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"the new alternator only produces 11 volts at 700 rpm, so leaving the car idle with the air on drains the battery." That sounds like your crankshaft outer section is slipping compared to its inner section. Since the outer section powers the belt which drives your alternator, low alternator output results. Are your driving lamps unusually dim compared to well-performing systems? That's another indicator to check for a failed adhesive bond between your crankshaft pulley's inner and outer section.

This EXACT SAME Toyota-Lexus V-6 crankshaft pulley separation failure is WAY TOO COMMON. Lexus-Toyota knows about it from many earlier owner complaints. When the adhesive bond between the inside and outside of these two-part pulleys fails, crankshaft torque driving the inside section is only partially transferred into the outside section. When the outside section slips compared to the driving inside section, the alternator driving belt from the outside section can not spin the alternator up to full speed, progressively causing worse and worse charging system performance. Interestingly, the belt's side-to-side tension keeps those two sections concentric, so they don't slide apart along the crankshaft's axis length. TWO OF THESE POORLY-MANUFACTURED VIBRATION-DAMPER CRANKSHAFT PULLEYS HAVE FAILED ON OUR 1992 LEXUS ES-300! Issues which have been repeatedly discussed in vehicle owner discussion forums: 1) Does the bolt securing this "crankshaft pulley" or "vibration damper" (two names for the same part) have standard "right hand thread" or one of the highly unusual "left hand thread?" Answer - It has a standard "right hand rotation" thread. Loosen by turning counter-clockwise. This has been discussed over and over. 2) Can this failure cause engine timing problems? Answer - No. The timing belt is driven from the inside section which does not slip compared to the crankshaft. 3) How much torque is required to break these bolts loose? Answer - That seems to vary widely from vehicle to to vehicle. The first time I broke ours loose for replacement, I bent two "lifetime guaranteed" 1/2-inch socket extension shafts by applying my body weight near the end of a 6-foot cheater bar around my 1/2" socket drive breaker bar. Only when I bought 3/4" drive socket, extension shaft and breaker bar was I able to get that tough-dog to break free! My 1/2" drive impact socket wrenches could not budge it and I did not have a 3/4" impact wrench at that time. Some others have had a really tough time breaking these free. Some have found them easily removed. 4) Are some V-6 powered Toyota & Lexus air conditioning problems related to these slowly decoupling crankshaft pulleys? Answer - Yes. That same outer-pulley driven belt drives the air conditioning compressor, located just below the alternator. The predicted resulting failures are obvious. 5) Should Toyota-Lexus be recalling all of this same series of their defectively-manufactured V-6 two-piece crankshaft pulleys? Answer - Obviously yes. This Toyota-Lexus V-6 crankshaft pulley separation problem series observed in later model years is just a continuation of this same well-established problem in their earlier V-6 production years. When any auto maker fails to correct obvious manufacturing defects for existing owners, that failure negatively impacts the auto maker's reputation. Honest is as honest does Lexus, take care of this manufacturing-defect problem for existing owners. John

1992 ES-300 3VZ-FE engine injector gaskets have been leaking. Unscrewing the two 8-mm Allen-head cap screws securing the intake manifold turned into a nightmare because they were in so tightly that their 8-mm hex pockets deformed, allowing the 3/8-inch socket-driven 8-mm Allen driver to spin without unscrewing those bolts! Eventually 22-ounce-hammer sharp blows a against a freshly-sharpened off-center cold chisel loosened them. We used a "framing hammer" with larger than usual head and a waffle pattern on the striking surface to minimize slide-off blows. While sharpening the the chisel, I touched up the hammering surface. The fact that the hammer's waffle pattern is now imprinted into the chisel's top speaks loudly about how hard it had to be hit. No fun at all. With intake manifold off, I noticed that all this engine's second-from-top injector gaskets were touching the fuel rail BUT WERE NOT SQUEEZED INTO THEIR FUEL RAIL BORE HOLES! That almost certainly explains why some of this engine's injector gasket sets eventually started leaking gasoline. i replaced the four injector gaskets on each injector. Top and bottom are identical single-contact ring style gaskets. The second-from-top and second-from-bottom gaskets have different diameters but both are double-contact ring configuration gaskets. I expected that lubricating these gaskets with petroleum jelly would let them all slide into their respective bore holes with little insertion force. If all these gasket ring contact surfaces are fitted within their respective bores, the injector's top fit into the fuel rail and the injector's bottom fit into the cylinder head both should be sealed by a series of three gasket ring surfaces. Double redundancy seems like adequate leak protection. The bottoms slide in with little insertion force. But I'd guess I applied about 50 pounds pressure trying to force those second-from-top gaskets into the fuel rail bore holes without getting them to slide in! Question to those of you who replaced these injector gasket sets: Have you experienced difficulty getting those second-from-top gaskets to slide into their fuel-rail bores? Which did you slide in first, bottom or top? Did you bother to check to insure that both sealing rings of the second from top gasket were seated within its bore hole? If you didn't, expect to smell gasoline one of these years. The fuel-rail clamping bolts can be tightened without forcing these second-from-top injector gaskets to slide inside their fuel-rail bores. Anyone performing this work should check and make sure those second-from-top gaskets are fitted inside the fuel rail's bore holes rather than just pushing against the fuel rail's outside surface. Failure to check that may not cause fuel leakage symptoms for months or even years, but appears to be a prescription for eventual gasoline leaking smells from the engine compartment. Any helpful comments about how to get these to slide home will be appreciated. John

The following lamp model application information is from my notes. While I can't guarantee it's accurate, I expect it is. 1992 LEXUS ES300 Instrument-general Dome light Trunk/Cargo area 194 (T5 base) Front sidemarker Rear sidemarker Parking light License plate 168 (T5 base) High-mount stop light 921 (T5 base) Glove box 74 (T1 base) Map light 2040 (Wedge base) Rear turn signal Back up light 1156 (BA15s Single-Contact Bayonet base) Front turn signal 1157A (Double-Contact Bayonet base) Tail light Stop light 1157 (Double-Contact Bayonet base) Low-beam headlamp 9006 High-beam headlamp 9005

Our family's ES-300 is a 1992 model for which we purchased the new $137.90 two-volume factory shop manual set. I believe the same "Theft Deterent & Door Lock ECU" is used in this model series at least up through 1996, so these comments should apply to all those cars. A little background about remote trunk openers. These have been available as options on some expensive cars for at least the last 60 years. So the basic technology is pretty mature. A few systems used vacuum operated motors, but most used electro-magnetic solenoids to overcome spring-loaded latch returns. The simplest used the vehicle frame as the electrical ground path back to the battery. That's still used today. They usually ran the + positive electric feed from the battery, through a fuse, then through a spring-loaded normally-open switch, then to the solenoid-powering terminal. Consider those switches to be equivalent to common house door-bell switches. They are normally held to their non-conductive "open circuit" position by their return spring. But when someone pushes the control button in, it conducts current, closing the circuit, triggering the solenoid's electromagnet to pull the trunk latch open. Very simple and very trouble free. Now these Lexus ES-300 models are quite different. Start with the big shop manual index and look for trunk release. Surprise, Lexus English-language shop manual writers don't think these cars have trunks. The main index lists a "Body Electrical System," with its own index. No mention of trunk or similar reference there. That sub-section has its own main index, also with no mention of trunk or anything similar. But it does list a sub-sub-section named "Door Lock Control System." Turning to its own sub-sub-index on page BE-355. we finally discover that sub-sub-index lists "Luggage Compartment Door Opener Main Switch and Opener Switch Circuit." Sounds suspiciously like what over 99% of Americans would call the trunk! Finally, you've found the right section! Really poorly worded, just the opposite of good Shop Manual communications. Volume 2, section Body Electrical System, page BE-364 shows a wiring diagram covering this system as part of a larger system. The body ground connects to the solenoid "motor" which passes power through a PTC unit, identified only many pages away as a "Positive Temperature Coefficient" module, then to terminal number 5 of the Theft Deterrent & Door Lock ECU (mini computer) module's 20-pin socket named T8. This ECU also has a 14-pin socket named T9, but the only two connectors I'll discuss here are to the longer 20-pin socket and matching wiring loom connection plug. So the + positive battery voltage required to power the solenoid MUST come from this ECU which also controls several other functions. So how does this specific ECU get triggered to send + current to the trunk latch solenoid? One way is having the low-current +12 volts sent from its terminal 19 pulled down close to 0 volts by grounding through a plain old-fashioned door bell type switch inside the driver's side door, physically mated with the push button switch which releases the fuel door. But just to add one more little measure of "security" to your car, the electrical line from that ECU passes through an on/off switch located inside the glove box. Now we come to an error in this massive manual. Its writers named these two series-wired switches as follows. The "Luggage Compartment Door Opener Main Switch" is illustrated as located in the glove box. The "Luggage Compartment Door Opener Switch" is illustrated as located in the driver's door inside panel. So they named the glove box located switch the "Main Switch." Following is a direct quote from page BE-386: "The luggage compartment door opener main switch is off when it is pushed in, and the luggage compartment door opener switch is on when it is pulled." Well kids, that is exactly "bas-ackwards", as one of my old physics instructors liked to say. The manual wrongly claims that when the main switch is pushed in, the system is off, but in our cars, when that switch is pushed in the push-button trunk release system is switched on. Forum writers correctly observed that when it is pushed in that switch is closed and conducts current. How this ES-300 system works: In the driver's door is a white & black wire going to the trunk opening push-button switch. That white & black wire is your ground. When you push the button in, it grounds out the low-current 12 volts sent from ECU pin 19, through the glove box switch. That triggers the ECU to deliver +12 volts through pin 5 to the solenoid, popping the truck lid open. Yoke, sugar, easy! It's a simple but messy system. I'll scan or photograph illustrations of both the two sockets and plugs to this Theft Deterrent & Door Lock ECU so you readers without the manual can identify which leads to probe if this part of you trunk opener system stops working. I will not discuss how you can also trigger that ECU to deliver +12 volts through pin 5 with your wireless transmitter, but that is another way it can be triggered. Where is this specific ECU? Right next to your glove box toward the right side. If you see three boxes aligned roughly side by side, you are looking too far forward. This one is by itself and further rearward from the firewall. Observe that it has two red plastic sockets. The longer one is your 20-pin socket and plug, the shorter is the 14-pin socket and plug. I'll come back later to add illustrations so you can know which pins are #5 and #19 on this 20-pin connection and describe some quick tests to instantly narrow you fault search. Where do these systems fail? Most common cause is "the nut behind the wheel," also known as user error. Someone turns off the main switch in the glove box and either doesn't know or forgets that they disabled the system. Switches also fail. One ES-300 glove box switch refused to connect. Removed and triggered on & off for about 10 minutes. It works perfectly now. Door mounted switch copper contacts have become green from oxidation and don't conduct. Disassemble, clean contacts, reassemble and it works again. The front door opening and closing flexes the wiring loom cable aligned with the hinge rotation line. One multi-strand wire in that cable bundle is your red +12V low-current wire from ECU #19 that must be grounded to trigger ECU response. But if that door hinge flexing eventually breaks and internally separates that red wire's conductors, no matter how many times you push that door button, your grounding effort never gets to the ECU so the trunk doesn't open. The dealership mechanics would be forced by Lexus rules to replace the wiring loom almost certainly for well over $1000. Just add a new super-flexible super-high-strand-count wire between the door switch red terminal and the glove box switch to restore that function. Don't use common low flexibility low-strand count wire. You can buy the right kind of super-flexible wire from hobby shops for wiring critical high-vibration components. Or if you'd prefer eBay vendors, search for Silicone Wire Ultra Flex. This roughly-1000 strand count, limp like cooked noodle wire, is not cheap per foot, but you won't flex that door often enough to internally break it. Common cheap multi-strand wire can fatigue and break internally surprisingly fast in door opening service. When one of these ECU fails, it usually also takes out other circuits like door locks. If those are working, your ECU is getting power so no need to check ECU power source. I'll explain how to easily test that ECU without removing it in my next note. Solenoids are pretty durable, easily tested and repaired. Here's a cute trick. If you want the trunk open for an extended period but don't want the trunk light battery load switched on, just push the latch shut leaving the trunk lid open. That action switches off the trunk light. To open the latch so you can lock the trunk lid shut, just use your key or trunk opening circuit button or wireless opener to reopen that latch. I know this was long and verbose. But now you have a flavor for how this system works. All that Lexus versatility and security control requires complexity. I'll be back with those connector and socket illustrations. Good luck and hope this helps a few others when their trunk lids fail to open by electrical command. John

Our family's 1992 ES-300 included the Pioneer KEX-9071ZT cassette radio with trunk-mounted CD-changer and the usual external amplifier. We have never played a cassette in it, so that feature contributes no value to our use. The external CD changer is a nice feature, which function we would prefer to retain, but its loss would not necessarily be a "deal breaker" issue. While this system still sounded good, the 17 soldered-in 8-volt filament-type blue-boot-covered mini lamps visible on its display's circuit board front side have progressively failed, leaving only a few that are still able to emit light. As I understand it, 3 more mini filament-type lamps are behind its liquid crystal display (LCD) screen, which screen still functions well, unlike the Climate Control module's LCD screen which I am replacing. I've read discussion treads about replacing these 8-volt 60 miliamp and 100 miliamp filament-type light bulbs. But frankly, why would I want to swap in a new filament-type lamp set when much more durable LEDs exist? So IF I keep this old but well performing original Pioneer head unit, I would want to use LEDs rather than relamp it with more filament-type lamps which might fail while this vehicle is still in service. First question: Does anyone know of suitable LEDs to solder in as replacements? Technological development speed keeps accelerating. What was pretty wonderful in 1992 is only good today. AV-GPS head unit technology has progressed significantly during the last two decades. CD players able to also play home-burned MP3 disks have been marketed for years. Front-panel input jacks which can accept WIRED (not FM-rebroadcast) portable audio device input are now pretty common. Double-height DIN sized head units with GPS display capabilities are gaining market share. Hi-Fi AM radio station coverage seems more desirable than cassette playing capabilities. I doubt that any recent head units worth considering were fitted with filament-type light bulbs with their comparatively-short service lives. Since better-brand head units generally remain serviceable for decades if well treated, as ours have, yet their used market value declines rapidly, used high-end head units from about 5 years ago become something of a "sweet spot" in their cost/benefit ratio. Were any other Lexus Original Equipment radios compatible with the ES-300 system's trunk-mounted CD and external amplifier? I know Lexus purchased head units from Pioneer and Nakamichi so it would not be surprising if some of them could interface with the external OEM CD deck and amp. I see ES-300 double-DIN and single-DIN height mounting kits offered by eBay vendors starting at $13 including delivery cost. Again, I don't know how to judge differences between them since many vendors demand two, three or more times as much money for their ES-300 radio mounting kits. I and most other readers won't be very interested in which specific unit you elected to buy. But those who made lots of comparisons and observations might have valuable insights to help advise me and others in this same position. If our original ES-300 1992-1994 and probably through 1996 stereo head units are run enough hours, progressively failing filament-type lamps will drive you toward either re-lamping that original unit or updating your car with a newer head unit that came with LED illumination and other desirable features developed after our OEM units were produced. So lots of us will keep facing this same issue. About 20 8-volt LEDs might be enough to tip the scales in my case. I just find it almost insulting to be told that I should solder in another group of filament-type lamps. That's NOT going to happen to this unit. It's either LEDs or the recycle bin. John The OEM radio's display & illumination circuit board with 17 blue light bulbs which appear green when illuminated.

Downstream from your injectors is your little stepper-motor powered air control valve which the engine management computer manages. Most people assume that everything that's in gasoline is extremely volatile so when it is sprayed, forming lots of tiny droplets into a quick-moving air flow, nothing sticky will be left behind. Sorry to rupture that balloon, but in fact evaporating gasoline leaves a small but continually-building condensed layer of very sticky varnish-like film. This layer of gasoline precipitate can and does eventually increase the shaft friction on that stepper motor controlled valve so much that computer pulses can no longer spin the stepper motor against that increasing friction. When, not if, that happens, these engines develop the symptoms you've described. Spray solvent without removing for a more complete cleaning may be enough to restore operation for a while. But a really good solvent cleaning off the engine may be required. Shop owners who are eager to generate shop income tend to suggest replacing these units is the only "correct way" to restore them to like-new operation. There's the car owner, the shop owner and the part vendor's interests at stake. This strategy is good for the shop owner, good for the part vendor (which may be the shop), and "two out of three isn't bad." Not a good economic decision for the car owner who only needs that gummy gasoline precipitate dissolved away. A quick spray solvent clean-up every 60,000 miles or so should prevent these symptoms from occurring. More non-conventional advice from me. John

I've experienced a Lexus V-6 that developed leaky injector gaskets. The fuel pump would deliver over 50 psi but the pressure regulator dumps excess pressure through the fuel return line back into the fuel tank. So those injector seals see about 50 psi fuel pressure which the injector electrically-triggered valves open and close as directed by your engine control computer. When those injector seals are new, they are very elastic. But through age and run time with some vibration, they can develop seepage. People with especially sensitive gasoline smell capabilities know when these begin leaking long before ordinary passengers smell anything. Changing the front 3 injectors is easily accessible. But changing the rear 3 is much more difficult. The Allen-head retainer bolts which must be removed to access the rear three injectors take an 8mm Allen tool. DO NOT use the almost identically-sized SAE-sized Allen driver tool. It feels like a sufficiently tight fit, but it can round out the drive hole in those 8mm Allen head cap screws. Using an odor-free sniffer hose will enable you to detect your fuel leakage source. Good luck, John

If and only if the fluid leakage flow rate you are observing is very slow, as reflected by a few drips apparent on pavement where you park, I suggest that you find a vendor for ATP brand Re-Seal fluid. It is currently sold in three package sizes, 2-ounce spray can, 8-ounce liquid bottle and transmission-shop-sized 5-gallon bucket. I suggested to ATP's marketing director that they should be offering it in 128-ounce (one gallon) jugs with 1-ounce per stroke pump cap. But as of this date, you have to choose between 8-ounces or 640-ounces (5 gallons). This product is unlike any of the many other competing products I've tried. It will not turn seals into a gooey mess that seals better for a while but later tends to fail completely. For seepage losses from shaft seals, it seems to be the most satisfactory product I've found. Amazon lists some vendors who sell it, but you may be able to find it at a local vendor. Very few "mechanic in a can" type product performances can justify their price. I feel this is an exception. I have no financial affiliation with ATP. I was formerly very skeptical. If you are experiencing higher flow rate fluid losses, replacing your shaft seals will be required. While shaft seals are not free, replacing them as a preventative measure is fully justified when you separate engines from transmissions. I'm suggesting replacing BOTH engine crankshaft seals and transmission input shaft seals when you have them separated. Too many Lexus engines go a quarter million miles before they begin using oil, and even then most of their oil loss may be from these seals leaking. I know that there are at least half a dozen stop leak products with save-your-receipt money back guarantees if they don't work. Yet I'm strongly suggesting making the extra effort to find ATP's Re-Seal instead. John

Because this forum provides an enduring information source, the fact that the original post is old does not make a relevant new reply inappropriate. The small plastic part shown in that photo simply retains the cable stops within the top and bottom window-support cable-attachment grooves. You may not be able to purchase a new, still-elastic part to replace your aged and brittle broken plastic part. Expect 20-year old salvage yard plastic replacements to have become similarly brittle and failure prone. But that part's function can be replaced fairly easily with supplies most do-it-yourself mechanics have on hand. Drill two very small holes through the steel cable-stop bracket positioned so you can run a small wire through both holes and around the window-pulling cable, then twist the wire's ends together permanently pulling the cable to the back of the cable-stop bracket groove. Repeat that for the other cable and you will have improved the system's design. I've seen at least one Lexus ES-300 in which that plastic part failed to keep one of the window-pulling cables locked into the cable-stop bracket groove. I doubt that tie wires securing the cables in the grooves would fail like that. You do have a couple bread-wrapper twist ties from which you can extract the little wires don't you? No need to drop $50 to $250 for parts to replace that plastic retainer's function with more durable twist tie wires. If this description seems cryptic, all you need to do is examine the actual part location and function to understand why this would be an improvement. I've seen 50-year old nylon parts which are still elastic and would not become brittle and crack in that application. But Lexus choose to use some less durable plastic. Just my opinions on this topic.

Quote, "The ES300 power window design was improved/modified after the 1992 series according to a Lexus mechanic . . " If that is true, does anyone KNOW ("Chatty Cathy" speculators who don't actually KNOW please remain silent) what specific changes were made? If later series power window parts are different from 1992 parts, can those later improved parts be retrofitted into 1992 ES-300 doors?

Excellent! It's so nice to see other Lexus owner who are not helpless. Our 1992 ES-300 driver's side rear door window developed a failure mode. On disassembly, I found the end of one of the two cables had kinked and bent inside the motor-driven spool case. You already know the dealer wants more to repair that than is reasonable. Lexus assumes their dealership mechanics are too helpless to replace a cable which might be sold for $15-$20, so they instruct them to replace the entire assembly for $-hundreds. I used two small pliers, one a 4-inch ViceGrip, to retwist and straighten that bent cable's end. I didn't trust that end section to stay straight within the spool-case track, so I cut an inner groove into the plastic spool for about that kinked-section's length, which was about one inch. Then I cut a new exit track for that cable about 1.5-inch further around the spool's diameter. When I fitted the cable in that new track, it seems stable, but just to be certain, I applied enough heat with a soldering iron tip to melt the plastic spool side tightly against that kinked cable section. Warning: If you do this, that plastic REALLY stinks when heated. The smell will quickly disappear, but while heating it, I suggest not having your nose right over the work. The shortened effective cable length is still long enough to enable full up and down window travel. Parts cost for this repair = $0.00 Dealer estimate $800.00 Sorry to report that since I've never worked on one of these before, it took me about 2 hours. If I did the same on another, my time to completion would be significantly faster. Ok, lots of you Lexus owners have not the foggiest idea of how your power windows operate. Generally, they use one of the following two design strategies. Two cables attached to one motor-driven reel: Imagine a fixed-diameter reel on which a single wrap of cable is wound. For every angular rotation of that fixed-diameter reel, a circumference-corresponding fixed cable length reels out. Now instead of having only one cable wound around that fixed-diameter reel, you have a second cable wound on from the opposite direction. As you rotate that reel in either direction, the same length of cable which one cable reels out exactly matches cable length the other cable reels onto the spool reel. Very simple, very elegant, very effective. Now, just run those cables through some pulleys and cable sheaths so they attach to the window support bar. One attaches and pulls from the top side, the other attaches and pulls from the bottom side. So as you spin that motor-driven spool reel, the window is pulled either up or down by one of those two cables, which the other cable lets out exactly equal cable length. Pretty cute, right? Ok, we don't want any cable slop to cause wrapping problems around the spool, so add two coil springs, one for each cable to maintain cable tension at the cable stops. That should take care of any cable slop, right? Well, those little springs do keep cable slop to a trouble-free minimum so long as the lubrication inside the cable sheaths is reasonably low. But if friction resists cable pulling more than the spring's tension, reversing direction can leave enough cable slop to cause cable winding bunches and lockups. Problems arise when that XX-teen year old cable sheath lubrication grease evaporates out so much of its most volatile components that the remaining grease becomes VERY STIFF. Trust me, this will also happen to your cable sheath's lubrication over long periods. I'm guessing that in the hottest geographical locations, this grease stiffening happens faster due to heat-driven evaporation. So force some penetrating oil like PB Blaster from one end of those cable sheaths to their other end. This may take a few minutes to trickle a drop at a time along those cables while sliding the cable sheath back and forth on the cable. I held one end higher than the other to gain gravity assist helping this cable friction reduction work. When those cable sheaths slide with so little friction that you can barely feel their resistance, you're ready to reassemble it for perhaps another 10 years of grease drying. We can only speculate how long it will take to become stiff again. If you fail to eliminate high cable sheath friction relative to the cables, your springs won't prevent cable bunching and possible cable reel tangles. Why Lexus didn't use a totally-non-volatile grease within those cable sheaths is a mystery to me. I think some silicone-based greases are non-volatile at under 150 degrees F. In my opinion, that wrongly-specified cable sheath grease has caused thousands of power window failures in what would otherwise have been a much more trouble-free system. Ok, back to the design. The electric motor drives the plastic spool or reel with a worm drive gear. That is a very elegant solution for the following reason. Worm drive friction is low enough to pass at least 50% of the driving force to the driven load. But that same friction prevents the driven load side from back-driving the motor. So the motor moves the cable reel to what ever window height you prefer, then effectively locks the window in that position by way of the worm drive's one-way limited power delivery characteristic. You've got to admit, that's pretty good design. The other popular power window design uses the classic parallelogram scissors lift configuration. One end of the "X" pattern crossing bars forming the scissors is locked into a horizontal sliding track, where it passively slides. The driving end of a bar is pushed and pulled by an electric motor driven linkage. Several configurations have been used over the decades to drive them. Unlike linear-force curve dual-cable reel type driving systems, scissors lifts develop much higher lifting force as the lift approaches completion because that force tracks toward the sine wave top. That progressively higher closing force helps drive windows more tightly against rain shield gaskets. Whereas the cable-type systems apply the same force through their entire travel. Both can work well. Both can develop problems. A very common power window problem is excessive friction. I already explained how cable sheath grease drying and stiffening degrades operational performance and can ultimately cause cable winding bunching around spools. The other common friction problems are within tracks. Windows slide in factory-lubricated tracks. You would be foolish to think that factory-lubrication will never need replacement. Rain, wind, blowing dust all work into window track slides, causing migration of that factory-lubrication. A popular but very questionable solution is applying spray silicone lubrication to window slides. Non-spray silicone or graphite-based lubrications are much safer. Why do I say that? Because spray-can silicone is like cancer to any repainting work that door may later need. I know of one person who applied spray silicone to some parts of his car before a paint shop repainted it. He failed to warn them. They charged him hundreds of dollars for the repaint work. A $15 tube of silicone-based solid grease may serve your needs for decades. Apply inside tracks with a Q-Tip or equivalent. Another comment about operational friction levels many times higher than factory designer's expectations. When electric window operating systems are well lubricated, those tiny electric motors (Mitusbitshi?) rarely fail. But as we progressively overload them with more and more friction, they do fail. Not only do they fail, but as those electric motors are working many times harder than should be required, they present much higher switched electric loads. So their control switches, relays in some systems, and fuses fail from overloading all caused by excessive friction. Want to hear some real comedy? Some people discover that their window motor power limiting fuse failed and just pop in another fuse rather than correct the underlying friction problem! "I laugh lest I might not cry." Sorry for this post's length, but I'm providing information too few understand to protect their auto investments economically. I genuinely hope these comments will enhance some others understanding of how these systems work and how you may economically keep yours working. John

Lexus charging system design configurations comply with what is common among most modern Japanese-designed cars. One odd-ball problem which can prevent alternator charging is crankshaft pulley internal separation. That pulley is a 2-piece harmonic balancer assembly. Its inner part is separated from its outer part by an elastic band. After millions of flexing movements, that elastic band's bond to either the inner or outer section fails. When that happens, the two parts don't instantly fly apart because the belt's side-to-side resistance holds them in alignment. But they do begin slipping. At first, the friction is high, so drivers have no warning symptoms about that failure. But as the surfaces slip, polishing and wearing away the elastic material, the outer section which drives the alternator belt progressively slows. That slowing process can take a week or 3 years of driving before the alternator light begins flickering, indicating marginal charging performance. At that point in this slowly degenerating process, you can pull your alternator, test it on an external alternator testing machine and see that it's still performing perfectly. But on reinstallation, you still see poor charging, perhaps dim headlights, flickering charge dash light that only goes out when you spin the engine faster than idle. Eventually, that slippage will become so bad that the car will begin stalling and won't restart without recharging. While it is not likely that your specific charging problem is caused by an internally-slipping crankshaft pulley - also called the harmonic balancer, but it is possible. A very quick check. Clean off the side surface of your harmonic balancer. Then apply a mark that spans the gap between the inner and outer section. Even blackboard chalk or finger nail polish, yellow crayon, what ever you have that can be easily seen. How about that old bottle of typing correction fluid which you don't use any more. Fast drying and highly visible. Now, start the engine, rev it up and down briefly, then turn it off. Next, recheck your new mark's alignment. If that mark's inside section still lines up with the outside section, your crank pulley is still good. But if you find that that line's parts are now out of alignment, you need to renew or replace your crankshaft pulley. Replacing that pulley only requires loosening the front belt at the alternator adjustment, and the rear belt at the power steering pump tension adjustment, then cracking that center retainer bolt loose. That bolt's threads are normal counter-clockwise to loosen. With the belts loose and the bolt out, use a puller to remove and replace the pulley. Years ago, auto parts stores sold replacement elastic goo that end users could apply and let cure to restore those elastic bonds. But engines spin faster now and while that's still technically possible, I tried it and it only lasted until a lead foot family member used the car about a week later. More than you wanted to know perhaps, but this ABSOLUTELY WILL happen to many Lexus cars using this mechanical drive system to the alternator. It may take 150,000 miles, 250K, or 350K. But that flexing link is somewhat like tires, belts, clutches, brake pads and many other parts which should not be expected to last forever. John

Our family's 1992 ES-300 produced the same overheating symptoms, overflowing coolant, engine smelling hot, visible fog from engine compartment, temp gauge sky-rocketing. Automatic transmission fluid (ATF) is used in these car's "power steering pump." Honestly, that pump in these cars SHOULD be named "power-steering & radiator-fan pump." The car had been dripping ATF from the power steering rack for months. At some threshold ATF level within that system, the hydraulic motor driven by that combined power steering and radiator fan motor pump failed to blow enough air from behind the radiator to induce sufficient cooling draft. That allowed the first of an engine-overheating series, each driving out more engine coolant and air being pulled into the cooling system during cooling cycles. Eventually, the symptoms became obvious to the driver who doesn't closely monitor engine behavior. I topped up the "power steering pump" reservoir to the full mark, adding some ATF seal expander "stop leak" additive to delay the date when power steering seal failure(s) would require replacement. That 3VZ-FE engine immediately cooled back down by 1) adding about a pint of ATF and 2) topping up coolant system to replace volume lost from progressive heating/cooling cycles that progressively purged coolant replacing it with air. One possible repair item you didn't mention was topping up your "power steering pump" reservoir's ATF fluid level. Maybe a shop employee did that without considering the roll it might have played in causing your engine heating. 3VZ-FE engine heads pulled after 50K mile driving increments will reveal surface deposits. Since your partially rebuilt engine has again been run for a while, it's combustion surfaces are again no longer shinny clean. Sorry to rupture people's balloons, but that's good, not bad. Combustion heat loss rates into freshly-cleaned aluminum and steel surfaces are higher than into those surfaces covered with a little thermal-transfer protection. Thin combustion precipitate layers offend people who have not dyno tested lots of engines. Too much surface deposit volume significantly raises compression ratios and can even change effective combustion chamber shapes. But the first combustion chamber surface covering increments IMPROVE engine efficiency, lower Brake Specific Fuel Consumption (BSFC), slightly raise peak torque and increase peak power production capacity. Shinny-clean aluminum surfaces within combustion chambers marginally lower peak pressures by natural ideal gas law action. These are heat engines. The fuel burning function is to create piston-pushing pressure by generating heat. Engine parts are cooled to prevent over-heated part mechanical failures and lubrication-barrier failures. More than a decade ago when we were comparison testing some expensive ceramic coatings on piston tops and cylinder head bottoms and on valve heads verses freshly cleaned metal surfaces, some of those relationships became apparent. Then someone made what at first seemed to be an outrageous suggestion. They said that since we had found slight power increases from normal combustion deposits compared to freshly cleaned metal surfaces, why not spray on some "Extreme temperature paint with thermal-insulating ceramic micro balls?" They suggested that since combustion precipitate deposits can adhere to those surfaces, maybe some of that exotic paint can adhere to those surfaces through combustion processes too. Those combustion precipitate layers have lower thermal transfer rates than bare aluminum, so they reduce combustion chamber temperature loss which translates into slightly higher piston-pushing pressure. Clearly the insulating paint had a much higher thermal barrier effect than combustion deposits. Why not try it. It sounded absurdly simple. But when we tried it, it worked! For about 2% of ceramic coating piston tops, head and valve combustion chamber surfaces, we gained about 50% of those benefits! Having seen water boiled in a paper cup supported over a flame, this all seems less incredible. Just another perspective from someone who performed my first engine rebuild about 50 years ago. I had my expectations, formerly based on book writer's statements, violated so many times that I finally decided that I had to choose which to believe - experience-based observations or keyboard-opinion writers. The FIRST check I'd run to find why a 1992/1993 ES-300 engine is overheating is "power steering" reservoir ATF fluid level. John

Jet-A-Jockey said, "The whole 'using the starter' thing scares me as a somewhat small project could turn into a big problem on the other side of the engine if things go awry." I can't improve on those words. While I don't doubt that using the starter can break these crank pulley bolts free, I thought about that and dismissed the thought because the car doesn't belong to me. I feared that procedure might cause some other grief. I KNOW we can jump over lots of cars while riding a motorcycle, but I've never done that. This starter motor strategy feels too much like those leaps. It's a very appealing idea but I won't be one of the first 10 people trying it. If it becomes a proven technique, I'll add it to my arsenal of tricks. I rarely think of myself as being conservative, but in this case apparently I am. John

"engine fan does not spin fast (high speed) when the a/c is on" First check your power steering fluid level. I've seen another 1992 ES-300 overheat from insufficient power steering fluid which as you know also spins the radiator fan's hydraulic motor. If fluid level or pump-drive-belt slipping that isn't causing these symptoms, I'll look in our 1992 ES-300 Factory Service Manual. When their power steering rack starts dripping fluid, eventually power steering fluid level will drop low enough to cause overheating by way of insufficient fan speed. These cars abound with tricky symptom trains like slipping crankshaft pulley outer section noticeable only by charging system warning light flickering on often by not spinning the belt driving the alternator sufficiently fast. John

Family member reported that they could not restart 1992 Lexus ES-300. Manual 5-speed, so towed it home. I discovered that flooring gas pedal allowed restarts, but if I let rpms drop below 3,000 engine stalled. Read many posts to learn what others had found in correcting similar symptoms. On later Lexus engines, this is generally described as the Idle Air Control Valve or IACV. According to the 1992 Factory Shop Service Manual, the culprit part is called the Idle Speed Control or ISC, sometimes referenced as ISC valve. Ok, for those who have not pulled any of these apart, I'll provide a short functional description. You're familiar with "poppet valves" because one is used at your bathroom sink's bottom. The 3VZ-FE engine uses a fancy poppet valve to control air flow into the intake system. They control that valve's opening with a cute little electrical "stepper motor." Concentric with the poppet valve's air-sealing end is a screw drive sort of like a screw-drive garage-door opener. Rotate the screw one way and it opens the garage door or in this case opens the Idle Air Control Valve. Rotate that same screw the other way to close. That rotatable shaft is rotated by a little 12 VDC 4-position electrical stepper motor. Unlike conventional 12VDC motors, stepper motors only move by finite increments with each new instruction. Since this motor has for positions and circles have 360 degrees, each new instruction only rotates 90 degrees. This works out very nicely in allowing your engine's computer to make little adjustments to how open that ISCV is at any time. Each pulse sent to the next electrical terminal pair rotates the shaft 90 degrees which moves the poppet valve 1/4 of the distance the worm gear shaft is cut. Rather elegant. Now these things get really gooped-up (technical term) with lots of non-volatile gummy sticky stuff that drops out of gasoline. Anyone who believes text-book explanations describing air only flowing inward though induction tracks would expect that no gasoline would be flying around that far upstream from the fuel injectors to cause any precipitation and gummy deposit build-up while driving thousands of miles. But in reality, induction systems act more like organ pipes with air pulses driving in and out differently with different rpms and throttle settings. Back when I was racing motorcycles, we sometimes saw gasoline mist appearing in air several inches back from carb intake horns. While Lexus engines use fuel injectors their intake tracks still cause fuel-laden air pulses to fly forward and back within their induction tracks, which is exactly why all the way back to your throttle plate, they become covered with gummy trash that drops out of fuel on its pulsing journey into the combustion chambers. This isn't all bad because all that extra movement helps evaporate liquid gasoline. Liquid gasoline can't burn. Only when it phase changes into gaseous form can it burn. So the more that is in gaseous form when combustion starts the less will have to phase change during the power stroke which reduces piston pressure "area under the curve" that rotates the crank. Faster phase change from liquid to gaseous form improves fuel economy and improves peak torque and improves peak horsepower. You want it. A price we pay to get excellent phase change from this pulsing system is this gummy stuff we need to occasionally remove. That gummy stuff tries to stick throttle plates closed, but your foot and the steel cable easily overcome its ability to stick those parts together. But that little Idle Air Control Valve seems to fall prey to this sticky goop. One way to address that need to clean is to pay $417 for a new one and labor to swap out the new for the old. While the mechanic is doing that, he / she could with little more effort just clean your original valve so it is as clean as new. Would you throw away one of your best dining dishes if you discovered that one had sticky cherry pie remains hardened onto it? Most of us would not. A locked-shut ISCV is about the same situation. But resist that urge to remove the deposits with your tongue. (silly humor) Where is that little electric valve? Stand at the driver side of engine and follow the longest rubber tube that extends from the 3 inch diameter rubber air tube between the throttle assembly and the Air Mass Flow Sensor. That longest rubber tube connects to your Idle Speed Control Valve. Make sure no children are around to hear your language when removing all those little hoses. Removing them is the most taxing part of this procedure. One of those contains sweet-tasting engine coolant which can poison your cat if they get a chance to drink it. So be prepared to capture about a liter of coolant before the slow stream stops. Or you can anticipate that and drain about 2 liters from your coolant system before disconnecting those tubes. The black plastic housing secured by 3-too-easily-damaged philips screws has a 6-post electrical connector. To remove that connector you must compress a spring-loaded latch which prevents unintended disconnection. Since it has been attached for a while, it won't slide off without a little struggle. Compress the latch tab and pull while wiggling. Don't just pull as that's much harder than breaking it free with some wiggling. Just trying to keep this as easy as possible. Two 12mm hex-head bolts secure the valve to the intake manifold. If the gasket which seals this valve assembly to the intake manifold is damaged in any way, replace it. Ours appeared fine and I cleaned the mating surfaces well before reinstallation, so I reused it saving a trip to the dealership. Naturally the book suggests replacing it whether its good or bad. Why trust mechanic's judgement calls? I might write the same advice were I writing for a Factory Shop Manual. If there's a chance that it won't seal well, don't reuse it. Now your ISCV is in hand. If you want to clean it rather than just replace it, you need to remove those too-tight-to-easily-turn philips screws. I broke them free by simultaneously applying torque with two tools. Mainly I used a 4 inch Vice Grip brand pliers set and a very tight-fitting philips screw driver. Hints when trying to apply maximum force to philips screws. Select only the most tight-fitting screw driver possible. If you feel even a few thousandth of an inch slop clearance, it's not tight enough. Tap the screw driver handle end with a hammer. Not with destructive force, but sufficiently hard to accomplish two goals. First goal is to firmly seat the screw driver into the screw's receiving pocket. Second goal is to "disturb" the screw threads which reduces their break-away torque threshold. This may sound silly, but it works. Work smarter not harder. When turning philips screws, most of your force should be pushing the screw driver into the ramp-like philips screw pocket because torque tends to push philips screw drivers out of their mating pockets. Terrible design. The rest of that hand's force is used to turn the screw. With both locking pliers and good screw driver you'll be able to break those screws free without ruining their philips pocket heads. That's an easily made error. Now you are about to lift off the black plastic cap which contains electric stepper motor windings. Some parts will become free to fall as you remove that cap, so don't do it while standing in your grass. Over a table would be much better. What are these parts? First are 3 identical short steel tubing spaces. They go inside the screw holes that hold the cap on so when you tighten the screws you don't break the plastic. They absorb the load. Also you'll see 2 thin washers about 1/2" diameter. They are not the same. One is flat while the other is bent so it can apply spring load against the rotor shaft end which prevents slop and adds just a little friction so vibration can't rotate that shaft. I did NOT see which washer fit in first. But on reassembly I put the flat washer next to the plastic housing and the spring washer right below it which complies with conventional practice. Also you'll see 2 very nice sealed ball bearing sets that should spin freely. I cleaned this with a starting fluid spray can. Brake cleaner spray would probably do as well. DO not remove the white lubricant grease from the worm drive. It needs to turn freely. The spring washer applies enough end load to prevent it from rotating with engine vibration. Recycling an old tooth brush works well for this kind of cleaning. Prop the throttle plate cable control bell-crank to the open position so you don't need to hold that open during cleaning. I used a plastic screw driver handle to secure the bell-crank open. Now use spray cleaner like starting fluid or brake cleaner to dissolve the goop as far inside your induction track as you can reach with rag wrapped on a thin stick. That tooth brush helps with this. My companion was astonished that this clean-appearing Lexus has so much black nasty goop anywhere as what came out of that induction track. Old socks with heal holes make excellent rags. Nice if they are white so you can better determine if you are still removing goop. I was about to reinstall this assembly when I decided to run the Factory Shop Manual electrical test procedure on it. It says to test by simultaneously applying +12 VDC to the center pair of 6 electrical connections. One small alligator clip easily spans both. The other 4 connections are all negatives, numbered COUNTER CLOCKWISE starting from Top Right as S-1, S-2, S-3, and S-4. Factory Shop Manual says test closing by touching ground to these terminals in this repeating sequence: 1, 2, 3, 4 and repeat. Sure enough, the poppet valve closed by many little steps. Then it suggests testing opening by cycling through this repeating sequence: 4, 3, 3, 1, 4 and repeat. No, I'm not making that up. Not only is it NOT the reverse order of the correct closing sequence, but it doesn't even include position 2!! Very suspicious. I tested it using that procedure. It failed to close. Yes it jumps back and forth by tiny increments, but it will NOT close. Now in frustration, concerned that I might need to either replace that absurdly-priced valve or rewind its tiny stepper motor winding if it had a short or open winding, I went on line. AutoZone also shows this valve and they include Densco's test procedure. Closing sequence is the same as the Factory Shop Manual, which tested good. But their opening sequence is: 3, 2, 1, 4 and repeat. Why they don't just list it as 4, 3, 2, 1, I don't know. Maybe Japanese logic? But by repeating both become the same sequence. I ran that Densco test procedure and the valve tested good!! I reinstalled it and the engine now idles like new. Be patient when you first restart and do install with the valve fully open rather than closed. The engine computer will keep tweaking at that position one increment at a time until it restores normal idling speed. In our case, it took about 10 minutes by which time the engine was full warmed. Top up with antifreeze. If you're a person who would throw away a $417 dinning plate just to avoid washing it, by all means, feel free to throw away your gooped up stuck Idle Speed Control Valve. I know this was long and rambling and included more information than most posts. But if I had had this to read before I would have had a less frustrating experience. Cost for R & R at dealer for this problem is way north of $500. Some have reported as much as $800. Just our local 7% sales tax on that would be another $56. Lots of choices. Hope this helps other 3VZ-FE engine owners which includes 1992 & 1993 Lexus ES-300 and 3.0 V-6 Camrys for the same years. John

"Lexus uses thread-lock and therefore a great amount of torque is needed to break it free. I'd say somewhere around the 250 lb-ft" Is that supposed to be some kind of humor? In the case of the Lexus 3VZ-FE crank pulley I removed, before it broke free I clearly applied over 800 lb-ft before it cracked free making a sound about as loud as a small pistol. If it only took 250 lb-ft to crack these free, we wouldn't be having this discussion and I wouldn't have bent two 1/2" socket set parts by bouncing body weight on long cheater-extension bars. John

From memory about 2 years ago, I think I finally prevented wheel rotation by putting manual transmission in 5th gear to minimize gear ratio torque transmitted to brakes. Then I mechanically locked front brake disk(s). I don't recall exactly how I prevented their rotation but a screwdriver projecting from air-flow passage between sandwiched disks or vice grip on disk are common strategies. Automatic transmission's require other crank immobilization strategies. Yes, that pulley bolt is standard counter-clock to loosen. I had a VERY tough time applying enough torque to break it free. First I tried my longest 1/2" drive ratchet handle which is about 18" long. I used a socket-drive extension shaft so the socket wrench could be outside the wheel well. While it's been years since weight lifting days, my dead lift was just over 500 pounds and I have a history of breaking Craftsman 3/8" sockets without cheater bars. But this tough dog was too tough for me to turn by hand. I took lunch and considered this insult. The Lexus had defeated me. I had been pulling up on the wrench handle with my right hand while trying to hold the left end down as it was connected to the socket extension shaft. New plan: To deliver torque to the pulley bolt, I created an extension shaft support so I could push down on a socket wrench instead of pulling up on the handle. To make that support, I cut a "V" slot across the end of a wood 4"x4", then cut that wood to length so when vertically standing on pavement, the "V" cut groove elevation closely matched the engine's crank pulley center bolt elevation. Getting ready to apply some serious torque here. Supported 1/2" socket extension with socket on pulley at one end and the 4x4 short post V-slot at its other end. I knew I was going to need to extend my socket wrench with a tubing "cheater bar" since I can pull up several times my body weight and that had failed. I learned long ago that cheater bars are a prescription for breaking ratchet mechanisms in socket wrenches. So I decided to use a non-ratcheting "breaker bar" socket wrench. I slid a 3 foot long pipe over the breaker bar and bounced my full body weight on the fully-extended cheater bar. Result? I don't know if that's when I first bent one of my 1/2" drive extension tubes on this project. Or maybe that occurred after I replaced the 3 foot cheater bar pipe with a 6 foot cheater bar. I bent 2 different 1/2" socket extensions. I was using heavy 6-point impact sockets rather than much weaker 12-point non-impact-rated sockets. After the first 1/2" extension bent, I tried another, hoping it would not also fail. Sadly, both failed. New plan 2: Buy a 3/4" socket, 3/4" extension shaft & 3/4" breaker bar. Called phone-book-listed pawn shops and quickly found one willing to sell me those three used pieces for $22 + taxes. Next trial involved the 4x4 support stand with V-slot top, the newly-acquired 3/4" socket tools plus one 6-foot cheater extension pipe. Amazingly, I bounced my full body weight a few times on the cheater bar near its end. Then a loud bang report that could be heard inside the house occurred and the cheater bar moved down, torquing the socket counter clockwise beyond some very high threshold resistance point. What had failed? I'm happy to report that only that tough-dog bolt had broken free. Ridiculously tight. Ok, now that you have that pulley free, know that it is also you engine's "vibration damper." It is made from an inner and outer section connected by an elastic rubber-like connection band. These vibration dampers can and DO separate at their elastic connection barriers, yet when they separate, that separation only disconnects rotationally. They don't fly apart while bolted to your crankshaft when their elastic connection band separates. Instead, they just slip. Results of failed crank-pulley/vibration-damper elastic band connection: First you'll notice that your alternator light flickers on and off. Why? Because the engine crank is spinning normally but that pulley also drives your alternator by way of the attached belt. Second, timing belt marks no longer continuously align with the crank-pulley mark. Why would it? After all, the rotary connection between the pulley assembly's inner section and outer section slips. Yes, it transmits enough torque to spin the alternator, but not enough torque to keep their rotational ratio speeds locked. You may think that you'd hear noise from that slipping. But I've seen one that has slipped for several years without producing enough noise to alert anyone to that failure. I ONLY discovered it when I was asked to change the water pump which prudent time-allocation models suggest is time to also replace the timing belt. Slightly dimmer than normal headlights resulted from lower battery charging voltage due to that internally-slipping vibration damper/pulley. How to fix: Easy high-priced solution is buy a new replacement vibration damper/pulley. As I recall, that's about $300! Alternate strategies: 1) Buy a used but hopefully not used-up vibration damper/pulley. I believe these parts have a finite service life between failures at their elastic connection band. So it is almost impossible to estimate the remaining service life these have when their previous use history is unknown. I feel that buying one used which has not yet failed is comparable to buying a used incandescent light bulb. It may last a long time or it may fail very soon. At least with light bulbs, globe darkening serves as a warning indicator. Whereas used but not-yet-failed elastic bands show no warning signs. 2) Clean elastic band slipping surfaces with solvents, wire brush to create "tooth" surface, then rebond with high-temperature Silicone sealer. Warm over overnight in home oven to about 300 degrees F. to drive out silicone sealer's "vehicle" solvent in gaseous form. That toughens the bond much faster than room-temperature curing. I tried that and it worked for a week. Then a young-behaving male family member drove the car. That was the first time that rebonded assembly was subjected to high rpms since rebonding. When they drove back, the newly-resealed elastic bond had failed again. About 50 years ago, auto part stores commonly offered kits to rebond inner sections to outer sections of failed vibration dampers. Typical results were satisfactory for daily-driver use, but never lasted if raced. Sure satisfaction typically depended on user driving induced maximum stress limits. Nothing has changed except higher typical rpm bands used by today's engines lowers that threshold. For the female Lexus owner's driving, it held. When lead-foot borrowed the car, the bond failed. How's that for a 1:1 correlation? 3) Consider at your own risk. Step 1 - align timing mark locations so crank key and outer pulley section's alignment matches factory setting. Maybe we need to post a photo to precisely show that rotational relationship. Print photo to full sized and set assembly on photo to show where factory alignment occurs. Then scribe or otherwise mark the two parts so future realignments are easily done in the field or on the car for timing belt timing. Step 2 - tack weld or braze or silver-solder the outer and inner sections solidly together, bridging across the elastic gap. I know of only one case where that has been done. User observed no vibration nor failure since fusing those parts together by four tack welds. That was over 100,000 miles ago and it still seems to be performing as well as a new part except for what ever tiny vibration-arresting qualities that elastic band contributes. Super cheap. I suspect it is more durable than a new replacement part. I am neither suggesting nor endorsing this unauthorized procedure. But from a cost/benefit perspective, it certainly seems worth considering. Four quick tack welds preserving alignment and balance would quickly and cheaply put the car back on the road. Just speculating, but if any new vibration were observed after this, I'd pull the pulley and redo it. Grinding off each of those tack welds would take less than 30 seconds. Welding "pulls" when molten metal freezes, so that freezing pull can move parts. Pulling slightly bent RWD driveshafts by weld pulling has been done for many decades. Many engines have been factory fitted with failure-prone vibration-arresting flexing linkages. Navistar 7.3 diesel Ford truck flexing-link flywheels are an infamous example. Thousands of solid replacement flywheels are now in service without reports of increased manual transmission failures from transmitting pulse loads those flexing links were supposed to arrest. Many Japanese-built engine racers replace stock failure-prone flexi-link crank-pulley/vibration-dampers with solid replacements, also without reports of resulting failures. If the inner and outer sections are accurately aligned and concentric, I think this would be a safe repair procedure. The person who did it didn't use a rotating mechanism with dial indicators to make sure the result was concentric to machine-shop standards. A magnetic mount dial indicator could be used while rotating the crank one revolution to check concentric alignment. They just put it in a vice, welded across opposite sides making four tack welds and are still running it. Lots of choices here. Use all this at your own risk. I'm only reporting experience-based procedures which worked. John