1.6 Liter Engine & Trans. Compatibility? Advice Desperately Needed.

7

78deluxe

awesome member
#1
#1
I have a 78 corolla deluxe liftback. It has the 1.6 liter engine and the T50 transmission. Gearbox is on its way out currently. Question is what transmissions are compatible with this motor. I can find the pick em up trucks a lot easier near me and they mostly have the 20r motor and I want to know if that tranny will bolt up. Please help, I love this car and would like it back on the road while i rebuild her original gearbox.

Thank you

Uncle Ruthless
 
Donabed Kopoian

Donabed Kopoian

6 Speed Master
#2
#2
The T50 and the W40/W50 from the pick-up won't line up.

Problem is, both transmissions have different bolt patterns, and the bellhousing on the W40/W50 has a different clutch fork location than the T50.
 
Last edited:
Scott O'Kashan

Scott O'Kashan

Super Moderator
#3
#3
78deluxe said:
I have a 78 corolla deluxe liftback. It has the 1.6 liter engine and the T50 transmission. Gearbox is on its way out currently. Question is what transmissions are compatible with this motor. I can find the pick em up trucks a lot easier near me and they mostly have the 20r motor and I want to know if that tranny will bolt up. Please help, I love this car and would like it back on the road while i rebuild her original gearbox.

Thank you

Uncle Ruthless
Click to expand...
Welcome to the Corolla Forum! :thumbup1::):clap::thumbup::balloon::party:

Sorry to hear about the transmission problems. What happened to it?

Here is a link to 16 used transmissions for sale for your Corolla -

http://www.car-part.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi
 
7

78deluxe

awesome member
#4
#4
thank you all

Thank you for your replies and advice i do believe it is helping. I learned that the 83 cellica had a t50 as well,(along with a few others of course) but this one is most plentiful and local. Another question though. It says I have a shorter shifter on the tail shaft for my car. So am I looking at any major problems to do this swap?
Thank you as always for your time.
 
Donabed Kopoian

Donabed Kopoian

6 Speed Master
#5
#5
shorter shifter? As in the height? As long as the position is the same, shouldn't make a difference, just make aure you grab a transmission with the shifter, just in case they are not compatible.
 
7

78deluxe

awesome member
#11
#11
Oh man long story. Clutch was acting like it went out at first which I totally expected to happen anyway. Once I got the transmission away from the engine and took the flywheel off to realize it had been replaced before and was put in backwards and had no pilot bearing on the input shaft. Replaced everything properly and put it back together. Changed the fluid out and there was an inch or so of metal goo on the magnet when I pulled the plug. Couple days later it starts making a horrible noise during decel while in 1st or 2nd. Not a grind noise though, a very hard to explain in text noise lol. Then yesterday it made an all new noise that I can't describe at all. Turned the car off and it won't turn over now.
Previous to any clutch problem though the starter would occasionally click once when j turned the key, so I would bump it til it started. It was replaced shortly before I bought the car. My dad said it's possible I broke the starter where it meets the gearbox. I won't know for sure til I take it apart. Don't worry there will be pictures for some DIY.

Like I said long story. It probably could have used more dragons...

Thanks for your interest



Sent from my HTCONE using Tapatalk
 
7

78deluxe

awesome member
#12
#12
Oh yeah and my mistake it's a wagon and not a lift back. I know it sounds like a ridiculous mistake to make but I couldn't find the wagon classification at first and since the car is so small I wasn't sure it would've been given that class. But wrong again.

Sent from my HTCONE using Tapatalk
 
Donabed Kopoian

Donabed Kopoian

6 Speed Master
#13
#13
If the starter makes a click when you attempt to start it, that is a worn battery or corroded terminals/bad cables. The starter doesn't meet the gearbox, it meets the flywheel, and if that broke you'd know. Sounds like bloody murder when you go to turn the car over, or the starter would freewheel without turning the engine over.

I think by short shifter, they mean that the tailshaft of the transmission is shorter. If you installed a longer transmission, at the very least, you're hacking the driveshaft to shorten it, and the shifter may not line up with the hole in the center console where the shifter bolts down. It's a lot of work for nothing.
 
7

78deluxe

awesome member
#14
#14
It wasn't a dying battery sound. It was a single click each time I turned the key. Thank you for the info on the short shifter. If I took the driveline from the car I get the tranny from would that help with problem?

Sent from my HTCONE using Tapatalk
 
7

78deluxe

awesome member
#15
#15
Also maybe a little off topic maybe not you be the judge, but I'm looking at a possible complete powerplant swap from 85-87 ae86 gt-s into my wagon. I just wanna know if it's a pipe dream or something possible.

Sent from my HTCONE using Tapatalk
 
Donabed Kopoian

Donabed Kopoian

6 Speed Master
#16
#16
78deluxe said:
It wasn't a dying battery sound. It was a single click each time I turned the key. Thank you for the info on the short shifter. If I took the driveline from the car I get the tranny from would that help with problem?

Sent from my HTCONE using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Yeah, that single click is because you have enough power to activate the starter solenoid, but not enough to engage it. If you know the battery is good, check your cables for excessive wear.

Yes, taking the driveshaft from the car you get the tranny from should work, but I am not 100% on that (usually the bolt pattern for the rear differential remains unchanged, so you should be safe).

As far as the engine swap goes, that engine oughta fit. You might need to change a few things like brackets and move some emissions hoses around, but you won't have to do a whole lot to get it to work.
 
T

Toyotanut

New Member
#17
#17
The engine in your corolla is known as a 2t-c, it is a 1.6l (as you already know) OHV (it has pushrods and a cam mounted in the engine block) hemi engine. It is the predecessor to the 3t-c which is a 1.8l variant of the t series engine. The t50 transmission is only available stateside from Corollas circa 76 or 77 to 1987. There are two different versions of the t50 the early and the late version. The differences are the input shaft bearing ( mounted behind the bellhousing) and the output spline counts. The early version has 20 splines on the output (which you have) and the later version has 22 splines. There is an adapter plate to run the w50 gearbox behind your 2t-c which can be found here: http://brdracing.com/t50_t40_w50_drivetrain.htm . You will also need a clutch disk to suit (truck disk does fit if you have the large flywheel or you can order the disk from brd for $120 at that same link). T50 gearboxes are getting harder and harder to find in working order so if you have the option to upgrade to the w50 gearbox do it. If you have any more questions please feel free to message me here or respond to this thread.
 
T

Toyotanut

New Member
#18
#18
Sorry for ignoring the starter issue in my previous post, the starters on the t series engines are really in a horrible spot and generally meet an early death due to the heat from the exhaust manifold wrapped almost completey around it (to remove the starter from the car you will have to remove the manifold from the head), I would venture to guess that you have no idea when the starter was last replaced, go in and get another one with a lifetime warranty you will enjoy not having to spend that money again because if you keep the car you WILL need that warranty.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top