fwd 5speed to 4 speed swap

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Chevro
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Posts: 21
Joined: Mon Sep 22, 2008 6:34 pm
My tercel:: 1984 2wd
Location: Eugene OR

fwd 5speed to 4 speed swap

Post by Chevro »

Hello all,

My transmission has given out on me a few days ago. It's a fwd wagon and it is stuck in second gear. Local junkyards want about 325 for a 5 speed , but only 99 for a 4 speed.

Does anyone know if a 4 speed from a hatchback will fit into the 5 speed wagon? They look to have the same drivetrain, but I don't know.

I want to buy a 4wd and make this one at least sellable.
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Neu
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Joined: Tue Nov 06, 2007 7:59 am
My tercel:: 1985 SR5 No Mods
Location: Hillsboro, Oregon, USA
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Re: fwd 5speed to 4 speed swap

Post by Neu »

So let me get this right, you want to replace the current 6 speed manual tranny with a 4 speed manual from a hatchback of the same year, or similiar?

No, it wont work. Weren't the 2wd hatchbacks transverse engines? They didn't sit front to back, so they're tranny's are different.
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Petros
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Joined: Sun Jan 28, 2007 6:31 pm
My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
Location: Arlington WA USA

Re: fwd 5speed to 4 speed swap

Post by Petros »

That is a good plan. It should work fine, but you should snag the rear cross member just in case it is different. I have inspected them and they are all the same. In fact the engine in my current T4wd came out of a 2wd sedan, all of the models are almost exactly the same from firewall forward. The FWD 5 speed and 4 speed tranny should be a direct swap, it may have a different diff ratio but that will not affect your swap. It will be a few pounds lighter too.

Neu, you are thinking the later '86-87 where they switched to the newer body style and transverse drive train on the sedans and hatch backs, while keeping the 4wd wagons the same as the earlier ones.
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
Chevro
Newbie
Posts: 21
Joined: Mon Sep 22, 2008 6:34 pm
My tercel:: 1984 2wd
Location: Eugene OR

Re: fwd 5speed to 4 speed swap

Post by Chevro »

Thanks.

Sorry but there is no 2wd tercel wagon forum, lol.

I'd never put a fwd tranny in a 4wd.

The tranny and engine look almost identical from under the hood, save for the 4wd gear.

I think my local pick and pull place sells just about anything for$ 25. I'm not looking forward to pulling a tranny in a gravel junkyard though. They're so ghetto that they'll probably just blowtorch the whole assembly out as one piece.

I just had my longblock rebuilt a few months ago so I want to find a 4wd with engine probs (that aren't mechanical) and swap my engine into it.

Then I can fix the old engine and swap my rebuilt one into the 4wd and get the 2wd roadworthy to sell it.
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