Truong714

Hello Gentlement, I'm so happy to join the forum. My wife owns a 2011 ES 350 that she bought from dealer brand new. It has 124000 miles on it right now and just freeway miles. We stopped taking the car to the dealership for oil change and maintaince and stuffs because she decided to keep the car since it is over 100K miles. Since then, I have been doing oil change for her, I also changed the transmission fluid at 100,000 miles from the write up in the forum (thanks). What do you recommend for services after 100K miles that can do at home (coolant changed, spark plugs changed, serpentine belts replacement , etc)?
My research has led me to decide to change out the WATERPUMP after 120,000 (recommended by the dealership to change water pump for $1000 ) . It is not leaking right now but what are the chances of it breaking down after 120K miles? My concern is that she commute almost 80 miles per day to work round trip. If it breaks down anywhere between home and work then we are screwed. My skills level : I have worked on my 1993 Toyota Camry from oil change to transmission fluid and filter change except timing belt. I have done timing belt and water pump replacement on my father in law's 1996 Madaz MPV van took me 3 days 5-6 hrs/day to figure it out. I have seen many videos for youtube regarding Lexus water pump it is not that hard actually but no room in the engine compartment compare to the minvan. Any recommendations thank you.

chuyrobles

All the things you mentioned need to be replaced: coolant, plugs, serpentine belt. I would add idler pulleys, thermostat and radiator hoses.

The alternator's decoupler pulley should be replaced. You will not see that mentioned in the maintenance schedule, but Gates recommends replacing it every 100K miles. Our alternator got fried at 155K when the decoupler froze up and the heat generated from the friction fried the alternator innards.

I replaced our radiator at 118K, but the OEM water pump is still going strong. Just check the weep hole for leaks and monitor the coolant level. I will replace the pump at 200K as preventive maintenance unless it gives me a reason to change it sooner.

I'm pretty sure I can find a local mechanic to replace the pump for under 1K. What part of the state are you in? There is a Toyota/Lexus certified mechanic at another forum that has his own shop now and is known to do quality work at non-stealership prices for forum members, but he resides in northern San Diego area.

Other items replaced include upper engine support (looks like a wishbone) and #6 ignition coil.

Did you replace the ATF filter? If not, do it at the next full ATF flush, I say not past 150K. Not past 130K if you only did drain/refill.

I've heard of the pass window falling off the rail. Have read it also affecting the Camry's, on which the ES350 is based. We have not had this problem, but it does concern me.

PoorES

The water pump is very difficult to replace. You have to remove the motor mounts and jack up the engine. I just had this done on my car. You should also change the two idler pulleys and the alternator clutch because they're known to be defective. Also, I'd replace the thermostat and radiator hose. Expect to spend around $400-$500 on parts alone. You can do a mixture or ebay and other sites. Personally, I find http://www.partznet.com/ or http://toyotaparts.bochtoyotasouth.com to usually be the cheapest.

Get a shallow 14mm socket for the tensioner and idler pulleys. A regular socket is to long.

Last word of advice, don't try to save by going aftermarket. Toyota redesigned many of the because they were defective, the aftermarket are poor copies of the original faulty versions. The OEM parts online are not that more expensive than aftermarket ones, some are even cheaper. This is not a job that you ever want to do again.

Here's a part listing

16659-AD010 PLATE, IDLER PULLEY need 2
16604-0P011 IDLER PULLEY NO. 2 need 2
16649-31020 PLATE, IDLER PULLEY need 2
90105-A0126 Idler pulley mount bolt need 2 (40ft-lbs torque)

Bando 7PK2090 Belt

16100-09441 Water Pump
Zerex 675130 Asian Vehicle Anitfreeze 3 Gallons

90916-A3002 THERMOSTAT
16325-62010 GASKET, WATER INLET
16571-0P070 UPPER HOSE, RADIATOR
16572-0P070 Lower HOSE, RADIATOR

27415-0W131 Alternator Pulley
You don't need an alternator pulley cap because they redesigned the part.

Since the water pump bolts are covered in silicone, I'd just get new ones. Use locktite 243 on all of them.

91551-80622 Water pump assy mount bolt you need 7 (10mm -- 84 in-lbs torque)
161933-1080 Water pump assy bolt you need 9 (12mm -- 15 ft-lbs torque)

You may also want to consider changing the bearing in the tensioner. The part number is 6203-2RSJ

Also, for the idler pulley make sure that it has an open back with the mark PU107013ARMXY3 as in


but one with the mark PU107013ARMXY1 and a closed back. (Two ebay sellers sent me the wrong pulley.)





This applies to all 2GR-FE engines found in Camry, Highlander, Venza, and ES350 models.

PoorES

For the ignition system, I would recommend NGK (6176) DILFR6D11 spark plugs, changing all 6 ignition coils to 90919-a2007 because they are know to go bad and will leave you in need of a tow, and replacing the throttle body 22030-0P050 because the motors tend to go bad. Buy the ignition coils and throttle body used on ebay.

You'll also need one throttle body gasket 22271-0P020 and 3 air surge tank gaskets 17176-0P021.

Finally, change the PCV valve 12204-31120 and check the PCV hose for cracks or breaks.

You might break the tab off some of the ignition coil connectors because they get brittle with age. I'd get at least three new housings to be safe. The replacement housing is part #90980–11885. Use a cheap small precision screwdriver to pry out the white, locking part by pushing from the bottom middle. It'll probably go flying so try to cup it. Then use a .055 or .040 jeweler's screwdriver to depress the locking tab on the bottom of each pin. You can use a flashlight to see the locking tabs below the metal pins. Transfer the pin's over one by one.

chuyrobles

I forgot about those crappy tabs. I think I broke all of them, as well as the ones on my 07 Taco. I didn't replace them. They press in and hold in place by friction. I check them every time I open the hood for anything and none have ever slid out any amount of perceptible distance.

BTW, I usually avoid OEM parts. I did have a problem with the alternator I got from Oreilly's, but it has a lifetime warranty and I got a new one recently when the internal voltage regulator went out.

Also forgot to mentioned, as preventive maintenance, I've replaced the front brake calipers with AutoZone remans.

Truong714

Thank you so much guys. I will ready and look into these things very carefully and replace them. I live in Garden Grove California 5 minutes from Disneyland.

PoorES

@ chuyrobles , You can't really check the connectors in the back, that why I recommended having at least three. If you break the three in the back, then it's better to replace them. Otherwise, you'll have to take the entire air surge tank off again. They take about 3 minutes to replace each with the proper tools and some experience.

Also, the aftermarket idler pulleys have a 15mm inner diameter, while the OEM one is 10mm. Lexus used a custom bearing form Koyo that only they can get.

Truong714

Hello, so I finally ordered from

Conicelli Toyota Parts Center: Order Completed - 1797

for total of $417Subtotal:$385.35Shipping (FedEx Ground ):$32.05Total:$417.40 I didn't know the water pump came with the gasket, so I ordered the water pump gasket for $5.81 but never used it. Good thing is there was no state tax because I live in California and I would have pay a lot of tax for the part had I order from eBay. I followed the video that you posted, I have also seen the video many times before. The hardest part for me was the get the engine side mount with all the long bolts going to the side of the engine. I have to remove the dog-bone engine mount and the lower right side engine mount to jack the engine up bits by bits to pull each of them out and putting it back was as hard since they are not the same length. I took the power steering fluid reservoir out of the way so I can pull them out once I level them so the wouldn't hit the AC metal tube which the video didn't show. Everything else was not as hard. I also replace the bearings (picked up locally from OC bearnings inc.) for the tensioner pulley, there were 2 bearings shared a long inner tube that tapped into their inner race. I replace 2 idle pulleys like you recommended, they spin nicely compare to the old one. I also bought the 3 engine mount from Ebay which was junk for $120. I ended up using the dog bone one only, the lower right and lower left gave me too much vibrations so I reused my old one which was not leaking anyway, so sign of failure yet.
All of the all, the whole job took me whole day from 10 am to 12 pm to put everything put on. And another morning to put the engine bracket with those long bolts and playing with jacking engine from the oil pan with a block of wood which was took sometimes because of the different length. I did save my wife some money I spent my own money too. So far it has been 2 weeks and the car runs good, it so quiet with the new parts, thank you.
I also change out her spark plugs. At first I had the manifold intact but this take too much time and no room to work the 3 plugs from the back, it was impossible to access the middle and the right spark plugs with the intake manifold on the engine. So i took it off which took another 20 minutes but it was much easier to remove and install the rear bank plugs. The wire pig tails are brittle, I had new one but I was not able to push the pin back to remove each pin and replace the plastic plug on them, i was scared that I could mess it up so I just use some zip ties to tie up the one that has broken plastic lock thingy. I also replace her inner, outer rods, control arm bushing (donut shape one only), ball joint and sway bar link this job took me another day working in the rain too. I bought the parts at Orielly for the suspension job. I did my own alignment by driving and adjusting the inner rod with the crescent tool by turning in or out depending on where steering was going to the left or the right then lock the nut back on the inner rod.
The trials and errors took me about 15 to 20 times and finally I go the steering straight. The car is running much better now. Thanks again for your help and input. Many thanks to others as well, I also did the same thing on my brother in aw 2007 Camry inline 4, the water pump job took 2 hours was so much easier a piece of cake compare to the V6 (took 12 to 16 hours). It only has 1 idle pulley which was on the tensioner.

Truong714

Hello gentlemen, how have you been? Looking back at my old post to refresh on the water pump for 2011 Lexus ES 350. This time I bought Aisin kit from Rock Auto which is a little bit cheaper. The car is 2000 miles shy from 200K miles total. Car ran smoothly with no leaks but preventative maintenance, I will perform the same job I did about 5 years ago. I have gain a lot of skill beside working my day job as Resp therapist. I recently did 2 water pump and timing belt job for my 2005 Honda Odssey 2 years ago and 2016 Honda Odyssey 2 days ago. I feel pretty confident this time. Let me know

June1978

I used the Aisin kit on my 2002 Es300. The belt that came with the kit started to make noise after about 500 miles so I had to do the job again and replaced it with a genuine toyota/lexus belt. I thought it was the bering or idler and it ended up being the actual belt


if you go with the aisin kit, buy the belt separately and go with OEM

Hayk

iTrader: (1)

No need, there is no timing belt on the 2GR-FE.

chuyrobles

I've replaced the water pump on our ES350 and it was a PIA; the toughest I've ever replaced. Have to loosen the motor mounts and lift the engine up about four inches in order to remove the water pump pulley bolts. And holding the pulley in place to remove the bolts is tricky. This youtube video is helpful:

June1978

oops- wrong forum- I thought I was in the 4th generation message board

That what happens when you switch back and forth on a daily basis

Nelsons

Hi PoorES - very useful post - Thanks. I saw that you suggested changing out AC clutch bearing. I recently changed the belt and the idler and tensioner pulleys. While the belt was off I found too much play in the AC clutch pulley, so I expect the bearing is nearly done. I wonder if you have replaced this bearing, or have any video links on DIY on an ES 350. Very little room in that area. Mine is a 2008 with 240KK's. Tx

Clutchless

If you search youtube it appears that replacing the A/C bearings is about the same on almost all vehicles. I guess they all use the same design A/C compressor.