"Vehicle needs valve clearance adjustment/Throttle and fuel system cleaning"

So after my most recent service @ 80k, the folks at the dealership informed me that my 07 4.0L 6-spd SR5 needs a valve clearance adjustment and the throttle and fuel system cleaned.

After researching the issue of valve adjustments, I found there is very little information available - save for the fact that apparently Tacos require no such adjustment for like 250k miles.

When I inquired @ the dealership, they said it was due to carbon buildup caused by repeatedly running the vehicle for short periods of time. Which makes perfect sense being that I live 2 miles from work.

Anyhow, they quoted me for ~$470 on the valves and ~$200 on the fuel system.

Has anyone dealt with this before/know of a good diy on either?

 

are the valves making noise?

 

I would say no thanks and go to the nearest auto parts store and buy a can of sea foam. That will save you approx. $660

 

I have never done it but do a search on sea foam, it's supposed to clean intake valves, throttle body is easy clean with aerosol can, as well as maf sensor, if you really want get a couple bottles of somrthing like techron or fuel treatment, fill the gas up and go for a long drive, then put it in every other or every third tank of gas. Total investment will be under 40 or 50 bucks, if that doesn't work, then seek a second opinion at a mechanic you trust, I used to adjust the valves on my 1971 VW Bus every 3-4K miles, easy on that car, but I have never tried it on a Toyota, and try and look to see how much there is to get a valve cover off on one of these, its not as simple as it was on my 1971 VW

 

Aren't the valves controlled by hydraulic lifters? I really thought they self adjusted, but might be wrong. However it is due to carbon that could cause an offset.

As mentioned, seafoam might be the way to go.

 

Ask them how far the valves are out of spec. I gaurantee they didnt check them.

 

Be careful with Sea Foam. I'm not knocking it or promoting it, but just warning. In my previous car (Mazda6) it was attributed to ruining at least 3 motors on the forums. There are a lot variables there (owner stupidity, Mazda quality to begin with, etc) but there is a group of people who love it and a group that hate it. So before you go dumping it in, be aware of what it can do. Personally, I don't know if I want to use it. I just try and romp on the motor every once in a while to "blow it out".

 

both counts sound sketchy to me. with today's gas filled with detergent, needing that sounds strange...

i'd find a good independent mechanic and have them look it over without telling them any of this and see what they come up with. of course, finding a good independent mechanic is not always easy.

btw, you didn't say anything about how it's running now, why you took it in, etc....

 

Sorry and thanks everybody, let me add a couple important notes

- So, I've left this truck in the hands of a friend who put 10000 miles on it without doing anything more than an oil change every 3k. Before this, I had the truck for 6 months and purchased certified pre-owned from Toyota Thousand Oaks (SoCal).

- I took it in to get the major service and asked them to give me any feedback on potential issues that have arisen since I last drove it, and this is what they came up with. Couple other small things; cabin air filter, tire balance, and i gotta sort out the airbag light. I'm comfortable with handling

- Truck runs fine, however I can hear the ticking sound. Also, it increases with higher rpms. By fine I mean no other noises, gas mileage hasn't changed

- I am pretty easygoing on the truck; until this happened I thought that shifting earlyish, ie before 2k, was a good thing. However I realize there are negative effects from this. I have occasionally "romped" it, but not my typical practice.

Re: Sea Foam, I've never used those additive products but I'll do some research and see if that might not be a bad idea.

Re: Variance/out of spec, good call.

Is it possible that even though they wrote "needs adjustment," they really just needs to be cleaned?

 

have you done the "ticking engine" thing/mod? i think these motors all tick for the most part.

 

No, what's that? Searching..

 

the 1gr has hydro lifters that do not need to be adjusted. i think they were trying to get some money outa u. if anything, u may have needed the decarbing engine clean but def not the valve adjust.

 

Found the mod. http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd...e-one-fix.html

Gonna give it a shot.

 

I use it on my outboard, it's a 2 stroke, carbon making fool. Works awesome. Actually its easier if you buy the seafoam deep creep. Its seafoam in an aerosol can so you can spray it right down the intake.

Not sure about running it through a modern engine though, makes a TON of smoke.

 

try some of this,just pour it in the tank

 

Here's Toyota's valve clearance specs on the 1GR-FE engine. Since they give a spec, I doubt they're self adjusters...... They also say it's 6.6hr job and give a shim chart.


Valve Clearance (Cold)

Intake 0.15 to 0.25 mm (0.006 to 0.010 inch)
Exhaust 0.29 to 0.39 mm (0.011 to 0.015 inch)

 

Nobody has stated the obvious yet, but why don't you go back and ask why they seem to think the valve adjustment is necessary? Seems very questionable to me, and if it were me, I would be grilling them on why they think it's necessary as I have not heard of this being on the routine maintenance schedule. You may need to get the Service Advisor to get a mechanic, or a mech mgr, to get a decent answer, but stay with it.

As for the throttle and fuel system clean. You could clean out the throttle body yourself, and ask them if the fuel system clean includes cleaning the injectors. If they use a stand-alone fuel system cleaner (douch bag attached to the fuel line it may be worth it. Not to me though as I would just clean the TB and then run some Seafoam through a vacuum port and then in the fuel system, and call it good. Especially if it's running fine. Fuel milage and power good, i.e., the same as before?

 

Based on what you've said then I'd bet you're just fine as is. I highly doubt you need detergent for your engine with todays gasoline.

 

Because of that stupid valve on the intake system that ticks like a loose lifter, mine has sounded like it needs adjustment since day one.

From what I can tell you must remove the cams to do a valve adjustment on this engine. that'a why what would be a 2 hour job suddenly takes 6.6 hours.

In my manual it says to check & adjust if necessary. Here's the thing: It'll take 2 hours just to check the clearances because so much stuff must come off, but I believe anyone can do this with just a feeler gage.

Truthfully, had I known this truck used shim-under-bucket I never would have bought it. It's a very dependable design, but also very costly to service, and very easy to get the timing screwed up.

If the dealer who said "it needs adjustment" just listened to the engine (or just said this out of the blue because of the mileage) I'd put some Techron or SeaFoam in the gas tank with a fresh tank of gas, go take it on a nice fast freeway ride of 100 miles or so & then drive it in to a good independent shop & ask them to listen to the engine, with the engine fully warm.