Cheers to everyone watching an engine being disassembled on a Saturday night. We’re living the life ❤😊

Watching this video made me sad. It was like seeing a very good friend at the funeral home in their casket. I have an 07 Avalon. I absolutely love her. She had 24k miles on her when I bought her, today she has 92k miles. I'm a stickler for maintenance, oil and filter change every 3k miles, I also have the tires rotated with every oil change. Easier to keep track of that way. I love everything about the Avalon, smooth quiet ride, 30 mpg on the highway, and what surprised me most about the car is the power that engine delivers. It is so mild mannered putting around town, but if you stick your foot in it to pass another car, you can be doing 40 mph and she'll be spinning the tires as you pass, and by the time you get by you'll be doing 80-85 mph, and the sound of the engine is like a jet engine spooling up, it loves to scream. I don't know what the top speed is, I've had it up to 130 mph, and decided that was fast enough for me. Funny thing though, it feels like the faster you go in the Avalon, the more planted to the ground it feels. Older cars will start feeling light, and floaty at higher speeds. I think I'm different, I like to see the engine, hear it run, so I took the big plastic cover off. I plan on the Avalon being the last car I own, and when I'm to old to drive I'll pass her down in the family.

Co-worker has one with 421xxx miles on his Camry, still squeals the tire leaving every Friday.

"Toyotas were supposed to be reliable but I needed a new engine after only 60k miles. I cant believe i wasted 2 whole oil changes on it."

I'm a computer programmer. I'm probably never going to tear an engine apart. I watch for your excellent storytelling and humor. I appreciate your upbeat attitude in every job. It's fascinating to see the various ways engines can fail, and to hear your thoughts about them. I have learned quite a lot by watching you do what you do. Just writing to let you know that you are reaching people with your work, your entertainment, and your positivity. Thank you for sharing with us :)

During the video you mentioned the rubber section of the VVTi oil line toward the rear of the engine. That's one big flaw of this version of the 2GR-FE. A BIGGER design flaw was that this engine also rubber portions of the engine oil cooler pipes. Those 2 lines are located at the bottom front of the engine right next to a catalytic converter which gets very hot. My guess is that one of those rubber sections ruptured and if someone was driving 60 to 70 mph when that happened and did not pull over and turn off the engine soon enough, then good bye to this engine. Just a pinhole in one of the rubber lines would be enough to lose all 6 quarts of oil very quickly. This happened to my wife while driving her 2011 Highlander a couple of years ago. Fortunately, she was driving in town, not very fast and pulled over and turned the engine off right after she saw the low oil pressure light come on. There was no damage to the engine...Toyota put the all metal oil cooler pipes on it and it's still running fine today. If these rubber oil cooler lines are not replaced, they will burst. Not if but when. Shame on Toyota for not recalling both the rubber oil cooler pipes and the rubber VVTi oil line. They did issue Technical Service Bulletins for both but no full recalls. These 2 faults have and will kill these versions of this engine(mainly 2007-2011) prematurely. If these parts are replaced in time and the proper maintenance is performed, they can reach 300 to 400 thousand miles.

"Simple timing system" is music to my ears. All designs should be this good.

48 years of fixing cars, I really expected to see melted Bearings after seeing all the melted plastic…I’m just amazed that the bearings were in such good shape. Gotta hand it to Toyota.

Gently placing the failed water pump on the table, with a towel to protect it from any damage, had me rolling.

The vvti hose with the rubber section and the water pump are known failure points on older 2GRs. Both have been redesigned. There are plenty 2GRs out there with well over 300K miles and still going strong. With proper care you'll rebuild your driver's seat before the 2GR.

mine has now over 300000 and it still runs very well and smooth !

Hurts my feelings seeing a 2gr tore up. I work at a Toyota factory that built the one that is in the Camry. The one in Kentucky. Great powertrain really...

What makes that cam sub assemble so awesome is if something tears up a cam and bearing you can replace that part and NOT the whole cylinder head like most other cars!

Some people don't deserve a 2GR-FE 🤨

My 2gr just had the water pump replaced at 235K, did not overheat and is back for another 235k. It is an excellent engine.

Even a reliable strong engine is not immune to human disrespect and lack of care. Thanks Eric

It's always the person who sees it overheating, but they're 5 miles from the home and keep going anyway. We had an older lady, afraid of being stuck on the side of the road, overheated and melted her engine and wondered why she needed a new one.

What kills them? Lack of an oil level sensor, lack of proper maintenance, not using the correct oil, not using the correct filter, cracked filter housing, upper Rocker oil, feed lines crack, and that's all I know of. I own one in my 2011 sienna and it's the most amazing V6 I've ever experienced in my life. The power and torque and good throttle response that's not too sensitive is what I enjoy about this Toyota engine.

Can’t believe how decent the bearings looked after what happened. I’m impressed.

The 2GR in my 2008 RAV4 was still running strong at 310,000 miles when I sold it. It didn’t burn a drop of oil between 5,000 mile oil changes. I drove it like I stole it from the day I bought it too.

Looks like proper chain to me, much thicker than most "bicycle" chains in most cars

Fantastic engine. My 2008 Lexus gs350 had it rated at 303 hp. Sold it at almost 190k miles not one issue just regular maintenance.

My grandfather was a mechanic and his shop still stands 25 years after he left us. I respect him through all mechanics. thank you for doing what you do

Number one rule of ANY engine, IMMEDIATELY pull over and turn it off if the overheating dummy light turns on. Don't even drive it 100 yards to a safer location, home, a shop, etc. Another tip is after shutting it off, turn the key to ACC and switch on the heater to pull away the heat. This will also allow the cooling fan(s) to come back on. Popping the hood is also a good idea. But, DON'T remove the radiator cap as it would cause serious burns. If you follow these tips, more than likely the engine will be fine. Had a Toyota Camry overheat after the water pump developed a leak. Did everything I just typed, and after replacing the water pump and coolant, still motoring with over 200k.

Awesome. I work at the Toyota Casting plant in Troy Missouri. We casted those 2GR heads as well as the main engine bracket in the front of the motor. There should be a mark on the front and rear of the heads starting with letter ‘B’ followed by the casting die number. Casting date is scribed under the intake runners. I agree, awesome engine and fun to see our parts after some run time..!!

Until almost a year ago, I owned a 2007 Toyota Sienna so seeing this engine was a bit of a treat I'm not going to lie. My own made it to about 226,000 miles before I had to get rid of it. It was needing some parts replaced which wasn't a huge deal. The problem was that said parts and the engine block were basically inseparable, and they weren't coming out/off without potentially damaging other things in the process of the removal so I sold it to a business similar to your own. Your observation about the rubber hose being used for oil reminded me of a problem I had with my Sienna a number of years back. Twice in the space of twelve or eighteen months or so I had a hose fail that caused me to lose basically all my oil at once, which is great when you are doing 70mph on the highway at the time it happened (both times, ugh). The first time it happened the hose got replaced. The second time it happened a different shop did the work and they said that it was a known issue with that model of engine and that Toyota had since replaced it with a metal part. They did the replacement on mine and I never had that problem again. Thank you as always for educating and entertaining us Eric, I hope you and yours are doing well.

2gr-fe Car Care Nut said it’s Achilles heel is timing cover leak, and extremely sensitive to low oil pressure other than that, upgrade the oil cooler to rear VVT-I bank and upgrade the VVT-I gears those with pre 2010 and it’s a wonderful engine. Mine has 262,000 no leak no problem and Im also maintaining a 5vz-fe and 1mz-fe.

I have seen a very similar failure of the intake manifold on a 2AR-FE back when I worked for Toyota. The vehicle (a Scion Tc) came in making a strange popping sound through the intake manifold and had an assortment of codes. Long story short, found out the vehicle had been over rev'd and quite a few of those roller rockers had fallen off due to valve float and on one particular cylinder, both exhaust rockers fell off, but the intake stayed. At the end of the combustion cycle, since the exhaust had no place to go with the valves not opening, as soon as the intake valves would open, all of the exhaust gases went up into the intake causing the pop sound and melting that intake runner.

The oil line with the rubber section on the valve cover is actually a super common failure point on these engines and Toyota does have an updated part number with a full metal line that they started using in the later model years but it will still bolt on to the older model years for whenever that line decides to leak.

I am a Toyota tech, I replaced one of these recently in a 2014 Sienna with only 120,000 miles, pretty much perfectly maintained. A Cylinder 6 intake valve spring broke and blew it up. It’s rare but we’ve seen them drop valves, mostly on early 2GR FKS from 2016-17.

Currently working at toyota,at my shop at least the 2gr-fe is basically the least common for any repairs, usually its the water pump that fails. Ive seen some VERY rare that have a oiling issue on the cam phasers, 99.9999999% of the time is cause by bad maintenance.

My first 2GR was still purring at 240. My current is like factory new at 130! They really are bulletproof if properly taken care of. Like many others here, I’m amazed how it held up. Great video!

I had the flu last week, so I went back to watch an older tear down video. When you have a fever and body aches the sound of breaking head bolts loose is awful.

This is absolutely one of the best V-6 engines ever made. I remember when it came out in the Camry, it could actually give the Mustang GT a run for it’s money and actually pull on it on the highway. The only V-6 I’ve enjoyed owning more than the 2GR is the Honda J35, because VTEC crossover sounds in a minivan is f***ing hilarious.

Currently have 2011 Toyota Sienna with the same engine, has 210k on it and still runs great.

Hey Eric. Excellent tear down as always. The 2GR-FE are notorious for water pump leaks to the point Toyota made an updated version. The one in the video is the older circular pulley design. The updated design has a flower/clover leaf looking pulley, which has had less issues.

As a tech that has seen these fail, it's always a water pump that dumps coolant. The temp gauge doesn't register that it's overheating (no coolant on the sensor to have an accurate temp reading) and they run until they melt. Fantastic engine overall though

When you oh-so-gently moved and tenderly placed the leaking water pump you'd never use in any circumstances like a priceless vase, I freakin' lost it. You're awesome.

I was a jet engine mechanic and an electrician in the USAF for years. A single DC valve that opens and closes is 10k. A titanium engine blade is around 60k.

I use to work at Toyota and I've seen so many of these engines. like you said they came in so many different vehicles. if I remember correctly the filter had plastic in the center as a "support" for the paper filter so if it got hot enough to melt the intake that most likely melted long before the intake

Reminds me of my very first week on my very first job out of high school. Bob's Auto Repair. As the new guy I had the "pleasure" of tearing down and cleaning a Buick 455 that a little old lady had grossly overheated and continued to run until it died. I can remember dry-retching every time a new part came off of that engine and tearing down the oil pump was almost more than I could bear. Why, why, why, people can you not understand the concept of an oil change? Keep 'em coming Eric! I'll be here every Saturday night. Cheers.

Honestly the only thing wrong with most toyota made engines is their owners.

The reason for the relative "high price" is because its a populair engine swap into the MR2. Modern tech, huge power in stock form and the reliability make it a very sweet package.

My wife is a 100 pound Filipina. Whenever your videos come on I tell her that her favorite video is up. She glares at me and says "I can't even understand what he's doing (and then makes impact noises) then walks away 😂

16:30 kinda wished the companies who made engine stands also made drain pans that fit around and over the stand itself. Basically covering the orange bottom section so that even less mess would be made from jobs like this

So great to hear about ethics and your stance. As someone that might buy a used motor and replace my old one, thank you for not selling a known bad motor.

I just started to watch your channel. I like your style. No bullshit, just plain and simple adventures going through an unknown engine and explaining what you see. Sincere content without pushing a sponsor through my throat. Much appreciated. I wish you all the best and thank you for my enjoyment. Best, Job

I have the same engine with 250,000 miles on it still running strong

25:04 that sound you hear is the bolts loosing their pre-tension. They are designed to be elongated quite a bit compared to regular bolts. It’s almost like having a super strong spring pulling the mating faces together. This helps with keeping things together where you have extreme vibration and thermal cycles.

To see the torched cylinder wall , the melted knock sensors and intake manifold was unreal! Never seen that before. Would give almost anything to know exactly how hot that engine got. Great video man

Had a Toyota V8 3UR-FE that got so hot, it not only melted the intake and knock sensors, but a couple of the valve seats dropped as well, it’s crazy how hot engines get without people realizing it

I have been watching your vq35, your mercedes,v12, your ls7, and now your toyota v6. I noticed you take a whiff almost every time you get that cover out. You definitely have the ability to report failures. Excellent presentation 👏

Whenever I’m researching a car, I see if Eric has torn down one of its engines. Been waiting for this one for a long time.

Your battle with the oil filter made my day. This happened to me during a recent service on my own car and I became unecessarily angry with it.

I’ve only ever seen one of these 2grs fail. At 205k miles the original water pump failed on the owner 600 miles from home. They had a “Toyota” shop replace the pump, but that shop never properly bled the cooling system of the air. So the large air pocket trapped in the rear cylinder head ruined that engine on the remaining 600 miles home. Wild thing was, the car ran smooth as glass with a blown head gasket and the temp gauge almost pegged.

Dude your commentary is excellent and makes watching your clips enjoyable , hi from Australia .

Great video. My 13 highlander has the same engine. Looks like this one was a little neglected. Mine has 130k miles and hope it lasts a long time. I do all maintenance on it, including 5k mile oil changes. Nice to actually see the entire engine outside the car. What a treat. Thanks.

Watching these videos always makes me want to go and change my oil

The straight six in the old 280z was the best motor Japan ever produced.i pulled one with 200,000 miles to put a 383 stroker in an old z.I sold the straight six to a guy in town to put in his z and he drove it for another couple hundred thousand miles and sold it still running good.id love to see twin turbos on the old Datsun/Nissan straight six.

I have an rx450h with the 2gr-fxs and although not exactly the engine you've torn down, it's almost the same and I'm fascinated to see this engine in it's component state, very therapeutic to watch!

I'm so glad to see safety tote back. Safety tote has to be one of your most important tools in the shop. Great video, as always , buddy 👍 👏

Thanks man. I have this in my Sienna 2014. Enjoyed seeing you though teardown.

Hi Eric, another great teardown, thanks for all the effort you go to. I have said this before, I have had a driver say, "Oh, is that a temperature gage!". It was pointing at the stop pin when I got to it. Ted from down under.

You should make a t-shirt with “Bad Motor” in that font. Epic!

It amazes me how mechanics like this know EVERY part of a vehicle. It’s mind blowing.

Did a water pump on an 08 Avalon with the 2GR @130k miles, took about 4 hours and it was the first one I'd changed on a 2GR. Sold the car @225k and it's still on the road.

I got my 2008 Rav4 about 8 months ago with 115,498 on it, I have it up to 129,000 now and I love everything about this engine!!! I ALWAYS replace my oil at less than 5,000 mile intervals as I have heard this is by far the best thing you can do to make it last. Unfortunately this is the gen with the VVT defect but I haven't had any issues with it yet and I plan on keeping it that way. I love my Toyota tho

I have been waiting for this engine. I have two vehicles with one. Of the engines I have, So far you have done a 5vz-fe, 3ur-fe, 1ur-fe. All that is left of the engines I have are 1kz-te and 1nz-fe. Thanks!

Always love the teardowns homie! Never a dull moment seeing these videos. I would enjoy seeing a teardown of toyota's i4 from mid 2000's, specifically the 2.7L 2TR-FE . I have one in my 2006 tacoma and it runs great. It has 160,000+ miles and the valve train still looks brand new. I would love to see the inside of one.

I’m really impressed by your work

Great video! Was waiting for this engine, thank you

Goodwill is hard to recover, once lost, props to your business ethics Eric.

The only bad thing is bad maintenance. They have some oil cooler lines that get brittle and crack and lets out all of the oil (there is an upgraded part for that). They also tend to have a mysterious oil leak that no one figures out, but its actually from the timing cover. P. S. The engine has to come off the car to reseal the timing cover. Big dollar job.

Water pump is not easy at all with that engine on a rav4. Mine didn’t leak but bearings were shot. You have to support the engine, remove the engine mount and raise the engine to try and fit your hands and tools between the engine and unibody “frame rail”. Dealership had quoted me at $1,300

Yea, you always were good about reading comments. I think we all appreciate that.

Thank you for being one of the few honest business men around 😀

I had this in my 2011 Toyota Rav4 v6 awd, I drive it 11,000 cross country at 65-115 mph , some drives for 15 hours straight, was 110 out some days, and the engine was rock solid, engine had 80,000 miles

Water pump failure in these is very common

I know you did a 3.5vq before, but I would love to see another one that wasn’t in an accident that destroyed it but rather one that self imploded

Neat! I think I requested this. I just pulled one for an Mr2 swap. Gonna be fun!

Glad to see you got you a new impact driver!!

I spent the first 20 years of my life driving tractors, trucks and combines. You learned to bloody watch the gauges. Several times I have avoided disaster in cars because something told me look at the temperature. I am guessing I had subconsciously noticed a variation due to the long time of consciously checking. Dipstick and temperature gauge saves a lot of money.

When are we going to see a Northstar tear-down? I’d like to see an early production version and then a 2005 or later to see the “fix…”

Given the carnage of the last two teardowns, this one was like a walk in the park (if the park was really, really hot).

I ENJOYED WATCHING YOU TEAR THIS ONE DOWN TO BAD THAT BLOCK WAS BAD.

Thanks again for the Saturday matinee.

the oil filter cartridge slides onto a tube in the cartridge housing cap and should should slide right back out . In the manufacturing of the cartridge, a bead of glue is applied around the center opening on both ends to keep the element in a round shape. Evidentially the glue melted on the one end. As you tried to get the filter element out, you probably broke the tube loose from the cap because it looked like the filter element wiggled from side to side. That filter housing cap should not be used if that happens as some of the oil will bypass going through the filter element according to Toyota. Believe it or not, there is a repair kit for that, you don't have to buy the whole cap.

Another great tear down. Glad to see you on Powerstroke with A Rod live cast on Wednesday. Your perspective in the automotive business is different from them which I can see great discussions in the future.

Excellent video, im picking up my Highlander in a couple days time, your vid inspires confidence in my purchase

I've seen melted intakes before. All we're from customers ignoring the temp gauge/warning lights and just kept driving until the engine stopped.

Can confirm, water pumps and rubber oil lines are very known issues. Done both on my 2gr in my Lexus. I’d suspect the water pump failed as well. The timing covers like to leak too, the seal around them was not the greatest from the factory. Great video!

I'm going to pretend that it's 15 years ago and I'm watching this on a Saturday night drinking with my friends instead of the reality of having my own 2GR-FE kid hauler sitting in the driveway, watching this after putting said kiddos to sleep.

Good show kid you got me learning.

Yay. A new video on Saturday night!

I missed the reason the chunk of metal detached from the cylinder wall! Just from the heat and the buildup of aluminum causing lateral pressure? I'd go back and look but it's more fun to ask over here. Thanks for another entertaining and informative teardown!

I love just binge watching these videos

best timing system design ive seen so far

this one had me really laughing!!! safety bucket head! lmao!!!! never a dull teardown. I bet you move a lot of LS based engines there.. Very popular now. On my second LS build now. LTs are starting to become the new fad.. Any LT based cores yet? Keep up the great work!!!

The early 2GRs seem to be the ones with the biggest issues from what I’ve seen as an independent tech. Typically what makes these bite the dust is just neglect :/

Interesting how that one unfolded, great vid thanks!