Front Differential Locked-up

[john]

Driving home from work last saturday, I heard a slight clicking noise coming from what I thought was the driver's side cv joint and then a terrible clunk. Coasted to the side of the road and called a tow truck. It was a flat bed and the driver had to drag it onto the truck. When we got to my house he had to repeatedly wiggle the truck bed to shake my car onto the driveway. Completely locked up. My guess is the front differential. I have put 60,000miles and 7 years on this one. It came from a place that brings japanese engines and transmissions over from Japan. It was estimated to have 40,000 to 50,000 miles on it when I got it. This was my second replacement. Seems like about every 100,000 miles or so I brake the differential.

It is getting harder to find an automatic transaxel to fit my '85 tercel4wd. I have located one about 300 miles away. i understand that I can use any sedan transaxel '84 through '86 and all wagon transaxels "Z" series. I will be checking pick-a -part, tomorrow.

Is it possible for a shade tree mechanic to find parts for and rebuild a front differential at home?

Does anybody know of a good used automatic transaxel?

Thanks in advance.
john

[xirdneh]

i have one but its the wrong gear ratio for you (3.73)
you would have to change the rear differential too
and i am in western washington

[john]

Hello Xirdneh! Thank you for a quick reply. Is your transaxel in good shape? My current one is actually a 3.7 ratio. The one before that also. I almost never use 4wd, although when I did, it worked fine. I do remember that the first time I replaced the automatic transaxel that the people I got it from said they were not positive if it would be compatible with the rear wheels because it did have a different ratio. I said no problem, here on the valley floor I do not need 4wd. The first time I tested it I was actually in the state of Washington. I had pulled off the road to take a nap after driving up from california. I was on soft ground on a slope and my front wheels were spinning. I said a little prayer, pushed in the 4wd button , and climbed right out of the mess I was in. Used it several more times, never a problem.

Xirdneh, I will do some looking around closer to home for a replacement, but will keep you in mind. It would be neat to be able to repair it myself, but do not know if that is possible.

[dlb]

not sure where you're located john, but someone just posted this ad on the forum. it's an auto trans in nevada.

https://tercel4wd.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=7733

also, i thought the auto trans only came in one gear ratio regardless of when it was made, 3.909:1. carlos mentioned it briefly in this post albeit nothing about years or what different ratios the auto trans's came in. i could be wrong.

https://tercel4wd.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2& ... tio#p36191

[tercel4wdrules]

As far as I'm aware, the final drive ratio was 3.909 on the A55F automatic T4WD transaxle like DLB mentioned on my prior post. The automatic doesn't seem like it was available in North America until mid '84 model year and lasted until the '88 model year. There are no '83 automatic T4WD's as far as I'm aware. I've seen some automatic T4WD's at the junkyard with well over 200k miles, one with over 300k, although who knows if they were original. I suppose this would signify that perhaps the automatic transmissions were less reliable than their manual counterparts. I know someone that bought a new T4WD and got the automatic transaxle replaced under warranty!

[john]

Thank you for replies. I checked the repair notes I have made over the years and one of my automatics was a 3.9 ratio, the next two were 3.7 ratio. All seem to work fine.

I am in Fresno, CA. It is almost the exact middle of the state.

I am going to stroll through pick a part and see if I have any luck.

Yes, I am wishing I had "picked-clean" the sedan I found last November at Pick and Pull. It had approx 60,000 miles. It has long since been crushed. I just did not have any extra funds.

What years was the wagon made?
john

[Petros]

you should not be going through diffs that much, they usually hold up much much longer than that. Does the auto trans use ATF to lube the front diff, or are they separate compartments? The manual trans uses the same gear oil for the gear box and front diff. You might check into the correct gear oil for the front diff, or if it does share the AFT, you might put some additives in with the AFT to make the diff last longer, or use synthetic ATF.

Good luck.

[dlb]

the 4WD tercel wagon was made from 83-88. the biggest differences over the years were the manual trans gear ratios (83-84 were 3.73, 85-88 were 4.1) and in 87-88 they moved to a composite headlight. most other changes were small and cosmetic. the auto trans's seem to be a bit of a mystery since most members on the forum have or prefer the manual trans.

[john]

The front differential uses gear oil.
No luck at pick-a-part in fresno.

[danzo]

Not too tough to switch to a manual gearbox, and it's pretty cheap is you have a donor parts car.

[john]

Well, I'm feeling fortunate. Found a transmission here in Fresno with about 40,000 miles on it for $295. It came from "all engine distributing"; they import engines and transmissions direct from Japan. The story goes that engines and stuff are replaced in Japan at about 40,000 miles because of strick air pollution laws over there.

This was the same place I got my last transmission. (Back then, they did not anticipate getting anymore Tercel parts because the demand is not that great). I was very surprised that they had one. Same price as I paid 7 years ago.
I agree with Petros, they should last longer. I will definitly change the gear oil more often. john

[john]

The Transmission is in and car runs great.

It was a real struggle this time. Had a terrible time lining up the transmission with the engine. I was raising the trany into place with a floor jack (done this before), and could not get the angle correct. My neighbor came to the rescue with his engine hoist. We put a strap around the tranny and lifted it towards the engine. I was then able to wiggle it back and forth until the torque converter lined up with the flex plate. The rest was easy. Runs great. Have about 120 miles on it already, including a 3,000 foot gain in elevation yesterday.

One glitch, my speedometer no longer works. At one point during the installation, I noticed the speedometer cable dangling and about 8 inches of cable was exposed. I pushed it back into it's sheath and attatched it to the transmission. Not sure if came disconnected under the dash. I will probably replace the cable. Not sure how hard it will be to access the connection under the dash.

Thanks again for this forum.
john

[dlb]

john, start on the 5th picture in this post to see how to remove the dash hood and gauge cluster to expose and disconnect the speedo cable:

https://tercel4wd.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=7617

[john]

You guys are the best. I will give this a try in a week or so.
thank you! john

[SimplyTagg]

Hi John.... I am up in Walnut Creek... going to look into this all engine distributing place and fingers crossed they have a tranny sitting there waiting for me too.