88 Nova (Corolla)

No i can't kill it, but it'* being annoying. When cold, the engine has a miss, it'* definetly stumbling, and idle isn't smooth. Shifing into gear is fine, until fully engaged, at which point the car slows cause the motor needs a second or so.

I think it'* carb'd. lol, show'* how much i've worked on this car. But i never saw any fuel injectors in there. 87 or 89, the car acted the same as well.

Note: the car has been siting basically since september, and driven once a month or so.

Well, I still have my wife'* ol' 84 Corolla(same engine as yours) and you are right, you can't kill it!!! Yes, it has a carburetor so that choke could be stuck. You could just take the air cleaner off and see if it is. Also, it has a cap and rotor. They should last at least 50,000 miles but ya neva' know. And finally the wires and plugs, just like our cars. One other note. It also has a hose coming off the exhaust manifold that sends heat to the carburetor to prevent it from icing up in the winter. It also helps with the driveablility probs you are describing. Make sure that pipe is connected properly. You could also give the carb a shot of gumout or run some carb cleaner through the gas tank. Good Luck.

Plugs and wires were done this summer. There are some caps that go over the wires, and we've had one of those come off, and a wire fell off then.

Right! I remember there are these locking caps that lock the wires to the distributor cap. Also the later models (sometime after 1984) had a rubber boot that snapped over the distributor cap to prevent moisture from getting in(another potential area that may cause a miss). The ONLY complaint I have had with this car design is the exhuast system. I've had to replace the exhaust pipe(the one between the exhaust manifold and cat) about every 4 years and the muffler every 3 years. The mid pipe(the one after the cat) usually lasted 10 years. The good news was the mufflers were free when I was able to find the warranty card/receipt.

Funny you should mention that, we had to do the pipe between the manifold and cat this summer for the first time. There'* a ribbbed section with a mesh over it almost? I wasn't sure if it was a flex pipe, but it was noticable...

I've been thinking the same... not too much of an expert with these babies other than the fact I know that it'* small and indestructible

Yeah, that'* the one(with the mesh over it). The problem is water that comes off the half shaft is directed right onto the pipe. The manufacturer, Walker, FINALLY came out with a pipe that had a shield right where the water was directed. Unfortunately that pipe failed underneath the mesh area. I'm a firm believer in Anti Seize

as it makes that job a LOT easier when it comes time to take the nuts off the bolts.

The 5th Generation Corolla was one of the best. The styling holds up pretty well too...well...at least for me it does. :wink2:

Ah, i think my 'rents just took it to the show mom does books for. They're good to us .

The engine was hot, and I was giving her carb cleaner to choke on (no pun intended) and Gumout makes a wonderful cleaner you can get for about $1.61 at walmart. Sure made it idle much better and rev a lot nicer as well. Real test is when I have to cold start on wed. The Carb is now the cleanest thing on that car.

Yeah it'* carb'd, that'* the smallest carb i've ever seen. But man, you pull off the aircleaner assembly, and that doesn't sound like a 1.6 I-4! Videos to come sometime about that. The things a beast. Just wish the Bville had a throttle pointed at the hood so you could hear it.

Also, the speedo bounces. Car'* smooth again, but the speedo hovers or bounces quickly over the speed.

I'll take the RWD hatch in the background!