85 4 Runner AUTO Tranny
 

Hey guys I need some feedback asap. I am looking at a nice 85 4Runner that has a auto tranny. What is the good and bad on the Toyota auto? Are they reliable? Can you put any performance kits in them that will improve the overall performance & durability of the tranny? I plan on putting at the most some 36's with a gear swap in the future if I buy this at all. How hard would it be to put a 5 speed in the auto equipped truck? Thanks Guys.

Those auto trannies suck IMO. I swapped a 5 spd into mine. Not hard.

With 36s, it will be a slug.

:guitar:

Here is a thread on the subject. https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...l-auto-186109/
In my opinion its about a toss up on which is better, it is more personal preference.
If you want to have more strength you can swap in a auto from a tacoma.
There are also stand alone shifters if you want absolute control with the auto.

I just don't know what to think at this point. I read the other thread, but really don't see the answer to my question. Are there performance kits available that will make the auto a better option? I will be using this 4runner for daily driving 95% of the time, and i neither live in the swamp or on top of a mountain. Thanks for any advice.

Theres not much aftermarket stuff to buy for auto yota trannys..... you could change the fluid and filter.... unless you want to rebuild it.... then you could prolly get somewhere.... If you going to be using it as a daily driver you may not want to break into the trans much. replace fluid and filter though. The autos pull pretty well in yotas... if your looking for speed then your looking at the wrong type of truck... its meant for pulling and hauling and daily driving.... it will do fine... i've not heard much bad about em... but to get the real feel of a yota most people swap manuals in their trucks.... which is fine i supose.... i've seen lots of rock crawlers using the 22re with a stock auto trans with some gearing.... i mean its up to you....

Read up on this build thread. He worked his auto tranny in a perfect way with lockup and elec control.

If I was keeping my drivetrain setup I was going to convert it to automatic just for the luxury and control.

https://www.yotatech.com/f191/dirtco...thread-155840/

I have a 85 fourrunner with an auto for the lid to drive works fine as a daily driver. Had one in my 86 froze the slip joint up along with the ujoints on the rear drive shalft ,(didn't feel the it shaking cause I dive a dump truck all day long) and it cause the tranny housing to crack in half. Replaced it with a junkyard unit went fine for another 2 years and then cracked in half again. was too much money to replace the case so i put a 5 speed in , that was 8 years ago still running the manual.

im swaping mine right now the auto had no power at all. its pretty simple all youll have to do is put a jumper on the neutral switch

My 85 has an auto. I have 33 inch tires with 5.29s and I can pull 75 on the freeway no problem

Auto's
 

I am running 35's with 4.88's with a 22r equipped with a Weber and a header. 60 is about it on the highway, but it's not for the highway and once you get offroad in 4lo it works great. Especially with the manual trans controller, you can take of in 1, 2 or 3 if you want.

You say it is pretty simple, but what about installing the clutch pedal and the slave cylinder,lines and linkage? Is the auto equipped trucks much trouble to install the necessary clutch parts? I am thinking of just shying away from this truck. I am planning on using it for a daily driver, but I don't want any tranny issues to start with. It doesn't seem like there is a good fix for the autos except to get rid of them.