A person generously let me have a transmission

[Mogordo]

I just took a road trip and came across a very pleasant fellow with two Tercels that had been sitting a while. It took some driving, asking around, and I tried a phone number that was no longer for whom it said it was for, but when I finally met him he told me I could take the transmission from the one (an '84, mine is an '83), said he had it in mind he might still get the other one going again. Said he thought the transmission was fine when they parked it. When I asked him how much he would want for it he said "You can use it, you take it. If you have something to give me for it you can give me something for it."
My dad and I went out the next day and pulled the differential and transmission (My dad looked at the description on how to remove just the transmission and pretty much said "I don't know about that. I helped a friend change a clutch in one of these 20 years ago so I guess I can figure out again how to remove the whole assembly.) He did though it was more of a bother than he wanted. It is covered in oil and grease mixed with dirt to the point when my dad would tell me to "Take that bolt out." I'd kind of say " Which of those lumps is the bolt?"
Anyway, we got it loaded up and went looking for the man but couldn't find anyone. I left him a note explaining that we had the transmission and that I didn't know where would be good to leave him something for it but that I could come by on my way home the next day or mail him something and left my name and 'phone number. In that area though when there is a traffic accident on the interstate the road might get shut down at an exit many miles away and that is what had happened by morning. So the only route to where he was would have been unknown dirt roads and would have taken hours. Not what I wanted to do. The fellow left me a message but thought his number would come up on my 'phone so didn't leave it. My phone was on airplane mode so went straight to voicemail and didn't show his number. I didn't know quite what to do. He was going to think I had his number but I didn't and driving over was no longer an option I wanted to take. I tried looking his number up in online white pages but came up with a wrong number and a number that didn't work. So by then I was thinking if I had a local phone book (wouldn't have been local to where he lived) I would see if I could find anyone listed with the same last name and call and explain and see if that person knew him. I called a family friend who lived nearby and she actually had a friend with the same last name so she called him and explained and turns out he did know the person I was looking to talk to and he left me a message with the right number and I finally called the fellow back (was the next morning by then). He told me I didn't owe him anything for it. I told him that was a pretty big deal but he didn't really seem to care. I thanked him and he told me if I was ever in the area maybe I could work on one of his old trucks. He said "Anybody takes a transmission out that fast I could use their help." (: But I explained that my dad had been the mastermind, I just did what he told me.
He seemed to be such a pleasant fellow and I really enjoyed meeting him.
And now I have a filthy transmission that is hopefully in mostly fine condition that I better learn how to tell what on it if anything needs replacing and how to rebuild it so I can have one in good shape to swap out for the one on there that has noises and other symptoms to indicate worn bearings at least that I can then also hopefully find bearings for and repair.
Cari

[NWMO]

Cari,

I would carefully clean it up some and spin the input shaft while watching the output shaft. See if it shifts ok, including 4WD. Listen for loud bearings and/or anything not buttery smooth. Not the best test, but about all you can do presently. Did the fella say why he parked it? if no problems experienced, I wouldn’t likely dig deeper, but if you really felt the need, with a little work, you can pull the outer cases and visually inspect the actual gears and bearings/cages. However, if you go that route, I would recommend getting it in shape and back together while it’s fresh in your mind.

Chris

[xirdneh]

I take every tranny apart and check them before using. I almost always find something in there to fix. There are a few kits out there with some of the bearings and all four seals but they are scarce. One kit includes synchros but that is even harder to find.
So really all you can do is replace bad parts from doner tranny.
If you can’t find broken pieces of steel using a small magnet on a stick that is a very good thing.
I would separate differential from tranny and inspect what can be seen and insert magnet.
The thing that ruins most of these trannys is low oil due to dripping front axle seals,
They get hot and gears are weakens.
Look up you tube video on how to disassemble tranny in twenty minutes. Key in “Toyota tercel 4wd transmission “

[Mogordo]

Thank-you both!
I have it in a place to at least start cleaning it off. My dad said (he helped me pull it but doesn't live near me) with as thick as the grime is just scraping it off would be his first step. I know I got some dirt inside the differential too when we pulled it out from under the car. Not a lot but some. My thought was to just replace the transmission if this one seems fine or repairable and not the the differential. Do you see a reason not to to do that? Pulling the transmission apart first is my plan. I guess I could see if the gears are discolored then. The man said he thought the transmission was fine when they parked it. It did have some front end damage, though nothing that looked like it affected the structural integrity, and maybe he just didn't bother fixing it. Mostly lights and grill. And the windshield was laying next to the car. However the volume of what came out of the trans. looked like less than it should be (didn't actually measure, my dad doesn't actually like working on cars all that much despite his experience and I didn't want to take longer so we dumped it in with some other waste oil as was convenient and I didn't think to check the measurements before and after) and I don't know how much the fellow knew. Sometimes a person (including myself) won't notice signs of wear because he or she just doesn't know what they are.
I have been looking into finding bearings. I was trying to figure out which ones would most likely be worn to have them ahead of time. Part of not having things apart too long, as you mentioned too Chris, because being quicker about re-assembly increases the likliehood it will make sense to me.
Xirdneh, I have browsed your Transmission Repair Notes (I just looked again and wow there is a lot of information)and been getting better at comprehending the info. on the bearings. I think that was from a while ago so availibility may have changed but the rest is still helpful. Do you know where might be good to look at this point? I am planning to check with Locate Ball Bearings. I also started watching your videos, plan to watch all the transmission focused ones on the list Chris compiled as the more I just see the more familiar any of it will seem, and I watched the one about the idler gear where you mentioned if that bearing fails it can easily ruin the transmission. I didn't yet watch the one on dissasembling a transmission in 20 minutes but it's on my mind as probably the most logical to watch next.
A magnet on a long handle seems like a very helpful thing, I watched how easy it was to remove little metal pieces from holes and thought I would get one of those.
My general plan was to semi-rebuild this one if I can and then switch it with the one on the car now and do the same with that one. I guess if this one is looking pretty worn I'll be left checking out the one on the car. I am guessing the input shaft bearing on that one is worn enough it may have pitted the shaft but don't know. Otherwise that one works except for popping out of first if going downhill and not being the smoothest in shifting if you don't pay enough attention. But I really like the idea of not having that car non-operable for long. I get concerned I will mess something up and make it worse instead of better so I am wanting to learn more first. But I think that the sooner I start finding parts the better as they are just going to get harder to find.
Thank-you both again! Any other suggestions and thoughts are very welcome as I really don't want to mess this up when I am ready to actually dig into it.
-Cari