Acidic

iTrader: (1)

Good luck! I too have worked in IT in both the programming side and in administration (in finance now) and the training helps but I still find myself "troubleshooting" with 0 knowledge and coming to conclusions that are way off when it comes to cars. I usually pay to diagnose and fix it myself... Wish me luck too as I dive into my Tbelt next weekend!

5ofakind

All I can say is follow the instructions in the factory shop manual exactly as outlined....if you guys are in "IT"....then you know the importance of reading technical & user guide manuals......cars are no different......the best money you will ever spend is for a set of factory shop manuals for your specific year, make & model....

Trust me......mine have save me thousands over the years.......

Try Ebay or the dealer for a set of manuals.....in the end you will be happier rather than throwing parts at a job with little start up knowledge.....

5ofakind.....

3UZFTE

Follow the tutorials and you will be just fine. If you have any issues, then just shout.

thood341

Question? I have the tensioner removed and need to reinstall. My neighbor is not home yet and he used a vise to put press the rod back in. Any other way to do that? Can I just let the bolts do the same? I don't have a bench press at the moment but will buy one just for home use.

here are some photos of where I am so far...

http://picasaweb.google.com/thood341...eat=directlink

Using a PDF copy of the service manual for re-install this time.
Verified TDC prior to removal of parts
obtained pics of where timing belt marks before removal
Verified shaft gear was align with mark
reinstalled new Lexus Timing belt (old belt is Gates)

Right now I am oh hold because I want to press the pin on the tensioner. Last time - I just force it to install without pressing the pin...but the risk of that is messing up the threads on the block. I may just run out to HomeDepot and buy one. Neighbor is out playing golf today...it a nice sunny 68 degree day here in Memphis, TN.

thood341

all right...back from spending the day installing the new Lexus belt and verifying the timing settings...and DANG....still have the exact same problem. Cylinder 1,5,& 8 are firing and the others are not. I didn't replace the new distrib caps or rotors. I installed new spark plugs just to be sure things are firing.

Will try the new distribs tomorrow with rotors
This is crazy !!!

please let me know (from the pics) if I am not setting the crank correctly.

I can't see what else I am doing wrong. Got discouraged at 8pm..and decided to call it a night...so I didn't check to see if any other codes.

Thanks for all the interchange. I don't have any manuals cause its really not "my" car. May just down load "something" from ALLDATA. My neighbor gave me the printout for timing install from ALLDATA. Same as what I already had.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

only 3/8 cylinders are firing?

very weird, if it was just one whole bank i'd point to an ignitor.

Acidic

iTrader: (1)

Again, troubleshoot the problem and fix it. You prob have a "new" part that is broken. I've had that happen to me, I did plugs/wires for a friend and one of the spark plugs was bad. I tried over and over to get the firing order right etc but it kept running like crap. He drove it home like that against my advice and destroyed his cats... when he took it to the garage they said on of the plugs wasn't firing (ie manufacturer defect). Anyways just troubleshoot and fix...

5ofakind

With only 3/8 cylinders firing.....I would make sure your firing order is correct.......are you 100% correct on the firing order ???

5

thood341

Yes, I have checked that several times. It wasn't my first thought, but it was high on the list of things to chk. Had been using the timing belt guide which has it.

thood341

Acidic - I have taken your advice! Dropped it off this morning at the shop - let them see what's wrong.

5ofakind

thood341

Any update from the shop... I am curious as to the outcome & what they found out to be the problem ????

thood341

No word yet. Dropped the car off on Monday morning. Darn thing wouldn't start .. so I had to tow it with my truck. Weird started all day Sunday. Anyway Monday evening checked back with the shop ( http://www.brianmasseyimports.com/ ) to check on status - and they hadn't started on it yet. It gave me a good opportunity to bring them up to speed on what I have done. Earlier that morning I email them a list of the things since Jan. perform and we discussed each of them in detail - and they were scratching their head also - because it "seemed" like I was doing all the right things. I am VERY curious as to the root cause of this problem as well. Not looking forward to the bill, but will be happy to get the car running again.

Will keep you posted.

BTW - I had found 1 or 2 other post here with the exact same problem...but no resolutions were ever posted.

thood341

I was with you until the "manhandled" part. That almost implies carelessness, but I'm sure that's not what you meant.

davo

Just read this tale of woe, really feel for you been there so many times.

I have an LS400 but it's been very kind to me and have not yet had to do the timing belt.

But this problem reminds me of one I had years ago with an L series engine in an old 6cyl Datsun it may not be relevant but here it is.

I had very similar problems to this, major misfires etc and it took a neighbor to point out that the rotors were spinning anticlockwise meaning that although I had checked the firing order many many times I had it the wrong way around.

Wasted hours on the problem but after reordered the plug leads it ran like a dream...

Davo

thood341

UPDATE:
Just came back from the shop - yes the car is still there. They had been scratching their heads all week trying to figure out all the problem(s). So here is a recap of what I understand they have performed.

1. when they first starting getting into the car I got a call - that I needed to return to the shop -- cause they had something to shop me before they went any further. when I got there, the sparkplug wires were cut on the LH side (passenger). Look like they were ripped apart. My initial thought was that I must have bunch them up, when I put all the covers back on - on Sunday afternoon. The car ran Sunday, but wouldn't start on Monday. These were $100 wires from O'Reilly that didn't fit well like the OEM. I still had the original OEM wires so I just went home to get them. The mechanic noticed the heater hose was missing, so they would fix that as well.

2. Checked on Wed. for status. Well, they still didn't know the exact problem yet. So they were going to pull a few more parts and validate the timing belt job - more investigation. They had checked the fuel injectors (passed) and "Leakdown" test or cylinder compression test (passed). Mentioned also that they were going to replace both coils to see if that is the problem

3. Checked today - Tried some other things all day Wednesday and 1/2 day Thursday. Owner then pulled the mechanic off my car to another Lexus timing belt job. So as of today, the car is running on 7 cylinders and they are having a hard timing finding why #7 is not firing. He didn't seem to think it was the ECU. One thing I was happy about - they are scratching their head also !!!!! Now I don't feel so bad - on one hand - on the other - I'm paying these guy's and I "expect" them to know the answers.

I am wondering now, if the whole reason for me buying new wires was that I thought I had a bad wire in the OEM bunch. Hopefully, they re-tested the wires to make sure. Naw, that can't be the answer - these guys are pro's.

Shop is closed on weekends, so they are suppose to get the mechanic back on the car Monday.

BTW - they were able to validate my timing belt job...and said "it was spot on"! Woo Hoooooooo!!! A small victory to me !!!

will keep you posted on saga