goldie

Here is the "bad boy" oil pump which caused the timing belt to get shredded to bits. It is very peculiar to me how it managed to snap the end off completely. The pulley has got a massive whole in it, with signs of overheated metal and the rotor drive bolt is completed shaven of by the pulley. And yes, there are four valves that I can see bent, two exhaust valves in cylinder #1 and two intake valves from cylinder #2. I will post pictures when I retrieved them Cheers

Thanks mate, it looks like the cause wasn't in the timing belt itself, but in a water pump. From what I can see so far the pulley of the waterpump had snapped off and caused the belt to shred to bits. You can see its cut through the plastic cover as well. I will need to take this cover off to see more. I am being told by the JEM garage the same thing as you said; 3S-GE BEAMS are interference type engines and there could be more internal damage. There is a bit of good news maybe, its an automatic car and the valves are made of steal Alloy and bend under impact, not shatter like titanium ones. There is only one way to find out. First, to replace pump and the belt and then try to turn the engine and see if it still OK. Thanks for the email, I already email Nick for parts. Will keep you posted.

Hi This afternoon, coming back from work I heard a clank noise from the front of the car and then silence, followed by the loss of power. The engine has stopped and the engine light has come up as I was on the offside lane of M11, making my way through the busy rush hour traffic. I managed to coast, changing lanes and stopped on the hard shoulder and called the breakdown service. It didn't sound good when I tried to start the engine again. So I waited for the recovery. The verdict from the Recovery man after he looked under the bonnet of my Altezza was heart breaking - cambelt. The car was towed to home, as it was very little chance to find a garage which was opened. Now I am sitting wondering what the damage could be? Why the cambelt that has done 40K in 3 years fail all of the sudden? Anyway, I am going to ring garage tomorrow and see what they have to say. Just thought I d share this. Cheers

Woodsy, you couldn't point to which dealer it was? My 60k service is due and I was quoted by Lexus Heidlegh 650 excl. brake pads. Many thanks

Thanks, mate! I have just been to my local Toyota dealer in Bishops-Stortford, ordered the ignition coil as well, it will be coming from Japan, 3 weeks - I am taking a deep brieth. Although, I will give Lexus in Heidleigh a call as you recomended, and see if they can read diagnostic codes. Apparently, Toyota / Lexus dealers can only read codes for specific models, Altezza mght be not one of them , so I have been told :( I have got the number from Lexus site, do you know any frendly name there? Regards. Vlad.

Hello everyone! Coudl some one help with a wiring diagram or at least look up for me.? I need to know where the four direct ignition coils which used on 3S-GE that's four cylinder engines are wired to? I can't seems trace one wire which appears to be a problem. It'll be nice to know the pins assignment on those coils, there are four pins, one apperars to be ground and the other is +14, what the other two suppose to be I don't know. I would be greatfull if some one could help. Cheers Vlad

Hello guys, hope all is well. I don't suppose you could point me to the place I could order the part from for my Altezza. I had a problem the other day when the engine started to shake and rock on lower revs and vibrate on the higher. I suspected that one of the cylinder was misfiring. By doing a test by unpluging the leads from the spark plug ignition coils, I have come to that one of them was faulty. Has anyone here had that before? And what would be a best bet to get a part ordered. All the best Vlad.

Hi Guys, I am as well interested in the end of this story de-restricting the Altezza. I ve got RS200Z and I recon it is restricted, as a really weard thing starts happening when I get to 112 Mph, it almost like someone strats pushing the pedal back and the car would start slowing down, I have had it twice and at the same speed, so it must be limited. Appreciate if you can let me know how it went with your cars. Cheers Vlad.

Rik, I have just found your topic, and become very interested in reading these codes. You could save a few bucks or at least when you go to the dealer, you are not blind. Here what I have found, and possibly will get one of these, see if it suits you in what you are trying to do. http://www.scantool.net/products.htm Cheers. Vlad.

Thanks guys for replying, confirms what I just said about the friendly people here. As for Terry Wogan, fortunately or unfortunately for Terry I didn't get to enjoy him in morning driving to work, the car had already frequency converter fitted which I suspect not a very good quality one, perhaps the 14 pound job, so I stick to CD's so far. I have checked my aerial this morning and it`s a rubber duck antennae sits on the roof, although I have vertical metal strap on the rear window as well. Still the reception very poor especially if I go higher the band, Capital FM is distorted by the interference. I was thinking of these http://www.edl.co.nz/ConvertersHP/PRODUCTS.html#1, but thought I might see what people have in their cars around here Cheers Vlad.

Hi guys and girls! My first post here and I find this forum brilliant and very inspiring. I first found this forum a few months ago when I was making up my mind about buying a Lexus car. Now I have got it! I am a proud owner of Altezza RS200Z since week ago and love it more and more every day. Now down to business, I have got a question to mainly Altezza and may be other Japanese import car owners here, and forgive me if it has been covered before. What is the best known way to convert radio from Japanese band to Uk one. Could anyone recommend a quality band expander with good sensitivity and fair selectivity to avoid blind spots and double appearance of the same station. Is there a way to replace a radio module in the HiFi system itself with the UK band one? Sorry for asking to many questions at once and greatly appreciate any advise. Cheers Vlad. :hohoho: