luccig

Yes, running perfect. Two days later, about 160 KM so far, nothing is out of the ordinary.

Everything went smooth once I got the next thing in order: - Crank at 50 degrees after TDC. I cannot stress enough the importance of this. It is NOT ONLY for not hitting the valves (some say that is not even a big issue, you can't have enough force to bend them, but I am not sure) BUT to be able to set the CAMS at 25 degrees each, on the "T" mark AND so they don't jump around easily when you pull and push the timing belt to put it on. - ORIGINAL Toyota belt. The stupid aftermarked I got from EBay is crap crap crap. Should I have insisted to use it, I'm sure my car would be garbage by now. - If one happened to move them out of whack with the timing belt OFF, like I did, make sure the crank is at TDC + 50. Use Randall nice suggestion, above, first spark plug off, long screwdriver on the whole, make sure you are at TDC (screwdriver comes down, i.e. your 1st cylinder just passed TDC). Ah, one more thing, when I disassembled the idler pully assembly, the one with the hydraulic motor on it, I could have not done it without unbolting the AC Compressor first. A big bolt on the side and one behind the OIL filter.

Yeah, the funny thing is initially I put them at 50, marked with markers the old belt, took it off, counted teeth a few times, marked the new one, etc. etc. What I did not know then is the TDC + 50 mark in the photo below

Randall, you're a life saver. This piece of info did it for me: "Once you determine TDC, you want to rotate the crank approx. 50 degrees more. Then leave it there and work on the cams." BTW, TDC at 50 degrees is crank pulley white mark at the indented dot on the black mask (the one inscribed with the 10,0, etc. It has a white dot, a protuberance, at exactly 50 degrees). Once I left it at 50, I was able to rotate the cams, nice and slow, back to their marks. Now tomorrow I'm getting the Lexus belt and setting it up. Thank you! I can go to sleep happy now

Yes, and I'm working on it right now.. The problem I have is the marks on the Cams (both of them) are about 120 degrees away from where they should be.. not sure how the heck I managed to get them there. And when pulling them back they go for a while then stop on something and refuse to go farther. I thought about pulling them little by little, alternatively, but so far no luck. They don't get all the way back to the mark, this is the current problem at hand..

Yeah, to my shame, I have ordered a timing kit off Ebay since in Canada you can only buy them from a dealer who marks them up like crazy. Timing belt brand: ITM No marks. I made marks on it based on the old timing belt which I marked before removing, counted teeth and marked the new belt. Yes, replaced the water pump, same stupid brand ITM. I did replace the idler pulley on the left, the fixed one, but the tensioner one I did not, since the old one is running OK but the stupid new one gets stuck when the tensioner pushed it in. I am so mad that I've ordered and waited two weeks for this things to be shipped to Toronto. However, now that I am stuck, I have called a dealer and ordered a timing belt. They did not have the water pump on stock, otherwise I think I would have coughed up the 500 bucks they quoted me for. (On this note, I ordered Sewell parts before from US, but now they don't ship to Canada anymore, I guess they were pushed by the dealers agreements to stop shipping overseas.)

This is exactly what happened to me too.. http://www.toymods.org.au/forums/tech-conversions/71520-1uz-timing-belt-change-marks-always-out.html Not sure if I'm allowed to post links here, so please forgive me if I'm not.. here's what the guy said and it happes that was exactly my situation: "I set the crank to TDC, then rotated the camshafts so the little grove on the inner section of each cam gear is dead straight with the marks on the back. Put the belt on plenty of times, released the tensioner and span engine around twice, when at TDC again the groves on the cam gears do not align where they were previously by about a tooth length. If I then spin the motor until the marks on the cam gears do align to the backing plate marks, then when i eventually put the timing cover back on to check how much it's off by, off by about 7 degrees or so. I've put the belt on and off about 5 times and still the same thing happens, I got no idea if I'm leaving too much slack somewhere in the belt but I can't get the belt on any other way I've always made sure nothing spins while putting the belt on." And that's how he said he solved it: "Ended up getting it right, I set the cams off one tooth before putting the belt on, and when I put it on turned engine around twice everything lined up" And some other guy had the same issue.. "had the same drama the other day when i did a 1uz it think it was because of the hydraulic tensioner before and after the belt had tension it changed. just had to change it a couple of times to get it right" So, if I'll be able to put the cams back where they should be, using your excellent suggetions Randall, I'll do the same (one tooth back) and see if they line up. If I will succeed, I will post the results anyway, just in case somebody will need it in the future. Thank you. (typo edited)

Randall, thanks a lot! When the handle is highest and the crank is TDC (0 degrees on plate) - that I can do. My crank moves left and right for about a third of the circle (I'd say about 100 degrees) but the TDC is in between, so I can set the crank at 0 and hope the handle is highest. At that point I have to align both cams to their "0" (Right Cam has a vertical line and the Left one has a dot on the gear). How do I do that, by turning them with the 19 mm tubular key, any direction, until it gets to their mark? (I tried that, but they DON'T get all the way to the mark, they seem to block somewhere and I stopped to not force them..) Then another problem I had before doing this latest trial, they were aligned and the crank was aligned, but when I put the tensioner on, the Crank seem to have moved about one tooth - I think the tension in the belt pushed it.

"Hopefully, you did not rotate either the cams or crank by more than a half a revolution(180 degrees) without the belt." I did just that. Now how in the world do I get out of this? I read you remove the spark plug on the first cylinder (the closest one to the driver side, steering wheel) and check it is TDC by moving the crank. With belt or without belt, now that the cams are out of align? The crank only moves about 100 degrees and then it's stuck, so I am not forcing it but then how to put CYL 1 at TDC? .. Thanks for any clues..

Well, I think I messed up the crank and timing alignment. Basically, it happened like this: (copied from another thread) When I removed the old timing belts, I set the crank pulley to 0 degrees. Tried to install the new belt, but cannot align the belt markings on the camshaft. Tried to rotate the right camshaft but there is resistance and did not force it. I am wondering if the crankshaft rotated when I tried to removed the pulley with the cam belt already disconnected. I don't know now the position of the crankshaft in relation to the camshaft. I hope somebody can help. With the belt off, I have rotated the crank about one full revolution until it got to the 0 degrees.. and then tried to align the cams manually, but they slip and run off. I have NOT forced anything, so I am probably safe, but I don't know how to properly align them again. :chairshot:

Thanks Paul. I will check out TIF.com, it is a good point. I've been around since 2006.. not sure why it says "New Club Member" :-)

Hi guys, is there a 98-2000 timing belt change step by step somewhere..? I couldn't find one for 98-00 even though I have found some for 97 and earlier.. are there any major gotchas that I have to look for? One question I never seem to find and answer for is how to torque back the crank pulley to 181 ft/lbs.. if you have any tips, please share. Thanks.

Hi, sorry for late reply.. probably you have figured it out by now, but just for future reference.. On my 95 SC400 there is a flat plastic cover right under the door handle, inside, the one you pull to open the door. The part name is 69206BHANDLE SUB-ASSY, FRONT DOOR INSIDE, LH Cheers

This is a copy paste from here: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...showtopic=30018 " I'll bet you've got it off by now. I've had the door panels off my 93 SC 300 a couple of times in the last month or so, shocked with how simple it was (the second time, any way.) There is a screw behind the door handle, has a little plastic cover to hide it from view. Cover pops off with a flathead. If you got that one and still can't get it off, hmm... 2 armrest screws, two screws under color-matched caps along the leading edge of the door... There also might be a little pressure from the switch panels, but they pop out. Good luck. Oh, wait! Might be the cables from the door handle and the lock hanging you up. Sitting in your front seat, you lift the door panel and a few inches from the frame, then, looking over the top between frame and door panel, you'll see the quick releases for the door handle and lock. " Took me one hour of try an error to figure it out by myself.. Then later on I found this lovely forum

Hi everybody, I tried searching on the forums, but I can't find any specific topic on checking the power windows step by step. I managed to pop off the panel, and now I need some help, where to start looking for the trouble. The window goes down, but wouldn't go up anymore - even though the small motor tries to, I can hear it. I assume it's a simple plastic thinghie I have to take care of.. I'd appreciate if somebody has a link or such. Thanks, =============== Done this, the white plastic handler that pulls the window up was cracked. Used a small screw to reconnect the cable and everything is well know. Cheers, kTg2m