So.i was changing my intake cam gear on my 2011 Rav4 4cyl 2ARFE and I got it locked accidentally and I did a lot of research online to get it i unlocked but nothing worked but I got a basic idea and wanted to find out which passage way thru which oil/air goes thru inorder to unlock the camgear. I tried all the 2 holes one next to camshaft knock pin hole and the other almost 90 degrees of the knock pin hole and it didn't work. Then I shot air thru all the curved passage ways thru which I am assuming oil passes and when i blew air thru one next to the knock pin hole the camgear moved and unlocked. I am attaching a picture and I am very disappointed with toyota for theyre poor instruction to unlock the camgear when Infact I have found the easiest route. I am attaching a picture and you have to shoot air thru passage way that goes inside the camgear and there is blue sharpie dot marked next to it. I did clean it up with brake part cleaner and put some aerokroil in there in the hope of loosening it up not sure if that helped but when I shot air thru that marked passage way it shifted magically and the camgear was unlocked again. I first experimented with the old camgear in the event it gets damaged or something else and then i did it with the new one. Goodluck and finally we have solution to taping it etc and all that garbage I am guessing toyota recommends that to saves their techs time but in fact a very inefficient procedure fraught with risks of mistiming . On another note I dont recall the what PSI I squirted air into the passage way but I am thinking it was around 30-40psi and it could have been so YMMV. Also i removed the complete timing chain cover as performing per the TSB without the timing chain cover removed does have too many downsides and risky. Goodluck finally this puts an end to the suspense of unlocking vvti camgear. The key is which passage does the oil have to go thru to unlock it and hold camgear in your hand and just a note of caution you may shoot air thru all passages prior to the one marked and just whatever works. Goodluck

 

Have you ever filmed a video on this ?

 

Year old thread but I just did this on a gear that came locked. Put a bolt through the center in a vise and dropped a smaller bolt through the pin hole to keep the center from rotating. Gave it some air and it unlocked. Took about 5 minutes.

 

Not having any luck at all trying this right now.

 

How long did you have to blow air through it, and did you have to apply any pressure?

 

You need to block off 3 of the 4 holes, the 2 retard holes and 1 of the advance holes. i use electrical tape and let the roll hang about 12" and give it a twist to spin the tape onto itself (like making a grip for a hockey stick). Then use that section like cord to fill in the groove of the cam and block the holes, then wrap tape over that to hold and seal it. Then you just need a quick blast of air about 20 psi into the open hole to release the pin and allow the gear to rotate. i added a short length of small brass tube to fit my air hose. The cam is c-clamped to a saw horse so hands free to rotate the gear when the pin is release.

 

In order to do it that way I would have to also take the cam out though?

 

That's the wrong hole. That is the Retard groove, you want the Advance groove to release the pin. Once it releases you should be able to rotate the gear CCW or to the left in your picture.

Did you assemble the gear to the cam with the pin locked? Did it all go together properly or did it bind?

 

That's the wrong hole. That is the Retard groove, you want the Advance groove to release the pin. Once it releases you should be able to rotate the gear CCW or to the left in your picture.

I thought I quoted you in my reply above, but it didn't have your post quoted. The gear did release and turn ccw when I applied air in the hole I had the needle in.

The gear position prior to unlocking it was where the two dots at the bottom were lined up.

Thanks for your posts here and in the thread I started, I really appreciate your help.

 

I accidentally locked it over the weekend. The gear got locked when I was in the process of aligning the cam pin(keyway), while it was in place still in the engine. I couldn't turn it enough by hand to get it lined. I used a wrench on the cam to turn the cam to get it lined up, and after lining it up, I let the wrench slip and that action locked the gear on me.

I tried the hole you pointed out and nothing happened. So then I tried the hole I have the needle in and it started moving. Every time I bumped it with air it moved a little, until I got it into the unlocked position.

I went on and torqued the gear down at 63 ft lbs, gear is still in the unlocked position. Ready to go back in.

 

It's a little puzzling about the air in the ports, but as long as you got it released and installed then that is the main thing. My engine is a 2AZ-FE from 2004, is that your engine type also? My VVT gear does look somewhat different but i would think they behave the same.

 

It's a 2011, 2arfe. I have not put it back together yet.

 

That explains it.

i'm nearly done with all the cleaning and ready to put mine back together. i repaired the VVT oil control solenoid valve yesterday, it had separated at the four prongs that hold the solenoid to the spool valve. Works great, really smooth action. The coil is about 8 Ohms and pulled ~1.3 A at 10VDC on the bench power supply.

 

Yes. Got it all back together and the rattle is gone. My daughter had been driving the car for months and no further issues.

 

I’ve never gotten mine unlocked It came locked and so far I haven’t gotten it open, I’ve tried every trick in the book I’ve looked deep in every corner of the internet that said anything about it. It’s my only car and I have a new job to start on Monday. No ride now because of this!!

 

Hi, I am troubleshooting one omy 2000 Toyota echos and I replaced my vvt with a new OEM one from Craiglist. The car broke down in Feb and I replaced the gear in June. I removed the timing cover and cam. It made a lot of o noise prior in that area. Now I have a lack of power and acceleration no misfire. Could the gear be locked from factory? Any info would be greatly appreciated. I have replaced fuel pump, injectors, coil on plugs, plugs. Thx in advance. Car has 317k.

 

You will need to place the gear hub on the camshaft aligned as best possible without crushing the pin, just enough to hold the gear to the cam. Then you will need a high pressure and volume air supply--enough to blow thru the oil port to release the hub even with the leaks of an imperfect fit.

Tape off all holes but the one needed to release (depends if 2AZ or 2AR engine). Don't use a ball needle, you can't get enough volume and pressure to overcome the leakage. Use a copper tube as shown in the picture from my post earlier in the thread. Put some tape around the cam at the backside of the gear to slow that leak down too, or use clay or putty to stop up the small ***** or chenk between the end of the cam and the center opening of the gearhub.

It might be possible to do this in the car, but probably easier to remove the camshaft and hold it in a vise or clamped to workbench, etc.

Once you get the gearhub unlocked and released you can disassemble and clean up all the putty and tape, then it should go together with the pin in the correct slot and you can snug down the bolt. You can do final torque on the bolt after the cam is installed in the head, holding the cam with a wrench.

Try to keep tension in the chain pulling it up so it doesn't slip off the crank gear if trying to reuse the timing marks on the chain (but even if it falls off it can be reassembled without the marks if careful with crank and cam alignment).

 

Hey marathon miles 80 is the brand cloyes or is it genuine toyota cam gear? If its cloyes look up the video on youtube its called 2.5/2.7 timing chain replacement it will tell you whether you need to unlock it or not. But if You Do Need to unlock it, there is a method where with one cam gear you move the part that slides back and forth to where you see two or three holes, then trying covering 1 or 2 holes with tape or even your finger and Leave One Open, finally get a high pressure air nozzel or use someone elses if you can, and with only one hole exposed just try your best to get a nice shot of air because it takes a lot of pressure to move that pin inside. Again make sure its cloyes or toyota because with cloyes its not as complicated as oem. Thats all i got but hope it works out for you i know how it feels to be in the middle of a project and need to get places, best of luck.