Remove Cams in 5VZ-FE w/out Removing Timing Belt?

Hi,

My son and I are newbies in the DIY mechanic world and have a '99 Tacoma SR5 with the 3.4L V6. We have smoke out the exhaust and have narrowed it down to valve seals, guides or piston rings. We're 90% sure its the valve seals in cylindar #3 (spark plug is fouled - others are OK.)

We've watched a ton of videos and read forum posts about how to replace a valve seal without removing the head - using the rope method to keep the piston up and the valve from not slipping down - but haven't seen anyone do it with the 5VZ-FE.

We have the valve cover on the passenger side ready to come off, but concerned about how to remove the camshafts without messing up the timing. We know the cams align, but not sure how to manage getting piston #3 to Top Dead Center in order to replace the valve seals without throwing the timing off.

Has anyone done this project or have guidance for us? Or can point us to a video that does this repair on the 5VZ-FE motor?

Thanks in advance!

 

Welcome to Tacomaworld! you are correct. Not any info on this that I see. Just a guess. Get your cylinder # 3 to top dead center before removing the valve covers? I seen a video on youtube of head replacement on the 3.4. That may provide some helpful info on cam removal and re-install. Just watch some of video # 2. Absolutely a must watch. This guy is excellent! https://youtu.be/yTsocmNdBpQ

 

Thanks! Yes, WorseThanChiggers has an excellent series of 6 videos on head replacement.

 

Don't worry about TDC. The cams have to be in the relaxed part of the rotation to remove the caps anyway I.E. no springs open on that bank. Besides you'll have to back off the position to insert the rope and you can't get TDC with the rope in there, just close enough to keep the valves closed, depending on how much rope you put in. I've seen people dang near fill the cylinder with it, it doesn't matter.

Don't worry about timing. It's going to be off when you remove the cams anyway.

It's not an interference engine so don't worry about playing with it as needed to get positions you want and need for seals replacement.

After that work is done just get back on here if you need help getting timing back on the cams. Crank timing is not going to be affected, firing order of the crank does that. The crank just goes back to it's mark and timing there is going to be 'set'.

You should refer to the shop manual for this, I can't stress enough how important it is for the cams to come out per the manual. It's easy to ruin a bearing cap if not removed in the right order and the service bolt use is spelled out better in there than I can here. (the cams have a spring loaded feature to quieten them down).


EDIT: Maybe the manual isn't needed so much. I took a look at the video and it covers the important notations well. YouTube is such a lifesaver.

 

Thanks Crux and everyone, very helpful. So, if I get the sequence right:
- remove/set-aside timing belt
- remove hoses and top/bottom plemum
- remove valve cover (just on passenger side)
- rotate to relax cams
- remove cams (using right bolt pattern for removal)
- get #3 to TDC by rotating engine - not worrying about timing
- fix valve seal using rope trick (other seals as necessary)
- replace cams as aligned and using the service bolt per the chiggers videos
- re-assemble valve covers, plenum, etc.
- re-assemble timing belt with all proper markings in alignment which will include turning the cams that we replaced to get them in line

Is that about right?

 

yes but you don't have to remove the bottom intake, if you mean both halves of the top, yes but they don't have to be split. It can come off in one piece.

As stated before I'd do them all. If one failed they're all close.
Also if you're not sure of the belts life or the water pump this is a good time to catch up on all the maintenance up front also. Not so much mileage at this point as age.


Just pull it apart and what you lose track of where it goes we'll help you get it back.

HOWEVER: Did you do a compression check on #3? That won't show a carbon stuck oil wiper but can at least let you know if you're dealing with an old tired engine or one worth all this.

 

Forgot to ask, what is the mileage on your 99?

 

The engine has 269,000 on it. Compression check was good, the engine is in pretty good shape - we had a mechanic check it out before we bought it (just recently).

Here's the rub, we bought it from a technician at a local Toyota dealership and part of the reason we bought it was that he had rebuilt the engine including new valve seals (Felpro). My son and I got about half way through the project and I heard back from the guy we bought it from that he would fix it, so we put the engine back together (it started!) and will take it up to him this week. The smoke started about three weeks after we bought it and was afraid it was coolant in the engine. I took it into our regular mechanic and they did compression and leak down tests as well as pulled the plugs and the #3 has oil fouled coating - which got us to the valve seals or guides. I know that valve seals go when old or the vehicle has sat around awhile, but this was a recent build with new valve seals so it must have been put in wrong. What else could it be?

I will say the experience of working on an engine for the first time, getting down to the timing belt, removing top plemum, etc. with my son was pretty awesome and gives us confidence for the next thing. This forum and YouTube are also super helpful.

 

I hear you Scottfasser! This site had been a great help many times over for me. When I can, I will try and help others too! I just did my timing belt last year and was hesitant about doing it. With this site and Youtube, it was a breeze! Glad to hear the PO is going to fix it!!