2002 2UZ Frozen??? It was just running fine...Please help!

Hello Y'all!

I am at a loss to determine why a 357,000 mile 2UZ crank won't turn in either direction all of a sudden with a socket/rachet on it: Eng oil has always been changed at 3,000 mi, and at change is nearly the same color on the dipstick as when it went in. Tailpipe is still a light tan. However, I've not done a valve adjustment on it, and I got it at 77,000 miles in '05. Other than that, timing belts every 90k to 100k miles. Water pump every other belt change. Half way through this belt's life now. Irridium spark plugs every 120,000 miles, filters as needed. Took off the right bank cam belt cover, belt looks good, crankshaft is at TDC (IDK why) and red cam gear mark is on index.

The engine's starter was cranking and all of a sudden stopped with key in start position. Tried briefly again and just heard starter solenoid click. I thought it was a dead battery due to sitting with a door ajar or something.

Has anyone ever heard of the mildly (not wildly), driven 2UZ dropping a valve or two? That's the only thing I can think of.

I just took off the intake manifold thinking that I just need to replace the starter when I found the engine wont' turn at all.

Has anyone had bad results neglecting the valve adjustment intervals?

Any help would sure be appreciated in troubleshooting this. The rig is in pretty nice shape for a 22 year old, so I'd like to fix this.

 

Perhaps debris in timing belt or flywheel area causing it to be stuck??

 

That was my thought as the starter was beginning to slip/grind on the ring gear then starter locked up.

The only other problem I forgot to mention is the engine would not start without ether/starting fluid every once in a while. Fuel pump going? I changed it about 7 years ago....Does ether rust the cylinder walls fast? I did try to start it with ether just before the starter locked up. Maybe I did this to myself?? I know ether takes the oil off the cylinders, but we in Aridzona don't have enough water in the air to rust bare metal left out all year. Period. Maybe I bent a rod due to too much ether? (sprayed into air intake, then cranked 15 sec later, by me until starter locked up.)

Maybe I should borrow a bore camera and look thru the plug holes?....I just don't know.

 

And re: no start situation, sounds like someone who didn’t know any better mighta misrouted your crank position wire doing the timing belt and it got chewed into by the belt.

 

If debris in timing belt/gears I should be able to turn it backwards, even a mm or two. It's solidly stuck with me leaning on the crank bolt with a 16" breaker bar. But maybe worth pulling the covers and the starter looking. I already have the intake manifold off....

 

Good things to check.

I appreciate all your suggestions and ideas!

 

Yeah man. That sounds strange. It’s pretty easy to pull the valve covers and look under.

Needing starter fluid on a modern EFI engine doesn’t sound right either.

 

You pulled in the intake to swap the starter - were you actually able to remove the starter and inspect?

 

No more ether. Ever. On anything except CAT equipment manufactured before 1980.

 

I could be way off, but fueling issues--possible flooding--Hydrolocked? Maybe remove the plugs and see if it spins. IDK, it happens.

 

Got the intake off in one piece without too much fuss. Not enough time to pull plugs out and inspect, drop a tube camera into the cylinders, try to turn crank by socket. Will also shine a flashlight down the intake passages to the valves and see if any are amiss. If none of this and the above are revealing any problems, back to pulling the starter and see if that's in one piece.

Is it possible I bent a rod while cranking? Didn't sound like anything but a sudden stop of the starter. Then just click, click.

 

I was actually thinking the starter may have jammed while engaged, which is why I asked if you had removed it yet. That would jam the flywheel and make it difficult to turn over either way, as well as make the solenoid click while trying to start but without turning over. So I would pull the starter and inspect. I have seen a starter do that exactly, as well as a few failed alternators "lock up" a motor. Some friends of mine in high school scored a corvette for a couple grand that had a locked up motor but turned out to simply be locked up alternator.

 

Is your timing belt intact? These are interference motors.

 

although Toyota states these are interference motors. I’ve heard of people breaking a timing belt and the engine being fine. Some seem to think it has something to do with vvti; random info. Lol

But if you read OP’s post. His belt is intact

 

I don't think OP's is a vvt-i.... Timing belt may look fine up top, but may have snapped and got caught up in the lower turning gears. I do cars on yt has a 2uz video that suffered the timing belt failure fate...

Edit: Video here
Toyota Tundra 2UZ VVT Teardown! Bad Decisions Led To The Demise Of One Of Toyota's Greatest Engines! (youtube.com)

 

I can't remember back on the stats of [boat anchor vs. no boat anchor], the one constant seems to be, if the belt snaps while up in the 4-digit RPM range, the result is unfavorable.

 

I really appreciate all the input. I will be pulling starter, plugs, all timing belt covers tomorrow evening, and if none of that is revealing, I'll scope the cylinders one by one.

Again, Thank you all!

 

We really like pictures

 

Well, pulled the starter last night and ball bearings were dripping out of the pinion gear/shaft collar, and the shaft/pinion gear was cocked in the ring gear! Motor turned just fine after the starter was removed. Ring gear looks good. New starter is installed. I'll post a picture of the old starter/pinion as soon as I get to the car. I forgot the starter at my friend's garage.

I put in the new starter and will be re-installing the intake this weekend.

So, a little background: The wife had the car towed to a local shop to "get an estimate for repair." The shop told her the motor's frozen. Probably wrecked, mileage is too high, etc. Charged $125 for that. I won't let our shadows fall on that area of town again.

A heartfelt thanks to you all for your willingness to help, expertise and knowledge. Will post the pictures later this weekend.

 

hell yea

 

That's great news! Yep, this bunch here rocks it. Great forum!

 

What brand starter was on the truck that failed? And what did you put back on it?

 

@KNABORES +1. What brand starter failed? OEM Denso starters are known to be bullet-proof.

 

Not only that, but store brands also have a well-founded reputation for lasting 2-4 years max, with some people having to replace them 12-18 months after purchase. "lifetime warranty" doesn't mean shit if it's 2-4 hours labor and you need to replace gaskets.

General rule of thumb: If it requires more than 90 minutes work, go with OEM (Toyota/Denso/Aisin) from a reputable source with a secure/verified supply chain (i.e. not scAmazon, not fleaBay, not WallyMart). At least you know it'll last as long as they part you're pulling. Toyota actually gives a flying fuck about their reputation. Store brand ... they have their parts made as cheap as possible knowing they're not going to last, but they're so cheap it won't hurt if you gotta bring it back on exchange. Toyota doesn't take parts back because they're reliable enough they don't need to. 'Nuff said.

 

Hope those two pictures of the chewed up pinion and ball bearings missing show up ok. The pinion was cocked on the ring gear and that is why the engine didn't turn AT ALL with this original starter in it, (357,649 miles on the clock). Rebuilt OEM 2 KW "cold weather" starter went into it. Cranked right up like the car was new...

Can not thank you guys enough for the advice and expertise...."I'll be back," in a friendly way with more questions about changing out/fixing the fan knob on the climate control. This rig is a keeper.

I do need to adjust valves and replace vaccume hoses under the hood, and put on new valve cover gaskets. Also, it's 30,000 mile time to run new ATF into the tranny.

Does anyone worry about 22 year old airbags? I'm a believer, but age takes a toll in the AZ sunshine. The RF has already been replaced under the recall, but not the driver's.

Sorry for all the questions in the wrong thread...