Problems with 88 tercel

My freind, who is now 7 months pregnant, just got ripped off on a 88 tercel. I am trying to help her by fixing her car, but sadly i have hit a dead end. The car starts extremly rough. When accelerating at certain points it will jump from lots of power (for a 1.5) to no power, causing the car to jump around violently. This makes the car dangerous for her to drive esp. because she is just learning how to drive stick shift. I've sprayed down the carb with cleaner, used heet to remove water from feul system, used octane booster. I think it might be a back pressure problem, but please send in all ideas you have. Thanks Shawn

Also rebuilt tranny just put in before us owning it!!!

hey man listen, I have that same car and it was doing the same thing(except mine is automatic) first off don't waste your time with that factory Aisan carb its crap you can head down to an auto parts shop and buy a 32/36 weber carb(this will run you for about $300) with a spacer so that it can fit the tercel, this is a very low maintenace, reliable and powerful carb it will give you more MPG and power and if you put that on consider buying Bosch 4 electrode spark plugs or it will misfire a lot, that fixed my car and added about 25 HP you might also want to buy a vaccumm gauge so that you set it up properly, you'll be amazed at how much crap you have to take out from the old fuel system about 12 pounds of hoses and sensors and stuff, the only downside to this carb is that you have to warm the car up for like 3 mins in the morning or it will choke but after it's warm it never chokes.
hope that helped
God bless
Braian

When accelerating at certain points it will jump from lots of power (for a 1.5) to no power, causing the car to jump around violently.

Have you tried checking the spark plugs and wires? Also check the coil, rotor, and distributor cap, better yet just replace all of them cause they are all really inexpensive. Good Luck

hey man listen, I have that same car and it was doing the same thing(except mine is automatic) first off don't waste your time with that factory Aisan carb its crap you can head down to an auto parts shop and buy a 32/36 weber carb(this will run you for about $300) with a spacer so that it can fit the tercel, this is a very low maintenace, reliable and powerful carb it will give you more MPG and power and if you put that on consider buying Bosch 4 electrode spark plugs or it will misfire a lot, that fixed my car and added about 25 HP you might also want to buy a vaccumm gauge so that you set it up properly, you'll be amazed at how much crap you have to take out from the old fuel system about 12 pounds of hoses and sensors and stuff, the only downside to this carb is that you have to warm the car up for like 3 mins in the morning or it will choke but after it's warm it never chokes.
hope that helped
God bless
Braian

im very interested in this swap ....

i have a 90 tercel and my mpg is slowly suffering from what it once was... seems i'm dipping into the high 20's around town... pitiful.

what spacer are you referring to and will it bolt to the intake ? ??

that junk they threw on there wasn't worth a dime... and none of the high idle crap even works anymore.

weber 32/26 carb eh ?

reply and give me more details...

hey it's a 32/36 weber since this carb was made to fit a Ford pinto this spacer allows you to use it on your tercel (this carb is also used on mazda b2000's) basically it's a thick piece of die cast metal that fits your tercel on one side and the weber carb on the other it'll take you about one day to do all this but it's definately worth every second but it's very important that you get the 4 electrode plugs and the vaccumm gauge to set it up or it will misfire alot or turn off while idling

I wouldnt recomend 4 electrode plugs. No benefit....overpriced snake oil. Even a set of cheapo copper plugs will out perform a set of platinum plugs (though the copper plugs have a shorter lifespan).

is this still active I just got a 88 tercel for my son It is doing the same thing any part numbers avaiable for the conversion plate and a supplier. Any more info and help would be great

Not sure why you'd want to change all that out when driveability would be nearly as bad.

Check the ignition timing, cap, rotor, plugs, and wires. I've found that even just scraping off any thick built up oxidation on the cap's inside electrodes can noticeably improve idle and performance.

Check the vacuum hoses for cracks, loose clamps, or dangling dead-ends. Also check for intake leaks using a carb cleaner or similar while the engine is running. The engine stumbles when you've sprayed a part that is leaking.

Check the fuel pressure and fuel filter. 20 years is a long time to go between filter replacements. Not a typical culprit, and one of the more expensive options, but good to do.

Check EGR and PCV valves. A plugged or stuck EGR valve is also a common culprit. Cleaning is much preferred over buying one of these expensive items, if possible.

Good luck!