I actually had this problem with my 2000 Avalon, which I got from a relative at 217000 miles sludges. I had a stuck vvt and the filter was clogged to death. The valve cover was loaded with sludge and the car could hardly breathe or accelerate past 2500 rpm. So I took the covers off, cleaned around the cams, bought a new vvt, solenoids, and installed new vvt filters, after cleaning the covers and the areas around the cams and the vvt holes and filter holes with. . . . Easy off. (The oven cleaner . It will restore your valve covers to day 1 factory standard). Since then, the car has worked like magic. I need to say here it was also blowing blue smoke at ignition-a thick blue smoke and using oil a lot. After changing all the above and cleaning the oil pan and the oil pan filter, all the problems were gone. At 278000 now, it drives like a dream. In fact, I drove it over 3000 miles in the summer, no problem. I also switched fro Dino oil to semi synthetic.
That sounds like my 2004 Avalon XLS when I bought it a few months ago. Looks like the dude didn't like changing the oil. I ran an engine flush to see what would come out and the the blackest of the black sludge came out, but all liquid. I did 3 oil changes one week apart. It would smoke during startup sometimes, run hot or hard/long distance. The oil light would flicker and sometimes stay on after awhile. I replaced the PCV valve, didn't really change much. I watched a video online saying that replacing the oil pump pickup tube should help with the flicker if it's full of gunk. I had a mechanic change it out, it had a few shavings in it but it was mostly good. Ever since he swapped the oil pickup tube, it has run a lot better. If I take it on a long trip, it will smoke the day after. Sometimes after a sharp turn it will give this big puff of oil smoke. I think the valve covers are the next step. I have heard they also get clogged with hard sludge. Thank you for posting the information, I will be looking to do this next.
God bless you my brother! According to the Versus, you're up and hitting it at 8:19am! This was an enjoyable diagnostic journey. I really like the process of watching you attempt to figure out the problem(s), but I'm really impressed with: A) that you take so much of your own time to contribute to these videos; B) that your editing skills are really improving with your addition of appropriate music, great camera shot and your monologue along the way; and C) that you're mindful of your clients financial situation and do the best you can within the scope of those confinements. This was a great way to end 2017 buddy and I look forward to 2018 and seeing your videos.Thanks again for ALL YOUR EFFORTS!
Patrick PhippsPA, thank you so much my friend. Your support of the work I do is absolutely pivotal. I'm glad that you enjoy my content and I truly appreciate the feedback!
I very much liked this series. I've seen other VVT solenoid diagnostic vids but those usually end at the circuit checks...either broken wire or bad solenoid. Getting in there and using your "unorthodox" methods is how you learn how these systems really work. From the video I couldn't tell what was going on when cranking and activating the solenoid but your description made sense and increased my knowledge of this setup and how it actually works mechanically. I could have quickly gotten to the same diagnosis that it was an internal mechanical problem but my knowledge lacked a bit after that. Thanks!
Having some trouble with a 2004 Avalon and found this video!! Hopefully the problem isn't with the VVT system. Great vid and great attention to detail is what makes your vid very helpful! Thanks!
Joe, I'm a new subscriber and I have enjoyed your videos. You'd never see this kind of detail on one of those TV car shows. With quality videos like this, who needs TV?
gotta do what one gotta do... not odd at all in diagnosis, was a neat shot of the solenoid doing it's job..glad you saved the owner some bucks for now..
Been binge watching all of your videos. :) love it all. This one is great content. Good diagnosis and fix. I thoughtfully enjoyed it very much! Look forward to the next video! Peace, bud
I had the same problem with my 2001 avalon. My son ended up taking out the gear cam shaft and we noticed the hole that feeds oil to the shaft was clogged up with oil chunks. I purchased this avalon used with 192,000 miles and i switched the oil changes over from conventional oil to synthetic, when the vehicle reached 260,000 miles it started to have this problem. I changed the solenoids and cleaned the screens like you did but the problems was further inside from oil residue that had developed over the years on the engine and then broke off plugging up the oil flow. Once we got the gear cam shaft out we cleaned the shit out of it with brake cleaner until it was wide open, we then replaced the gear cam with a new one and it was running great. we did get a check engine light and that was a code for a bad cam sensor that I will be replacing soon.
Very interesting. Basically you blew out the passage from the solenoid to the camshaft and whatever else along the way. Interesting that oil pressure couldn't do the same. Engine flush seems reasonable. Thanks and Happy New Year!
had a similar issue and while it showed bank 1 was the issue my mechanic replaced bank 2 solenoid and things worked well. That is after solenoid for bank 1 and the Oil sensor were both replaced. 172 thousand miles and now running very well.
1st? Good video. Most people probably don't have a clue what a thing called a phasor is doing in their motor. Keep your friggin star wars, I'll keep my non-vvt thanks.
I've got an 02 avalon ad my daily driver. Started running sorta like this car did but only after it warmed up it has a minor miss. I don't have the equipment you do, I am pretty mechanically inclined. With that said, should I try what you did in this, I had a friend tell me the valve cover baffles clog up in these cars for whatever reason. My car starts up and runs fine until it almost reaches full operating tempature.
Excellent work, really enjoyed following along on this. I just checked the Toyota service procedure on this, and it says (and I was not aware of this) that the control algorithm has a provision for detecting and ejecting debris from the OCV and the cam phaser, and even though it was successful in ejecting the debris it still leaves code P1354 current and requires a clear code to resume. Maybe on your's that's exactly what happened, did you clear the code and did it return?
Nothing unorthodox about your diag. I kinda think along the same lines you do, outside the box. Plus the way you adressed the customer is exactly how I would have. Good job. Next time you get a Vvt issue on a car use a current clamp and the bi directional test and you will be able to see the opening hump on the current ramp. Then if you use your jumper wire like you did in this video to try and unstick it and see if the opening hump reappears. Just a tip.🙂
I have the exact same problem with my 02 ES300 because I opened the valve cover on bank 1 and attempted to clean some sludge, which unfortunately re-introduced sludge back to the oil circulation. I replaced the VVT solenoid and the strain, but nothing changed. I'm guessing the cam phaser on my car is stuck. I'm looking for a decent air compressor at gas stations near me to do the EXACT same thing you did here 😁
good attack toward's the fix nd the only correct time to flush the engine when oil ports are stuck into the passages causes of a no oil change nd old engine oil getting dry nd hot nd would stick i hear if done without having stuck oil passages can damage the engine nd wear out sooner
think I'd have swaptronics on the solenoids if they're the same, just to be sure it wasn't sticking or slow when under pressure. probably not the case but who knows.
I have same car doing same thing, what was diagnosed? We changed both VVT , and changed oil and fuel filters. Now we believe we have a catalytic converter clog... Note after codes were cleared both knock sensor codes came up on diagnostic tool, what do you think? We are almost positive it's a clogged cat. Would love to hear what you figured out with this car
There was a lot that came out of it, but it appeared mostly to be just oil, I think the phaser was more just stuck internally and 150psi of compressed air was enough to break it loose.
Great video. Good thorough diagnostics. Got one question...Does your employer provide the diagnostic tools? Reason I ask is I know what I paid for my Vantage Ultra and I know what a Verus costs (that's why I have a Solus Edge and an Maxisys 908P...both together were less than your Verus). That's the kind of stuff a guy buys for his own shop. Get'n ready to go off on your own?
No I don't have plans to go out on my own as of right now, as far as the diagnostic equipment I used they are all my own. I have pretty much my own everything, engine hoist, stand, bench...the only thing I use that isn't my own are the lifts lol
If you can get a pick in there and hook into one of the slots that's what I did, I've also seen people use an ease out type drill bit but I don't reccomend that.
Is the phaser sold separate or with the camshaft... doesn't look like it's available separate from the camshaft according to diagram. If with camshaft, timing belt doesn't have to be touched from the looks of it. Thanks for posting!
Hey bud, as far as I could tell the phaser isn't available separate from the cam. As far as servicing it I think you would have to remove both cams as they are timed together, and then reinstall them into the head meshed as an assembly. you might be able to snake it out without pulling the other cam but I doubt it.
Steve Warren Hi Steve. Forcing high compressed air into the passage flows into the cam phaser and pushes on it. This probably was enough to free it up. It might have been stuck due to oil varnish. Hope this helps. Happy New Year to you and your family.
It's the passage from the oil control valve to the phaser. Trust me if you would open up that phaser it'll look bad. There's actually a tsb for this problem on some models.
Steve Warren actually there is a problem with Toyotas 1gr/2gr-fe camshaft phasers looses oil pressure, the propeller inside it starts slapping and disintegrating yet marring the the fine machined bore .. if this problem is noticed in an early stage it could be fixed by using a heavier oil wight like 20w-50 it should drastically minimize this issue and saves you from engine removal. Thx Joe great stuff 👍
And well it should.I clean the cowel on my rav and rolla 2 times a year.. You would not believe the crap that goes into that cowl area below the cover.. bird poop dirt from lawn blowers leaves etc.and thats where the air comes from for the cabin..get my point you can be breathing bird poop and mold etc.. I betya that cowel is a freakin garbage dump..
Engine flushes did nothing in terms of cleaning out ports or sludge .... That engine was clean enough .... And blowing air into a cam gear does not fix it if it's bad .... The filter to the solenoid controller was clean so that shows you it was not clogged... The controllers were an issue at high mileage .... Even if they worked when applying voltage to them .... He should have put a new solenoid in it and called it a day ....
I actually had this problem with my 2000 Avalon, which I got from a relative at 217000 miles sludges. I had a stuck vvt and the filter was clogged to death. The valve cover was loaded with sludge and the car could hardly breathe or accelerate past 2500 rpm. So I took the covers off, cleaned around the cams, bought a new vvt, solenoids, and installed new vvt filters, after cleaning the covers and the areas around the cams and the vvt holes and filter holes with. . . . Easy off. (The oven cleaner . It will restore your valve covers to day 1 factory standard). Since then, the car has worked like magic. I need to say here it was also blowing blue smoke at ignition-a thick blue smoke and using oil a lot. After changing all the above and cleaning the oil pan and the oil pan filter, all the problems were gone. At 278000 now, it drives like a dream. In fact, I drove it over 3000 miles in the summer, no problem. I also switched fro Dino oil to semi synthetic.
That sounds like my 2004 Avalon XLS when I bought it a few months ago. Looks like the dude didn't like changing the oil. I ran an engine flush to see what would come out and the the blackest of the black sludge came out, but all liquid. I did 3 oil changes one week apart. It would smoke during startup sometimes, run hot or hard/long distance. The oil light would flicker and sometimes stay on after awhile. I replaced the PCV valve, didn't really change much. I watched a video online saying that replacing the oil pump pickup tube should help with the flicker if it's full of gunk. I had a mechanic change it out, it had a few shavings in it but it was mostly good. Ever since he swapped the oil pickup tube, it has run a lot better. If I take it on a long trip, it will smoke the day after. Sometimes after a sharp turn it will give this big puff of oil smoke. I think the valve covers are the next step. I have heard they also get clogged with hard sludge. Thank you for posting the information, I will be looking to do this next.
One of the best videos I've seen on VVT. Lots of good information.
God bless you my brother! According to the Versus, you're up and hitting it at 8:19am! This was an enjoyable diagnostic journey. I really like the process of watching you attempt to figure out the problem(s), but I'm really impressed with: A) that you take so much of your own time to contribute to these videos; B) that your editing skills are really improving with your addition of appropriate music, great camera shot and your monologue along the way; and C) that you're mindful of your clients financial situation and do the best you can within the scope of those confinements. This was a great way to end 2017 buddy and I look forward to 2018 and seeing your videos.Thanks again for ALL YOUR EFFORTS!
Patrick PhippsPA, thank you so much my friend. Your support of the work I do is absolutely pivotal. I'm glad that you enjoy my content and I truly appreciate the feedback!
I very much liked this series. I've seen other VVT solenoid diagnostic vids but those usually end at the circuit checks...either broken wire or bad solenoid. Getting in there and using your "unorthodox" methods is how you learn how these systems really work. From the video I couldn't tell what was going on when cranking and activating the solenoid but your description made sense and increased my knowledge of this setup and how it actually works mechanically. I could have quickly gotten to the same diagnosis that it was an internal mechanical problem but my knowledge lacked a bit after that. Thanks!
This is among the best toyota VVti problem videos ave seen. This problem has been a mystery to me. good work Bro.
Excellent video
I really like real world auto diagnosis and repair. Thank you for sharing.
Good to see a new diag video from you Joe! Keep up the good work, looking forward to new videos in 2018!
Having some trouble with a 2004 Avalon and found this video!! Hopefully the problem isn't with the VVT system. Great vid and great attention to detail is what makes your vid very helpful! Thanks!
Joe, I'm a new subscriber and I have enjoyed your videos. You'd never see this kind of detail on one of those TV car shows. With quality videos like this, who needs TV?
Great work Joe in finding out the issue. Yep, that engine was pretty gunked up for sure and hopefully the owner can get a little more usage.
Great work. Nothing unorthodox about ur technique. Thanx for the video
This is a common failure on Toyota VVTi engines with high millage. Great video thanks alots
gotta do what one gotta do... not odd at all in diagnosis, was a neat shot of the solenoid doing it's job..glad you saved the owner some bucks for now..
Thank you Joe. Happy New Year to you and your family.
Been binge watching all of your videos. :) love it all. This one is great content. Good diagnosis and fix. I thoughtfully enjoyed it very much! Look forward to the next video! Peace, bud
I had the same problem with my 2001 avalon. My son ended up taking out the gear cam shaft and we noticed the hole that feeds oil to the shaft was clogged up with oil chunks. I purchased this avalon used with 192,000 miles and i switched the oil changes over from conventional oil to synthetic, when the vehicle reached 260,000 miles it started to have this problem. I changed the solenoids and cleaned the screens like you did but the problems was further inside from oil residue that had developed over the years on the engine and then broke off plugging up the oil flow. Once we got the gear cam shaft out we cleaned the shit out of it with brake cleaner until it was wide open, we then replaced the gear cam with a new one and it was running great. we did get a check engine light and that was a code for a bad cam sensor that I will be replacing soon.
That's another very helpful review.
thanks for posting, i sure learned a lot on this one.
I have the same code, ima get to tomorrow morning 🤛🏽 great video 🤷🏽♂️
That was really cool Joe! Thanks for the video!
Well I was afraid it would turn out like this 😉 Anyways great video Joe and proper diagnosis. Thx ! 👍
Great video, I definitely learned something, thanks for doing this!
Fantastic joe fantastic, happy new year for London.
Cool , I had Scotty set the phasers to stun , and it cleared the problem we had on the enterprise ! I believe it was star date 1313.1
Nice job diagnosing the issue.
Very interesting. Basically you blew out the passage from the solenoid to the camshaft and whatever else along the way. Interesting that oil pressure couldn't do the same. Engine flush seems reasonable. Thanks and Happy New Year!
had a similar issue and while it showed bank 1 was the issue my mechanic replaced bank 2 solenoid and things worked well. That is after solenoid for bank 1 and the Oil sensor were both replaced. 172 thousand miles and now running very well.
Maybe not a permanent fix, but, still, back on the road for whatever she's got left in her.
Jan Verschueren, that was my thinking too. The car as a whole was in rough shape and I think we did the best we could while still keeping it sensible.
@@pinpointautomotiverepair1592
Triangle Automotive, Inc
1 hour ago
CAN YOU HEAR THE TRUMP TRAIN A COMING, ITS COMING AROUND THE BEND.
I really enjoyed the video. Understood everything you did.
1st? Good video. Most people probably don't have a clue what a thing called a phasor is doing in their motor. Keep your friggin star wars, I'll keep my non-vvt thanks.
😂😂😂. You tell em' their phasers bad and they think your ripping em off lol.
Great informative video. Keep up the good work
I've got an 02 avalon ad my daily driver. Started running sorta like this car did but only after it warmed up it has a minor miss. I don't have the equipment you do, I am pretty mechanically inclined. With that said, should I try what you did in this, I had a friend tell me the valve cover baffles clog up in these cars for whatever reason. My car starts up and runs fine until it almost reaches full operating tempature.
Excellent work, really enjoyed following along on this. I just checked the Toyota service procedure on this, and it says (and I was not aware of this) that the control algorithm has a provision for detecting and ejecting debris from the OCV and the cam phaser, and even though it was successful in ejecting the debris it still leaves code P1354 current and requires a clear code to resume. Maybe on your's that's exactly what happened, did you clear the code and did it return?
Nothing unorthodox about your diag. I kinda think along the same lines you do, outside the box. Plus the way you adressed the customer is exactly how I would have. Good job. Next time you get a Vvt issue on a car use a current clamp and the bi directional test and you will be able to see the opening hump on the current ramp. Then if you use your jumper wire like you did in this video to try and unstick it and see if the opening hump reappears. Just a tip.🙂
busjockey1 great advice
Awesome advice, I wish I would have shown that here!
Just because the vvt solinoid worck dosent mean is any good
I have the exact same problem with my 02 ES300 because I opened the valve cover on bank 1 and attempted to clean some sludge, which unfortunately re-introduced sludge back to the oil circulation. I replaced the VVT solenoid and the strain, but nothing changed. I'm guessing the cam phaser on my car is stuck. I'm looking for a decent air compressor at gas stations near me to do the EXACT same thing you did here 😁
good attack toward's the fix nd the only correct time to flush the engine when oil ports are stuck into the passages causes of a no oil change nd old engine oil getting dry nd hot nd would stick i hear if done without having stuck oil passages can damage the engine nd wear out sooner
think I'd have swaptronics on the solenoids if they're the same, just to be sure it wasn't sticking or slow when under pressure. probably not the case but who knows.
Any sorta of help would be greatly appreciated.
Vvt tiny oil filters gotta keep clean
Subbed from video Roman Automotive did about you. Nice channel man
Thanks so much!
Good job buddy!
Can i brake cleaner spray that VVT .. is that safe and put it back if its clogged???
Thanks. Where is part 3?
I have same car doing same thing, what was diagnosed? We changed both VVT , and changed oil and fuel filters. Now we believe we have a catalytic converter clog... Note after codes were cleared both knock sensor codes came up on diagnostic tool, what do you think? We are almost positive it's a clogged cat. Would love to hear what you figured out with this car
Keep in mind this car ran great with 350k, and the symptoms like in this video, came out of nowhere on this car.
This was awesome and i like a lot the weird stuff you make!
You put air through the filter??
Through the solenoid got it. But did you see the gunk coming out of the phaser or there is no way to have a look?
There was a lot that came out of it, but it appeared mostly to be just oil, I think the phaser was more just stuck internally and 150psi of compressed air was enough to break it loose.
Toyota Innova khó no máy. Thankyou verymuch
Great video. Good thorough diagnostics. Got one question...Does your employer provide the diagnostic tools? Reason I ask is I know what I paid for my Vantage Ultra and I know what a Verus costs (that's why I have a Solus Edge and an Maxisys 908P...both together were less than your Verus). That's the kind of stuff a guy buys for his own shop. Get'n ready to go off on your own?
No I don't have plans to go out on my own as of right now, as far as the diagnostic equipment I used they are all my own. I have pretty much my own everything, engine hoist, stand, bench...the only thing I use that isn't my own are the lifts lol
Great video,Great info, THANKS!............Tell those other guy's to be quiet your trying to make a video.LOL
God I wish I could lol
Where is the orifice that you cleaned out at?
161st view.......yesssss. I'm a go getter.
change your oil regularly!!!
So my right one is stuck and the top broke off and the bottom stayed wtf do I do to get it out without having to pull the head
If you can get a pick in there and hook into one of the slots that's what I did, I've also seen people use an ease out type drill bit but I don't reccomend that.
Why did the vehicle have this problem ???
Is the phaser sold separate or with the camshaft... doesn't look like it's available separate from the camshaft according to diagram. If with camshaft, timing belt doesn't have to be touched from the looks of it. Thanks for posting!
Hey bud, as far as I could tell the phaser isn't available separate from the cam. As far as servicing it I think you would have to remove both cams as they are timed together, and then reinstall them into the head meshed as an assembly. you might be able to snake it out without pulling the other cam but I doubt it.
Ah... I thought it could just be rolled out & in. It's never easy, is it! LOL
Thomas EXOVCDS never 😂
i thought bank 2 was firewall side, and bank one is rad side
I'm confused. If the problem was just a clogged passage to the solenoid, why would you need to change the phaser?
Steve Warren Hi Steve. Forcing high compressed air into the passage flows into the cam phaser and pushes on it. This probably was enough to free it up. It might have been stuck due to oil varnish. Hope this helps. Happy New Year to you and your family.
+ Billy - So, he thought the phaser was fouled due to varnish? I thought the passage was blocked.
It's the passage from the oil control valve to the phaser. Trust me if you would open up that phaser it'll look bad. There's actually a tsb for this problem on some models.
Steve Warren actually there is a problem with Toyotas 1gr/2gr-fe camshaft phasers looses oil pressure, the propeller inside it starts slapping and disintegrating yet marring the the fine machined bore .. if this problem is noticed in an early stage it could be fixed by using a heavier oil wight like 20w-50 it should drastically minimize this issue and saves you from engine removal.
Thx Joe great stuff 👍
+ Airman - Yeah, I guess that could happen if the solenoid released the propeller and there was insufficient oil flow to the phaser.
That dirty cowl haunts me
PSK PERFORMANCE, me too brother. It's one of those things that'll really wig out your OCD
And well it should.I clean the cowel on my rav and rolla 2 times a year.. You would not believe the crap that goes into that cowl area below the cover.. bird poop dirt from lawn blowers leaves etc.and thats where the air comes from for the cabin..get my point you can be breathing bird poop and mold etc.. I betya that cowel is a freakin garbage dump..
👍👍👍👍👍❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
I knew it was the leaves. Just had to blow it out.
NaturesChild, you most certainly called it. 😂
Probably charged 500 for a diagnosis fee
Engine flushes did nothing in terms of cleaning out ports or sludge .... That engine was clean enough .... And blowing air into a cam gear does not fix it if it's bad .... The filter to the solenoid controller was clean so that shows you it was not clogged... The controllers were an issue at high mileage .... Even if they worked when applying voltage to them .... He should have put a new solenoid in it and called it a day ....
Solenoid wouldn't have fixed it. He bench tested it and it was fine. The phaser is what needs to be replaced. Maybe you need to watch the video again.