AboutTed Ritter Expertise I have more than 26 years experience as toyota technician, I will be able to answer most questions related to the toyota product line up to the present year models, I specialize in difficult to diagnose problems but when posting a question please keep in mind that some situations require the used of special test equipment and diagnostic procedures especially as the newer models become more technologically advanced, so without actually having the car on hand I may only be able to try to steer you in the right direction and in some cases may have to refer you to the toyota dealer but at least you will know what you may be dealing with. Please don't hesitate to ask any questions, I will have an answer for you in most cases. When posting a question keep in mind that I reside in the US, although I get questions from all over the world I may not have an answer for models that are not sold in the US, I will do a reasonable search to try to match your model to the US model,please refrain from asking about diesel powered vehicles, I have no information for them. In most cases I will not answer questions about major modifications of OEM components, engine swapping or aftermarket products,please post a question not a statement, please provide enough basic information such as year, model, what engine and if anything has already been done to fix the problem, the more information I get the more I can help without having to ask you more questions.
Experience Toyota technician since 1979,expert in electrical systems,OBD systems,engine repair, driveability problems,EFI systems,ASE certified,Toyota master technician. Certified Hybrid Vehicle technician.
Education/Credentials Toyota master technician, ASE certified in eight catagories, Hybrid vehicle certified.
I am in process of timing chain replacement. I'm an amateur who studied carefully before starting, and have taken my time to do it right. After a week, I've finally got the timing cover and oil pan back on now, and now notice with the crank pulley on that the cam sprocket and dowel aren't @ 12 o'clock when crankshaft is @ TDC. Photo is here: http://s32.photobucket.com/albums/d12/ccfreecycle/?action=view¤t=DSCF0007.... I swear that I placed the lower bright link over the crank sprocket mark, but I can't double check without taking timing cover and oil pan off again (because I can't ID bright link through hole at oil filter), which I hate, hate, hate the thought of doing. I ran this by the helpful machinist at engnbldr.com (from whom I bought the kit) who said that the photo looks fine. He said the timing mark on the cam sprocket should be ~11:30 due to the tensioner, but that the cam dowel is @ 12 o'clock. Well, I told him that the cam dowel isn't @ 12 o'clock either, but he insisted it was. (It is actually nearly aligned with the cam sprocket mark, though not as noticeably off 12 o'clock since it's closer to the center of the circle.) Also, the cam sprocket mark looks further off than 11:30, more like 11 o'clock. I found this other photo and description on the web, which appears to confirm my suspicion that my chain is one link off at the crankshaft. http://home.earthlink.net/~twopapa/toytech.htm (It is the 2nd photo from bottom, in the topic about installing head with the timng cover on). So, my 2 questions are:
1. Is the camshaft dowel hole/pin supposed to be @ 12 o'clock when the crank is @ TDC?
2. If #1 answer is "yes," is it possible to move the chain by a tooth on the crank gear without taking the timing plate off?
Thanks much
Answer In the first picture the timing is one tooth of on the top sprocket, the dimple in the sprocket should line up exactly with the triangular mark on the front rocker arm shaft support housing, the dowel pin should be as close to straight up as possiblebut its more important for the mark on the gear to be lined up with the mark on the housing, the sprocket can only go on one way to the camshaft. Yes it is possible to move the chain without taking everything off. With the crank pulley at zero #1 tdc remove the top gear bolt and pull the gear off, rotate the cam until the dowel is straight up, collapse the tensioner by pushing it in with a large screwdriver, move the upper gear one tooth until it lines up with the mark on the front support and put the gear back on the cam, it can be done, I have done it many times but it may be little trial and error, the important part is that after the tensioner is released everything lines up, keep in mind that rotating the engine with the cam gear off or the timing way off can cause the valves to bend so be careful not to that.
