mrkanda Posted January 24, 2007 Report Share Posted January 24, 2007 Hello, I'm new to the forum. Hi to everybody :) I just got my wife's college car back from her sister when she got a new car, so we could have something to scoot around in while my car's in the shop. It's a '91 Corolla DX wagon- AE95 I believe. Well, after putting about $900 into a new exhaust system, front brakes, CV axle, hubcaps, inspection, and labor, the transmission locked up on me in traffic yesterday and seems to be shot. I was wondering what I can do. Obviously the car is worth about $1200 at best (aside from sentimental value, of course), so I would be looking to repair or replace the transmission for no more than $300 to $500 total and then keep for a while until I can sell it to recoupe my money or until I can afford a new car. It has about 167k mi. on it and I believe it has been maintained OK. The oil was almost 2 quarts low when I got it from my Sister-in-Law, although she said it had a recent oil change. I added two quarts and changed the leaking exhaust manifold and exhaust system, and it hasn't seemed to leak since. The car is automatic and 2wd and I believe has the 3spd tranny hooked up to the 4AFE engine. Would it be possible to swap in a new tranny myself? I have done a timing belt and brakes on my other car myself. Is it somethine that is fairly straight forward with just the right tools? Should I go with a Junk Yard tranny for $100 or look for something better on eBay or a local parts yard like LKQ? LKQ wants $525 for a tranny from a '96 with 114k mi on it and $600 for a tranny from a '92 with 74k mi. on it. That includes a 6mo. warranty on parts. I talked to a few shops and they want about $1400 to $1500 to rebuild or replace, or about $400 to $500 in labor to install one that I provide. I also talked to by budy who can install one in his backyard for about $200. So, what do you all think is the best way to go here? I am also considering swapping in a 4 spd auto from the LE or later model Corollas. What years would fit? Would a manual tranny swap be advisable? Any feedback would be welcome. Thanks alot! -Mark Fitch Alachua, FL (Near Gainesville) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Des Posted January 25, 2007 Report Share Posted January 25, 2007 Hey hey, Change the gearbox yourself, Its not terribly hard, Just think about what you are doing and you should be right. If you change it yourself you will learn more about the car and if something goes wrong you have a better chance or finding out what it is. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrkanda Posted January 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2007 Is there a write up anywhere here about changing out a tranny, or should I just use the FSM? Also, do you think I could swap in the 4spd auto if I had the 3spd to begin with? Thanks. -Mark Hey hey, Change the gearbox yourself, Its not terribly hard, Just think about what you are doing and you should be right. If you change it yourself you will learn more about the car and if something goes wrong you have a better chance or finding out what it is. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Des Posted January 25, 2007 Report Share Posted January 25, 2007 Changing from a 3sp to a 4sp shouldnt be a problem unless they come from different engines, I don't think there is a write up anywhere well none that i found. Medicine_man and i pulled a Engine and gearbox out of a FWD halfcut and that wasnt to difficult, I thought the AE95's were 4WD ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrkanda Posted March 12, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2007 Changing from a 3sp to a 4sp shouldnt be a problem unless they come from different engines, I don't think there is a write up anywhere well none that i found. Medicine_man and i pulled a Engine and gearbox out of a FWD halfcut and that wasnt to difficult, I thought the AE95's were 4WD ? Yah, we thought it was AWD at first, but it turns out it is the 2wd version of the S/W. According the Wikepedia AE95 refers to the S/W in all its forms, standard/DX/or Alltrac. I was just going by what some other posts on here said. As for the trans it seems that the 3spd- A131L has 15 pan bolts and the 4spd- A240L has 18 pan bolts. I'm not sure if the 4spd would match up to my engine or not. It is the same engine (4AFE). Obviously I would have to get a 4spd ECU to swap in if I were to do the swap. Maybe a 5spd conversion would be better. I'm not sure. Is there anyone on here who would know if it's possible or has done either of these swaps? I would greatly appreciate the help. Thanks. Mark Fitch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrkanda Posted April 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2007 Yah, we thought it was AWD at first, but it turns out it is the 2wd version of the S/W. According the Wikepedia AE95 refers to the S/W in all its forms, standard/DX/or Alltrac. I was just going by what some other posts on here said. As for the trans it seems that the 3spd- A131L has 15 pan bolts and the 4spd- A240L has 18 pan bolts. I'm not sure if the 4spd would match up to my engine or not. It is the same engine (4AFE). Obviously I would have to get a 4spd ECU to swap in if I were to do the swap. Maybe a 5spd conversion would be better. I'm not sure. Is there anyone on here who would know if it's possible or has done either of these swaps? I would greatly appreciate the help. Thanks. Mark Fitch Hello, Could anyone tell me what I would need to swap in the 4spd tranny? Would I just need the 4spd ECU to go with it, or is there something else also? What do you think it would take to rebuild my existing 3spd? The differential bearing exploded but the case isn't cracked. The tranny tech who took it appart left everything in the back of the wagon. Now, I just have to come up with a new tranny, rebuild that one, or sell it as it is. I would like to fix it myself to save money. Can anyone tell me what I need to do to swap in a new one or rebuild the old one? Thanks. -Mrkanda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kebin[RL] Posted April 9, 2007 Report Share Posted April 9, 2007 2wd??? ive never heard of the wagons coming in a fwd layout?! Can you take pics? As for the conversion, you will find whatever you do it will be easy to do with the engine out. As in drop the motor and gearbox out together> take off old gear box> bolt on new gearbox> sort out wiring etc.> install motor back in I learned the hard way with my wagon :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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