1994 Toyota Tercel Transmission Locked Down

LUCKYJOHNNY2010

MEMBER
1994 TOYOTA TERCEL
4 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
164,000 MILES

I have a 1994 Toyota Tercel with exactly 164,000 miles on it. I bought the car from a auction back in 2007 for $700.00 replaced the engine with a 1994 Toyota Paseo Rebuilt Engine and it drove completely fine for 2 years. About 1 year ago I noticed that I was starting to have problems with the Transmission, I pulled into a convenience store parking lot one day and the car would not go into REVERSE, however I finally got the vehicle to backup and I drove it home IMMEDIATELY then parked it. Now all of a sudden I can't even move the car, even in NEUTRAL. I't's like it's completely LOCKED down. THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ELSE WRONG WITH THE CAR.
I actually have 2 questions.

1st: How can I move the car so I can get it to a shop?

2nd: How much would it cost to completely have the Transmission rebuilt.

Thanks Johnny

1 Reply

KHLOW2008

MECHANIC
41,815 POSTS

Hi Johnny,

Thank you for the donation.

There is a possibility the brakes are stuck. Jack up vehicle and test each wheel to see if any is seized. If not, it could be the trans is locked in park due to a dislodged or faulty shift cable.

For seized brakes, you would need to get it unstuck by rocking the vehicle forward and backwards with trans in neutral and handbrake off.

For the locked trans, there is nothing much you can do except get a tow truck.

The price for trans rebuilt varies palce to place and the best indicator would to enquire at a few places to get an idea how much it would cost.

It can range from $1500 to $3000.