Hey folks, I'm doing a water pump and timing belt replacement on my old man's 2004 rx 330 since the water pump is leaking.

I do have quite a bit of diyer work but I'm more of a Honda guy.

Anyways I've gotten as far as to the part where I just need to remove the timing belt while making sure the crankshaft and cams are at hdc but it seems the belt that's on it (old one that I'm going to swap out) might be off a tooth when it comes to the cams
Crank Shaft


Rear Cam

Front can

I'm still waiting on the new timing belt kit to come im so just was wondering if this is cause for concern to me.

 

Hi Grimsavage, welcome to Club Lexus!

I've done the T-belt twice on my RX330 and I have a few tips and tricks for anyone following along.

1) Buying a yellow or white "paint marker" at the auto part store is the best $5 ever spent on this job.

2) A telescoping mirror is a must if you want easy peeesy. Start by marking the Cam marks on the timing cover on front and back Cam with the paint pen so you can see good and next mark the lines on the cam sprockets. This makes for much better pics so you can see what you're doing and others too if you post up pics. Without clear marks it's very easy to be off a tooth on the rear bank because it can look good but it's not.

3) With the telescoping mirror and my marks painted on the timing cover and cam sprockets I practiced several times orienting my body where I could stand and reach in with the mirror and see the marks straight on. The reason why this helps make it easier is because without practicing like this it is very easy to think you are looking at it straight on but you are not. You may be surprised how just a slight change in angle upon viewing will cost you a tooth off because of the awkward angle of reaching in with the mirror. So, I practiced it several times, pickup up the mirror & check and lay it back down and try again until I was seeing it straight on every time. This made it easy to hit the marks first try on new T-Belt.

4) The power steering pump may fight you tooth and nail and not give you a break as it wants to swing down in your way and has resistance to pushing back due to the power steering hoses. Prybar is about useless since nowhere to grab and get the tensioner in or out. Good news is one of the PS bolts that comes off is short and can be screwed back in the bracket hole and with a ratchet and socket I can grab that bolt and lift up or down like a prybar but using my ratchet on a bolt instead, you will see what I'm talking about when you get in there and thank me later, haha

5) If I remember there are two timing marks for the crank, I'll have to dig in and find the info unless someone else has it handy to post up.

6) Last but not least, careful around the crank sensor and inspect the toothed crank sprocket for any chips or damage while it's out.

PS- One tooth off throws a code, so if currently throwing no codes this is a giveaway the marks are not being viewed straight on .

 

Thanks for the warm welcome and tips. Not sure if this would mean much but if you wanna do the timing belt a 3rd time I'm up in Boca

 

I would be happy to help a fellow member as you are only 15-20 mins away but honestly I have been working around the clock with only time to sleep.

If you run into a snag just post up pics if you like and what you are dealing with and I'll dig up the info and other members have done this job too.

 

have you watched the YouTube video done by hardlymovingproductions ? It’s pretty damn superb

 

Sure thing, was just pulling your chain. Got the paint pen this afternoon hopefully things will go smoothly for me

 

I haven't seen that one but post up a link if you like so we can see.
For sure,totally agree, I highly recommend watching several youtube videos on this before diggin in.

I am hopong for your success.
Doing a deep search on here will pull up many more helpful tips and walk thru's.

Here is the timing marks for your paint marker.
(Posted in fair use for commentary and discussion)

Cams:



Crankshaft has 2 markers.
Mark #1 is the lines on the belt sit at the "dot" on the crankshaft gear, see below.



Mark #2 on the chrankshaft looks like this.



PS- if you turn the engine over by hand when done to check your work, do not expect the timing belt marks to line up anymore due to the odd # of teeth on the belt. You will only be able to use the lines on the cam sprockets and crankshaft gear to check your work once the engine is turned over past one revolution.

 

So I completed the Job on Friday afternoon car ran fine that night then the next morning the car was idling and running rough. So I went back in on Sunday morning and re installed the timing belt and everything is working wonderful my pops tells me.

For future lurkers the two vids that Helped me were

& one YouTuber mentioned by @Rx330fnboi had the only video I needed


Thanks tons guys

 

he is by far one of the best mechanics with the best delivery for diy instructionals. Can’t tell you how many times his voice has soothed me to sleep while re watching the same TB vid.
Ps he has multiple videos for the timing belt on 3mz-fe engines the best one I feel is the one for a sienna where he also does the cam / crank shaft seals.

they are pretty much identical but the dimensions and relative location of parts are the closest to an rx on the sienna

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rCVDLM2hzE