Very disappointed with Toyota

LOL... good point!

New your are kidding, right ;)

mike

Just wait until the timing belt breaks and see what the cost will be for repairs...replacing bent valves, machining the heads, not to mention all the R&R charges just to get to those parts.

Forgot to mention I was referring to a Honda. Another thing about Honda's...how the power steering rack holding out? Has it started leaking yet? When I worked in a shop years ago, someone would be changing out a Honda rack at least once a week. Most of those customers would purchase a rebuilt rack instead of new to save some bucks. Don't remember parts prices since it's been a while, but seem to remember a rebuilt cost in the $400 to $600 range which the new rack cost around $1200.

Good morning. It would be interesting to know the sequence and time frame of the problems you experienced. Catalytic converters don't typically die, they are murdered. A bad O2 sensor can cause a rich mixture, killing the cat. But generally a check engine light would be triggered in plenty of time to avoid this. How long was the car driven with the check engine light on?

As for the belt, you don't mention which one, but that is unusual for a Toyota. They can go decades and hundreds of thousands of miles on the original belts and hoses, including the timing belt. Case in point, my 4 cyl '91 Camry has 230,000 miles on it's original belts and hoses, except for the alternator belt which was changed about a year ago. My '87 Tercel has all it's original belts and hoses at 115,000 miles. While I agree it is unwise to run timing belts this long or far, unlike your beloved Hondas, these engines will not be turned into scrap metal if one of these belts break.

Lee Richardson Evansville, Indiana

Holy Crtap Lee...you have an '87 with the..um, 3AC, was it, running the Original Timing belt? Are you sure?!

I would bring that thing to the Toyota dealer (or a good mechanic you trust, if you can't do it yourself) and get that belt changed TOMORROW, that is, if you like the Tercel. The 3AC was an Interference engine, and the original Toyota timing belts can lose teeth (and therefore timing) between 100-120,000 miles.

If you like the car, change the belt!

Dude, the guy's crying about an alternator belt. He's gonna go positively bonkers when the timing belt loses a few teeth, jump the cog and smashes the pistons into the valves. Oh, yeah, that's also the sign of a poorly designed engine!

It has NOTHING to do with an owner that doesn't follow the recommendations for replacing wear parts!

Good evening, Yes, it is original. My sister bought the car new, and drove it daily up until about 1999 when they bought a new Lexus. The car sat for a few years until the spring of '95 when I bought it from her for $250 when I learned she had called an automotive recycler to come and get it. The reason I was thinking it was not a valve bender is because when I first got it running there was still some stale gas in the tank. The car started and ran well on the fresh gas I had put in. I took it out on the highway for about 30 miles, came home, and parked it for about 3 hours. Then my wife and I took it out for a short drive that evening, including a short stop and restart at the local Dairy Queen, and I then parked it over night.

When I came out and cranked it the next morning. it would not start, and the starter spun it like it had no compression. I felt for sure the old timing belt had given up, and I had just lucked out by having it strip right there in the driveway. So I removed the top belt cover. But I could see no missing teeth on the belt, in fact it looked great and the timing marks lined up. It turns out the old varnished fuel had all the valves (12 of them on this little 4 cyl. jewel) had stuck open in their guides. They were stuck -fully- open. When the lobes passed over the followers as the engine was cranked they did not move at all. So I felt it was a non interference type engine, like in the Camry. I spent the next week getting them freed up without removing the head. I removed the tank and took it to the radiator shop so that they could clean it out. I replaced the fuel filter and it has run well up until now. I did have to replace front brake pads, two front tires, and the clutch master and slave cylinders. Replaced the steering wheel and radio for cosmetic/enjoyment reasons, and added a tachometer. Other than the above, all it has needed is gas and oil, and not much of either of those. 5th gear is gone, but that has not hurt us much. When 5th was working it would get over 40 mpg, now it gets about 32 on the highway.

But now you have got me worried. I don't know what the engine's designation, it is a 1500cc with 3 valves per cylinder, variable venturi carb, power steering, and air conditioning installed by the dealer at time of purchase.. I'd hate to kill the little dude prematurely.

Thanks, Lee Richardson

Well...Look what I found!

Are you good with a wrench? If you haven't done this before, it's about

3-4 hours. A *GOOD* 3-4 hours. My 'mechanic' friend (he IS an ASE cert. tech) did my '95 after I sold it in about 25 mins, and it was a Twin-Cam. Yours is a Single cam, with one intake and two exhaust, IIRC.

Here's another interesting link, to an Australian model. It has a front-end on it like my Corolla GTS!

It seems to depend on which model you have. According to Gates, the '87 Tercel Sedan and 2 Door had a 3E engine, which is listed as Interference. However, the Wagon has the 3A-C engine, which they say is NOT Interference, but I know from working for a Toyota dealer that it is.

But, I did find this:

Back to top

Toyota

Engine Recommended Interval

1.5L*

(1A-C & 3A-C, 3E & 3E-E) (53)

The * means it is an Interference engine. I wouldn't fool around...if you like the car, change the belt. Soon!

If you look at the new message I posted, from my first month (may have even been my first week here! I'm not an expert, but I sure wouldn't wait!

He'll just call it a junk and said I should have bought a Ford. I used to sell used Fords...I know the kinds of problems they get, too. Hey, BB, replace your Honda after you blow the engine with a Windstar, and make sure it has the 3.8L engine in it. Let us know what happens when you hit about 145,000 miles!

Good morning, Hachi. Thank You very much for that link. That is my engine exactly, mine is a "late 1987" 2 dr sedan body, silver blue paint instead of copper colored, but looks identical otherwise. Mine is a little cleaner in the cam/valve area. Can't get too much more detailed than the work he has put into that webpage. "Good" with a wrench is a relative term, but I have changed several timing belts before, but only one on a Toyota. It was a 1980 Tercel my parents had bought new with the 1-AC engine. It stripped at about

120,000 miles if I remember correctly, but fortuantely did no other damage. It needed a water pump and starter solenoid contacts at about the same time.

Lee Richardson

You're lucky...IIRC that was an Interference engine also! You were either driving slow in town or at a stoplight or something, right?

If you've done timing belts before, you should have no problem. I've never done one, and I' chicken. I'm afraid I'd put it on wrong. If I have a shop do it, they have Insurance, and I get a new engine.

Good morning. Yes, the '80 Tercel was being driven in town when it died. But it was cranked several times after that attempting to restart before I was called to come see what the problem was. In fact, I would guess that most any timing belt failure would go through that same process. That is the major symptom of a timing belt problem, crank with no start. So if it was lucky enough to not be damaged when it quit running, it would be during subsequent starting attempts.

I think if you pay attention to the details of the timing marks, most anyone that does work on their own car and can follow standard safety pricatices like using jack stands could change a timing belt. The only problem point would possibly be getting the crank damper bolt off and retightened sufficiently. Shouldn't be that hard on a manual transmission car, put it in 4th or whatever the direct gear is, have a helper step on the brakes, and loosen or tighten away. It shouldn't be nearly as tight as something like a 455 Oldsmobile where it may be specified at 295 ft. lbs.

Lee Richardson

Thank god the air did not leak out from one of the toyota's crappy tires. hahahahahahahahahaha Toyota tires lol