There is a good news/bad news reason for the delay since my last post. My 20 y/o daughter just left to go and fulfill a 6 month internship in South Africa. I am going to miss her like crazy.
The upside to that reality is that her 4Runnr is now available and I need another daily driver if Im gonna pull the motor & trans, which is what just happened.
I got help from a friend. He is a God-send, because the job would have taken me twice as long without his help. The extraction job isn't that complicated, just precise and very deliberate and when you are a pair of rookies like we are, it takes 10 hours.
Thank you to DRACO for the ULTRA useful hints and tips as we encountered moments when experience saves you hours!!!
Since it seems to be forum decorum, here is the requisite photograph...
It is remarkable how much content is packed into that small space in the back of the car.
I found it easier to do the job with the bumper etc removed from the back end of the car.
It also seemed prudent to remove as much of the upper engine attachments, so leave less height on the engine to aid in lowering, so we removed heater fans and airbox etc.
Surprises- We had to jack up the rear of the car higher than I thought.
- How helpful a battery operated torque drill for removing bolts and nuts was.
- The motor and tranny come out together fine, but seperating the 2 was a pain in the neck.
I separated the clutch cable from the tranny so the unit could come out, but I didn't release the clutch fork by releasing the springs attached here and sliding the long arm down off the pivot, once the short arm was removed. This meant that once the unit was out and all 4 bolts were removed, I couldn't separate the tranny from the motor.
It would easily break free from the engine, but after an inch of travel it would get stuck.
What I learned from DRACO, was that the seal closest to the transmission on the pivot rod had long ago deteriorated and the arm was 'corrosion welded' onto the pivot rod. Lots of lube, some heat, tapping with a hammer and plenty of wiggling and the arm finally broke loose and slid down off the pivot. Once off I could release the clutch fork in the tranny, the unit came loose from the motor.
Next
Now I've got to separate the pieces that are getting shipped all over for work, start cleaning and painting what I can and wait for them all to come back to Papa.