Diesel Tercel 4wd?

WD8CDH · Post by **WD8CDH** » Thu Jun 02, 2005 2:59 pm

Hi All,

Would a Diesel from an '85 Corolla (1C, I think) bolt up to the Tercel 4wd bellhousing?

Also does the Tercel transfer case have a low range or does the tranny have a "granny" gear?

What are the gear ratios of the tranny?

I have access to the Corolla engine but the body is shot and I want 4wd anyway.

Biodiesel or veggy oil of course.

Thanks,

GTSSportCoupe · Post by **GTSSportCoupe** » Thu Jun 02, 2005 3:47 pm

If you use the search function on this forum ( <a href='http://tercel4wd.com/invision/index.php?act=Search&f=' target='_blank'>http://tercel4wd.com/invision/index.php ... arch&f=</a> ), you will find a lot of old discussions on your questions. I've seen this question come up lots in the past. I'm sure people will add to your post too.

Note, make sure you set 'Search Posts From...' to 'Any Date', otherwise the search will not return very many options.

WD8CDH · Post by **WD8CDH** » Thu Jun 02, 2005 7:34 pm

Hi,

I did do a search first, unfortunatly a lot of the info was missing or vague or contradictory. I did find final drive ratios but not tranny ratios. I am suspecting that the tranny is a 5 speed plus granny from seeing "6 speed" in sigs. I couldn't find out if the 4wd has it's own low range but I suspect it doesn't. I did find a post started in August of last year that was asking similar questions but didn't raally have the answers.

Thanks,

Ron

clbolt · Post by **clbolt** » Thu Jun 02, 2005 7:59 pm

Part of the reason for the vague answers to this topic may be that nobody's actually completed the swap. While the transmissions are the same internally between the diesel and gasoline Corollas, the bolt pattern on the bellhousing is probably different. If I run across one in the junkyard, I'll take the measurements to verify this. Unfortunately, I don't currently know of any in the yards I frequent.

While this is an attractive idea, especially with the current volatile nature of the oil market, it's not going to be anything like a bolt-in operation. Even with the best-case scenario, which would be that the engine would bolt up to the Tercel transmission and engine mounts, there would still be the issues of fitting (and possibly fabricating) the proper manifolds, adapting the fuel system, etc. The more likely scenario is that you'd have to have an adapter and mounts fabricated. Kennedy would be a possible source for the bellhousing plate.

If you have to ask the sort of questions you're asking of people who also haven't done the swap, it's likely you don't have the knowledge required to complete the job. You could quickly turn a good car that gets 35 mpg on gasoline into a half-finished diesel junkyard dweller.

Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of the swap. All but the possibility of making an already anemic car even slower by swapping to a diesel.

takza · Post by **takza** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 4:50 am

I had an Escort with what was probably a Mazda 52 HP diesel in it...even without an EL and a pretty high 1st gear....it had very good torque at idle...unlike the gas verson of the same car...and almost the same power at highway speeds...torque before HP.....I always say.

49 MPG.

GTSSportCoupe · Post by **GTSSportCoupe** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 6:59 am

WD8CDH wrote: Hi,

I did do a search first, unfortunatly a lot of the info was missing or vague or contradictory. I did find final drive ratios but not tranny ratios. I am suspecting that the tranny is a 5 speed plus granny from seeing "6 speed" in sigs. I couldn't find out if the 4wd has it's own low range but I suspect it doesn't. I did find a post started in August of last year that was asking similar questions but didn't raally have the answers.

Thanks,

Ron

If you go here: <a href='http://www.tercel4wd.com/' target='_blank'>http://www.tercel4wd.com/</a> and click 'Archive', you can access brochures for the tercel that will give you the gear ratio info you are looking for. I would state it here, but I don't know it off the top of my head and don't have time to copy it from the brochure right now.

cbolt hit the nail on the head with the diesel conversion.

WD8CDH · Post by **WD8CDH** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 8:18 am

Hi All,

Thanks for the replies. I finally got the first of the brochures to download after 2 days of trying (stupid dial-up)

Fortunatly the first brochure had the gear ratios and they are suitable for the Corolla diesel. The diesel should be a little better off road due to it's torque near idle being better. I am not woried about the lower HP of the diesel for my driving.

I am no stranger to engine and drivetrain conversions. My most recient conversion was to put the Torsen limited slip from a Miata into the front of a Kia Sportage and a locker from a Toyota in the rear.

Some of my engine swaps have been a Kubota tractor diesel into a '73 Honda Civic (the reverse rotation was fun, how I got around it is another story

), a VW Rabbit diesel into a '70 SAAB 99, and a Isuzu diesel into a '80 Mitsubishi Van.

This time due to budget and time constraints, I just don't want to do an engine to tranny adapter. All of the other parts of the conversion are doable in the time frame that I have. I also don't want this engine to go to waste since the price is under $200.

Thanks,

Ron

clbolt · Post by **clbolt** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 9:22 am

I knew a guy in Texas who transplanted a 3 cylinder Perkins industrial diesel engine into an Opel GT. By the time he was finished, the little car got mileage in the 80s, although it had absolutely no acceleration. He made a little trailer specifically to pull behind the little Opel, and would make periodic runs to the Mexico border to fill 2 55 gallon drums with diesel at about a dime a gallon. It was slow going on the way back, but he was a particularly patient man.

I wonder whatever happened to that guy and his car.

tercel4wdrules · Post by **tercel4wdrules** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 11:39 am

Wouldn't there be a way to turbo the 1C-L to give it a little oomph? I don't know if Toyota made any turbo diesels.

GTSSportCoupe · Post by **GTSSportCoupe** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 2:08 pm

tercel4wdrules wrote: Wouldn't there be a way to turbo the 1C-L to give it a little oomph? I don't know if Toyota made any turbo diesels.

They used turbo diesel engines in some of the Landcruiser models (not in North America though).

takza · Post by **takza** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 6:40 pm

WD8CDH wrote: The diesel should be a little better off road due to it's torque near idle being better. I am not woried about the lower HP of the diesel for my driving.

Best to compare torque not HP....? I'd LOVE to have that 52 HP diesel in my Tercel4WD with the EL range...you couldn't stop it. Well...maybe a brick wall....

Typrus · Post by **Typrus** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 12:29 pm

You drive on torque, you buy HP. Look where torque peaks. Look where HP starts. Where do you drive for fuel economy? In torque.

I couldn't get the Passat on the ramps, so dunno the bottom bolts, but the top ones are the same distance apart as on the 3A-C. Even if the bottom are, it'll be a question of bolt orientation, dist top to bottom, will the flywheel fit, etc.

Try looking into a TDI engine from VW. They have been put in 4Runners, why not here? 90 HP and 155 ft/lb torque. In mymoms Passat, which outweighs my Terc by 350 lbs, we get 40-50 MPG depending on how leadfooted we are.
TDI= Turbocharged Direct Injection (diesel)