JaredL

After a year or so of trying to figure out why my 4Runner was experiencing cooling issues and it is getting worse, I am at the point where the only culprit left is the head gasket. Now I need to make the decision to pull the engine and rebuild or attempt to do just the head gasket repair. I am leaning towards pulling the engine and having the entire thing rebuilt since I fear there might be other issues with the block. The engine was rebuilt about 12 years ago but I was on a budget back then and the rebuilder wasn't exactly the best-- who knows what they did.

In terms of pulling the engine, do I need to drop the transmission or can I just unbolt the engine and move it forward and out? I have the A340 automatic transmission and I see plenty of resources for a manual transmission and how it is best to drop that but I am not sure if the same goes for the automatic.

Thanks and as I go through this, I will post updates.

JARED

85TRD4runner

Hey Jared, I have an 85 runner with the same auto transmission that I am currently rebuilding the engine in. When I pulled the engine on mine I left the trans in the truck, was much simpler then trying to remove it. I just used a floor jack to adjust the height of the trans when pulling the motor, then I slid a 2x4 piece of wood across the front leaf springs and lowered the trans onto that and it worked perfectly.

JaredL

Thanks 85TRD4runner and good idea. With the engine out, is there any work that can (should) be done on the torque converter since it will be all exposed? How is your rebuild going? You doing it yourself?


Thanks,
JARED

85TRD4runner

Depends what kind of condition your transmission was in when it was last driven. If everything was fine, shifted smooth and the color of the fluid was good, I personally would leave it alone. If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it kind of thing. Yes, I am trying to rebuild the motor myself. It’s slowly coming along. I’ve been spending a good deal of time trying to find good quality parts which seems to be a challenge these days as so many of the parts out there are made in China now. I’ve just been parts hunting lately, getting everything ready for the machine shop.

JaredL

Thanks again 85TRD4Runner. My transmission shifts perfectly and was just inspected at the beginning of the year--so I should be good there. I will probably get my engine parts from a combo of 22rePerformance, LCE, and Toyota. Definitely going with a Toyota headgasket. Oh, I almost forgot--when you dropped the transmission on the 2x4, did you need to disconnect the shifter linkage to keep it from damaging the interior shifter or did that matter?

Thanks,
JARED

Co_94_PU

iTrader: (-1)

On the ifs vehicle models , should be the same for solid axel, you can use a ratchet strap looped around the frame rails and doubled up under the transmission. It doesn't shift at all , downwards, so no stress on the boots or trans mount.

85TRD4runner

No problem man. When I lowered the trans onto the 2x4 it only had to drop a half inch, so it was essentially in the same spot it would normally be in with the engine installed so I didn’t bother disconnecting the shift linkages or even loosening the trans mount. There was enough free play in the linkages on mine so I wasn’t too worried about bending anything. Another thing worth mentioning that I did to give me peace of mind in case the 2x4 ever split or broke is I positioned two jack stands directly under the wood so it would only move a half inch or so.

dropzone

iTrader: (6)

Great ideas with the 2x4's.
there is a little tab on your jackstands that you might consider bending in, it keeps you from pulling the riser out of the stand...i found out the hard way a few years ago when i pulled on a jack stand at an angle and the base landed on my foot

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the tip on the jack stand. I was unaware of the tab and have them to to come out on me as well.

se7enine

iTrader: (2)

You can buy a floor jack adapter for $50.

58rennur4

iTrader: (1)

Not a bad gig 12 years on a rebuild... Costing out the expense of that say around 1000.00 it may of cost you, that is only $7 per month cost

JaredL

So the engine has been pulled--I really didn't need to drop the transmission at all. The engine moved forward and out without issue. Of course the torque converter came out with it as I didn't disconnect it. I hope that doesn't cause any problems but while the torque converter is out, with the torque converter removed and everything exposed, I see a seal around the transmission output shaft. It looks ok, maybe a little oily but I was thinking of replacing it since it is probably old. I think Toyota refers to this seal as the thrust washer seal on the oil pump (part number 35301a). Is it worth replacing or should I leave it alone?


Thanks,
JARED

JaredL

I wanted to give an update on my engine rebuild. The shop should be finishing up putting my engine back together. It's pretty much a new engine except for the block. I decided to go with all LCE/Toyota parts for everything else. Should turn out good. On a side note, I was putting my torque converter back in preparing for when I get my engine back and noticed my flex plate is cracked. Good thing I caught it now. So it looks like I am getting a new flex plate (part number 32101-20050) from Toyota.

I was curious how this part cracked and read up on the subject. Apparently missing locating dowels can cause the flex plate to flex too much. Locating dowels? What the heck are those--I don't recall any dowels between the engine and transmission--just the bolts. Anybody have a part number for these dowels? Once I get the flexplate back on, do I need to align anything or just slap the engine to the torque converter? This is an automatic transmission by the way.


Thanks all. Pretty bummed about that cracked flexplate.


Thanks,
JARED

JaredL

By he way, I ended up replacing the oil pump seal with a new Toyota one. Was super easy to replace--now to figure out the flex plate issue