Loose Bracket behind plenum?
 

Hey everyone, I was having some very subtle rattle noises when driving my 2003 ES300. Its a hit or miss if I can hear it, its so quiet. Upon visual inspection I noticed an upside down J-hook style bracket that was behind the plenum. It seems to move freely and is supporting nothing. It looks like a hose is supposed to be secured with it. I really suspect this part to be what I'm hearing in the cabin. Anyone know what it is? And why its moving freely enough to become audible now? You can see the part im talking about in this repair video
At the 14:50 mark, hes removing the bracket that on my engine is moving freely. Its the black hook shaped mount. Anyone know what bolts can replace it? Its definitely missing a bolt, its not secured very well at all. Could this be left over from a valve cover gasket job I had done last year? I checked it out and theres only one bolt securing the line below it, and theres a spot for a further screw up above it. Are they both the same size? Can I pull out the other one and match it at home depot?

Hello,

The Intake Plenum in those cars is designed with a pretty big overhang to the back of the engine, creating a pretty large lever that pries against your Intake Gaskets. This bracket is there to reduce the excessive stress on the Plenum Gasket and Mating surface, preventing the Vacuum Leaks in the future. You have to have it, otherwise there is a chance that you will start running into issues with your engine.

Here is a Parts Catalogue for your car, Part Number for the bolts in question is 90119-08A06. I would suggest getting an OEM part, as they are inexpensive enough, and Toyota bolts are quite unique in that the Head size is not standard, the task was to reduce the amount of Socket Heads needed to repair the car, which is a good tradeoff in my opinion. Just make sure that you are indeed missing the bolts, and they are not just stripped, as that will change things quite badly.

Hope this helps and best of luck!

Hey so I ordered the bolt but I have no idea how to get it installed. It seems easy, just put it in and tighten it, but there's next to no clearance there. Is there a special technique to access that area more easily? I've been using zip ties to keep it from moving while driving but they keep breaking. It does get rid of the cabin noise that I've been experiencing before it breaks lol