Difference in VVT-I/Camshaft gears

Well that is an absolute first for me to see! Does it press in firmly?

There should be an obvious color line where it used to be. Does it have one?

 

I see where it has the color difference now. Half its length. Do you know which specific hole it belongs in? I might have a picture.

 

Yes there is. If you look at the pic the line is square in the middle. Its obviously not sheared, and it would stick out about as much as the exhaust gear pin. So I am headed to Autozone now to get the best locktight that they have, put it on and try to press it back in with a few gentle pings of my hammer and and hope that it holds.

 

JB weld industrial would work very well in this scenario.

 

I guess going back to your original question, of is it possible for the intake cam gear to spin 180? Then yes, if your screen name is @Jbriggsnh . Lol.

Or if that key pin falls out.

 

Tapped it in (very tight fit) with a few drops of permeated high strength. Only fit in one hole. And i can see now how this matches up with your pic as far as the lobes go.

 

Just a couple of ref pics for the future.

 

@Torspd That took care of the problem. It started right up. Ran smooth. And no codes!

I really, really appreciate your help, excellent pics, and expert advice. Could not have go this thing done without you!

Just to recap - this was an odd problem caused by the cam pin coming out during reassembly or operation. That caused it to slip relative to the cam and throw the timing off. The conclusive diagnosis was that the timing marks still lined up (since the cam gear was slipping against the cam but fixed against the crankshaft), yet performance was so poor that it wouldn't idle and there were no P0016/18 VVT error codes - just P0300 (cylinder misfires). The key to diagnosing this was the reference photo that you provided that show the proper cam lobe locations on TDC.

The technique technique used to check valve lash clearance can be used to verify valve timing without removing the timing chain by:

PREPARE
1 - placing crank at TDC
2 - removing the valve covers
3 - opening the access port and removing the main chain tensioner.
4 - loosing the inlet valve bolt all the way out
5 - remove the exhaust cam gear bolt and remove the exhaust cam gear
6 - unscrew the inlet cam gear bolt almost all the way out.
7 - remove the main timing chain from the inlet cam gear. If that can't be done remove the inlet cam bearing caps and lift slightly up on the cam to allow wiggle room to remove the main chain from the gear and set it inside on the shaft.


SET TIMING
1 - adjust inlet gears to match their timing marks on the bearing caps.
2 - Restore the chain to the gears. IMPORTANT: Be sure to rote the driver's side inlet cam gear counter-clockwise so that the chain is tight against the crankshaft when setting the DS inlet gear chain position. Be sure that the crankshaft remains at TDC. Always do DS first. Then PS (passenger side). Restore the bearing caps and tighten the bolts hand tight.
3 - Once the chain is on both inlet cam gears and the timing marks are aligned with both gears tight counter-clockwise, starting with the DS, holding the inlet cam gear aligned with the bearing cap marks, slide the inlet cam gear toward the camshaft while rotating the camshaft until its alignment pin slips into its hole on the timing gear and the two mesh together. Ensure that the lobe position is consistent with your pic.
4 - hand tighten the inlet gear bolt to retain the position.
5 - if doing both side complete the PS now.
6 - Remove bearing cap #1 and re-install the secondary chain tensioner. Reinstall bearing cap #1 hand tight.

7 - now that both inlet cam gears are aligned to the crank and fixed to the cams, place the exhaust cam sprockets in the secondary chain so that the links line up with the correct timing mark on the sprocket and, more importantly, that the sprocket aligns with the exhaust cam bearing cap marks.
8 - Now rotate the exhaust cam while pressing the exhaust cam gear against it until the cam's locating pin finds the slot in the gear and thee mesh. Reinstall the exhaust cam gear bolt and finger tighten.

9 - verify that all 4 cam gears align with their respective bearing cap marks, and that the cam lobes for #1 & #2 cylinder match the picture.

10 - torque all bearing caps down to spec
12 - torque the 4 cam gears to spec.
13 - re-install the main chain tensioner and cover.

TEST
1 - rotate the crankshaft 360 degrees returning it to the TDC mark and verify that the timing marks align. Do this several times.

 

Now that is some damn good news!

Excellent description as well. This will be useful to countless many.

 

Great post Torspd and Jbroggsnh! Only thing I would add is the difference in the cam sensors. I am currently changing out a 2005 Tacoma engine with a 2003 4Runner engine. The early version uses a 2 wire cam sensor to go with the 3 point ninja reluctor and the 2005 or newer uses a 3 wire sensor. Helpfully to know for engine swaps. Thanks again!