83 AE72 wagon transmission failing, need help & info

[doley]

I have an 83 AE72 wagon with a A41 3spd thats on the verge of failing. When I got the car it was already leaking trans fluid. I serviced the trans hoping the leak was the gasket, but it is still leaking, might be the fittings. I took the car out for a drive yesterday and noticed when I take it on longer drives, it starts to act up. When in neutral, if I step on the accelerator it still acts like its in drive. When in reverse, when i step on the accelerator it still tries to drive forward fighting with reverse. Any ideas of whats causing this?

Im already thinking I need to change the trans. I would love to do a 5spd swap, but parts avail are sparce and not sure if could handle the cost of it right now. Until i can gather all the parts, this option will go on the back burner. Im trying to weigh out my options.

Option 1, I have an auto trans from an 81 corolla that i parted out. Ive been told that this is the same trans just different bell housing and would need to replace the 3tc bell with my 4ac bell. All the research iv'e done says that my 83 has an A41 and the 81 is an A40, whats the difference between an A41 & A40? And will it work in my car if i swap the bells?

Option 2, found a guy locally with a couple of A42DL 4spd trans from AE86. Does anyone know if these will swap easily with the A41 trans? Will i need to change the driveshaft? Am i able to use the 4th spd overdrive and how to hook it up?

Until I can afford to do a 5spd conversion, Im gonna jus stick with an auto trans. My question is which one? any info you guys can give me is greatly appreciated, thanks.

[hardtopte72]

A 5 speed conversion should be first on your to do list. I have converted 2 Corollas to 5 speed

To convert to 5 speed you will need the clutch and brake pedals, T50 (82-87) or T40 (83 only) transmission, 4AC or 4AG bellhousing (depending on what you want to do with the slave cylinder and lines), starter, clutch master cylinder (83-87), slave cylinder (depending on bellhousing), transmission mount, lines, and front section of a 22 Spline driveshaft from an 82-87 Corolla

Check out 3tcgarage.com. It is a site dedicated to old school Corollas and they frequently have cars parting out with everything you need.

As for the Autos. The A40 and A41 are nearly identical. The differences are minor. The rebuild kits are the same for both transmissions.

The problem with these Automatics is that these transmssions are so old. And being a 3 Speed puts even more stress on them at Highway speed. For the A42DL 4 Speed it should absolutely bolt on to your car. The only thing that may have to be rigged is the kickdown. Everything else including your driveshaft should go right on. But to find a good reliable trans in an AE86 these days will be very hard.

If you are set on the Auto it is probably in your best interest to rebuild the A41. To swap the bellhousing in the A40 is not worth the hassle. Also part of your problem could be that the selector lever has come out of adjustment under the car. This rod connects the shifter inside to the selector in the transmission.

Hope this helps.

[doley]

Yea I think I wanna do a 5spd conversion, I trying to see if I can do this instead.

Being in Hawaii makes it tough to find the parts, but I am supposed to meet with a guy tomorrow to check out the parts that he has. Said he has a T-50 trans w/ GTS bell, GTS lines, pedals, master, shift boot, 4ac flywheel & clutch set, and an SR5 driveshaft. Hoping to make a deal with him for all he has.

Also, found another guy that has a 4ac bell housing for the T-50. Supposed to meet him soon too. Is it hard to swap the bell housing on the T-50?

Jus wanna verify, i believe this guys pedals are coming from an AE86, would you happen to know if these will fit my wagon? Also, you mentioned something about needing a starter, is the starter different between the auto & manual?

If I can get all these parts from these guys, I am definitely goin the way of the 5speed. All i think I'd need is the Slave, the pilot & release bearings,

I tried joining 3tcgarage, but no one has gotten back to me about my account. Emailed them a couple times, but still no response.

Anyway, thanks for all the info, you have definitely been a huge help.

[hardtopte72]

You know on the 3TC the starters are different between certain years. On the 4A cars I am not sure. As for the clutch master I am 99% sure the clutch master will work in all 83-87. The 80-82 have a direct inline bolt patter where as the AE cars have an angled bolt pattern. Also you can probably use the AE86 pedals as well.

Bellhousings are cake to swap. 2 things to consider while you have the trans out is to reseal the shifter assembly and replace the output shaft seal. Leaking oil out of these and driving long will grenade your hard to find T50. As for the T50 the key here is to make sure you get the right one. It has to be from an 82-87 since you have a 4AC. The 80-81 looks identical externally except for a few key differences:

The 80-81 has a 20 spline output shaft
The 82-87 has a 22 spline output shaft
The 80-81 has a small front bearing
The 82-87 has a large front bearing (why the bell housing from a 4A will not fit on an early T50)

Besides that they are indentical.

Sounds like you have it figured out.

Also one last VERY IMPORTANT thing. If you do convert and when you install the pedal your car will not have the hole to support the pedal. If you do not support the top of the pedal eventually the pedal will crack. What you need to do remove the cowl from your car and drill a hole through it into the compartment and put a bolt and nut in the provided hole for the pedal. This will give you all the support you need.

Hope this helps.


And remember "KEEP THE OLD SCHOOL ALIVE"

[doley]

All your help is greatly appreciated. I'll see what i can find out about the starter, always thought the starters would be the same between the auto & manual trans, but i will double check. I will look into changing those seals before I do the conversion too. Looks like all the parts im getting from these guys are from 83-87 AE86's. Thanks for the heads up on the pedals too.

Couple more quick question, will the speedo cable hook right up? Also, any electrical connects that I need to hook up? Only the reverse light comes to mind.

Kinda excited to do this swap, never did one before. After i get all the parts i just need some time and some elbow grease to get it done.

[hardtopte72]

Very good question as I forgot.

You have the reverse light and you will have to ground the neutral safety switch wire or you will not be able to get the car to start. This however can be a positive as you could wire the neutral safety switch wire to a switch inside the car hidden somewhere to prevent the car from being stolen.

It should be easy to find the neutral safety wire as there is only one plug coming from the trans.

As for the speedo it should hook right up but it is highly unlikely it will be accurate.

According to Toyota and Rockauto the starters are different between Auto and Manual but that doesnt mean it won't work. Just an FYI.

[doley]

So reverse is just plug and play? I figure the reverse should be a simple hook up.
I like the idea of a hidden switch, I think I will do that.

We have a break from work between xmas & new years. The plan is to accumulate all the parts I need and work on it then.


Thanks again for all your help.

[hardtopte72]

No problem and it has been a while but I am almost positive it is plug and play.

Good luck with everything and post some pics.

[doley]

Jus picked up 5spd parts, scored majority of the parts. The guy told me before that he had a GTS trans, come to find out its an SR5 trans, so no i already have the right bellhousing. Also got the master, the slave, shifter boot, driveshaft, clutch, flywheel. got everytin for $250.

He had the brake pedal from a 5spd, but not the clutch pedal. So as far as i can tell, i need the clutch pedal, pilot & release bearings, need to resurface the flywheel and probly pick up a new clutch disc.

Getting kinda excited.

[hardtopte72]

Good stuff. The GTS or SR5 bellhousing is fine since the 4AC doesn't have a cross flow head since you wouldnt want the slave cylinder on the exhaust side.

Sounds good. Would love to see the finished product. If i hit the junkyard soon I will keep a lookout for the clutch pedal.

[doley]

Would you happen to know if clutch pedal from later model corolla mite work?

Found this on Ebay and was hoping the clutch pedal mite be the same. http://www.ebay.com/itm/250791920720...84.m1423.l2649

Dont need the other pedals, but i'd pick these up just for the clutch pedal.

[hardtopte72]

Completely different. The assembly has to be from an AE71 or AE86. The pedal itself can come from a TE72.