PFB

Two months ago I purchased an 01' ES300 (75k Miles) which so far has proven to be in excellent shape. What an amazing piece of Engineering!

I drove it already close to 1,500 miles, mostly city, but some limited highway as well. So far it has not burned a drop of oil. I am using Mobil-1 5W30. I don't have the maintenance history of the car, as I purchased it from a used car dealer. I do have the Car Fax report and all was well.

For no other reason, but for my own peace of mind, I ordered from my Lexus dealer a front valve cover gasket so that I can remove the front valve cover and inspect to make sure that this car does not have any sludge build-up issues.

My questions are the following:

1) Is there a DIY for this car on how to remove and replace the front valve cover gasket?

2) Do I need to remove the spark plugs as well, or just the 3 Ignition coils?

3) How long should this job take, given that I am your average back yard mechanic?

4) Should I even bother doing this, or am I being too paranoid.


Thanks,

Phil

GEORGE_JET

It is a simple job for any begining mechanic, you do not need to remove the spark plugs, but you will need to remove the coils.

You purchased a valve cover gasket, just make sure that you also get three spark plug tube gaskets too. Over the years they tend to dry out and harden, if you reuse them you may end up with a leak.

llcoolpass

that and now is a good time to do a mod to prevent future leaks [look that up, but i think this is a start:

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/sh...=157503&page=5

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/es3...ution-new.html

its simple but it still has to be done right. use a guide. take a picture of the inside and post it here. several of us are experts on what it looks like. it is wise of you to be doing this. sadly, you maybe should have done this already, but still, i think toyota/lexus would still cover it if it were to need sludge repair..

PFB

Thanks for the feed back.

George, What do you mean by spark plug tube gaskets? Is that what I ask for at the dealer's part's Department? Is that an easy install?

Thanks

Phil

GEORGE_JET

These engines have four valves per cylinder, the spark plug is located in the center of these valves. As a result they are located inside tube, that stick out the center of the valve cover. There are rubber grommets that seal the tubes so that you do not leak oil. The front valve cover is easy to access, and once you remove the coil pack it will be very evident what I am talking about.

When you pick up the gasket, ask them about the spark plug tube seals. You will need three per valve cover. They will know what you are talking about, they are like a small donut, app 1 1/2 in dia.

PFB

Got it.

Thanks

PFB

I removed the front Valve cover today, and nervously had a look inside for any signs of sludge. No sludge, only a bit of normal varnish. I took pictures.

To me all looked OK, but I am no expert. I than changed the valve cover gasket, and as suggested I tried to replace the 3 Spark plug tube Rubber Grommets, but they were not coming out easily, and the old ones still looked OK, and where not leaking, so I put everything back.

Now at least I have some peace of mind in terms of sludge problems.

Any comments?

Thanks

Phil

llcoolpass

the front head yes but the rear one is the bi1ch on these cars. and no that thats normal for all cars to look like that, only toyota lexus 1mzfe is it normal to have such color of varnish so prevalent. but yours does look clean of thick deposits in those pics. its funny how consistent the varnish thing is on these engines. everyone's engine pic always look exactly [exageration but you get the idea] like that.

you shouldn't have GIVEN UP on taken the spark plug seals out. they are only going to get harder to remove in the future when they leak so yeah a shame you didnt .

now do the rear.......

congrats on your first time doing this kind of thing!

GEORGE_JET

I agree, the head looks normal, BUT you really should have been more persistant on the spark plug tube seals. It is not a good idea to re-use them it will leak (maybe not right now).

PFB

You are right. I probably should have persisted in removing them, but at least now I know how to remove the valve cover, so if the spark plug grommets start leaking, I'll change them. I have 3 new ones on hand. I was originally going to return them to the dealer, but will now keep them for future use.

I'll do a search on this site, to see if I can determine how those grommets should have come out. It was not that apparent at the time.

Thanks,

Phil

GEORGE_JET

I rested the valve cover on a 2x4, and then found a socket that fit and light taps on a hammer to tap out the seals. A little bit of oil on the outside of the seal helps when you push them back in.

PFB

Hi George,

Thanks for the Info. I hope I don't have to deal with it for many more months. Although I am an an Engineer, and am knowledgeable, I am rather clumsy, and things tend to break when I touch them. My wife won't let me fix anything around the house, but I usually do anyways.

Now that I put things back, I don't remember. Do those Grommets come out from the bottom of the cover, or from the top. In other words, which way do they come out

By the way, I've been driving Mercedes Diesel cars, for the last 15 years, so my Mercedes Diesel knowledge is Excellent. On the other hand, I am now new to Lexus, so my knowledge of this car is very limited.

On an aside, from what I've experienced so far, the Lexus is a much nicer car. I Will never go back to Mercedes again. The last Mercedes I had, was a 1995 E300 Diesel, which I traded in for this Lexus. Except for the Engine and transmission, on that car which were totally trouble free, the rest of the car always needed repairs. It was the worst car I ever had.

I've never had any bad comments so far about the Lexus Everyone I speak with has a very good impression of Lexus cars. This was not true for Mercedes.

It may be premature for me to say, so, but this Lexus is really amazing.

Phil

llcoolpass

what u describe about the MB vs lexus is exactly right and sadly decades straight of the same thing.

also, autozone has hard to decipher, but free, repair guide, but if you can, get or buy the FSM for your car. get meaning is obvious but vague enough at the same time haha. unfort, the 97, though similar in many respects, is the only fsm that you could download without being charged if you do a google search or a clublexus search.

also, when you replace the seals they are only going get harder, more likely to deteriorate and leave residues behind, but hey your plan isnot horrible either. more important is the vcg and making sure to tighten it good and possibly resort to not using the factory designed washers to prevent leaks and in the same instance to tighten to a higher torque spec closer to the normal spec for the bolt.

what george jet said sounds like what i did on my 3VZ-FE seals

PFB

llcoolpass. I subscribed to ALLDATA for one year. I used to be a subscriber there for my previous Mercedes, and now I am for my Lexus. For some reason though, ALLDATA, was much much better in terms of info for my '95 E300 Diesel Mercedes than for my current '01 ES300 Lexus.

Over the last several weeks I tried to look up several things on ALLDATA, but did not have much luck in terms of finding the info that i was looking for. Just today, I tried to look up on ALLDATA on how to change those spark plug tube grommets, but could not find anything either. So I am not sure that it was worth joining ALLDATA if you have a LEXUS.

George Jet was more help to me than ALLDATA was.

Phil

llcoolpass

well its for pros , it's not exactly a haynes manual ... but let us know what you find in the rear head if you do