Removing 2WD transmission from 5VZ-FE engine, 4WD trans questions

How hard is it to remove the ATX trans from my PreRunner? Do I have to pull the engine/trans as a combo, or can I get to everything from underneath and take the trans out while leaving the engine in the bay? I want to swap in a replacement trans.

Also, am I able to run an ATX 4WD transmission in there WITHOUT the front propeller, front diff, and front axles? A guy has a trans he wants to sell me from a 4x4 Tacoma. I'd like to convert but I'd need to locate the front diff and buy some axles.... so in the meantime if I could run this trans in 2WD mode with no front propeller shaft or front driveline parts, that would be great. Is it feasible?

Also, someone told me that when I do convert to 4WD, I need to know what ratio my rear diff is. Can someone explain this to me? Is it true that the PreRunners from the Gen 1 trucks came with not one but THREE different ring gears?

 

You can remove the tranny without pulling the engine, yes you can remove it from underneath.

I think you can run that 4x4 tranny and transfer case fine, lots of people drive without a front driveshaft until they get one made. You can find what your rear gear ratio is by looking at your car doorjamb you will see a code, here is the link to explain this some: The reason by finding out what you have is so when you look for a axle/differential you get the same as your rear cause the t-case will spin at one set speed at both ends, you would have your front and back tires spinning at different speeds if they were different...not good!

Oh forgot to mention you might need to change your driveshaft length in rear for the t-case your gonna use

 

Ok... even after reading that page, I have absolutely NO idea how to interpret it. Here's what I *think* is my code:



???

Edit: I THINK I understand, and if so, then I have:

8" ring gear, 4:10 ratio w/ 2 Pinion Open diff.

SO.... how do I tell what the specs are for a given front differential? Were the front diffs only offered in a certain spec? Someone help further enlighten me on all this. Also, which gear ratios are better for which driving conditions? I would think that a higher ratio would be better for pep and off the line oomph, but a lower ratio would be better for more grunt at higher speeds. ???

 

Usually people increase their gear ratio to run larger tires and to help crawl slower with more torque. A lower gear ratio will give you more top end then quick off the line. I dunno how to tell what the front ratio is from looking at it, ask the guy selling you the tranny what it is if he knows.

 

Wait I'm confused. I thought the front and rear diffs have to be the same. You're telling me now the trans has to be matched to it, too? I must be getting confused because that makes no sense lol... this is all new to me, I understand cars but in most cases there is one diff in the car, and you can change it out for others sometimes to improve power, low/high end response, etc.

Also, I've been reading this:

http://home.4x4wire.com/erik/diffs/

Seems to have lots of good info there... but if I indeed have the PreRunner diff, then maybe there is NOT a corresponding front diff to match with the 4:10...? Maybe I read it wrong :/

 

What it boils down to, is that the front diff has to have the same gear ratio as the rear diff. If you scrounge a front diff that does not have 4.10 gears, then you need to re-gear one of them (front or rear) so they match.

Tranny doesn't matter other than to be the 4x4 version that bolts to a transfer case.

 

From what I've been reading on Erik's Toyota diff info page, the 95.5 to 04 Tacoma front diffs only came with one spec, which I believe is 4:10. That being the case, since my rear diff is 4:10, in theory if I make sure to get a 95.5 to 04 Tacoma front diff I should be okay.

In theory

 

Sorry I confused you Sometimes its hard to turn my thoughts in mah brains into sentences here...

 

I don't know how you got that idea from Erik's page. The 4x4 Tacomas have different gear ratios depending on the model, engine size, tire size and transmission.
For example, I have 4.56 gears on mine (front and back naturally).

 

You also need to make sure that you get a v6 transmission and not a 4cy, they are different is some aspects. What year model is your truck? Yes you can run a 4x4 trans without any other bits, your truck wouldn't know the difference. If you are sure that the trans tc combo is the same as your truck get it. you don't even have to install it right away, buys you time to get all your stuff together like driveshafts and trans mount. i had my trans sitting in my garage over 7 months before i could get it installed when i converted.