Official V35 Engine Teardown and Assembly | Heavy Pics content | Hybrid/Non-Hybrid

A brief look into the dreaded V35 engine teardown and a final assembly with all new parts. I see that there are keen interests here on this forum that would like to look at what's beneath the valve covers and dig deeper to the inner guts of this motor. Hence, I thought I'll make a thread about it, post links to said pics and possibly post video(s), have you folks come along for a ride, and hopefully keep you all entertained as well.

Brief Intro
Master mechanic here. Have worked and performed R&R on three engines under warranty so far. Replaced seven long block engines under the recall act. Looking forward to the second phase of the on-going recall. Currently working on my fourth one and this one is a Hybrid. First for me, but similar in design albeit some differences here and there.

Let's begin
Let me begin by saying that this current engine is in no way related to the machined debris/bearing failure as a drain plug was left loose by the express shop that did the oil change. However, the disassembly process is no different to the ones that are affected by the debris/bearing failure. I will post links to those engines that did fail and of this one too.

I'm not familiar on how to post actual pics here in the thread but the least I can do is provide a link to view all of the images that I have thus far, so apologies ahead of time posting this thread. I would appreciate if somebody can post the pics here in here it would be nice.

Engine no 4 | Hybrid
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Le2AAywxTadyuKV79

The link above shows the complete catastrophe with rods sticking out on the driver side of the block. All of the main and the rod bearings have spun. If you look closer you can tell which bearing shell belongs to the block side (upper) and which ones sticks to the bedplate side (bottom). One interesting note to take is that there's only one half of the thrust bearings that are installed on the block side. There isn't one on the bed plate side that I can see nor do I think it's missing. The crankshaft is completely wasted with deep scorings and markings on all of the journals. There's evidence of discoloration across, and so do the rod caps. The cylinder heads are seized to the block now. The outer head bolts broke loose but few of the center bolts have seized up to the point of stripping or rounding off already, and I have tried different sockets too. Chrome or impact sockets, 1/2" or 3/8". I've already cracked my own socket and others too. I've also tried using the special sockets for rounded bolts and even that one cracked under pressure. So, this engine is also getting new cylinder heads anyways due to piston to valve contact and cylinder head and wall damage. This engine overall is getting these following parts:

• Short block
• New cylinder heads
• New head bolts and washers
• All new 24 valves, lifters, rollers, and caps
• Swapped over springs, retainers, keepers, and shims
• All four vvti gears and control valves
• Three new timing chain tensioners and guides, idler gear too
• New rear timing cover with integrated oil pump housing
• New oil cooler
• Oil strainer/pick up tube
• New upper oil pan
• New turbo assemblies
• New front differential carrier assembly
• Engine overhaul gasket kit

As of right now, I have all of the new parts sitting at my bay in the shop ready to be assembled. I have to clean other parts that are reusable though. Will post pics as I progress with the assembly. I'll try to take pictures of the crankshaft and look inside the cylinder walls too.

Engine no 3 | Non-Hybrid | Front main bearing walk
The customer of this vehicle had complained about engine just shutting off randomly but didn't make any slight noise at all. From the description it seemed like the crankshaft was in a bind and wouldn't turn over, yet still not making any noises. I drove it and confirmed that there weren't any noise at all and everything seemed to be working fine during the test drive. It wasn't until I had asked my shop foreman to test drive and that's when it happened to him. Drained the oil from the oil filter and opened it and found glitter in it. Engine was pulled out and torn down for inspection and found debris in the oil pan. The front bearing was sitting half inside the cap and half of it was sticking out. Here's the following link:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/xbyvXNdyGdmsNdY49

My first and second engine teardown wasn't anything spectacular. The front main bearing didn't walk but showed signs of chewed up and discoloration around the main cap or the journal. There isn't much to show here but the same procedures were followed during inspection, listing parts to order, cleaning and prepping the reassembly of the new block. Most of the time the parts list are the same for most of these rebuilds and the actual price list would end up being around 22k - 30k USD depending on the state of these blown engines.

I'll try to take more pics and will post it here soon. Enjoy!

 

Awesome

have you noticed any improvement as far as parts are concerned going back in?

 

Thanks for all the effort on sharing!

 

Agreed. Nicely done.

 

Nope. There's nothing to improve or gain anything from all these new parts. I do know for a fact that the new short block p/n is a superseded p/n. Verified it with my parts manager, as we were curious about it at one point last year. Everything else has remained the same.

 

Thanks for the detailed information.

I'm curious, have you ever checked the bearing clearances with plastic-gauge, or another method, on one of the new short blocks? Probably not, since I assume the come pre-assembled.

IMO, that's the piece of this puzzle that is still missing. We've seen several tear-downs of engines that have already failed, but it's difficult to draw any conclusions at that point, since the damage is done. I'd like to see a new engine torn down, and carefully checked for clearances, tolerances, debris, etc...

 

And once you have this information, what would you do with it?

 

Thank you for sharing your knowledge and insights. My '23 is in the engine recall. I've been notified I can replace it now but I want to see more evidence that the root cause problem and solution is in the new engine that would replace the original one I have now. Right now, I don't have the level of confidence that's the case.

 

Depends on what information was found. For example, if the tear down showed a design problem that caused uneven, or out of spec, clearances across the main bearings (which has been my theory for a long time), I'd make that information as public as possible.

At least we'd be more informed than what we get from Toyota and their vague Defect Information Reports.

 

Well, if somebody is willing to purchase a brand new short block only then can one measure everything. I personally think that there's some structural shift going on either in the block or the bedplate when the it's tightened down to torque spec. There's probably some degree of variation in the tolerances of main line bore. That's my opinion. No engineer here; just a hypothetical theory.

 

We know a guy who has a brand new V35A long block assembly. He's posted pics of debris that can be seen from the outside. So far he's been reluctant to have it torn down and professionally checked and documented, for some reason.

I'm with you, based on my shade-tree mechanical knowledge. I think there's an inherent problem with the 4 main bearing bedplate design. Perhaps not enough bearing surface area, or like you said, the bedplate is getting tweaked somehow when torqued down. The 2-piece thrust plate design is also suspect, to me.

 

Decent progress so far. New heads installed already as well as the cam carrier assembly. All new lifters, valve caps, and rollers pre-lubed and installed as well. Onto lunch break ....

 

@auaq - approximately how many hours can you get the tear down and rebuild for a complete job? just a ball park estimate - not including the time waiting for parts.

 

So most of the time is taken up by inspecting, cleaning, and scraping off the gasket. That's the most time consuming part of the job. From pulling the engine out to getting it all apart can almost take a day or less than that. Then all of the inspections, making a list of what all is needed doesn't take that long. Give or take an hour or so. Then once the parts arrive it's just a matter of swapping all of the hardware over, cleaning, then more cleaning, then start engine assembly. Warranty time pays almost 22-25hrs I think. Out of warranty is more. Plus, we get a bonus 1.5x the warranty pay here at shop. This is internal actually, so end of the day I will get paid almost 40hrs to get this engine back up and running again.

How many days? Well, I guess if I start and don't stop then maybe 2 or 2.5 days.

 

I am willing to pitch in towards that if anyone is interested.

 

I personally take my time on this V35 engine because there are lots of parts on top of the bare long block. Then there are two timing covers and there are seals or gaskets on both sides, so I need to keep a track of where this one goes or that one goes. That's why I take lots of pictures especially for this engine. All other engines are very simple and I don't need to follow any instructions except to find few torque specs, and that's it. I can get any 4 cylinder disassembled all apart in a matter of 2hrs or there about. V6 engines too.

 

Question is, what value is there in one data point out of 200+K? And who is qualified to make statement if block assembly is in spec?

 

What stood out to me the most is all the wiring... its in the way of anything you want to do on the top of the engine it seems (even spark plugs). Have you ever had to do a similar rebuild on a 2GR-FKS ?

 

Well, the wiring harness isn't actually that bad to work with. It's the last thing that is mounted on the engine after all of its accessories and ancillaries are installed. So the first thing that gets off the engine is the harness, and it is easy to get to it.

I didn't do a complete 2GR rebuild but I've had two Tacoma's that had an imbalance air-fuel ratio code on cylinder 1. A compression test indicated loss of compression in that cylinder and using a leak down test revealed a leaking exhaust valve. I've pulled the engine out and only had to remove bank 1 cylinder head (passenger side). Had to order and replace both cylinder head and one exhaust valve. A couple of years ago I had the same code on a new 2023 rental Camry with only 13k miles. Same issue with leaky exhaust valve.

 

Today's progress

https://photos.app.goo.gl/c1LWD7Cv4jdUkfCT7

Took lots of pictures today and started organizing and prepping for the installation and assembly of the new block. Take a closer look at the crankshaft, the damaged cylinder walls, bent valves, et cetera. I tried to take close shots of everything I did today. End of the day I had both cylinder heads installed and both lower oil pans. New gears with control valves, new valve caps, lifters, rollers. All lubed up with engine assembly lube. On Thursday I will continue with both timing covers and timing the engine. Lots of gaskets to install. Lastly the valve covers. After that comes all of the piping, turbochargers, intercooler, water pump, countless number of hoses here and there. This part is where it takes a while to get it off or put it back on. The cylinder heads were tightened down with new head bolts and washers to 66ft-lbs first and then two 90* turns in sequence. Cleaned and applied FIPG to the camshaft carrier assembly. Everything got buttoned up with torque specs where necessary.

By the way, if anybody knows how to post images directly here in a post go ahead from the link above.

Enjoy!

 

Okay, thanks.

 

Had to put this repair on hold now. I was getting ready to install and swap over the pipes to the driver side turbocharger only to find the outlet air charge pipe has a hole punched in it. Didn't catch that before. Going to see if I can maybe steal one off of the scrap (recall) motors laying in other shop. Otherwise part will come in next week.

 

Is re-using parts off of replaced engines a common practice?

 

Sshhhhhh ....................................................................

Yes, quite common. Instead ordering and waiting if there's one you can find on old scrap engines then why not! I don't know if these old recalled engine are actually going back. If I'm not mistaken they're supposed to be discarded off though. In the recall technical instructions it actually tells you to drill the cylinder heads to make them non reusable.

 

Interesting...

 

It's pretty common practice amongst most dealerships service centers.

 

Common practice to scavenge used parts for warranty claims? Hmmm….

 

Yup. Some dealerships will be like "oh you had a tear in your intake boot ... you will have to pay for a new one ... wear and tear" after they replaced his turbos under warranty - guy was screaming (thats how I remember it) - was a ecoboost F150 IIRC.

 

How many dealership service shops have you worked at?