MyLexxus

Hi Fergi, Yes, even tho my car is a 92 Lexus ES300, I could only find the FSM for a 93...but it is a 3vz-fe motor. I was trying to think through the crankshaft/camshaft relationship before...see discussion with George Jetson. If I am thinking right...one 360 revolution of the crankshaft should always put the #1 piston at TDC - without the TB on, you don't need to think about the camshaft position. The problem is getting the camshaft right before putting the TB on...which one does by aligning the mark of the RH cam pulley (distributor camshaft) with the timing cover mark. This I assume is TDC for piston #1. I'm assuming this is what the FSM procedures is getting me to do. But it's obviously not working. When I put the timing light on, it seems like if I had put the cam pulley on aligning the 4V knock pin slot (instead of the 3V as per FSM) then the timing would be right according to the timing light (But not right according to the timing marks on the cam pulleys). I'm going to recheck where the rotor is when the 4V mark is lined up with the timing cover, cause it looks like it's pointing half way between 1 and 6. So I'm gonna recheck this. Anyways, I've got it set up as per FSM right now...if the valves are in exhaust mode shouldn't I then turn the camshaft 360 to compression mode (TB off) - instead of turning the crankshaft? lexus............. set no 1 cylinder to TDC/compression stroke. 1: turn crankshaft pulley and align its groove with the timing mark "0".with no 1 timing belt cover. check that the no 1 inlet valves are loose and the no 1 exhaust are tight. if they are not turn the crankshaft 1 revolution 360 deg. and realign the mark. this is with the belt on. if the belt is not on turn crankshaft to align mark, then turn the camshaft with distributor connected so rotor is pointing to no 1 plug with inlet valves loose and exhaust valves tight.the mark on this camshaft should then be just about aligned . make the minor alignment adjustment on camshaft pulley to line up exactly,then align the second camshaft , put belt on once these are all aligned, check to make sure they are all lined up exactly and this should then be able to start. one thing is certain, eventually this problem will sort itself out fergi Thanks again fergi...I'll get at this this weekend and let you know how it went.

Hi Fergi, Yes, even tho my car is a 92 Lexus ES300, I could only find the FSM for a 93...but it is a 3vz-fe motor. I was trying to think through the crankshaft/camshaft relationship before...see discussion with George Jetson. If I am thinking right...one 360 revolution of the crankshaft should always put the #1 piston at TDC - without the TB on, you don't need to think about the camshaft position. The problem is getting the camshaft right before putting the TB on...which one does by aligning the mark of the RH cam pulley (distributor camshaft) with the timing cover mark. This I assume is TDC for piston #1. I'm assuming this is what the FSM procedures is getting me to do. But it's obviously not working. When I put the timing light on, it seems like if I had put the cam pulley on aligning the 4V knock pin slot (instead of the 3V as per FSM) then the timing would be right according to the timing light (But not right according to the timing marks on the cam pulleys). I'm going to recheck where the rotor is when the 4V mark is lined up with the timing cover, cause it looks like it's pointing half way between 1 and 6. So I'm gonna recheck this. Anyways, I've got it set up as per FSM right now...if the valves are in exhaust mode shouldn't I then turn the camshaft 360 to compression mode (TB off) - instead of turning the crankshaft?

its a bit hard looking at the timing marks etc in pictures but if the rotor is not quite pointing to no 1 cyl could your belt be one notch out. fergi Hi, As per the pictures above, the timing marks on the cams are right on at TDC after manually turning the crankshaft 2 revs. Only the marks on the belt have shifted which were all lined up on the pulley alignment marks before I turned the crank,... shouldn't matter as long as the timing marks on the cam and crank pulleys are aligned right? Fergi, the rotor must be right since I have the knock pin on the RH cam pulley aligned properly with the timing mark on the timing cover. I have turned the crankshaft several times and the alignment marks on the cams always line up with the timing marks on the timing covers at TDC. Still not firing. Will try the starting spray...and get a timing light. OK, first of all there are two sets of knock pin slots on the cam pulleys...I assume for different engines. They are labeled 4V and to the right of that, 3V. With the RH and LH cam pulleys installed on the FSM prescribed (3V) knock pin slot on the cam pulley, I noticed that cylinder 1 fires when the 4V knock pin slot (on both cam pulleys) actually lines up with the timing marks on the timing cover. I figured this out by strobing the TDC mark I marked on the face of the crankshaft pulley. After cranking with the starter, I manually moved the crank TDC mark, I made, to the position where the timing light stopped it while cranking with the starter. So, where the strobe stops this mark is where, on the cam pulleys, the 4V slots lines up with the alignment mark on the upper timing cover. So it looks like I should have used the 4V slots instead of the 3V slots lining up with the knock pin. But the FSM calls for the 3V slot. Can anyone please figure out why the 4V slot lines up proper with TDC instead of the 3V mark? Is the 4V slot for a different engine type? One more thing. I can feel that with the 3V slots lined up, the cam shafts are at rest, the valve spring tension holds them at rest and in in alignment with the Timing cover mark. I can foresee that if I used the 4V slots, the camshafts will be under higher valve spring tension and in a different position and would need the TB in proper place to hold them in alignment. That doesn't seem right but I would need to have the valve covers off to see. This is getting complicated. If there is a Lexus technician or guru out there, I would greatly appreciate some feedback. Thanks! just wondering if you have sorted out your timing problem, its hard to really diagnose the problem from a distance but this is what i would be trying next. 1. turn motor by hand until distributor points to no 1 plug 2. make sure that the motor is at TDC with valves rocking freely, ie not under any tension from rocker arms, this will be compression stroke, i know it will be a hassle to take off the rocker cover but only take off RC for no 1 cylinder. if the valves are under pressure then hand crank it another revolution to bring it to compression stroke. 3.check your timing mark on the camshaft to align to the proper marks, then set the second camshaft to its marks then the belt should go on with the marks in the correct alignment. keep us posted. cheers fergi. Hi Fergi, Thanks for the followup. No...I'm kinda stumped. But...I will attempt the rocker cover removal this long weekend...so that I can be sure of the timing once and for all.

Do you have the FSM? http://www.turboninjas.com/camry/

its a bit hard looking at the timing marks etc in pictures but if the rotor is not quite pointing to no 1 cyl could your belt be one notch out. fergi Hi, As per the pictures above, the timing marks on the cams are right on at TDC after manually turning the crankshaft 2 revs. Only the marks on the belt have shifted which were all lined up on the pulley alignment marks before I turned the crank,... shouldn't matter as long as the timing marks on the cam and crank pulleys are aligned right? Fergi, the rotor must be right since I have the knock pin on the RH cam pulley aligned properly with the timing mark on the timing cover. I have turned the crankshaft several times and the alignment marks on the cams always line up with the timing marks on the timing covers at TDC. Still not firing. Will try the starting spray...and get a timing light. OK, first of all there are two sets of knock pin slots on the cam pulleys...I assume for different engines. They are labeled 4V and to the right of that, 3V. With the RH and LH cam pulleys installed on the FSM prescribed (3V) knock pin slot on the cam pulley, I noticed that cylinder 1 fires when the 4V knock pin slot (on both cam pulleys) actually lines up with the timing marks on the timing cover. I figured this out by strobing the TDC mark I marked on the face of the crankshaft pulley. After cranking with the starter, I manually moved the crank TDC mark, I made, to the position where the timing light stopped it while cranking with the starter. So, where the strobe stops this mark is where, on the cam pulleys, the 4V slots lines up with the alignment mark on the upper timing cover. So it looks like I should have used the 4V slots instead of the 3V slots lining up with the knock pin. But the FSM calls for the 3V slot. Can anyone please figure out why the 4V slot lines up proper with TDC instead of the 3V mark? Is the 4V slot for a different engine type? One more thing. I can feel that with the 3V slots lined up, the cam shafts are at rest, the valve spring tension holds them at rest and in in alignment with the Timing cover mark. I can foresee that if I used the 4V slots, the camshafts will be under higher valve spring tension and in a different position and would need the TB in proper place to hold them in alignment. That doesn't seem right but I would need to have the valve covers off to see. This is getting complicated. If there is a Lexus technician or guru out there, I would greatly appreciate some feedback. Thanks!

its a bit hard looking at the timing marks etc in pictures but if the rotor is not quite pointing to no 1 cyl could your belt be one notch out. fergi Hi, As per the pictures above, the timing marks on the cams are right on at TDC after manually turning the crankshaft 2 revs. Only the marks on the belt have shifted which were all lined up on the pulley alignment marks before I turned the crank,... shouldn't matter as long as the timing marks on the cam and crank pulleys are aligned right? Fergi, the rotor must be right since I have the knock pin on the RH cam pulley aligned properly with the timing mark on the timing cover. I have turned the crankshaft several times and the alignment marks on the cams always line up with the timing marks on the timing covers at TDC. Still not firing. Will try the starting spray...and get a timing light.

Not sure if you can tell from the diagram...it's a poor scan...but give this a look... http://www.lexuspartsnow.com/diagrams/large/284450/front-door-lock-handle-mbv412a.png

Hi again, I will try turning over by hand 2x to see it everything still lines up tomorrow. Here are pics of my cams,the crank timing gear, crank pulley and distributor. I thought the rotor was on #1, but it's just before it as it turns CCW. All the lines on the TB line up properly to all the alignment marks.

If you are looking for the magnetic clutch relay, it is in Relay Block 5 located under the hood, driver's side, closest to the strut mount.

sometimes if you set the timing to tdc you may have it set on exhaust stroke and not compression stroke, that is you could be 180 degrees out with your timing, can you put a timing light on it and try cranking the motor over when its set to tdc your your tappits on no 1 pot should be under no pressure on both exhaust and intake valves, that is the tappits should be loose' also double check your plug leads are correct, check each one properly with the correct firing order. cheers fergi Thanks for the reply fergi. It would be out 180 if the camshaft and the crankshaft were out 180. But I started from scratch with the TB off. If I align the camshaft pulleys with their timing mark on the back cover, then I assume that the valves are set for compression on cylinder 1. I should be able to set the crankshaft to TDC without having to worry about whether I have the compression stroke or the exhaust stroke since the TB has not been connected yet. It only matters if the TB is on, then, the timing is obviously critical. I've looked an animation of an engine on Youtube. By itself the crankshaft turns one revolution, the piston goes down, up one stroke. When you bring the timing belt into play, now, this is where the 4 strokes come into play. Anyone, please correct me if I have this wrong. Check another source to see if they have a better description of the timing marks. I've got everything apart again, and I can't see where I have gone wrong. You are correct that the pistons complete their cycle once every revolution of the crank. Also that the cams require two crank revolutions to complete their cycle. So once the crank is aligned to the cams, you should be fine. The problem with the distributor being 180 deg out of phase is a valid point ONLY if you have removed the distributor. If you have not removed the distributor the relationship between the cam and dist has not been disturbed. If you have removed the dist, then it is possible that you put it in 180 deg out. The distributor has to be aligned so that the rotor is pointing to the correct cylinder when the cylinder completes the compression stroke. Since you have spark and gas, you should double check your marks, it sounds like one may be off. Thank you GJ, No, the distributor was never removed, I took the cap off to see if the rotor was pointing to cyl 1 when the cam pulley was aligned up with the timing mark on the rear timing cover. It was. Am I correct in assuming that the cams are set for cyl 1 TDC when properly aligned with the rear timing cover marks? If yes then all I need to do is make sure that the crankshaft is TDC 0 and put on the TB, right? I just put the TB back on as per the 93 ES300 FSM and I don't see that I did anything different from the first time. I looked for the timing marks that fit the cam pulley marks, used a cable tie to keep the TB on the marks, made sure all the teeth fit the timing gear and there was no slack between all the pulleys. Will post pics tomorrow.

sometimes if you set the timing to tdc you may have it set on exhaust stroke and not compression stroke, that is you could be 180 degrees out with your timing, can you put a timing light on it and try cranking the motor over when its set to tdc your your tappits on no 1 pot should be under no pressure on both exhaust and intake valves, that is the tappits should be loose' also double check your plug leads are correct, check each one properly with the correct firing order. cheers fergi Thanks for the reply fergi. It would be out 180 if the camshaft and the crankshaft were out 180. But I started from scratch with the TB off. If I align the camshaft pulleys with their timing mark on the back cover, then I assume that the valves are set for compression on cylinder 1. I should be able to set the crankshaft to TDC without having to worry about whether I have the compression stroke or the exhaust stroke since the TB has not been connected yet. It only matters if the TB is on, then, the timing is obviously critical. I've looked an animation of an engine on Youtube. By itself the crankshaft turns one revolution, the piston goes down, up one stroke. When you bring the timing belt into play, now, this is where the 4 strokes come into play. Anyone, please correct me if I have this wrong. I've got everything apart again, and I can't see where I have gone wrong.

Hi, I'm having problems starting the engine replacing the timing belt. It turns over but I'm not sure it's firing right. When I was installing the new belt, I set the crankshaft pulley to the TDC mark 0. Then I worked my way with the belt to the LH cam pulley (front)made sure it was taut with the crankshaft timing gear, and cable tied it to the pulley to keep it from slipping. Did the same with the RH cam pulley and made sure the belt was taut between the two cam pulleys. I made sure the cam pulley timing marks were aligned with the rear timing cover marks. Installed the tensioner. Did I miss anything? I didn't use the marks on the belt, just made sure the pulley marks and crank timing gear were aligned with their respective marks. Maybe I got this wrong. I checked that I had spark on cycl 1. and I could smell the gas fumes after cranking it. I double checked that the piston in cyl1 was correct at TDC with the crank pully set on TDC 0. Does anyone have any idea what might be wrong? I'm thinking it must still be a timing problem. Thanks,

OK, I tried the engine bumping trick. I broke the 3/8 breaker bar drive tab doing this. Tried a half inch breaker bar and socket. It just holds the crankshaft... won't loosen the bolt. Charged battery...got them all off.

Hello, I'm trying to replace the water pump in my 92 Lexus ES300. I'm down to removing the 2 cam pulleys(spoked) and the crankshaft pulley(flat with two mounting holes for the puller). For the crankshaft pulley, I put the wheel back on and left the car in 1st gear and used a breaker bar on it. But there's still too much give in the CV joint. I didn't want to break anything. I read elsewhere here about the starter-bump trick. I'm gonna try that tomorrow...but sounds dangerous to me...tho I'm desperate. Someone also said the you can get the waterpump off without taking the cam pulleys off...can someone verify that? I've attached two pics. Thanks for the help.

Hi Everyone, With our -49C windchill in SK, I need to put in a Block Heater for my kid's Es300. Does anyone know where the frost plug is located? I have the 93 FSM but can't find it. I might consider putting in a Temro tank-type circulation heater...has anyone put one of these in? Thanx