Under valve cover of a 2AZ-FE

[asiancivicmaniac]

This is our 2004 Camry with the 2AZ-FE with 150,000 miles on it. Had to change the valve cover gasket since it was weeping pretty badly. I would say 75% of the oil changes were done with synthetic oil (Pennzoil Platinum/Ultra or M1). Except for a couple of times, it has been on a 5k oci.

I'm a little concerned about the middle, teardrop, lobe thing on the rear camshaft. It's varnished compared to all the other lobes.

 

[Burt]

Yeah, might be good for only 300,000 miles and 10 more years.

 

[gregk24]

thanks for the pics!

 

[asiancivicmaniac]

Originally Posted By: Burt
Yeah, might be good for only 300,000 miles and 10 more years.


Can only hope

 

[MolaKule]

Oh no!. A little varnish at the cooler part of the engine.

Engine will only last another 5 miles!

 

[Mr Nice]

Your wife's engine is very clean.

 

[LeakySeals]

Your concerns are justified. Where there's heat, there's varnish. And where's the varnish? Right near the 3 headbolt threads known to fail/strip. IMO they strip after a heat event, like an overheat, low coolant, tired coolant, etc. But nobody's really sure why thousands of 02-04 2AZ-FE head bolt block threads strip causing instant catastrophe when the head separates from the block. If you pull the intake, you will see a piece of insulation between the intake and the block. Trapping heat. Right in the varnish area. Stay on top of your coolant! Its really helps on these engines.

 

[asiancivicmaniac]

Originally Posted By: MolaKule
Oh no!. A little varnish at the cooler part of the engine.

Engine will only last another 5 miles!

Is that really why? That's interesting. I would have thought heat would do that.

 

[asiancivicmaniac]

Originally Posted By: LT4 Vette
Your wife's engine is very clean.



For the record, I'm not married.

It's my mom's car, which has basically been given to my sister.

 

[Artem]

Thanks for the pictures. I have the same block in my 06 Scion tC and wonder what mine looks like after 105,000 miles. What is visible through the oil filler hole is clean but from the looks of this engine, the dirty parts are further inside and not visible from the fill hole... Hmmmm.

 

[asiancivicmaniac]

Originally Posted By: Artem
Thanks for the pictures. I have the same block in my 06 Scion tC and wonder what mine looks like after 105,000 miles. What is visible through the oil filler hole is clean but from the looks of this engine, the dirty parts are further inside and not visible from the fill hole... Hmmmm.


If you're only looking through the oil fill hole, you're only going to see the baffle.

 

[Artem]

I have to respectfully disagree on that one. I'm definitely able to see more then just the baffle in my 06 2AZ-FE. I will post a picture tomorrow.

 

[asiancivicmaniac]

Originally Posted By: Artem
I have to respectfully disagree on that one. I'm definitely able to see more then just the baffle in my 06 2AZ-FE. I will post a picture tomorrow.


The baffle on ours basically covers 90% of the fill hole. Look at the upper left corner of the valve cover.

 

[Quest]

Originally Posted By: LeakySeals
Your concerns are justified. Where there's heat, there's varnish. And where's the varnish? Right near the 3 headbolt threads known to fail/strip. .....


fear mongering again, Leaky?

Come on now! How many 2AZ-FE has failed out of those that have been out there still in-service? How many?

BTW: my wifey's 04 2AZ-FE still on the road with factory LLC coolant in it, coming close to 10 yrs....oh no! according to you: it should have long blown due to stripped head bolts....


Q.

 

[LeakySeals]

Originally Posted By: Quest
Originally Posted By: LeakySeals
Your concerns are justified. Where there's heat, there's varnish. And where's the varnish? Right near the 3 headbolt threads known to fail/strip. .....


fear mongering again, Leaky?

Come on now! How many 2AZ-FE has failed out of those that have been out there still in-service? How many?

BTW: my wifey's 04 2AZ-FE still on the road with factory LLC coolant in it, coming close to 10 yrs....oh no! according to you: it should have long blown due to stripped head bolts....


Q.

Sorry for insulting wifey's car. But love is blind. Its just a car to me. If you choose to ignore, up to you. Prefer you did actually.

 

[229]

Well documented problem.

 

[asiancivicmaniac]

Originally Posted By: 229
Well documented problem.


Thing is, it's most prevalent on Toyota forums where the sample population is overrepresented. There are millions of these engines in cars worldwide. If it was that widespread of a problem, it would be notorious like the Toyota sludged engines, Honda A/T, GM gaskets, etc.

I'm not saying it doesn't happen, because it obviously has in order for people to know about it, but it's only heard from people who have had to fix it. You don't hear from the couple million or so who do not have problems. Then you hear those who did the Heli-Coil fix as a precaution, but, for all they know, their engines might have lived a long and happy life. So the actual failure rate may be lower than what is perceived.

 

[ram_man]

You can tell these engines are hard on oil... 5, 000 on a good synthetic should look better than that.

 

[asiancivicmaniac]

Originally Posted By: ram_man
You can tell these engines are hard on oil... 5, 000 on a good synthetic should look better than that.


Here is another thread with the 2AZ-FE open for comparison.

I can't explain the varnish on the middle lobe of the rear camshaft, but Molakule said it was due to it being a cooler area of the engine. He is one of the few members on here who has the qualifications to talk about lubricants so I believe what he says.

That makes sense because the intake plenum is located back there and the exhaust manifold is in the front. I expected it to be cleaner because the oil was always changed on time with good oil even in the few occasions that it did have conventional in it, but it runs fine so I can't really complain.

 

[ARB1977]

Looks great. I wouldn't worry about a little varnish.