DIY timing chain replacement

[waypoint]

I used Cloyes - the best of non OEM that I could find.

Also considering dropping the oil pan now. Probably should have done it right away. The amount of sludge in the engine was insane, I fear that oil pain might be all covered with the same stuff and I don't want any of it back in the engine.

The sump is easy enough to remove after the skid plate is removed. I've been flushing mine with clean oil through the dipstick tube after the oil drains, with the passenger front & rear tires on ramps to tilt the truck toward the drain plug.

With a paper towel across the drain pan, the pics below show what flushed out after the oil had already drained. Yuck.

 

[andreylights]

[MENTION=172281]waypoint[/MENTION] that looks awful but glad to see it's coming out. Did you drop the pan already? I was looking for some instructions online but didn't find any. May be it's my chance to contribute to the club haha

 

[waypoint]

[MENTION=172281]waypoint[/MENTION] that looks awful but glad to see it's coming out. Did you drop the pan already? I was looking for some instructions online but didn't find any. May be it's my chance to contribute to the club haha

I haven't removed the sump yet. I've been using a pump similar to this to push oil down the dipstick tube, with the passenger side tires on ramps as described above. Seems to do a good job of washing sludge out of the pan.

https://www.autozone.com/test-scan-and-specialty-tools/fluid-pump/cta-extraction-and-filling-pump/750015_0_0

 

[djpope09]

I did my chain myself late last year. 4000 miles on the new one so far...
I would say the job is moderately technically difficult and very time consuming. It took me a month of weekends and a few week nights. Dealing with unexpected issues is a pain. For example, I broke one of the two studs at the bottom of the cover and needed to extract that, the crank bolt was a ***** so I had to buy the special tool (wanna buy mine??). Sometimes it takes an hour to just remove one bolt/nut/connector after you've figured out exactly which hand joints you need to dislocate in order to get in there, lol. Proper cleaning of the removed parts easily accounted for a 1/3 of the total time. Dropping the front diff and the oil pan is not necessary and would add lots more time, but would make some steps easier. I did it without removing them.
In the end I'm really happy that I did it and saved thousands on labor costs.

Do you have a link to the tool you used for the crank bolt? I found a ghetto way to get mine off. It worked, but I don't want to do it that way in the future.

I have seen sockets that have very thick walls that are supposed to work and I've also seen a handle that bolts into the crank pulley, but I couldn't find one that would work for this engine.

 

[gaber6]

No link. Just find schley tool cheapest somewhere.. I've decided to keep mine, just in case I need it again.
Glad the ghetto way worked for you. I tried to fabricate a bar, tried starter bump method and neither worked prior to getting the tool. Added 3 days to my project.

 

[djpope09]

No link. Just find schley tool cheapest somewhere.. I've decided to keep mine, just in case I need it again.
Glad the ghetto way worked for you. I tried to fabricate a bar, tried starter bump method and neither worked prior to getting the tool. Added 3 days to my project.

Yeah 3 days is about how long it took me to get it off as well. Thanks for the tip on Schley tools. I hadn't heard of them before.

 

[Ddeyoung]

Hi all,

I'm new here, and I know this is probably not the most appropriate thread, but it was the closest I found with recent activity.

Took my 2015 SR5 to the dealer today because the check engine light was coming on intermittently. Dealer says I have a stretched timing chain, and quoted me $6,600 to replace. This seemed outrageous to me, and I plan on calling around for other quotes, but my question is what would be a reasonable quote? I'm not mechanically inclined enough to take this on myself.

Thanks for reading!

-Derek

 

[andreylights]

Hi all,

I'm new here, and I know this is probably not the most appropriate thread, but it was the closest I found with recent activity.

Took my 2015 SR5 to the dealer today because the check engine light was coming on intermittently. Dealer says I have a stretched timing chain, and quoted me $6,600 to replace. This seemed outrageous to me, and I plan on calling around for other quotes, but my question is what would be a reasonable quote? I'm not mechanically inclined enough to take this on myself.

Thanks for reading!

-Derek

Hey man! $6k USD is mad, but it is a dealer after all. You are looking at approximately 12 hrs of labor. I got the kit for $600 CAD which is like $400 USD, so if it is like $100 per hour the reasonable quote would be around $1.5k to $2k.

 

[djpope09]

Hi all,

I'm new here, and I know this is probably not the most appropriate thread, but it was the closest I found with recent activity.

Took my 2015 SR5 to the dealer today because the check engine light was coming on intermittently. Dealer says I have a stretched timing chain, and quoted me $6,600 to replace. This seemed outrageous to me, and I plan on calling around for other quotes, but my question is what would be a reasonable quote? I'm not mechanically inclined enough to take this on myself.

Thanks for reading!

-Derek

Is the 2015 1GR-FE engine that much more complicated than in the 4th gen trucks? It really shouldn't be that hard. Most dealers charge something like $3500 for a full head gasket job on a 4th gen. Doing the timing chain should be less work and less parts to replace. Definitely get other quotes and try to find one in the $1500-$2500 range.

 

[ahobbes]

Which chain kit did you buy? Ah - I see, Cloyes! I'm doing a head gasket and trying to decide if I should replace the timing chain while I'm at it. Definitely not going to spend ~$1000 on OEM.

 

[danthrift71]

Is there a set mileage for timing chain replacement on the V6? Just picked-up an '04 with 180,000 miles. Looked through the owners manual PDF. didn't see it listed as scheduled PM. Thanks.

 

[andreylights]

Is there a set mileage for timing chain replacement on the V6? Just picked-up an '04 with 180,000 miles. Looked through the owners manual PDF. didn't see it listed as scheduled PM. Thanks.

no reason to do that unless its stretched enough to trigger the CEL imo

 

[danthrift71]

Thanks.

 

[Ebolavirus6]

Hi all,

I'm new here, and I know this is probably not the most appropriate thread, but it was the closest I found with recent activity.

Took my 2015 SR5 to the dealer today because the check engine light was coming on intermittently. Dealer says I have a stretched timing chain, and quoted me $6,600 to replace. This seemed outrageous to me, and I plan on calling around for other quotes, but my question is what would be a reasonable quote? I'm not mechanically inclined enough to take this on myself.

Thanks for reading!

-Derek

Hell no! You can get a new short block for cheaper and put it in yourself. This job probably cost me $600 in parts and 12-14 hours. I spent ALOT of time mapping the project out and really only got help up on the crank pulley. The bump start method worked instantly for me.

 

[hrod79]

I'm currently doing the timing chain on my son's 2005 Sport 2wd. It has 190K miles on it and had a pretty bad leak from the normal spot on the passenger side. Got it all torn apart and ready to clean up and reseal when I noticed the Tensioners on the small valve chains were either not functioning at all or had little to no tension. Main chain appears slightly stretched and decided that all this work would not be worth saving $250 in parts than to just go ahead and replace all the chain components now. No CEL on at this time. Difficulty was moderate to this point with appropriate tools, but also 4th gen appears to have more space to work with than my 5th gen.
Side note my 2010 also has 190k on it and has similar leak that is mainly seepage. However the Engine will need to be unboldted from engine mounts and lifted slightly to get access to the cover.... another degree of difficulty.

 

[waypoint]

...I noticed the Tensioners on the small valve chains were either not functioning at all or had little to no tension.

This may not be an indicator of failure. The upper tensioners have no ratchet mechanism, and operate only on oil pressure...there's no pressure when the engine isn't running. Only the #1 chain tensioner (lower) has a ratchet mechanism.

If the nylon pads aren't cracked or excessively worn I wouldn't convict the tensioners based only on the ability to depress the plungers as described above.

 

[hrod79]

good to know, both tensioners nylon was cracked or non-existent, and one had chain clearly running over bare metal. either way all parts replaced and back together yesterday, running perfectly.

 

[ktom3001]

That really sucks. I watched this video last night it's pretty substantial amount of work.

YouTube

I hate paying people to do my work but that's a huge project. Guess I'll hold off panic until I inspect the tensioner.

Finally did the water pump at 234,000 and pulled the cover to inspect the tensioner. All looks good so no more timing chain anxiety for me!

 

[cougytheartist]

Which Timing Kit?

Hey, y'all! I'm gearing up to replace my 4th Gen. 4Runner's stretched timing chain (code P0016, and I've seen my extended tensioner through the four-bolt window), and I'm trying to decide which kit to buy. I see Cloyes recommended, that's cool. But what do you recommend should be included in the kit? I haven't torn down the engine yet, I don't know what it's like in there. I know I need the chains, obviously, but what else? Chain guides, gears, sensors? Do I need a VVT sprocket? VVT solenoid? Anything else I'm not thinking of? What's "normally" replaced when one does a timing chain replacement? Should I order a water pump ahead of time too, just in case? Advice requested, please. ^^; I currently just have codes P0016 and P0456, and I'm tinkering with the latter today in case it's unrelated (could it be related??). Thanks!

 

[The Simple Engnr]

Hey, y'all! I'm gearing up to replace my 4th Gen. 4Runner's stretched timing chain (code P0016, and I've seen my extended tensioner through the four-bolt window), and I'm trying to decide which kit to buy. I see Cloyes recommended, that's cool. But what do you recommend should be included in the kit? I haven't torn down the engine yet, I don't know what it's like in there. I know I need the chains, obviously, but what else? Chain guides, gears, sensors? Do I need a VVT sprocket? VVT solenoid? Anything else I'm not thinking of? What's "normally" replaced when one does a timing chain replacement? Should I order a water pump ahead of time too, just in case? Advice requested, please. ^^; I currently just have codes P0016 and P0456, and I'm tinkering with the latter today in case it's unrelated (could it be related??). Thanks!

Hey Cougy. I'm no expert when it comes to this engine, but I have done a decent amount of work on mine. IMO the answer to a lot of your questions is "it depends". I think sometimes people go overboard replacing components that are functioning just fine, but I do get the argument of replacing things while you've got the engine open. I wouldn't bother with the chain guides, gears and sensors if they're all functioning fine, and you don't find any damage upon inspection. Whether or not you replace something may come down to what you find when you crack that bad boy open. If you've got high mileage on the water pump I would definitely replace it with an OEM pump while you're at it. It goes without saying, but you should replace all of the gaskets and seals involved with the timing cover, intake manifold, etc., since those should not be reused. You can piece these out, or you can get a 1GR-FE gasket kit that has everything you'll need, but that may be a bit overkill since it's somewhat pricey (~$300 at my dealership) and has a bunch of gaskets you don't need like the exhaust manifolds and the head gaskets.

Personally I would reset the timing of the engine with all the timing marks and the position of the camshafts in accordance with a Toyota service manual since you're seeing P0016. I'm not sure if your two codes are related, but this repair job should fix one of them.

Without the right tools, the crankshaft pully bolt is a huge pain, and you may have to fight with the alternator to get it off the timing cover, but overall the 1GR-FE is not a bad engine to work on. Glad to help if you have any questions. Good luck!