t0phux

The car: 95 Lexus ES300 177k miles, bought at 155k miles.

What I've replaced so far:
Fuel Pump
Fuel Pump Strainer (in tank)
Fuel Filter (under hood)
Water Pump
Timing Belt
Timing Belt Pully
Timing Belt Tensioner
Harmonic Balancer
Power Steering Pump
Front Struts
Front Strut Mounts
Front Springs
Control arm bushings
Sway bar bushings
Sway bar links
Tie-Rod's (inner and outer)
Ball joints
Radiator
Power Steering Pump
Both high pressure power steering hoses.
Spark Plugs (now look kinda fouled)

The Problem:
Crank, no start. Only caught once for a single rotation after it sat overnight.

I was driving down the highway, came to a red light, light turned green and I hadn't noticed the car died. It didn't start back up. I had it towed back to my house. Only symptom was a slight hesitation intermittently when accelerating.

What I've checked:
-All Fuses
-Replaced fuel pump off the bat as I thought it wasn't running since when turning the key to on (not cranking) it wasn't pumping. Only later did I find out this car only pumps when you crank the car.
-Pulled front 3 spark plugs. All were black, with light oil.
-Pulled front 3 coils, put in the spark plugs, all emitted bright blue spark when cranking.
-All 3 cylinders shot gas out of them while cranking.
-Compression on front 3 cylinders, 150psi.
-Fuel Pulsation Dampener had the screw fall out, i screwed it back in all the way (should I have)? Can this be the cause?
-Something strange: After having my wife turn the car over for several minuets while checking the spark / compression, I noticed a puddle had formed under the car. I smelled it, it smelled very slightly of fuel, not strong. After having her crank while I checked the last spark plug, I looked underneath the car and couldn't find anything leaking... not sure what that was. Fast forward another hour and a half and the puddle has evaporated. The location was driver side a little behind the front wheel, about a foot toward the middle of the car.

What else do I need to do to check this besides removing the throttle body and checking the back 3 cylinders?

JetsonES

Is your car producing any error codes? Sounds like you have eliminated a lot of the potential causes already.

808mcv20l

Didn't someone say the ECU in that Gen ES was susceptible to the Capacitors blowing? and they needed to repair the ECU or get another one?

Safetybob

If you were having the same symptoms in a Honda, we would tell you to examine your fuel pump relay board under the dash. More than likely, a solder joint was bad. Resolder and off you go. Been there done that and it worked. Do Toyota produce use a similar setup for fuel pump control?

BrotherAli

ECU and faulty fuel pump relay (have had that problem on my honda as well) dont explain the puddle of fuel. Is there anyway for you to look underneath during or after your wife has cranked it awhile? Try to get it to do it again since that is a weird symptom and should be the first thing to investigate. Sounds like a leaking fuel line or fuel filter since im assuming it only leaks when cranking, your fuels probably not getting to your engine.

EDIT: You need to be careful BTW, if its a leaking line any spark near it could be a big problem. If you go under while cranking be very observant

Sounds like your problem:

http://www.spyderchat.com/forums/sho...-start-looking