Toyota Repair: Changing valve seals in a Rav4, valve seals, car down

Question
Hi Ted, I know you've reported at least twice that the valve seals in my '97 Rav4 can be replaced without removing the head but that the cams must be removed. My question is how much of the timing belt has to be removed to get the cams out? I replaced the belt in this car and it was a job in that the spaces were so tight. I don't look forward to removing the engine mount again. Will the cams come out without the need to pull the mount and the lower pulley,etc? Thanks. I should have replaced the seals when I did the belt but couldn't afford to have the car down that long.

Answer
The top plastic cover can be removed, you have to release the tension on the belt to get it off the pulley, there should be a round rubber cover with an access hole on the lower part of the cover to loosen the tensioner, release the tension and tighten the tensioner now the belt can be pulled off the gear, the cams can then be removed, make sure a service bolt is put into the spring loaded gear before removing it, I would also advise to put the engine on #1 TDC then using paint to mark the cam gears to avoid the usual confusion between all the dots on the cams.