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Welcome to the site FearMyYota!
If you're looking for a tercel specific forum for repair, engine swaps, and horsepower stuff, TercelOnline.com is where you want to go (I've been a member for years). If you're looking to improve your gas mileage, here is where you want to be.
That being said, the Tercel is a GREAT car to get good mileage with. With little to no effort you can get high 30s to low 40s. Once I got 44 mpg in my 96 with a 4 speed manual transmission on a highway trip. I think I had a tailwind though as that was a one time thing. But, it did always get mid to high 30s before I even knew about any driving techniques or mods that help with fuel economy. My 1996 Paseo I had up to 72 mpg with a fair amount of ecomods and using all the driving techniques I know.
A trans swap probably won't net you a big gain in fuel economy to be honest. As MetroMPG said, most of the 5 speeds are geared about the same or shorter than the 4 speed. That means your rpms will actually increase on the highway. The only exception is a 5th gen (1995-1999) Tercel 5 speed transmission. And, even that transmission won't help you a massive amount. I don't know what speed you're traveling at, but at 60 mph, the 4 speed will put you at 2520 rpm. The 5th gen 5 speed will put you at 2175 rpm. It is a drop, but I don't think you'll see a huge gain in gas mileage from it. You'd probably see a bigger gain from slowing down 5 mph.
If you're willing to tinker with the insides of the transmission, there are greater benefits to be had though.
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