Toyota Avalon and Camry 1MZ plug and valve cover job

Even though I swore at a young age never to be seen in, much less own a generic import sedan, here we are.

I bought this 95 Avalon at auction with the nose totaled. While it was meant to be a winter beater, it has grown on me simply based on it’s ease of repair. This job required few tools, none of which were unusual. This was a welcome break from the maddening array of crap required to do a similar job on my SHOs.

So the local shop must have told you that this job costs $600+ because ‘That whole durned intake thingy has to come off’. He is right, the intake has to come off. However, if you do the job yourself you can take that $600 you saved and buy something fun for yourself or the missus.

First, get the Haynes Toyota Camry Automotive Repair Manual
( and any other car you may own ) and a set of Gear Wrenches with the floppy heads. These wrenches are the best ever, replace socket sets and save time and effort getting into weirdly located nuts and bolts. When you dish out your $129 for the wrench set, comfort you wife by telling her you are saving $600 on the job and you will have the proper tools to do future jobs. Be careful though, if you use that reasoning with the missus, she will in fact ask you to do other car related jobs. You have been warned.

This page will show pretty much step by step directions, but you must use common sense and look for wires, plugs or other things to disconnect in case I miss them. I have included many pictures called ‘reference pictures’. These will show how things look before you tear them apart, so you have a guide to put them back together. Use common sense. I am not responsible if you break something or hurt yourself or others.