this thread covers FAQ for prospective 4wd tercel buyers and current owners alike, and also a couple rules for using the forum. i will continue to edit and make additions to the FAQ so if anyone has any suggestions, throw them my way. in the event i no longer frequent the forum, direct any suggestions for changing this thread to any of the other current moderators. please don't ask specific repair questions on this thread. direct those questions to the repair questions section of the forum. thanks!
RULES
1) please use the search function here before posting a new thread. there's a good chance someone has already asked your question so dig away. feel free to revive old threads if you have a question that wasn't quite covered in one. if you have difficulty finding results for stuff like "cv" or whatever, check question #20 in the FAQ.
2) please ensure any thread you start is in the appropriate section.
3) please keep the forums clean. refrain from using profanity. any type of discrimination or disrespectful behaviour toward other members will not be tolerated. in a nutshell, consider the forum G-rated.
FAQ
1) how can i thoroughly test a tercel?
2) what should i avoid when buying one?
3) what should i first do to my tercel to keep it healthy?
4) why is it hard to switch into or out of 4wd?
5) what's that clunk that happens when i accelerate/decelerate/shift gears?
6) my tercel won't idle/idles rough/idles high/runs rough/surges/is hard to start/gets lousy mileage/etc. what's up?
7) my tercel won't start/won't idle. what's wrong?
8) there's a growling/grinding/clicking/clunking noise noise coming from one of the wheels. what's wrong?
9) how can i tell if i have a 3.73 or 4.11 front or rear diff?
10) is there a manual online?
11) what lift options are there?
12) what are some easy ways to get more power from the stock engine?
13) which weber carb conversion kit is the right one for 4wd tercels?
14) should i connect any emission or vacuum stuff to my weber?
15) what are the benefits and drawbacks of upgrading to a weber carb?
16) what engine swaps are possible?
17) when swapping in a 4AC, which 3A parts must be swapped onto the 4AC?
18) does a 4AC head fit on the 3A?
19) how do i upload pics to the forum?
20) why can't i find threads on CV joints or A/C?
1) how can i thoroughly test a tercel?
several ways. first, just look at it. check underneath the car for extreme frame rust or bent/damaged frame. these things are bad and you don't want them. start the car and look for leaks. if it's dripping steadily, that could require anywhere from a little to a lot of work, no way to know without thorough investigation. check for super rusty front and rear wheel wells and the rear hatch, these are the most cancerous areas. none are critical to the functioning of the car but no one should be asking much money for a rust bucket.
take it for a drive and test everything out--all the gears, 4WD, wipers, heater controls, etc. 4WD should only be used on slippery surfaces like mud, gravel, snow, or very wet roads otherwise you might have difficulty switching out of 4WD due to the tires binding. this can also be caused by unequal tire pressure and mismatched tires. read more on this in FAQ question #4. moving on, there are bound to be some clunks when driving. if you are handy with some basic tools, you will easily be able to fix them yourself at no great cost. if you are not handy, you run the risk of getting raked over the coals by mechanic shops who don't want to work on your rusty old POS.
lastly, do a compression test. this will give you an idea of the condition of the piston rings, cylinders, and head. it's easy to do, only takes about 20 minutes, and could keep you from buying a car and then replacing the engine in the next few months. here's how: warm the engine up. remove all the spark plug wires from the spark plugs and then remove all four plugs. make sure the battery is full. thread the compression tester into the first spark plug hole, then get in, hold the throttle wide open, and crank the engine 8-10 times. write the # on the tester down and then move on to the next spark plug hole until all four are done. 160-180 PSI is very good/almost new compression, 140-160 PSI is mid-life, 120-140 PSI should run fine but might lack power and might require a rebuild in the near future, and 0-120 PSI means problems. all four cylinders should be within a 10% range of each other. a significantly higher or lower # indicates a problem with that cylinder. if the #s are generally below 130, dribble about a teaspoon of oil down the spark plug holes and do the compression test again. if the second set of #s is higher, that means the rings and cylinders are worn and a rebuild is in order. if only one or two cylinders are low and the compression doesn't come up after dribbling oil in and retesting, the problem is up in the head and could be a burnt exhaust valve, the valves may need new seats, or you might need a new head gasket. none of these are the end of the world but it's all work that you should take into account when considering buying a car.
2) what should i avoid when buying one?
if you have an aversion to doing much mechanic work yourself, these cars may not be a good investment for you. at 25+ yrs old, they require at least a minimal level of maintenance and paying a shop $85/hr to do that work for you (if you can find a shop willing to work on your old, rusty, carb'd vehicle) will get cost prohibitive very quickly. the vast majority of repairs are easy enough though, so considering the active community on this forum and the factory service manual available through here, no one should be intimidated of learning some wrenching skills on these cars. you just need to be prepared to learn and get your hands dirty now and then. now that that's out of the way, on to the more technical 'what to avoid' points.
anything with the frame rusted right through is the probably the biggest concern. also, these transmissions have not been made since '88 so they are getting increasingly more difficult to find; big transmission problems might dissuade you unless the car is dirt cheap and you have access to a another trans you can swap in. the engines are common though so no worries there.
3) what should i first do to my tercel to keep it healthy?
when you first buy a terc, you should consider doing all the routine stuff--new air and fuel filters, oil change with new filter, new spark plugs, new coolant, maybe new spark plug wires and distributor cap and rotor. you should also think about changing the transmission and diff oils. with years of driving, flakes of metal wear off the gears and as they float around they increase how quickly the trans continues to wear. read the many threads on how to do this, it isn't hard but it's very important to the life of your tercel's trans. also make sure to inspect all the brake hoses. if you see any cracking or bulging, replace the offending hose ASAP.
another very important item to check is the front sway bar. the ends of the sway bar connect to the control arms and this area is notorious for rusting out. with severe rust damage, the ends can snap, causing the steering to suddenly jerk and throw you into a potentially horrific situation. remove the sway bar and inspect the bushings, the metal tube that slides over the end of the bar, and the condition of the sway bar ends themselves; replace as necessary. here's a thread on how to do remove the front sway bar.
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=7481
4) why is it hard to switch into or out of 4wd?
i lifted this from an old post by GTSSportsCoupe because he explains it really well:
When you are shifting into 4wd, you are effectively locking the input to the front and rear differentials such that they have to turn at exactly the same rate. You have to remember that even before you shift into 4wd, the drive shaft to the rear of the car is already spinning at a certain speed (driven by the wheels), as is the gearing for the front differential. If the front and rear differentials are turning at different rates, it makes it difficult to lock them together (shift into 4wd). To make shifting into 4wd easy, you should have matching tires on the front and rear of your car. These tires should be equally worn so they should have the same outer circumference. The tires should all be at equal pressure. Your car should not be turning; the front wheels should be straightened out. Also, if you have a choice, shift into 4wd on a lower traction surface (ie. not dry pavement). Gravel, snow, wet roads, etc. are easier to shift into 4wd on. If you have tires that are of different outer circumference, a trick to getting into 4wd is to slowly drive forward in your car, stop, put it in reverse and back up slowly. As you backup, put pressure on the 4wd shifter. Within a few feet it should slip in easily. The same method can be used for shifting out of 4wd.
The best thing you can do is have matching tires on your car, and rotate them regularly.
i will add that if i'm having trouble shifting into or out of 4wd, i usually let off the throttle, put it in neutral, and turn the steering wheel back and forth while applying moderate pressure to the 4wd shifter. one of those is usually the problem so it will then shift into or out of 4wd easily after that.
5) what's that clunk that happens when i accelerate/decelerate/shift gears?
shift clunk...often misdiagnosed as a clutch issue, clunking on engaging the clutch and sometimes shifting gears is often in the front end: inner and outer tie rods, ball joints, strut mounts, control arm bushings, CV axles...front end work is actually quite easy with a fairly basic tool set, and cheap if you do it yourself. engine and transmission mounts are also a common culprit of shift clunk.
that being said, the problem might very well be your clutch so you can do petros' clutch test to verify that it is working properly:
"Simple clutch test: rev the engine to 3000 rpm with toe, stand on the brakes with heel and put it in first and let out the clutch, it should stall the engine. IF the engine just bogs down, you need a clutch. Note: do not do this test very often, it is hard on the clutch, trans and drive train; also make sure there is nothing in front of the car to run into."
6) my terc won't idle/idles rough/idles high/runs rough/surges/is hard to start/gets lousy mileage/etc. what's up?
carbs can be intimidating if you're not accustomed to them but they are really bone simple. they bad news is that they can be a little finicky in extreme hot or cold temps but the good news is that most of the time when you encounter a rough idle or whatever, it's usually a quick and easy fix. no matter what your issue is, follow these basic steps to rule out common, simple problems before moving on to more complex things that may actually compound your issues.
1) check for vacuum leaks. vac leaks are by far the most common cause of running issues on carb'd vehicles so be thorough here. make sure all the vacuum hoses are hooked up correctly according to the diagram on the underside of the hood. if that sticker is worn off, look it up in the FSM or on the forum and use that. check the carb mounting nuts and intake manifold bolts to make sure they are snug. inspect the intake manifold for cracks. put a clean vac hose on each diaphragm-operated emission device and suck—you should not be able to suck air through. if you can, plug the hose that goes to that diaphragm until you can replace it (note that on distributor vacuum advance diaphragms with two upper ports, one of said ports must be plugged when you suck or it will just suck air through the open one and give you false results). you can also spray carb cleaner around the carb and intake manifold while the engine is idling and listen for a slight rise in RPM when you spray a particular area. this also indicates a vacuum leak.
2) check all emission components for proper functioning. the most common failure in emission components seems to be the AAP, which is easily replaced, but check all of the stuff. it doesn't take long and the tests are very easy. use the FSM.
3) check carb float level. park the car on level ground, remove the air filter housing, and look at the sight glass on the front of the carb. the fuel level should be between the two points. if it's not, you may need to adjust the float or replace the needle valve and seat.
4) check and adjust ignition timing according to FSM. this is not directly related to the carb but incorrect ignition timing can sometimes cause similar symptoms to various carb problems so it's a good idea to confirm your timing is correct before you start changing any carb settings.
5) check and adjust the idle, fast idle, idle mixture (only if plug is already removed), and throttle positioner according to the FSM specs. these can be fine-tuned to your preferences but the factory specs are a good starting point.
6) if all else fails, rebuild your carb using a kit (about $40) or replace it with a known good one. rebuilding a carb isn't hard, just make sure you have a clean area to work where you won't lose any tiny pieces if you drop them on the floor. taping the small parts to a piece of paper and numbering them according to the steps in the rebuild kit works well to keep things organized. replacing the carb with a good one is even easier: undo the 4 mounting nuts, vacuum hoses, fuel line, and unplug the electrical harness; remove it; put the new one on and hook everything back up. pretty straightforward.
here's my go-to checklist for other things that may cause poor mileage:
low tire pressure
incorrect wheel alignment (for toe in/out wheel alignment, use keith's excellent DIY guide: viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2273)
dragging brakes
extra cargo weight
incorrect ignition timing
dirty air filter
worn dizzy rotor
worn dizzy cap
worn out spark plug wires
worn spark plugs
vacuum leaks
incorrect vacuum routing
choke not wide open once warm
ruptured AAP diaphragm
worn out TVSV (directs vacuum to AAP at all heat ranges)
7) my tercel won't start/won't idle. what's wrong?
this one has some overlap with FAQ #6 but leans more toward difficulty starting whereas #6 leans toward poor running.
the basic premise is that an engine needs air, fuel, and a spark to run. for air, make sure your air filter isn't saturated in mud or oil but also make sure you don't have any vacuum leaks. see FAQ #6 for more on vacuum leaks.
next, fuel: to make sure you're getting fuel from your gas tank to the carb, disconnect the fuel pump from the carb, stick the end in a small container, and get someone to crank the engine and step on the gas pedal. if you get plenty of clean fuel, you can move on. if you don't get much, or any, or if it's gritty and dirty, it could be a bad fuel pump, a clogged filter, or clogged fuel lines. the fuel filter is easy to remove and cheap to replace so take it off and hold it up to a bright light or better yet, cut it open to see what's in it. if it's really rusty, you likely have a rusted gas tank. this can be caused by prolonged sitting without a full tank of gas: condensation builds on the interior walls of the tank and causes rust, which then gets sucked through the fuel lines and can clog them, the filter, and can even gum up the carb in extreme cases. a rusty gas tank can be removed and restored but it's a big job--if you're up for it, this is a really good guide by a VW guy. the same principles apply to all gas tanks.
http://www.ratwell.com/technical/FuelTa ... ation.html
it's likely easier to get a new or good used tank and swap it in. you will also want to disconnect the fuel lines from the tank and fuel pump and blow them out with compressed air to get all the rust and crud out. if after all this you still are not getting much or any fuel from the pump, then replace the pump.
to make sure you have spark, start the car and then disconnect the spark plug wires from their spark plugs, one at a time. DON'T TOUCH THE ENDS OF THE WIRES. hold the ends of the wires a 1/2" from any clean metal surface (like the valve cover) and make sure there is a bright blue spark occurring that makes a loud SNAP regularly. check all the wires like this. if only one or two is firing intermittently or poorly, the wires are likely breaking down; if all of them are acting up, they may all be worn out or there may be a problem elsewhere in the distributor (commonly called a dizzy). either way, replace the wires and if the spark is still weak or intermittent, remove the dizzy. once out, check each component according to the FSM tests and replace as necessary, or just buy a used dizzy and swap it in. they're relatively cheap and reliable used. here are instructions on how to remove/install the dizzy:
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=7664#p56030
8) there's a growling/grinding/clicking/clunking noise noise coming from one of the wheels. what's wrong?
growling/grinding sounds coming from a wheel are usually worn bearings and clicking/clunking sounds are usually worn CV joints. there are only CV joints on the front wheels of 4WD tercels so keep that in mind. another way to help figure out which side of the car the offending sound is coming from is by listening for when the sound gets louder or worse: if it gets louder or worse when you turn left, the bad bearing or CV is on the right side, and vice versa. you can also check the rubber accordion-looking boots on the CV joints for rips. if they are ripped open, dirt has gotten inside and mangled the joint.
CV's are fairly straightforward to replace and there are lots of threads on doing them so use the search function to find them. bearings a bit more of a process but you can use sdoan's bearing replacement guide:
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=5082
keep in mind, as mentioned in one of the replies on that thread, that you can take the hub and new bearing to a machine shop to have the old/new bearings pressed out/in for a fair price. this can save you a lot of frustrating work since using a vice to press bearings in is not ideal.
9) how can i tell if i have a 3.73 or 4.11 front or rear diff?
the manual transmissions of these cars had a 3.73:1 gear ratio for the '83-'84 models and 4.11:1 for '85-'88. if you are replacing your trans or front or rear diff, you need to confirm the ratios currently in your car and in the trans or diff you want to put in. if the ratios do not match, it will cause the trans and diffs to bind and make the car undriveable.
to confirm gear ratios, you must remove the front or rear diff covers and count the teeth on the pinion gear (the small gear). 10 teeth = 4.11, 11 teeth = 3.73. some diffs have a stamp on the gear to indicate the ratio but not all.
the same method applies to auto transmissions and their diffs but we aren't yet positive of what gear ratios they use, and which years use them, so just count the pinion gear teeth and make sure they match.
it should be noted that the transmission itself can be swapped between the different diffs, regardless of gear ratio. so if your transmission is trashed but your front diff is fine, you can get a trans from any year of 4wd tercel, swap your old diff onto it, and throw it in your car. it is only the diffs that are year-specific, while the transmissions are not. this simplifies your search if, say, you have lost the use of certain gears but the diff is fine.
10) is there a manual online?
yup. it's right here:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=8103
11) what lift options are there?
there are a few front lift options known of at this time. the simplest is to get new springs for a tercel with A/C (these springs are a bit stiffer) and add a spacer between the strut mount and the body. the stock studs on the strut mount will need to be replaced with longer ones to accommodate the spacer. don't go much higher than 1" or so without lowering the trans or else you will eat through your CVs quite quickly due to the extreme angle. the other front lift which forum member synthdesign has come up with is strut springs from a corolla all-trac and AW11 MR2 strut inserts. synth took me for a ride in his car with this lift and it felt great. he said it felt too stiff for the first few weeks but then seemed to settle in.
for the rear, most people have gone with springs from an '85-'95 nissan pathfinder and shocks from an 1980 ford thunderbird. the lower shock bushing from the tercel must be swapped into the thunderbird shock. it was originally believed that the rear sway bar and rearmost park brake cable mounts needed to be deleted for this lift but a few forum members have since confirmed that this is not the case. instead, they only need to be removed during installation of the new springs and shocks, and can be reinstalled afterward.
12) what are some easy ways to get more power from the stock engine?
the cheapest, easiest mods that have modest gains are advancing the timing to 10 deg BTDC, replacing the cam shaft with a performance regrind, switching to a 32/36 weber carb (not recommended if you are in california due to pollution laws), switching to a 2" diameter exhaust system, swapping to a 4AC engine, pulling the head and resurfacing, porting, and polishing it...there are lots of threads on all these things on the forum already so just use the 'search' function to find them.
13) which weber carb conversion kit is the right one for 4wd tercels?
the k740 kit is the correct one for both the 3a and 4ac engines. it includes a 32/36 DGEV electric choke weber and an adapter plate to fit it to the 3a/4a manifold. you will need the short air filter and even then, you will still probably need to delete the phenolic spacer from below the carb to make everything fit under the hood. some have got it to fit without removing the spacer so you will just have to try for yourself. again, lots of threads and guides on this so search for them.
14) should i connect any emission or vacuum stuff to my weber?
there are a few approaches to this. the weber can certainly be run with no emission or vacuum stuff but you will experience improved fuel economy and less emissions and gasoline fumes with just four simple hoses so that's what i recommend.
first though, it is important to note that you should plug the port on the advance unit circled in blue in the pic below because it will not be used. next, stick a hose on the other two ports and suck to confirm whether they are still good. if you can suck air through, that diaphragm is ruptured, and that's bad. all hoses going to ruptured diaphragms should be removed and the ports plugged until the unit can be replaced. if the diaphragms hold vacuum, all is well and you can proceed.
1) PCV to intake manifold - how this one is routed depends on whether your weber fits under your hood with the phenolic spacer underneath the weber's adapter plate. if you still have your spacer, leave it set up as it was with the stock carb. if you have to delete the spacer, you will have to make a new port where the EGR used to sit. this new port is shown in the first pic below circled in green, courtesy of splatterdog. this one recirculates crankcase gases into the manifold to be burned off in the combustion chambers.
2) manifold vacuum to upper advance unit port with larger hole - the manifold vacuum ports are also shown in the first pic, circled in purple. this should be connected to the advance unit port in the second pic that is circled in yellow (the advance unit is found at the bottom of the distributor). this one advances the timing 8* at idle and highway cruising for improved fuel economy.
3) weber's vacuum advance port to lower advance unit port - the weber's vacuum advance port is marked in the third pic below. the lower advance unit port is in the second pic, circled in red. this connection advances the timing 13* during highway cruising to improve fuel economy.
4) charcoal can to weber's EGR port - the purge port of the charcoal can should be connected to the EGR port of the weber, marked in the third pic. besides the line coming into the charcoal canister from the fuel tank, all other ports should be capped. the charcoal can stores gasoline vapors until vacuum in the carb draws them out during cruising conditions.
15) what are the benefits and drawbacks of upgrading to a weber carb?
the weber 32/36 DGEV is nice in that it's relatively cheap (at least if you're in the US), it yields noticeably more power, and does not use most of the vacuum systems that can be difficult for newcomers to troubleshoot. some find it gets better mileage than the stock aisin carb.
however, due to the lack of cold running components, the weber tends to ice up in cold, humid climates after about 5 minutes of running. this means stalling on idle, maybe some minor hesitation while driving. it's pretty minor and goes away after another 5 minutes of running but it can be annoying. also, some people have reported terrible mileage and rough running with the stock jets. many people have found that the phenolic spacer must be deleted from between the manifold and weber adapter to allow the air filter to clear the tercel's hood. splatterdog came up with a nifty mod to accommodate this, shown 3 pics up and circled in green. the weber will not pass california emissions testing.
16) what engine swaps are possible?
the easiest engine swap is a 4ac. it is a modest gain, as it is only .1 L (aka 100 cc's) bigger than the stock 3a engine, but anything is better than the puny 62-hp these cars came with. the 4a is a direct bolt-in so no mods required. see the list in question 14 that covers which components must be swapped from the 3a on to the 4a.
the more powerful and EFI'd 4age and 4afe engines can be made to fit in the tercel but it takes a ton of work. this swap is not for novices. forum member larry mcgrath has probably the most comprehensive thread on on the 4age swap. it can be found here:
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=7576
another member, cathoderaytube, has been working on a diesel engine swap using toyota's 1nt. here is that thread:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=5475
someone once posted a pic of a 4wd tercel with a rotary engine from an rx-7 or something like that but we have no other documentation of it or any other crazy swaps. and no, a 22re will not fit. it's too tall. that being said, one can make anything work with enough time and money but for the average cat looking to swap an engine in, no.
also keep in mind that the transmission and diffs of the 4wd tercel are small and not designed to handle mountains of hp. if you do a big powerful swap and drive it like a sports car, you'll trash the trans and diff in short order.
17) when swapping in a 4AC, which 3A parts must be swapped onto the 4AC?
everything that hangs off the block, head, and valve cover must be swapped from the 3A on to a 4AC engine if it is to fit in a 4wd tercel. this includes (but may not be limited to) the water pump, fuel pump, intake and exhaust manifolds, engine mounts, timing belt cover, flywheel, starter, alternator and bracket, power steering pump, distributor, oil pan, and oil pickup tube.
18) does a 4AC head fit on the 3A?
yes, but some 3A/4A heads and valve covers have a 'wavy' design that does not match most other 3A/4A's so keep them paired up appropriately.
19) how do i post pics on the forum?
here's i do it.
1) create an account on a site that hosts photos like photobucket or flickr and upload your pics to it.
2) copy the 'direct' code for the picture you want to post.
3) make a forum post and hit the 'Img' button to bring up these things:
4) paste the code between those two 'img' things. done!
pics can also be uploaded directly onto this forums server. i personally don't like this method since we have changed servers before and lost all the pics that were stored on those old servers but it is another option and lots of people here still prefer it.
1) start a thread or click on 'post reply.'
2) click on the 'upload attachment' tab, found below the save draft, preview, and submit buttons.
3) select your pic, click 'add the file', and continue with the post. you can add comments for each pic.
20) why can't i find threads on CV joints or A/C?
because the search function on the forum doesn't recognize abbreviations like that. sucks but here's an alternative method that works well to find those abbreviations and other unrecognized terms.
