Camshaft service bolts.
 

Im working on my girls 97 4runner 3.4. in the haynes manual it says you must insert the service bolt to keep the exhaust cam from spinning. When I try to put a bolt in it looks like its only going in about 1/8" or the thickness of just the first drive "plate" and it does not thread just spins. When i look into the hole am i supposed to see through to the other side? I dont. I am trying to cange the valve guides/ seals and im wondering how much trouble im in if i cant get the service bolt in while the cams are still in the truck.

Ok i pulled the cams anyways....They did not have any of the books mentioned "tension" they came out, and did not spin as i was anticipating. My next question is...should they? the book shows holding the cam in a vice while rotating the other half. should i do this? do the cams have to be "loaded"...
ok thanks in advance, you guys are the only place on the web to find any good toyo info...


thanks
surphrat

I think your talking about scissor gears on the cams. We put a small bolt through one of the holes specifically for this reason to hold the loaded gears together. Aligning both exhaust and intake cams is different from keeping two gears on the same cam together. Um if ya didn't do this you'll need to re-align the two gears and put a bolt through them before aligning the intake and exhaust cam in the head... If this is in fact what you are talking about, otherwise disregard

If you took the cam out without using the service bolt, you are going to have some problems when you try to reinstall it. If you want you can email me your phone number and I will call and tell you about the pit falls when reinstalling the exhaust cams.

This is done wrong all the time and when it is the valve train will make one hell of a lot of noise.

Gadget

So ive ran into another problem about this and really needing some info, so ive been doing a head replacement and im stuck because when i go to install a service bolt to reinstall my cam shaft the hole lines up but when it lines up the teeth are off half way does this make since to you and what should i do?