More questions about my Toyota Tercel Wagon...

My Tercel had that problem as well. The guy who gave it to me wired in one of those big white 'horn buttons' that worked all the time. When I got the car the regular horn button worked like you said. If I was driving along in an area where there was nothing around (common here im Mass) I would blow the horn a few times, and it was hit or miss. When I finally took it for inspection (I was running it on a Dealer plate) the horn worked, and worked fine from then on...

That's because he wants to rebuild it again. There is pressure in a trans when it's running, and overfilling can cause the seals to blow. There is a drain plug on this, drain some out until it is at the proper level.

Er, you are running the engine at idle, with the transmission warmed up and the lever in Neutral when you check the fluid, right?

Bushings control ride and the amount of harshness you feel through the wheel, and have as much to do with ride comfort as shocks. I need bushings on my Supra and my Mazda. I think it's easier to swap out suspensions components. People have told me it's harder than HELL to press in bushings!

Interesting...in 1999 I put a new Toyota battery in my '85 Corolla. In

2001 I parked the car, and have only driven a few times since. I needed a battery for my Mazda, and it was the same model as the Corolla battery. I yanked it, charged it and it has been running flawlessly since. That was December 2006.

84-94 Tercels use MacPherson Struts. It's similar to the Camry setup and the only structural rubber is the upper mount. So not sure when you mention "bushings" of the front struts. Maybe strut bellow that keeps out dirt? Or strut bumper that prevents the strut from impacting the upper spring seat? Because a mount alone for a Tercel costs about $50 and that's online discount price.

See:

ATF should be between high and low hot marks when checked with the engine hot and running. At most 1/4" above in hot temp but 3"? (!) Maybe it's ok, but maybe you need to get a new mechanic?

Batteries do have sulfate build up and lose capacity after normal use or storage. 6 months without a battery maintainer I'd say it's done, that's why you should check the production date for a "fresh" battery. Hachiroku's mileage obviously varies.

Buy a fresh battery, 6mo or less:

I get new batteries every 5 years or so to help lengthen the service life of alternators because an alternator will work hard to charge a weak battery and burn out sooner. Johnson Controls (JCI) are good batteries (Walmart, Autozone, Toyota gave awards to JCI) but I prefer AC Delco's maintenance free if you can find them. Costs $30 more but a much better battery IMO.

If the horn does not work when the steering wheel is adjusted downward, one or more wires in the steering column is probably damaged or has a loose connection. Besides sanding the contacts in the steering wheel, a little dielectric grease would help.

I forget exactly where the horn is, but the easy way to find it is to have someone depress the horn button while you look under the hood. It is probably either in front of the radiator somewhere or back near the firewall on the passenger side.

Drain the excess fluid and find another source of transmission advice.

"Easy" is a relative term. Something that is easy for someone who is familiar with the parts of the suspension nand how they work might find it easy, while someone who is not familiar with how a suspension works and which parts are under load and which parts are not would probably have a difficult time.

I'm not sure which bushings you are talking about, but to change strut bushings, you probably need to remove the entire front strut assembly, use a strut spring compressor to remove the strut, then replace the bushing. This is more than an $80 job.

If you are talking about a front sway bar bushing, all you have to do is remove the bushing retainer, pull the old bushing off, and reverse the process.

Yes, batteries go bad if you do not charge them because they become sulfated and lose their ability to hold a charge. After 3 or 4 years of sitting around, the battery is probably bad. The batteries do lose their charge in stores before they are installed, but battery vendors come in to rotate stock, and take batteries that have been sitting around for a while back to their facility to top off the charge and replace the date stickers.