Will the transmission from an 83 work for an 87?

[Ben.alexander94]

Hey there folks!
Thanks to some of the leads provided from some of the other members, I believe to have found a replacement transmission. The only hesitation about purchasing it is that it is from an 83.
Will this transmission transmission even do the trick. How do I know if it will work and if it doesn't work, is there any sort of tweaking that I could do to make it work?
On a side note, I feel blessed that getting the ol girl back on the road appears to be a possibility. And also the fact that there are people like each of you out here that are trying to change the world one Tercel at a time!
Thank you!

[xirdneh]

Yes it will work as long as you use the transmission only. The tranny and transxle/differential can be separated. The transaxle/differential cannot be used because the gear ratio is different.

There is the possibility that someone swapped the transaxle/diff . the only way to find out is to remove diff cover and count the teeth on the pinion gear, it will have 11 teeth or 10 teeth. Then do the same with your old diff.

[Petros]

the '83-84 Tercel4wd with the manual trans has 3.73:1 diff ratios front and rear, the '85 and later used 4.1:1 diff ratio. there are a few other minor changes but will not stop you from using them interchangeably. So you can either swap out the front diff/bell housing assembly, or you can find a 3.73:1 rear diff assembly and swap that out with the front trans/axle assembly.

If you choose to reuse your old front diff assembly make sure it is well flushed and inspected by remove the front cover. it share the gear oil with the main gear box and if the trans came apart it may have circulated broken metal parts and metal flakes into the front diff. Usually it is best to swap out the whole assembly if possible, though often the front diff is still okay even if the transmission bundled up.

[xirdneh]

Use a magnet in a stick to clean out diff areas, also would not be a bad idea to do same on new tranny. If chunks of metal come out you know something is wrong.
Keep in mind when tranny is separated from trans/diff bumping the fifth gear shift shaft on front of tranny inward can lock up the tranny. If you test tranny by temporarily installing shifter and try to shift it you can be sure it will at least go thru the gears. I it is stuck in neutral the fifth gear shift shaft has been bumped inward. To fix it pull 17mm plug out that is located on top right of tranny, stick a screw driver in hole and push forward.