1994 Corolla - New Owner!

[xxknight48xx]

I just bought a 94 Corolla for a daily driver. I paid $1k and it has 85k miles on the clock. Runs great and I know the history of the car and it has been well cared for. It just recently had new tires, new valve gaskets and a new radiator installed so I feel the price was pretty fair. The Corolla is a 1.6 l 4 cylinder with the 3 speed automatic and shifts like butter ( knock on wood !). I drive 150 miles 5 x a week for work and it was killing me to put that many miles on my 2012 WRX ( 29k in ~9 months). The car was depreciating in value faster then I could pay it off!

Whenever I get a new car I always join the forums to see what I can learn and for when I need any help.

As it sits right now that car runs fine, but when I make left turns it likes to rattle a bit so tomorrow I'm going to inspect the motor mounts.

I look forward to talking to some of you! Have a great day!

 

[Donabed Kopoian]

Really low miles for that year! Sounds like $1k is a good score.

Welcome to the forum!

 

[Scott O'Kashan]

Welcome to the Corolla Forum! :thumbsup::clap::thumbup::thumbup1::balloon: :rockon:

 

[Scott O'Kashan]

You scored a deal with that Corolla. The Kelly Blue Book price for that car is around $2,000 and you paid half that. How did you pull that one off?

http://www.kbb.com/toyota/corolla/1...=85000&category=sedan&pricetype=private-party

As for the rattling noises, I doubt it's a motor mount. To verify, pop the hood and have a helper start the car as you closely watch the engine. Have your helper then shift the transmission into Drive, give the car some gas and if the engine moves around more than an 1/2" an inch or so, there could be a worn motor mount. Do the same shifting the car into Reverse. If the engine seems very secure and isn't moving around much, the motor mounts are fine.

 

[xxknight48xx]

You scored a deal with that Corolla. The Kelly Blue Book price for that car is around $2,000 and you paid half that. How did you pull that one off?

http://www.kbb.com/toyota/corolla/1...=85000&category=sedan&pricetype=private-party

As for the rattling noises, I doubt it's a motor mount. To verify, pop the hood and have a helper start the car as you closely watch the engine. Have your helper then shift the transmission into Drive, give the car some gas and if the engine moves around more than an 1/2" an inch or so, there could be a worn motor mount. Do the same shifting the car into Reverse. If the engine seems very secure and isn't moving around much, the motor mounts are fine.

The car belonged to a family friend that was leaving for the military and she just wanted to get rid of it. I still have yet to register it but I have been cleaning the motor out since i got it. Cleaned the throttle body and seafoamed the vacuum lines just a bit.

I think the rattling is actually the ball joints. It only happens when the car leans in turns. When you let off the gas it likes to click a bit so thats why i thought it was a motor mount, I havent had a chance to life it up yet and do a full inspection.

 

[Scott O'Kashan]

If a ball joint were causing that noise, that means it's about to fall out of the car and driving it would be very dangerous. In my 30 year career in the automotive industry, I've never witnessed a ball joint make such a noise. When they make any noises at all, it's a creaking, metal-on-metal noise.

If this rattling noise could also be described as a clicking sound, it could very well be a CV joint going bad. Does it make the same sound turning left and right?

 

[Donabed Kopoian]

I'm leaning toward a CV joint as well. Those commonly click when they are worn.

 

[IFMJohn]

I third the cv joint.

 

[xxknight48xx]

I havent driven it a whole lot yet and I dont plan on it until its fixed. Thanks for the heads up about the CV joint, I need to look into both of those things.

So today I went to the local scrap yard and got a Dash Cluster out of a 93 corolla but it was a higher model tan mine ( power windows and locks and mirrors) The cluster in my car has no tachometer and the one i bought HAS one. I went to another wrecked corolla and pulled the cluster out of that one( same as my current one) and plugged the "fancy" one in and all the harnesses match and plug right in.

Is it as easy as plugging it in on my Corolla and that tachometer needle will work ( given the cluster is good)? Only paid $12 for it so its not real big loss. I also bought some new ac vents cause mine are really brittle.

 

[Scott O'Kashan]

Good snag on the gauge cluster.

How are you going to get the correct odometer reading though? I've read that must be completed by a certified, licensed, technician.

 

[Scott O'Kashan]

To diagnose a bad CV joint, first look at the CV boots and see if they are ripped and leaking grease.

In a clear, open parking lot, drive your car in circles, back and forth, left and right. Accelerate a bit while turning and if while turning right you hear a clicking noise from the left front, this can indicate the left CV joint is failing. Turning left and hearing a clicking noise, this can indicate the right CV joint is failing.

But diagnose, diagnose, diagnose. Make sure the clicking noise you are hearing is really coming from the CV joint before you go replacing a CV joint/axle shaft and still have the clicking noise afterwards.

 

[IFMJohn]

Good snag on the gauge cluster.

How are you going to get the correct odometer reading though? I've read that must be completed by a certified, licensed, technician.

In my 9th gen corolla, our odometers stop at 299,999. When you swap a new cluster in the odometer continues at whatever the cluster is at. I'd wager to guess that the older corollas are the same way.

Most new vehicles use a control module to store the odometer reading and can only be edited by the factory.

 

[xxknight48xx]

Okay so I had some time to jack the car up and get the weight off the suspension. It turns out that the Tie Rod end on the driver side is shot. It wobbles back and forth when the car is in the air. So I lowered it and drove around and i made some tight turns at low speeds and medium speeds. I did the circles forward and reverse as Scott had suggested and it only vibrated and shook when the car leaned to the right ( turning left) when the weight came off the driver side.

So I'm pretty happy its not an axle issue and that its just a tie rod.

Im trying to upload a video to photobucket but its being a pain in the ass so I will post it later.





And here is some pictures of the car in general because I didn't post any earlier.

 

[Donabed Kopoian]

Tie Rods aren't that bad (the outer ones anyway, the inner ones are a PITA on FWD vehicles).

When you go to replace the outer tie-rod ends, before putting the new one on, grab the inner tie-rod and tug on it in and out. If there is play there, those need to be replaced as well. A new inner tie-rod will stick straight out and stay there, while a worn one will let gravity pull it down right away.

 

[Scott O'Kashan]

When you replace tie rod ends, be sure to have a four-wheel alignment done right away or the tires can wear out very quickly from the alignment being out of specification.

Also, I strongly recommend avoiding cheap, low quality made in China parts, especially with a part as important as a tie rod any or any suspension component. Your very life is counting on those parts and this is not the place to be cutting costs. Moog and TRW make excellent suspension and steering parts.

 

[xxknight48xx]

Little bit of a late update,

The Corolla sat at a friends house for the last two months, as I have been in the process of moving out and travelling for work. The tie rod ends were replaced a few weeks ago and I just got the alignment done.

This car is AWESOME. It rides so smooth and feels like a new car right now.

Unfortunately, the aftermarket radio has stopped working and the gauge cluster swap was a bust! The speed-o still wont function properly, I even took the cluster apart to look at it and everything seems fine, so I have boiled the issue down to the cable
( if there is one?).

I also believe the rear shocks are bad, but that's nothing I can't handle.

So all in all, even though I drive a 2012 WRX as my fun car, this little corolla is still something to appreciate and I'm very happy that I own it!

 

[Donabed Kopoian]

Sucks about the radio, but there are decent cheap ones now.

Your car is electric and there is a part for the vehicle speed sensor. I'd look at the sensor for physical damage and check the wiring around that area to see if any insulation is worn. After 20 years, wiring insulation can start to deteriorate, especially if anything hot is nearby.

 

[xxknight48xx]

Little bit of an update, I know its been a while. I moved out of my house so I havent really had time to mess with the Corolla that much.

I FINALLY GOT IT REGISTERED! Woo!

So far its been great, I substituted the radio for a small blue tooth speaker just to play some tunes for now.

I just got a new speed sensor but I have yet to put it in the car yet.

I am so surprised with this little car, I put 5 gallons of gas in it and drove about 160 miles until I had fill it up ( which only cost me $22 to fill it up!).

I took the throttle body apart and cleaned it up really well and added some fuel cleaner to the tank as well as seafoamed the vacuum lines.

My father asked me the other day if I had driven it yet and I excitedly told him everything about the car that I had been doing. He was actually surprised that I am this excited about this little car haha!

 

[xxknight48xx]

Finally figured out what was causing the horrible vibrations. The ball joint on the passenger side was bad so I replaced it a few weeks ago. Also, since then I have replaced the spark plugs, the leads, all 4 shocks, all the brakes and all the filters.