alsalih

Yes that's what I'm talking about the timing belt idler bearing which is installed with the hex head bolt. I just looked in my manual and they call it out as the #1 idler pulley (the tensioner pushes against it). Anyway, it does have a spacer between the assembly and the block. Although the guides given on several Lexus sites are good I would NOT recommend anyone use them instead of a manual. There are simply too many details missing. For example that Hex head bolt that holds this bearing is to be installed with the blue medium strength loctite to keep it from coming loose. Let us know what you find.

Be carefull there are two different things here. First, the bearing that causes the play in the fan is on the fan bracket (the complete bracket assy which the clutch fan mounts to and cost almost $200). This has the bearing that wears. I recommend you remove the clutch fan assy and make sure you know where the looseness or play is coming from otherwise you'll be wasting your money buying a clutch and not solving your problem.

I just did this job a month ago and this sounds like the washer (spacer) that goes behind the timing belt tensioner pulley. If your sure you put that in then the only other place such a washer goes is on the drive belt idler pulley. You need to find where it goes before you start the car don't ignore it!!

Sensor is behind crank shaft pulley (harmonic balancer) attached at an angle with a connector plugged into it. I don't have the book with me but there is a resistance value (Ohm reading) that you should get, it's not an open/or close continutity check.

Glad that you have it home know. No spark and yet it cranks is a strong indication of a bad crankshat position sensor as obergc mentioned. I really doubt your belt slipped, use an ohm meter and check the CPS and the connector going to it which is known to cause just such a problem in the past. I've heared of the wires breaking near or at the connector. Check this out before you do a TB/water pump! Let's us know what you find.

nc211, sealant is no longer used on the water pump installation (the original pump on my 98 didn't have it) instead Lexus is now usnig a steel sheet gasket which has a rubber inside edge that acts as the gasket. This I believe is supposed to make it easier to remove and replace the pump and you don't have to wait for sealant to cure. I personally don't like them becuse I have seen two of these gaskets leak (one being on my car). I added a light layer of sealant on mine when I replaced the pump. Based on the pictures your showing this is definitly coolant. Look at how it's drying underneath leaving a whitish residue, only coolant will do that I have not seen ATF fluid dry this way plus it's coming from your water pump leak inspection hole. I hate to say this but your looking at another water pump job. Make sure you have them add a coat of sealant in addition to the gasket this time believe me it's cheap insurance.

Ok guys this needs to end. Real simple, does anyone out there have the Lexus factory service manual for either the 95, 96, or 97 model. Please look in the engine mechanical section where it has the procedure for replacing the timing belt and see if it notes (as mine does for the 98) to turn the crankshaft pulley 50 deg clockwise before removing the belt and in addition underneath it will be a NOTICE which mentions that if this is not done the piston head and valve head can make contact! This is best way to resolve this once and for all. Can someone please look this up and let us know.

I would get a Dremel with a fiber cut-off wheel and cut it off. It's saved me many times before. Make sure to wear safety glasses!!

I'm not sure how the 91 is setup but my 98 has a second cover under the tranny which has a flex-plate as you noted. I should mention that I was not doing this to remove the cam pulley, only to get at the larger crank bolt. For the cam pulley bolt you can possibly try using a chain wrench you wrap around the cam pulley, but you would need to put an old belt around it first to not damage it. I'm not certain with how the camshaft looks on the 91 model but if it's like most cars out there then you will have a flat area on the camshaft which you could use to hold the camshaft with an open end wrench (yes you would need to remove the valve cover to see this) in order to remove the pulley bolt.

I just completed this last week. I jammed the end of a hard plastic screwdriver into one of the fly wheel holes and it worked great for both removal and installation of the crank bolt. By the way you will find that Haynes actually recommends this method too for many vehicles.

Take a look at www.autohausaz.com they sell Mountain brand rotors which do have the screw holes and they're $83 ea, free shipping and no tax. Mountain is a Japanese manufacturer and they make excellent rotors. Also take a look at www.nopionline.com they sell the Brembo rotors which also have the holes for $58 (I think these are made in Mexico).

I'm pretty sure the rear caliper bolt is only 20 ft-lbs. Be carefull with this one as it's tapped into the caliper bracket and if you strip the threads then your looking at a new caliper bracket for $80. Also, make sure you remove and lubricate the slide pins with the right brake grease.

You know, don't you just hate that this kind of thing only seems to occur when you're on the road. I had the exact same thing occur to me during a road trip where my car started missing after a fill up. Mine wasn't this bad and it eventually cleared up after a couple of fill ups. Based on what your saying that it happened after the fill up I think you got some bad fuel, possibly water contaminated. Try getting the codes read if that's possible just to make sure. Also, for me a car that misses at idle but otherwise drives fine is normally caused by a worn or broken distributor rotor or the distributor cap is cracked. Don't rush into tearing the car apart yet, and I highly doubt that you have plugged injectors! Let us know what happens or if you get the codes.

Come on guys let's recommend the "proper" way to break the crank bolt loose. Although many have resorted to using the starter to help break it loose it just doesn't seem right. The best way to do this is to remove the fly wheel access cover (small access cover between engine to transmission interface), insert a wooden or plastic screwdriver handle (or anything non metallic) into one of the fly wheel holes to keep it from turning and then simply loosen the bolt with a good size breaker (I use a 3/4" breaker bar with pipe attached at the end instead of 1/2" breaker). This will work on just about any vehicle you have.

You might want to look at www.autohausaz.com for common parts like timing belt idler and tensioner bearings as they are the OEM make (Koyo or NSK) bearings but they are much cheaper then anywhere else(FYI, I have no affiliation with this site). However, the water pump and timing belt I would only buy from the dealer as these to me are critical components and you don't want to risk buying a timing belt that's been sitting on a shelf for two years. Also, another site I like is www.drivewire.com. Like Swordfish noted, you most likely could use new bearings for the accessory belt idler and tensioner pulley and you might also carefully inspect the condition of the bearing for the clutch fan mount bracket.

threadcutter, thanks for the heads up. I have the factory manual and it does note to rotate the crank pulley some 45 degrees from TDC to avoid this accidental impact during replacement. I just received the parts today so I'll let you guys know how it went next week.

777, you said that you did the timing belt and pulley but did you also replace the water pump?? I recently developed this exact sound your describing and it occurs under the same conditions and I've traced mine to a the water pump bearing (no leak currently). It's the original pump at 112K miles on my 98 so I went ahead and ordered the parts to replace it myself this weekend. If all goes well this weekend I'll let you know next week if in fact that resolved my noise.

Baja, I also have a 98 LS but with only 112K miles on it and I just replaced my three mounts myself. First, I should mention that the transmission mount was the easiest to replace and was in the worst condition of all. Second, the front right mount (passenger side) had compressed almost 0.5 inch but was otherwise intact. The front left had also collapsed 0.5 inch, but in addition it had also nearly completely separated at the top. I imagine at your mileage if you have the cash to spend to replace them then do it, it does make a huge difference! Now here is the problem, an independent shop in my area will replace all three, parts and labor for $600, believe me that's not too much it is worth every penny to have it done for you. I don't know if the pre 98 models were much different in this area, but I did read Bob's excellent write up and I do consider myself above average skilled as I have done many wheel bearing jobs, timing belts, timing chains, pinion bearings, you name it, yet this was one job I wouldn't touch again. It really kicked my behind trying to get the front mounts out and all the stuff I had to disconnect and remove is simply not worth my time.

sha4000, does this only occur when your at idle? It’s clearly a low power supply issue which could occur at idle if your battery is old (over 2 years) and/or if your alternator is intermittently working (which is what happened with mine). The only way that I was able to find my intermittently faulty alternator (occurred at 108K miles) was because I had a lighter plug in alternator checking device which indicated a weak alternator output (simply verifies if your alternator is outputting the required +14V or not).

thieaux, your lack of power and the low idle issues have to be related. This issue is most likely something basic yet critical. Are your spark plugs new and are they OEM NGK or Denso (I sure hope they're not Bosch). Second, are the ignition wires within specs, the distributor cap and rotor? Is the engine cutting when it gets to 4500 RPM or anytime during the full throttle acceleration, if so then you a weak or faulty ignition coil. The fact that your idling slow indicates one or more cylinders is not firing. The other thing you can quickly check is the fuel injectors, use a pipe or mechanics stethoscope and listen for the injector click at each one. Let us know what you find.

Rebuilt alternators are not all the same, they can have numerous differences. Some will only repair the faulty part of a unit and sell it as rebuilt while others such as Denso will actually completely replace nearly everything inside regardless if it's working or not. I've had terrible experience with any rebuilt component from Autozone, so based on my experience I would not recommend them (even if they give you a lifetime warranty). If you want the best rebuilt unit then definitely get the Denso rebuilt (about $200). This is the same unit that the dealer is trying to sell you for $489 (ask to see it if you don't believe me). Also, search the forum as there has been much discussion on this before.

I agree with mehullica, my vibration went away with the replacement of the transmission and engine mounts (or at least it was isolated enough to where I couldn't notice it anymore).

Micky, I don't mean to be rude, but brakes are a critical component as you well know and if your not sure about which is the bleed screw then I highly recommend that you either get the manual and read up, have someone who has done this help you during the procedure, or have it done somewhere. This procedure can be done by yourself but it's much easier and quicker to have someone there to pump the brake before you open and close the bleed screw.

FYI, the cheapeast Denso rebuilt alternator I found was at sparkplugs.com, you DON'T need to return the core and shipping charge is minimal. nc211, from reading your other post it sure does sound like you need one too!

Glad to hear that, and thanks a bunch for the update I've noticed too many times that people will not follow up after they fixed something leaving us all in the dark!