2ZZ-GE Cam Timing
Posted on 18 July 2015
There’s a lot of confusion around checking the cam timing on the 2ZZ-GE.
The following steps will help you check the cam timing on an assembled motor.
Step 1
Remove the Valve Cover
Step 2
Rotate the motor until the #1 cylinder cam lobes are pointing toward the center as shown (note: Disregard the red assembly lube)
Step 3
Look for the timing mark on the engine’s crank pulley. It’s typically painted with white. Bring this mark PAST the indicated TDC (top dead center) on the timing cover as shown
Step 4
Check that timing gear dots are aligned as follows. The Intake gear dot should be in-line with the plane of the front cover and the Exhaust cam gear should be misaligned from the front cover plane by 1/2 tooth as shown.
Step 5
Count the Links. If step 4 looks correct, then Step 5, should be redundant. It’s not likely that the orange links will be aligned with the cam gears. It can take over 20 revolutions to align the orange links with the cam gear indicators. That said, if the dots are aligned in Step 4 correctly, you should be able to count 8 full links from the cam gear indicators as shown below. It’s important to note that the gear indicators will always be in-line with a “link bar” and never with the indicator not be aligned with a link bar. Again, use the picture as reference.
Hope that helps!