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Comments
Amaury
'08 Limited
Roland
2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve
60 mph = 1600 rpm
65 mph = 1900 rpm
70 mph = 2100 rpm
75 mph = 2200 rpm
Amaury
'08 Limited
When I do as they say the rear-right head appears to have the pointer on its timing belt cam gear aligned 180 cam degrees out. When everything else says TDC, this cam gear is 180 Cam degrees out. The intake valves are in a position to begin opening.
If I set the rear cam gears so that only 1 dot is pointing at each other, then the timing belt gear for this head and all the valve are in the TDC position.
Is my logic correct and the manual wrong? If not why?
Thanks,
Terry in Colorado
Did you get your car back together? If so what was your outcome with the gears. I am doing the same thing an 02 Camry and have the exact same issue with the right bank timing gears. I am going to try and finish it today and have put it together with both heads using the one dot mark. Regardless of what the Toyota experts have told me, It has to be right or the front timing gear would have to go in 180 degrees off. I don't think there is a lot of DIY's out there changing head gaskets etc that are having to remove the cams. If you were changing the belt only you wouldn't be able to even see the gears so you wouldn't know if they are right or not and would only use your camshaft belt gear marks to do the job. I will post a follow up to this hopefully tonight if I get it done and will let you know. My email is: hunter@ctcn.net if you want to send me a direct response.
I told you I would post back as soon as I got the car together and running. Since you already know the issue with the manuals vs. the actual job, here is what I did on my 02 Camry V6. I set both sets of cam gears to match up to the 1 dot marks which made my timing gears all line up with the corresponding marks, put it all together and fired it up. It was right. I see yours is a 97 and mine is an 02 so in that 5 year span I am betting there is more that just 2 vehicles out there with the same issue. Hope this post helps others. The way I see it is bring the engine to TDC, use a compression gauge on the #1 cylinder to insure you are on the compression stroke. Intall your camshafts by matching up either the set of marks as long as they are the same ie; either 1 to 1 or 2 to 2 tighthen your caps and forget it at that point. When you are ready to install your timing gears if the cams are not in the correct position to install they gears with there coresponding marks then rotate it 180 degress so the marks are right on both heads then install your belt period. In the future I will always look at the gears before I pull the cams just to be sure. But I can honestly say the book is not right in this particular case.
What can I do to fix this. I leave the house at 5:45am and my wife can hear the squeaking very prominently in our bedroom. I can only imagine what my next door neighbors are thinking...
Also possible that the bearings on the alternator are shot.
Check both of these items.
Just one little trick...before starting the car, drop a few drops of plain dishwashing detergent on the belt and the drive pulley and see if it makes a difference. If it does, your fan belt is worn out and pretty shiney looking on the sides.
Just my penny's worth. Good luck!!
Problem: check engine and VSC warning lights came on right after I had the car alignment checked and tires balanced at about 88,000 miles.
I had the check enginer code read by Pep Boys (for free) and it was code P0171, "system too lean bank 1". That was the only code. I had read on a forum that the code means the Mass Air Flow sensor (mounted just after the air cleaner) needed cleaning. I disconnected the electrical connector cable for the sensor, removed the sensor, and sprayed CRC QD electronic parts cleaner (Pep Boys, $5.99) onto the little wires inside the Mass Air Flow sensor without touching the sensor (the sensor wires are very small and sensitive and should not be touched). I then let the sensor dry (about 10 minutes) and reinstalled the MAF sensor and reconnected it. I also removed the 15 amp EFI fuse in the fuse box (under the hood, next to the air cleaner) to reset the check engine light. After a week and several driving trips the check engine light remains off and the car runs as good as new.
I had read on other forums that the reason the VSC warning lights came on is that when the tires were removed some error code was generated that said rear tires were spinning relative to the front--but these codes were in the background and the warning lights did not come on until the check engine light came on. When I fixed the check engine light as described above the VSC warning lights went out and stayed off. Some of the other forums showed pictures of the location of the MAF sensor, what it looks like dirty and after cleaning, and other detailed steps if you need more information.
I hope this helps someone since I was able to do this myself for $6 instead of having the dealer replace the sensor for about $350-400.
At 88,000 miles I am surprised that you haven't yet run into a problem with the Idle Air Control. Unlike the conveniently positioned MAF, the IAC is on the underside of the intake plumbing and involves quite a bit of work to extract it and clean it. If you ever need to do this job, I have a step-by-step on this site.
I've had it coded 3 times & the code is always the same. Seems to me that this problem would not be occurring intermittently if the convertor was truly bad. Would like to avoid the $1100. expense of a new convertor if possible, as I'm ready to sell or trade the car this summer.
Any ideas?
Before doing anything, however, try this: Load the car, fill with premium gas, get some friends, find some hills and drive the car at highway speed for at least an hour. Make the engine work. It is possible to burn off certain converter residue in this manner. This residue inside the converter can cause a failure code in the O2 sensors. If this works, good. If not, try the sensor replacement. If that fails, it is probably the converter..
This all assumes the car is otherwise properly tuned and maintained. Hope this helps.
Please help me someone!! toyota never again!
Does this problem include 2007 and later engines? What is Toyota doing to redesign, replace, etc. these oil lines to prevent the problem from happening?
I have an '08 Avalon with 25,000 miles on it and we're just about to go on two trips which should add about 7,000 miles.
I, too, am planning summer trips (07 Avalon with 26000 mi.) and I have MAJOR concern about this problem. If my engine loses all the oil at speed on an interstate somewhere, I don't think a new hose is going to repair the damage to the motor.
I am going to take copies of internet posts back to my dealer and see how they respond. The engine in question (2GR-FE) is used in all Toyota V-6 applications for the past few years, so this issue will only grow in magnatude!
I know for a fact that this hose breakage caused a whole lot more than a small leak. When I pulled the car off of the freeway my car was covered in oil. The engine compartment looked like nothing I've ever seen before. There was oil halfway up the sides of the car all the way around. I have a white car - it's rather obvious that when that high pressure hose burst, the oil came out of that hose very fast. And by the looks of it, most of the oil had emptied out. This is why Toyota was forced to fix a whole lot more on my car than just a simple hose. And no matter what Toyota is saying, I have the work orders from the dealership to prove it.
I guess all you can do is keep your fingers crossed. My other Toyota with a V6 has 214,000+ miles on it so I hope I can do the same again this time around.
Drove to mall yesterday on lunch hour. came back after 30 minutes and saw river of oil running from under car. moved it to another parking space and watched - you could see the oil dripping. drove slowly half mile to gas station and put in 3 qts. drove slowly to Toyota service - about 4 mi. Left a BIG puddle in the service lane after 5 minutes!
Their diagnosis: Vehicle is leaking oil form Bank one VVTI oil line. There is a TSB -EG064-05. Replaced the VVTI oil feed line, timing chain cover and oil pipe sub-assembly.
I asked the service writer if there would have been any warning if I was cruising down the road at 75. He said no - just a wrecked engine. If you don't have an extended warranty you better get one.
Got the shuttle to the office, picked up at end of day and drove home. Just a minor inconvenience compared to the stories I see here. Just can't believe the lack of instrumentation on the car. My last was a 98 Aurora, died at 207k mi with head gasket leak. It had the engine monitoring for everything. Saved me twice from being stranded with alternator failures. I thought Toyota was know for their quality and service!
Here's MORE INFO
Visiting Host
If you are mechanically inclined - do it yourself and save$$-
All parts were available and shipped to me in one week.
It seems to me that the leaks and ruptures with the rubber/metal line will continue unless the rubber line is replaced at regular intervals, and no one seems to know what that mileage number is. Toyota seems content to just replace the rubber line at this point, and minimize how much engine damage can been done if a rupture happens while driving.
I don't know how many 2GR-FE (V-6) engines are out there since 2005 with rubber hoses, but it's a bunch. I would expect this problem to continue to escalate for Toyota, maybe even to recall status.
Can I also assume from the VIN that the problem was only for 2005 models?
All Avalon 2GR-FE engines from 2005 at least to 2008 have been manufactured with the metal/rubber oil lines that are now failing. I am reasonably sure this applies to most other models (Camry, etc.) with V-6 engines.
The oil line in question is easily viewed from the top of the engine compartment, on the passenger side by the shock mount tower. It is a shiny metal line about 3/8" in dia. that comes out of the top of the valve cover and turns 90 degrees straight down. After about 6", and just before it is covered by a plastic timing cover, there will be a rubber hose/hose clamp showing. This is the rubber portion of the two pc. line.
EDIT: Okay, didn't see any other TSBs for this issue on later model years in the All Data file or in NHTSA, or anything about Toyota authorizing a metal line change.
Where did you see this info? I'd be interested.
Please note that this TSB does not change the two pc. metal/rubber line design, it only replaces a defective part. As I mentioned in my previous post, Toyota has continued with the metal/rubber line at least thru 2008. The major problem seems to be that there are now rubber hose ruptures occuring while driving down the road that allow loss of almost all engine oil very quickly.
There are multiple posts about the oil line problems on this site and several other websites related to Toyota vehicles. Any search engine will take you to at least 3-4 sites if you just type in VVTi oil line leak/Toyota. There is no recent TSB from Toyota on the issue.
There is a direct replacement all metal VVTi line (15772-31030) in the Toyota parts system. This information was posted on one of the Toyota owner sites because some owners are replacing the metal/rubber line at their cost BEFORE problems occur.
Thanks, Carlos
Seems like it's a chafing issue, not anything wrong with the line per se, so maybe depending on how the line is routed at assembly, you might have a problem.
Also some tech guy is saying the line is too small to cause a lose of oil pressure. I don't know, I haven't seen what it looks like.
Maybe the best thing for all Avalon owners to do is check this line for chaffing.
I thought i had an Avalon XL. Now I think I have a TB (time bomb) that could blow at any time. We cant' drive around constantly looking at the instrument cluster for a low oil pressure warning ( the annoying buzzer should be hooked up to that instrument).
Few owners of the 2GR FE engine are aware of this possible problem. Toyota needs to step up to the plate, issue a recall for this design defect, and restore confidence.
rav4world.com/forum and look for post #134 from RPM. He has posted a series of pictures about oil line replacement and picture #5 shows both lines side by side.
I believe that the all metal oil line was incorporated into RAV4 engine production at some point, reasons unknown?????