Cam gears for V6. Add power AND mpg

Sign me up as a new member of the cam gears club!

It was a long winding process and there were like a million bolts, but I got 'er done, screwed my OE thermostat and had to go buy an emergency t-stat replacement, so looks like I'll be getting a Mishimoto 160 thermostat tomorrow.

A couple notes.

- Finding number 1 was stupid easy. Once your marks are aligned and everything is at TDC, mark the link which the cam will be going into the center of.

- If using @mightytacoman modified OE cam gears, make sure you mark the cams prior with an F for the front and an R for the rear of the cam. At the front of his cam you will notice one of the mounting locations is elongated, that is the side you want to mount face up. Draw a line so you know exactly where center is. This will help IMMENSELY during installation.

- Make sure you do your workouts before breaking the exhaust cam bolt. It will be incredibly hard to break free even at 100K and you are best suited using the help of a friend to hold the intake cam while you break free the exhaust cam bolts. I broke mine using a 17mm box end wrench and a 3 foot breaker tube placed over it. It was still hard, but eventually snapped loose.

- Make sure you buy valve cover gaskets, a spare thermostat, coolant and oil all as just in case items. You don't want to have to run to the store while you are doing this, especially if it's your daily driver. You will end up like me earlier tonight if you are unprepared.



- After reassembly feel the burn! I haven't even been retuned and I feel a nice power gain starting at about 2500 RPM instead of 3200 like it used to, and the idle is much smoother now due to the now more complete burn.

 

Thanks for the review and your impressions buddy! How did you manage to damage your thermostat in the process though?

 

It got dark by the time I was finished with the work. I was limited to only the light of my flashlightand when I mounted the supercharger belt all of the routing looked okay but I happened to miss that one point by the thermostat and one of the bolts and I ended up somehow making the belt ride in close proximity to the thermostat so the damage ensued only seconds after I started it.

 

Where do I sign up for a set? Count me in!!

 

I’ve had my set in for a few months now. I gained about 1 mpg and it gets up to speed on the freeway better it feels like. I’d like to see what this paired with some intake spacers and a hp tuner would do to the truck. Biggest complaint about the truck so far is that the transmission wants to shift into overdrive at 35 mph

 

Hp will cure this

 

Sent ya a pm buddy

 

1mg gain ain't bad at all! Glad they are working great for ya. I too recommend hp tuners to cure that shifting problem. Mine HAD that too.

 

Can't wait for my set! Awesome response time from Kelby!

 

So will putting it in 4 instead of D haha

 

Not really though. Even 4 is annoying in town. Toyota should have just made a DCLB manual.

 

Did you see the number below 4?

 

But then you forget when your jumping on the freeway. I just miss my manual honestly. This is the first auto I’ve ever had and it’s weird. It’s only bad when I’m up in the mountains or when little old lady opal is getting on the freeway and fluctuating her speed and my truck keeps shifting into OD anytime i think about letting off the throttle.

 

You're on Tacoma World buddy. All of the mods, treats, and ideas that you could ever indulge your glutenous modding inner child are here for you to overcome any obstacle. We'll be here to support you.

 

6 speed swap anyone?
I did a manual swap in my 2000 4runner it can’t be any harder

 

After owning only manuals for the last 20 years I actually want to go the other direction! I love the manual for back roads, but when I am crawling in traffic or blasting 80+ down I-5 would rather have the auto.

Let me know if you want to trade, my 2011 RA60f has ~80,000 miles on it and shifts nice

 

To bad you’re not closer

 

Every week or so I do a Craigslist search looking for wrecked 6spd AWD FJC's to manual everything swap into my DCLB. The A750 isn't my first auto tranny, but it's definitely the worst.

 

2 sets in stock and ready to ship.

 

Ok, ordered my gears a month ago, and then tore three ligaments in my ankle so it took me awhile till I got them installed.

But, installing the gears themselves is not hard at all, getting to the gears is another story. I can't recommend being patient with the wiring enough. I pulled a wire loose on the cam position sensor, didn't realize it, and reassembled everything. Got a CEL immediately, with was a P0020 code, cam sensor for bank A (drivers sode). I tore navk into the truck, and fixed the plug where the wore had come loose. So yeah, be patient and dont get in a hurry haha. Cost me a week extra before I could get a real test drive. That being said......

IT WAS DEFINITELY worth the swap. Best mod I've done to the truck yet, the motor is just happier, faster, and torquey-er. My 265/75 Irok ND's were extremely noticeable when I put them on a few months ago (stupid 3.73's), after replacing the 245s. Now the truck feels better than it did stock with the little 245s on it. I can't recommend this swap enough, and shout out to mightytacoman for getting these gears machined for us. I'll be posting mileage soon, once I've put a couple of tanks though. All I can confirm now is that the needle drops slower haha.