Valve clearance adjustment on 2RZ motor

Ok, so how hard is this to do with the camshafts still installed? Those of you who have done it...what tool works better to depress the buckets....the pliers or the lever tool for motorcycles I have seen guys use?

Is it worth it just to pop the camshafts out and do it like that? Thats a bunch more work though, timing chain needs to come off, tensioner too. It would be a pain. Is there any good instructional videos on this? I have searched and found a few, but some say one thing and some say the opposite. Some say the pliers work, some say they dont.

Looking for the easiest, best way to do this. Any tips or thoughts would be appreciated.

Found this vid....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wI4LznrDzcg looks easy to do with the head off the truck, but how about when its installed?

Thanks

 

I did this on my 3rz. I used both the pliers and the lever tool. Cylinder 4 at the firewall is a pain to get to. If you have to adjust more than 3 on the exhaust cam I suggest you remove it. You don’t need to remove the chain to remove the exhaust side.

 

Thanks! Yeah, the remove the exhaust one you should be able to just pop it out right? Of course using the service bolt on the cam gear. I think I may have to adjust the intake side too, but would have to pop the valve cover .

Did you find the pliers or the lever tool more practical/useful? Did you buy a valve adjusting kit or?

Anyone else have any suggestions?

 

The pliers were less likely to damage the cam lobes. Cyl 4 at the back I had to do by literally laying on the engine. The lever tool worked better for that one.

DONT let the bucket return without a shim in there. It’s not easy to get it back down.

I had a friend that had a collection of shims to choose from, so I was lucky.

 

Thanks!

I popped the valve cover off Saturday, looks like my valves are all in spec, though a few are on the tighter end of spec. They actually settled in a loosened up just a hair since last time I checked, so I will drive it for a while and keep an eye on them. And get the tools and adjust when I have time. Wishing I took the extra couple days to order shims when I replaced the head and have everything apart, more difficult this way

Wish I could source an assortment of shims, would be nice to have them right there instead doing the teardown/measure/order thing, and then wait and hope I measured right.

 

I was following this thread and wondering how many miles you guys had on your engines when they first needed valve adjustments ?

( at 104,000 my intakes were excellent but some of my exhausts were a loose fit .010 , now I have 130,00 miles and thinking I should check the exhaust valves again )

 

My truck is at 189k, but this is a reman head with 4.5k on it. Came with new shims and stuff when I installed. As I was pressed for time to get the new heda on I didnt shim them up perfectly....2 of the exh. valves were at 0.009", or a super tight 0.010". After rechecking 4500 miles later, some of the valves actually loosened up just a bit, putting me at loose 0.010, and a loose 0.006 on one of the intake valves. So they are in spec, and I feel comfortable to drive it for a while. But plan on adjusting when I get a chance.

If I were you I would check the valves now. Pretty easy to do, 2 hrs if you're slow. Usually these valves tighten overtime, so I think you would be due for at least a clearance check. When you do check them, please let me know, I would be curious to see how they changed in 25k miles.

 

Thanks for the reply.....I don’t use the truck for long trips so it might not be until some nice warm day in Spring that I get around to checking them again. I’m old and slow ; )

 

You'll probably be fine doing it in a few months. But I would check them sometime sooner rather than later for sure. I see you're in NY, ya I'd be waiting a while too if I didn't have a shop haha.

 

[QUOTE="

( at 104,000 my intakes were excellent but some of my exhausts were a loose fit .010 , now I have 130,00 miles and thinking I should check the exhaust valves again )[/QUOTE]

BarnBoy.....just updating old post as you asked.
At 104,000 all valves were okay but at the minimum .010 on most exhausts.

130,000 now and one exhaust went from .010 down to .009, so in 26k I lost .001 on one exhaust valve. (All others in spec at 130k and never adjusted before as far as I can know.)

Now it’s time to buy the tools and do it myself or bring it to a Toyota knowledgeable mechanic.

 

If you can get someone to do it right for around $400, I'd say that's worth it. If you like tinkering with things and have steady hands, then it's not too hard of a job, just takes some time and can cause a lot of aggravation.

 

For years I did VW diesels with a very similar system but I had plenty of shims on hand.
The last time I walked in to a Toyota parts department, I asked if they had shims in stock and they looked at me confused and said nobody ever asked for shims and they don’t stock them.
Somehow I see my truck laid up for weeks waiting for ( hopefully correctly measured by me ) shims to arrive.
I think I’m going to have to search around for someone with a ready supply of shims before I buy the tools for the job or find a local Toyota knowledgeable shop.
Meanwhile no high speed driving until I get the valves back in spec’s.

ANYONE IN THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF N.C. ( or northeast S.C. ) KNOW OF ANY HONEST TOYOTA MECHANICS ?

 

go to junkyard. Many Toyota shims are interchangable.....or post up what you need.

 

Interesting, thank you for the update! Thats not bad for almost 30k miles. I'm not too worried about my valves right now, will recheck after 10k or so and see what they are like.

I think theres a kit you can buy for @ $250 online that has like 4 of each size of shim. I know its a good chunk of change, but I bet if you bought it, adjusted your valves, and put your old shims back into the kit you could sell it again and make most of your money back. Someone is going to need them somewhere.

Junkyard is a good place to check but in my area at least, good luck finding a toyota pickup in the junkyard, let alone one with the motor still in it. I know the 4runners with the 5vze supposedly use the same shim size, but you dont see many of those in the yards either.

Might get more responses on local mechanics if you start a new thread. Sorry I can't help you there. Hopefully someone will chime in.

 

Ok, so just googled the shim kit, couldnt find any info on it. Dont know where I heard there was a kit. I'll keep looking....I thought for sure there was one that I had seen.

 

I am starting to think it might be a lot easier just to pop the camshafts out instead of messing with the valve replacement pliers and screwdrivers. Or course if you measure wrong then you're still screwed but imo that would be about as fast as messing with the tools. Pull the timing chain tensioner, cam gear and timing chain, and the cam bolts and boom.

 

$275 for the kit online....google 28mm valve shim kit.

I thought about buying the kit but didn’t think about reselling on eBay....I like your idea. Thanks


Duh....stupid me, I just remembered that’s what I did with my collection of VW diesel shims years ago......I sold them on eBay.

 

Corolla and Camry shims are 28 also. We need a travelling kit for the forum.
As far as I know one guy bought one and was going to pass it on but that was the last I heard.
I have a few dozen I could throw in


Neat thing about junkyard (factory adjustment) shims is they come in .001 sizes. Kits or from dealer only gets as close as .005

 

If you need to adjust more than half of the exhaust valves, I suggest you pull the cam. You won’t have to mess with the timing chain if you only pull the exhaust side. Then use the tools on the intake side. Removing the exhaust cam will give you a little more room as well.

 

Oh ok, I didnt think to google the size. Glad you found it.

Yeah, I bet you could still get a good chunk of your change back, and even if the difference is the same as the cost of the shims you need, I'm sure it will save you much aggravation.

Yeah, now that you mention it I think that with exhaust cam removed you would have enough room to use the tools. And its not that hard to pull the exh cam.

Thanks!