It is now Sunday and I have finally managed to get my physical body down to the shop. Yes it is already hot down there and there is still no room to work and I am still 305 lbs. But I don’t feel like I was suffering through it. For the most part I felt like I was getting things done and done right. With the possible exception of when I had to roll my fat ass under the car 3 times to get the correct size wrench for the crankshaft bolt 21mm. That’s just demoralizing, realizing not only can you not guess a bolt size correctly, but also your crap all around you is making it hard to get under the car. And your lack of exercise means you have to take breaks just to catch your breath. Not as much fun as it could be, but at least it isn’t making it worse.
Yesterday instead of coming down to the shop I spent my time on my computer searching for a decent manual. I did manage to find one I would gladly have paid for it, But I could not find anywhere that sold it just the PDF version of it that the AI copilot came back with while I was searching. It turns out this is a Toyota factory manual with all the images and torque specs that I’m looking for. The Wi-Fi is not working down in the shop due to a cable break between the house on the Cabana, I printed out what I needed and copied the rest to a thumb drive.
It is pretty cool working with a paper copy of what I need laying next to the head as I torque the head bolts in the correct sequence to the correct torque specs. Now they are all at the same torque., the next step is to turn them 90° each and then go back and turn them 90° each again. Since the engine is not out of the car, some of these turns are not as easy as they could be and parts get in the way. I have purchased a tool to help with this and even managed to not lose it before I need it. It takes a couple of tries, but I managed to figure out the best way to set the tool so it can show me when I have achieved a 90° turn. With the head firmly in place it is now time to install the camshafts.
I start with the intake side and immediately run into a problem of locating the top dead center marker. The gear on this shaft is attached to a variable valve timing contraption. It has a mark on the top and possibly one on the face, but the face is still dirty so I can’t find it.. I look back at the instructions and see the mark at the top can be used and go about installing the camshaft using oil for the initial start up on each of the cams and cam shaft bearings. Next I move on to the exhaust side. This should be simpler since there is no VVT contraption on the side just a gear. Unfortunately it’s not easier since it has two timing marks, and I can’t tell which should be used. I make the executive decision to use the furthest, right mark and install the cam shaft.
Looking at the instructions, the next step is to install the timing chain, but with the VVT contraption loose, the gear can turn without turning the camshaft and I’m concerned. Since I am hot and starving, I decide to pack up and call it a day. I didn’t get much done what I did get done was important and if I don’t check the work, it could be catastrophic.
You have to celebrate the small victories so I head back to my computer to do some timing mark research.
