Thanks.
1)Hopefully the mechanic does it with an oe tensioner. I do see some toyota forums have good luck with cloyes tensioner or simply rtving.
2) Dipstick o ring is fine, when i last saw the vehicle.
3) no vvti in this motor nor coil on plug setup. Runs a wireset.
4) Oil fill cap is bone dry last i checked.
5) the manifold is the aluminum type unlike the plastic setup in the later 1zzfes, the bolts last i remember looked pretty bad.
stock image
1) why are you replacing the OEM tensioner? never ever seen that fail...just change the o-ring, and make sure to use OEM o-ring, and that mechanic is making excuses because he is worried that he won't properly install the tensioner after changing the o-ring (most people repairing vehicles, especially engine related things are imb*****s)
2) that's great, must be a low mileage engine is a colder environment.
3) that's great, never ever replace the OEM spark plug wires, never ever seen one fail, they always passed the resistance set.
4) that's great, they must not be spilling oil and properly tightening it.
5) those are the same bolts, spray some pb blaster or similar product and gently put a 12mm socket on, never seen those break either, I have removed countless intake manifold bolts (including at the junkyard for many different item I wanted to get off the car)
Also a blue gasket (slight darker blue then older felpro blue (now felpro gaskets for this engine are orange)) can be a APEX gasket, which is cheaper then Felpro and Mahle/Victor Reinz but quality wise, its a great gasket, worst are those Ultra power black colored gaskets which I have seen fail many times but after 40-50k miles.
I have never ever had to replace a Felpro, Mahle, Victor Reinz, or Apex valve cover gasket, and have re-used them without issues, Ultra power (something) or OEM valve cover gaskets (because they are original from the factory) always get replaced.