Looking for 82-84 manual transaxle/front differential

[CMB]

Hey guys, been awhile since i have checked in...I guess because my tercel has been doing everything I need without problems. Well I need to replace a wheel bearing and I thought, this would be a good time to swap in a replacement transaxle. Mine has a bit of slack in it. does anyone have a good solid, preferably low mile, transaxle. I guess it is also called the front differential.

Does anyone know if the front transaxles are the same for a manual transmission as an automatic. My transmission is a manual.

I am in the Salem, OR area. Thanks in advance.

[dlb]

hey carsen. long time no see. lots of MIA members popping by recently, it's nice. good to hear all has been well with your terc.

i think the automatics have a different final drive ratio but am not positive. if you do some digging on here you might find it. i know the topic has come up a few times. however, i think the 2wd's use the same front diff so that might help ease your search a bit.

[xirdneh]

the automatics have a different shaped bell housing so a manual tranny will not bolt to it
the early automatics 83-84 have 3.73 ratio differentials, that is the same as the manual 83-84 so you could get the diff out of an auto and swap it into a manual but that would be a troublesome thing to do.
the newer 85-88 automatics are 3.9 (thats what i hear) and are not interchangeable cause the manual 85-88 are 4.1 ratios
the 2wd bell housing for manuals are same as 4wd but the differental ratio on the one i have is 3.15 (41 teeth to 13 teeth) so i assume all 2wd diff ratios are not a match for 4wd 3.73 (41 teeth to 11 teeth) or 4.1 (41 teeth to 10 teeth)

[CMB]

dlb and xirdneh, thanks for sharing the knowledge. This will undoubtedly save me headaches. But I guess my search is narrowed a bit. I might have to just tend to the wheel bearing and keep looking for the transaxle.

So, in theory, could I swap in a 4.1 transaxle, as long as I also swapped rear ends? Are the front diff housing and rear end direct bolt ins between 83-84 and 85-88?

[dlb]

yes, the front and rear diffs can be swapped between 83-84s and 85-88s. just be sure to double check the drive ratios by counting teeth before you install them. it's always possible that someone has swapped a different year and ratio of diff into a car. it's happened a surprising number of times to members here.

[Gottolovem]

The ring gear has a stamp indicating gear ratio in the front. Not sure on the rear

[CMB]

OK. so I am looking through the online salvage yard inventories and seeing a lot less tercels wagons than I have seen before. So foar, I have been assuming we are just discussing wagons. I havent looked under the hood of the tercel liftbacks or sedans, but I am assuming it is an entirely different engine, tranny, transaxle. Is that right? Assuming that is right, here is what i have gathered my options are from the posts above.

Option 1. Find a transaxle from a 83-84 manual transmission 4wd tercel wagon. Direct swap. (Check gear Ratio)
Option 2. Or pull the gears from an 83-84 automatic 4wd tercel wagon.
Option 3. Or Front and rear differentials from an 85-88 Manual 4wd tercel wagon

I like option 1 for simplicity sake. I am considering option 2, thinking that the carrier bearings are probably in better shape from life married to an autmatic rather than a manual trnasmission...what do you think?

As for Option 3, how would going from 3.73 to 4.11 gears change the tercel driving experience. Better cruising mileage? Slower to get up and go in 1st and 2nd?

Thanks for your help guys. BTW, looks like there is a recent silver tercel wagon in the Vancouver yard. If anybody checks it out, can they check the transaxle for tightness at the cv axles for me? I might head that way in a week or two if anybody needs me to take a look at it.

[dlb]

option 1 is the one i would go for too, CMB. some guys prefer the 85-88 gearing because they say it accelerates better but i like the 83-84 more because it revs lower at hwy cruising and gets slightly better mpg, and i didn't notice any difference in acceleration.

can you describe the slack in your front diff that is making you consider this? is it rotational play in the CVs, or is there some clunk or whining?

[Gottolovem]

I agree with dlb option one is the way to go.
In regards to gear raito I have all three that I drive on a regular basis 4.1 and 3.7 is very little difference.
The auto on the other hand is a REAL pig very slow to get up to speed and screaming at 65mph but that has nothing to do with gear ratio the auto is a three speed.

[CMB]

Thanks for the input guys. So nobody thinks option 2 has any merit. I am thinking that more than likely the used transaxle I find will have 150k plus on it. I am thinking that comparing the transaxle mated to a manual vs an auto trans, the one from an auto trans will be in better shape and have more life left in it. No? I know it would be a pain, but I have rebuilt a rear-diff from a landcruiser before and it wasnt all that bad.

I guess it all depends on what I can get my hands on in the coming months. I was really hoping a member here would jump in and say "oh yeah, I have a stash of complete transmissions/transaxles, some with extremely low miles". Just in case they are on here and not speaking up, let me say I will pay a good price for a verified low mile transaxle that feels solid and tight.

Dlb, it is a clunk, if I dont let the clutch out super slow. There is a large amount of up and down play at C/V axle where it enters the housing. Not in and out, but up and down. That is, I can grab the innermost section of the CV axle and push it up and down (perpendicular to axial plane) on either side. It feels quite sloppy and much worse than I recall when I swapped in the tranny/transaxle combo.

Thanks again,
Carson

[Petros]

what do you mean by "has a lot of play"? if the shift lever is sloppy, try replacing the nylon bushings at the base of the shift lever, much eaiser than replacing a trans. It might make your trans feel new again. do a gear oil/AFT flush (drive on 50/50 mic at high speed to warm it all up, drain and refit), and put in fresh gear oil, might also improve shifting.

[dlb]

what do you mean by "has a lot of play"?

Dlb, it is a clunk, if I dont let the clutch out super slow. There is a large amount of up and down play at C/V axle where it enters the housing. Not in and out, but up and down. That is, I can grab the innermost section of the CV axle and push it up and down (perpendicular to axial plane) on either side. It feels quite sloppy and much worse than I recall when I swapped in the tranny/transaxle combo.