I've been thinking about getting in on the group cam buy for the 3.0. But I figured I didn't want to just drop off my truck with someone, I want to do some of the work my self. But I'm not sure exactly what is involved with such a project. But I was thinking if I was going to need to take the top of the motor off I'd go ahead and replace the head gaskets, clean out the intake manifold, replace the timing belt so one and so forth. What else do I need to look for/expect/do while I've got the 3.0 apart. Also how far should a fairly novice weekend wrench go before I let someone with more experence finish the install.

This is my dd truck for I figure I'd might do this during spring break. Any feed back on this subject would be appreciated.

 

It's been a long time since I worked on the 3.0, but this can be done by a "intermediate" mechanic with a decent set of tools. The 3.0 is just a bit difficult to work on.

The fun that you'll have will be reshimming for the camshaft... You'll have to go to toyota for the shims, after you've determined what you need. Don't expect it to be a weekend job unless your toyota dealer stocks a good number of shims and you can get in early enough.