1zz-fe w MT engine swap - darn axle shaft?

1.8-liter VVTL-i (2ZZ-GE) and VVT-i (1ZZ-FE) engine, transmission, exhaust, intake, and performance tuning discussions
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snicol
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu Jun 24, 2010 6:53 am

1zz-fe w MT engine swap - darn axle shaft?

Post by snicol »

Hey guys,

My 2006 vibe with a 1zz-fe and a 5 speed blew a connecting rod through the side of the block.

I bought a used engine to put it. I'm pulling the blown engine from the top. Everything is disconnected, and the engine is loose, but it appears to be blocked by the passenger side axle shaft. We've disconnected the strut (but not the tie rod end or ball joint), and there is space for the axle to push outward. It appears the transaxle side has moved a little bit, but we have been unable to coax it out far enough to remove the engine.

Thoughts? Are we missing something? I've heard some Vibes can have the engine pulled without removing any axle shafts - since breaking for the evening, I wondered if maybe we need to have the shaft rotated to the right spot so the engine passes by a flat spot on the diameter of the cv joint.

If we have to pull the axle shaft - how do you do it? I have a hard time imagining that the wheel end is keeping it in at this point, as we see no movement on the transaxle side, and we can still extend the wheel end. Speaking of which, we pulled the inner joint apart (no damage to the boot) - is there any harm in just pushing it back together, or do we have to pop the boot to line up balls/bearings?

Thanks in advance,
Scott
snicol
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu Jun 24, 2010 6:53 am

Re: 1zz-fe w MT engine swap - darn axle shaft?

Post by snicol »

The half shaft had to be removed to swap the engine.

The cause and solution:

An expanded clip on the end of the stub shaft in the transaxle caused the difficulty in removing the shaft. Prying didn't work.

I ended up fashioning a puller out of 3/16" cable, with an end crimped into a loop, and the cable fed through itself around the shaft. This was pushed up the shaft and past the inner CV joint to between the transaxle and the inner CV joint. I made a second loop around a sledge hammer and used tape to keep the cable in place. Two strokes of the sledge hammer liberated the shaft. There are videos on youtube of a similar pulling method using a chain, but I could not easily place a chain in the clearance between the CV joint and the engine, so I used the wire cable.

I removed the clip, squeeze it a bit, and replaced it. Then kicked the wheel end of the shaft to install and seat the inner stub shaft in the transaxle / differential.

The new engine is in and all is working well. Send me a message if you need pictures or a better description of the improvised tool.
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joatmon
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Joined: Fri Mar 21, 2003 5:19 am
Location: SMC MD

Re: 1zz-fe w MT engine swap - darn axle shaft?

Post by joatmon »

Sometimes the most frustrating part of an auto repair is hitting the wall of not having some necessary special tool, and its very satisfying to MacGyver one that does the job
snicol wrote:
The new engine is in and all is working well.
No trivial task, good job! Hope you get many more years out of the car
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aspen007
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Joined: Tue Jun 07, 2016 7:16 am

Re: 1zz-fe w MT engine swap - darn axle shaft?

Post by aspen007 »

Congratulations on your engine swap.

You mention that some Vibe owners claim they removed the engine from above without removing either drive axle.

I am one of those guys. Just this week I removed the engine from the top of my 2003 FWD Vibe 1ZZ-FE . However I have an automatic transmission with FWD. That could make a difference since, once you unbolt the flex plate from the torque converter, you only need enough clearance (an inch or less) to allow the alignment pegs in the back of the engine to clear the tranny housing. With the pegs clear of the tranny you can lift the engine straight up without turning and remove it from the engine bay.
snicol
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu Jun 24, 2010 6:53 am

Re: 1zz-fe w MT engine swap - darn axle shaft?

Post by snicol »

aspen007 wrote:Congratulations on your engine swap.

You mention that some Vibe owners claim they removed the engine from above without removing either drive axle.

I am one of those guys. Just this week I removed the engine from the top of my 2003 FWD Vibe 1ZZ-FE . However I have an automatic transmission with FWD. That could make a difference since, once you unbolt the flex plate from the torque converter, you only need enough clearance (an inch or less) to allow the alignment pegs in the back of the engine to clear the tranny housing. With the pegs clear of the tranny you can lift the engine straight up without turning and remove it from the engine bay.
That makes sense to me - if the only thing we had to clear were the alignment pins, we wouldn't have had any serious issues with the driveshaft.

It's also possible that the location of the transaxle output is a bit different for the automatic. 1 cm further back would probably also have been sufficient!
snicol
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu Jun 24, 2010 6:53 am

Re: 1zz-fe w MT engine swap - darn axle shaft?

Post by snicol »

joatmon wrote:Sometimes the most frustrating part of an auto repair is hitting the wall of not having some necessary special tool, and its very satisfying to MacGyver one that does the job
snicol wrote:
The new engine is in and all is working well.
No trivial task, good job! Hope you get many more years out of the car
Thanks! It's looking good... I have about 1,000 km on the new engine. We have three vibes in the family fleet - from '03 to '10, and have put about 600,000 km on the fleet. They've served us well. This one's enjoyed a roof rack and a trailer hitch, lots of gravel roads, and -20 starts 100 km from cell phone reception.
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