motorheaddown

OMG, these cars are a PITA to work on. I'd *much* rather work on my in-line 6.

Anyway, when doing a complete tune-up and belt replacement on an es300, you might as well replace the water pump. However, the water pump has a bracket that must be removed first. Unfortunately, it won't come out because the bolts are too long and hit the frame near the passenger-side shock tower.

To remove the wp bracket, first get under the car and unbolt the passenger side motor mount bolts located near the oil pan and exhaust on the main cross member brace. Next, jack the motor up using a block of wood under the oil pan. It doesn't have to be lifted much; so, try to remove the bracket each time the motor is raised.

Once the bracket is removed, you still may not be out of the woods. On our car, the cover behind the cam gears is hangin *over* the water pump. So, we have to remove the cam gears just to get the %@#!@ water pump out. Hopefully, you won't have to do so.

If others try this, good luck! You'll need it.

-scott

TxLexus

I am about to do this for my friend,

How do you go about to remove the bolt off the cam gear?

Any pointer would help

thanx everyone

motorheaddown

You have to find a tool that looks like a 90 degree curved fork. Put the prongs of the fork between the sprockets of the cam gear to keep it from rotating. Then, apply torque CCW with a rachet to remove the cam gear bolt.

-scott

TxLexus

Scott,

Thanx for sharing your information with us.

Chris

JPI Racing

What year is this scott? The older one is a little bit harder.
JPI