when to adjust valves?
 

Hey y'all,

What is the consensus on when to do a valve adjustment on the 3.4l V6? My truck has 100k miles and is a daily driver that sees occasional offroad use. As far as I know, it's never had a valve job.

Any input would be greatly appreciated! And let me know if I'd be better off posting this in one of the other forums....

Roger

iid say at 100 its about time to do a valve job

Good luck. A valve adjustment is not easy on the 5VZ and it involves shims instead of tappet adjustments. There are a few threads about this, and the general consensus is that the 5VZ could use a valve adjustment as early as 40K miles, however, some have gone 200K+ miles with no adjustment and no adverse effects. Basically, you may not run optimally if you do not adjust the valves, but the rig will still run. You know?

BTW, the dealer will most likely tell you otherwise, however experts on the 5VZ such as Gadget will dispute the dealer claims. To be honest, I don't know why the dealer does not push this since they will get paid for it anyway... :dunno:

So, to summarize, if you can swing it (either financially, or by doing it yourself) then its a good idea. Otherwise, you can live with it as is.

Thanks for the replies. Since I plan on driving this truck til the wheels fall off, I guess I'll go ahead and do it. I knew it was complicated, and I have neither the time nor equipment to do it right, so I'll probably have to take it to the stealership. :pissed:

When I bought the pickup (30k miles ago) the guy that inspected it for me said there was a slight valve tap...probably time to fix it. Any ballpark figures on how much this might cost? I know it depends on the number of shims they have to use, but a rough guide would help....

BTW, this is a cool forum...lots of good info, smart people, and the place actually has a pulse (took me a while to find one like that). I look forward to participating!

You will be looking at $300 - $500 (my best guess).

Watch, when you call and ask some monkey is going to tell you that they cannot be adjusted. Call them and let us know what they say. Maybe you will get a good dealership for once...

I took it to a local machine shop on a coworker's recommendation. Cost me $457, and he used the Toyota shims and gaskets, which was reassuring. I suppose it was a good deal, as the stealer quoted me $430 + parts (meaning it would have ended up closer to $600). :dunno:

kinda makes me wish I had a 22re...then I could just buy a feeler gauge and go to town. Oh well...won't have to do it again for a long time.

so the 3.4 DOESN'T have auto adjusting valves?

No, it does not.

glad I found that out before 40K miles... :pat:

Does anyone know if the 3rz-fe engines are easy and or costly?

what about the 22r? i assume the 22r would be pretty easy, how much shop time am i looking at for just adjustment on the car? not a whole valve job....

I would estimate $75 - $100. A 4-banger is really easy. I do valve adjustments on Honda's all the time. It's a matter of breaking a 10mm bolt loose and using a flathead screwdriver to adjust the tappet on the rocker arm to a specified tolerance by using feeler gauges. I would imagine the 22R series would be the same, but I could be wrong.

wow! your guys mechanics suck!! it cost me $180 and he said that at 115k miles they werent that outta spec. my truck is a champ.

they are set up the same way as the 3.4, they use shims

Yep, except that there are half as many valves to adjust on a 3.slow.

he was referring to a 3rz-fe, 2.7 4cyl :smokin:

I guess I saw 3rz and thought 3vz... :pat: