Sandman

I'm doing a clutch job, unbolted everything, with the transmission/transfer case supported, but it won't budge. How hard should it be to get it to pull apart - ie to slide the whole mess away from the engine?

89yota_mudrunner

i actually just did mine. i had the same problem. what i did was i got a gap in between the bell-housing and the engine and slid a small piece of wood in the gap. then i would either raise or lower the jack so it rested on the wood. this creates a little bigger gap so you can put a bigger piece of wood in there. just keep putting bigger pieces in there and it will come out. does this make sense? now i just cant get my tranny back in. let me know if you have any tips on that. hope this helps you.

Yotacool

just pry that bitch outta there !!!

Sandman

that makes sense..
did you move the whole thing from out under the truck or did you just slide it back..I'm concerned that I won't be able to slide it back enough to work in there. I don't think I've got enough room to slide it out to the side

toytech76

Make sure you have everything unbolted. Its probably hanging up on the guid pins on the bellhousing. Get a couple pry bars and work them back and forth between the trans and eng

hross14

question being--did you get a trans jack? THat helps alot!!! But there is also the pilot bearing it could be hanging up on--Try making sure there is no up/down/side pressure between the engine and tranny and pry apart with a pry bar. Being mindful that you dont go rambo on the thing--it should feel like it is tight but supposed to come out. you could also take off the T-case to lighten the whole thing up a bit....Thats the best advice i got and how i have always done them.

Sandman

not a true transmission jack-I have a big floor jack with a transmission adapter on it - it has a chain that wraps around it too...I've done it before on my cj7 and it was kind of a pita too

hross14

yeah they are a PITA--you just have to wiggle here and pry there and eventually it will come out. Does the adpater have the side to side and up and down adjustments?

On the Install side--i have always thought about using long dowell pins to slide the tranny onto and keep it straight while putting it back in--maybe grab some steel rod and thread it. Screw it into the motor and slide the tranny on--then remove and replace with bolts.

"What says you" about that?

Sandman

that idea sounds good...I will keep that in mind when I'm putting it back together

drew303

No ones mentioned what this tranny is out of. what vehicle we talking about?

on the 4cyl 5spd theres a bolt on the driver side that goes into the bell housing from the motor. its easy to overlook

edit: 5vzfe? only done a starter on that motor, cant help ya more there. But the tranny to come out (if its completely unbolted) the tranny has to be level w/ the motor. On the older trucks (2nd gens) that ive done clutch jobs on usually use a cherry picker to hold the motor up in a stable position so then your not fighing the motor and the tranny to separate them. my .02

Elvota

I have had good luck securing a ratchet strap from the axle to the tranny.

Assuming all your bolts are out, the strap applies a constant tension and when you wiggle stuff around the tranny just slides right out.

I was always afraid if I used a pry bar I could damage one of the mating services. I usually have bad luck that way.

apalmer1

make sure all those bolts are out. Assuming your talking about the R150F there are two bolts right on top of the bellhousing and they are a monster PITA to get off sometimes. I dont know about in your 4runner but in my taco i can slide the tranny back and lower it down far enough to do the clutch while the transmission is still down there under the truck.

Sandman

oh yeah, this is my 97 4runner with the 5vzfe.
the bolt at the driver's side top of the bell housing was ridiculous - I can't believe I got it out.

Sandman

ok..double checked and I did miss a bolt on high up on the passenger's side! whoops..it was a bitch to get to, but now the tranny is out of the way..I had to remove the rear cross member to make enough room

Sandman

..my rear main seal came out really easy, but my new one didn't want to go in ..I pounded on it with a rubber mallet and now it's slightly bent..should I try to straighten out and try again or buy another one??

Adam F

Buy a new one.

Sandman

yeah..I guess it would be stupid to do all that work and have it start leaking...

Lysmachia

Did you get the pilot bearing off yet? Man what a PITA it was for us to get it off Troy's truck!

Elvota

x2 or 3

Sandman

Yeah, got the pilot bearing off using the grease method. It was kind of messy, but it worked nicely. You just have to pump alot of grease in there and find something the exact size of the opening - and make sure there are no air bubbles.