How Do I Swap The Motor On My 00 Rx300?

[Mike in PDX 00 RX300]

It appears my engine is done. 150k miles. Labor to R&R is $1500. I found a used long block with 80k for $2350. I remember seeing instructions somewhere on swapping the motor from the topout but cannot locate them. Any help to a link would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[lenore]

I just helped the neighbor with a highlander do this. However I want you to know the highlander has better access. The wiper motor tray on the RX hangs way over the engine. You will absolutely have to remove it to pull the engine from the top...I would suggest getting a Haynes or factory manual but they are going to tell you to remove the engine from the bottom... The worst thing was gettiing the bracket bolts off the intake manifold between the firewall and manifold. It is a 14mm bolt. Look for replacing Knock sensors on this and the CL forum. Removing the bolts from the torque converter to starter flywheel was easy as there is an access hole under the transmission between the engine and tranny. You have a lot of wire harness connections which you will have to mark very carefully. The exhaust will have to be removed front and back as well as the radiator...If it is AWD the axle shafts will also have to be removed. I have a lot of pictures of the highlander removeal and engine compartment, the Lexus has some components located in different areas, however both are very similiar. here is a good start by the procedure for removing the Knocks sensor, it explains the removeal of the intake manifold which you will have to do. We used bolt through the original brackets support the intake for lifting the engine.....one last question is the engine sludged? If so it has a 8year120day warranty from LEXUS unlimited mileage.

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...l=knock+sensors

[code58]

It appears my engine is done. 150k miles. Labor to R&R is $1500. I found a used long block with 80k for $2350. I remember seeing instructions somewhere on swapping the motor from the topout but cannot locate them. Any help to a link would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

What does it run for a rebuilt long block? An engine can be in good shape at 80k or bad shape at 30k but I would really have to be convinced that an 80k mi engine was in very nice shape to pay that kind of money for it. If you're going to keep the car I'd definitely look into rebuilt by a reputable rebuilder for a little more money. I would not be putting $1500. into installing a used engine with 80k only to find out it had to come back out. Good Luck!

[code58]

I just helped the neighbor with a highlander do this. However I want you to know the highlander has better access. The wiper motor tray on the RX hangs way over the engine. You will absolutely have to remove it to pull the engine from the top...I would suggest getting a Haynes or factory manual but they are going to tell you to remove the engine from the bottom... The worst thing was gettiing the bracket bolts off the intake manifold between the firewall and manifold. It is a 14mm bolt. Look for replacing Knock sensors on this and the CL forum. Removing the bolts from the torque converter to starter flywheel was easy as there is an access hole under the transmission between the engine and tranny. You have a lot of wire harness connections which you will have to mark very carefully. The exhaust will have to be removed front and back as well as the radiator...If it is AWD the axle shafts will also have to be removed. I have a lot of pictures of the highlander removeal and engine compartment, the Lexus has some components located in different areas, however both are very similiar. here is a good start by the procedure for removing the Knocks sensor, it explains the removeal of the intake manifold which you will have to do. We used bolt through the original brackets support the intake for lifting the engine.....one last question is the engine sludged? If so it has a 8year120day warranty from LEXUS unlimited mileage.

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...l=knock+sensors

Lenore, that is one clean looking engine (on the outside, not the inside! LOL)

[lenore]

Yea, very clean, but also very sludged inside. I have pictures. The inside was even after a supposedly engine cleaning by some mechanic that I am afraid hosed my neighbor. Charged him $250 to desludge, but it didnt work. The bottom end of the engine was a disaster. 52k miles on it.

By the way He ordered a long block, but it did not have the proper holes for the motor mounts for the highlander. Probably would have fit my Lexus fine as the mounts are different on the two vehicles. So he ended up rebuilding the original engine for $1600 total...Took his time and I helped when necessary. It is now running and started on the first shot. He did a great job.

By the way his long block cost around $3600, but like I said wrong drillings, so back it went....

[code58]

Yea, very clean, but also very sludged inside. I have pictures. The inside was even after a supposedly engine cleaning by some mechanic that I am afraid hosed my neighbor. Charged him $250 to desludge, but it didnt work. The bottom end of the engine was a disaster. 52k miles on it.

By the way He ordered a long block, but it did not have the proper holes for the motor mounts for the highlander. Probably would have fit my Lexus fine as the mounts are different on the two vehicles. So he ended up rebuilding the original engine for $1600 total...Took his time and I helped when necessary. It is now running and started on the first shot. He did a great job.

By the way his long block cost around $3600, but like I said wrong drillings, so back it went....

Hi Lenore- I trust he will be using full synthetic from now on. You know me, I'm a curious soul, always wanting to learn and I'm still scratching my head over this whole oil and sludge issue. I think you know what I mean. Did he (the 2 of you) do the rebuild all on your own, meaning just have whatever machine shop work that needed to be done and did the entire remaining on your own. As in full assy. of the short block or did you (he) have the machine shop do that assy.?

I just replaced the water pump, idler and tension pulleys and a new timing belt on my DIL's RX a couple of days ago. Why, you ask? I'll explain in a short while (as soon as I get a little bit of time), for those that are eager to learn as I am. My brother just passed away yesterday morning after a short illness. He was also one who was always eager to learn. I mourn the loss of all the knowledge that he took with him. He was also one who did a lot of reading and always went to technical sources to get the facts- had no use for old wives tales, as I don't.

Till later, Roger

[lenore]

First, Roger sorry for your loss. I dont have siblings, but I just loss a close friend of 30 years and it was disturbing, a part of me went with him.

As for the neighbors engine, yep, I suggested a machine shop that I had work done with satisfaction, and we assembled everything except for the valves, he had the shop R and R the head, but we put the cams in etc. The block end was real interesting as I have never done an engine with aluminum block. Toyota did a real nice job of making it strong. We put in new oil pump, rings, bearings, etc. The cylinders only had to be honed as they had no wear. The machine shop did the usual checks and cleaning. My neighbor took his time and rechecked everything when he doubted himself. I oversaw everything and added my experience and hands when needed. We installed all new idlers and tensioner with timing belt so now I am trained to do it on mine. I have done Honda timing belts, but not the Lexus one. Real simple and the belt markings make it a snap as long as you line up all the timing marks. My neighbor actually kind of enjoyed the experience and now can say he rebuilt an engine and was successful. I like people that venture out and are willing to try anything. Yes he will switch to synthetic when the breakin period is up, I sold him on it and he doesnt want a repeat, especially at 50k miles......Have a great evening.

[BillyShaft]

Roger,

Sorry about your loss man...sounds like your project will be missing his knowledge as well :(

Good Luck with your rebuild.

lenore, you say you guys will be breaking in with dino and then switching to synth? I have been reading a lot recently about differences on the two and the need for break-in with a particular type is hotly debated (what else is new?). :) Interested in your perspective.

[code58]

First, Roger sorry for your loss. I dont have siblings, but I just loss a close friend of 30 years and it was disturbing, a part of me went with him.

As for the neighbors engine, yep, I suggested a machine shop that I had work done with satisfaction, and we assembled everything except for the valves, he had the shop R and R the head, but we put the cams in etc. The block end was real interesting as I have never done an engine with aluminum block. Toyota did a real nice job of making it strong. We put in new oil pump, rings, bearings, etc. The cylinders only had to be honed as they had no wear. The machine shop did the usual checks and cleaning. My neighbor took his time and rechecked everything when he doubted himself. I oversaw everything and added my experience and hands when needed. We installed all new idlers and tensioner with timing belt so now I am trained to do it on mine. I have done Honda timing belts, but not the Lexus one. Real simple and the belt markings make it a snap as long as you line up all the timing marks. My neighbor actually kind of enjoyed the experience and now can say he rebuilt an engine and was successful. I like people that venture out and are willing to try anything. Yes he will switch to synthetic when the breakin period is up, I sold him on it and he doesnt want a repeat, especially at 50k miles......Have a great evening.

Interesting thing about today's aluminum blocks, Lenore. I worked at a Chevy dealership back in the '70's when the Vega was around. The engine (whole car) had a bad rep. but I can tell you for a fact that I have seen the inside of those things with 90-100k mi. and the rings were worn out but the cylinders had 0 ring groove. That aluminum simply didn't wear. I know they used a coating that was supposed to be 20 thousands thick but I don't think the aluminum alloys that they have today wear any where near what the cast iron did.

Glad to hear that things went as well as they did with your neighbors car. Always encouraging to turn the key after an overhaul and have it fire immediately. Sounds like you both learned from it.

[lenore]

The 1MZE motor of course has steel sleeves, so unlike the Vega the auto industry learned a lot. As for break in oil we just followed the books and machine shop recommendations...

[BillyShaft]

Is that based on seating rings?

[lenore]

they still dont want any detergents in the oil.....and yes for seating the rings. The cylinders were honed and new rings installed.....lets not get into a debate on this, its done and will be synthetic soon. by the way after seeing every crevice and passage way on that engine I can see where oil would collect and bake. Lots of tall ridges and passages which appear OK, but not exactly sure why the sludge. Please note that the PCV was completely clogged and that could have built up a lot of pressure....

[BillyShaft]

they still dont want any detergents in the oil.....and yes for seating the rings. The cylinders were honed and new rings installed.....lets not get into a debate on this, its done and will be synthetic soon. by the way after seeing every crevice and passage way on that engine I can see where oil would collect and bake. Lots of tall ridges and passages which appear OK, but not exactly sure why the sludge. Please note that the PCV was completely clogged and that could have built up a lot of pressure....

Just garning info...I am assuming that you have done your typical thorough research on the proper break-in procedures and I am interested in what you guys have figured out.

I have not heard of a home-spun rebuild on a vehicle of this type. Not a typical event I don't think. Frankly people who drive these types of cars have not been the shade-tree types who bravely tear into that beast and rebuild it(look at that pile o' parts back there in the first pic!)...I am glad to see it! :)

I have not built a motor in years, one a 307 that I put in an ElCamino and another a 350 that I built for my 79 Camaro. If I remember correctly we used a generic as possible non-detergent 30-weight or something for the break-in. It has been a lot of years... :(

Very interesting info on the passages and galleries. Wonder if the heat just bakes that oil into those narrow galleries, and is it just this vehicle? Just thinking out loud.

[lenore]

You know it has been happening to a lot of manufacturors. The newer engines run so hot for emissions and with the transverse engines with cooling on only one bank of the engine, I know the water and oil does most of the cooling, however air flow past the engine has to be helpful. We noticed that the firewall side of the Highlander engine was really bad with sludge (making my point) however it also has the PCV valve for whatever effect that has. I personally have rebuilt a Jaguar XKE (1969), Ford Mustang (1988), Mercedes Benz (1988) and now the highlander (2003) engines. so I have seen it done. The first three were mine and my families. It just takes attention to detail and mechanical apptitude. I am not a mechanic by trade, self taught, and used to race while in Spain....learned the hard way on British Cars. My training was in electronics (38years) but it teaches you troubleshooting, A skill a lot of folks dont have. I hope the original poster noted that yes the engine can be removed from the top as that is what started this thread. I have pictures from every conceivable angle of the 1MZE engine for future reference when we need them...

[BillyShaft]

Awesome info.

Am I understanding that the water jacket is only on the forward (front of vehicle) bank and that the firewall side has no water jacket? If so, I totally see what you are talking about with more build-up on the far side.

My background is in Electrical, Electronics and Nuclear engineering...no real formal mechanical training as such, but like you I have some good aptitude for it, and I enjoy it. Luckily on my engine builds, I had help of a couple Navy Master Chief Machinists helping me out and drinking all my beer. :D

Was your XKE build a 12 cyl?

[code58]

Awesome info.

Am I understanding that the water jacket is only on the forward (front of vehicle) bank and that the firewall side has no water jacket? If so, I totally see what you are talking about with more build-up on the far side.

My background is in Electrical, Electronics and Nuclear engineering...no real formal mechanical training as such, but like you I have some good aptitude for it, and I enjoy it. Luckily on my engine builds, I had help of a couple Navy Master Chief Machinists helping me out and drinking all my beer. :D

Was your XKE build a 12 cyl?

BS- (Sorry, I hesitate to write that but i generally abbreviate the name in addressing). I believe what Lenore was referring to was not that it doesn't have a water jacket in the rear bank but rather that it just doesn't get the same air for cooling back there. Don't think it would last long without a water jacket. Even the V-8's that have equal cooling on both side from air flow have more problems with the rear cylinders running hotter because they don't get the air cooling that the front do.

[BillyShaft]

Gotcha.

Been awhile since I have done any heavy-lifting style maintenance like you guys are doing...nothing would surprise me really :)

[code58]

The 1MZE motor of course has steel sleeves, so unlike the Vega the auto industry learned a lot. As for break in oil we just followed the books and machine shop recommendations...

Lenore- I am wondering why they use steel sleeves. I realize there are a lot of aluminum engines today and I have no idea how many of them use steel sleeves. I'm curious because the art of alloys in all metals today have produced aluminum that is actually stronger than steel. It seems like it would be more cost effective not to use sleeves because of the cost of the sleeves and the installation. Aluminum has so much greater expansion and contraction than steel that it seems there would be problems with keeping the expansion and contraction closely enough coordinated between the 2 different metals for it not to be a problem. As I said, the vega engines I saw were proof that they can produce an aluminum cylinder that doesn't wear. Of course I don't imagine those sleeves are cast iron, are they?

[code58]

You know it has been happening to a lot of manufacturors. The newer engines run so hot for emissions and with the transverse engines with cooling on only one bank of the engine, I know the water and oil does most of the cooling, however air flow past the engine has to be helpful. We noticed that the firewall side of the Highlander engine was really bad with sludge (making my point) however it also has the PCV valve for whatever effect that has. I personally have rebuilt a Jaguar XKE (1969), Ford Mustang (1988), Mercedes Benz (1988) and now the highlander (2003) engines. so I have seen it done. The first three were mine and my families. It just takes attention to detail and mechanical apptitude. I am not a mechanic by trade, self taught, and used to race while in Spain....learned the hard way on British Cars. My training was in electronics (38years) but it teaches you troubleshooting, A skill a lot of folks dont have. I hope the original poster noted that yes the engine can be removed from the top as that is what started this thread. I have pictures from every conceivable angle of the 1MZE engine for future reference when we need them...

Lenore, I have contended from the beginning, after replacing my DIL's rear main seal and seeing the rock hardness of it that the rear main seal was not so much the problem as how hot the whole interior of this engine ran and especially the crankcase. I feel they only came up with a material that would withstand the heat better, rather than change the design, which didn't seem to be different than the original. There are people that don't realize even today that the primary reason for running them so hot is to reduce emissions by burning the fuel more completely. How often did you hear of oil sludging or gelling 25 yrs ago, and the oils weren't near as good as they are today? I believe it is primarily because of the high internal temps..

[lenore]

Awesome info.

Am I understanding that the water jacket is only on the forward (front of vehicle) bank and that the firewall side has no water jacket? If so, I totally see what you are talking about with more build-up on the far side.

My background is in Electrical, Electronics and Nuclear engineering...no real formal mechanical training as such, but like you I have some good aptitude for it, and I enjoy it. Luckily on my engine builds, I had help of a couple Navy Master Chief Machinists helping me out and drinking all my beer. :D

Was your XKE build a 12 cyl?

No it was the 4.2liter straight six. Very heavy engine even though the head was aluminum. No the water jacket is on both sides, I am just saying the cooling affect of taking hot air away from the engine is limited on the firewall side of the engine. I am ex Navy, Went to ETA school and lots of other C schools. All in electronics. however in a different era, We still had some Vacuum tubes, IC technology was at the end of my six years, though we had it in our equipment. Another thought the Jaguars didnt have the 12 until later, in 1969 was still the old six

[smooth1]

The 1MZE motor of course has steel sleeves, so unlike the Vega the auto industry learned a lot. As for break in oil we just followed the books and machine shop recommendations...

I'm kinda confused here. The 1MZFE? those aren't grey cast iron sleeves? cast pistons and forged connectors?

When we refer to the Vega, Camaros, Vettes of the old, I think we should just call those the "learning" years. LOL!!

And as for your break in, that's exactly correct. Dino to break in, synthetics to run the life after that.

Even in the 2JZ's, I've seen 3 or 4 motors blown and it was always cylinder number 6. These motors were turbo's and heavily modded though. So we try to set the fuel trims a bit richer on that cylinder to make it last longer.

[lenore]

The 1MZE motor of course has steel sleeves, so unlike the Vega the auto industry learned a lot. As for break in oil we just followed the books and machine shop recommendations...

I'm kinda confused here. The 1MZFE? those aren't grey cast iron sleeves? cast pistons and forged connectors?

When we refer to the Vega, Camaros, Vettes of the old, I think we should just call those the "learning" years. LOL!!

And as for your break in, that's exactly correct. Dino to break in, synthetics to run the life after that.

Even in the 2JZ's, I've seen 3 or 4 motors blown and it was always cylinder number 6. These motors were turbo's and heavily modded though. So we try to set the fuel trims a bit richer on that cylinder to make it last longer.

You know, the sleeves could have been cast, I was just referring to the fact that the cylinder walls were not aluminum....