front wheel drive mode no workie

[Buzznuts]

Hello, I am a total newbie to the Tercel 4wd. Just got a 1986 but it only motates via rear wheel drive. Front wheel/2 wheel drive mode does absolutely nothing. Linkage is connected but when put in 2 wheel/front wheel nothing happens. Will move only in 4wd and only the rear wheels are powered. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Petros]

are your front axles and cv joints in place? If so you might have a failed mainshaft or front ring and pinion in the trans. I can not imagine how it is possible to have the rear wheel drive working and not the front, unless something important is broken. Sorry about the bad news, I do not think there is any simple thing that would cause this.

if your front axles are in place you might remove the front cover of the front diff and take a look inside, see if you can see any broken teeth in the front housing.

I hope you did not pay much for the car, this could get expensive. Unless you can find a whole replace trans cheap somewhere. Only the '85 and newer trans will be compatible with the rear diff ratio for your car.

Where are you at?

[xirdneh]

is that an automatic or manual tranny
if automatic its probably a stripped out "governor" (sp?) (connects tranny to differential)
if its manual i have nothing

[Buzznuts]

Thank You for the responses. It is a manual trans and the half-shafts are in place. I'll pull that cover and take a look. I'm in western Colorado. I paid $100.00. The guy I bought it from admitted he wasn't a mechanic. He forgot to tell me what a good used car salesman he was.

[Petros]

That is a great deal on the car even with a bad front diff. Scrap metal dealers and wrecking yards typically pay around $150-175, so it is hard to get even a fixer for under $150. If your car is in otherwise fair to good condition, it is well worth fixing.

Good luck.

[splatterdog]

Even if it's just a diff, replace the whole trans. It's damaged goods by now. Unless you tear it down for thorough inspection. Even then you might be wasting time. Something important broke, likely sending debris everywhere. If you drained the gear oil I bet it would be ugly.

Xirdneh- Governor's in auto's only control shift points. They do nothing for power tranfer.

You got a $100 car. Those always need something major. Just be happy a scrapper didn't get it before you.

I hope you are handy or know someone that is.

Or just drive it RWD until it doesn't move, then figure out what you are going to do.

[Buzznuts]

Petros, thanks for your input. The car is in very "good" shape outside of the running gear, for 137,000 miles on the odo. I did fail to mention that the engine didn't run when I got it. Turned out it had a connecting rod go through the block. Pulled the oil pan and JB welded the hole with some tin from an old outhouse roof I found. Poured in oil and she fired right up on three cylinders. Drove about 15 miles and OK but must keep RPMs up. I would like to redo with a 4a engine and another transaxle. If you hear of any, let me know. If I win the lotto I have told my wife I am going to put a small jet engine in it. I love these cars.

[xirdneh]

Xirdneh- Governor's in auto's only control shift points. They do nothing for power tranfer.

.

I have a automatic that was removed last year that would not move the front wheels
the Governor Body Support is the main connection between the tranny and the differential
page TA-110 of FSM
when splines strip out (that was the case here) the front wheels will not turn
there was enough spline left on end (about 1/16" long) to turn rear wheels

[splatterdog]

Guess I'm not too fluent in jap tranny's. In domestics it is driven off the output shaft and only affects governor pressure. It's typcally a spring loaded centrifugal valve that changes pressure in order to control shift points.

Loose output and you will certainly loose governor control too. Never heard of a gov doing anything but being driven. When they go bad it will typically not upshift.