mathewd23

Your way of explaining is so good and you are cautious too, so as to not damage the wind shield. I like that and i have read your posts in the past, they are so simple and self explaintory. i am going to try all this on the weekend and see how things work out, btw before getting response from you, i tried to crank the engine with the belts on, but it did not start, so i tried twice and then gave it up. I hope i have not damaged the engine. (crying)

Salim, just to give you a quick heads up, the belt was changed by the dealer at 90k miles, but he said water pump and the seals were good, so he did not change it. It is a Toyota belt from the dealer and i dont see the timing marks on the built, the car has only 106K miles on it currently.

I will try on the weekend to remove the belt, but before that i will align the crank pulley and the front gear pulley to its timing mark and then take the belt out and revert the rear cam to the timing mark, as far as i know it has moved about 2 or 3 teeth back, based on the reflection from the mirror in the rear.

My friend was telling me to take a pressure guage and instert it in the 1st spark plug socket, after taking the spark plug out, but it is painful as i have to take the entire intake manifold out and also all the bolts in the rear including the air filter, and all the components next to it, As he says the air pressure gaige will determine if the piston in the intake is on the No 1. spark plug.

I have not done it before and i am not sure if that really helps or is there a way to do it the right way.

Again truly appreciate your help and the guidance/advice. I just want to get this car started.

salimshah

The belt is relatively cheap so just buy one and count 90k miles from where your odo is today. My process of matching marks to the pulley is simple and you dont need to lean in to get a straight line of sight.

If you can find tdc compression on cylinder 6 and you will need to advance 120degrees on your main pulley to get to get #1 to tdc. [firing order is 123456].

If any member finds a problem with my math, please correct me.

Salim

mathewd23

I had a friend of mine come over and he brought the pressure guage to check the compression, as he had more knowledge on compression for Cyl # 1, but the problem was to get to the spark plug # 1. I would have to remove the intake manifold, throttle body and other components just to get to SP 1. So i followed your advice, i put the belt on the crank pulley first keeping the dot on the mark and walked my way up the belt to the cam pulley on the right near the radiator and then to the back cam and on to the tensioner and then tied the belts with zip ties and then placed the tenisoner back.
Rotated the creakshaft clockwise 2 times and ensured that all the 3 gears are on the mark, did this twice and then cranked the engine and lo the engine started very well. LOL. Thanks to God.
so put all the belts back on the alternator and the steering pump and the mount bracked back in place. Also took the ECU-B fuse and the EFI fuse out for 15 mins to clear the ECU, placed the obd reader and checked for any engine codes, before i could start the engine. Everything looked good, so then i started the engine and it worked great.
Took the car for a test drive today and when i drove over 65 miles and then stopped either on a light or at a remp stop the check oil light will come up and then go away once i give gas pedal. Any Idea why ? I have ordered for a pick up strainer and an oil pump. I intent to drop the pan and replace the strainer and also the oil pump. Ordered AISIN. I am not sure if the oil switch is the culprit, cause i had replaced it 2 yrs back when i replaced the timing belts.

Is there a way to check if i really need to replace the oil pump. cause i had see some sludge in the engine and i plan to use sea foam to clean the engine and then replace all the oil and the strainer and the pump.

Please your advice and guidance will be of help.

salimshah

Good to hear your tb woes are taken care of. Connect a OBDII reader to see what codes are there (you may have a pending code. Just dont jump to conclusions and explore before getting a read of the ECU.) Let me suggest you create a new thread regarding oil. Before you go about ripping things open, put a pressure gauge where the pressure switch is. I dont have the pressure numbers with me, but it is better discussed there.

Salim

mathewd23

I connected the OBDII reader and there are no pending codes, everything came clean. can you send me a link to the oil pump/oil pressure switch thread. Really Appreciate it and again thanks for your help and advice.

salimshah

I meant start a new one to discuss oil-pressure and oil pump. This thread is about timing belt. yw

Salim

tllee

Mercede-Benz? Yes. But not this RX300, it just have a different badge from TOYOTA highlander.

Except some body parts and exhaust parts, it's almost identical. That's reason why the "stealers" can survive so well, they told you a lot of stories which are jokes. Unfortunately, a lot of people out there believe it. But if you got money to spend, it's a free country, what can I say? I prefer to spend my money on right stuffs and at right place. If it is necessary, even thousands of dollar, I don't hesitate. But not the "stealers".

Bobster999

Ok thanks for that! No idea what you were trying to say but as long as you think you added some value then thats what matters most.

tllee

Sorry to confuse you. I try to tell matts6887 that RX300 is not a car will cost a lot to maintain. I agree with some of your points. If you're a do-it-youselfer, you can save a lot. Even you're not, find some local garage, it won't cost a lot.(95% parts and labor are exactly same as TOYOTA). If you need OEM parts, shop on TOYOTA parts store online, you can get very good deal.

But not Mecede-Benz, I just got an offer recently. My friend want to give me a 2001 430SEL free of charge.The dealer want $6000 for fix A/C and windows control unit. I try to get the parts and fix it for him. Guess what? Even I buy parts myself, it will cost me $2000 for the PC boards which control the A/C and windows. My friend already spend $650 to diagnosis those problems. That's reason why my friend want to give it to me for free. He eventually trade in this car for a new car. That I will call it too expensive to maintain and suggest friends go some other kind of car.

If you feel offended, I apologize. I mean nothing like that, just a matter of opinions.