vega$runner

have a quick question regarding removing the engine. I spun a rod bearing in my surpercharged 4runner w/170,000 miles. going to replace it with a ATK long block. The FSM states to remove engine/trans together. In the haynes manual and from other posts here, says engine can be pulled w/o the trans. I'm at the step right now from the haynes manual that says to remove the driveline. that's basically all it says! So does the front and rear driveshafts need to be removed? or just the front. I assume the front to allow access? or does it mean to remove the whole front differential? have searched but unable to find anything, any help is appreciated.

A.Wilson013

There is no reason to remove any drive shafts, or the differential. Why would you?

Texas_Ace

You should just be able to remove the tranny from the block and the block should pull right out.

Run down the tranny removal process in the FSM. Make sure yo use a jack stand to hold the tranny since you will not be able to move the truck or do anything that could knock the tranny loose as that would be very bad.

Once the tranny is disconnected from the block you should be good to go.

WORMS

I would leave the trans in there..If you are using it there is no reason to spend time pulling it and all the other small crap that goes with it.

vega$runner

thanks for the replies, seems after more searching, i'm going to go ahead and pull the front diff, reason being, there are 4 bolts i need to remove on the torque convert dust shield to access the driveplate bolts. the passenger side shield bolts look like no problem, but the engine side is obstructed by the diff., and seems to be too much of a squeeze to access. and if i do manage to get them off, i still need enough room to access the torque converter/driveplate bolts, so i'm going to drop the diff. If i had 2wd, it wouldn't be a problem. As for the post about removing the transmission, i think that is to much of a hassle, cause there are so many connections, and with the transfer case attached, because of the length, seems the weight distribution of the trans would be hard to manage when lining up during install. I'll update this thread with pictures eventually. thanks

Texas_Ace

Be sure to update how hard it is to remove the tranny, i am about to replace mine and would like to know what i am getting into. Dropping the front diff was not part of the deal i had wanted to do.

dntsdad

You can access those bolts without removing the diff. Quite easily actually

Texas_Ace

Thats what i wanted to hear. It is getting cold here and don't have a week to mess around with 20 other parts of the truck.

vega$runner

alright, i'm going to try w/o dropping the front diff, after assessing the situation it seems i should have enough access on the passenger side of the transmission to access the torque convert/driveplate bolts w/turning the crankshaft, just as long as i'm able to get the dust shield bolts out on the driver side.

WORMS

I agree with spongebob, its not as hard as pulling the dif, but its your truck and It can be done either way.

UKrunner

I too am at this point. Any tips on how to access all the bolts for the bell housing and torque converter? I can see maybe 7 of the bolts I need to remove for the bell housing and am struggling to remove some on the inspection plate. I can get at them but they are incredibly tight and I cant get enough leverage on them.

This is not as easy as it is on the 2nd gens!