So I finally bit the bullet and began renting space from a friend with 4 bays. We spent roughly 3 days installing two 2-post lifts because I'm sick and tired of crawling around on the ground (who knew I'd be doing it anyway while working on the 2.7...) It's been raining here so perfect excuse for spending all day inside, right?
There's much more room for all of the vehicular hoarding I've been doing over the past three years.. including the orange Datsun and another one up on the lift out of shot which is currently getting some love for its future owner.
Anyway, to the point.. this additional space has allowed me the opportunity to finally dig into the 2.7. In an effort to prepare everything for the engine stand I spent a few hours looking for a local shop that carries the 12-point 12mm star hex for the flywheel bolts. After finally getting those loose I found some suspect areas of the case around the rear main seal. Take a look:
Definitely looks as though someone did some previous repair to a cracked case. Don't know what this means as far as future rebuilding but I assume at this point there is no harm from continuing the teardown (and mental breakdown from specialty tools).
Was finally ready at day's end to mount the motor on the stand but will have to wait until our cherry picker isn't occupied with a 2JZ. Damn Japanese motors always getting in the way of real progress
Next up: remove fuel injection, & flip motor to soak exhaust nuts with penetrating oil overnight in prep for heat exchanger removal... those things are RUSTY!