Toyota Transmission Swap Help

Does anyone know if a transmission from a 1978 Toyota Hilux 20R engine will fit a 1981 Toyota Corolla with a 3tc? Will swapping the bellhousings help? Both cars are manual just in case anyone was wondering. Any help if greatly appreciated.

I seriously doubt it. The 'Rolla probably has a T40. The Truck probably has a W4x. The bell housings won't fit on the other motor, and they likely won't fit on the other trans either. Now, what might work is to take a T50 from a RWD rolla like an eight-six or the sedan and swap the bell housing with your T40 and put it in the 'Rolla. Might work. Or, a 1uzfe swap....

^^^^ What he said. T40 and T50 interchange, but not with the W-series tranny found behind an R motor.

If you really wanted the strength of a W-series tranny, my suggestion would be to get a W58 from a 3rd-gen Celica, and get a T block bellhousing for it. Not sure if you have to change input shafts, though.

Whats so good about the W58 transmission? So I can swap a transmission that came from a 1985 Celica into my 81 Corolla as long as I swap over the bellhousing.

W58 is considerably stronger than the T-series tranny. It was stock behind R-block inline 4s and the M block inline 6s, and maybe even the VZ block V6.

Why do you want to swap this transmission? Is it because you happen to have one and need something in the Rolla? Or is it because you want something stronger than the T40? If you just happen to need one, buy a T40 and put it in there. It will be much cheaper and much, much easier to just get a used T40 and swap it out. Most T50's will have a different output shaft than what's on your T40 anyway.

In reply to Dr. Hess:

My local junkyards do not have any t40's but I can get my hands on a w58 via craigslist. I just didn't know I could use this transmission in my corolla.

Well, while nothing is impossible, it just isn't going to be easy to use a W58. You will be much better off finding a T40 on car-parts.com. Even if you pay more, it will be cheaper to get in. Driveshaft, mounts, bell housing (does a T block to W trans bellhousing really exist? What car was it in? I've never heard of it but I haven't looked for one either), input shaft compatible? Clutch splines compatible? Dunno.

Anyway, if it's just a maintenance job and you're not trying to go drag racing with that thing in Puerto Rico, then find a T40 for it, or a very early T50 might drop in if you swap the bell housing, but check the output shaft.

The easy thing to do is track down a T40 or try swapping in a T50. If the transmission you end up finding came from a 2T-C/3T-C-powered car, you should be set to go. If it comes from a 4A-C/4A-G-powered car, keep your current bellhousing and swap it onto the new tranny, but be sure to check the input shaft to make sure it is compatible with what you already have.

It is possible to put a W58 in your car, but probably not worth the effort. The bellhousing you need for this project is from a 1G-GE or 1G-GTE-powered car with a W-series transmission, like a Japanese-market Chaser or a Soarer from the 80's. A 3T-C/2T-C (or 2T-G) shares the same block-->bellhousing bolt pattern with a G-series engine. You might be able to find one used in Australia/NZ, or somewhere in Europe or Asia if you can overcome the language difficulty. You will still need to figure out what combination of clutch disc and pressure plate will work for your new custom setup, as well as fabricate new or modify your existing crossmember and driveshaft to work with the W58. Then there are details like the starter, clutch slave, speedo cable, backup light switch....it should all be possible with factory Toyota parts for those details, but it may take a little work to figure out if you can re-use your existing Corolla stuff or if you need to track down Celica (or Chaser/Soarer) parts to make it all work in the end. The Aussies have done this swap pretty often and I'm sure they could give you the details on toymods.net but that doesn't help the access to parts.

Here are some additional references if you are interested.

General RWD transmission overview:

http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Pit/9975/dataBySubject/Gearboxes.html

Details on the T50 differences early to late:

http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Pit/9975/dataBySubject/Gearbox_T50.html

More Detailed difference, more about W-series:

http://users.tpg.com.au/users/loats/technical/ma61/gearboxes.html

Awesome general Toyota interchange thread, but use caution, not all claims have been verified, and those Down Under have easier access to a lot of Japanese-market stuff we never got:

http://www.toymods.net//forums/showthread.php?t=208