Mattrob

I just bought my 1st Lexus from the original owner. A beautiful auotmobile with 210K miles. Plenty of maint. records since new but the owner told me they never had the Timing belt changed. I've put about 300 miles on the car(long trip home) and 2nd morning to work i heard a subtle "pop noise then slight squeal that went away immediately. The car started to over heat, headed back home asap to find coolant boiling over and out the over flow reservoir tube. I suspect the water pump gave up the ghost. I have no pressure on the upper radiator inlet house after i refilled with coolant and started her up.

I am about to head out to garage and disassemble to diagnose. My plan is to update my findings with photos. No telling what i may find in there after after 17 yrs and 210K miles.

BTW... this is a "NON" interference motor right?:

Any suggestions on what else to look for while in there is appreciated.

morphh

It could be head gasket or just a rad pipe blew off or popped

hypervish

Depends on what year ES.

99' and up is interference due to VVT-I.

Bdub215

iTrader: (1)

actually no the 1MZ with VVT-i is still non interference. 3MZ is interference however. And in the toyota repair manual there's a different way of doing the T-Belt on a 3MZ to reflect that.

hypervish

NO, please do a search. Go ahead and even call Lexus, they will confirm it. I've called multiple times and I've received the same answer, the 1MZ-FE with VVT-I is interference.

You will find that the 1MZ-FE without VVT-I is non interference, with VVT-I it is interference.

There is a lot of confusion about this, even Gates has the wrong information. Requests have been made to Gates to correct them.

Either way, the OP has a 96' ES so his is non- interference.

Let's not hijack his thread.

Mattrob

Notice the oil staurated exhuast manifold bolt. Only on this bolt. Came back very quickly after a major degrease. Suspect stuck/worn piston ring on this cylinder. Valve Cover is not leaking here so rule dthat out as source of leak.

Power6

I'm not a professional mechanic but that does not seem likely? When a piston ring is gone the oil is burned inside the cylinder and exhausted as smoke, not liquid. The stud bore into the head is not likely open into the exhaust port but maybe someone can confirm that. If you are seeping oil out the manifold you would also have an audible exhaust leak there.

Hard to see in the picture, looks like oil seepage at the top above that stud. The stud may not be getting hot enough to burn off the oil though the nut and header flange do, making it hard to follow the trail of oil leak.

Mattrob

What you say makes perfect sense Power6: "The stud may not be getting hot enough to burn off the oil though the nut and header flange do, making it hard to follow the trail of oil leak. "

My findings so far are:

Oil leak behind the exhaust cam gear running down metal timing belt cover. It is either the camshaft seal or corner of VC gasket.

The cause of overheat and boil over: When i pulled the Water Pump the cheap plastic impellar came out in pieces. Are the factory Lexus impellars plastic? Now i am concerned what will become of the fragmented pieces that were ingested into the cooling system, block, radiiator.

Contrary to what i was told by the PO....looks like the Timing Belt had been replaced at some point. The belt i removed today had "made in the USA" printed on it.

Hayk

iTrader: (1)

The factory impeller is metal, if I recall correctly. Does the pump have any brand name stamping on it? It should be made by Aisin.

That does look like a camshaft leak.

Mattrob

Thx for the confirmation Mrbooby. I thought it to be unlikely a Lexus automobile would be factory built with a plastic WP impellar. The Part# is PH-9051 but no brand name on it. I have numerus pics i have taken thoughout this task. Would to make them available for other members but not sure of the correct way to post them. I may have to wait my 30 day/30 post minimum before i can do this?

Hayk

iTrader: (1)

I'm confused. How did you post the previous picture? Is there a limit on how many photos you can publish?

Mattrob

I get this when i log in so i guess there are restrictions. My recent pic upload attempts say "failed".:
Mattrob,

As of January 2011, Club Lexus is implementing some reasonable restrictions for members who have been on Club Lexus for less than 30 days and have made less than 30 productive posts in our discussion forums.

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