all wheel drive conversion?

[timothygodden]

would it be possible to swap out the rear axle for something that would let you run an all wheel drive set up? i really like the way this car handles in 4wd it would be cool to get that all the time. not sure if it's even possible but would appreciate the feed back.

[dlb]

i'm not positive but my understanding of the difference between 4wd and AWD is that AWD has a center differential between the front and rear axles which is what allows it do be driven on non-slippery surfaces without the front and rear axles fighting each other. true 4wd has no center diff and thus can not be driven on non-slippery surfaces, but it does give superior grip in very slippery situations.

so the only way to make a tercel AWD would be to add a center diff to the tercel trans or swap in an AWD trans with a center diff. either option would be a ton of work and really expensive. or you could find a 4wd corolla all-trac wagon and see how you like them. they are AWD and have a button to lock the center diff. they were the successor to the 4wd tercel and i'm a big fan of them (i've been driving one for a few years now) but they are a very different car from the terc: fuel injected, smoother ride, more modern looking. i love mine but i think tercels are somehow more fun.

[Petros]

not really practical to add a center diff. the trans is simple and light, with the added advantage of the locked out drive train for slippery surfaces, so you would sacrifice that to get full time AWD. Not a good trade off in my opinion, even if it was possible.

You could cut up an all-trac corolla and install the whole drive train, engine and suspension in a Tercel to get AWD, but this would hardly be worth the effort. You ruin two perfectly good cars to get one with a compromised drive train.