Any How-to's for pulling the 5VZFe ?

Just find someone with a lift in a heated garage..haha

Ps your nuts lol

 

I just recently replaced the 3.4 in my 04 taco 4x4 that i bought for cheap with a blown motor from a customer at my work. As you can see from the pic you can remove & install the engine without removing the hood, i did pull the radiator tho'. It's a easy swap but i have after hour use at my work of a fully equipped shop, a lift makes a engine swap ALOT easier.

 

Haha... you're right about that!

Gonna be a good project though.

 

I think pulling the radiator is the key piece to doing it without removing the hood.

I might install those gas struts before I start the project so the hood support rod isn't in my way.

Appreciate the feed back guys.

 

If I wasn't pulling the motor I would likely go with your thoughts on it but since the motor is getting pulled...

There was a lot of debate in an earlier thread about whether I should wait for the normal replacement interval (in miles) or whether that number needed to be modified due to the age of the belt (now 12 years and only 40K miles on the truck)

 

Removing the hood wasn't all that bad with mine.. Jus drill a 1/8 hole in the hood/ hinge with a depth guide so it doesn't pop through the top, pull it off, then when you put it back on put an 1/8 bit in the holes on both sides to align it and bolt it down. made things a lot easier imo

 

Here's some info from the Toyota Service Manual:

 

I have a adjustable hood prop rod from Matco tools so i used that to give me more room than the prop rod that's attached to the truck. I pulled and installed my motor by myself so i didn't want to take the chance of damaging the hood since i was solo. I had plenty of room coming out and goin in with the adjustable prop rod.

 

No attitude intended.... I was just saying Toyota didn't reinvent the wheel or anything. It's a very typical setup. Longitudinally mounted v6 and transmission inline.

thanks

It's not really painfully obvious to me. I'm sure I would have several unforeseen snags. Just unbolt what's holding it down, then disconnect the peripheral stuff (hoses and wires) and out it comes. If you need more space, then make more space.
It really is like changing a tire. Those nuts are in the way of you getting that tire off. A jack is involved. A lug wrench is involved. You are involved. Get those nuts off, and *bam* suddenly, you have a 3 wheeled car.

when trying to get those trans bolts off - work smart, not hard. IDK about the placement of bolts on these Toyotas, but when I replaced the transmission on my Nissan I had to use about 2 feet of extensions and access the trans bolts through the hole in the floor for the shifter. I just couldn't break my arm enough to get at them from the top of the motor or from underneath.

definitely the radiator. forgot to mention that.
I understand uninstalling and reinstalling the hood by yourself is a severe pain on the ass, but I wouldn't hesitate to take it off for pulling a motor. Takes the job from "careful...careful...careful...only limited space to work with here...ok...take it up an inch...now pull back an inch..up an inch...almost...careful..." to "up a couple inches. out a couple inches. up a couple feet. done"

 

Like my previous post stated i had plenty of room coming out and goin in but then again i've been a flat rate auto tech for 19 years now so i've performed a lot of engine swaps, some i've had to remove the hood and some i have'nt. I do agree there is more room and better lighting with the hood removed tho'.

 

Probably good advice throughout the job ...

Trying to anticipate all the parts I'm going to want to attend to/replace so can have them on hand.

Like: does it make sense to replace the brushes on the starter since its right there in front of you.

Interesting; the first line in Toyota's instructions for removing the engine is; "Remove the transmission." Is that their way of saying unbolt the transmission?

 

I have pulled several of these engines. It is a reasonably simple process, but does require some special tips. Yes, radiator comes out. Yes, take a lot of pictures showing the details of vacuum lines, coolant hoses, etc. Plus electrical routing. I would suggest taking off the hood. It takes 5 minutes to do so, and makes things so much simpler. Trust me, it is worth the couple of minutes to do this step.

One trick on both the 2.7 and the 3.4 4WD units is this: When you unbolt the engine mounts from the frame, remove them. Having the mounts totally gone will help when shifting the motor out from the transmission (ESPECIALLY with a manual transmission) Also it makes it easier to line up the motor to stab it into the transmission during install. When removing the engine, put a floor jack under the bell housing of the transmission so that you can angle it properly to align the engine and transmission.

My next big recommendation is to buy one of these:


It is an engine tilting tool. You will thank me later for that. lol.

 

Hey Bill, thanks for the tips and yeah, I was looking for a used tilt device the other day. Sounds like I should make it a point to find one. I guess with the radiator out, I don't have to worry so much about loosing lifting height when I use that.


I will definitely be putting all this info together along with pics into one comprehensive post for others to use as a reference.


Does the AC system need to be refilled after removing the engine?

Any comments on Toyota's instructions ? (first step listed is "Remove the transmission")

 

If you want to save from having to evac and recharge the AC system, unbolt the AC compressor from the engine and let it stay in the engine bay.

 

Tag for updates...

 

with only 40k on the engine, why are you pulling it?

unless there is some kind of internal problem, just do the water pump, timing belt and pulleys, new fan belts and maybe a radiator if it has been sitting a long time...

mine has 256k on it now, doesn't use any oil, runs like a champ and has no leaks...these engines will last a long time if properly maintained and not beat to death...

just my .02 worth...