Final Drive Ratio: A/T vs. M/T?

[Tatohead]

Quick question for those gurus that know the numbers:

Is there a difference in final drive ratio for the auto vs. the manual?

If so, are the ring gears or other diff parts swappable?

THANKS

[white90dx]

What do you have and what is your goal? There may be another way to get to your goal.

I'm not aware of any parts that swap between the auto and manual transmissions...

-Charlie

[Tatohead]

My goal is simply a little taller final gearing. I'm very sure I could wring a couple extra MPG with a taller gearset. I'll probably just end up going the "poor-man's" approach: taller tires.

[Tatohead]

**UPDATE**

While I was pondering how to get my speedo to indicate the correct MPH, Murphy's Law struck hard. The speedometer died entirely!

It's back up and running, and I can share some info that may be helpful to somebody, someday.

1. The 2nd Gen Camry speedo cable is IN TWO SECTIONS. I seriously want to travel to Japan, find the retired engineer who put this feature in the car, and buy him dinner. This made the repair INCREDIBLY more easy. If the lower section is at fault, there's no need to pull the upper cable from behind the instrument cluster. It's all done under the hood.

Turns out my problem was the lower cable. The connection had been put on incorrectly (when the clutch was done??) and the connector rusted in place. The "key" on the shaft was worn completely off (visible in picture below).



2. The speedo drive gear is the same ratio in both A/T and M/T Camrys. However, the design is completely different (note M/T drive gear at top, A/T drive gear on bottom)



The auto version is somewhat easy to get to; the manual is a real pain. I pulled both from the junkyard today for comparison. Spline count is the same.

The drive gear is held in place by one 10mm bolt. The bolt holds a small key that pops off once you remove the bolt. Rock the unit back and forth with pliers while putting some pulling force on the unit and it will wiggle out. For the manual, I had to do this from under the car, snaking my arm around the exhaust.

Still haven't found out why my speedo is off, but nice to eliminate one possible factor.

[Tom 2000]

When I had my '88 LE (auto), I noticed OD was geared pretty tall. As indicated, I was turning about 2050 RPM at 60 MPH. Highway fuel economy was really good. I got 34-36 MPG on long trips.

Acceleration was not the greatest, though.

[white90dx]

Originally Posted by Tatohead

2. The speedo drive gear is the same ratio in both A/T and M/T Camrys. However, the design is completely different (note M/T drive gear at top, A/T drive gear on bottom)

Its also important to note that the V6 auto and V6 manual speedo drives are a different design (they come out of the back of the differential and have a 90* gearset to point the connection up). Make sure you get the right part if you have to replace it.

-Charlie