4TH GEAR IS MISSING AND A BIT OF TRANSMISSION WHINE

[socaltercel]

hey all!

so. i'm new to this forum. and new to the tercel. just bought a 1984 with 113,000 miles on it =). smogged great (i live in california). i'm just hoping i didn't make a bad decision. any insight from you all would be helpful.

i bought the car for $1400. it's really in great shape...but it's missing 4th gear. 1-3 and 5 are there...just no 4th. guy i bought it from has been driving it that way without any problems.

i also noticed driving it that it does have a bit of a whine...guessing in the transmission.

are these things going to turn into big problems? should i just list it and re-sell? or will i be fine?

feeling a little nervous about it tonight. probably should have posted this question before making the purchase...but i didn't. please give me some insight!

[xirdneh]

do you work on your cars?
if you do keep the car and keep an eye out for a spare tranny
a used tranny that you know works would be worth paying decent money for

then replace when it goes out
it may go a long time before it goes totally bad

there were two trannys for the 83-88 tercel 4x4's
the biggest difference is the differential gear ratios
4:1 or 3.73:1
you can use either one but may have to switch rear differential to match

if you do not work on your cars
you can get advice and info here on how to change the tranny

[socaltercel]

don't work on my cars :/

how much would a used tranny run? where should i look for one?

[dlb]

at wreckers or online used listings. look for someone parting out an '83-'84 tercel. being an '84, yours should have the 3.73:1 gear ratio.

if you can't do the swap yourself, it will cost a bit to have a shop do it. lots of info here if you decide to go for it though.

[Petros]

Welcome to the list.

You might try changing the gear oil in the trans (there are threads with instructions on how to do that), you will need the proper tools (Auto zone loans tools for free), or take it to a lube place and they will charge you about $120 to put about $20 worth of gear oil in it. It will likely make the whine go away, and preserve whatever life is left in it.

With that low of miles on it it is surprising the trans has any problems, unless it has been abused. They usual go to 150 to 180k before any problems show up, and some have driving them 300-400k when they baby them and change the oil regularly.

They will wear out and have problems like that, and it many mean the rest of the trans is not too far behind. OTOH you can likely drive it for another 200k miles with nothing ever happening, particularly if you change the gear oil in the trans every other year or so.

Used trans may sell for $150 to $250, if you can find them. Sometimes wrecking yards will want as much as $450-600 for them, too much in my opinion. But as suggested above, keep driving it and keep a look out for a used one locally and get it when you can.

Good luck