[ErnestT]

The majority (92% IRRC) of OEM 2AZ pistons/pins/rods are the "B" type and aftermarket parts seem to be spec'ed for B's. I don't recall exact numbers, but I just cross-referenced FSM/OEM and Engine Tech dimensions to ensure that they were compatible.

 

[ErnestT]

Just realized I haven't updated anything on here since finishing the rebuild. I'll copy the remainder over from my mirror log on RAV4 forums.

 

[ErnestT]

Well I got the block back and was really pleased with A1's work. All are right around .002 piston/wall clearance, so hopefully piston slap will be eliminated or at least significantly reduced. He sold me a set of Engine Tech oversize pistons with rings, pins and clips at cost, so pretty happy overall. Makes wasting several hundred on OEM standard size pistons sting a little less.

When I was installing the threaded inserts in the block, the Locktite set up on one while it was still about .2" higher than it should have been. Given that bolt length is critical to proper bolt stretch and clamping pressure, I knew this would need to be fixed before assembly.

I ended up using the drill bit and drilling guide that comes with the NS300L kit and just cut the top of the insert down to the proper depth. These inserts are steel and are longer than the original thread engagement in the aluminum block, so I'm not concerned about weakening the threads.

I did cut about 1" off the threaded section of one of the old head bolts and cut a slot in the end for a screw driver. I also filed a notch along the side length ways and put this plug in the insert before drilling. Idea being that I could back it back out of the insert after cutting the top and remove any burs that would interfere with starting the head bolt on assembly.

This worked well and I had no problem starting and torquing that bolt. I did have to do some extra cleaning to get all the cuttings out of that hole.

 

[ErnestT]

There's plenty of info on rebuilding engines online, so I'm just gonna give the highlights of what I ended up doing.

All rotating assemblies and respective bearings were given a healthy coating of Lucas assembly lube, as were valve stems and lifters. Pistons, rings, and bores were coated with WD-40. Valve stem seals, head gasket, and many other seals were Fel-Pro. Gaskets that were not supplied in the two Fel-Pro kits were OEM. I used Aisin water and oil pump, as well as timing chain. TC tensioner, slipper, and guide were replaced, as well as all timing and oil pump chain sprockets. All replaceable bearings are new and were checked with plastigage. The broken intake cam was replaced with OEM from Lakeland Toyota. VVTi oil control valve will be replaced with OEM. OCV strainer was also replaced.

I did not put the balance shafts or their bearing shells back in, but tapped the oil supply and plugged it with a 1/4-20 set screw and blue Loktite. The balance shaft housing also went on without the shafts or shells.

 

[ErnestT]

With the engine done, this week I pulled the trans and transfer case to give them a quick refresh. The rear mount is a bit of a pain, as there is not enough clearance under the steering rack to allow the mount to come up out of the subframe. So I had to pull the through-bolt and split the mount. This is also a pain due to the tight working area. I ended up having to unmount the sway bar bushings to allow a wide enough travel on a wrench to get the through-bolt loose. The transfer case extension weight also needs to come off to fit under the steering rack.

In the past, I've found conflicting information about whether the MT and transfer case share fluid, and wanted to hash it out to hopefully allow use of a GL-4 oil in the MT. The manual seems to indicate that they do not use the same fluid, but others have said otherwise. I also at one point tried some Royal Purple in the trans, and later got purple fluid out of the TC when changing the passenger side CV axle. So I had just been using Castrol Syntrax, since it was something I knew was compatible with both the MT and the TC.

Having had them both out and partially disassembled, I can say definitively that assuming the pertinent seals are intact, the MT and TC do not share oil. Here's a link to a different thread where this is discussed and another more experienced RAV owner chimes in and clarifies further.

Unfortunately, there are several seals that cannot be replaced without some significant disassembly of the the MT or TC. I did replace the CV axle seals, MT/TC oil passage gasket, and the shift shaft seal. I also cleaned and painted the cast iron TC housing and several brackets and mounts.

 

[ErnestT]

When I pulled the transmission, I pulled the rear mount's through bolt and left half of the mount in the vehicle. In order to get the other half of the rear trans mount out of the vehicle, the engine subframe needs unmounted in the front and back to allow the mount to come out at an angle. Otherwise there is not enough clearance between the crossmember and the PS rack to just lift the mount straight up. There is about a cm of extra length on the mount's studs, so I cut them down to allow the entire mount to fit straight in on install.

For installation of the trans and TC, I put both halves of the rear mount on the trans. I didn't put the driver-side or front mounts on at this point because the MT/TC assembly needs to pivot toward the driver side of the vehicle for the engine to fit in from the top. It it was an automatic, the absence of the bulky clutch would likely allow the engine to go straight in without moving the trans over.

For installation of the motor, the MT/TC was supported from below on a moving dolly with some wood blocks. I decided to gamble on the motor going back in with the harmonic balancer, belt tensioner, and water pump mounted. It was as tight as I would want it to be, but it did go in. I should have also mounted the PS pump and saved an hour or two of fiddling trying to get it mounted with the motor in.

The MT slid as far to the left as it will go:

The resulting clearance:

Motor and MT/TC finally in and mounted:

 

[ErnestT]

The rest was just putting everything back together and filling up fluids. It took about a day from motor and MT/TC in to having everything in the engine bay put back together. I did put together a checklist to help make sure I didn't jump over critical steps. Having done it now, I'm sure I could do it faster.

For fluids I used Peak Import Red/Pink coolant, Valvoline full synthetic, 75w90 GL5 for transfer case, RedLine 75W90ns for trans, and Walmart store brand (Hypertough?) conventional 5w30 motor oil (for break-in only). I did get the best Mobil 1 oil filter they had.

I did go ahead and pull the spark plugs and leave the injector wiring connectors disconnected and attempt to prime the oil system without any fuel or compression. The battery was already weak and I had to use another vehicle to jump it. I cranked it for a total of probably 2-3 minutes and the oil light never went out. At this point it was late and I decided to just call it a day instead of make more and more frustrated and sleep-deprived decisions.

The next morning I bought a new battery and spent some time thinking through the problem, figuring that I would have to pull the oil pan and troubleshoot the oil pump. It occured to me that the pump was likely struggling getting flow going on a head of air and with a weak battery. I had completely filled the oil filter with oil, so the pump was having to fight positive and negative pressures while full of air. So I replaced the oil filter with an empty one, and the oil light went out after 2-3 seconds of cranking.

With the potential crisis averted, I went ahead and put the plugs, injectors, trim, etc together and gave her a crank. She woke up right away and I must say, she may be the happiest sounding RAV I've ever heard (not biased or anything). There was absolutely no piston slap and the idle smoother than it's ever been.

 

[ErnestT]

For break in, I did the initial warm-up varying RPM between 2k and 3k. Once coolant temp was about 185F, I went driving. For the first break-in drive, I accelerated from between 0 and 15 MPH to about 60, and then engine-braked back down through the gears. With each consecutive cycle, I increased throttle input/load, starting at about 30% and getting to 100% over 4-5 pulls. I then covered another 10 miles or so going heavy on the throttle and engine-braking in 5th and 4th gears. RPMs were kept between 2k and 4k through this drive and the rest of break-in.

After the first 20ish miles I changed the oil. The oil in the filt was scary glittery and I'm glad I didn't go any further on the first change of oil.

 

[ErnestT]

At this point I'm about 50-100 miles into the second oil change. I think I'll change again at 500 miles and use Mobil 1 full synthetic from then on.

I do have codes P0012 (Intake cam over-retarded) and P0456 (Evap system leak). I've heard of both being caused by a loose gas cap somehow, so fingers crossed retightening will fix it. I'm guessing the evap is actually due to some under-hood connection getting missed during reassembly.

As for the P0012, I'm guessing I messed up the cam phaser unlock/lock procedure when I installed it. I still do not understand why it needs unlocked, bolted on the camshaft, and then locked again. I must be missing something. Fortunately it's not terribly difficult to reinstall it, should take a couple hours if I end having to go ahead an do it.

This code can also be caused by OCV or strainer issues, but both are new so I doubth that's the issue. I've also heard that head resurfacing can change crank/cam distance enough to cause timing issues. But only .006 was taken off the head and the block didn't need resurfaced at all, so I don't see that causing the 5 degree retardation that is supposed to be required to throw a P0012.

 

[ErnestT]

Some wiggling of all the EVAP-related tubing got the P0456 to clear. I also manually actuated the OCV with 12VDC while at idle. I could hear the solenoid actuating but absolutely no perceivable change in the idle, so guessing I do need to unlock the cam phaser. I did briefly try using compressed air to unlock it in place, but to no effect. Gonna have to pull the intake cam when I have some time.

The one actual concern I have is that blowby is pretty much the same as it was before the rebuild. There's just enough to make the oil fill cap not want to sit loose over the hole. It's definitely audible with the cap off. Power feels good and so far there's zero oil consumption, so hopefully it's not an issue.

Overall though, she's still running very well. I had completely forgotten about the balance shaft delete for a while; there's virtually no change in vibration or noise.

 

[ErnestT]

About 300 miles into my first full oil change interval.

The cam timing code was from the intake cam phaser being locked. I pulled the cam and attempted to unlock with compressed air as described in the FSM with no success. I had to take the phaser off of the cam before it would unlock. The manual says something about not forcing the phaser onto the cam; when I installed it during the build, I had to use the bolt to press it on fully. I wasn't forceful at all, but it didn't just want to go on by hand. I don't understand why, but once I unlocked the phaser it went on just fine. Whatever the case, the code is gone and low-end torque is improved.

Still no issues or complaints with the balance shaft delete. I'll try and keep updating periodically, but at this point it's looking like I'm in the clear. This was quite the project, but I'm glad I decided to do it. I know what's in this thing and I know that no corners were cut. I probably could have cut my labor time in half had I skipped over measuring and documenting every little detail, but the idea was to have a motor that lasts the remainder of the vehicle's life. I also feel infinitely more comfortable working on the RAV4.2 now, and that alone is worth a lot.

 

[ErnestT]

12/31/24
A quick update:

I'm 8k-10k in on the rebuild and it's still running strong. On the first full-interval oil change there was roughly 2 qt of oil consumption. I'm not at all crazy about that, but at the same time it's not the end of the world. I'm most of the way through my second full interval and guessing from the dipstick, I would say roughly one quart of usage with no change in the last couple of weeks. So hopefully I'll get lucky and it's just some final break-in on the rings. Otherwise I'm guessing that the excessive cranking without combustion while trying to get the oil pump primed crippled the ring/crosshatch wear-in.

There has been some maintenance required to the rest of the vehicle; brake rotors/calipers, tires, and the like. Plus a side mirror courtesy an adrenaline junky vulture, and a second side mirror courtesy a clumsy goober with a putty knife...

 

[ethan10502]

So this is essentially a carbon copy of a thread I started on RAV4World. TN seems to be a more active community in terms of more advanced DIY, so I decided to post on my progress over here as well. Over the course of owning this car I've had quite a few questions, like whether the motor can be pulled out the top, whether the transfer case and MT share oil, whether cylinders are coated aluminum vs iron, and a whole lot of others. Many of these questions were hard to find answers for and I hope that this serves as a resource for others with the same questions I have had. Now with the thread:

I'm in the middle of rebuilding the 2AZ-FE out of my 05 RAV4, and thought I would share my progress, what I have found, and hopefully information that will be helpful to others with this generation or other models with this motor. And yes, I know that I am dealing with a nearly 20 year old vehicle, but the body is solid, she has the manual transmission, and I have been proactive in maintaining her as long as I have owned her. Plus I just really like this car.

Before I get ahead of myself and get into the weeds about the details, I want to just go over the general plan. I also want to provide a list of tools and supplies that I have bought over the course of the project, as well as where to buy them.

The plan was to lift the motor out the top. My workspace is a very small single-car garage and I do not have a lift, and I wanted to be able to take my time and work at home at my own pace. I was successful in removing the motor from the top; I’ll go into more detail later. I will be replacing the intake cam, the timing chain, sprockets, tensioners, oil pump chain and associated tensioner and sprockets, oil pump, water pump, serpentine belt and tensioner, cam, rod, and main bearings, and all gaskets and seals. I will also be replacing pistons and rings to rectify oil consumption. I will repair all head bolt holes with Huhn Solutions' NS300L inserts. I will be measuring and inspecting throughout the process to identify any additional parts that need to be replaced.

I will also be replacing seals in the transmission, transfer case, and power steering pump.

An FSM is absolutely essential. Tons of good information. I would not attempt this project without the original manual.

Tools/supplies:
Engine stand - Harbor Freight: $99.99
AC Delco Torque Adapter - Amazon: $94.99
CTA 10mm Double-Hex bit - Amazon: $18.07
Green Plastigage x3 - O'Reilly: $11.97
Cylinder hone - O'Reilly rental
Ring compressor - O'Reilly rental
Lucas Assembly Lube - O'Reilly: $4.99
Valve Lapping tool - O'Reilly: $11.99
Permatex Valve Grinding Compound - O'Reilly: $5.99
NS300L Head Bolt Inserts - Huhn Solutions: $359.00
Veritas 24" Machinist's Straightedge - Lee Valley: $72.50
1T Chain Hoist - Harbor Freight: $69.99
Maddox Valve Spring Compressor - Harbor Freight: 57.99
Valve Guide Driver/Punch - Amazon: $9.59
Permatex Prussian Blue - Amazon: $6.49
Titan Stripped Bolt Extractors - O'Reilly: $11.99 (These things look hokey and like they'd never work, but are a new favorite tool. They are disposable so extras aren't a bad idea.)
Cheap Walmart ziplocs for fasteners/small parts
Nitrile gloves from HF
Shop rags from HF
6+ cans parts cleaner
WD40 de-greaser with spray bottle and assorted scrub and tooth brushes from Walmart

This is not nearly a comprehensive list of everything needed for this job. This is just a list of additional items I bought specifically for this rebuild. This is a very involved process and I am assuming that anyone who has any business going this deep will already have multiple mechanic's tool sets, ample work space, pliers, screwdrivers, drills, etc.

Parts have been sourced mostly through PartSouq with a few from RockAuto and FelPro. I also have a relatively comprehensive list of those parts and the sources I chose if anyone is interested.
[/Q

what rebuild kit did you buy? I am going to do my 2AZ-FE soon but not sure what kind of kit