Engine Removal Adventure

[MisipLC]

About 6 weeks or so ago, my son heard a strange knock in his 1997 LX450. Out of an abundance of caution he shut it down. We towed the LX to our local Yota shop where they diagnosed a "spun out main bearing on 5th piston push rod." Price to fix, $6,500. Feeling the need for a little father-son time, I elected to save the $4,000 in Yota labor and remove the engine ourselves. 5 weeks later, the engine is out and off to the machine shop. It was not as easy to remove as first expected. Read lots of post and lots of trial and error. Big lesson - check for that 10th trans bolt before trying to separate it from engine. Works much better that way. Thanks to all for their posts. I read a lot before starting the adventure. We are already discussing the install.

 

[NCFJ]

Cudos on the father son time!! I grew up out in the garage with Dad or traipsing around to every hot rod shop, and private garage with a hot rod, pick up etc. Had my own creeper at age 5 and my first car at 9. OK it was really for Dad but he got approval from Mom calling it mine. An English Ford, Hilman Minx convertible.

Your son will never forget these experiences.

 

[MisipLC]

Thanks NCFJ. Was very apprehensive about diving into the project with no real background in auto mech. The Mud gave me the confidence to tackle the job.

 

[half k cruiser]

This post made me laugh, reminds me of my dad pulling engines with his bobcat.

 

[Kernal]

Good job. Post up some more photos as the job progresses, would be interested in seeing the bearings and crank as they come out.

 

[MisipLC]

Some thoughts from the greasy side of the truck. I am lazy so I decided to try to pull the motor only. The field service manual and many Mudders say pull the unit. This requires removing the front end. In talking with my friendly Toya shop manager, he suggested pulling just the motor. The issue you have with just pulling the motor is accessing the top 2 bell housing bolts. We tried unbolting the trans support and letting it down with a floor jack. That did not help a lot. Then I read in a post somewhere on the net that you could pull the motor mounts. Pulling the rubber motor mounts allowed the front of the motor to drop low enough to expose the bolt. Still had to go in through the shifter hole in cabin with a Loooong extension to reach it. This is the bolt on passenger side. Got bolt out on driver side (top bell housing) by laying under truck and placing socket on bolt while my son sat inside and turned the braker-bar. Exhaust nuts are hard to get to. You need to unclamp the exhaust from the trans to allow the exhaust "Y" to float away from the engine. Took the fan off motor and placed a piece of thin wood between the engine and radiator.

 

[alia176]

Congrats dad!! You joined back in 2014 and only have 11 posts, now hat's a serious lurker!!

 

[MisipLC]

Did not feel smart enough to say anything.

 

[Kernal]

You're not alone, I'm still learning after almost 9 years on the forum.

 

[bigfj62]

Love it!!! Loved the time in the garage with my Dad and hope to create the same memories with my sons. Keep it up.

 

[Pin_Head]

A little trick for getting the transmission bolts quick: Drill a 1.5 inch hole in the firewall sheet metal over the bolt head with a bimetal hole saw. You can get the location right by drilling small holes until you find the right spot. Remove and reinstall bolt and when you are done, plug the hole with a Dorman firewall plug. After you put the carpet back, no one will know.

 

[normiex]

I have always used multiple wobble extensions to get the top two bolts, you need about 3-4 feet all up and it's not that hard to do by yourself but an extra set of hands to guide the socket is always welcome.

The first time I did it a mechanic friend brought around a bunch of extensions specifically for doing that job even though I have an extensive tool kit, the following day I went and purchased a set of wobble extensions and my regular extensions rarely leave the toolbox now.

 

[dogfishlake]

Very cool! You two will do great. It looks like you are more than handy enough to do it. So cool to pass along these experiences to the kids!

 

[Matthew Spencer]

Great work from another father and son team! We we not as lucky as you can ended up pulling the entire unit. We were going to rebuild the engine (292k) but in the end we found a 72k motor and transmission out of a LS swap and are in the process of putting that back in the truck.

 

[MisipLC]

Thanks for the good words. Its seems Mario was running the truck like an Enzo Ferrari. We watch a lot of BBC Top Gear together. I had a guy that would do it for cost of parts, but decided the experience was worth the effort.

 

[alia176]

I have a trick for lining up the bell housing with the engine. Make a set of aligning pins/dowels.

1. Grab one of the long PITA bolt that you removed and head over to Ace hardware. Find two more just like it, about 2.5" or so in length.
2. Cut the bolt heads off so now you have two studs. File the sharp edges to a nice chamfer.
3. Then insert one stud on either side of the bellhousing on the engine side. These two studs will act as a guide for the mating process.
4. **Note** - when reinserting the engine, be sure to have the torque converter seated FULLY so that you can feel the engagement. Otherwise, it'll be a case of "all that pushing, nothing is going in ".
5. After mating the two items, install with normal bolts then remove your custom studs. Toss them in the toolbox and then collect dust for the next umpteenth years like mine!
6. 

The pesky bolts on top of the bellhousing for engine removal: my trick is to leave the motor mounts alone but remove the cross member and use a floor jack to support the tranny. Drop the tranny and tilt the engine downward until those two bolts are easier to access using long extension and a wobble. **CAVEAT** be sure to remove the fan shroud or the fan itself so those two don't come in contact during this extreme tilt process.

 

[MisipLC]

Super alia176. That is a great suggestion and certainly will make getting it in the hole so much easier. That was one of our discussion questions as we winched our motor out of the truck.

 

[alia176]

Super alia176. That is a great suggestion and certainly will make getting it in the hole so much easier. That was one of our discussion questions as we winched our motor out of the truck.

No problem, I added some more info after you posted.

In case you haven't done so already, besides replacing the rear main seal, also replace the transmission oil pump seal "while you're in there". You may need new motor mounts too as they're probably aged and cracked by now.

Let us know if you have questions on anything.

 

[MisipLC]

Yes, please do. I certainly appreciate all of the input. It'll make me look smart too, just as long as Bryant doesn't find this thread...

 

[alia176]

Yes, please do. I certainly appreciate all of the input. It'll make me look smart too, just as long as Bryant doesn't find this thread...

Like other threads, info is in abundant and feels like drinking out of a fire hose so it helps to get tid bits of info to digest little at a time.

I see that you have a tractor, I have one too with a BH and my ten year old daughter is pretty slick with the whole thing. Kids are amazing creatures, they know no boundaries and can do amazing things.