# 1989 Tercel Acceleration (Carburetor O-Rings? Carbon in Intake?!) **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Tags:** toyota, tercel\ **Created:** [November 26, 2012, 3:53am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1989-tercel-acceleration-carburetor-o-rings-carbon-in-intake/75737 "2012-11-26T03:53:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MichaelBraud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a87d85/32.png) [@MichaelBraud](https://community.cartalk.com/u/MichaelBraud)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2012, 3:53am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1989-tercel-acceleration-carburetor-o-rings-carbon-in-intake/75737/1 "2012-11-26T03:53:23Z")
I have a problem with my '89 Tercel. When I accelerate, but the torque of the acceleration is hindered at first, like not enough/too much gas is getting to the engine, and if I keep the gas pedal lightly pressed, around 2500-3000 RPMs, the car will suddenly gain torque, and I’ll have some power behind the engine. If I push hard on the accelerator, the car seems flooded, and then jumps to 3000-4000 RPMs. It isn’t as noticable in 3rd or 4th (probably because I’m consciously shifting at a higher RPM to avoid the problem) unless I’m going up hill. I have read a number of forum posts on this problem. Half say it’s a problem with carbon in the intake/outtake manifolds of the exhaust. The other half say it’s a carburetor problem regarding the o-rings. I’m a new owner of the car. It has 210,000 miles, and I’m not sure if it has sat for a while. Just trying to get 20th opinions here. Any help is appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelBraud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a87d85/32.png) [@MichaelBraud](https://community.cartalk.com/u/MichaelBraud)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2012, 3:55am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1989-tercel-acceleration-carburetor-o-rings-carbon-in-intake/75737/2 "2012-11-26T03:55:03Z")
You may disregard the but in the second sentence. (blushes) ---
**Author:** ![keith](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/keith/32/5518_2.png) [@keith](https://community.cartalk.com/u/keith)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2012, 4:04am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1989-tercel-acceleration-carburetor-o-rings-carbon-in-intake/75737/3 "2012-11-26T04:04:32Z")
The 89 Tercel is fuel injected, so carburetor problems are out of the question. I would have the O2 sensor checked, it is not monitored by the computer. There should be a 2 pin connector near the distributor that has a cap on it. You remove the cap and use an analog voltmeter on the two pins to see if the voltage sweeps between 0-1 volt about every few seconds. ---
**Author:** ![asemaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@asemaster](https://community.cartalk.com/u/asemaster)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2012, 5:39am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1989-tercel-acceleration-carburetor-o-rings-carbon-in-intake/75737/4 "2012-11-26T05:39:13Z")
The carburetor would be my first guess. Your car has a different type of carburetor, it’s called a “variable venturi” carburetor and will require someone familiar with this type of fuel system to properly diagnose and repair. ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2012, 6:01am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1989-tercel-acceleration-carburetor-o-rings-carbon-in-intake/75737/5 "2012-11-26T06:01:51Z")
It sounds like a too-lean condition. At 210K miles, could be caused by lots of things. You may simply need a replacement carb (if you car has one, from the posts above seems ambiguous). My first guess would be a vacuum hose or device leak or a faulty EGR system. Do you have the factory shop manual or a Chiltons for you car? That would be a place to look to for inexpensive diagnostic advice for this problem. ---
**Author:** ![keith](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/keith/32/5518_2.png) [@keith](https://community.cartalk.com/u/keith)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2012, 11:42pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1989-tercel-acceleration-carburetor-o-rings-carbon-in-intake/75737/6 "2012-11-26T23:42:24Z")
If this Tercel was sold in the US, then it has a 4AFE engine which is fuel injected, not carbureted. The 4AFE was a smaller, detuned version of the famous 4AGE engines of the popular AE86 Corolla’s. The last Tercel with a carburetor was the 88 4WD wagon and it had a progressive two barrel carburetor, not a variable venturi. All other Tercels got the fuel injected engine starting in 87. All his symptoms point to the oxygen sensor. ---
**Author:** ![brgracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/76d3ee/32.png) [@brgracer](https://community.cartalk.com/u/brgracer)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2016, 11:02pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1989-tercel-acceleration-carburetor-o-rings-carbon-in-intake/75737/7 "2016-08-16T23:02:29Z")
89 and 90 had carbs. overhauling VV carb on one today . Several things could be causing the issue . Make sure venturi slide is free and opening as RPM increases . ---
**Author:** ![VOLVO-V70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8e8cbc/32.png) [@VOLVO-V70](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VOLVO-V70)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2016, 11:52pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1989-tercel-acceleration-carburetor-o-rings-carbon-in-intake/75737/8 "2016-08-16T23:52:24Z")
I would hope after this much time the Original Poster would have solved their problem. ---
**Author:** ![NYBo](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/nybo/32/17281_2.png) [@NYBo](https://community.cartalk.com/u/NYBo)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2016, 12:13am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1989-tercel-acceleration-carburetor-o-rings-carbon-in-intake/75737/9 "2016-08-17T00:13:28Z")
![](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/2X/f/f4a747b2ea53af1fb8130ce12052cbe46b376821.jpg)