Pulling The Engine

lenore · December 17, 2008

Does anybody have the wonderful experience of pulling the engine?

1. Can it be done from above or do you absolutely have to drop the engine tranny cradle and drop from below.???

2. Can the transmission be dropped without removing the cradle.???

My neighbor is in the process of removing the engine from his highlander (50k miles) which has sludge damage. It was a 2003 so as near as we can figure out it is not covered by the 8 year warranty....

code58 · December 18, 2008

Does anybody have the wonderful experience of pulling the engine?
1. Can it be done from above or do you absolutely have to drop the engine tranny cradle and drop from below.???

2. Can the transmission be dropped without removing the cradle.???

My neighbor is in the process of removing the engine from his highlander (50k miles) which has sludge damage. It was a 2003 so as near as we can figure out it is not covered by the 8 year warranty....

Lenore- It depends on a lot of different things. I know it is standard procedure with a lot of FEFD cars to drop the engine out the bottom with the cradle. If one has access to a lift that changes a lot things. If R&Ring the trans it is common to support the engine but still drop the cradle with the trans or at the very least pull the bolts on the trans side of the cradle to allow it to drop enough to get the trans out. In the case of doing it at home i would still prefer to do it the way I did my DIL's. I took everything loose that holds the engine, (w/trans), cradle, all front suspension (unbolted top strut plate) and in my case disconnected all of the wiring (unplugged it at the computer inside) and left it all with the engine. Removed the front bumper cover and with a heavy duty engine hoist lifted the body up about 3' or so, put stands at the firewall level on the frame rails which left the entire front assy. with suspension on a floor jack (minus front wheels) which I then rolled out from under the car and made it really easy to work on. Don't know if there is a lot of difference in the 2 vehicles other than what the exterior body looks like. If he is only changing the engine it might be easier to simply lift the engine out the top (which he should be able to do). I was doing a number of other things at the same time that made it simpler for me to do it the way I did. Though that is a 3.0L I don't even know if that is conventional or transverse- makes a big difference in how you do it. I was working alone and had to be innovative. The compressor can be removed from the engine and tied back so you don't have to break the air lines. IF the entire assy is removed I also removed the calipers and tied them up so I didn't have to bleed afterward.

lenore · December 19, 2008

Thanks, he is still deciding, Looks like an easy removeal from the top, he has everything off the engine. all wiring, etc. The only thing holding it is the tranny, we thought disconnecting the torque converter from the flywheel plate and supporting the tranny while pulling the engine away.....The torque converter bolts have great access....Our thought is leave the torque converter on the tranny main shaft and the engine should be clear. We have great pictures of everything since LEXMEX on Cl took some great pictures when he dropped his tranny for his problem of a broken flywheel and trashed pump on the tranny. Tomorrow will tell.....

lenore · December 26, 2008

Well the engine does come out from the top quite easily. We were successful removing and putting the new engine in....now the bad news the remanufactured long block was missing the holes for the bottom, crankshaft pulley end, motor mount......My neighbor is furious. The block has the boss for the holes, but no holes for the bolts...So the saga goes on, and the engine is out again.... The removeal was a piece of cake from the top for anyone who is interested. I have taken a lot of pictures, but not posted....good morning everyone.

code58 · December 27, 2008

Well the engine does come out from the top quite easily. We were successful removing and putting the new engine in....now the bad news the remanufactured long block was missing the holes for the bottom, crankshaft pulley end, motor mount......My neighbor is furious. The block has the boss for the holes, but no holes for the bolts...So the saga goes on, and the engine is out again.... The removeal was a piece of cake from the top for anyone who is interested. I have taken a lot of pictures, but not posted....good morning everyone.

Thanks for keeping us posted Lenore. Being a curious soul and always wanting to learn something new, what is he going to do? Is he going to return the long block or drill and tap the holes for the mount? By the way, not being familiar with the driveline in a Hylander, is that a conventional (longitudinal) mounted engine? You are a good neighbor for helping him. I appreciate that spirit! Just one reason that if I have a good rebuildable part I often choose to do just that, then I know what I have- no surprises. I hate surprises! :(

lenore · December 27, 2008

Engine is mounted exactly the same as the RX, He will get word Monday on what the vender is going to do, he wants another engine with a $125 reduction. He said he is hoping they back down and he will just rebuild his existing engine. Wasnt willing to drill because of Warranty issues which he was promised 3 years on this new long block....