Canman’s build and misadventures

Access to the lower PS rad bolt with cooler removed.



Looking through the hole in the bumper for the rad bolt access hole. You can just barely see the biotin of the access home in the pic.

 

The defective pulley.

 

So much room now to work on the alt with the rad/shroud/fan removed. Getting the fan hub off the pulley was another PITA. The nuts came off with the studs which was nice, but the fit was so tight, I had to use a chisel to pry the hub off the pulley.

 

Parts…

 

Oh yeah, all the YT vids I watched didn’t mention removing the plastic clips (qty 3) that held the air deflector onto the rad.

 

Picked up the new smaller idler pulley this nothing. Also ordered a new thermostat from the dealer. Will be in tomorrow.
After more than 2 hrs of non-stop cursing, I finally managed to get the two lower alt mounting bolts out. This is about as a stupid as a design as I’ve ever come across. It’s like they designed this mess on purpose to be unserviceable as possible. I have no idea how folks manage with the rad and shroud still in place. I used tiewraps to pull up on the trans cooler lines so I could get the socket on the rear lower bolt. Unbelievable nonsensical design. Of course, they made the cable brkt design such that it blocked access to the front lower mtg bolt. I’m 6’-6” and had to stand on a chair with a 1/2” drive extended handle to break loose those two bolts barely being able to get one “click” of a turn each time. Once they were loose, I switched to the smaller 3/8” drive ratchet. This total amount of BS design makes me want to never own another Toyota ever again.

 

New pulley in place.

 

Got the new alt mounted. It was in fact a 150A version. While trying to remove the tensioner pulley, I managed to bugger it up. Ended up turning the bolt the wrong way not realizing it was a left-handed thread. I did try both directions initially and found it really hard even with my 3’ lg breaker bar. So, back into town to get a new tensioner assy while returning the core. Also picked up the new thermostat at the dealer. Hoping to get the alt, pump, tensioner, belt, and thermostat installed today. I’m kinda doing a refresh at the same time. Still have to patch the hole in the cross member.

 

Busted tensioner. Will also replace the socket hex head bolt with one I had lying around. It is a bit too lg, but I’ll cut it shorter.

 

Never seen a battery hold-down clamp corrode like this. Will patch it up with some welds, then media blast and paint. Might get a TRD one down the road.

 

Good write up. Your pain will be my gain I suppose if/when I need to do this. My advantage is I’m about a foot shorter than you and maybe smaller hands prevail. Weird cause I’ve found the interior of Tundra is a dream to work on, kinda like expensive Lego. Just have to know exactly where to pry it apart. Under hood stuff seems to have lost its way. I reconfigured the entire radiator/shroud assembly on my 12HT Land Cruiser. After draining the whole works comes out in about 3-4 min. Maybe I should start now and do a bit of anticipatory reconfiguring so when the time comes it’s easier.
What would you do to make this more intuitive? Is there anything that a guy could change / reverse to make it easier. When we did the timing belt on the 4.7 the front actually seems to come apart okay. Just had to find the right sequence.

 

Thanks. Not sure. If I had to do things again, having done it once, it would probably take me half as much time or less. On this job, I’m not in a particular hurry, and want to address as many issues (most rust related as possible).
I watched one vid where a guy wiggled the alt through the PS wheelwell. He said he cursed the whole time, and said he should have removed the pump instead. Lol! Watching the Car Wizard on YT, they sometimes will pull an entire engine, or front grill/bumper assy to make things easier. Pulling the rad/shroud/fan definitely made it much easier. The only issue was getting at the lower mtg bolt on the PS which was hidden by the optional trans cooler. You had to pull the trans cooker, or at least I did.
Watching YT vids, I wish folks would spend more time showing how they actually got stuff apart/out etc, rather than just mentioning what needs to be removed, then cutting to the part being removed. It is really a bit misrepresentative, but I guess folks don’t want to be seen futzing around. Me, I don’t care about the difficulties and failures (like busting the tensioner). My girls say I should start a YT channel, but just don’t have the time.

 

This brkt holding the wire harness/connect that sits just above the frame rail in the PS wheel wheel is just about finished. Will wire wheel, and paint for now. The metal clip that attaches to the one connector broke off, and I can’t get the broken off piece out from the connector. I’ll replace it with a new one if available from the dealer.

 

The brkt that holds the alt pos cable. Not nearly as bad.

 

Old thermostat is out. Again, getting the one nut off closest to the block was a pain. Thanks Toyota engineers! One twelfth a turn at a time and then it falls to the floor never to be seen again. Lol! Thermostat look ok, but who knows after almost 300K kms. Rather not take a chance.

 

The Dayco belt still look good. Curious to know the date code.

 

Got to figure where these two brkts bolt too. See one bust bolt in the head, but have no clue where this guy goes.

 

Busted bolt in head for the one brkt.

 

These two coolant pipes need to blasted and painted. I think my 97LX450 had a similar setup.

 

Should mention I’m soaking the rusted bolts etc in vinegar. Pretty good if you leave it for a day or two.

 

Got the bolt home threaded onto the head. Was going good, but then tap only went in about 3/8” and wouldn’t turn anymore. Re-drilled deeper, and could feel the rest of the material of the busted bolt come out. Went to re-tap and it would start to go crooked after and while and would also get stuck. Finally realized there was a bit of the outer circumference of the busted bolt still stuck inside. It later came out with the tap, but tapped hole is a little wonky. Should be good enough to hold the little brkt.

 

Removed the three brkts from the vinegar solution. Cleaned up the larger one that went down on the frame rail with screwdriver to get off all the scale. Just briefly touched up the one attached to the tapped hole I just fixed. The other I didn’t do anything before blasting them with some recycled glass bead. Took 9 containers in the portable gun to just do these three pcs.

 

Tensioner installed. Brkts painted with final top coat. Used rust converter, self-etching primer, then top coat. The brkt mounted to the frame rail is so thin, I could see bits of light through it, so for now, added a coat of JB Weld. Lol! Never tried that before, so interesting to see how that turns out. Deeper into the rabbit hole. Will now touch up the rusted area on the PS frame rail next to the alt/PS pump.

 

Will also touch up the hose clamps. Not sure if I should paint them or treat them with oil.

 

The hardware after coming out of the vinegar solution, wire wheeled, and rust converter coat.

 

Decided to also tackle the mtg brkt used to secure the alt wiring harness to the block? just under the crank pulley. Wasn’t quite sure how to get it off. The other metal brkt on the same harness came out of the hsg much easier. There is a plastic tab in the middle of the plastic piece that you raise up to free it from the metal brkt. I broke a piece off the tab, but it should still work. To get the plastic piece off the harness, use a slot screwdriver and push it into the slot opening in the plastic piece, and then pry down to pop it apart.

 

Rust converter coat drying on the frame rail. So much work…

 

This is where the metal brkt/plastic piece was used to secure the harness to the block? You can see the threaded hole above.

 

Forgot to mention I busted the metal brkt trying to free it from the plastic piece. Will see if I can tack weld it back together. Into the vinegar solution overnight. Lol!

 

Hose clamps drying off from being soaked in fresh engine oil. Will “back” them at 400F for 20-30 mins in the oven. Lol!