02Legend

iTrader: (3)

Yeah, he mentioned the whole thing with the advancing and TDC. He did also mention that with the markings on the Toyota belt, it supposedly only goes on one way. It is running beautifully right now, and am happy to be back in my Lexus.

02Legend

iTrader: (3)

I thought he/shop had done them before on Lexus, but they had not. The shop primarily works on German cars, but generally work on anything.

Johnhav430

Used to take my Maxima to such a shop, they'd always have a late model 911 Turbo, many Audis, some BMWs, some Subarus, and they were ok with Nissan. I got the feeling the prices were a bit high, and they weren't putting the "A" techs on my car either. Very nice owners and 5 stars on Yelp, but the prices bother me, which is why I won't ever bring my LS there. It started out innocent where I wanted valve cover gaskets done and they only charged $400....but subsequent jobs got pricier. Knock on wood I hope the LS430 never has emissions problems (we have annual inspections), that's when a car can go down the drain quickly....

2KHarrier

Well, like many things in life, I'm willing to try it at least one time. If my calculations are somewhat correct, I may be doing both cars in the next year or so. With the mileage I'm putting on my 2001, I'll be hitting 180K by the end of the year.

02Legend

iTrader: (3)

Jumping back in this thread. So, when I got my car back I did not notice any noise when the motor was running. Sitting inside the car, as we all know is very quiet. However I noticed over the weekend a slight ticking noise with the motor. I did do an oil change over the weekend, not the first one I've done on a 3UZ. The noise was noticeable before and after the oil change. Got a hold of my buddy at the shop where I had the timing belt done and was told he would need to talk to his tech. Unfortunately I wasn't getting anywhere so I took the car to the dealer. While I was there with the service writer, two techs came out to hear the noise while and both reassured me is was fuel injector #8. One used the old school method with a screwdriver and the other used stethoscope and both agreed the noise was the injector clicking aggressively. $500 later and the noise is still there. I am now starting to get concerned of valve problems from my buddies shop initially putting the belt on backwards. I have attached a link to a video I just took today after getting my car back from the dealer. The camera is resting on the relay box just next to the battery facing the rear of the motor on the passenger side. You can hear the noise speed increase with the RPM's.

Cliff notes: timing belt done by buddies shop, ticking noise. Went to dealer, was told injector, spent $500, noise still there.

​​​​​​http://vid793.photobucket.com/albums...psyrdnngiw.mp4

Has anyone had any noises like this, if so, what was the issue or cause? I tried searching, but I may not be phrasing it correctly to get any meaningful threads. Thanks

Johnhav430

Sorry to hear you have this bugging you about the job....I listened and can hear the tick, but is it for sure from the timing belt job? I could swear my car has a tick but I don't want to overanalyze it....also I believe these cars have valve adjustments but likely nobody does them....

Since I rarely drive my BMW, before the last snowstorm I had to move it to get the snowblower out, and again I couldn't really fully warm it up (so bad for the car)....but I let it idle 15 min.....and I was thinking, man is this car ticking?? lol I think the direct injection always had some noise....

Again, your tick did not sound that bad to me....hard to say....

p.s. I do worry about various things, but I probably would not worry about your tick unless it became more obvious...

02Legend

iTrader: (3)

I just want to be sure it is not a problem as the tick was not there prior to any work on the motor. I like to drive with the windows down and I can easily hear it when accelerating. I'm waiting to hear back from the dealer, hopefully soon. When the techs told me it was the fuel injector I could feel the pulsing (with screwdriver) in sync with the ticking noise. However, changing that fuel injector made no difference.

Tom57

Definitely a ticking noise, through a range of RPMs, not normal for the 3UZ-FE. Was it ticking before the timing belt change? What parts were used for the timing belt change, Aisin? (Are you going to ask the dealer for $500 refund for a fuel injector that wasn't the cause?)

Assuming it's not caused by the timing belt internal components or faulty installation (one of the cams could be off a tooth), it sounds like a lifter is sticking. What year and how many miles? Have you used any engine cleaner oil additive (e.g. Marvel Mystery oil, or similar)?

Have you checked for CEL codes?

Have you changed your OCVs yet?

Johnhav430

Do these OCV's normally require replacement? On my BMW, the equivalent are the only things that went wrong, 2X, in the life of the car....both were warranty, so I guess I would attempt myself the next time...but that does throw a code, in the BMW's case, limp mode so it's pretty major/obvious (yellow 1/2 engine on dash, no turbos)....

02Legend

iTrader: (3)

Tom,

There was no ticking prior to the timing belt change. It was the Aisin kit from Rockauto that multiple people have used. However, the timing belt itself is a Toyota belt and not the Mistuboshi. I've only talked with the dealer over the phone after they "fixed" it. Unfortunately I am flying out Monday for 3 weeks (last minute) and the dealer was worried that they could not figure it out or have my car back to me in a days turnaround. It will be sitting until I get back. Did not get into details about the fuel injector but I mentioned and emailed that I am concerned I just spent $500 to fix a problem that is not fixed.

The two techs that "diagnosed" the ticking issue verbally told me it was not valves or lifters, hence why they assumed fuel injector. The noise is coming from the rear of the motor on the passenger side. It is a 2006 with 83,XXX miles on the clock. I change the oil (Pennzoil Platinum 5W30 synthetic) every 5,500 miles. I changed it last weekend as I normally do. I have not added anything to the oil, but I have had people say try Lucas or Marvel Mystery oil.

No pertinent CEL's. Just the telescoping motor on the steering column, used Techstream.

Have not changed the OCV's as in my past experience they will most certainly throw a CEL. Was thinking about possibly just changing them, but I want the dealer to diagnose and actually figure out the issue and go from there, especially since they did not remedy the issue.

2KHarrier

They won't always throw a code if they're just starting to fail. I had one that was intermittent on my old RX and I had no code, until the problem was more perminant. In any case, I think the smart money is to have the shop diagnose it, and then work with them on the $500 that you've already spent, which did nothing for the problem.

Tom57

At 83K on the clock and regular oil changes, it's very early for OCVs so I'd rule that out for now.

Anything else (unrelated) done with timing belt? (e.g. Were the valve covers off?)

Depending upon how much confidence you have in the guys who did the timing belt, you might consider having the covers pulled and checked for alignment of timing marks.

Marvel Mystery Oil and similar products do work to clean engine internal parts on high mileage vehicles - yours is only entering that phase. It does take a few to several thousand miles typically to clean the varnished internal parts. But I don't believe that is your issue. I have and had several LS's at the 90K +/- mark and they run like new.

I would stay focused on the fact that the ticking started after the timing belt change.

02Legend

iTrader: (3)

Valve covers have not been removed. Had the timing belt, water pump, pulley and tensioner, thermostat and spark plugs changed. I am starting to wonder with my buddies shop, granted he said he had a Toyota specialist who has worked on 3UZ's before make sure the timing was right. This was after his other tech put the timing belt on backwards, from what he told me. More than likely when I get back from travel and take it back to the dealer, I'm going to have them check the timing.

Gronemus

I'd check to see that the spark plug(s) by that area are tight...

Johnhav430

Again I'd be curious to know if the timing belt job caused a problem. If it did, at minimum, I want a) my money back b) the cost of having it done properly elsewhere c) the ticking fixed and whatever that costs

I get irritated when people are learning on my car, especially if the **** it up. They ought to say up front, hey, we don't have experience on your car, so that we can decide if we want to move forward or not, that's a professional courtesy imho....