I’m stuck. I am replacing my 2009 Prius engine and I’m running into a problem with mating the engine to the transaxle. I’ve played around with it forever and was finally able to get the bottom motor mounts in. I have also started a couple of bolts near the front of the car, however when I look around towards the back of the engine the engine and transaxle are far apart. I can still see the dowel pin and it isn’t seated. I’ve tried jacking up from different angles and nothing seems to work. It looks like it’s stuck. I guess my question is... should I continue bolting the engine and transaxle and wait for it to mate. I know using the bolts to mate them together is usually a big no-no, but I’m stuck and out of options.
The engine and transmission MUST fit and slide fully together before you tighten any bolts. Otherwise something WILL break. Engine mounts come after the units are bolted together. One thing to try is to take the trans to engine (bellhousing) bolts then find a couple that are the same diameter and thread pitch but are 1-2 inches longer. Fit them through 2 of the trans bellhousing holes and carefully thread them into the engine block. Now you have guides to help line things up. You will also need to turn the crankshaft some to allow the splines ob the trans input shaft to fit into the damper on the engine. Maybe tilt the trans up slightly if the engine mounts are getting in the way. You might want to think about pulling the transmission to fit the two together out int the open. It's more work but less hassle. Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
Thanks. I decided to call it a weekend and took the engine back out... I’ll try again with the advice you gave next weekend hopefully. Thank you!
