Question on Transmission

jan423, Apr 15, 4:06am
I don't know anything about cars so could someone please tell if you have a 4WD transmission in your car, can another go in that is NOT 4WD. Just a dumb old lady asking this lol.

brapbrap8, Apr 15, 4:10am
What sort of car is it?

jan423, Apr 15, 4:12am
1997 Mazda Capella Station Wagon

mrfxit, Apr 15, 4:17am
Yes you can BUT requires extensive changes to the rear suspension.
WILL also require a cert for the mods.

This is for AWD (4 wheel permanent drive vehicles)

4x4 / 4wd selectable is different.
Not a hard job if you have the whole donor car of the same model but 2wd, to get parts from

jan423, Apr 15, 4:25am
Thanks you for that, seems it will be an expensive exercise. Will just have to keep looking for a 4WD transmission. hard to come by at the moment.

mrfxit, Apr 15, 4:56am
Find a rear ended 2wd wreck.
Find someone that can swap the parts for you cheap but knows what they are doing.
Get it certed for a straight forward inspection of $450 (no surprises for the inspector)

m16d, Apr 15, 7:37am
Seriously. forget it and go buy a new car.

jan423, Apr 15, 7:46am
I would if I could

brapbrap8, Apr 15, 7:56am
I would have to agree.
Not sure which 97 Capella OP has, but at least some of the 2x4 models use the Ford CD4E transmission so it could be a whole different can of worms doing that conversion.
Even running well it is still a very old vehicle now, and likely won't be worth doing the scale of repairs you are looking at.
If you have a tight budget then have a look at the "suggestions for car for learner" thread on here for some opinions on buying a good cheap car.

jan423, Apr 15, 8:07am
Thank you for that, will have a look at the thread.

alfred011, Apr 15, 11:24am
Just put in a 2WD gearbox and leave the driveshaft off , the rear diff will just free wheel all the brakes will still work as normal, probably use less fuel.

motorboy2011, Apr 16, 1:10am
Chances are the faulty parts in your 4wd trans are able to be pilfered from a 2wd trans.

jan423, Apr 16, 3:43am
Thanks for this, have just sent email to my mechanic in Auckland and asked him if this could be done. Waiting on a reply now.

mrfxit, Apr 16, 3:59am
Will also FAIL the next wof.
AWD suspension is set up to perform as ONE unit.
The engine ECU will also be out of sync plus if this is an auto, the gearbox ECU is different between AWD & FWD.
Theres all sorts of 'fish hooks" with AWD vehicles depending on the exact model.

I knew of 1 guy who disconnected his speedo & the suspension went rock solid (limp mode)

jan423, Apr 16, 4:05am
Oh hell, now I feel like a fool by emailing my mechanic.

tweake, Apr 16, 8:08am
why can't the gearbox be repaired?

mrfxit, Apr 16, 9:23am
.

Had my Nissan Caravan manual gearbox done & that cost $1500 just for the box.

franc123, Apr 16, 10:21am
Nobody is getting a fully rebuilt auto transaxle for 1250 fitted! That'll be for a used unit. How that's going to break down depends on how greedy the wrecker is, they always load the prices for stuff that's hard to get and problematic.

lusty9, Mar 10, 2:40pm
a car of that age its not worth opening the bonnet let alone wasting keyboard time, sheesh I just did.