So I'm junking my old 4 speed in favor of a w56 most likely. The question I have for you my fellows yotatechers is how much work am I looking at getting it bolted up? Will I need another transfer case as well? Do I get to cut a new hole in the floor? I know I'll need to have my drive shafts altered as well. Anyone know what a shop would charge to do that? Any info is greatly appreciated.


Also on a side note, has anyone heard from wab? Tuscoloosa got hammered pretty bad I'm hoping he's doing allright...

 

Brian is OK

L Series Transmissions are about 20.75" long, W56 is about 25" long.. gonna need to move the cross member back or make an adapter plate to move the mount back the 4" or so.

 

Back when I was researching this, here is what everyone told me: longer front d-shaft, shorter rear d-shaft, x-member must be moved back, floor boards shifter hole must be cut farther back.

One guy who actually did it said there was an issue with the top of the tranny rubbing against the floorboards...and I don't remember what he did to remedy that.

If you get some u-bolts supposedly you can just move the x-member back by using the back to holes in the frame for the front of the x-member, and wrapping u-bolts around the frame to bolt the back two on. Some have said they didn't need to cut their floorboards...

The best, cheapest way to do this is to be able to do it yourself and deal with what problems come up as you encounter them. Most "regular" shops won't touch a project like this, so you'd need to find one of those shops with a bunch of jacked up vehicles sitting outside and see if they're into that sort of thing. I'd think you'd pay for it, though...

 

To go through all that for a truck not being wheeled to the extreme, why not find a working L series (be it a L4x or L5x) and not go through all that just for your average truck/wheeler?

 

It does depend. Seems like the first gen trannys are always going out, so I can understand wanting to upgrade. My truck gets a lot of miles, so for me it was either a later model tranny, or the L52HD I ended up going with. But there's nothing wrong with going cheap and easy, so long as you don't mind pulling trannys now and then. The L series units were never the best and are pretty old at this point, and I figure it's not easy to find one in good condition with thousands of miles left on it.

 

You make a valid point. I just never plan to turn my truck into a dedicated wheeler so I'll probably be taking the same course of action you did with the L52HD, as my truck also sees quite a few miles.

I suppose if your intent was to go further than your average truck, it might make sense to go with something more 'modern'.

 

Yup. As soon as I bought my truck...any thoughts of just throwing in "parts that work" for cheap went out the window...it was nothing but the best!
But yeah, if it's just a truck to drive around town and wheel here and there, throwing in a tranny that works is good enough. If the truck is going to see a ton of use, and go on road trips and possibly be a DD, I think upgrading is probably the best way to go.

 

Yeah that's why the w56 is so appealing. This truck sees it's fair share of abuse so a stronger more reliable transmission is a must regardless of the extra work that'll go into it. Do you guys know by chance if I had a doner vehicle whether I could simply use the drive shafts off it? I assume the w56 never came with a solid axel option so I'm not sure how the setup is on ifs vehicles.

 

Not sure...but our trucks are small. I think smaller than any other. I know I can't find a topper that will fit on my tiny bed. They're all too long. So I kind of doubt it but having not done the job (and for some reason, at least on this forum, there seem to be few to none who can speak on this from experience...) I just can't say. Your best bet is just to simply measure. I know that doesn't help when you don't have all the parts laying around...but if you found and purchased a donor vehicle, you could measure all these things.

I can't imagine having a 4 speed, that's for sure. Would have made my recent trip down to Utah really aggravating...

 

I'm not the authority on this, but I seem to think maybe the 84/85 (possibly the 85 EFI trucks) had the W56's, so in that case a front shaft from that truck might be a workable solution. Before taking this as gospel though, I'd research some to get some facts.

 

Dsm I believe you are correct. Lucky I just got an 85 sr5 today. The motor is kaput but the drive train was my primary objective the rest of it is kinda a bonus Now I'm thinkin it'd be easier to just toss my 22r in it once it's cleaned up a bit...

 

84-85's carb had G52 or G54, some EFI 85's had W-56 s
based on http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/faq/parts/

 

Yeah this truck is an efi so I'm assuming it's the w56 behind it? The guy had said it was a 22r on Craigslist so I had already planned on just getting a g52 since he was local and the price was right. I'll have to give it a good looksee when I get off work today.

 

Ok so I'll be attempting to pull the w56 and the lame43 soon so I'll try to document it. Thisll be my first transmission swap so any pointers would be great. Anything tricky I néed to be on the lookout for or should it be a fairly basic pull?

 

It's really pretty basic, depending on what kind of wrenching you've done before. 3 people is really nice. The top two bellhousing bolts are aggravating...some use a lot of extensions and swivles and get them from the back. I use just a shorty ratchet with a "flex" head or whatever you call the heads that can angle up or down, and get in from the top, behind the valve cover. Only get about a quarter turn at a time...but it works fine.

A couple people under it, once everything is disconnected. You'll need to rock it back & forth to break the seal. If it's never been out, it'll definitely take some gentle rocking back & forth before it breaks loose. Then just slide it back until the input shaft is clear of the clutch, and carefully lower it to the ground. All sorts of other things to do of course...but that would be a long post and most of it is obvious.

Definitely drain it, definitely take the shifters off first. Especially if you're under there alone, don't be afraid to use your legs.

 

rent a transmission jack...i bought mine at Harbor Freight for $65 with it on sale and a 20% off coupon:
http://www.harborfreight.com/450-lb-...ack-39178.html