Trucker06

Replaced timing belt, Head gasket, water pump, spark plugs, most gaskets, new idler pulleys etc. We got it all back together except the stuff we apparently don't need to start the car to check the timing such as the alternator and power steering belt. But everything else is done as far as we can see. All hoses are in the correct spot all lines hooked up. Tried starting it several times then checked the spark plug for gas on the tip of it and there was not any! So there does not seem to be any gas getting through the engine. I smelled the plug and concluded that there's no fuel. BUT...there also does not seem to be any spark either! Checked the coil and and grounded the one end while trying to start it and there is no spark. Spark plugs still look brand new and shiny at the ends too. Checked all fuses interior and exterior and all are good. Is there some kind of reset switch or something I don't know about??? Please help Thanks

llcoolpass

this is not as hard as you think, take a breath, and relax

you have no spark nor fuel, good, you know to check that, you're smarter than many

this is all because the car has no idea when to use either.... to know that, it needs crank position information.
on this car, i think there is both a crank position sensor and a camshaft position sensor. on some vehicles, the car can at least start if the crank sensor is working, though it wont run well. the cam is a refined reading, the crank more of a fail safe [used more for engine starting] in that case. i'm not sure if that' sthe case with the the 1993 and 1992 lex es, but i can check the fsm. in the mean time, ensure the correct things are plugged into the correct things, as far as the cam and crank pos sensors are concerned.

double check your belt/cam pulley alignments too.

let me know what you find.

-brian

esucaris1

no crank or cam sensor on the 92-93

jet_jockey

are you able to pull any codes from it? How about the fuel pump, is it working? You can open the gas tank and listen for it cycling on when the key comes on. If you are still in doubt, you should be able to see if the fuel line is building pressure by breaking it loose, or if there is a shrader (sp) valve on the rail somewhere you can check it there. If you are not getting spark and the fuel pump is not coming on, then you have an electrical issue somewhere, whether it be in a fuse or in the ecm itself.

One of the easiest ways to check spark is by taking loose one of the plug wires at the coil and holding it with some well insulated tongs, and seeing if it arcs over. If you want to do it on the plug end, then put a spark plug in it and then ground the side of the plug on something metal. By doing that you can also see what color spark is coming out, which is a good indicator to see if you have a bad coil.

If your timing is off you should still get fuel and spark.

Trucker06

I'll be sure to check that stuff out. I'm going to check the fuel pump and check for spark on the plug end to make sure. I'm also going to check up on the timing belt position again. Man we (step dad and I) have taken that darn thing off so many times. It seems we have it the best we can get it this time though. However the crank is about 5 degrees advanced yet with it being 5 degrees advanced the camshaft pulleys line up now after two rotations. When the crankshaft was tdc it seemed no matter what we did the cam pulleys always were half a tooth to a full tooth off after doing two full rotations. I'll keep trying. I may be able to get a new coil real cheap from a friend just to see. I'll let you all know what happens. No crank or cam sensor on 92 or 93? I'll keep that in mind. I'm probably going to get at it this Thursday. Thanks you all

Cameron

esucaris1

First of all you need to have the tensioner plunger removed (its on the bottom next to the pan firewall side of the ballancer)... you will need to compress it with a BIG vise or better yet a press to compress it and install a small allen wrench through the hole to keep it in position untill installation... set the crank at tdc then rotate the front cam clockwise past the cam timing mark 1 tooth and install the belt on the cam roll the cam back into the timing mark dont move the crank... do the same thing with the rear cam roll it clockwise past the timing mark install belt roll it back into the timing mark and check all your marks... if all is on the moneythe belt should have no slack exept between the rear cam and the crank... install the plunger and remove the allen wrench... rotate the engine and check your marks... good luck

llcoolpass

1 and on some cars, you just set it one tooth off such that when the tensioner is applied the belt will not be one tooth off, if you get what im saying

2 check that things are plugged in, still seems to me something isn't pluged in.

3 there is a camshaft position sensor, it's built into the distributor

4 what esucaris said

jet_jockey

one thing that has helped me with installing the timing belt on this car is to make sure you keep the belt as tight as possible around the gears. Only allow slack on the side that the tensioner pulley goes against. That way when you tighten the tensioner down, the slack isn't taken up by letting one of the cams go a tooth off.

The timing can be 1 tooth off and the car will not run worth a crap (or at all).

llcoolpass

jet_jockey

on engine not running solely because of this, because in this case, there is no fuel nor spark


putting slack on the tensioner side

Trucker06

I'll go through the engine again to make sure everything is plugged in right. Now I was just wondering about adjusting the distributor then trying to start it. I saw some youtube videos of first time start ups after 350 rebuilds and those guys cranked it over but would not start. Then they just slid the distributor a little and it almost started. Then they slid it a little more and it fired right up. Could that be the answer? But that wouldn't prevent a spark though...or fuel. I didn't try adjusting the distributor at all. I just put it back where I could still see where the bolt had been before. If all else fails we will once again work on that timing belt. We did almost exactly what esucaris1 said to do. Good way to do it. So when I put the tensioner in it took up the slack without moving the cam pulleys. Gotta' use a new allen wrench to hold that tensioner down. Mine has had it. lol. Thanks you all. Thursday I'm going back at it again. I will succeed! I let you all know

jet_jockey

I realize that, but thanks for reiterating it. I'm just going over the possible scenarios because often times we overlook the simple stuff. I had a hell of a time on my celica once trying to diagnose why it wouldn't start. Fuel/spark/air is good, no codes. Finally figured out that the coil was bad, the spark at the plug was a yellow/orange color, which I didn't give a second thought to the first time I looked at it.

jet_jockey

All turning the distributor does is advance or retard the timing. This can possibly help get the thing going if its a tooth off (on single belt driven cam engines), but does not explain the lack of fuel and spark. It really sounds like a bad fuse or fusible link, and a very important one at that. Odds are that the lack of fuel and the lack of spark are both caused by 1 reason, so with that frame of mind start looking at the wiring.

jet_jockey

also check the main power and ground wires going to the battery.

Trucker06

I was supposed to work on the car today (thurs) but gotta' work night shift all of a sudden. So I'll get back to you all this weekend and let ya' know the status. May have more questions pop up after this weekend of working to get the lexus going. Thanks again

Cameron

Trucker06

I know you all will laugh when I tell you what the problem was. The distributor was not plugged in!!!!! the little wire and clip had fell back in behind some other stuff so I didn't even see it there and it didn't even occur to me. It started right up. The timing was in fact right. I flushed the radiator a few times with water and now it's running great!!!!!! We had this thing torn apart alot! down to the cylinder but everything else had to come off too in the process . Came a long way from working in the garage when it was snowing like crazy to now in the spring and warmer weather. Feels so damn good to have it done.

Cameron