HA HA I bought a beater got some ?'s for you hoda folks

We may earn a small commission from affiliate links and paid advertisements. Terms

Doc_G

Rude, Lewd, usually Nude
Hey folks, some of you know me from my jokes thread, some of you dont. I know absolutely jack shit about fwd other than when something needs fixing the space I have to stick one of these bear paws in to acces the nut to remove it is about 3 sizes too small. I know how the engine works, I just dont know much about them as a whole as far as any type of perfomance upgrade, or the best parts to use etc. etc. Thats where I pick your brains, and if at any time you need any info or help (if you live close enough) with a mustang, camaro, hell even an old school vette I'm your man.:cool:

Now that we've got that out of the way I feel I must inform you folks I recently (as in yesterday) purchased a base model '93 toyota tercel. Its a 4 speed w/a 4 cyl (duuuh) and it has a few small quirks. I realize this is a HONDA forums but as I dont know anyone on a toyota forums (nor am I a member of one) I figure this is as good a place to ask as any. This car was purchased w/the intent of being a DD gas saver (since my Durango sucks gas down like no body's business) and to be honest I like the little car. It needs LOTS of tlc, and the paint is faded all over. It burns a little oil (bout a qt ever 600-700 miles) and has an oil leak somewhere on the engine but untill I clean the engine up a bit I cant tell from where. My question: Is there somewhere I should be looking specificly for the oil leak i.e. is there a seal thats prone to leak like a mofo, or what not. Also head removal is it as straight forward as it appears to be? (just some hose removal, some bolts and what not) The reason I ask is because I believe the valve seals to be leaking (it smokes on start up but after warming up its clear as can be) So I need to yank it off and take a gander.

Any help you guys can render would be greatly appreciated.:ph34r:

looks similar to this but not quite as nice a paint job:

38e2_20.JPG


3a76_20.JPG


3a9e_20.JPG
 
not sure about tercels, but most motors you want to look at oil pan gasket and valve cover gasket
hondas also have a problem with their distributors leaking oil when the o-ring goes bad

go to the car wash and clean the bay and then try to get a better idea
unless its seeping between the head and the block those are really the only places it could be coming from that i can think of off the top of my head

head removal/burning oil
head removal can get expensive, if you pull the head you should prob have the valves recut to stock at a machine shop, prob about 100 bucks if you have it disassembled
have the machine shop check the head for any warping, and have them check the valve guides
head gasket set will run you maybe 80-150?

depending on timing belt vs chain you will probably want to replace the belt/tensioner/water pump while you're in there
if its a chain you'll want to do guides and the tensioner as well as the chain

or you could just run synthetic oil
synthetic doesn't smoke on start up :)
 
Oh god, I'm not putting any input on the original topic.

BUT, I was about 14 and my buddy and this girl stole one of those in the poconos and drove it to Florida with $327 bucks. With our nicotine and alcohol habits we surprisingly made it to Florida on that little bit of cash, crashing in the car on the way. Well, we made it to Jacksonville and Jacksonville Juvenile Correctional Facility.

I hated that car with a passion though, even at 14. Good luck with it. :)
 
pffft... I bought it solely for the purpose of driving it back and forth to work. This thing has had a hard life.. but I can get in it and start it up just like that. Thing uses NO gas.... Im not so much worried about the burning oil thing as I am the leak. The burning oil is pretty much located problem wise... the leaking oil is what worries me.
 
600.

The thing runs like a champ... has new struts all the way around, newish clutch/throwout bearing.

as stated... its been beaten on most of its life... its ugly but it has potential (but then w/enough money doesnt everything)
 
good buy, lucky you found it before me lol
 
haha thanks I bought it from one of my contractors... He lives in arab.. its about 126miles round trip for him on a daily basis... he makes that trip 2.5-3 times before he has to put another 12 gal's back in the tank. So w/out the tune up and the engine in as bad a shape as it sits.. it still gets 25ish mpg. Beats the hell out of my 17 in the Durango. Where are ya in AL?
 
yeah... its in DIRE need of some tlc... plus one of the front tires is a 185 when the others are 175's. Im SURE that has something to do with it.

anyone got any ideas what engine is in these things?
 
Sorry, I fell asleep. It's 4AFE. Which, when typed with the shift key down, is "$AFE"

That's pretty 3r337.
 
haha thanks I bought it from one of my contractors... He lives in arab.. its about 126miles round trip for him on a daily basis... he makes that trip 2.5-3 times before he has to put another 12 gal's back in the tank. So w/out the tune up and the engine in as bad a shape as it sits.. it still gets 25ish mpg. Beats the hell out of my 17 in the Durango. Where are ya in AL?
im in morgan county right next door to arab
 
im in morgan county right next door to arab

ha well then I practicly stole it from right under your nose... he's had it forsale for a month or so.

Arab Alabamy must be a fun town.

if by fun you mean quiet country living then yeah... it is.

so its a 4AFE is that a "good" motor... a google search didn't return much info for the tercel... It keeps popping up for a camry or a celica... Is this thing even worth trying to get a little more "oomph" out of?
 
No, leave it alone. Let it get good gas mileage for you. The engine is reliable, but it's not remarkable.

If you want remarkable, then the 3SGE swap is the best choice. Turbomirage's friend has built a few with good results.
 
yeah good advice... the gas mileage was the deciding factor.. however.. and I cant even believe Im saying this.. but I did see an m3 body kit that makes that ugly ass little car look pretty sweet. Oh well... yeah.. I'm thinking I'll just give it a good tune up get the oil leak fixed valve seals replaced and leave it at that. (FOR NOW- I can never manage to leave any thing I own un-tinkered with)
 
doesnt that car have a plastic body? if so...god forbid if you hit anything, you dont have to claim any damages on insurance. lol
 
Failure.


my CRX is mostly plastic. the Tercel is completely steel.
 
lol just askin. i had a '93 saturn sl2 back in high school. it got rear ended one time and another i was drunk and hit someone. the frame got all messed up but there was no real visible damage. good times.
 
Back
Top