The water pump replacement went as planned with no surprises. The Aisin kit is top notch as it includes everything you need minus the seals. The fact Aisin, Mistuboshi, and Koyo were the OEM providers of these parts when the car was new makes me wonder why anyone would buy any other kit. With the water pump off I could see why so many people swear by Toyota coolant. The water pump and cooling passages looked brand new!

The cam seals were next. I was able to remove the front seal using a claw type seal remover, taking extra care not to gall or scratch the cam shaft. The rear seal was a different story. Despite the video stating it can be done using a combination of picks, screwdriver, and a seal puller, there simply is not enough room. Enter the cam seal remover tool. I found the video below of a mechanic using it and that is what prompted me to buy it. After using it to remove and install the rear cam seal I can say with 100% confidence that it is WORTH ITS WEIGHT IN GOLD!!!! I had the old seal out and the new one installed in less than 7 minutes. It is a specialty tool but it will save you time and save your sanity of dealing with the rear cam seal. Plus, it pretty much eliminates any risk of damaging the cam so that alone making it worth having as the alternative can cost many times over what the tool costs.

Removal -

The crank seal came out fairly easily and its install was just the same. I used a piece of 1.5 inch PCV pipe to evenly tap it in to place.

 

The timing belt install is straight forward, just take your time to ensure all of your marks are lined up. If for any reason something is off just a little bit, stop! Nothing should be off, everything should line up. I ran in to this myself when my front cam mark did not line up. After some double checking I discovered I had the belt on backwards. The arrow on the belt should point towards the fender of the car. I knew this but somehow did it wrong the first time. Once I flipped the belt around everything lined up as it should.

The bearings and tensioner went on without any issues. As I put everything back together I took time to clean everything off. Not only does this make for a nicer installation experience but it will help you detect a leak if you have one. After a test start and full reassembly I am happy to report the car runs fine and smooth. Thanks to the internet and passionate owners this project has become much easier to tackle. This is certainly a DIY project anyone can do if they are willing to invest the time and money in the tools to perform it successfully. All said and done this project costs me around $360.00 and 10 true labor hours. However, if you doubt your abilities or you are on a tight deadline, I highly recommend farming it out to a shop that will give you a warranty on the work.
If you have any questions please post up or feel free to message me if you like. Thanks!

 

The timing belt job on the 1MZFE isn't that bad really. I think doing the rear valve cover is a bit more harder due to the amount of upper bolts that needs to be removed and bending/flexing vacuum lines. Coolant by-pass hose can be a pain due to the amount of labor as well. This is Just more time consuming...especially if you have a stuck harmonic balancer. Mines just came sliding off without any issue lol.

I used the same tool as you, except mines costed half the price without the carry case

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00814LW9K/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Also there is a crap ton of DIY available for the 1MZFE. It's kinda fun.

https://axleaddict.com/auto-repair/Toyota-1MZFE-Timing-Belt-Replacement-Camry-Avalon-ES300

http://diyservice-en.blogspot.com/2011/09/how-to-replace-timing-belt-on-1mz-fe.html

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/1...5025-diy-2001-camry-xle-6cyl-timing-belt-water-pump-crank-cam-seals-part-i.html (I used this one when I did my 1998)


In fact, I had so much fun when I did it the first time, I didn't do the seals because I didn't have the tool and I had a funky looking water pump bolt, I ended up tearing it all down and re-assembling in half the time! Yay!!! Fun!! First time around took about 10-12 hours. Second time around took me about 5-6 hours.

Just....REPLACE ALL THE SEALS AND GET/FIGURE A METHOD TO INSTALL THE SEALS FIRST BEFORE TEARING THIS APART. Go Genuine on these seals.

 

I used the same tool as you, except mines costed half the price without the carry case

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00814LW9K/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This tool costs half as much but it only installs. OP's tool also extracts virtually eliminating possibility of gouging journal plus making it super easy to remove Bank 1 seal.

 

That's a neat tool but why is it over $100? Beats gouging the cams though. Timing belt job on the 1MZ is easy I find it easier than the 3S/5S more room between the engine and frame rail.

Dayco timing belts are fantastic very quiet, don't use their other timing belt components.

 

Never thought it be easier than the 3S/5S. The engine isn't as long?

 

Good posts, Hardway99. It was about two years ago that I used the same great video (your posts served to greatly augment that video) to do my first timing belt on my '99 Solara. Since then I've also done my two Avalon's, the son's Solara (a 3MZ, with a few very minor differences) and the daughter's Camry (a 4 cylinder which I found was more difficult that the 6 cyl...go figure).

The first job took forever, as I experienced a few minor problems, didn't have the right tools, and it being new and all. However, I think I did my son's (last one I did) in about 6 hours.

Thanks for posting!

 

Great to hear you got your timing belt job and you enjoyed my timing belt video.

You had good luck with the rear cam. That alone took me 1 hour to get out with picking tools.

 

Thank you for all the comments and feedback everyone. I worked on the rear cam for quite awhile before I determined I needed to stop and research it some more, that is when I found the videos for the tool. $100 is steep for any tool, especially when it only does one job, on one engine, on one part. However, it was literally the best $100 I have ever spent and HIGHLY recommend it to anyone tackling this job. If you did this kind of work on the side you could charge friends & family a steep discount and still pay for the parts and tools all over again. One thing I did not mention was after I removed the seal I still had to take some time to clean out the hardened rubber debris and the spring from the old seal from around the cam. I had some long handle medical Q-tips which made the job easy, just had to break half of the wooden handle off.

 

Lots of good information here regarding the cam seal puller. This is the first time I've seen mention of this tool for this application.

When I did my Timing Belt DIY posted in the stickies I wasn't aware that this type of tool even existed and was frustrated in trying to remove the seals with the Lisle tool, like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Lisle-58430-...00FPYW4K/ref=pd_lpo_421_bs_t_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=V5GBX30JE03NFT9B8VMR

It just didn't work for me, and later I discovered why. The part that is supposed to slip under and hook the spring just slips off. You can see it in this pic. It needs to have more of a curve on it. If you heat the end of it with a torch and bend it so it more resembles a "J" then it will work much better.

But there's no question this combination tool is much better at removing and installing the seals properly. I just couldn't imagine the dealer going through the Monkey Drill using picks and tape on screwdrivers etc, to remove the seals. Now it's pretty clear they don't bother with the lame method, and probably use something like this.

I also noticed that there are other kits that have an assortment of different bushings for different applications. Next time I do a timing belt job, I just might pick up one of these tools to make the job easier.

 

I gotta say thank you for the DIY! I used yours when I did my timing belt in my 1998.