Given that the LS isn't known for starter issues, I wouldn't change it either. And, a replacement starter, even a Denso, may not be as good as your OEM with 110K on it. I have 265K+ miles on my '01 with OEM starter.

 

The one and only pic of the tops of pistons was not a leaking side. I would have liked to see the gaskets.
What did the shop say that cut the heads? Does coolant go in and around anything else in those engines? Like the old gen 1's the idle air control has coolant in it.

 

The gaskets are mls construction so finding a leak is hard. By the time the head is off there is residual water and oil on the gaskets. They fit tight to the dowel pins on the block so the layers separate when it is pulled. I know with a composition gasket the leak is evident.

 

Got the fuel injectors cleaned up and put the new seals on. There are 4 seals on each one.



Here's what's left of the small seals in my gasket set. The only ones I can't identify are the two round two-tone black/brown ones in the top of the box. Maybe extras?

 

That center one is the throttle body I believe.

 

It is. The ones I can't identify are above it. They are stacked on each other.

 

Maybe cam seals or something along those lines? Or was that upper / lower main seal. I can't remember the term.

 

I am now convinced that these seals are not for the 3uz.



Maybe they are for a 1uz so the same kit covers more engines. The kit I got was quite complete and included almost everything from the head gaskets on up. The only seals not including were the o-rings for the oil control valves and the vvt sensors. I ordered the ones for the oil control valves but the vvt ones are not listed separately.

 

Did you have to remove any air conditioning lines? Those seals look like they belong on an air conditioning system - some systems use seals like that rather than the traditional O ring, style. Looks like seals that would go to the compressor or condenser. Just my two cents.

 

I cleaned the upper and lower intakes with some plastic brushes, scotch brite pads, and a few cans of brake cleaner. I cut the scotch brite into 1" squares so I could get down into the ports. Installed a new gasket between the upper and lower and torqued all the bolts/nuts to 13 lb/ft. Lubed the injector o-rings with oil (fsm said to use gas) and installed the fuel rails and pulsation dampers with the feed tube.



My next step is to clean the valve covers and install new spark plug tube seals. Then it's on to cleaning the heads and reinstalling them. I ordered new oxygen sensors to install before the heads go back on. The heads are removed and installed with the exhaust manifolds bolted to them.

 

Thank you for the excellent write-up. I learned a lot, especially about the high RPM manifold bypass. That's some cool engineering.

 

Here is another pic showing the parts that make up the active intake.


Shown is the vacuum actuator that is connected to the butterflies in the upper intake. It is operated by the black vacuum tank in the top of the pic (front underside of lower intake).

 

I've been out of commission lately due to the flu, work, etc.
Got the heads cleaned up
Before

And after




Today I installed the passenger side head. Reassembly has begun. I hope to have it completed soon before it gets too hot. I also disassembled the exhaust cams and installed new seals
The head was installed with new Lexus head bolts.

 

if the starter on the 2UZ is anything like the one on the 1UZ, it is going to fail, and it is going to be hell to get back to. id just replace it now while youre in there

 

Been a while since I updated. The car is running perfect again. I must admit I was a little nervous before I turned the key for the first time. Only issue was a vvt code because I forgot to plug it in. Those seals in the above pics that I couldn't identify go right behind the the 19mm bolt in the center of the timing tubes on the exhaust cams. I found them while replacing the cam seals.
I did end up replacing a few hoses due to them being brittle. They included the pcv, a few in the fuel vapor system, and the long hose from the power steering to the top of the intake. Instead of paying $130+ from Lexus for all of them I just made them from bulk vacuum/emission hose.