Originally Posted by Och

You dont have to do the screw driver method, and don't worry about turning it anti clockwise - I did that too, and it didn't cause any damage.

All you need to do, is align the crank with the "0" mark, and then align the cams with corresponding marks. You can do it with or without the belt, doesn't matter, as long as they are aligned. Our engines are non interference, so you can turn crank/cams one by one as many times as you like, it wont cause any damage. Now, on the VVT-i UZ engines (98+), it's a different story.

P.S.

I was able to get that damn bolt out by cranking the starter. It didnt work the first time around because my battery was drained, so I put in fresh battery from my GS, cranked the starter, and the bolt loosened right away.

Originally Posted by PureDrifter

the 95-97 are interference engines as well, how do you think toyota squeezed an extra 10ish hp and tq out of the car? they changed the head design and timing a decent bit which consequently turned it into an "interference" engine.

Originally Posted by Och

Really? I though 95-97 had a different ECU and MAF, increased compression, and better exaust that allowed for the 10 hp increase. I didn't know heads were different.

Originally Posted by sonyman

It's not a different MAF sensor, it's a MAP sensor instead of a MAF sensor. One of the biggest differences is the change from MPFI to SMPFI, sequential multi-port fuel injection. Also, in reference to PureDrifter's comment, I'm fairly certain the block is unchanged.

Originally Posted by Och

No, its still a MAF sensor, but its a hotwire MAF instead of Vortex AFM.