transmission bellhousing questions

[blutroop]

I had to sell my 89 toyota corolla awd wagon months ago due to my messy divorce. Now while scrounging a local junk yard I found a tercel 4wd wagon. I like the longitudinal layout a lot better than transverse of most awd cars. I want to take all the 4wd specific parts from the pick a part car to convert a 2wd car. That leads to my first couple questions..
1st? Will the transfer case assembly off a 4wd trans bolt to a 2wd trans?
The 4wd I found is auto... I have already read enough to know the auto is a real dog...
2nd? Will the auto 4wd parts work on a standard?
3rd? Has anyone put enough power through these transmissions/transfer case units to have a good idea how much they can handle?
4th? Will the bellhousing bolt up to any of the toyota diesel engines that are almost as rare as these cars?
I suspect most people on this site can answer most of these questions, I'm just trying to understand my options before I get in deep. Thanks in advance for any responses.

[irowiki]

You can not convert a FWD tercel into a 4WD tercel.

[rer233]

Welcome aboard blutroop! Lots of good people here. As for converting a tercel 2wd to 4wd-forget it-ain't gonna happen! The floorpans are completely different, fuel tanks in different locations, rear suspensions different, etc. Best to leave the 2wd as is and look for a decent 4wd. As for the a/t cars, i agree- m/t is much better (i converted an '87 4wd a/t to m/t last year and am quite pleased with the result ('course i had a complete donor vehicle.) Good luck!

[dlb]

welcome, blutroop. i second rer233's sentiments.

how did you like your corolla all trac? after several tercels, i've been driving an ae95 for a few years now and really like it--vented rotors, reliable FI system, more comfortable, smoother ride, quieter ride. however, accessibility of various engine components is a pain, which is why i am continuing to look for another al25. i'm curious to know you will feel about a 4wd tercel vs a 4wd corolla once you have tried both.

[blutroop]

I guess I gave y'all the wrong Idea from the start. First off let me preface by saying anything can be converted.. If anyone is prepared to put enough money on the table I will prove it. I've seen the underside of a 2wd tercel and already knew that to convert a 2wd tercel to 4wd a tunnel would need to be cut and welded, a gas tank relocated, rear suspension points would need to be added, ect.. The questions I was asking on this forum were related to the 4wd specific trans parts and if they can be added to a 2wd trans and if the 4wd trans stuff on a auto is the same as the 4wd trans stuff on a manual. I am a very knowledgable person, I am a combat vet, welder, ase certified diesel mechanic, and I can think outside the box. I know alot of the headaches involved with converting a vehicle to that extent. What I do not yet know, that I spent many hours trying to find out online, and that lots of people on here should already know is if I can pull the 4wd transfer case section and rear tail section off of a vehicle and bolt it to a 2wd transmission. I am already planning on making a baja bug awd with torsens front and back, 4ws, diesel powered, a/c, and a track system for deep snow. In the meantime I will play with a tercel if the 4wd trans parts can be put on a 2wd trans. If not parts will be to hard to come by. Also the front diff section looks pretty small. does anyone here know the ring gear size? I also asked if any oem toyota diesels have the same bellhousing bolt pattern? The short version of all I want to do is.. find a base car as close to what I want to start modifying until it is what I want.
My corolla alltrack was nice. It was good on gas, sporty, a little slow, had a electric diff lock.., but it had small tires, woulda been expensive to raise, was gas not diesel, was all crammed under the hood, and I blew the engine. I am what a lot of people would call a prepper, and a alltrack wagon would blend in day to day a lot better than some of my other vehicles. when I was in Alaska and colorado I saw them all over, but for now I am in Texas so you dont see them much.

[irowiki]

4wd specific trans parts and if they can be added to a 2wd trans

No, but you can use 2wd transmission stuff (gears, syncros, etc) on a 4WD.

if the 4wd trans stuff on a auto is the same as the 4wd trans stuff on a manual.

Nope, two different beasts!

[blutroop]

Thanks Irowiki for your response. No one seems to be a big fan of the auto's but there is one sitting in a houston pic a part if anyone needs something specific. It hurts me every time I find a rare old car in a pick a part or scrap yard. Sounds like i need to hold out for a manual trans 4wd. Has anyone else looked into diesel options? Anyone with a auto tried putting a lot more power through it to see if that makes it less of a dog?

[dlb]

blutroop, you are right that with enough time and money, anything is possible. i guess the question is, why? are you considering swapping a 2wd wagon to 4wd because you don't want to waste the 2wd body and engine, or because you like a challenge, or any other reason?

to me, it just makes more sense to wait and find a 4wd in good condition. they are not that hard to come by so i can't understand creating all that work for yourself.

[irowiki]

Never heard of anyone in recent years putting a diesel in. If you figure out let me know, my dad would be interested.

The auto itself doesn't make it a dog, it is the engine.

The best way to swap would be to cut the floorpan from a 4wd and put it on your 2wd body. Can use the auto body to put a manual in.

[blutroop]

When I noticed the 2wd sends power to the front wheels I got curious.. I also knew if the 4wd stuff would bolt up I could cheaply throw a few beater 4wd together. I don't desire a bunch of headaches but I dont run from them either. I was thinking of abusing one as much as I could to see how capable they could be made. I think some bigger tires, a independent rear diff with a torsen or locker, a wider stance with 930 cv's or vw type 2 for maximum articulation, steel front, rear and side bumpers, and a winch could make something pretty capable but still able to be a daily driver. It appears to be one of the cheapest ways to get my hands on a old lightweight 4wd vehicle to start with. Toyota made quite a few diesel engines for other markets.. finding bellhousing bolt pattern info is tricky though. I can get adaptors to put a vw 1.6 diesel or 1.9 tdi to a toyota transmission used behind the 22r engines in the trucks. does the tercel engine share bolt pattern with the toyota trucks and cars that bolt up to 22r? If I find a auto first I may just add a turbo to the stock engine and see how it feels with more power before it blows..

[Petros]

the manual trans and drive train seems to hold up well up to 100 hp, some have actually swapped in more powerful engines with good results. But I think that would depend on how you drive it. the trans is pretty durable if treated nice, some I know have driven them 400k miles with regular gear oil changes. but it is a very lightweight trans (the basic 2wd design it was based on was for their smallest entry level car) and will not hold up to a lot of abuse.

There is a forum member that has order from an importer the diesel engine that came in the same year corollas available in Europe and japan from an importer. he was confident it would bolt up to the Tercel 4wd trans, but as of his last post it was still sitting in the crate in his workshop.

There is a similar design 4wd truck transmission that is larger and able to handle more power, no one has tried to make it fit (I have only seen them out of the car in a trans shop, looked the same but bigger-not all years are the same). It it can be made to work, this should also allow you to fit the 22R engine (which has a completely different bell housing bolt pattern BTW), or the truck diesel engine, and give you a lot more options IF you an make it fit. Likely you would have to swap out the rear axle to get matching diff ratio front and rear. But that would also allow you a more options for a limited slip diff in the rear as well.

The auto trans tercel 4wd has a rather flimsy link between the tran and front diff that can often fail even wth the whimpy 62 hp motor. the auto trans, despite is small size seems to hold up very well, OTOH, you are not putting alot of stress on it with only 62 hp on-tap. The rear transfer case is not even the same, uses electric servo 4wd rather than the simple manual lever with a spline shaft on the manual trans.

If you want reliable and durable, go find a good 4wd trans and mate it to the corolla diesel, or better yet, fit the truck engine and trans, with heavy duty front cv axles to the Tercel4wd, and you will have a lot more options for engines, and power upgrades as well.

[dlb]

There is a forum member that has order from an importer the diesel engine that came in the same year corollas available in Europe and japan from an importer. he was confident it would bolt up to the Tercel 4wd trans, but as of his last post it was still sitting in the crate in his workshop.

do you mean cathoderaytube? because he did test fit the 1NT to the trans and it bolted up fine. i think he was last talking about figuring out a starter for it. here's the link.

https://tercel4wd.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=5475