1st Gen Tranny ID
 

Hey fellows I have an 81 toyota 4x4. The parts are so hard to find these days that I usually just buy a local parts truck, strip what I need and sell the entire truck to recoop some cash. Anyways I have an 81 (that came with a 4speed) now I have a five speed out of an 82 truck I purchased. How can I identify what tranny I have now, and what trans were available from 79-83 for 4x4's. I dont recall having any tags on the trans when I removed and installed it. Thanks

If your current 4 speed has a side shifter, it is an L43. If it is a top shift 4 speed it is an L45.
1st Gen 5 Speeds are either L50s or L52 and will be top shift.
All First gen transmissions are around 20.75" long

L43 Side shifter:
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o...rcase/0014.jpg
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o...e/P1050522.jpg

L45, L50 and L52 pretty much all look alike on the outside:
From Marlin's website:
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o...ansmission.jpg
some of my stash:
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o...e/P6280621.jpg

^^^Well I suppose I have a 50 or 52.The one I pulled was not a side shift, thanks for clearing that up. I also have a marlin tranny I got from a parts truck for safe keeping!! (Not for sale) But still dont know what it is. Are the ratio's different from a 50 to 52?

L50 and L52 have the same gears:
L50 1981-82 3.928, 2.333, 1.451, 1.000, 0.851. R= 4.743 Gear 21-spline Top Shift 20.875" long, 75x19mm input bearing
L52 1983 .....3.928, 2.333, 1.451, 1.000, 0.851, R= 4.743 Gear 21-spline Top Shift 20.875" long, 80x20mm input bearing

The L Series is not known to be that strong but the L52 would be the better choice because of the bigger input bearing:

Marlin's Picture link of Transmissions:
http://www.marlincrawler.com/transmi...built-complete