Transmission compatibility questions

[deejay1272]

My transmission in my 1985 T4WD has been dying a slow death ever since I bought the car back in '09. I changed the trans fluid once and I intend to do it again to prolong the life a much as possible, but I'm now starting to think about alternatives for when the transmission finally does kick the bucket. in advance of this I have a few questions:

1) I recall that the gearing between transmission and rear transaxle changed by year. Can you guys help me understand whether I can consider putting a 4WD tranny in my vehicle from another year?

2) If I absolutely can't find a 4WD tranny (they're getting rare), does anyone know if it's possible to install a 2WD manual tranny from, say, a sedan, coupe or 2WD wagon? (this could be a temporary solution if I really can't find a 4WD transmission.)


Thanks for your input on these questions.

[Petros]

you can use the complete trans axle from '85 and newer T4wd. You can use all the transmissions from any year if your diff is good and are willing to swap out the front diff assembly/bell housing, and alter the connectors to work with your year.

The 2wd trans works in the T4wd, you will have to also swap the rear mount, and remove the drive shaft. The transmission is identical from the main gear cluster case forward, except perhaps the final drive ratio (but that will not matter if you do not have 4wd).

[dlb]

'83-'84 had the 3.73 gear ratio while '85-'88 had the 4.11 gear ratio. here are a few ways to confirm that yours is still the original trans that came in the car:

https://tercel4wd.com/forums/viewtopic.php? ... t=0#p44382

https://tercel4wd.com/forums/viewtopic.php? ... t=0#p44401

[deejay1272]

Finally got around to changing out the transmission fluid again. This time I did it right and welded a new bolt to the filler bolt so I could really fill it up with the full 4.1 qts that it requires. Wow - what a difference! I may not have to look for a replacement transmission as soon as I thought.

If anyone else is having transmission problems, or thinks that they might in the near future, then I encourage you to go ahead and change the fluid first.