Changing V6 Timing Belt Pics and the $270 Coil Connector
I helped my ex-wife buy her 2001 V6 solara because she did not know what car to buy. It was bought used in 2005 with 42,000 mi on it and has gone over 100,000 trouble free miles more since then.
Anyway a check engine light due to the evap system is not, in my opinion too serious. In other words it is annoying but not going to strand you. You need to go to another mechanic if they cannot diagnose a simple evap problem even with OBD II. I have my own OBD II reader bought from harbor fregiht for $30 (i dontt hink they sell it that cheap anymore) and it has paid for itself several times over. One time i cleaned the throttle body and the CEL came on, i used my obd II reader (itflashes the code 3 times in series of three, then resets the CEL.) the CEL shut off and did not return. At least get the codes from the dummy mechanics somaybe you can post it here or do a google search and find out what to replace.
I did the timing belt on my own V6 camry and also the TB on her V6 solara. Set aside half a day, have your parts and tools ready, and follow the article and you can do it yourself. The engineering and ergonomics on the 1fmZE engine is excellent, and the timing belt change is very straightforward for a V6, so long as you have all your tools ready it ought to go smoothly for you.
If i had your car and your mileage, i'd assume the water pump and both pulleys had never been changed, and change them also. Even though they changed the t-belt i'd assume that's all they changed when they did it.
You asked about trouble spots, the biggest one is this engine was part of the great toyota sludge recall. If the engine seems ok and sludge free, looks ok, smells ok (no burning oil smell) and the deposits in the tailpipe are dark or light grey and dry, the engine is probably ok. This engine was designed with inadequate PCV ventilation, which means that you cannot let the engine go much more then 3000 miles without an oil change because sludge will form quickly if you are using dino oil (regardless of what anybody tells you).
Like i said we bought a 2002 V6 camry and the 2001 solara, and simply ignored the recall letter because i had changed the oil in both of them at 3000 miles with out fail and was reasonably sure there was nothing wrong with them. You'll have to examine this engine, or have it examined (at least pull the front plugs, or better yet thefront valve cover if you can, and look for evidence of sludging), unless you want to take a chance (i did, twice, and havent had any sludging problems - or any other problems of any kind for that matter).
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