I'm new here and my Tercel needs some help running good

[SRfive]

Hello everyone. I'm a new tercel owner and I don't know much about these cars. Just picked up my 83 SR5 from a guy down the street for $400. Has over 280k miles. It ran decent when I test drove it and he was the only owner with many records. Most recent records are from around 200k-225k miles. I could tell this car had some problems and I had the battery and alternator checked and they both needed replacing. Got both of those things done for around $200. Still needs some gas to start it up and keep it running in the mornings so I'm wondering what else needs to be checked? I also ran some seafoam in the fuel tank, changed the oil and got a new air filter. Spark plugs and wires look fine to me.

Any need to know things I should do? I'm not too familiar with carb engines so I'm sure that needs some tinkering. Just need some tips to get me started.

Thanks guys!

[toughtercel]

first question you need to ask previous owner , how long the car been sitting and when last ran the motor or driven and the service record paper check the date when last done , i asked but some people dont tell the truth , first thing i can tell by cold chock linkage , when pump on gas panel only once , start the car if motor goes brrrrrrrr to 2,000 RPM right away that good if not then carbuator are sticky and gum up , better clean the linkage with brake clean because non-flamable stuff and air blow away , but first cover top of carbuator and remove throter cable off the carbuator so you can play the linkage , check or replace spark plug/rotor/dis. cap is a good idea, if you not sure about old fashioned carbuator then hmmmm you better find some one to help you by local

[takza]

Need to check that the choke is closing OK when cold...and that you are "setting" it right?

[Highlander]

Fuel filter...It can't run without enough fuel. They can get gummed up when they sit

[Petros]

Welcome, it sound like you got a great buy on the car, even needing repairs. However, owning a car with that many miles on it, even a Toyota, means you will have to learn to do your own maintenance or it will be unaffordable to own. There is always small, and not so small, things that need attention on an old car, using a repair shop for your maintenance will cost you so much it would be cheaper to buy a new car and make monthly payments.

But that is why forums like this exist, we can walk you through just about anything you will need to do . And replacing everything as you go with a long term view of keeping it in top condition will still make this car a great, reliable and economical little 4wd wagon to own and drive. You will learn a lot along the way, and become more self sufficient too.

As far as the carb, the most common problem is vacuum leaks usually in the miles of vac lines running everywhere, or sometimes leaks the vacuum operated equipment. A minor leak will not stop it from starting or running, but it can make it idle high, hesitate, and get poor economy and peak power. After a careful visual examination of the all the hoses and connections (with the air filter housing removed, look for loose lines, cracks or breaks in the lines) you can use propane or carb cleaner spray to find the leak. With the engine running spray carb cleaner (or using a propane torch spray raw propane) at various spots on the vac lines and components. When the engine speed changes you found the place of the leak. Remember to also check the vac advance on the distributor, if it leaks just disconnect the line and plug it (it does not work any away). To restore the fuel economy w/o the vac advance just set the timing to 12 deg BTDC.

Check for vac leaks and report back what you find.

Good luck.

[SRfive]

checked out the vac lines and they all seem to be good, the car is only hard to start when it sits over night, but once I get her going she drives fine and starts up with just a little gas on the pedal. I'm a little hesitant to work on the carb because I know nothing about them so I'll look around for some local help. I'll keep you guys updated on any news. Thanks for the replies!

[toughtercel]

hi , sorry to repeat ,definitely automantic choke , it hard to explain in english , remove the air clean away from the motor , look at back of the CARB which facing toward firewall , there a black round plastic is the choke ,only on cold motor ,put your hand on the throtler where the cable attach , watch closely turn the throtler once, at same time you should see the cold choke linkage move quickly to close the valve on top of CARB , if slow montion then that a problem "sticky in the shaft" and NEWS TO YOU ALL GUY THAT , THE "SCREW" WHICH HOLD " FAST IDLE CAM" that particular screw have little "chrome" that fade away and also wear out the shaft on sideway cause lots of crap in the hole where the screw goes , only place you find extra screw, is find another used motor laying around some where , i have not check if they sale new one, proberly not ,

[shonuffisthemaster]

there is also a factory repair manual in PDF in there, its quite handy and has a section with many pictures on how to properly adjust the carb, the first thing to do is that I would say. adjusting them is not that hard, if you need to re-build them though I think most people would just suggest putting a weber on instead