deadload

I am putting together the passanger, RH, side head while following the FSM and having trouble with the alignment of the camshafts. The FSM is confusing at this point.

My question is when I align the intake/exhaust 2 dots to 2 dots, the camshaft pulley does not line up to the TDC indicator on the metal piece, and when I turn the pulley so it'll line up with the TDC indicator, the dots are not together anymore. Is this ok? Am I good to continue?

I also found this thread, but the poster didn't mention if he/she continued or not, just mentioned that he/she wouldn't do it without an expert's advice.

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/79...up-5vz-fe.html

Help please!

DRCOFFEE

To me it looks like the alignment of the 2 dots is irelevant to the TDC of the cam gear. It is to align the intake and exhaust cams together. Did you install the bolt on the exhaust gear?

deadload

Yes I've install that bolt there to ensure the gear is still loaded.

And it does sound like aligning the intake and exhaust together then as long as they are align, I can turn it till the cam pulley shows TDC. But at this point it just concerns me.

Greg_Canada

On every rotation, do the dots line up correctly? If they do, you are fine. the dots do not have to do with TDC, they just make sure the cams are in phase. You have to rotate the cams to get them into position to line up the timing belt.

deadload

Great! I feel so much better now!

Anyone know why the LH side lines up with TDC when the dots are lined up then? That's why it threw me off because the LH lines up with TDC and RH didn't.

Greg_Canada

Can you take some pictures of what you are experiencing?

UKrunner

Bit of a bump but my camshafts do not have the 2 dots. I ended up using a dremel and filling the groove it made with whore red nail polish

drexelh

Sorry to jump in here, but I'm mid-job on a 1mz-fe (2000 ES300 V6 with VVT-I).

I also needi the same class of help! As I'm knee-deep in this job, if someone technical can reply anytime soon, please copy my e-mail, which goes to my smart-phone, and gets my immediate attention: drexel @ cs . Columbia . edu (remove spaces, of course).

I am forced to replace the head gaskets on my wife's ES300 (2000, V6 of course). I'm seeing the problem exactly as described above. With cylinder1 at TDC, both cam sprocket marks pointed roughly up, exactly at the two white reference marks on engine plates. I marked the timing belt at same points, not planning to remove it from lower drive gear.

When front/left valve cover came off, cam-shaft gears were nicely aligned, one dot to one dot--as manuals say they should be. When rear/right cover came off, cam-shaft gears were also nicely aligned, but ONE dot to ONE dot--as manuals say they should NOT be. If cam-shafts and manuals are correct, the rear and front are hence 180-degs out of proper phase.

Question: Since the engine surely could not run in such a state (or could it?), what gives??!

Important Observations:

First, shafts are different front/left vs. rear/right--structure and markings are NOT the same, so I don't have two sets of front cams.... I've verified carefully--these are not the same shafts, just rotated, or some such....

Second, positions of valves and pistons make approximate sense. I know the cylinder numbering: 1, 3, 5 front to back right (rear, against firewall), and 2, 4, 6 front to back left (front, toward radiator)--front being passenger-side of installed engine. Given that, and given a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 firing order (so says manual), accounting for intake cam rotating opposite exhaust, etc., the firing order sequence of cylinders looks to be in the following approximate "stages":

(1) Top compression stroke, ready to fire
(2) (Near) bottom of intake stroke, ready to compress
(3) (Near) bottom of intake stroke
(4) (Near) top of exhaust stroke
(5) (Near) bottom of exhaust stroke
(6) (Near) bottom of exhaust stroke

This makes sense to me, and it is hard for me to imagine that reversing alignment of rear bank of cam-shafts by 180 degrees would make similar sense(?) And, as noted above, this would put reference-mark on rear sprocket down vs. up, where I found it and matching engine-plate reference mark....

This is the VVT version of the engine, as I understand it. Any chance the manuals are just wrong on this, or don't account for changes VVT brought?

I am on the point of having to spin the rear sprocket 180-degrees to get the service bolt in the exhaust cam, another indication something smells off. More importantly, I will later very soon have to make a decision as to how to reinstall. I don't want to get everything back together only to find I have a fundamental/mechanical valve-timing problem that won't allow the engine to run!

If I understand answers so far, calling for the alignment of two-dots-to-two-dots on right cam-shafts is to: (1) get exhaust-to-intake phase relatively correct; and (2) get service-bolt hold up and accessible...but on reassembly, you have to rotate the right sprocket 180 degrees to get proper timing-belt alignment. Sound right? Amazing that manuals don't make this clear, if so....

Any input is VERY welcome! ;-) And, please, as above, copy my e-mail!

Thanks! -- Drexel