2011 - Setting The Timing Chain/Releasing the tensioner

Once the cover and tensioner are reinstalled, you put a slight counterclockwise force on the crankshaft. That pulls the chain taut on the tensioner side, which pushes on the tensioner enough to let the hook become loose and drop free. That's how you release it. Then you turn the crank clockwise some, which puts the chain slack over on the tensioner side, and the tensioner should ratchet out and take up the slack.

 

Affirmative.

 

You're turning the bolt head in the center of the balancer (pulley), which is centered on the end of the crankshaft.

 

It looks like you're one whole link off on the intake sprocket. (Half is impossible.)
Do you have the tensioner latched in retracted position?

 

You can't rotate the intake shaft to make everything line up properly?

 

Your primary reference for whether the chain is installed right is whether you have put the painted chain links against the right marks on all three sprockets. A gasket masters video can be a useful secondary reference, but if trying to follow that leaves you with the painted marks one tooth off for the intake, that's where you part ways with that secondary source and pay attention to the primary marks Toyota gave you.

it looks like if you go ahead and retard the intake one tooth more, you'll have the paint marks against the right teeth in all three places, no?

 

That looks easy to fix if you just rotate the exhaust sprocket one tooth counterclockwise. Be sure the other marked links are still positioned correctly, of course. The main point is to maintain correct angles of all three sprockets relative to each other.

 

Leave the crankshaft and the exhaust cam and the chain alone, and turn the intake cam one tooth in the retard direction?

Let yourself remember that when Toyota assembled it, they were able to get the marks to line up, and you've got the same parts they had.

 

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Your camshafts right now are in roughly the right positions for when pistons 1 and 4 are at top dead center. Exhaust is closer to correct, intake is about one tooth too far advanced. As long as the intake variable-timing gear is locked into its retarded position, where it belongs at the moment, those valves are closed enough for those pistons to cross TDC and not collide with them. If you were going to turn the camshafts any real distance, you would have to think about that. Turning just the intake one tooth back, not so much.

If you're still uneasy, just start by turning the crankshaft 40° or so away from TDC. Now none of the pistons are anywhere near the valves. Set the intake and exhaust sprockets in their correctly-timed positions with the chain across them and the colored links lined up. Then bring the crankshaft back to TDC and slip the chain on the crank sprocket with the yellow link lined up.

You might be contending a little bit with the valve springs on other cylinders, pushing the intake camshaft a little bit ahead of where you want it. In that case, it might be helpful to do what the repair manual says to do:



As you can see in the drawing, you'd be using the wrench directly on the camshaft to turn it, not on the VVT sprocket.

I didn't see that detail mentioned in the gasket masters video, leading back to the familiar refrain that the repair manual is a good place to look, no matter how many videos are on youtube.

 

An easy way to remember that: the first direction you turn it is “counter” to the usual.