Firewall Insulation Pad - Possible to replace w/o removing engine?

Well, as has happened to some others I was out camping a couple weeks back and a ground squirrel of some type decided to chew up my firewall insulation in order to build itself a nest. So I've got two questions:

1) Does anyone know the part number for this insulation pad? I wasn't able to find it in the Toyota parts catalog.

2) Does anyone know if it's possible to install one of these without removing the engine? I know it would be a lot of work regardless, just wondering if it's possible without removing the engine.







Although it sounds like a massive and miserable job, I'm hopping it's technically possible. I've got a handful of maintenance and mods on my tentative project list and if I did them all at the same time it'd put me in a position where lots of parts will already be out of the engine bay and disconnected. So, this could pose an opportunity to also replace the insulation pad -- if it can be done with the still in the truck.

Thanks!

 

I don't have a definitive answer but I would imagine you would have to at the very least remove the upper intake manifold, heater hoses, and a few other odd bits prior to trying to stuff a new one in that spot. As you said though it sounds like it could be a miserable job. I would just trim off the chewed up areas nice and clean with a razor blade and run it as is.

 

Heater hose replacement, new cam gears, and valve cover gaskets are all on my maintenance project list so all those parts you mentioned would be coming off anyway.

Yeah, I could try to cut it and make it look a little nicer but that's definitely not my preferred, long term solution. Partly because I can be a picky SOB and partly because I've already spent the time to put sound and heat insulation in the cab and would like to retain what's on the firewall as well.

Speaking of which, another idea was to remove the stock insulator and use another product. I haven't looked into that but maybe there is something similar to Dynomat (but made for engine bays) which I could more easily install compared to the stock one?

 

https://www.oemgenuineparts.com/v-2010-toyota-tacoma--base--4-0l-v6-gas/body--cowl

#10, #11 possibly

 

Is that a bird nest by your ABS unit..? Wtf lol

 

Not sure exactly what they're called but I presume it's some type of ground squirrel or chipmunk. At first I thought it was a rat but the tail didn't look like that of a rat. Kind of sad actually. I heard a noise, popped the hood and saw an animal the size of a very large rat scurry out of the nest and in to the depths of the engine bay - and riding on it's back was a tiny baby. I spent a day trying to scare it out of the engine bay without much luck. At one point it was actually in the frame rail. We went in to town to try and find some kind of deterrent (read that peppermint oil is a good deterrent). After picking up some Bronners mint soap we went to grab a drink and when we got back to the truck I noticed the baby had made its way out of the truck and was sitting under my rear tire. I would have squished it had I not seen it. I couldn't bare to just leave it there in town so we scooped it up and brought it back to camp in hopes it might be reunited with it's mom. Unfortunately we found it dead the next morning.

 

Thank you! I didn't think to look in the "cowl" section.