OEM 2004 Toyota Solara Camshaft

2004 Toyota Solara Camshaft Parts Q&A

• Q: How to replace the camshaft (RH) on 2004 Toyota Solara?

  A: The replacement of the RH camshaft starts with removing the front wheel RH, front fender apron seal RH, engine cover sub-assy No.1, spark plug along with disconnecting ventilation hoses and the engine wire. Start by detaching the bolt and engine wire harness clamp on the cylinder head cover sub-assy before removing its bolts, 2 nuts, cylinder head cover, and gasket. Position Set No. 1 cylinder into TDC position while carefully aligning its pulley groove to Timing Chain Cover point 0. This will allow the camshaft timing gear and sprocket timing marks to line up with bearing caps. Marking the timing chain is necessary for record-keeping. Use two nuts to detach the tensioner assembly No.1 with its gasket then remove the 2 nuts while keeping the crankshaft from turning without the tensioner present. To remove the second camshaft and its components, insert a wrench on the camshaft to stabilize it while loosening the bolt then you can remove the bearing cap bolts in the correct order to lift the No. 2 camshaft together with its sprocket bolt and timing sprocket. The procedure to remove the camshaft begins with following a specific ordering of bolt loosening on bearing caps followed by camshaft extraction and string-based timing chain preservation while keeping the timing chain cover free from dropped items. To remove the camshaft timing gear assembly position the No. 1 camshaft in a vise then cover all paths except for the advanced side and connect about 150 kPa (1.5 kgf-cm, 21 psi) of air pressure to the advanced angle side port while ensuring the gear can be manually turned to the advanced angle position. The process requires removal of the fringe bolt from the camshaft timing gear without touching any other 4 bolts. Before securing the fringe bolt to 54 Nm (551 kgf-cm, 40 ft. lbs.), position the camshaft timing gear assy on the camshaft then apply gentle force while rotating it to verify that the gear fringe has adequate contact with the camshaft. Put the camshaft into place while guiding the timing chain to link with the camshaft timing gear before screwing bearing caps with bolts according to this order: 30 Nm (301 kgf-cm, 22 ft. lbs.) for bearing cap No. 1 and 9.0 Nm (92 kgf-cm, 80 inch lbs.) for bearing cap No. 3. The installation process of No. 2 camshaft requires chain and camshaft timing sprocket timing mark alignment followed by temporary sprocket bolt tightening and bearing cap and bolt installation before tightening the sprocket bolt to 54 Nm (551 kgf-cm, 40 ft. lbs.) without damaging the valve lifter. Verify that the paint identifiers on the timing chain as well as the camshaft timing gear and camshaft timing sprocket align properly. You need to attach the ratchet pawl, push plunger while applying hook to pin during chain tensioner assembly No.1 installation. Add new gasket before fixing tensioner parts with 2 nuts tightened to 9.0 Nm (92 kgf-cm, 80 inch lbs). The crankshaft needs to be turned counterclockwise to check the plunger knock pin before a clockwise rotation ensures proper plunger sliding against the slipper. To complete the installation process, you should wrap specified areas of the cylinder head cover sub-assy in new seal packing (Part No. 08826-00080 or equivalent). The cover should be tightened using 8 bolts and 2 nuts to 11 Nm (110 kgf-cm, 8 ft. lbs.) torque. After reattaching the engine wire, mount the front wheel RH while checking for any engine oil leakage.