Cam Swap (1NZ-FXE ---> 1NZ-FE Cam)

Been planning on doing this for a while, finally planned it all out and dove in

I purchased a set of used cams from a 2011 1NZ-FE (suitable year range is 2006-2011) for rouchly $114 after tax and shipping, with the intention of using only the intake cam in the swap

The old intake cam is 4mm of lift (and have a egg shape curve to them) while the new one is 6mm (much more tear drop shaped)

The swap can be done entirely in the engine bay

Although the swap took some 18hrs I'd say it was well worth it and long over do, Noticeable power increase, the car has much more pull now and combined with my upgraded injectors and short ram intake, its defiantly running way better than ever. Haven't done a new 0-60 but I think it defiantly will have shaved off .5-1 second from the last 8.65sec run

Steps:
Throw'er up on some jack stands

Disconnect 12v battery (and just to be safe I always remove the orange lock from the HV Battery as well)

Remove all splash guards from under engine (and possibly your Passenger front wheel well splash guard) (And just take your bumper cover off while you're at it, gives you a lot more space)

Remove windshield wiper cowl panels + wiper motor

Drain all the ICE coolant

Remove the EGR Cooler assembly

Disconnect a small section of the wire harness that go over the ICE (Basically 9-10 plugs and 3 bolts)

Remove intake manifold

Remove Coil Packs

Remove Valve Cover (Manual states the proper order of removal for this is removing the center 4 bolts first, then remove the outside bolts starting from the one at bottom center, in a clockwise pattern) (When not in immediate use it's a good idea to cover your engine internals with a sheet of non-static plastic (I say non static because ideally you don't want to be attracting lint and dust more than necessary; Use whatever though it'll probably be fine, just don't use cloth unless its clean-clean

Remove 8mm Hex plug on the passenger side of the engine - (I won't lie to you, accessing this isn't easy but it's not the worst; there's only about 2 inches of clearance between this plug and the frame so any steps involving this plug are easy in theory but a bit of a pain in practice)

Rotate crankshaft (Located on passenger side of engine just next to wheel) clockwise until the small mark lines up with the 0* marking, Indicating it's at Top dead Center)

Once at TDC use a Paint marker to mark your chain (unless already marked) at the link of your chain that meshes with the TDC marker on your cam shafts) Don't overdo it but don't be stingy with the markings, mark the top and both sides and mark the marker on the cam while you're at it, makes it easier to see and saves the day if you accidently wipe off the chain by mistake

Release Chain tensioner ( there is a small arm on the inside of the plug hole from before that you have to move to the right while applying outward tension to the exhaust cam portion of the chain) there are 2 methods to this: Manual says use a wrench to turn the exhaust cam clockwise in order to apply the tension to the chain, or the easy way that's not in the manual, use a slim, clean and non abrasive tool to gently apply pressure on the tensioner arm; I just used a snap remover/Pryer).

Once all the tension is removed, you need to pin the tensioner arm in the locked position -- and I kid you not this is what the manual says to do-- by sticking a hex key through the hole in the arm. What I found is that this is also easier in theory than in practice, expect to do this 5-10 times with a lot of fiddling because the hex key slips, the tensioner reengages and the chain applies tension again, and again there is only 2 inches of clearance between the hole and the frame. I sincerely hope you get it on the first try. Man that'd be epic.

Once that all said and done, you can get to removing the cams and bearing caps using the correct order (Exhaust cam first then intake)


*****Ensure that the chain has constant upward tension (use a bungee cord attached to the chain and the hood as to ensure it doesn't slip off crankshaft*****

Swap your VVT off your intake cam onto the New cam, or just install a new VVT
(You'll need this)

Get to putting your new cam back into the car in the proper order

Ensure that the buckets under the cams have proper clearances once cams are torqued, if not then swap em around

get to putting her back together

I'd recommend using mitchell1DIY for detailed instructions and torque specs, but I've attached some of the diagrams to help

Otherwise, I'd recommend watching "Make It Mike's videos on Youtube; He has an 8-part series dedicated to rebuilding a 1nzfe engine and its all basically exactly the same; Specifically, checkout videos 6,7, and 8 he mentions I believe all of the torque specs throughout

Another great source of help is Available_Walk on Reddit, who has done a full engine swap, putting a 1nzfxe into his echo and is a great source of valuable info. I've attached his page to his name and the discussion thread where him and I spoke here