I have a 96 Avalon with a 1MZ-FE engine and would like to replace the valve seals to hopefully correct the smoke at startup condition. Can the seals be replaced on this engine without removing the head?
i would say no. maybe the buckets, springs , or the keepers but the valve seals are on the other side of the head. it would be a lot easier if the head was upside down.
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My son just finished redoing the top end of his 95 Avalon. The valve seals are under the springs so you need to get a spring compressor in to remove the clips & springs....a round about way of saying you need to remove the heads. If you do this job get a full gasket kit and new head bolts as well.
You can do it without removing the head by using the" rope trick".
Remove all head hardware to get to springs. Pull the plugs ,put a piston about 1/2-3/4 of the way up in the cylinder. Insert rope through spark plug hole( you want enough rope to fill about a 1/4 of the cylinder) , leaving a small amount of rope hanging out of the plug hole. Slowly try to bring that cylinder to top dead center( you will feel the piston compressing the rope, stop when the resistance gets firm).
You now can use a spring compressor and the compressed rope will hold your valves in place.
You will have to use a universal type spring compressor( that bolts to the head, these are not that expensive and are well worth it so you dont have to pull the head) or a small hand compressor if it will fit.
This is a old tested method that works very well.
Last edited by sam333; 06-04-2011 at 12:43 AM.
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You can do it without removing the head by using the" rope trick".
At first I thought this was going to be some kind of kinky X-rated post . I'd never heard of this one before, but it sounds like a pretty cool idea that might actually work. Doing this job on those three rear cylinders wouldn't be much fun, but probably better than having to remove the heads.
I just went down this road with my shadetree mechanic (who has worked on my Toyotas for 4 years and whom I trust). He replaced the valve seals on my '98 Avalon XL and put new plugs in. After about 300 miles the smoking stopped and remained that way for another 4-500 miles. Now the car smokes at start-up again, especially if the front-end is parked downhill of the rear of the car. It smokes at start-up about 2/3 of the time.
Did I just blow $700 and the trust in my mechanic on a poor diagnosis? I recently had a check engine code show up related to some purge valve and canister that filters exhaust waste. Any relation? What that the real cause of the smoke? I'd love to know.
I just went down this road with my shadetree mechanic (who has worked on my Toyotas for 4 years and whom I trust). He replaced the valve seals on my '98 Avalon XL and put new plugs in. After about 300 miles the smoking stopped and remained that way for another 4-500 miles. Now the car smokes at start-up again, especially if the front-end is parked downhill of the rear of the car. It smokes at start-up about 2/3 of the time.
Did I just blow $700 and the trust in my mechanic on a poor diagnosis? I recently had a check engine code show up related to some purge valve and canister that filters exhaust waste. Any relation? What that the real cause of the smoke? I'd love to know.
If the smoke occurs only on startup and no other time then valve guide seals would be the only cause. If the repair was done properly then the smoke would stop immediately not 300 miles later. Replacing the seals on the rear bank can be a real pain especially without the right tools. One real important part of this job is completly removing all of the old seal from the valve. The exhaust valve seals tend to get real brittle and when you pull them off pieces off them stick to the valve. its hard to see sometimes do to all the sludge that tends to build up in the 1mz motors. you need to take a pick and scrape around the valve before the new seal goes on. and when the new seal goes on you should feel a little click, that how you know their seated properly. if this wasnt done then the seal wont be sealing properly. It sounds to me like your gonna have to redo the whole job. unfortunately your mechanic wont be very happy. Also the intake and exhaust seals are different, if any of them were mixed up it would cause a problem too
Did a little more research here today. The CEL code I have/had is related to the EGR position sensor (sometimes it turns itself off after many weeks on for no apparent reason). So, SACK you're saying there's no way at all that the EGR issue is contributing to the smoke at start-up and is a separate issue all together? Either way, time to return it to the mechanic. Not liking this at all.
egr will not cause smoke on startup. your egr will be closed on warm up and idle. im guessing that it is because if it wasnt you would have a lot more complaints. next time you start your car look see what color the smoke is. should have a blue tint to it if its oil.
not exactly. the 1mz is a great motor but they have a very common sludge problem. Toyota has even acknowledged this and has had a campaign to try and fix some of them, which you are probably aware of. The sludge it self builds up EVERYWHERE. Your oil pump, and pickup, pcv, oil pan, heads, valve covers and passages probably do have some degree of a sludge problem. Cleaning out the vavle covers will benefit you no doubt. Will it fix the entire sludge problem....No. The problem with sludge is, the good oil gets blocked the the important places it needs to go. So oil starvation is very likely to shorten the life of a motor and its seals. It is NOT reason why you have smoke on startup. Maybe just the reason why it started in the first place, or not its hard to say.
Think about this... Oil is dripping inside the combustion chamber overnight via the valve guides and stems causing a puff of smoke once everything is fired up. That's a fact. The valves are directly above the cylinders and the oil is above that. The valve guide seals are the only seals holding that oil from dripping down there...The oil baffles they are saying is the problem, are not in between the oil and valves. They are above everything and have nothing to do with this.
Your mechanic is wrong with out a doubt. I'm not sure if he is just saying you have another problem so he can make some money to redo the job without you losing faith in him. Or he just doesn't have a clue and is guessing. Either way he is putting you in a tough spot. Ive been a toyota tech since 99 and cant even count how many smokers ive seen. One thing ive learned in my profession is; when I screw something up or dont know what im doing. The easiest thing for me to do is always admit when im wrong, fix it as fast as i can, and move on to something that will make me money. Sounds like your mechanic is gonna have to learn the hard way.
Good luck
put 1 small can of brake fluid into the oil. drive it for a few days, then change the oil. the brake fluid will swell the seals AND destabilize the sludge, so that it will slowly exit the engine with the waste oil.
i know this will work. i've done it to my avy and to every car i've had, over 30 + years, as preventative maintenance.
just watch the oil light. there is a slight possibility that the sludge will plug the oil filter. its puny. if you see an oil light SHUT IT OFF, IMMEDIATELY! you might carry a filter and be prepared to change it, just in case.
one guy on here used marvel mystery oil. apparently it did plug the filter!
mine smokes at startup, but only some of the time. probably depends on the slope that i park on , where the oil runs.
my fix... i just don't give a rat's rear end. it goes away in a half minute and the car runs well.
i use a half quart of marvel approx 1k before i change the oil. the oil looks pretty good before i put the marvel in. when i drain it, it's black. the marvel must be doing something, albeit it slowly.
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. I'd never heard of this one before, but it sounds like a pretty cool idea that might actually work. Doing this job on those three rear cylinders wouldn't be much fun, but probably better than having to remove the heads.
Still smoking on start-up!!!
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