I am removing the engine on a 1987 pickup.

Learning as I go on what to disconnect.

It appears that I have to bring the transmission (standard 4 speed) out with the engine as I cannot remove all the bolts holding the bell housing to the engine while it is in place.

If there is a better way to get the engine out without bringing the transmission with it, please advise.

I have everything disconnected at this point, that will allow for engine removal, except the transmission shifter stick.

I know there has to be a way to remove it but, for the life of me I can not tell how it comes off.

I do not see any screws holding the knob on the shifter stick.

It appears that the upper 8 inch portion of the stick is plastic and that is attached to a metal shaft.

I hope you can help me.

 

The shift knob should just screw off.

It is possible to get all the bolts out of the transmission in order separate it from the motor while in the truck. Just need a long extension and a swivel joint, but its possible.

Hope that helps, Welcome to the forum!

 

4cyl or 6cyl?
yes you can. there are only 2 on top, 17mm, that require a lot of extensions and a u-joint. i went through the shifter opening

 

Someone on here has a picture of some access holes drilled into the floorboards of their truck to get to those top two bolts.... not a bad idea imo

 

except when you have to plug them...

 

Thank you for the replies so quick,

I could not see how that I could get to the top engine/transmission bolts, So I figured to go ahead and remove the transmission with the engine. I have removed the drive shaft, drained the oil from engine and transmission.
I have disconnected everything from the engine to permit removal.

I have removed the transmission mount. But the transmission cross member is spot welded to the frame.
So right now I am stuck, because I cannot get the stick shift off to be able to lower the transmission to clear the floor pan. I do not see any screws to get the knob assy off. If ever I can get it off, I think I can maneuver the engine/trans assembly to get it past the rear cross member. Hopefully!
It would have been nice if Toyota would have made the transmission cover floor pan removable like Overland Willys did.
If I can't get past this point then I'll try your recommendation on getting to the top bolts of the transmission and leave it sit. But I'll have to put its mount back in first.

 

break out the angle grinder grind/cut the welds. if you get everything off the block, you can take both of them right out through the tunnel.

 

The shift knob is threaded onto the shifter. To remove the knob, grip the it firmly and twist it counter clockwise.

 

If you use a picker and position the motor in such a way you can access those two top 17's from the engine bay on the top. You don't have to remove the tranny. Just place a jack under it to keep in in place while you take out the Bell Housing bolts, then wire it up trough the top two bell housing holes and secure it to the heater control valve. I have never used extensions when taking out the Bell Housing bolts. My Snap on swivel head ratchet gets those 17mm top bolts out not problem. It also works with the right 17mm wrench with just enough bend in it.

 

http://www.ncttora.com/fsm/

 

Ok, thanks for all the replies and suggestions.

It doesn't make sense that Toyota welded the cross member on. But I see why now, That is where the torsion bars are attached and adjusted.

This shift knob is a fixture that is about eight inches long and attached to the metal rod into the transmission. I was afraid that I would break it if I put too much torque on it. And I didn't want to grab it with channel locks. That would tear it up
I decided to go for the complete removal.
Right now the transmission is loose from its' mount and so is the engine. I'm going to try and see what happens when I use the chain fall to start the lifting process.

Ok, back to continue my post.

I did start lifting on the engine, but the transmission end would not drop down like I was hoping for. At this point the shifter is still sticking up in the cab about six inches and binding on the floor pan.

I had to bring in my Kubota with front end loader and put a sling on the front of the motor to and lift it up so the rear end would go down. Now the engine and transmission are almost vertical. With the loader and chain fall we were able to maneuver the engine/trans over the radiator support frame and set it on the floor.

I will have to have another plan to do the reverse install.

 

Might be too late, but this is what worked from me....I think this is what spearo was referring to also. i got mine from Lowes for pretty cheap. It's extendable and a locking pivoting head.

 

Thanks, wow that's a clean engine. So that's what a picker is? I believe I will go ahead and get one of those. Might need it on the reinstall.

I plan on taking the top plate with the shifter off the transmission to determine if it will be easier to put it back on when I get the trans and engine together reinstalled. That was the only thing making the task difficult.

Does anyone have a photo of the transmission shifter as removed from the transmission. I hope there is no surprises when I take it off, like springs popping out or something.

 

did you look at the factory service manual? it tells you how to remove the entire shifter assembly (each stick). it's easy to do with a pair of needle-nose pliers.

 

Usually I have manuals. But this vehicle was given to my grandson from his step dad, so I don't have manuals. I wish I did. Are they downloadable somewhere. Free would be nice.

 

The quoted link is the resource for factory service manuals. Read it. Love it. Do it!

The shifter is bolt in..the knob will come off if you turn it hard enough.

 

Thanks, I posted a reply, but doesn't seem to be showing.

anyway I down loaded the 1988 truck and 4Runner pdf file. It's the only one which comes close to my truck.

I finally got the nerve to take the transmission shifter stick off by removing the 4 screws. As the transmission is sitting on the shop floor.
Wished I would have done that long time ago. But I could not tell much since they were cover up with a rubber grommet and I was in an awkward position trying to look down thru the floor pan under the floor mat.

Now that I have that off it is not as bad as I had contemplated. I can reinstall both the engine and transmission without any anxiety now.

 

I'm cleaning stuff up for reinstalling.

Can you tell me what those pipes are, that are going from the exhaust manifold around to the intake side.

Cancel that, I believe they are for pre-heating the fuel air mixture.

 

One peice of advice that's probably worthless, but what i did anyway: If you're going to be doing work on this engine anyway, just take the head off while it's in the truck. Makes it REAL easy to get to those transmission bolts. Then to lift it out, since the hooks are attached to the head, loosely bolt the head back on. Worked great for me! Just my 2 cents.

 

Mine never came with the hooks for some reason..When I pulled mine I dropped the trans first (worked great with a cherry picker going into the cab lol!) then pulled the motor. When I put it back in I held the transmission up to the body with floor jacks then dropped the motor in.