Hey guys,
Any suggestions or well known "look out for's" when it comes to purchasing a 92-93 AllTrac / Carib?  

I'm a little concerned with the hydraulic ride-height adjustment as I figure this sort of thing might be quite expensive to repair.  Also, any issues with head gaskets, overheating or maybe transmission issues?

Really stoked to find this site, as I didn't have much luck finding other forums or sites with decent info re. these amazing vehicles.  Looking to purchase a Carib from Vancouver in the next month.  If there's other Canucks on this site in Vancouver, any recommendations of mechanics/shops to do a once over on a possible purchase who are familiar with these vehicles?

Thanks guys
Steve

Unfortunately these cars are not too common, so there is not a lot info available for them.  Too bad, it is one of the finest 4wd/awd cars made in my opinion.

Most of the mechanical parts are common to other models so they are usual available, body parts can be unique, so for trim, marker lights, body panels, etc. you will have to look long and hard to find them.  If you live in an area prone to rust, look out for hidden rust in the body, esp. round the tire wells.

  I would make sure the tranny is in good condition, because those are very costly to rebuild, if you can get the parts.  Clutches are not too costly but they are a major job to replace because of the center diff and transfer case built into the transaxle.  the manual says to pull the engine and trans together to change the clutch, but I found it is not necessary (you have to support the rear of the engine from above), and jocky the transaxle out.  An expensive job to have done, not too costly to do yourself.  The shift linkage is often sloppy, but this is a fairly easy fix.  There are some inexpensive plastic parts and rubber bushings that can be replaced to firm up the linkage.

These engines are pretty durable and long lived (remarkably so), the only head gaskets issues I have found are if it was overheated badly.  There are a lot of water hoses to replace (some are hard to reach), if it leaks or the thermostate goes bad (commoen with aftermarket T-stats), you could waste the head gasket (that happened to me) if you blow a $2 length of 5 mm hose.  If the hoses and t-state have not recently been replaced, I would replace them all, same true with the oil cooler lines, you can trash an engine if you rupture one of the oil line.  NOTE, use the correct hose, oil line and water lines are not the same, they are formulated differently so the different chemicals do not dissolve the rubber.  Also inspect the radiator for age and condition, most have been replaced by now, but mine was original and full of leaks, fortunately I found a used one cheap.

Timing belt is an important issue, and the water pump.  Neither are costly, but because of the transverse installation a bit of a pain to replace.  

Check compression, mine had a lot of miles and both the valves and rings were shot (if you pull the oil filler cap while it is running it will give you an idea of the amount blow-by pressure), so I expected to rebuild the engine.  If you buy it cheap enough you can replace the rings and bearings without even pulling the engine from the car since you can drop the pan.

So inspect the hoses, inspect for rust, determine the condition of the trans, find out when the timing belt and water pump were last changed, do a compression check, and watch for clunking in the drive train or suspension.

Good luck.  Let us know what you find.

To be honest with you ... Except for the small problem of possible rust (tail gate or exhaust pipe rust) ... there is not much things to worry.

There are also hydraulic ride-height adjustment which has not been available in North America ... then there must be enormous problem of replacement if it breaks. Personally, I just, simply, do not use it ... if I, had it.

I am in my second All-trac and I had no concern bought my second with 230 000km ... no concern. I am at 330 000km and exept very few electrical problems (Québec = salt on rod in the winter = few rust around the windshield = few water leak = some moisture in the fuses box) my car does not seem to want to die !

So for a JDM model that must be almost new on all aspects ... I would do the usual check by a good mechanic who knows the Corolla in general and that's it.

On this site, there is a listing for sightings and sales. Check those out. One of the listings is for Outback Imports of YT. http://www.outbackimports.ca/wagons.html.

Most common complaint I've heard of from mechanics is the exhaust manifold leaks..

Quoted from JedzWagn

Most common complaint I've heard of from mechanics is the exhaust manifold leaks..

Yes, and my exhaust manifold is leaking now, but in nearly every car I've ever owned, the exhaust manifold will eventually crack and leak.  Now if I could only get off the bolts to the down tube flange, I'd be able to replace my exhaust manifold . . .

Hey guys, theres also jdmparts.ca if you're looking to buy a Carib, thats where mine came from.

The hydraulic ride adjustment is expensive to repair back to factory working standards, however if you buy a model with hydraulic ride adjust, and it breaks, it doesn't completely ruin your shock absorbers as well. My ride adjustment seals are blown, so if I attempt to use it, it just leaks fluid. However, its not a horribly rough ride, and they still dampen. I had a quote of close to $2000 from a shop that specializes in imports and right hand drives here in Calgary Canada to repair it to factory. However, I had someone give me another quote of about $850 to replace it with similar equipment, and over ride the adjustment switch.

So, if you find a good looking model that has height adjust, don't rule it out because of the height adjust, it won't necessarily affect you at all besides maybe being a useless button later on, kinda like my rear-wiper button right now! haha

Quoted from dylangumby

Hey guys, theres also jdmparts.ca if you're looking to buy a Carib, thats where mine came from.

The hydraulic ride adjustment is expensive to repair back to factory working standards, however if you buy a model with hydraulic ride adjust, and it breaks, it doesn't completely ruin your shock absorbers as well. My ride adjustment seals are blown, so if I attempt to use it, it just leaks fluid. However, its not a horribly rough ride, and they still dampen. I had a quote of close to $2000 from a shop that specializes in imports and right hand drives here in Calgary Canada to repair it to factory. However, I had someone give me another quote of about $850 to replace it with similar equipment, and over ride the adjustment switch.

So, if you find a good looking model that has height adjust, don't rule it out because of the height adjust, it won't necessarily affect you at all besides maybe being a useless button later on, kinda like my rear-wiper button right now! haha

I need to check out that website. Thanks. BTW, I saw your post on TN.

Quoted from David All Trac

I am in my second All-trac and I had no concern bought my second with 230 000km ... no concern. I am at 330 000km and exept very few electrical problems (Québec = salt on rod in the winter = few rust around the windshield = few water leak = some moisture in the fuses box) my car does not seem to want to die !

I know that this is an old thread topic, but I just wanted to back up David's claim. My AE95 has 207000 miles (331000 miles) on it and runs fine; in fact, the Check Engine Light has never come on during normal driving.  (But I know that the CEL circuit works; I tested it since I was worried that maybe it was faulty.)

Quoted from dylangumby

Hey guys, theres also jdmparts.ca if you're looking to buy a Carib, thats where mine came from.

The hydraulic ride adjustment is expensive to repair back to factory working standards, however if you buy a model with hydraulic ride adjust, and it breaks, it doesn't completely ruin your shock absorbers as well. My ride adjustment seals are blown, so if I attempt to use it, it just leaks fluid.

You know, the seals on my shocks were hard as rocks, so I pulled them out - it's just a circlip on the top of each front shock - and matched them to new o-rings. Installed it all, refilled the res, and the system works fine again. Are you having bigger issues than leakage?

No bigger issues than leakage, and when the time comes that might be a good option. I'm waiting to see how Datsa does on his suspension lift project before I make any moves on replacing any suspension pieces.

I just did the R tie rod ends and now I'm going to have to build a custom bumper mount to make the AE92 bumper fit onto my AE95. =P

The only other thing I'd add is the rear suspension in the earlier models are just spring coils built for comfort, not a major issue but something worth checking & maybe forecasting into your future budget for replacement.

The way people drive these vehicles, (think - little over loaded pack mule chugging through the mountains) they really need more durable springs in the back.