VVT-i & VVTL-i OCV Screen Cleaning Guide

[GSBoek]

I have a day of today (Flagday here) so I decided to make this thread about the Oil Control Valves=OCV.
Most of you know already but for those who don't:
The 1ZZ-FE engine in the GT has variable valve timing only, or VVT-i.
The 2ZZ-GE engine in the GT-S has variable valve timing AND lift, or VVTL-i.
Consequently GT has one OCV, GT-S has two OCVs.

First the Timing OCV:
This is its location on the head of a 2ZZ, more or less the same location on a 1ZZ.

This is how it looks like.


To help keep particles out, the OCV has a metal mesh strainer to filter the oil going to it. This is its location:Behind that bolt in this pic.

If you remove that bolt the strainer is located in that hole, but this one doesn't have it as I used it in my engine and the old one fell and got lost.

As part of regular maintenance I would recommend cleaning the strainer every 30k. It is a pain to get to if you don't remove the alternator so plan it to do so when you change your drivebelt.

[Smaay]

ok, now where is the lift OCV?

[GSBoek]

The Lift OCV and housing is located on the battery side of the head. To get to it it's wise to remove the battery, move the ECU aside and temporarily disconnect the hoses that run from the intake manifold to the valvecover.

This is the GT-S head with Lift OCV location:

Here's a close-up.

The OCV housing. The two bolts in this pic are where the groundwires go.

This is what you see when you remove the housing:

For those who wonder, the dirty electrical connector below the housing is the Coolant Temperature Sensor.

Just like the timing OCV, the Lift OCV also has a strainer. And in case someone is wondering, the timing and lift strainers are not interchangeable, neither are the OCVs on certain model years, I don't remember which though. I think the timing OCV has a slightly longer shaft also.
Here's the Lift strainer:


As part of regular maintenance clean these components also, both OCV housing and strainer.

Enjoy!

[GSBoek]

Originally Posted by Smaay

ok, now where is the lift OCV?

Took me some time hehehe.

[Smaay]

very nice, im proud

[2way]

Sticky for GSBoek!
If ya change your oil frequently... you'll probably never have to clean them

[Ch33z]

horray for flag day cuz if theres no flag day he wouldnt have cleaned his OCVs lol. Good Job

[fastcelicagt22]

What did you use to clean it?

[GSBoek]

Washed it with diesel. It helps if you have a soft paintbrush too.

[GSBoek]

Of course this thread would not be complete without adding the infamous VVT-i related noise. Excuse the poor quality vid I put on Putfile. Watch how the tractor noise goes away when I pull the VVT-i OCV plug.

VVT-i noise

[booge71]

Thanks for the post...I propose a STICKY for this one.

[S|Lv3rBu||et]

Originally Posted by 2way

Sticky for GSBoek!

Originally Posted by booge71

I propose a STICKY for this one.

Sticky it is, I'll also submit it to the 'Installs" section. Keep it stickied until it's in the installs section. I hate having too many stickies on the top of the main page.

[Lo_Pro_Life]

wait so if i got that noise theres nothing wrong? i always thought i had a valve knock in my GT. so if i clean that will it run smoother?and the clacking noise go away? and the diesel.is that a cleaning agent or are you talkin bout the gas?

[fatboys2zz]

GSboek thanks for the sticky!

[keosking]

has anyone noticed any changes in performance after doing this?

[GSBoek]

Originally Posted by keosking

has anyone noticed any changes in performance after doing this?

In performance there was no notable change, however the engine was delivering the power notably smoother in the lower rpm ranges up to 3.5K rpm. This could be attributed to a better oilsupply to the OCV/VVT-i sprocket.

[GSBoek]

Originally Posted by Lo_Pro_Life

wait so if i got that noise theres nothing wrong? i always thought i had a valve knock in my GT. so if i clean that will it run smoother?and the clacking noise go away? and the diesel.is that a cleaning agent or are you talkin bout the gas?

Technically any noise that is so apparent is an indication of wear or slack or clearance issues in an engine. The engine might otherwise run well but it's hard to tell really what the longterm effects could be. I have been over this literally countless times, and all the bits help a little but don't eliminate the noise completely. When I cleaned that strainers it was the single most notable improvement in both noise supression and engine smoothness.

Edit: Diesel is the cleaning agent yes.

[Snizzlers]

this looks like an upcoming project...thanks for the write up...

[hombredelassrta]

could you use masf cleaner(electrical cleaner) stuff becasue i am too lazy to go get diesel and is there any harm in leaving that plug in the video off as it made it that much quieter?

[GSBoek]

MAF cleaner should do it just fine. As far as driving with the plug off, the car will drive, but you ain't gonna have VVT-i adjustment anymore.

[Rockts]

Wow!!!
Good JOB man!!!

[Mefarri]

so.... I don't understand. Why on earth would a hole being filled cause more noise. I have the same noise whenever the motors warm, and would like for it to go away. Any solutions?

[Mefarri]

anybody? This is bugging me to death.

[Rockts]

Originally Posted by Mefarri

so.... I don't understand. Why on earth would a hole being filled cause more noise. I have the same noise whenever the motors warm, and would like for it to go away. Any solutions?

VALVE ADJUST?

[celigts69X]

very nice detail, i have this problem its shooting out the p1693 code, and my lift isnt working, BUT it works sometimes, sometimes i try it and it goes tatatata, like its misfiring, or fuel cut off, u know? and the dealer wants to charge me 405 for the fix, 140 for parts, 300 for labor, now i have nothing close to 400, im in debt actually, cuz ive borrowed some money here and there, so i cant fix this problem at the dealer. so i was thinking of maybe checking the ocv screen, since it works off and on... but, im scared that i might not be able to put back the stuff together...HELP?

[R K e 1 C A]

replaced my Lift OCV today

I’ve been doing all sorts of Engine work lately…there’s a Thread in the Repair Forum

Anyhow, to the Member above, the LIFT side is fairly easy…if you’ve ever token out your Battery, it should make it that much less strenuous…also, if you don’t have a Strut Tower Brace like me, it will make it a lot better…Optima Batteries and bigger batteries usually are a pain w/the Celica

Next, I’ve got a Ground Wire kit and while retightening everything, one of the Bolts broke...guess its getting old but now gotta drill that Bolt out

Thankfully the ground wire is actually two so just regrounded it to the one above

Other than that, mine was actually very clean, not like the pic above even w/almost 100K on it…I’m lucky and since day one, my Celica has performed very well

Anyhow, I would suggest if its your 1st time working around the Engine, take your time w/it
Its basically:
3 long bolts
2 nuts
And maybe another bolt here or there…what I do it when I take the bolts off, I put them in the shape of how it would look, this may help you out too

Good luck

[dragon2003]

Originally Posted by GSBoek

Of course this thread would not be complete without adding the infamous VVT-i related noise. Excuse the poor quality vid I put on Putfile. Watch how the tractor noise goes away when I pull the VVT-i OCV plug.

VVT-i noise

before you cleaned the ocv, did it make a clattering/rattling noise when accelerating also? would brake cleaner work?

[Celica402GTS]

for the lift ovc i've always use brake cleaner w/out chloride..seems to work just fine..iv'e done it more then one so far all is good..i've actually saw the lift ovc guide over on ecelica.com when it was alive..but they call it lift filter cleaning guide..basically the samething with different name..

[celigts69X]

thanx RKE1CA,

first of all... ive heard this on this website, "the dealer knows nothing on our engines!" they may know how to put things together, but when it comes down to it, they know squat! they told me my solenoid needed replacing, they were wrong! i replaced it... with no results, still no lift... they want 300 dollars to replace it, when a local mechanic replaced it in less than 30 minutes, for 30 $!!! now im positive it might be the ocv screen, and if not that, it might be the lift bolts ive heard... now, is my ocv gasket for sure gonna break if i open the housing? help please?

[celigts69X]

alright, now im happy! well, i bought the solenoid, (which probably wasnt the problem...)replaced it, still was giving me p1693 with no lift... my dad and i woke up today in the morning, popped out the ocv housing (more simple than it seems) gasket remained intact... took out the ocv strainer (filter) and looked in... no light would peirce through the metal mesh, because it was clogged up with gunk... cleaned it with some intake/throttle body cleaner and some valuecrap brake cleaner w/o cloride... that was the problem!!! thanks to all of you who helped me out on this... GSBOEK, SMAYY

[wceli]

Ya I heard the ticking when it was time to change oil. After changing oil it got better.

I have a 02 gt and have one OCV ,I think on the right side of the engine. But heard Ticking from the left side by evaporative emission selnoid. It is there
all the time but some times it is louder.

[verbal272]

Originally Posted by GSBoek

Of course this thread would not be complete without adding the infamous VVT-i related noise. Excuse the poor quality vid I put on Putfile. Watch how the tractor noise goes away when I pull the VVT-i OCV plug.

VVT-i noise

I can still hear a slight ticking sound once you remove the vvti ocv filter, thats the same noise my car makes. not the tractor sound, but it sounds like a ticking, injector tick almost? have you been able to quiet that down aswell?

[bzizzi]

I cleaned screen strainer out anyways although it already looked really clean,but when I started engine and unplugged OCV it made no difference
and rattle was still there above 3k RPM,does this mean that the OCV is no good ????Also I noticed very little sludge at bottom of cyl head,it was NOT enough to even scrape with screw driver blade.

[Roadkill_22]

I own a 2000 Celica GTS, 120,000 ticks on the clock that I bought used in January. I started getting an annoying rattling noise on heavy acceleration. After the Toyota dealer basically told me that there was nothing that they could do about the noise, I researched the problem on the internet , and I came to this site.

After some exhaustive searching with the parts guy at the Toyota dealer, I found the Toyota part numbers for these strainers (at least for the 2000 GTS; I don't know if they're the same part numbers for different years/models). They were really cheap (less than ten buck for the pair), so I couldn't really be bothered with cleaning them!

They are as follows:

Timing OCV strainer: Toyota part number 15678-21010
Lift OCV strainer: Toyota part number 15678-46010

The lift OCV strainer was clogged solid, the timing OCV strainer was partially clogged.

After the installation of the new strainers and a new belt and tensioner, I am happy to say that my rattling noise has all but disappeared.

I just wanted to say thanks to GSBoek for all of the great info!

[DavidYan]

I checked my OCV screen for the first time in 152,000 miles (never done before) after reading this thread and it was perfectly clean.

[trev0006]

I am having the same problem.

Originally Posted by celigts69X

very nice detail, i have this problem its shooting out the p1693 code, and my lift isnt working, BUT it works sometimes, sometimes i try it and it goes tatatata, like its misfiring, or fuel cut off, u know? and the dealer wants to charge me 405 for the fix, 140 for cars parts, 300 for labor, now i have nothing close to 400, im in debt actually, cuz ive borrowed some money here and there, so i cant fix this problem at the dealer. so i was thinking of maybe checking the ocv screen, since it works off and on... but, im scared that i might not be able to put tires back the stuff together...HELP?

[tiresmokindad]

Originally Posted by GSBoek

I have a day of today (Flagday here) so I decided to make this thread about the Oil Control Valves=OCV.
Most of you know already but for those who don't:
The 1ZZ-FE engine in the GT has variable valve timing only, or VVT-i.
The 2ZZ-GE engine in the GT-S has variable valve timing AND lift, or VVTL-i.
Consequently GT has one OCV, GT-S has two OCVs.

First the Timing OCV:
This is its location on the head of a 2ZZ, more or less the same location on a 1ZZ.

This is how it looks like.


To help keep particles out, the OCV has a metal mesh strainer to filter the oil going to it. This is its location:Behind that bolt in this pic.

If you remove that bolt the strainer is located in that hole, but this one doesn't have it as I used it in my engine and the old one fell and got lost.

As part of regular maintenance I would recommend cleaning the strainer every 30k. It is a pain to get to if you don't remove the alternator so plan it to do so when you change your drivebelt.

Nice photos and guides. Your post is useful information about cleaning the VVT-i & VVTL-i OCV Screen. I apply it in mine. Mine are very neat now.

[bouboul]

Hi there everyone!
I have a strange problem that occurs with my ZZT231.

Details of my celica:

1) 12.3:1 mahle pistons
2) greddy e-manage ultimate
3) Low temp 71 degree C trd sport thermostat
4) Scorpion free flow exhaust without cat converter, (lamba sensor is present but broken as it always break after a few days of replacing because theres no cat converter so I dont change it anymore... run perfect without it)
5) direct induction filter.
6) Fuel in my country is 95 but I add bottle of octane booster because of the low octane fuel we have here.

So finally the Problem!
When the temperature indicator reaches half on the temp indicator, the LIFT does not kick in. The sound of the engine changes but acceleration is very poor. Its very precise because as soon as the temp decreases a bit, the LIFT kicks in as per normal with big acceleration and after a few minutes of high engine loads which results in a temperature rise reaching halfway through the indicator the lift doesnt kick in anymore.

I tried many things, cleaning the strainers, playing with the timing and fuel through the e-manage, trying different oil brand, but nothing worked. Somethime also when im driving, suddenly the car feels heavy as if I was pulling a big trailor, so I stop on the road side, switch off the car and start it again, and the problem is solved, I suspect the E-manage for that but im not sure.

I would be very grateful if anyone could help me with that problem.