toddmorr

try faxon auto literature, seems to me they had a set a while ago for around 200$ for a 2002 set. If I were tackling this kind of job, i'd make the investment for sure.

Anyway, much appreciation to AndreasMet for doing this. I can't recall anybody writing with authority and experience on a toyota V8 tear down on this site. Am extremely interested to hear what you find out.

Rezonans

A few comments on the process:
1. Thank you to funkymechanic on YouTube for the video.
2. It's as easy as can be. Took less than an hour and that includes marking all the connections to help in re-assembly, bagging all the parts, etc.
3. You can save $$$ by doing this yourself.

Compared to working on a VW, this is a piece of cake. On a VW you need to remove the front of the car to access things in the engine. The LS is so roomy it's amazing.

STEP 3. Gather Courage to Proceed
OK, so this is where things get hard for a first timer. The Chilton manual online is fairly weak and it's hard to know exactly what to do because the components are not marked well. So I spend a lot of time looking at the motor with the final goal in mind--removal. I visualize where the space is needed and then think about removing parts to allow it to happen. Since I can identify the power steering pump and the AC unit I'm going to remove these next. Going to take some snap shots too. I'm worried about how the wiring is going to come together correctly. Stay tuned.


What is the current condition of the engine? is it starts or at least turns by starter.
Can you can you describe the whole story, what will help us to help you.

Lavrishevo

iTrader: (1)

Oh no... Are you planing on making a new thread for each step. Please don't do that OP. Put it all together, please.

RA40

iTrader: (6)

Taken care of...merging threads. Thanks for detailing your rebuild.

AndreasMet

The PS Pump needs to come out. To do this it looks like it will be easier to first remove the alternator. For an engine swap they say you just need to disconnect the alternator wires. But since I want to use the newly installed alternator off of my current car, the alternator is coming out.

Removing the altenator is very easy. So if you are considering an alternator replacement, you can save a lot of money doing it yourself. I have a phot below for reference--see the orange dot.

Note that the serpentine belt is removed already. It's easy to do using the tensioner. Takes less than a minute once you find the right socket size. If you need to replace the serpentine belt then that is a easy repair as well.

Once the belt is removed you take out a bolt and remove two nuts. One nut and the bolt have the same socket size. The other nut is a different socket size. I love the way Lexus did this because it makes it idiot proof when having to put it back together.

Now you can move the alternator a little to be able to unplug a set of wires and then you need to unscrew a small bolt that holds (what i think) is a ground wire.

The whole process took me less than ten minutes.

Unfortunately for the motor removal there is another set of wires that need to be disconnected. Today I spent 20 minutes trying to figure out how to unsnap them. I think I'm going to resort to the plier-cut method.

Onward yto the PS pump. I wanted to drain the fluid reservior using a turky baster like someone in the LS 400 threads suggested. But the orifice is too small. So I am going to have to try another way. I thought it would be possible to disconnect a hose, but after monkeying around for 20 minutes, I decided to leave them alone. I'm going to think about it for a little while and then continue the post.

Learning so far (remember I'm an intermediate DIY car person):
1. Radiator repair would be very easy.
2. Alternator replacement would be very easy.
http://i848.photobucket.com/albums/a...psc64f197a.jpg

OK, so a big shoutout to LEXLUIS for the suggestion to try to tie off the PS Pump. While such common sense seems obvious, it's these kind of experienced suggestions that save time, money and aggravation.

With his suggestion in mind I proceeded to remove the remaining plastic air intake parts. Very easy. This gave more space to work with removing the bolts that connect the PS reservior to the car. It also made it a little easier to access the bolts holding the PS Pump to the engine. Two 14mm bolts and one nut and the PS Pump comes loose. Very easy.

There are a number of other bolts under the car connecting to the engine, on the left side of the car and in front of the AC radiator that need to be disconnected to allow movement of the entire PS pump assembly. I think it has enough play to get the engine in and out. Photos attached for reference.

This step was very easy and took about 20 minutes.

So far so good. Next step is to do the same process on the AC compressor unit. It looks relatively easy as well.

Of the 44 steps listed in the Chilton manual I have done 16 so making good progress. I'm not documenting easy steps like disconnecting hoses.

Having PhotoBucket problems will upload picture later.

Gene01

If you can reasonably avoid it, I would recommend against cutting the wires. You will have to connect them back up somehow and they will never be as reliable as the original uncut ones.

AndreasMet

Yes, that's why I quit to cool off a little. It's really hard to reach them with both hands.

If I cut them I will do a new connector, or buy a new set.

Thanks for the input.

LEXLUIS

+2

The PS pump I normally don't drain it just look and see if I can tied off to the side, not sure if the LS hoses are long enough to allow that.

Many engines I pull I don't drain them so I don't have to bleed the system after reinstall.

Def subscribing to this post as this is a great learning experience.

BTW I have pull quite a few engines in my Life just my 02 don't drain if don't have to.

where there is a will there is a way.
keep up the good work and stay cool

RushNatU

Dude you should do a compression/leak down test on the motor. You've got misfires that could be due to fuel or air delivery problems or vacuum. If your oil looks good and compression is good, then it's not a head gasket. I would hate to go through all this, swap the motor, and still have the same problem...

AndreasMet

While I agree with you in theory, and will do exactly what you say, I am a subscriber to Ochum's Razor. The motor was abused for 30 minutes and stopped running due to over heating--no fluid in radiator at all. It has 225K miles on it. The simplest explanation is engine damage of some sort.

While I doubt the head gasket is blown, my suspicion is the rings will be burnt-out.

Once I get the motor broken down some more I will do the compression test and post results.

This process is about more than getting the car running again. I have always wanted a detailed education about engine mechanics. I plan on owning used LS 430's for a long time from now. It's the best car I ever owned. The more I work on it the more I see how well thought-out the Toyota design is.

And any stupid things I do will be shared so as to help people in the future.

Thanks for the input.

toddmorr

true words. Those of us that actually turn a wrench on these cars are in total respect for the Japanese engineers that designed them. Its as if they designed for reliability and quality, AND ease of repair. You see it in many areas of the car.

AndreasMet

I'm not going to post a photo for this step. While it took a long time to figure out what to do in terms of bolts, it ends up being three bolts on the driver side of the car. One of them is very tight to access and I dread trying to get it on again. Once removed you can position the AC away from the motor to give room to get it out. There are some wires to disconnect and I ran into another stuck fastener. Probably not stuck, but I'm too stupid to know how to undo it. So I cut the two wires.

Remember I'm planning a motor swap and most of them come with these sensors and connectors so I will be able to re-use some things that are in better condition.

I started under the car disconnecting some muffler bolts, expecting to have to break out the torch. So far all the bolts are coming undone without even using WD 40. But it's not clear to me how to disconnect (where) the mid exhaust system.

The driveline disconnection looks like it will be 4 bolts in two places. Maybe I can get away with only disconnecting in one place.

The bolts attaching the motor to the car look like they will be hard to access. And speaking of the motor, it along with the transmission must be 7 feet long. It's really hard to imagine that that thing will come out easily. And the thought of getting it back in and lining up the bolts...

If you have read this far (sorry for long musings) I want to encourage those of you who are scared to go deeper into the car. This project is way over my head today. But with each day, thinking about the process and learning, you can make forward progress and the whole thing becomes acceptable. It's just disconnecting a bunch of bolts and attachments. Simple as that. If you can manage to not have time pressure to complete a job then you can save a lot of money, and in many cases probably do an equal to (or better) job than a random shop.

Once I figure out how to disassemble the exhaust and drive train I will submit a post with pictures. It's been hard to find exhaust and drive train knowledge online so those steps may help people in the future.

Lavrishevo

iTrader: (1)

Did you figure out if the engine comes out from the top or bottom?

toddmorr

have to admire AndreasMet attitude on this project. Indeed if you take these projects one step at a time, using the brain God gave you, without rushing to get it done by some random deadline, then you'll be fine. Took that approach on a water pump replacement on my Toyota van the other day and it worked out great.

hang in there bud

Coulter

Id get a factory manual if you're serious, pulling and rebuilding an engine is not a job you feel you can feel your way through. You can find them online or pony up and buy a physical manual from some place like Ebay. It's money well spent, it will save you countless hours and headaches.

I personally think you can do more diagnosis while the engine is still in the car before you need to pull it and also believe the odds are in your favor that it can be fixed without a rebuild or swap.