My 98 taco 2wd auto needs a new tranny BAD. I dont want to take the risk of getting a used one so I was thinking of having this one rebuilt? I was just wondering how hard is it to swap a tranny on this truck? I am quite mechanically inclined and have plenty of tools but I have never done this on a Toyota. Is it harder than it seems? Is there more to it than just unbolting it from the motor, taking off the ds and disconnecting the linkage? Thanks for helping out a yota newbie!

 

On a 2WD it would not be that hard at all (you'll need to unbolt the bell housing, flywheel, disconnect the DS and remove the ECU/speedo harness). The tranny is very heavy so have someone else there to help you out. A floor jack and a couple blocks of wood should be enough to let you lower it down.

 

I'm about to do this on my rig and have had the luck to be able to pull a tranny (my donor!) off of a motor while it was hanging on a engine hoist.

One thing to add to Jamie's list is that unbolting the flywheel from the torque convertor happens through an access plate at the bottom front of the bell housing. 4 bolts in the plate, then 6 bolts in the TC. You'll need to work with long arms or a buddy in order to hold the crankshaft while cracking the bolts loose on the TC.

You'll need a good sized extension (appx 2') with a wobbler on the end to get to the bolts at the top of the bell housing.

Oh, and some of the electrical fittings are "fun" to figure out in the close confines of "what the heck do I have my hand on???".


Rent a tranny jack! The $$$ or so that you'll pay to have it for the day is well worth it.

These may help... (click for larger pics):