shinrekka

Alright i have a 97 es, the 1st motor sludged up and the second motor is from a junkyard. I have no idea if the timing belt was dont while the motor was out, and I was told the motor has about 60k on it. Transmission has about 25k on it. I have receipts for everything and there is nothing about a timing belt so i dont think it was done. My engine is kind of loud, sounds like I have a mild intake when I give it any sort of gas. I dont know what other es300's sound like so i dont know if its normal. I do beleive I have an exhaust leak were the header meets the y-pipe because when i used seafoam it was smoking from there. Also at idle the motor is kind of loud, it sounds like its coming from the front of the motor underneath the timing belt cover. When I push on the timing belt cover it kind of silences it a bit, i really cant discribe the sound. Last shop I went to said they were going to take everything apart to find were its coming from, I can do the work myself if I knew what it was. Perhaps there is a tensioner up top that could be shot, not sure if there is a tensioner up top?

There is also another sound, I can feel it in the pedal and floor as well. I was fearing maybe the transmission was going but it was shifting fine. While im driving I put the car in neutral and it still makes the sound and feeling so im on to guessing possible motor or transmission mount. Also the motor sounds/revs differently when the car is in park. It sounds more strained, and louder when its in park. When its in neutral is revs freely with no strain. Im thinking, the mounts are worn and when its in park the motor shifts putting more strain on it and possibly making the exhaust leak worse (header meets the y-pipe) temporarily until its in neutral when there is less strain and the exhaust leak isnt as bad.

Onto the suspension. Suspension is noisy and very annoying, i need new struts all around, strut mounts, and sway bar end links. Anything else I should get too?

The car has 130k on it and its 10 degrees outside, I know the stuff has to be replaced. I drove the car 15k in the last 2 months for work and they were hard miles, dirt roads, snow, lots of city driving. I wont be doing that again but it definitly took its toll on the already old suspension.

So what do you guys think? And i dont want to hear just sell it. I was going to replace the suspension anyway so that dosent matter and I got a sick deal on the car.

llcoolpass

i would tell you to check the throwout bearing, the timing pulleys' bearings, and the alternator bearing.

fix your exhaust leak. its probably too late and the flanges warped or otherwise. that would mean you need all new parts. perhaps that or try to seal it up with thermosteel or check the flanges for damage. if not damage, just change studs, nuts, and gasket and you would be fine.
sway bar bushings should be added to the list you had. also when doing the struts replace everything with toyota/lexus parts except for the strut itself is up toyou and the spring is up toyou (if its sagging then you will need to replace it too with either toyota/lexus or aftermarket). check out my suspension thread.

shinrekka

yeh ur right, i went to the shop today and they said i needed sway bar bushings too. as well as a passenger side front hub bearing. Getting new tires tomarrow, i was told most of the sound up front is from my bald *** tires. Never had bald tires that loud but i guess its a shot. The springs are sagging in the rear too. This is my list

Kyb GR2 shocks
tein s-tech springs
monroe strut mounts
rear sway bar bushings
fix exhaust leak / just gasket hopefully
timing belt / tensioners and pulleys / water pump
tires (tomarrow)
hub bearing? (gonna hold out a bit on that)

gonna be an expensive week....

smokesgtp

yes it is.... thats a good list though. just my .02 cents, pass on the monroe strut mounts. You don't need to do the timing belt yet man if it really only has about 60k. Even with hard mileage you could wait till 90k as long as the pulleys and tensioners are ok. Save 5 or 6 hondo for now. The dealers just push 60k on the belts and water pumps to **** you over. The manual says 90k. **** the waterpump too for that matter, if it's not leakin, leave it till 90k. mine is fine and I drive under extreme conditions on a regular basis (delivery).
illcool? any experience with the alternator bearing you mentioned? I believe mine is going as i've replaced my serp. and it's still noisy, high pitched, over about 3k rpm's coming from the area of the alt. pulley and no it's not the t-belt. The pulley does still seem to spin alright by hand.

92ES5sp

You could wait if you wanted to on the t-belt but you dont know what youre getting with an engine from a bone yard. It could have sat for a while and the pulleys seized and the belt dryrotted. Plus you might as well change the belt, w/p, pulleys, cam and crank seals while the engine is out anyway. It makes sense. The fins on the impleller can corrode and not pump the coolant as good as a new w/p either. It dosent have to be leaking. I wouldnt risk it. 7000 miles to go before I do mine.

llcoolpass

I concur, fully.