[rojo412]

So I finally got a day to shine up the ES250, figured I'd share a story and a few pics...

Just got this last week, have done brakes, tuneup, valve cover gasket, and now have flushed the coolant system and cleaned up the bay.

Then my friend showed me about doing a cone filter, so we did. Wasn't terribly tough to do and inexpensive. Makes the car pull a bit harder, but it's rainy today, so didn't get the full effect. Still need to brace it up, though it fits snugly.

 

[disregard]

How many miles are on this whip ?
Great looking ES ! what year is it a 90 ?

 

[rojo412]

Milage is unknown, the speedo stopped at 128k. If I had to guess, it's close to 200k, but no clue. All I know is the more I fix, the more I fall in love with it. It's my ideal car (well, if it had leather, a better stereo, etc, but I'm working on it). Great mileage, fast as hell, no rust, and easy to park. And not all tiny and stuff like my old Honda Civic. Plus, this could smoke that car anyway.
It's a 91, actually. It replaced my 91 Camry DX wagon, which was also one of my most loved cars. If that car wasn't rusted out, I'd still have it.

 

[TBayToyotaBoy]

Lookin' good! But man, is that a factory radiator? It's HUGE! :lol:

I wish mine looked so damned good...I can't wait to save enough to get the bodywork done...sigh. Stupid economic downturn.

 

[rojo412]

I wish it looked as good on the outside as the pics make it. It's actually kinda denty. No rust, though, so that's good. However, it must never see the winter streets of Cleveland to keep it that way.

But yes, screw the economic downturn!

 

[TBayToyotaBoy]

Ha ha, you're doing it the right way...dents but no rust. I'd take that any day!

You said something about the ES not having leather...is that right? I thought they all came with leather seats standard. Every one I've ever seen in Canada did, anyhow.

 

[rojo412]

Another good day, went to the pullapart to pull some parts. Of course, that just brought up more questions:
Couldn't figure out how to get the tail lights off, broke the ones on their car, wasn't too happy about that. Any Tips?

Got a lot of small fixes for the ES. Picked up an extra MAF to experiment with. What does the flapper do inside there?
Put the bottom of the airbox under that cone filter for a splashguard, by the way.

So that brings me to the cupholders... how can I fix them? A replacement seems hard to find.

 

[rojo412]

Ha ha, you're doing it the right way...dents but no rust. I'd take that any day!

You said something about the ES not having leather...is that right? I thought they all came with leather seats standard. Every one I've ever seen in Canada did, anyhow.

I WISH! This is cloth and the back seat has a mouse hole in it! I was surprised that it was cloth as well, but same with the 5 speed, so... figured it was the "Budget Lexus".

 

[Justin727]

Not too shaby! I bought a 91 LE camry V6 w/ moon roof for the wife and bought myself a 95 Corolla w/ moon roof for myself to just drive around in.. Both cars have under 130k on them...

I've already done all the tune up work on the camry and seals, flushes.. Just gotta do the Timing belt Job.

Did the seals and a minor tune up on the corolla with fluid flushes as well. Both cars are due for timing belt jobs so I suppose the corolla first since it's easier then the camry next!

 

[rojo412]

Okay, so I could use a little insight here...
The speedometer doesn't work, but the tach does. I have heard the theories of the bad cable, so I took stuff apart as much as I could.

There are essentially 3 sections of the speedo: the parts mounted to the tranny, the tube from that, and the upper section with a square cable in it, which goes through the firewall into the back of the actual speedometer.

On mine, the tube section and square cable both move freely. I have tested the speedo by spinning the back and the needle jumps. However, I don't really know how to check the part at the tranny. It seems like a bolt holds it in, but didn't get it off (size?). If this information tells anyone anything of what I need to do to fix it, please let me know. I have searched the threads and answers are mixed.
Can or should I spray it with some lube?
If it has to be replaced, where do I find it an what's it called?

It's driving me nuts, I can't figure out my mileage or speed. My one buddy suggested getting a GPS and mounting it in place of the speedo. Great, but expensive and not really what I want to have there.

 

[rojo412]

Been a while, but I'm back at the car, this time with pitbull tenacity! As you may or may not know, the car is in need of some major repairs, all of which I plan on documenting experiences with in this forum, in hopes they may help other DIY people. I am not driving this car until the work is done, so I may as well throw the info I find at whoever finds this in the search.

Here's the task list that I must tackle:
1) Needs a water pump/timing belt done
2) All engine mounts need to be replaced
3) I feel like painting all the stuff that is seen and would look good not rusty
4) O2 sensor (possibly)
5) Speedo cable
6) Thermostat
7) Radiator (not replacing, but an explanation how)
8) Alternator (not replacing)

So here's what I decided to do today...

I started to try to get to the Timing belt/water pump. If you have a 2VZFE, take note: There's a mess of crap in front of it!
First, take off the STRUT BRACE (if you have it). All it was is 4-14mm nuts and it slides off, you can push it out of the way. You should also take off the snap on covers for the ABS and the cruise control. Easy.
Then, I took the bolts out for mounting the POWER STEERING RESEVOIR and from the CRUISE CONTROL. They are all 10mm heads and come out easy. Trick is, get the 3 from the cruise first, then the resevoir. Once you do that, they can be moved easily, you don't have to take them out (so far). You can disconnect the cable from the cruise and set them off to the sides. If you want to remove the cruise completely, mark the 2 vacuum hoses and unplug the 2 wire clips. EASY STUFF!
Once to that point, you may as well pull off the brace from the top of the intake plennum (sp?). 3-14mm bolts and it's off. (REPAINT!)

This is when I hit an impasse. Taking the cover off wasn't quite happening, so I decided that since it needed to go anyway, just do it... remove the RADIATOR and ALTERNATOR.
Not hard for the radiator, easy to describe and do, just messy.
1) Drain it (plug at bottom or just remove the lower hose).
2) Remove hoses, top and bottom
3) Unplug fans
4) Remove top mounting brackets (repaint!). 12 mm bolts
5) Carefully lift it out. Set it aside, flush it later, paint it, whatever. Not so bad...

For the alternator, I just loosened the 12 mm nut/bolt tensioner thing and the 14 mm mounting bolt. Slacked the accessory belt, let it slide off. Disconnected all points to the alternator (nut on top, all wiring clips attached, had to get off). Not too hard. HOWEVER! The bolts that you loosened must come off. The tensioner, easy. Unscrew it take it off. Main bolt... you have to get it all the way loose, then gently manipulate the AC/power steering lines to move out of it's removal path. Once that's out, you have to kind of rotate it until you can lift it out safely. Done and done.

So the stuff it out or moveable, now what? Well, I took the bolts out of the timing plate cover. 10 mm all around. You have to find more than you think. And I think I found them all, but I can't get the cover off. I believe the motor mount is in the way... well, it needs to be done anyway, but I don't have the tool today, so that's where I stopped on that.

The THERMOSTAT is buried within the mess of the side of the engine in a way that it is difficult to do, even with the parts gone. 3-12mm nuts hold its cover on. A 10 mm screw on the alternator mount holds the cover assembly in place. Take the thermo out and replace it (you may as well if you get this far). I just took it out, there's a lot more work to do before I put the new one in.

That is it for today. What I plan on doing next is hitting up my buddy for use of his impact gun (or 1/2" drive set of ratchets) and tackling the motor mount on the upper right, as well as the front lower mount.

I will need to remove the intake as well. I have done this before, but if you want to know, it's like this:

Find all the vacuum lines and mark them well with a paint marker. Come up with a system of initials, dots, or whatever you can remember. Label all points on the hose and the intake, then start pulling them off the tubes. Once you remove those, there are 4-14mm bolts/nuts that come off from the middle. Take the airbox hose off the throttle body, too. You will also have to undo the EGR system, off the back of the intake. Mine came disconnected when I got the car, but my buddy eliminated it by sealing the holes and removing the required vac lines from it. I don't know that process, and if my car had a check engine light bulb, it would light up. But it doesn't and didn't, so... sweet.
Taking off the intake makes getting to the SPEEDO SETUP a lot easier, as well as is necessary in a full tuneup for the rear plugs, wires, distributor and cap.

Pictures to follow.

 

[Justin727]

Good luck!

 

[1883atlantics]

That RH engine stay will need to be removed. Another member did the timing belt job w/o removing it but I don't think it went easily for him (could be wrong). Search for his posts on here. Taking the intake plenum off is not super-hard for a shadetree mechanic, but it's time consuming unless you've done it multiple times before. I just got my car back from the shop and they did all the spark plugs; the mechanic said he doesnt like the 2vz or 3vz since the plenum has to come off for compression tests (mine is good, btw).
Once that plenum is off there is quite a few things u can do easily. I'm sure you know what those are. Oh and make sure you clean everything really well since it's a bear to get back in that neck of the woods. lol
I did my 2vz's thermostat with some "just-right" length sockets/tools but I must have set a new record for most new curse words invented in one day! The radiator is super easy. Replace all hoses your budget will allow -- that rubber is 17 years old.
I wish u the best of luck and would like to say a big Thanks for documenting all of this so well!

Jeff
90 Le sedan AT, FWD
2vz-fe
141k miles and back from the shop yay!

 

[rojo412]

Hey, it's my pleasure. In the search for info, there has been a bit of lack in the details of this engine, so I figure it's best to just lay everything out as clearly as possible for the next person who is looking to do this.

RE: Intake Plenum
It's easy to get off of there, but the thing I can stress the most is making sure you plug EVERYTHING back in correctly because yes, it's annoying as hell to get it all off if you just put it on. Not hard, annoying. The vac line under it directly, for example, I forgot when I first did this (for the valve cover gaskets/tuneup). The plenum itself is only 2 bolts, 2 nuts. The vacs, gas line, wiring mounts, grounds, wires in the way, strut brace... they want that thing to stay where it is!

RE: Right side engine mount
If anyone were to be able to do the timing belt/water pump with that mount there, I would accuse them of witchcraft! There is NO WAY! And even if there were, you are THAT FAR IN! Why make it harder on yourself? All of mine need to be done anyway, so I'm more than willing to remove it. The positive note for this type of job is you usually only have to do it once (if you do it right). And if you happen to use the car long enough for round 2, you know the steps. I do wish all I was doing was the mount because that isn't as hard to reach for a mere mortal.

And yes, clean as much as you can when that stuff is out. This thing is gonna be MINT when I'm done. Well, as mint as I can get, let's just leave it at that.

The thorn in my side is still the speedo cable mount to the tranny. That is NOT easy, even with the plenum gone. And though I got the bolt that I assumed was keeping it on, it still doesn't want to come loose. I will keep trying, but that is such a pain. I read the other posts on it, but none seem to clearly state just how to do it in any kind of easy way. Ah well, never say die.

 

[1883atlantics]

Yeah the member that did his timing belt w/o removing the RH engine stay mentioned it was not easy. I don't believe he had air tools which is why he didn't remove it? Not sure, don't remember exactly.
What plugs did you use for the tune-up? What wires? Did you do the distro cap/rotor as well? On my 2vz I couldn't get the heat shield off around the cap, there was 1 screw being blocked by a hard line to the engine. I assume it's the same on yours? (I did get it changed though)
Just wondering, how much are all of your mounts going to cost? I have the AT but I think a couple of the mounts are the same, just your tranny mounts are different? I would like to do mine if they aren't too costly. I just got done spending $350 on various repairs to get the car to pass local emissions (and that was with over $500 from my county!)
Re: speedo cable. Do you have the factory service manual? That would be a good help in this case. I have sort of the same problem, but mine will work after I get going ~10-15mph. It just "sticks" and then works fine. I quickly researched the manual and I think it said something about gearing inside the tranny case where the cable bolts to it. Not sure..but you may want to look into that, b/c if that's the root cause of the problem you may well need to open the tranny to properly fix it (yikes).
Hope this helps and best of luck in your process
Jeff

 

[z44ss]

Good info, ill be watching your progress as i need to do a timing belt on mine i think. more pics the better.

 

[rojo412]

http://s731.photobucket.com/albums/ww313/rojo412/Lexus ES250/ for more pics. Nothing explained or in order, but check em out.

The plugs were NGK, nothing fancy, my buddy, the mechanic said they would be fine. The wires were... Bosch I think? They were whatever Car Parts Warehouse had, he has a pro account there. The disty was a pain to get at, but it eventually went on. I remember using the 8mm socket and keeping a steady hand as possible (Don't touch the sides... BUTTERFINGERS!).

Priced motormounts at rockauto.com at around $90 for the 3 of them, ebay was about the same. Waiting to hear the number from my guy, but most likely is a bit more than those 2.

Can't find my manual, must clean the house! It is around here somewhere. I am still just trying to figure it out, I have the luxury of time without the loan of some power tools...

And as for my progress as of right now, I have removed the plenum and the front valve cover. The cover needs a repaint, so I brushed it as clean as possible, stripped it a little, got some wheel paint in bronze. I haven't got the time as of yet, but will snap before and after pics. Once I do the main coat of bronze, I'm gonna mask it off and spray the black engine coat (or what wheel paint in black I have) in the center and will be doing touch up paint by hand in the lines and logo. It's getting nice and warm for this kind of stuff, so I'm ready for some "booth time" (in my potting barn out back). Not planning on doing the rear cover, as it can't be seen, will get messy in 5 minutes, an isn't worth the effort. It's clean enough!

Once I get the impact gun to borrow (18v Mac... AWESOME!!!), I will do the belt stuff and the therm. The way I see it, I paint the cover, do the TB/WP, reinstall cover, parts, mounts, etc... fill radiator, may as well change oil. Other fluids and I'M DONE! Sounds so easy (groan!)... oh well, at least it's warmer here. And the hard work is mostly done. Putting it back is usually a bit easier.

 

[DC 2vzfe dx]

this is my camry 2vzfe

 

[rojo412]

Very nice!

 

[disregard]

what are all those red wires coming out of that round cap attached to the battery ? Grounds ?