Maximus924

I know its been covered, i know repair manuals say to pull as one, and I know its possible to take the engine out without taking the transmission out... but I need input. Has anyone done this? strategies? tips? this is what I have come up with for ideas so far...

Truck: 1992 4runner w/ 3VZE and Auto Trans (4x4)

Main concern is the bellhousing - obviously... and more specifically the top 2 bolts...

My ideas are...

1. Extensions/Swivels... but to do this does the back half of the trans need to be lowered for a good angle?

2. Just sticking hands up with stubby wrenches... - this is going to take time and patience assuming i can find enough torque to make the initial breaking of the bolt.

3. jacking motor up, removing engine mounts completley, drop motor lower and allow more clearance at firewall to get to bolts from engine compartment or wheel well.

What other ideas?

Also, what other tips are useful when removing the engine without the transmission??


Thanks!!

Jacob

toytech76

Very easy to do. Remove the hood, cut the mounts loose, bellhousing bolts, starter, let the a/c compressor lay there as well as the p/s pump, pull the intake plenum to undo the engine harness and fuel lines, pull the engine fan and radiator and it should pop right out of the top

Green93

I just finished putting mine back in. Same truck as you. I have a 93 xcab 4x4 with the auto and 3.0 v6.

I undid the bell housing bolts with the engine and tranny sitting in their usual positions. It is frustrating but I had every extension I owned connected together with a swivel on the end. I started at the back of the tranny and fed the extension over top to get to the last 2 bolts. You will have to work by feel.

I have also heard of people removing the center console and getting to them through a cover plate. I have no experience with this though.

Another thing I did was leave the torque converter in the tranny since I didn't want to mess around with the fluid. There is a little cover plate on the front of the bell housing. You can get a wrench in there and undo one bolt at a time. Then rotate the engine and get the next one. I think there are 6 bolts total. If you eliminate the crossover you can reach down from the top and get those top bolts when you re-assemble.

Good luck,
Jason

Noltz

I would personally pull the transmission out FIRST, but that's me. Using a ½" extension (48" long), and lowering the transmission crossmember, the upper bolts are easy to access. I also use a wobble on the extension w/shallow sockets. Transmission can be out in less than an hour w/air tools and a hoist. Gives you a chance to clean it up, replace the input / pump seals (common failure) while it's all apart.

toytech76

removing the trans is alot of extra work you dont need to do. With a good set of 1/2 extensions and some impact swivel sockets, the bellhousing bolts are no problem

ahickman

Hey man, I just went through this with my 94 and it was a pain. Like you, I prefered to pull just the block and leave the transmission. The biggest pain was getting to the top two bolts and breaking them free. I had to get a 24" extension and a swivel socket (17 mm, I believe). Had a friend stick his hand in through the wheel well and guid the socket onto the bolt head. Took everything I had to break it free. The other troublesome bolt was the top (15 mm) bolt on the starter. Had to use the same extension and get to it from the front. Take the AC and PS pumps out first to make it easier. Good luck!

mt_goat

That WOULD be sweet!

just a 22re

or just look at your firewall and cut two holes and go straight on to them just an idea but is it worth it???

Maximus924

i'm going to spend a couple hours tinkering with the truck today, hoping to get the hardest parts done, then ill come in next weekend with the cherry picker ( if all goes well) yank the hood and pull the motor!

p.s. to the person who said to just remove the trans first... unless I was a toyota mechanic and removed the 18 foot long Auto trans from 4x4 toyota's all day long... its not just an hour to get it out..... and then... what about getting it in?! i replaced the trans in my runner about 4 years ago and oh my god it was a nightmare... a transmission jack would have helped at the time.. but is still so awkward with the extra weight of the transfer case off on one side and the crazy long body.... so the trans WILL NOT come out... or ill just sell my runner lol...

SEAIRESCUE

Top 2 are easy with a swivel head 3/8 socket wrench and short 17 or 19mm socket. Once they are broken loose, then you can reach from down under with about 2 feet of socket extensions and a swivel.

I would NOT pull both. You have to severely tilt the engine in the extraction process and fluid will run everywhere if you don't cap off lines really well. And, you may run out of engine hoist travel as you tilt the engine almost straight up. Also, the engine will not want to separate from the transmission due to 2 dowel alignment pins that are tight fit. But once you get a split started, use a screwdriver to carefully separate them. Pull the 6 converter bolts from the flywheel. If you leave the converter on, you risk damaging the pump especially when you reassemble. That converter has to be put on the transmission and rotated numerous times until the converter engages the pump twice. I think the final measurement from the bellhousing inward is around an inch to an inch and a quarter.

My $0.02

Noltz

I am, or was, a Toyota mechanic, made "Pro" level while I was there. And it didn't take long to pull transmissions for clutches, so I assumed that the auto would not be too hard. Honestly, never had to pull an auto, so I was going on an educated guess. I would also lower the transmissions for the infamous 4WD indicator switch problem, again not that hard. But - as I stated - I have the benefit of using a hoist, air tools, and lots of bodies around.

Did you get to your upper bolts okay?

Maximus924

Yes i did get the upper bolts, using a rachet and many extensions and wobble extensions...
also got all the torque converter bolts and motor mount bolts... the engine is ready to pull so im going to spend some time this week prepping the new motor for install and next weekend plan on pulling the already unbolted engine out of the runner, and place the new engine back in. I hope to line the transmission up and get the torque converter bolted up then call it a day and rewire and hook all the other gadgets together later.

thanks for all the tips.. and as for the manual trans...

from what I hear (i have sadly only messed with the Auto trans in 4runners) the manual trans is MUCH better at removing and installing... i imagine its not NEAR as long and i also would think on the manual trans the transfer case may be removable from the outside of the transmission. so I think the manual trans is going to be much easier to work with... but i also dont want to deal with any linkage and trans lines... thanks for the input though.

to sum it up, the auto trans in a 4runner is the worst trans i have ever had to work with. I have changed transmissions in about 12 vehicles, and never have i had more problems maneuvering the titanic trans that is in these trucks!

it seems to me that the biggest flaw is not being able to seperate the transfer case as it adds alot of lenth and odd weight to one side of the trans.

mt_goat

You just need a tranny jack and its not too hard:



Here's one with dual cases, hehe:



You wouldn't try to remove an engine without a hoist, why would anyone try to remove a tranny without a tranny jack?

thook

Mostly unrelated, I know, but.....

I found with the 22re, if you've been a devil and removed the EGR, one is able to reach 'round behind the head with a long 17mm wrench and get the top two bolts. What be exquisite is if one had ratchet wrenches. One day, I will and you will envy me...har har.

jreyes94

so i am currently going through my 3.0 removal too..just swapping for a newer 3.0 and keeping my same tranny (auto)
im having a little bit of trouble though.
how can i go about removing the power steering? as a whole part or at least disconnected from the body?
also, how many bolts on are on the a/c compressor? my industrial lamp went out earlier this week and its a little hard for me to see on the compressor's side not to mention it is covered in grime.. lol
and also, am i able to keep both exhaust manifolds on when pulling after i've unbolted them from the crossover?