Just finished 30K SC maintenance

[Vampire]

Well it wasn't difficult, just time consuming. Thought it would be helpful to share a few observations and thoughts.

1. Front plugs were excellent and had the same gap as install. Back plugs looked good but gap had increased about .020.

2. PCV valve was clogged. Damn thing is plastic. I just replaced it since it sits under the SC.

3. Changed belt and used Dayco #5060885 (6PK2250).

4. Old SC oil was the color of light Maple syrup. New oil is slightly white.

5. Inner section of throttle body was dirty. I suggest cleaning it.

6. My coupler was in excellent condition. Snug on both sets of prongs with no apparent wear.

7. All the TRD vacuum hoses from the SC kit were cracking around any fitting it was attached to. I had to replace them all to be safe. Original Toyota hoses were just fine.

Changing SC oil is time consuming. Once you crack it open, you need to clean all the old oil out and clean the mating surfaces well. The Loctite 510 Magnson gives you takes a while to cure (2-12 hours depending on the temperature). DO NOT use a lot. It only cures anaerobically meaning it sets up in the mating surfaces only where it's not exposed to air. It will not cure if it oozes out the sides and contacts air. Needless to say you do not want any oozing inside the nose unit. I applied a small bead to the outter edge mating surface of the nose unit and spread it thin with my finger making sure I applied some around the bolt holes. I bolted it on and let it cure 5 hours.

Well, I was very happy that the car runs great and I didn't forget to do some simple thing. As a side note, I carefully drilled and tapped the flat circular area towards the back of the current boost port and it works great! Took off the washers and no rubbing. I DO NOT recommend this unless you are very careful not to leave shavings in your SC. A used SC has an oily residue inside and can trap the stuff like a magnet.

[Mole]

wow. you drilled into the s/c.... were you tired on that rubbing sound from the strut bar or something?

nice job, perhaps you can post a DIY for changing the s/c fluid.

[Vampire]

The Camry is my wife's car and since I don't drive it all that often I wasn't aware of the noise being bad but the underneath of the bar showed a big wear area.
You have to be real careful drilling. If you go slow and stop often, most of the shavings come out the top and can be vacuumed away. I found a bottle cap that fit through the intake and glued it to a solid metal rod. I then marked the center of the cap with a sharpie so I could line it up with the new hole, sprayed a little WD40 to attract small shavings and held it against the inside I was drilling into. When I was done I turned the SC over and vacuumed what little specs adhered around the inside part of the hole. A check with one of the those small dental type mirrors they sell for mechanics showed no shavings. Is it worth it? Well' it's up to you but I plan on keeping both cars for 10 years for full value so to me it is.
Only when I finished did I kick myself for not snapping pics with the digital camera. I could write something but pics would be very helpful. Gadget's site shows pics that are very similar even though his SC is 3.4 for a 4Runner.

wow. you drilled into the s/c.... were you tired on that rubbing sound from the strut bar or something?

nice job, perhaps you can post a DIY for changing the s/c fluid.

[JoeB]

Gadget did that for me. For some reason, mine was all over that bar and it did make a terrible noise. So bad, I thought reverse went out on my auto tranny . Even with a VERY low profile fitting. I would have been scared to death to do it myself but Paul did a great job of explaining it. -JoeB

[Vampire]

I powdercoated my Solara's strut bar and the metal flash rusted in like a day where I live after I stripped it. My wife's car showed no rust where it rubbed through to the metal so I guess it rubbed all the time. Anyway, it is much quieter without that noise. I even fabricated a low profile fitting that only stuck out a 1/4 inch at the most, not to mention 2 washers at each strut mount bolt and it still occasionally rubbed. BTW, I checked with TRD and they said since I was no longer in warranty and if I felt I could do it, to go for it.
I also adjusted the tensioner plate so the belt sits more in line on the tensioner pulley and that reduced that noise by about 50%. My wife was really happy. There is only a slight vibration sound now that you hear only if you really listen for it.

Gadget did that for me. For some reason, mine was all over that bar and it did make a terrible noise. So bad, I thought reverse went out on my auto tranny . Even with a VERY low profile fitting. I would have been scared to death to do it myself but Paul did a great job of explaining it. -JoeB