) but it took many attempts before they finally bit in. Anyone else have any experience with them?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfS6zQtsqQ8

Now to the clutch, which is the whole reason I removed the trans. I don't have enough experience with clutches to tell what looks good and bad, but it wasn't oil contaminated so that's not the problem. The surfaces of the pressure plate and flywheel that mate with the clutch disc look burnt to me, lots of spots and stuff on them. Please give me your input though.
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