Replacing the valve cover gasket on a 98 Toyota Sienna usually takes only a couple of hours but I took almost 3 days to finish this one.
The original complaint was about oil leaks. We found the leak was from rear valve cover gasket and the power steering pump was leaking as well. So I started replacing parts. Due the complicity of the job, we replaced the spark plugs to eliminate future problems. Well, after I put everything back together, the engine started to squeak, clunk, and shake.
I tried every way to find out what the heck happened to this baby. After took things apart and reinstalled them 3 times, dropped oil pan and engine lower section, opened up timing covers, tried bore scope, magnetic pickup tool, air blower... I still couldn't locate the stuff that makes the noise. Just before I gave up, the rear camshaft pulley caught my attention. The inner side had a shinny scratch mark all around. Yay, that was it! The guy who did the timing belt job forgot to tighten the little screw which fasten the back shield and that little sucker somehow worked its way out and jammed between the pulley and the shield.
The customer told us he had the timing belt job done at a Honda dealership not too long ago, he didn't give the job to us because he thought the dealer would have done a better job than an independent shop like us even the dealer charged a lot more. It's another example of brand power.
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