changing from 4wD to rear drive

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toughtercel
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changing from 4wD to rear drive

Post by toughtercel »

In the furture , my next project on tercel 4WD body , I might want to change to REAR WHEEL DRIVE only , i want to replace front wheel drive shock struc to normal shock struc like rear wheel drive COROLLA , does 1980's COROLLA's front shock struc fit perfectly to Tercel without re-engineer(lower ball joint ,tie rod end and brake system or minor changes) OR theres other Toyota brand that will fit to Tercel. Your help would be greatful
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Re: changing from 4wD to rear drive

Post by takza »

Wouldn't make that much sense to change it? Front ride height needs to match the back?
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mike33
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Re: changing from 4wD to rear drive

Post by mike33 »

Hey, if you want to use only the rear, simply remove the drive shaft and drop the front lever on 4WD not need more changes, a friend tercel its handling of this form for 5 years and recently repaired his drive shaft and placed back .
toughtercel
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Re: changing from 4wD to rear drive

Post by toughtercel »

i thought about that , considering two problem (1) front bearing have to be bolt together avoiding bearing fall apart at high speed and (2)need rubber boot to cover the bearing avoid all kind of craps into the bearing. I trying to figure out what you saying "mike33" what I was thinging like replace to "spindle" or I saw in google about replace front bearing on corvette , they have just the bearing with a hub that pop it out and install , they have three bolt hole to bolt on to anchor .
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Petros
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Re: changing from 4wD to rear drive

Post by Petros »

I think the front spindle assembly from a rwd corolla (pre '87?) will bolt onto the strut end of the Tercel. did they ever make a rwd Tercel? I do not think so, but if they did the front spindle assy would work. The trans out of an AE86 corolla (rwd) might be made to work, but you will have to lower the engine somehow, the output shaft is in line with the engine crank.

You could plug the front diff output shafts with the inner part of the CV joint from some junk axles. Or you could remove the front diff and make a blanking plate and use the 4wd trans, with it always in 4wd to drive the rear axle. But if you have a good 4wd trans, why bother? The best thing about these little econo-boxes is the 4wd feature.

Why are you wanting to go to rwd? Why not just get a pre-86 rwd corolla wagon? A lot less trouble I would think.
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toughtercel
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Re: changing from 4wD to rear drive

Post by toughtercel »

well i already have three tercel 4WD ,two of them are insuranced third one not sure BUT it just a crazy idea for long time thinging to convert into rear wheel drive with completely different motor/tranny and rear diff. like 0 - 60 in 5 sec , in normal looking TERCEL . yes ,it would be much easier on corolla but TERCEL must be 500 lbs lighter.I met someone told me at Bellingham WA saying he saw CAMRY motor in TERCEL body so might work . i just have to wait till i get my mom's celica then figure out about motor mounts, hope will fit , engine hood will be custome made , I just want to know if there possible to exchange front HUB or struct or spinal .
i am TERCEL guy. thanks guys
bleakhorizon
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Re: changing from 4wD to rear drive

Post by bleakhorizon »

digging up an old thread i know BUT with good, first hand info....

i am currently driving an 4wd converted to RWD, when i got the car the front ring gear had a couple missing teeth.... so i took the whole carrier out .... locked the transmission in 4wd, and pulled the 4wd light, now running RWD all the time......

To secure the front i took the half shafts, and torched the axle off of the outer cv joint (triple bearing outer joint not able to be disassembled otherwise) then reinserted the outers into the disks and torqued em just like normal.... to seal the inner shaft area i used a simple freeze plug (dont remember the size) and a little sealant....

i havent had any problems with it so far, and i am no means easy on it (found out you can launch these things at full R's without wheelspin lol) and of course while being in "4wd" i have the EL gear to select, which works really nice in traffic...

on a side note, the steering is way easier, and of course no torque steer lol.....
Typrus
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Re: changing from 4wD to rear drive

Post by Typrus »

Try and separate the CV cups.... The outers into the hubs, the inners into the trans to seal it off.... I've thought about this more than once, just haven't messed with the CV's to see if I can separate it.
The rear diff doesn't really like constant solo duty though from what a few have found in the past. You might want to bump it up to an AE86 or Corolla All-Trac rear axle. The All-Trac has drums, but I believe they are larger diameter. The AE86 would be disc. Then you bump it up to vented disc up front.
Get much more than 100 ft/lb of torque and you'll want some subframe braces. Something simple, like a shock-brace from the top of one shock to the other (kinda like a strut tower brace) and other side-side braces would help. Much past about 150, maybe 200 ft/lb and you'll need more substantial bracing.

Or you go with what the Tercelerator will have and go custom frame with either a DANA 60 or Ford 9" rear axle with a 750HP+ V-8 and either a very well built 700R4 or maybe 4L80E. Or else a Rockland Standard Gear Transzilla.

lol... That project is still a while away. But its all figured in my head.
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Darkelf
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Re: changing from 4wD to rear drive

Post by Darkelf »

Or just bolt the body onto a 2wd toyota pickup frame and b done with it. The 22r and trans will fit under the hood, you have rear wheel drive and the shifter should stay relatively in the stock position.
bleakhorizon
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Re: changing from 4wD to rear drive

Post by bleakhorizon »

when i took my cv's apart i saw no way of taking the outer joints apart, or i wouldnt have cut them....if you throw just the inners in the front you take the risk of loosing them, as they are only held in my a small cir clip....
Typrus
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Re: changing from 4wD to rear drive

Post by Typrus »

Good point actually....

Though I do wonder about the front spider falling apart with no CV to hold it in? Guess thats not a concern here?


Though, with a new clip, it takes some massive wailing with a 5 lb slide hammer to get them out. So with a new clip I'd imagine you'd be alright?
RIP 10-07- 1984 Toyota Tercel SR5 4wd Wagen 6 speed

RIP 04-05- 1986 Toyota Tercel SR5 4wd Wagen 6 speed

1st Terc- 1987 Tercel SR5 4wd Wagon 6-speed, Sadly cubed

1985 Tercel Standard 4wd Wagon w/ 3-speed auto, Living a happy life in Boulder last I knew
bleakhorizon
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My tercel:: 1986 wagon 4x4 6spd, 1985 sr5 4x4 6spd
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Re: changing from 4wD to rear drive

Post by bleakhorizon »

i took my whole carrier out when i did mine (ring gear was shot)....i could imagine that the spiders might be a bit of a problem if everthing is still in there.... they would want to move, but they wouldn't necessarily come out, i wouldnt chance it however...
SynthDesign
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Re: changing from 4wD to rear drive

Post by SynthDesign »

I think it could be done by swapping in RWD A series compatible trans like that found in the AE86 chassis. You could use AW11 MR2 knuckles to alleviate the front drive shaft issues. A custom driveshaft might be required.
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splatterdog
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Re: changing from 4wD to rear drive

Post by splatterdog »

If I went nuts and wanted to keep it somewhat "pure" I would be hunting up a supra or cressida engine/trans. Might be a summer only car with firewall mods though.

Purity aside, and still nuts, a better fit might be a supercharged 3800. One of the most potent,cheap,simple,and fairly reliable engines out there. Probably lose interior space that way too trying to fit a US rwd automatic in the tunnel.

Any way you slice it, If I couldn't kick ass like where only our cars can already, like minimum traction circumstances, I wouldn't bother with a downgrade. I still have the 429 from my "harry and the hendersons" wagon that rarely lost many a street race. I would love to kick some more ass with it but the terc would have some serious stretch marks from that crazyness. A C6 trans doesn't make a very good armrest either...
SynthDesign
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Re: changing from 4wD to rear drive

Post by SynthDesign »

Petros wrote:I think the front spindle assembly from a rwd corolla (pre '87?) will bolt onto the strut end of the Tercel. did they ever make a rwd Tercel? I do not think so, but if they did the front spindle assy would work. The trans out of an AE86 corolla (rwd) might be made to work, but you will have to lower the engine somehow, the output shaft is in line with the engine crank.

You could plug the front diff output shafts with the inner part of the CV joint from some junk axles. Or you could remove the front diff and make a blanking plate and use the 4wd trans, with it always in 4wd to drive the rear axle. But if you have a good 4wd trans, why bother? The best thing about these little econo-boxes is the 4wd feature.

Why are you wanting to go to rwd? Why not just get a pre-86 rwd corolla wagon? A lot less trouble I would think.

The front spindles are part of the strut housing/knuckle hub assembly on all older corollas. An aw11, MR2 hub/knuckle might work.
IMG_0440-1.jpg
These came off an 86 GTS. Rear shocks will not work on our T4WD, and man I tried.

The RWD Toyota Corolla transmission out the pre 87's will fit into the tercel but the driveline is too short by about 2 inches or three fingers width. I think a spacer could be made or have the driveline fab'd to fit. Also the shifter mount sits a bit further forward so you'd have to cut a bit and fab a shifter as ours will not work with the RWD trans. The gts shifter assembly I had that came with the trans hits the stereo when in first or third.

It really isn't worth the time to do the conversion, but since I had the the 85 GTS engine and trans on the cherry picker and a tercel shell laying about, I'd figure I'd see if it would work. I think it is possible and can be done.

So who's gonna build the first drifter tercel?
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2016 Toyota Tacoma Quad Cab LB TRD OffRoad
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