Guide Pin

[irowiki]

For the life of me I thought I asked this previously, but can't find it.

When I put the engine back into the Party wagon, the FSM says I need a guide pin in the torque converter to line the drive plate up.

Will a similar bolt with the head chopped off work fine for this?

[Gottolovem]

I have replaced a number of auto tranny's (never a t4) and a guide pin is news to me

[irowiki]

Might be the Toyota design, but once they mate up I don't think you can't really rotate the drive plate separate from the torque converter. The converter hub -> drive plate is a very tight connection!

[marlinh]

I have never heard of using a drive pin. It shouldn't be that hard to line up the torque convertor. Once it is in, you spin it by hand to line up the bolt holes for the flex plate. Start all the screws first, several turns if I remember so they don't catch as you rotate the engine but not too tight to prevent you from starting them all.

[Mark]

I didn't use a guide pin and it rotated just fine for hole alignment once installed. One caution is to make sure the torque converter is fully seated in the trans when you bolt it to the engine. When you're lifting up the trans it's easy for the torque converter to pop out slightly if it's tilted down. This causes the transmission oil pump drive shaft splines to not be fully engaged. I think there's mention of it in the FSM. It shows how recessed the torque converter should be in the bell-housing when it's fully seated. The torque converter doesn't slide right in straight away. It may seem like it's in as far as it will go, but then you have to wiggle and rotate it until the pump drive shaft splines line up and then it slides in fully.

[Petros]

I have installed an engine in an automatic T4wd, and in a number of other automatic cars and trucks. I do not recall ever having to do this. you just mate them up and rotate the flex plate until the bolt holes line up. I do not know what or why that is needed.

Important note: make sure everything slips all the way together by hand BEFORE you put any bolts in either the bell housing or the flex plate. If it is not lined up perfectly and you use the bolts to "suck it up" the last 1/4", you will almost certainly damage the auto trans (the housing fails as you push the main shaft back into the housing). So just make sure it all slips together all the way, if it will not close up the gap by man-handling it, than rotate the torque converter and jiggle it around until it slides home.

[irowiki]

I don't know why the FSM says to use a guide pin either, but it is in like 3 different places (engine install, FWD trans install, 4WD trans install)!

It was not moving separate from the drive plate while on the car and the bolts removed, it was stuck on there good!
I did stick the torque converter hub into the new crankshaft and can confirm it moves, but roughly. I'll polish things up and use grease.

I did, with some practice, figure out how far back the torque converter needed to go into the transmission!

[Mark]

I remember my trans was difficult to separate from the engine as well. With all the bolts removed I basically had to lower the jack supporting the weight until the trans was just hanging down unsupported. I raised and lowered it a few times and eventually it popped free. The drive plate/torque converter still rotated fine when I was putting it back together.