[1984yota]

I have a chance to purchase a 1994 5 speed wagon with 275k miles and virtually rust free for parts - $300. The car hit a deer and there is some front end body damage as well as one of the doors is stuck. Are a majority of the parts compatible with my 1996 automatic wagon?
Thanks!

 

[Speedbird27]

I have a chance to purchase a 1994 5 speed wagon with 275k miles and virtually rust free for parts - $300. The car hit a deer and there is some front end body damage as well as one of the doors is stuck. Are a majority of the parts compatible with my 1996 automatic wagon?
Thanks!

pretty much the same

 

[Apples555]

'94 is OBD-I and '96 is OBD-II. Some parts are incompatible, such as the distributor.

 

[deeder7001]

Alternator will carry over. The suspension parts I believe will as well.

 

[1984yota]

Are the cruise control and air conditioning parts compatible?

 

[94RollaDad]

Are the cruise control and air conditioning parts compatible?

The air conditioning should be - I'm not sure about the cruise control. But: Instead of having random Internet folks like us tell you what we think, you can easily check definitively against any of the many online parts databases. So since I'm not sure about cruise control let me walk you through how I'd find out:

1. I go to toyotapartsdeal.com (many other options, but this is my go-to).
2. I configure a vehicle (in this case, the 1994 Corolla) for parts search
3. I scroll down to Electrical and select "Cruise Control"
4. Knowing that the electronics are most likely to NOT be a fit (OBD-I vs OBD-II) I select the cruise control computer. Part number is 88240-12160. Looks like it only fits production date 09/1992-08/1995
5. Let's check the actuator too. Part number is 88200-12120, and production dates the same. Not looking so good, but let's hold off on drawing conclusions.
6. Now let's look up 1996, so reconfigure the vehicle you're searching for parts for.
7. Actuator? Yay, it's the same part number 88200-12120. So we're good on the actuator..
8. Computer? Looks like there are two options, depending on production date (remember, 1996 models were starting production in 1995).
a) For 09/1992-08/1995 it's 88200-12120 (i.e. the same as the 1994)
b) For 8/1995 onwards it's 88240-12170...

If I recall 8/1995 was the cutoff for OBD-I so that would explain why there's a new cruise control computer as well, to communicate with the new OBD-II based ECU.

You can replicate the same type of search for other parts to get definitive answers and not have to rely on hearsay.

 

[1984yota]

Thanks for your thoughtful and thorough response Rolladad.

I drove the wagon yesterday and will bring it home today. My friends have said that they will sell it to me for what it costs to buy it back from the insurance company. The damage from the deer seems confined to the passenger fender and marker light. It is too nice of a vehicle to use just for parts. The body shop said it would take a minimum of $900 to fix things to a usable condition. It seems likely to me that I can do that for $200 including tracking down and fixing the check engine light issues. If I can, I will just return it to them.

I will likely be back soon with more questions...........

On we go.......

 

[DannoXYZ]

Note that most of bodyshop job's cost is labour. It you can pull fender from junkyard car, shoot it and install on yours, it's the exact same result for much less $$$.

 

[1984yota]

As I drove the Corolla home yesterday the temperature gauge stayed below the second mark. When I stopped and idled for a bit the temperature gauge went to the third mark. Appears to me that the thermostat is stuck or there is no thermostat. The car wouldn't get warm enough for the cooling fan to turn on and the heater in the car was just warm. Both radiator fans work when the air conditioner is engaged.

The coolant was down about halve a quart in the radiator and the overflow tank was at the low mark. I topped off the coolant and will drive the car tomorrow up to temperature, let cool off and check the coolant level. I've ordered a thermostat.

There was a code 25 from the OBD1. That made sense since the O2 sensor wire was broken. I fixed the wiring. I disconnected the battery for a couple minutes to clear the code. The check engine light is off and the idle now comes down to about 850 rpm where before the idle stayed at 1100. Looks like the O2 sensor is working. I suppose that it can take a while for some codes to reappear after being cleared if the issue wasn't fixed.

On we go......

 

[Haloruler64]

Thankfully the thermostat housing is in easy reach!

 

[1984yota]

Update....

I was led to believe that the frame was tweaked because the passenger door was described as stuck. In fact it was not stuck but only opened a couple inches because the fender was pushed in a bit. I was able to pry the fender out from the inside and make things functional (but not pretty!). I replaced the passenger marker light, reattached the 02 sensor, put in a new thermostat and windshield washer pump.
They have the car back now and all is well.

I'll be looking for a 1996 as a parts car. That would suit my potential needs better than the 1994.
On we go........