Let me start by saying that i feel i am a fairly competent mechanic. I have been working on cruisers (and other cars) for over 20 years. I have even rebuilt a 1Fz-Fe engine in one of my 80 series in the past. I know my way around, or at least i pretend to.
I went to replace the badly leaking valve cover gaskets on my 2004 Lx470. The driver's side rearmost valve cover bolt broke off in the head. I have spent probably the past 25-30 hours trying everything in my arsenal to extract it. I have attempted welding nuts to it several times, and gotten no further.
The bolt was almost out when it broke, only the last 1/4" of threads are stuck in the head. the problem is there is so little room to work in the area. I even bought a right-angle drill, but there are less than 2 inches between that bolt surface and the body of the vehicle, so there is no chance of a right-angle drill getting in there.
I've contemplated slapping it back together, and rolling it off a cliff. Not really... but i did fantasize about it. THis truck is almost fully built, lots of time and money invested in it. And it only has 150k miles. I want to save it. I am the type of person that does things to the best of my ability, only use OEM parts, etc. I don't want a permanet leak in my valve cover gasket... so I have resigned that i will be pulling the engine to properly fix this. I already have a hoist and everything i need. except the 30 more hours of free time
A few questions. I did some searching, and there are almost zero threads about pulling the engine on the 100 series. I read the Toyota FSM, and they describe the procedure with pulling the engine and trans together. Been there, done that with the 80 series, and the whole unit all together is just sooo big and heavy to deal with . I would rather disconnect the trans via the torque converter bolts/ bellhousing bolts and leave the trans it in the vehicle. Does anyone know if this is possible?
FML
I went to replace the badly leaking valve cover gaskets on my 2004 Lx470. The driver's side rearmost valve cover bolt broke off in the head. I have spent probably the past 25-30 hours trying everything in my arsenal to extract it. I have attempted welding nuts to it several times, and gotten no further.
The bolt was almost out when it broke, only the last 1/4" of threads are stuck in the head. the problem is there is so little room to work in the area. I even bought a right-angle drill, but there are less than 2 inches between that bolt surface and the body of the vehicle, so there is no chance of a right-angle drill getting in there.
I've contemplated slapping it back together, and rolling it off a cliff. Not really... but i did fantasize about it. THis truck is almost fully built, lots of time and money invested in it. And it only has 150k miles. I want to save it. I am the type of person that does things to the best of my ability, only use OEM parts, etc. I don't want a permanet leak in my valve cover gasket... so I have resigned that i will be pulling the engine to properly fix this. I already have a hoist and everything i need. except the 30 more hours of free time
A few questions. I did some searching, and there are almost zero threads about pulling the engine on the 100 series. I read the Toyota FSM, and they describe the procedure with pulling the engine and trans together. Been there, done that with the 80 series, and the whole unit all together is just sooo big and heavy to deal with . I would rather disconnect the trans via the torque converter bolts/ bellhousing bolts and leave the trans it in the vehicle. Does anyone know if this is possible?
FML