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1992 Corolla Auto Differntial Shot

by TrustyToy, August 23, 2007 in Pre-1997 Toyota Corolla and Geo Prizm



Sad news. Our trusty 1992 corolla with 125000 absolutly trouble free miles ended its streak today. I was driving the car north to Salt lake city delivering it to my sister who WAS going to buy it from us and drive onto Minnesota. 191 miles and only a 1/3 of a tank gone!!

The car has had all maintence taken care of...oil...tranny tranyfluid..including recent new complete axels. It has really been a trouble free car for us and was used primarily as a spare comuter car driven around town and back and forth to the airport. No more than 200-300 miles a month probably over the last 4-5 years.

Today 200 miles into a "highway drive" to Salt Lake from Las Vegas, cruising along at 75-80 mph there was a sudden momentary power loss . I figured perhaps some bad gas..misfires etc etc. ...5 minutes later a faint whirring noise began. I slowed down and luckly there was an exit not a 1 mile ahead to Cedar city.

By the time i was on the off ramp basically coasting down the noise had increased in volume and pitch and the car started to "buck" slightly when gas was applied.

In park the engine revved freely with no unusual noises...so i eliminated that as a problem.

The tranny was a bit low on fluid, perhaps a pint if that..i topped it off as a precaution.

IN gear there was a faint grinding noise in all gears when the car was moved.

I was starting to think differential.

Off course there is no way to check fluid level in there so i limped to a shop 100 yrds down the road and had them put it on a lift. Wheel bearings were ok.

We drained the diff and the fluid was brown and burnt. The drain plug had metal shavings on it default_sad I was dead in the water and knew the diff was shot. As a long shot we flushed it..topped off with new fluid...but no change. The car barely moves while in gear.

Now that you have a bit of history.

How hard is it to replace the diff? Im pretty handy with cars in most respects, i do all the work on my 87 Porsche

Where is the best source you all know of for a used diff or tranny/diff combo?

Would it be easier to replace the diff or just buy a whole used tranny with it included?

It really sucks as this car has been absolutley bullet proof for us and i hate to see basically scrapped. The price of replacing all this is becoming cost prohibative VS the value of the car.

I may just sell the car as is for 500 bucks and needing a differntial.

Input..ideas.

Thanks.

Bikeman982

You could put it on e-Bay and I will buy it for very little money.

Then I will replace the transmission myself and sell the car.

That's what I do.

Sorry to hear that it went bad - Murphy's law.

My 1992 had a transmission that was slipping (and I knew it).

I put it up for sale and let the prospective buyers know about the tranny.

Someone from my town bought it and immediately had the tranny changed.

His daughter is driving the car around everyday. It is good to see it running.

If you're handy and can take care of an old Porsche I'd source either a parts car or a used unit from a junkyard that guarantees their parts and have at it. It's all pretty straight forward. Get a Haynes manual and get a feel for the project before you start. Sounds like you can do it. I hate giving up on a car like that as you know what maintenances have been done to the car.

Good luck,

Jay in MA

.........Would it be easier to replace the diff or just buy a whole used tranny with it included? It really sucks as this car has been absolutley bullet proof for us and i hate to see basically scrapped.

Thanks.

Sorry to hear about that - automatic transmission (the mention of tranny fluid) I take it. I assume that you had both reservoirs cheched - the one for the differential and one for the valvebody, torque converter, etc. To make sure that it is only the differential and not anything additional - like a bunded up clutch or chewed up parking pawl, etc. With that kind of mileage on a '92 - the diff shouldn't have self-destructed like that.

Replacing the differential isn't real bad (probably harder to get the tranny off the car than pulling the diff out of it) - but you do need to have a decent set of specialized tools to get at them. Be much easier to pick up a replacement tranny than try and break apart the old one to get the diff out. Costwise it would be about the same - just less time needed on your part and probably safer (may be some other issues with the tranny). No reason to scrap the car - if it hasn't given you any issues until now - but that is your call.

Bikeman982

For your car, it is far easier to change the tranny with the differential attached, than to try and change just the differential.

The process is not too difficult, but can take some time.

You have to be able to support the engine while you have the tranny disconnected.

You can either use a jack underneath, or a hoist from above.

I have changed both engines and transmissions (and sometimes both).

Let me know if you decide to do it yourself.

Thanks for the input guys. I already had the Haynes manuals and from a simple glance it doesnt look like a tough job to drop the tranny.

Ill definitely take the advice and pick up a used tranny and diff. I dont need the extra burden of trying to actually rebuild it.

I stopped by a Pic and Pull junkyard yesterday in Vegas...on the way back from Ceder City with the car on the trailer i might add. As far as toyotas they seemed to be pretty picked through. There was however a 4 door GEO PRIZM with almost the same build date as my Corolla..same color as well!! hahah Pop the hood in a Prizm and you see TOYOTA.

I would assume that this tranny would be a direct replacement for the one i have. The pan was laying on the ground and looked as if it was recently removed. They want 167 bucks for the tranny. The cars odomter said 225,000 miles though! Id prefer something with a bit less mileage.

This was the only place i have stopped so far...ran out of time. But it got my feet wet so to speak.

So...questions.

Is the Prizm auto tranny a direct swap for the similar year corolla (92) in this case. Both cars have a build date of 6-91

What other year corolla will work as a replcaement. The guy in the junkyard said 92-97...is this correct. I trust you guys over Junkyard dude. ... does this also hold true to similar year Prizms(92-97)

I know there will be gaskets to be replaced but am i looking at a long laundry list of dealership only gaskets and parts to get this thing swapped?

I saw somone mention whether i checked the tranny drain plug. We didnt. Isnt the differential a sealed unit from the tranny both in mechanics and fluid. In other words shavings from the diff cant work there way into the tranny and vice versa.

Thanks for the input.

Bikeman982

I think the Prizm and Corolla use the same parts, except for body pieces and some inside trim.

The engines should be identical.

The 6th generation Corollas (1988 - 1992) would all be the same.

The body style changed for the 7th generation (1993-1997).

There are some differences in the engines and trannies.

The main one is that they went to electronic fuel injection.

The engine number would be helpful when looking for a matching tranny.

Do you have the 4A-F engine?

I have a tranny in my yard, if you want to swing by and check it out?

Bikeman982

I will be taking the tranny out of my project car soon and probably getting a replacement from Pick-N-Pull.

TrustyToy - How did your car repair go??

Bikeman982

The local Pick-N-Pull did not seem to have the A131L transmission used with the 1.6L 4A-FE engine.

I did check out a couple of Prizms, but the transmissions looked different on one and the other had a 7A-FE 1.8L engine.

I will go back again and check more closely. Hopefully they will have more donor cars soon.

Just an update.

Finally got around to putting the car up on jacks last week. 3 easy days over the last week with a few hours here and there and the tranny is out. The Haynes manual was OK as a reference and a starting point....but when it comes down to it i just looked at what needed to be removed and pulled the trigger.... airtools made the work very easy. I would highly recomennd anyone doing this type of thing to have them handy.

No real gotchyas in the whole thing.

Now that its out and knowing the diff is indeed shot, im going to open up the diff cover to see what makes it tick....and perhaps get an idea of what would have to be done just to replace it.

JT2AE91A9N0287033 is the vin on the tranny as well as the engine and car..at least they match. Heck, we've had the car since 12,000 miles. (its has 125k now). There is a paper like sticker on top of the tranny that had some sort of ID number on it but it is worn away.

The engine ID is 2614445 it has a 4A stamped just above it.

The emissions data tag under the hood shows 4A-FE.

So armed with pics and some info im heading to a pick and pull over the next week or so to see what i can find.

http://members.rennlist.com/v1uhoh/ttranny1.jpg

http://members.rennlist.com/v1uhoh/ttranny2.jpg

http://members.rennlist.com/v1uhoh/ttranny3.jpg

http://members.rennlist.com/v1uhoh/ttranny4.jpg

not sure why the images didnt load below??

Bikeman982

Just an update.

Finally got around to putting the car up on jacks last week. 3 easy days over the last week with a few hours here and there and the tranny is out. The Haynes manual was OK as a reference and a starting point....but when it comes down to it i just looked at what needed to be removed and pulled the trigger.... airtools made the work very easy. I would highly recomennd anyone doing this type of thing to have them handy.

No real gotchyas in the whole thing.

Now that its out and knowing the diff is indeed shot, im going to open up the diff cover to see what makes it tick....and perhaps get an idea of what would have to be done just to replace it.

JT2AE91A9N0287033 is the vin on the tranny as well as the engine and car..at least they match. Heck, we've had the car since 12,000 miles. (its has 125k now). There is a paper like sticker on top of the tranny that had some sort of ID number on it but it is worn away.

The engine ID is 2614445 it has a 4A stamped just above it.

The emissions data tag under the hood shows 4A-FE.

So armed with pics and some info im heading to a pick and pull over the next week or so to see what i can find.

http://members.rennlist.com/v1uhoh/ttranny1.jpg

http://members.rennlist.com/v1uhoh/ttranny2.jpg

http://members.rennlist.com/v1uhoh/ttranny3.jpg

http://members.rennlist.com/v1uhoh/ttranny4.jpg

not sure why the images didnt load below??

Looks exactly like the tranny I just replaced on my 1993 project car.

 

I still have the tranny and it may be good. The car had two bad CV joints.

I changed the tranny anyway and also both drive shafts.

Did you examine the CV joints of the driveshafts you took out?

Let me know if the gears are bad in your differential.

I took the cover off mine and everything looked good.

If it is bad, mine must be inside the transaxle.

Did you find a replacement? Is it a 3-speed (no overdrive)??

Another update.

Done. Finished this morning. All in all if i add up the hours i workled on it ...id give the job about 4-5 days.

I went to to a local pick and pull and found quite a few A131L tranny's in "scrapped cars". I drained the pans on all of them and nearly all of them had shavings in the differentials. default_ohmy My guess is most of the cars like this that make it to the salvage yards "whole" make it there because of cost prohibative engine or transmission failure. Owner junks them as they arent worth the price to have fixed. On all the cars i looked at the bodys were basically dent free.

My lucky day occured when i asked one of the yard workers where i could dump the tranny fluid i had been draining. HE told me "around back etc etc." I went back there and in the process saw a tranny sitting on the shelf. I worte the VIN down and called my dad who ran a car fax from his home computer. Turns out it was from a 92 Corrola DX wagon! JACKPOT!! I then went in side and asked the guy at the front office what the deal was on the trannys "in the back"...he said they are for sale and come off "known working cars".....350 bucks and a 60day waranty. I bought it right there. Saved me the hassle of 1) pulling one in less than ideal conditions in a dirty junkyard with no power tools 2) the unknown of whether the trannys i was going to pull myself would actually work 3) and most importantly an off the shelf unit saved a WHOLE BUNCH OF TIME. I got the tranny home at 10am..and had it bolted in the car that night.!

So far i only have about 15miles on it around town, but it shifts and runs like butter! Not a drip or odd noise anywhere. Im very happy! $350 bucks for a tranny...$15 in tranny fluid and its fixed!...under 400 back on the road!

Now the car will be up for sale as was my original plan before the tranny quit delivering it to my sister.

Thanks for your help guys.

Also...I opened up the diff on the old tranny and it appears the bearings were what failed. The gears themself actually have all the teeth intact and look Ok.

Bikeman982

Excellent. Good to hear you found a suitable transaxle and also that you were able to put it in your car.

I spent $774 for a transaxle and it has been running like garbage - it does not shift properly.

That may be due to me not putting ATF in the torque converter prior to installation, or because the throttle cable

does not have the correct adjustment, or because the transaxle (supposed to be low mileage, running) is bad.

Anyway, I have driven the car about 100 miles and it has not improved much.

Sounds like you had the same transaxle and you got one that works for you.

I did sell a couple of 6th generation Corollas that my wife and I were driving.

Mostly due to difficulty passing CA emission tests. One had a bad tranny.

Hope to see your car on e-Bay or craigslist!

Maybe you will get a 7th generation to replace it??



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