How to remove the block from a 185?

awdmofo

Member
I have the head off of my 185, need to remove the block without the trans if possible as a new 3S is going in or im rebuilding my 212K mile stock original motor if its not too beat up. I was reading the repair manual and its not showing me that I can remove just the block out of the car, does anyone know if that is possible? thanks.
 

alltracman78

Active member
If the head is off the block I guess you might be able to.
You have to rotate the transmission [or the block] to slide the transfer case past the ear on the block.
I don't know if you'll have the room to slide the block back; now that I think about it.
 

awdmofo

Member
alltracman78":5tw8r9lk said:
If the head is off the block I guess you might be able to.
You have to rotate the transmission [or the block] to slide the transfer case past the ear on the block.
I don't know if you'll have the room to slide the block back; now that I think about it.

is that what the manual is refering too when they say "remove the engine and transmission out as one piece... Then to remove trans from the engine slide 2-3 inches away from the block??" i was like, how are you suppose to slide it away from the block, shouldn't you have to unbolt it first :shrug: :shrug: ??
 

alltracman78

Active member
Not exactly.
Unbolting is inferred [I don't have the manual in front of me, so I'm going off what you said], you're not sliding the engine anywhere until you unbolt everything. Don't forget the bolt through the ear behind the transfer case and the brackets on the top and end of the transfer case.
Once you've unbolted everything slide them apart an inch or two, then rotate the transmission counterclockwise so the hump for the ring gear in the transfer case clears the ear on the block, then slide off the rest of the way. It will probably take a lot of prying and hard wiggling too. The best place to pry is where the 2 steel pins stick out of the block into the bell housing.
There is room to lower the transmission down past the frame rail and control arm [you can remove the control arm if you want, it will give you more room] so you can slide it down and off.
I don't think there's room to lower the engine block down far enough to slide it off the transmission. I've never tried, so if you really want you can give that a shot; but I've pulled many engines out of these cars and I highly doubt you have the room for that.
 

ChrisD

New member
^agree x1000.

It may seem like more effort to pull something that you don't "need" to, however trust the word from those who have done it many time - just pull them both out. Separating will be easier, and re-attaching will be infinitely easier. You will save time!
 

awdmofo

Member
alltracman78":10tfn41b said:
Not exactly.
Unbolting is inferred [I don't have the manual in front of me, so I'm going off what you said], you're not sliding the engine anywhere until you unbolt everything. Don't forget the bolt through the ear behind the transfer case and the brackets on the top and end of the transfer case.
Once you've unbolted everything slide them apart an inch or two, then rotate the transmission counterclockwise so the hump for the ring gear in the transfer case clears the ear on the block, then slide off the rest of the way. It will probably take a lot of prying and hard wiggling too. The best place to pry is where the 2 steel pins stick out of the block into the bell housing.
There is room to lower the transmission down past the frame rail and control arm [you can remove the control arm if you want, it will give you more room] so you can slide it down and off.
I don't think there's room to lower the engine block down far enough to slide it off the transmission. I've never tried, so if you really want you can give that a shot; but I've pulled many engines out of these cars and I highly doubt you have the room for that.

so your recommendation is to lower the trans/engine out from under the car? I was thinking of disconnecting the drive shaft and CV's and raising the whole thing up and out of the car.
 

awdmofo

Member
ChrisD":k94dxkyc said:
^agree x1000.

It may seem like more effort to pull something that you don't "need" to, however trust the word from those who have done it many time - just pull them both out. Separating will be easier, and re-attaching will be infinitely easier. You will save time!

when you did it did you drain the trans before pulling it? I drained the coolant and oil so far. Basically need to get the A/C off and the P/S off the block then I can start on the trans stuff to be removed before I pull the whole thing.
 

underscore

Well-known member
In my youth I went through the hassle of trying to get a FWD 3SGE out through the top, I can't imagine the headache of trying to get the AWD trans out that way.
 

___Scott___

Active member
Take a look at this thread: viewtopic.php?f=10&t=51507

It's an ST165 but the procedure is the same.
- Drain the coolant from the engine and the oil from the engine, trans and transfer case (two drain plugs on the trans/transfer.)
- Disconnect everything that connects between the car and the engine/trans.
- To remove the axles, I like to unbolt the lower ball joint and then give a sharp tug on the brake/hub assembly and the axle usually pops right out of the trans.
- Then roll some convenient dolly-like device under and lower the engine/trans onto it.
- Carefully raise the car just high enough that the engine/trans can be rolled out from under the car.
 

awdmofo

Member
underscore":27zbjuml said:
In my youth I went through the hassle of trying to get a FWD 3SGE out through the top, I can't imagine the headache of trying to get the AWD trans out that way.

Agreed however I've never done this big of a repair on any car before and im basically going off the Toyota repair manual that came with the car (the very thick Toyota manual) and the electronic version from all-trac.net. It says to lift the engine/trans up and out. I have very limited space in the garage im working in and am not quite sure just yet how I would be able to lift the car up over the engine. :shrug:
 

underscore

Well-known member
In my head you'd need less clearance to slide it out the bottom than pull it out the top, but I could be wrong. Taking off the hood and front bumper should gain you some extra room.
 

awdmofo

Member
underscore":2thf9gat said:
In my head you'd need less clearance to slide it out the bottom than pull it out the top, but I could be wrong. Taking off the hood and front bumper should gain you some extra room.

Hood was taken off 2 months ago when I started working on it and kept hitting my head :nono:. I guess I could remove the front bumper but don't see how it will give me much more room unless you are talking about room for lifting the car and lowering the motor and trans out?
 

Lamont

New member
awdmofo":2pee9xpx said:
underscore":2pee9xpx said:
In my head you'd need less clearance to slide it out the bottom than pull it out the top, but I could be wrong. Taking off the hood and front bumper should gain you some extra room.

Hood was taken off 2 months ago when I started working on it and kept hitting my head :nono:. I guess I could remove the front bumper but don't see how it will give me much more room unless you are talking about room for lifting the car and lowering the motor and trans out?

It sounds crazy, but once you remove the front bumper leave the crash bar in place. Then loop a strong chain around the front crash bar/bumper reinforcement. This will give you the leverage you'll need. Place wheel chocks on the rear tires, lift the car with an engine hoist and roll the motor out. You'll thank us later, and your also going to kick yourself for removing the head with the motor still in the car :pissed: :p
 

underscore

Well-known member
With the head gone he'll need a lot less clearance than usual to get it out, the front end might be able to go high enough just using normal jacks.
 

awdmofo

Member
Lamont":3njmhya0 said:
awdmofo":3njmhya0 said:
underscore":3njmhya0 said:
In my head you'd need less clearance to slide it out the bottom than pull it out the top, but I could be wrong. Taking off the hood and front bumper should gain you some extra room.

Hood was taken off 2 months ago when I started working on it and kept hitting my head :nono:. I guess I could remove the front bumper but don't see how it will give me much more room unless you are talking about room for lifting the car and lowering the motor and trans out?

It sounds crazy, but once you remove the front bumper leave the crash bar in place. Then loop a strong chain around the front crash bar/bumper reinforcement. This will give you the leverage you'll need. Place wheel chocks on the rear tires, lift the car with an engine hoist and roll the motor out. You'll thank us later, and your also going to kick yourself for removing the head with the motor still in the car :pissed: :p

Well, don't have the remove or equipment to have removed the motor before taking the head off to see what the real cause of the engine failure. I did the best with what I have, and now Im fixing up my friends MR2 3S 2nd gen motor on the side at a neighbors house so All I have to do is remove the engine/trans out by lifting the car and lowing it all out. then I can remove the engine from the trans, check out the clutch/flywheel and replace/resurface if needed and slap the rebuilt engine on the trans and back in everything goes.
 

awdmofo

Member
underscore":1lipx4ze said:
With the head gone he'll need a lot less clearance than usual to get it out, the front end might be able to go high enough just using normal jacks.

This video shows the guy using standard stands to hold the car up with the front bumper on and the guy raising the engine/trans up from the bottom. Is this what you're talking about?

*edit I guess I can't post links on the forum?? :shrug:?
 

awdmofo

Member
underscore":2rdt3kud said:

Might have hit a snag, just looking at pics of my friends 91 mr2 3S engine. I see the alternator is on the intake manifold side of the block, and IIRC the mr2's had electric power assisted steering as an upgrade option so there is no PS pump... :roll: does that mean I will have to switch out the crank pulley from my engine and or anything else to get his engine to work/mate up with my transmission?
 
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