jbtyson

Purchased a 2002 ES300 for my sister this last week. Car isn't a gem, but it is better than what she has and I got a pretty fair deal on it. Now I'm trying to iron out the problems so I can get it on the road and safe. Would like to run some questions across you more educated folks. I've done some searching, but haven't come up with definitive answers.

P2238. AF sensor right? Is this the one on the back side of the motor that is almost impossible to get to?

ABS light - common issues? Had a bad front left hub. Reluctor ring was intact and not in terrible shape. Any way to isolate issue?

Have broken/missing vacuum lines. I cannot find a vacuum diagram for the life of me. Would definitely like to figure out where these go. Car is sluggish and smells of fuel. Not sure if that is because of the AF sensor or missing vac lines or possibly both.

AC Compressor is squeaking at start up. Goes away after a minute. Definitely AC because it stops when I turn off the air. Is this a common issue? If so, does it tend to be clutch or compressor bearings? She's got one little baby and a second on the way and we live in hell so AC is a must. 100 degree plus temps in a black car without air is not acceptable.

Back left window isn't working. I haven't pulled the panel yet, but I can't hear any movement when I hit the switch so the motor is either toast or disconnected. This a common issue? Any suggestions on where to buy parts? They're outrageous from what I have seen so far.

Thanks in advance

Oro

A couple of points that might help, can't answer all the questions.

Vacuum lines, best deal is to look at pics of the engine you can google. I've posted some in this forum before for users. The Intake system on these is different than prior years so look at 2002-2006 ES or 2003 -? Camry V6s. There are a lot that heat with age and crack; even in my mild climate. You may need to replace several. Get fuel grade hose from the AP store and then they will last a whie.

Our a/c compressor was giving a little squeek about 50k/3 years ago. I shot some aerosolized teflon or silicone lubricant into it. Not a sound and perfect operation ever since. Hope it works for you. (Don't use wd-40, that's not a lubricant).

I find parts no pricier than average Toyota or other maker parts. Good sources are RockAuto. Ebay often has good deals; sometimes find OE closeout parts for relatively cheap.

Depending upon mileage, it may be worth while to pull the air intake off. Clean and inspect everything and replace the rear plugs. The iridium are stated good for 120k. It's such a hassle to get back there, a lot of people skip it. Sounds like you should do it anyway to ease access to issues you already have. Last time I went with Autolite iridium to save a few dollars (massive rebate on them at the time) and they seem to work just great.

Oro

PS - window has a known issue in the rear with an over-run stop. If you do some magic dance like hold the button down with the key on or car running, and then slam the door a few times, it will jar the stop loose and normal function resumes. Kids in the back cause this all the time playing with the buttons. Try this fix before thinking you need to replace anything. Google it if you need, it's well known and documented.

jbtyson

I appreciate the info. I'll do some searching on here for pictures. Google has turned a few up, but nothing that helps me decipher which line goes where.

I'll also look into the window deal. That would be great if that worked. So long as I don't accidentally shatter the window slamming the door lol.

Need to pick up hose and spray lube on the next parts store run.

Thanks again. I'll try and update here if I get anything figured out.

Think I may have actually found a vacuum diagram that will work from a Camry. Since I'm new I'm not sure if the link will work. Also, picture attached. For both my reference and if anyone else stumbles on it this thread down the line.

http://automotrizenvideo.com/wp-cont...m_diagrams.pdf

99custom

I own a 2002 ES300 as well and the AC squeaks when you first turn it on and it goes away after a minute or so. I'm pretty sure I need to adjust the torque of the belt since my AC belt looks fine. These cars are tanks for the most part. Does your tranny do any annoying shifts/ jerking? That seems to be a common issue with 02-03 ES300's.

jbtyson

I haven't driven it enough to say about the transmission. Just brought it home and started tearing it apart to fix all the issues. I've been waiting on parts to come in to get everything going.

Currently I've replaced the driver side hub and bearing, all the struts, all the rotors and pads, done an oil change, pulled out stereo equipment, and switched out the big ghetto wheels for regular ones with good tires.

Now I'm waiting for the AF sensor to come in the mail, working on figuring out the vacuum stuff since that is all mixed up, and have to finish yanking out all the ghetto accent lighting and stereo leftovers. Still need to look into the window. I will check belt tension as well to see about the AC squeaking. Is there a specified amount of deflection for these motors? Since it isn't a spring loaded tensioner, but a bolt adjust instead I would like to be sure I don't have it too loose or too tight.

Oro

The PS pump belt is adjusted by levering on the PS pump itself and bolting it in place. The a/c is on the main serp belt and I'm pretty sure that is adjusted with the alternator tensioning bolt (has been a while since I have had to fiddle with it). Normal deflection test (say, 3/8" with steady thumb pressure mid-run) should suffice.

jbtyson

Well I got the A/F sensor in today and installed it. Did an oil change. Also, found an accurate vacuum diagram and fixed that up. However, that code will not go away. P2238. So either I got the location wrong, or there is something else wrong with the car. I replaced the sensor off the manifold on the firewall side of the motor. From what little info I found online, that was Bank 1 Sensor 1. Is that wrong? Or does anyone have any other suggestions?

Oro

Yes, bank 1 is the firewall side and the "1" sensor is the upstream one.

Did you test the O2 sensor before replacing it? They can be easily tested on a bench. Put them in a vise and heat them with a torch while watching voltage at the leads. However, the heater element can be tested at the engine harness side with a voltmeter. There are other potential sources ranging from ECM to wiring. I would hunt around googling for threads at Toyota Nation as you'r going to find a lot more case histories with Camries, Siennas, etc. I would find out if there is voltage at the heater lead and if not, work back from there.

jbtyson

No, I did not test the sensor. Honestly, didn't know that you could. I was taking a look at things today and turns out the air box was loose and broken and the hose from the air box to the intake was some makeshift plumbing fitting that wasn't sealing. So tomorrow I'm going to get parts to replace that. Kind of hoping that poor air fuel readings could be coming from poor flow over the MAF. Might be a stretch, but that stuff needs replaced anyway, so do that before chasing anything else.

jbtyson

Well, no surprise, the air box did not fix it. Thought I do feel better about those broken parts being replaced. Guess I'm going to have to get over there to the toyota forum and try to figure out what to test next.

nsghtbrwry

Yeah A/F sensor codes can pop up when the sensor is not the problem. What did you replace the old sensor with? Denso is the preferred option, and Bosch is an absolute no-no (unless it's a rebranded NTK).

I checked the code in ALLDATA and it says the same stuff for other O2 sensor codes. Old sensor, heater circuit, signal circuit, wiring, ECM. Didn't give a straight description, so I Googled and it comes up as "short circuit," so I'd check the wiring.

Instead of replacing the MAF, try getting some MAF cleaner and cleaning it. The Denso OEM units don't normally go bad, just need a cleaning. Check fuel trims before and after; I had one go bad on a '99, cleaning didn't work, it was showing 25.8 fuel trims under moderate acceleration. Replaced with Denso aftermarket replacement (exactly the same as OEM), and went down to 0.9.

Also, a long shot, but clean the battery terminals and grounds. A few months ago I was working on an '00 RAV4 that was throwing a O2 sensor code (P1130 IIRC). O2 sensor replaced with brand new Denso, no change. Turned out the nearly 20-year-old original battery was leaking and corroded the terminals, plus the guy's previous mechanic mangled up the positive terminal. Replaced + terminal, cleaned everything with wire cup brush and pressure-washed away the sulfate residue, code never came back.

jbtyson

I replaced the old sensor with an off brand from eBay but it bench tests out fine. Pulled it out to test it after I figured out that was doable.

I haven't checked wiring because that basically means removing the entire intake side of the motor. I actually had to have someone with scrawny arms install the sensor because I couldn't get my hands in there to replace it. So no chance I'm doing any testing/checking on the wiring from underneath. If that is my next step, I may just sell the car off and buy a honda instead.

I already pulled and cleaned the MAF. That is how I found out that the air box was cracked, so I replaced that today hoping that would be causing it. I can't check fuel trim pre cleaning obviously. Could check post but would have no baseline to compare it to. So unless it were throwing ridiculous numbers, I would say that probably isn't the problem.

As for power, I will say, the car has a Powermax alternator in it. 160 amp I believe. Big 3 upgrade. New posts on the battery, so I doubt it is a wiring issue, but I'll double check for redundancy.

I'm beyond frustrated with this thing.

jbtyson

I hate this car.

Figured out the sensor code. Wanted an OEM sensor. Replaced that, got a code for catalyst efficiency. Not replacing the cat at $400 so used non foulers to get that code to clear. Now one of the knock sensors keeps popping up sporadically and limping the car.

Oh and on top of it all, It has both a transmission and an oil leak that are both dripping onto the exhaust, so it smokes at stops like the car is on fire.

I bought a lexus thinking....oh yeah, toyota, reliable, reasonable....to hell with that idea.

RXGS

iTrader: (2)

You bought a 14 year old car in crap shape, and expected it to be reliable? Interesting