landar

You can purchase a complete wiring diagram for $5 or go to the Toyota TIS site and subscribe and download all of your cars info including Factory Service Manual for $15. But for this issue, you probably do not need a circuit diagram. Locate the cigarette outlet fuse in the fuse panel (if you do not know where the fuse panel is, look in the owner's manual). Then, using a Voltmeter, check the voltage on each side of the fuse with the outlet loaded and unloaded. Do you see any appreciable drop?

So the voltage drops from 14V to 7V with the charger. What does the voltage drop to with the inverter? You are quite right that series resistance would cause this drop. The resistance would come from either the wiring or an inline fuse. Perhaps there is a common feed or fuse for all three outlets that is causing the drop. I would want to identify the fuse and check voltage right at the fuse as I loaded the circuit(with charger). You can trace the location of the resistance this way. If I understand the Lexus outlet design correctly, there is also a fuse built directly into the back of each outlet. The built-in fuse would not, however, explain why all three outlets behave the same. That suggests a common path resistance.

You are welcome. And glad to hear that your engine is back together and doing fine. So, just curious, what method did your mechanic use to hold the crankshaft when tightening the crank bolt?

I like the above tutorial, yet there are several issues that "bug" me about the work in part 2. The mechanic goes through some pain to remove the damaged studs in the water pump bracket, yet reuses the damaged studs. I would have tried to get new replacements for them. The second issue concerns the tightening of the crankshaft bolt. He says that he is going to torque it down but never shows how he did that. And it is no simple feat. You have to hold the crankshaft somehow which requires a special tool. Kind of important.

Well, there is not much you can do about it now. You are probably ok. However, NOW you know why it is recommened to move the crank to 50 degrees after TDC. That gives the extra assurance of clearance when the cam snap-rolls. My cam also snapped but I had the crank @ 50 degrees ATDC.

Mike, you are over thinking this a bit. Marks on the belt will NOT line up once you rotate it. I do not know how many rotations it will take before the belt marks would re-align but it is way more than two. The marks on a new belt are only for the purpose of assisting with belt alignment the FIRST time. After rotation, they are of no concern. It is the alignment marks on the crank and cams that really matter. If those "dots" line up, you are golden.

Double pane or double "pain"? ^_^

Curious, I follow your logic on the air pressure expelling the salty water...however, it necessarily takes a leak to cause the air pressure within to expel and by then, well, you have a slow leak. Exactly your wheel's condition. The expelling air may work to decrease further corrosion but, by definition, the leak is already there. I think the salty brine sets in the groove and "works" on the sealed area undisturbed until driving pressures, like hitting a pot hole or tight cornering, slightly alter the seating of the bead causing the leak to show up. This may sound a bit crazy but every fall just before the snow flies, I "grease" my cars vulnerable areas. I literally use bearing grease and smear a thin layer around the inside of the fender sheet metal and the bead area of the tires rim. While a little messy, I feel it provides some protection throughout the winter salty months.

Good to hear that you got it fixed, Chuck. Thanks for posting the results for us.

People have noticed a creaking from the side windows. You have to clean and apply a lotion to the weather stripping. See this thread -> http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=41125&st=15&p=420076&hl=sonus&fromsearch=1entry420076

If you slowly and carefully rotate by hand and feel (or hear) a metallic 'clink' and/or encounter stiff resistance, you would want to stop immediately and not force it. I do not believe you would do any lasting damage by hand as long as you are not overly forceful.

Looks nice Perk. And you are right, it is a very 'safe' vehicle. I have never seen a color combination like yours. I can see why you want to get her fixed up right! Maybe you could look for another local mechanic?

You should be able to hold the cams (via the belt) in place by simply holding the crank from moving. But loosen the cam bolts before the crank bolt. If you have an impact wrench, that will zip the cam bolts loose very nicely w/o moving them. I have never taken them off but would imagine the cam pulleys are keyed like the crank pulley. I should point out that rotating the crank to TDC may not automatically align the cam sprockets onto their marks. The crank rotates 2x for every cam revolution so you may have to move the crank another whole turn to TDC to get everything aligned. Not hard. Just want you to be aware of that. Look at my photos to see the alignment marks. You will do fine.

IF you are very careful aligning the marks when you install the new belt, the marks WILL necessarily have to be on the money when you rotate crank two revs. And if not, you simply get to start all over again pulling the tensioner and compressing the pin, setting the crank to TDC (on cylinder #1) and cams to their marks until you get it right. Thats why it is super important to be extremely thorough on the first pass. You can 'right a wrong' but it will cost you some time. BTW, do you have an SC? Did you know there is a separate forum for that model? (this is the ES forum... but the advice still applies).

Actually, before you remove the crank pulley you need to rotate the crank to TDC. Unloosening the crank bolt will not misalign the crank and cams. They will still rotate in synch with one another. At that point, you are simply breaking the bolt loose. Once it is loose, you can still turn the crankshaft clockwise without significantly retightening the bolt. You can put the crank at TDC and everything will be aligned and the crank bolt can be easily unscrewed without moving the crank very much. Remember, there is a key in the crankshaft which keeps the pulley in position. As far as the cam bolts being loosened, you could go ahead and loosen those as well before removing the timing belt. As long as the belt is in place (and still under tension) everything will stay in sync. I actually unintentionally loosened my cam bolt while trying to move the cam back CCW while putting on the new belt. So, once you get the crank bolt loosened and the cam bolts loosened(not removed, just loosened), you rotate the crank to TDC by hand, check that your cams are aligned and then remove the crank bolt and pulley. You will need to 'rent' or buy a crank puller from an auto store. Does that explanation help?

Ah Mike...I see that you have done a little "forward" thinking. Good for you. Your question about how to retorque the crank pulley to 181 lbft is an important one. Yes, the engine does turnover CW that is why the 'bump' method works. Obviously you take the bolt loose by putting a socket on there and 'bumping' the starter so it stands to reason that you just reverse the procedure to tighten. ^_^ Of course you know I am being sarcastic (who me?) as there is no way to reverse the 'bump'. I think most guys just tighten as much as they can and call it a day. I thought this one over very carefully before doing my TB on a '98 LS and opted for the 'allen key in the flywheel' method. Basically, you wedge a large allen key in the flywheel(flexplate) hole to keep the crank from turning. Works for removal and, most importantly, retorquing to 181 lbft. Concerning your questions about "how am I going to align the timing marks or remove the cam bolts?"...do those things while the timing belt is still on. You do not want to remove the tensioner or belt until you take care of some basic issues. After that, you can proceed. Like I said, you are thinking ahead so you will be successful. On the time issue, it took me about 16 hours over several days to do mine because I move very methodically (slowly) and I am not a professional mechanic (well I do get paid for my own cars in the form of saving money!). You also want to take digital pictures as you proceed (at least I did) and bag every group of bolts and mark them (I use sandwich baggies and a sharpie). You will be glad that you did. Here is a tutorial that I did on my '98 that you might find of interest. Our engines are slightly different but not by much. This tutorial is in two sections: Removal and installation. If the links below are 'playing' just click on the picture and then select the "open photo in a new window" to see the comments on each picture. Enjoy! removal -&--#62; install -&--#62;

I admire your tenacity in trying to fix your Lexus, however, it might be time to trade this foreign luxury car in on a pickem-up truck. I will bet the men will be very willing to work on a Chevy. You tried. No shame in that.

Your tilt gears are sometimes meshing and at other times not. Take a look at this thread. There is a video of how to get into the gears to check -> http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=60674&st=0&p=448570&hl=tilt%20steering&fromsearch=1entry448570

6-1-12 has come and gone long before your post.

Ray, take a deep breath and get a good nights sleep. You covered a lot of territory in your post and it sounds like you have been through a lot. So back up and VERY carefully check the cam alignment of the gears in each head AND the alignment of the timing belt. Also recheck for any connectors that might not have been plugged back together. But first, leave it alone for a bit. Things always work out better when you get some rest and come at it with a fresh approach. And...welcome to the club!!

Yes, a broken wire would be exactly like a missing sensor or open connector. Have you checked for any engine codes?

I am wondering if you didn't leave a sensor unhooked when you put her back together. Sounds like once the control "loop" closes (ie: the engine warms up) things are fine. The computer may be missing an input which causes it to throttle back (!Removed! as you put it) the engine when cold.

The Toyota dealer will probably be cheaper than the Lexus dealer. At 80k miles, the dealer does not necessarily recommend a pump replacement nor pulleys nor seals. If it were mine, I would insist on a new pump and pulleys just because it is good insurance and the labor is the real cost. You would hope that you did not have to look over their shoulder, but...better safe than sorry afterward.

There are no rotors or distributor caps to change on an LS430 so no worries there. You will want to have the crank seal and cam seals checked for leakage and replace those if it shows any signs. I would change belt, pump, idler and tensioner pulleys, tensioner, thermostat, assorted gaskets, O-rings and of course the coolant itself. If you have lots of miles (like more than 150k) you might want to think about changing the fan bracket pulley as well while in there. But that could also be changed out later if need be. You going to DIY, PilotGuy?

Ok, here is my latest theory. This guy drove the Lexus with a leaky water pump and enough of the coolant leaked out that the engine overheated a time or two which took out the head gasket. So now it needs pump and head gasket repair.