Hey my brother just bought a LXE I believe 1996 1MZ-FE. I know that those have four cams shafts. two driven by the timeing belt and the other two are driven by the belt driven cams. The gears that connect the two cams are "spring loaded". Your suppose to put a screw through them when takeing them out. What happens when you dont and the gears unwind? Do you get any noises, does it run out of time, Chk lite come on? I am actually getting a noise from the top end it sounds like. I cant figure out exactly what it is. Not sur if it is coming from the timing case or heads.

 

From the Haynes manual:

"Since the camshaft thrust clearance is minimal, the camshafts must be held level as they are being removed. If they aren't, the portion of the cylinder head next to the cam gears may crack or be damaged by the gear leverage. Before lifting a camshaft out of the head, make certain that the torsional spring force of the sub-gear has been eliminated by the service bolt."

Do I hear an oops coming.