landar

If you need a car soon, buying a used Lexus with a blown head gasket is probably NOT a wise move. Especially if you are a student on a fairly strict budget. And if the head gasket is blown, there may be other, more serious issues as well. Depending upon your budget, I would be looking for a decent running Honda, Toyota, etc, car that has been given reasonably good care. It could take some time and big bucks to get the Lexus in running shape. Pass for now. Get a Lexus after you graduate.

Next, I would use a voltmeter to measure the fuse terminals of the outlet fuses. Connecting the - probe to ground(chassis) and the + probe to each side of the fuse socket(remove the fuse), what do you get for readings? For grins and giggles, you might also put the meter on the ohm scale and measure the resistance of the fuse itself. Let us know what you get for readings.

How did you determine that the outlets were not working?

I would suggest just having the locks removed at any competent tire shop and put regular lug nuts on. It is just not worth the hassle. As RDM pointed out, the locks can be removed and most thieves interested in your wheels would be cognizant of the proper technique. BTW, where is "Sothern" California? ;) Ok, maybe you DO need locks. :o Especially if LA.

I would not think a battery replacement would affect the sequence of unlocking. Do you have a spare key fob remote that you can try? If that remote unlocks all doors then maybe something is wrong with the other fob (although I doubt it). And your car is an '03?

Good writeup curious. You might add a section on testing the AC ripple under load to possibly detect bad diodes. However a good battery may filter the ripple enough that you would just see a lower changing voltage. Essentially losing a phase (or more) of charging current and hence less voltage. And you certainly do cover that. The main thing is to load the system down. I like to turn the headlights on with the engine off and watch the battery voltage droop over a 5-10 minute period. If the battery is good, it will go down to about 11.9v +/- and hang in there for a good while. If it is bad, it will quickly drop south of 11v. I also like to take the voltmeter and check the charge voltage under load at the battery posts then go to the head of the clamp. If I see any drop, I know the post connection is corroded or the clamp is hi-Z. In one instance, I could take my hand and hold it on the post and feel excess heat. That's a dead giveaway of a high resistance connection.

So, could it be, dare I say it... another engine fighting to stay crunk? ;)

I was surprised to see that you changed the timing belt and water pump...no trivial task and nothing to do with the battery charging. Must have just been time to change. Did you do it yourself? On the battery charging issue it should be a relatively easy task to find out what is wrong. Either a charging issue (try the voltage tests with and w/o load as Curiousb suggests) or a discharge issue (perhaps there is excessive drain on the battery), or bad connection(s) or a bad battery (I know you replaced it but you can still get a defective unit).

So you did. I missed that thread. Oh wait, its on CL. THAT's how I missed it. ;) Thanks for the link to your post.

I will bet you are right on this one Jim. Accidentally pressed the cancel button. Good post. You da' man when it comes to digging through the manuals! Thanks for the replies! I will check the button, and if it's that, proceed to interrogate the children to find out which one of the little whippersnappers was "exploring" under the dash. I did not even know there were buttons under there. I REALLY gotta read the manual one of these years. It's called RTFM. Read The "Friendly" Manual. ;) Anyway, do let us know what you find.

I will bet you are right on this one Jim. Accidentally pressed the cancel button. Good post. You da' man when it comes to digging through the manuals!

Hey Billy, thats a new "twist" to the starter fix. Looks like you did not remove the entire starter housing from the block. You removed the motor from the housing instead. That way, you don't have to struggle with the tight space between firewall and bellhousing. Then just rebuild the existing starter. Clever. Thanks for posting.

If it is not just the steering wheel lock requiring some movement of the wheel, try holding the key fob up close to the dash to see if it will start.

Take a look at this thread for a fuel gauge -> http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=65270&st=0&p=413824&hl=fuel%20pressure&fromsearch=1entry413824

Check the fuel pressure at the rail The theory is that you got a bad(dirty) tank of gas and perhaps the filter plugged(have you replaced the fuel filter?). Try a little experiment. With the engine running and in park, spray some starter fluid into the air intake just as you are putting the car in gear. If the engine stays crunk, you may have a fuel starvation issue. If not, you may have an ignition issue.

The amperage rating of the alt probably depends upon your accessories. Any special features on your car that might demand a heavy-duty alt? Do you have heated seats? Honestly if you have the original alt on your car, I would just have it rebuilt and keep it original. However, if you do buy aftermarket, go with a more premium brand (usually not at AZ).

Good news for you. There is a God out there! Have you been good, is the question! :o :D To your first question: Stay away from auto store parts on these critical components. Go for Toyota parts. Cost a little bit more but worth it in the long run (IMO). The cams vs crank position is pretty straightforward. However the cams turn once for every two revolutions of the crank. Therefore you can set the crank at TDC marks and have a 50/50 shot at being correct. Not good enough odds. So, you pull cylinder #1 spark plug and make sure the piston is at Top Dead Center(TDC). But wait, there's more. If the timing is really far off, you may have to "walk" the cams in sync with the crank (to mimic the belt) so that you don't clobber a valve along the way. It all depends upon how far off the timing is now. But you should be able to be certain that the proper timing is in place before cranking. If you are not sure about engine operation and repair, you might want to contact a local independent mechanic for help and/or guidance. This job requires a reasonable amount of previous wrenching experience.

Do the lights flicker at all during idle? Putting more load on the system as curiousB suggests is a good way to stress the system and find the weak link. Keep in mind that sometimes it is difficult to measure the AC on the alternator such as what you might get if one (or more) of the rectification diodes is bad. And computers don't take kindly to AC. Also, the battery could be somewhat weak, aggravating the situation.

You now got that 'Clank'Nsensation'? The first thing you might do is to verify what you suspect by taking the cam covers off and doing a preliminary examination of the belt(if it is even visible anymore). If the belt is broken, you may have damage or, IF you have lived a very clean life, maybe damage is minimal. You could perhaps put a new belt on it ($50) and then do a compression test to assess damage. BTW, a bad/seized water pump is likely to have contributed to causing the belt to shred so you would want to change that too. They do sell a little inspection camera on a flexible hose that can be inserted into a cylinder to have a look see. Other than that, you would have to pull the heads to have a better look. But first verify your suspicions by doing enough teardown to inspect the timing belt. The first 1/3 of the removal section of the tutorial should get you there. Let us know what you find.

Fan idler bracket is correct. All one unit with an idler bearing and pressed-on studded pulley which the fan clutch bolts onto.

Just to let you know, you are supposed to use a solution of 6:1, water:woolite to clean leather. There is a whole section on car care here in the LOC forum -> http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showforum=9

Since you can only get 91 octane, I would buy some octane booster at the store and try that in the tank. See if it makes any difference at all. It isn't the end-all solution but might give you some clues as to whether it is an octane issue.

Good point. Fridge stocked with beer trumps the lift. ;)

I went through the same thinking several years ago and concluded that for the relatively little work that I do on my cars, a good hydraulic jack, safe jack stands and ramps is all I need(as Jim suggests). I could not justify a garage lift. The lift would have to be plenty beefy (ie: big $$) before I am going to trust climbing underneath the car. My hydraulic jack is about 35 years old, 1.5 ton with 18" reach. The correct jacking point in the rear is the pumpkin. I always use a short piece of 2x4 on my jack plate to cushion the contact. However, having the same reservations about the pumpkin, I did place the jack on the suspension member just behind the pig and it worked ok. On the ramp side of things, have you considered making a set out of varying lengths of 2x8's? It is cheap, safe and does not slip. You start with a long base piece of 2x8 (maybe 5') and cut progressively smaller lengths to go on top, each centered about the lower base. That way, your tires first roll over the base holding down the base and then "climb" the upper sections one-at-a-time. Or you could bolt it to the floor each time to get the precise tire location. With the boards being centered and symmetrical, overshooting the top just walks you back down rather than an abrupt fall.

and see this thread -> http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=45193&st=0&p=289924&hl=floor%20lift&fromsearch=1entry289924