mathslope

Hello all!

First and for most, thank you so much for all of the help these last two years. I got my first car last year as a gift, 2005 es330 with about 190k miles on it. This car ran beautifully but it has started to show its age. It's time for a big ol' tuneup. The urgency is from a leaking water pump, pretty sure it's the water pump. I filled my car up with coolant, put some cardboard underneath and checked it the next day. HUGE pile of coolant about where the water pump is. After getting suggestions from a new mechanic and poring over various posts and this is what I came up with.

• Replace the valve cover and oil pan gaskets.
  • There's a ton of leaking oil all over the engine and pan.
  • Top it off with Royal Purple to get the sludge out, and then do a full synthetic oil change in about 500miles.
    • Have done two full synthetic oil changes so far
• Replace the water pump and timing belt with the Aisin kit
  • flush coolant before replacing
  • also replace the thermostat and o-rings
  • Replace the camshaft and crankshaft gaskets
• Replace the spark plugs
  • should i replace the spark plug wires also?
• Maybe replace the intake plenum gasket?
  • not sure what the point of this is, a mechanic recommended I do it when getting the valve covers changed.

This is a great car but it seems like I got it just as everything was going south. I'm in school now so this vehicle will have to last me at least 4 more years. I can't afford to pay someone to do it, and I feel pretty confident I can handle it. I have basic tools and plan on renting the speciality tools from local places. So far I've replaced an O2 Sensor. rear pads, and used JB weld to patch an exhaust pipe leak. Besides the above mentioned, anything else I should be on the lookout for?

Is it worth changing the spark plugs wires and plenum gasket now? Like a lot of these models, my car has some hesitation/jerky shifting in low gears. Cleaning the MAF sensor help some but the problem is back. My air filter is clean.

This is my RockAuto shopping cart thus far.

June1978

Minus the spark plugs and valve cover gaskets- these are all items I addressed immediately after buying my 2002 ES300 with 184k miles. Mine was a one owner vehicle that had been taken care of very well. All maintenance was up to date for the most part except the timing belt- it was last done at 90k miles and at 184k miles, it was time

I went ahead and changed the tranny fluid and PVC to. For the fluids, make sure you use GENUINE Toyota red coolant and tranny fluid- no exceptions

Arsenii

Hello,

It is a great idea to go with Aisin timing belt kit, instead if some aftermarket crap, at least it won't seize on you down the road.. The other thing is that if you are planning on replacing the timing belt, which you probably should if you are replacing the pump, it is a good idea to inspect the hydraulic tensioner, because if it is bad, you may as well check and/or replace your engine oil and filter.

Synthetic oil is what recommended for those engines, so you are good there. And speaking of oil sludge - it is not that as big of an issue as it was with 1MZ engines. Since you will be replacing valve cover gaskets, you will have a great access to assess how much gunk is in your engine, and if you need any cleaners.

If you still have original spark plugs, they are long overdue and should be replaced, those last about 80,000 miles (NGK claim 120,000 for Laser Iridium, which are twice the price). And speaking of wires - you have a 3MZ-FE engine, which has a coil-on-plug design, and it doesn't have high voltage wires that have to be replaced. The wires that you probably mean are from the first generation 1MZ-FE engine, which had only 3 coils and wasted spark system, hence why it required those wires for the rest 3 cylinders. It was discontinued in 1999-2000, when 1MZ-FE was redesigned, and received VVT-i system. So you don't have to worry about those.

About intake plenum gasket - it costs ~$8. For the amount of work that it takes to replace it, you would probably be better off replacing it when you have it all apart..

P.S. You need to understand that this is a kind of complicated project that may easily take a couple of days, so you should probably watch a few videos online, and waiting until weekends, don't jump on it right away.

Hope this helps and best of luck!

Romanova

Add a new OEM PCV, about $14 and easy to do. If you're draining coolant for the waterpump, I'd do new upper and lower hoses with clamps, OEM for these because they aren't that expensive. If the radiator hasn't been done, throw a new one in. A Denso is only $65 and make sure you do a new OEM cap also. I'd get a lot of Brake Clean and hose the engine down top and bottom and try to see where your leaks are coming from, though I suspect your valve cover gaskets are the main culprits.

All of this is straight forward and easy and OEM parts are pretty cheap for the ones where OEM would be your best bet...

Thinking some more, I'd replace the coils too, at least the three on the back side of the motor since you're going to have everything apart. Denso coils are $54 each. Your original ones are probably fine, but it's one of those 'while you're in there' sort of replacements...

mathslope

Genuine fluids for sure! I wonder if the Valvoline red for lexus vehicles is any good? I saw it at walmart the other day.

mathslope

Genuine coolant for sure! I wonder how good the valvoline red coolant for lexus vehicles is though? I saw it in walmart the other day.

mathslope

Didn't consider the PVC valve, i'll look into that! The hoses and radiator don't look too bad, so I'll stay away for now. Same goes for the coils, too expensive for now.

The Kit Includes: AISIN Water Pump, KOYO Idler Bearing, KOYO Tensioner Bearing, NTN Hydraulic Tensioner, Mitsuboshi Timing Belt

I knew I would need to change my timing belt soon for a couple of months, so I've watched a ton of videos / checked the torque specs for this project. The leaking water pump is the only thing that made me get ready for it now.

Are there any particular brands which are basically OE considering parts?

mathslope

While I'm in there, is there anyway to clean my fuel injectors? I know pepboys has a service but is there anyway to do it at home? I vaguely remember a video where someone removes their fuel injectors, soaks them in gasoline, and runs gasoline through them with a 9-volt battery. Could I do the same, but run seafoam through them?

Arsenii

It is good enough, but I would still recommend to stick with the OEM coolant, just to be safe.. Here is what I used.

That is probably what blew your valve cover gaskets in the first place.. Part Number is 12204-20060

That is pretty much all you need. Those are all Toyota OEM suppliers, so you are good there.

Didn't get the question.. Are you asking about OEM suppliers? DENSO for all the electronics, AISIN for all the mechanical stuff (transmission, water pumps, etc), KOYO for all the bearings, Mitsuboshi for all the belts.

It is not a great idea to clean fuel injectors, let alone do it at home like that, there is a strong chance that you may really damage them. Professional shops use ultrasound to clean those, and it is mostly a lottery. If those are bad, they need to be replaced. Some shops can test the spray pattern to determine if those are still good if you have any concerns regarding your injectors, so that would probably be your best bet.

Hope this helps and best of luck!

Romanova

Denso, Koyo, Mitsuboshi, Aisin... those are all OEM equivalent.

You're at $120 for the radiator and hoses. The plastic end tanks on the radiator are known to fail. With the cost of coolant and having to drain it anyways, I'd seriously add this to the 'while you're in there'...
GL!

BROCKES300

Hey,

I just did a very similar tune up on my 2000 ES300 with 300k I would drain and fill the transmission in addition to your current list. The spark plugs are probably original, at least in the back! The previous owner was ripped off by a local shop here in Missouri. They showed me a receipt for a change of all 6 plugs, but I took them out just to look... and they were in horrible shape with lots and lots of rust. The front three were brand new. I went on ahead and replaced all six with Densos. I also replaced all of my coils, but I got lucky. I found a 2004 Toyota Avalon with 73k in a local junk yard, each coil was $5... So I thought what the hell. Also be careful with the fuel injectors! I don't know if you have any experience with changing them, but when I attempted, I could not get them seated and sealed, fuel pored everywhere. Also unless one is dead, there is really no reason to address the injectors; at least in my case, I could not tell a difference in performance after 300k miles. Just BE CAREFUL! Also about the plenum gasket. The mechanic probably assumed you were going to remove the plenum to access the rear three plugs. It is not necessary to remove the plenum, but it makes the job 1000% times easier! If you do remove the plenum, I would recommend replacing it with a QUALITY new gasket. You DO NOT want a vacuum leak! Like previous people have stated. You need to take your time! These are all relatively involved projects. They have all taken me much longer than I had planned.

Best of luck!!!

Arsenii

Totally agree..
I just have a few comments to add - you won't have to drain and fill the transmission during the project that you've got planned, however, I would very much recommend to do it when you can, especially if it was never done before. And while you are in there, it is a great idea to replace the filter, just in case, so you won't have to go in there for another 100,000 or so miles..

Injectors die quite rarely, given that you have some good quality gasoline, and you replace your fuel filter on time. I mean, you will know if those go out. So if they are working, you don't have to address them. Speaking of the fuel filter, maybe you should check it..

Even if you can replace spark plugs without taking off the intake plenum, you will still have to do that to replace your valve cover gaskets, so for its price, it is still a great idea to replace it while you are in there.

P.S. That is some great list we collected there.. But you have to remember that you don't have to do it all at once. Just replace the stuff that you will have disassembled, and only then move on, so you won't break the bank..

Hope this helps and best of luck!

mathslope

All great ideas, and I especially like the idea of doing it over time as not to break the bank! Not sure how to check the fuel filter though. Wouldn't that be inside the fuel tank? I checked out lexuspartsnow and their shipping is killer! For the plenum gasket, drainplug gasket, and PVC valve: $20.82; shipping is $20.02!! I can't find a suitable oem plenum gasket elsewhere. I don't have time to check junkyards unfortunately, even though it seems like a great experience at the very least.

Not touching the fuel injectors then!

I will attempt the repair this weekend and will let everyone know how it goes!

BROCKES300

Hey,
The fuel filter is just under the air intake box. It is EXTREMELY easy to replace. Took me 20 minutes...tops.

Hope this helps!

Arsenii

Yeah, that website is a bit deceiving..
But the good thing is that you don't have to to buy everything from there, you have eBay with mostly free shipping. Here are the parts that you listed:

• Intake Plenum Gasket
• PCV Valve
• Fuel Filter
• Transmission Drain Plug Gasket
• Engine Drain Plug Gasket

About the fuel filter - it was right under the air box in the 3rd gen ES300, yet in the 4th gen, they indeed moved it into the fuel tank. Yes, it sucks, but it worth every penny to replace it, especially if it is still original.

Hope this helps and best of luck with your repairs!