2003 2.4l valve adjustment

There is a great thread about valve adjustment in the 2nd Generation section. My reply over there is of interest to 1st Generation Taco owners so I am repeating it here:

I'll echo a lot of what Davidch said 5 years ago.

I just did this on my new to me 2003 2.4l with 110k miles. The service records did not indicate that the valves clearances were ever checked.


My #2 exhaust valves were both at 9 mils (spec is 10-14 mils) and both my #4 intake valves were at 6 mils (spec is 6-10 mils). So I replaced the shims on these 4 valves to get 11 mils on the exhaust and 9 mils on the intake valves. All the other valves were in the middle of the specified clearance range.


I thought I would pass on what I learned along the way:


The service manual for my truck says that the valves should be checked every 60k.


Most of the factory installed shims have a 0.01 mm (0.4 mil) thickness increment. Check the valve adjustment charts in the FSM.


The replacement shims are only sold in 0.05 mm (2.0 mil) thickness increments. So save those original shims in case you need to get in range with a thickness that is no longer available.


Dealers charge about $7 per shim with the on-line 30% discount. The bend over counter price can be double that if you are lucky. Most local to me dealers did not have the shims in stock, so plan ahead for truck down time.

These guys sell the shims for $5 each, but you have to buy 4 at a time:

http://www.cylinderheadsupply.com/valve-clearance-discs-28mm.html

They also sell a tool you can use to lap your existing shims down to size.


My machinist friends don't have a problem with lapping shims because the case hardening is much thicker than a couple of mils. But they say that lapping a mil of hardened steel will require a lot of elbow grease. If you go this way, they recommended placing the lapped side down so the un-lapped side interfaces with the cam lobe.


I did not remove the cams and would not do so even if I had to replace all 16 shims! I found a great tool on You Tube that makes it very easy to push the valve bucket down even for the cylinders near the fire wall:


Motion Pro 08-0018


I still used the wedge from the Schley Products 88250 valve adjusting tool kit, but the pliers were too big and didn’t press the bucket down far enough without a struggle. To each his own.


This is a precision operation so use good quality measuring instruments and make sure they are accurate.

My Starrett dial calipers were not good enough because they only have 0.5 mil resolution. My Mitutoyo micrometer has 0.05 mil accuracy and resolution so it is good enough. My feeler gauge set agrees perfectly with my Mitutoyo micrometer, but would not agree with my Starrett calipers.


So check your feeler gauges against your micrometer. I found the Toyota shims were dead nuts so your micrometer should agree with them too.


Really if you cannot get the micrometer, feeler gauges and shims all on the same page, please buy better tools before attempting this project.


EJPHI

 

I didn't even know they still used 2.4L 4 cylinder engines after 2000? I thought they were all only 2.7 or 3.4

 

I thought the 5 luggers were 2.4's all the way through....

 

no, the 5 luggers had a choice of all 3 motors as package options but as I mentioned, I thought the 2.4 weren't used anymore after the 2000 models

but as they say, you know what thought thought?

 

AFAIK, for first geners, the 2.7 motor was only available for 6-luggers.

 

Wow really, i bet a 5 lugger with 3.4 is a peppy lil number..

 

If you haven't checked your valve clearance, DO IT! It's an extremely common mode of failure for our engines. Exhaust valve clearance gets smaller over time and once it gets too small you get roasted valves. Maintenance is cheaper than repair!

 

I agree. Its easy to check the clearance, but not so easy to actually adjust. I got the special tool, but was still unable to do it. Had it adjusted by a local toyota-only shop. The piece of mind is worth it.

 

the power is the same as v6 prerunner or 4wd really, the only difference is sitting up higher so the mpg isn't as good.

my 99 5 lug with 2.4 in it was whimpy but "ok" but when I got the v6 it was like I jumped to a v8 or something until I got used to it. the top end power isn't there with the stock 3.4 but the low end is peppy for the most part

 

Yeah the 2.4l is wimpy compared to my Z06. But I love this truck!!!

 

Just to help with ordering these from Toyota:
thickness(mm) Part Number
2.700 13753-74090
2.750 13753-74110
2.800 13753-74130
2.850 13753-74150
2.900 13753-74170
3.000 13753-74210

The counter parts people were less than helpful, so I had to order these on line