Cam Cap Replacement

There was an incident at a mechanic where they cracked 2 cylinders and ended up replacing the head and the cylinders, when they did this they forgot to put the cam cap on and I took it to another mechanic. The mechanic insists that they cant find a replacement one to order, that it would only come with a head, and that each cap is specifically milled for the engine head so I would need to get a new head as well. Can someone help me out? I have a feeling im getting taken for a ride here, and I've already had to deal with some pretty ridiculous things with this truck. Its a 2003 TRD with the 5VZ-FE.

 

Pretty sure they're not lying about needing a new head. On mine each was stamped with its location. Maybe @Speedytech7 or @Empty_Lord can pop in here and confirm.

 

Did the first shop put everything back together? If so, then forgetting to put a cam cap on is an unforgivable fuckup. That’s major. So is cracking two cylinders though...

The machinist is correct about the cap being milled specifically for the head (and that particular location on it too). You might be able to find a machinist to resize the bearing journal/cap if you get one from a junkyard, but there’s no guarantee it’ll work. You probably are looking at getting a new head.

 

Cam caps are a machined set, the cam journals are line bored, you put another cap from a random head on and you'll have a journal that's the wrong size and possibly on the wrong datum. You need a new head

 

Yea if the cam caps were misplaced and accidentally put on the wrong head, it’s a new head.

 

I'm trying to sell this thing, is there any way to avoid paying for a whole new head and everything? I mean I could try to make the other mechanic pay for it.

 

Try to make the other mechanic fix it, otherwise you're up shit creek and the price of a paddle is a new head and associated labor.