Day 5

Back to it after a weekend off.

22. Jumped right into it and began to remove the cams. Adjusted timing gear to 10 degrees BTDC to engage the lobes on the 2 & 4 cylinders equally on the valves, then removed the cam timing gear with a generic pulley spinning tool from Harbor Freight for $10 (not pictured) which retains the gear while removing the 14mm retaining bolt.

23. Inserted a retaining bolt into the sub-gear and main gear on the exhaust side cam shaft (visible in the upper picture (shiny silver bolt to the right of the spark plug tube). I used an M6x20, 1mm pitch bolt and could have used something a bit shorter like an M6x16. Removed the end cap bolts per pattern and then the bolts on the 1, 2 & 4 cylinders per indicated pattern. Then removed bolts on #3 cylinder, backing out each slowly to ensure the cam being pushed out the the spring tension stayed level. On our first attempt, it began to lift at an angle. The Toyota tech manual made a big deal about the cam staying level so we bolted everything back up, adjusted the angle of the intake cam to about 15 degrees BTDC and repeated the exercise. The exhaust cam came out level this time.

24. Repeated the process for the intake cam, rotating it so the lobes on the 1 & 3 cylinders were evenly compressing the valves and removed the cap bolts on 1, 3 & 4 cylinders per indicated pattern. Then removed the bolts on #2 cylinder and the cam pushed out evenly on the first try. You'll notice the #4 spark plug tube is missing. The bolt adjacent to it began to strip so removed the tube (it was leading anyway and would have to remove it and reseal with Loctite) so I could get a Bolt Off tool on it.

25. Finally, what we've been excavating for the last month...removed the head bolts per indicated pattern. Had to explain to the boys the importance of following the pattern to avoid a warped head. Head pulled off easily once wedged free with a pry bar agains the pry point on the block.

26. Once we had the head on the bench, we inspected the bolts and gasket looking for the leak point. Could not conclusively identify it (admittedly I don't know what I'm looking for...). I did notice one area between the 2 & 3 cylinders on the exhaust side. The margin between the clean metal on the gasket and the discolored area was much thinner and the bolt removed from the hole adjacent to it (#9) had a lot of carbon buildup/crud on it.

Hard to see but area at 6 o'clock between 2 & 3 cylinders had a thin margin between the clean gasket and the discolored area. Bolt on the left below came from the hole closest to this spot.

Waiting for the OEM gaskets and head bolts to arrive. Time to watch the Packers/Falcons playoff game...

Day 4

14. Removed the cruise control actuator and cables.

15. Jacked the engine slightly under the oil pan. I used a piece of plywood to distribute the load on the pan. Also removed the right wheel and plastic panels below the engine.

16. The Toyota manual didn't show it but the power steering reservoir and hoses restricted access to the timing belt cover so we unbolted the bracket and wrestled it over the top of the head cover to give us room.

Point of instruction I hounded the boys on...reinstall all removed bolts and nuts into the location they came from. Too often I've ended up with a coffee can full of loose bolts wondering where they go...

17. Removed through bolt on the engine mount. There are two 14mm nuts that you have to get at from below with a deep socket and 6" drive extension.

18. Removed spark plugs. The access tube for the #4 plug had about an inch of oil in it. Any thoughts on how the oil is getting in there?

19. Removed the upper timing belt cover. Rotated the crank until the notch aligned with 0 degrees TDC on the lower cover. Ensured the cam timing pulley (intake side...sorry couldn't take photo...too tight to get the camera in there...) alignment hole was aligned with the head (about 11:00 as you look directly at the face of the drive gear).

20. Marked the belt relative to position on the cam timing pulley and removed it from the pulley and idler. The instructions on the manual were not helpful here. It said to push the idler as far left as possible and retighten the bolt to retain in the loose position. It said nothing about having to remove the spring to allow the idler to move, which it did easily once we removed the spring from the upper pin (you can see the pin just below the idler. In this pic, the belt has been moved out of the way below the pin for clearance).

21. Removed the head cover and stopped here for the day. Manual noted to use a service 6mm dia/1mm pitch x 20mm length service bolt to secure the exhaust camshaft sub-gear prior to removal. Will need to pick one up and a spanner wrench to remove the camshaft timing pulley. Surprisingly, the belt looks pretty new. I'll have to go through receipts again to see how long ago they replaced it.