Tranny Swap: 89 into 87?
 

Ok, well the 5spd in my 87' 4runner took a dump. I have an 89' Truck that is in pretty sad shape, but the T-case/tranny are good. Is there any reason that I can't take the T-case/tranny out of the 89' and have it bolt right into the 87?

Should be no problem at all.

It'll work just fine. I'd investigated the whole thing when I was pondering swapping all of the powertrain from my '86 to an '87 with a virtually rust-free frame and body. All the mechanical components fit interchangeably from the 1st to the last 1st gen. models 4rnrs.

That's great news! I was 99.9% sure it would work but figured I should check before getting the tranny all the way out of the 89'. Hopefully I can get it done tomorrow, because driving the 4rnr with a 2spd manual blows (terrible grinding/clunking/whining in 2nd, 3rd, and 5th gears)!

Assuming both trucks are the same engine, should swap out. Only minor difference in the 4-cyl. t-cases is if one is a top shifter and the other a forward shifter. If so, no problem as long as you swap the tranny and matching t-case, aside from possible minor differences in shifter locations with the floor.

As Roger said, you will have to modify the floor slightly to get the shifters to fit correctly. And it may or may not work exactly right with your center console (assuming you have one)

The only down side is losing the top shift transfer case, which only really matters if going to dual cases.

Well, this truck was auto-to-5spd swapped before I bought it, so it doesn't have a console, and the shifters are kinda odd anyway. I wont be getting rid of the old case and tranny, so I'll have them around if i ever want to go doubler. I am actaully considering trying out the dual Trannies route instead when i can afford 35x12.5s

Ok, well I finally finished the swap. Oddly enough, both trucks had top shift T-cases in them, so the 87' definitely didn't have an 87 tranny in it. The only real trouble was getting the top 2 bolts out of the tranny on both trucks...that sucked.

glad to hear it went well for you.