ultimatequinoxe

Time to rethink....way too late sadly... NB: to anyone thinking of doing this job on a 2gr-fse, NOT 2gr-fe. Eg gs450h etc.. The timing chain cover won't come off the same as a 2gr-fe, as the fse engines have internal oil pipes bolted up to the pump that need to come off or the front cover wont come out (as many find). Either engine out or do a lot of labour to remove subframe with engine supported to get to the oil pan bolts. Found this 'how to' guide on a russian site (use translate and most of it is understandable) https://www.drive2(blocked word)/b/518489827436397841/ This has not gone well. Used the car for one trip the day after I bought it and now it will be laid up for weeks - silly me.

Thanks very much! I really appreciate the top tips and guides. Just looking at some images too and the IS250 cover for exanple appears identical. Although I 'could' get it welded or sealed with jb stuff, I realised its the oil pump pick up (I assume) on the reverse side, so if a patch blows out, so will the oil very rapidly. ....still cant get the cover off though... if its just the rtv holding it on I'd be amazed, but it feels like more bolts. I have all 23 bolts and 2 nuts front, 4 underneath and unhooked the aircon pump for any bolts behind that. I can feel about 3 oddly angled bolts on the tensioner mount but can't see if they are through into the cover plate as well. Very sloooooow process. Ps) apollogies for typos and ignorance, life stuff, health and weather are draining me a bit. Pps) Indeed a standard anti-clockwise to loosen crank bolt. I mssed the word 'not' when asking for confirmation, but can't edit it now.

Thanks for the replies as always! Can't get the timing cover off as yet, not sure if its the sealant or I've missed one of the 23 bolts (and 2 nuts)? I thought I read somewhere that the belt tensioner hides one?..Anyway, sadly I found or somehow made a hole in the timing chain cover near the crank pulley; joyness. But the pulley is off which was my main worry, anything else I can replace, sort... i.e be making progress rather than be at a dead stop, so I am not to bothered as yet. It was fairly oily on the base of the cover and oil was low when I got the car, so I think that hole may have already been there and patched, and came off during the pulley removal process, maybe. Either way, it will be under pressure so slapping JB weld on it won't work for long (or at all) I guess. I figure I may have to order another cover from the states as I can't find any reasonably priced uk 2gr-fe covers for sale. Needs a new water pump as the old one has been weeping and has excess bearing play. Add belt tensioner bearings and crank oil seal, maybe harmonic balancer/pulley and bolt too. Soon adds up! Meanwhile my 28 year old MR2 feels like a walk in the park to work on compared to the 450h - so sad it failed the mot on emissions or I'd likely not gone the hybrid route so soon and stuck with the old jallopy until next year.

Hit a snag and just needing to triple check - crank shaft pulley bolt is a left hand thread (turn clockwise to loosen)? I know its been mentioned already (thanks John) but 3 busted sockets and a bent 2ft bar and still no joy in getting the bolt loose... which is jamming up the whole job. Ps) Everything else off, sadly no air tools or power tools, only bars and brute force.

Thanks, I'll add that to the list along with the water pump and a few other bits, like a crank pulley locking tool of some sort (if I can find one that fits) and another 22mm socket as the last one just cracked and the pulley bolt remains unmoved.

Big huge thanks to everyone for chipping in with top notch info! I've spent the day carefully and slowly stripping more parts off to get the other rocker cover out (eventually, bleeding hands as proof). Moved the crank pulley round to "0", and certainly bank one seems out by a fair margin, though it was running okay, however the P0017 code was another sign of chain stretch. I wasn't sure about an inspection plate at first, because it is entirely hidden behind a "drivers injection" module on the 450h's at least. Once that was off, I could see the plate was visible and certainly the tensioner piston shows signs of compensating for stretch. I'd love to take the easier way and save a lot of effort and some risk, but my gut says the chain has been done before sometime ago, but with poor quality replacements. Seeing as its a potential engine killer, I've decided to carry on stripping and take the front cover off and do it all full on just to safe. Just the thermostat housing and V-belt to remove today, then I'll do pulleys and front cover off tomorrow, and aim to complete the job in about a week (no rush, going slow to ease stress mistakes etc). Its quiet a job (for those thinking about it but never done it), and certainly time and decent tools are important. A few pics added of the bank one gears and timing marks (with crank dead on 0 degrees at TDC). And a link to a short clip I took yesterday of the slack (sorry its all naff quality and clumsy; tired and using grandads inspection lamp). That slack in the video was before rotating the engine, now I've rotated it round a few times I don't seem to have any slack. However, the tensioner, P0017 code and 2 seconds of rattle on start up would seem to indicate the chain or chains are naffed. I guess when the engine stops after a run, there is a tiny bit of back (anti clockwise) rotation that gave me more slack as seen in the video. Either way, not worth the risk, front cover off and do the lot for peace of mind and a more reliable miles out the car. MY thanks again, everyone's info has been very useful in getting me up to speed on these rather 'busy' and slightly fiddly engines. https://youtu.be/P5ibY2fDMYA

Hi, I'll do a short and longer detailed version and hope the answers will help others too over time. I have searched online for hours and not got much useful info back. Here's hoping asking will help! Short: 2006, GS450H Timing Chain. 1. How much slack is too much (or should there be none at all)? 2. Are green painted timing markers likely to indicate a replacement chain already (or are the green paint marks from factory)? 3. Does everyone pull the engine out to change the chin, or managed to change it in situ? 4. And most importantly, would someone mind confirming the correct timing mark position for the crankshaft (with engine in the car) - should the pulley mark be at about 2 O'clock position in line with the toothed timing marker extending from the engine block (marked "10" at the top?), or should the crank pulley be at about the 4 O'clock position, as it seems to be on the few video's I've watched regarding the 2GR-FE timing chain (with the pulley off and engine out)? Further details, I bought the car a few days ago at a reasonable price with 151k miles, well looked after up to 2018 (based on receipt book and general condition). Service book is missing, but receipts show a fair bit of work with Lexus genuine parts, and MOT history is good. I bought it cheap knowing it had 1 definite issue (hybrid battery cell failure) and one likely issue (the timing chain) - a project car with a steep learning curve if you will. Drives nice, no breakdowns or mishaps over the 100 miles I've had to drive it. Just the lack of motor assist (going by the energy monitor anyway), and engine constantly on at any speed, getting about 29mpg average with mostly gentle B road cruising and a few half throttle blasts (any more throttle and I'll run out of road too quickly). No misfires, difficulty starting hot or cold, noses when cruising or accelerating etc etc. But the engine does clatter on start up, and sounds to me a lot more like chain rattle rather than hydraulic lifter noise. It does have the fault code for Bank one sensor timing logged. I just spent the day carefully taking the cam cover off Bank one (left side of the engine when facing it from the front of the car) with some butt tense moments (The engineering on these newer GS's doesn't feel as sturdy to me as the 2JZ's did in the Gen 2 Lexus'). Timing on the gears appear to match up spot on, but there is certainly slack in the chains - I can lift the main drive chain and cam chain to a lesser extent about a centimetre off the gears in some positions of engine rotation. Maybe not enough to come off entirely, but feels close to a possible tooth jump to me if it went any more slack. Plan for now is to go ahead and order a full service kit, sort the batteries out. Both hybrid cell/blade 16, and the Panasonic phase 3 12v battery, which is not holding charge very well. Below about 10v and the engine won't start - I assume the cranking to start the engine comes from the MG1 and hybrid battery I believe? But either way, when the 12v was taken off and fully charged to 13v, the car started fine - so it seems to have a bearing on the start sequence anyway. I figure the chain needs sorting asap, but how I go about doing that is undecided yet - I'd try it myself if it can stay in car, rather than have to be engine out. Otherwise, a decent indie garage may get the job. If anyone has past experience or knowledge of the chain slack limit, and correct timing mark position on the crank (in line with the toothed timing marker, or further round?) it will help me a lot and help others too whom might be struggling to find this info. As these cars get older, DIY is surely getting more common place (even though they're not very easy to work on, and during these difficult times, saving money where possible is also prominent for many. My many thanks in advance for reading this and pointing me/us in the right direction for correct info on the crank timing mark and chain slack, and anything else of relevance.

I recently used JB weld on a couple of holes on my system which seems to be holding up okay at the moment.

So to my amazement my late 2000 (T3?) GS300 passed the MOT with its very aged and knackered exhaust. Two advisories, webbing of a seat belt and "oil leak pinion rear diff". So two questions if I may for your thoughts, experience and knowledge :) 1. Theres no Diff whine, and though wet, I'm not getting any drips. And to be honest I've not had a leaky diff on any car before. Is this common? Tough to fix? Indicative of anything major (other than the diff running dry of course)? (cars just coming up to 150k miles) 2. Exhausts. How much difference to the sound do the "resonators" and maybe third cat make internally? I don't want to lose back pressure anyway, but I see/read that people who have fitted stainless steel systems without the "resonators" on the middle/Y-pipe are getting a lot of drone inside. What needs to stay in some fashion to keep the internal noise level as close to stock as possible? I ask because I still want to replace the system from the front to the back (not the manifold and 2 front cats though, they're okay). Standard systems used are £300+, third party new totals around £400 or so. Stainless steeel fitted new, cheapest quote so far is £390 (I've had loads of quotes). However, thats almost certainly without the resonators/mufflers on the Y pipe. Last option and most likely one is some shiney tail pipes from the USA (those plus shipping works out cheaper than UK fitted ones). All I want is a healthy system in the middle (third cat/front pipe and middle Y-piece) and shiney non-OTT tail pipes that just give a little more external tune for the lovely 2JZ. Seeing as standard rear boxes are pushing on £200 a piece new, I can get a pair of stainless steel ones for about £280, or for £340'ish I can get a Manzo cat back (Y-piece and rear boxes) however the Y-piece has no "resonators" and tempting as it looks, I fear a terrible noise inside and possibly a drop in back pressure I'd rather not have. Sorry for the waffle, but the whole picture might save some guess work for you :) (Images of a standard system and a Manzo cat back for reference about what I am waffling on about)

Sorry to bring this thread back to life, but I've MOT'ed it now and thought I'd share the results (and put a new thread up) So, I pulled some of the gum gum off and found a 2cm hole. Due to the cold, I just got some JB weld and stuffed it on the hole (in a manner of speaking) and some over the blow on the silencer. I then had a look underneath at the rest of the system and found other random areas with exhaust paste and gum gum hanging off and generally, one very old and worn out looking system. The previous owner kept it garaged, but I've only a sodden patch of grass to park on, which doesn't help. I assumed the exhaust would fail on "excessive corrosion" and a bush/bearing/ball joint or something (as I get a slight low speed knock and mild wobbles at 80+) and any number of other things (being paranoid as my previous car, a CLK 320 failed terribly) But to my amazement, it passed with 2 advisories "slight webbing of nearside front seat belt, but not weakened" and "oil leak at pinion on rear diff". So I was well happy and surprised! And more happy that I have a lexus again :)

Hi, thank you for your reply. Yes, I'd say its gumgum or similar on it, I did see it when I bought the car and knocked the price down a bit as a result. Its not leaking at the moment from there, but I dare say its a metal/rust mess underneath the gumgum mess hence I think I'm best dropping the lot cat back (cats are only a couple of years old). The quote from MIJ (based in the Wallsal I believe) was for the entire cat back (so mid Y piece and both rear boxes) with either single or twin tail pipes for the fitted price (inc VAT) of £444.99. I have tried about 3 other zoorst peeps but they have either come in much higher or say to bring the car down to give a price. To me £445 with a lifetime warranty is not to bad, but I'd ideally prefer to just slap a second hand one on for the time being to see it through an MOT, just in case the car fails elsewhere or lets me down badly over the next few months (unlikely but one never knows).

Hi all! Having had my latest GS300 for a couple of months now, the MOT is due and I know the current exhaust is an issue (see pics). I have been desperately hunting for a stainless steel system in preference to an OEM seeing that the two used ones on eBay are a mighty £350! And MIJ have quoted me £445 for new S/S with life time warranty (as an FYI). So the questions are: 1. If I plug that hole in the back box, and make sure that and the awful paste all over the joint isn't leaking either (thats how I bought the car, not my handy work I'll add) might I stand a chance I wonder, as technically the fail is excessive corrosion. But I fear all that putty is an obvious giveaway of excessive corrosion even if its not leaking. 2. Another MOT requirement seems to be the correct number of baffles/mufflers, so should one slap a S/S cat back on would it be an issue. Or should I maybe say has anyone taken there car (any car) in for an MOT with a S/S cat back and had any issues other than possible noise or emissions? Many thanks! I am getting a little frustrated that in the last two months I've not found a single second hand S/S system and I'm not really wanting to throw to much on the car just yet until I've had it a while longer.

Hi everyone again, sorry to resurrect this old thread but I hate googling something and finding unresolved posts so thought I'd cap this one off for the archives. I had all 4 wheels balanced and one of them was badly out so that made a vast improvement, however still very slight wobbles at higher speeds. More recently a low speed knock can be heard from the front suspension so as yet I've not tracked it down but the cars due for an MOT so I'll know for sure then. My money is on a lower ball joint as the wobbles increase a little on long bends (at speed) but not so much at lower speeds (if at all) so weight and speed variable wobbles. Thanks again to everyone for the advise! :)

Just an update to this old post for future archives etc. Though I have not yet acquired it you definitely need a white disc with the system updates in order to use later maps, and of course the white disc is a dealer only kind of thing or Lexus-Map-updates who confirmed this theory. Thanks again everyone who replied and sorry to resurrect an old post, but I don't like seeing unresolved threads when googling :)

Thanks again everyone! Much appreciated. Well, yesterday I changed the front discs which were warped. Also, being British weather and outside, and my luck, it starting pouring down when taking the last disc off and my windows were down as it was sunny and warm just minutes before. Went to turn the ignition on to bring the windows up and the battery was flat. So after a moment of "why me!!!!" as my car filled with rain, I took a spare battery off another car and got my windows up. Soon as I did that, it stopped raining! :D Anyway, Sods law. The wobbling is a fair bit less now after the brake discs which is unexpected. Still there but barely noticeable at all. Looking at the front tyres (not had the backs off yet) I could only find a slice into the drivers side tyre which is not good, but not very deep (going to get a replacement asap anyway) and light wear on the inside compared to all the other tyres which seem to have been replaced at the same time and not long ago. However they're not what I would call quality tyres, noisy at speed, and I can see where balancing weights were, but are not there anymore - I wonder if cheap tyres done by cheap garage may be the case and as said, and not properly balanced. So I'm certainly on to that - I would have been straight away if it were not for my previous car having wobbles for other reasons. Looking underneath when doing the discs, and on such I was super lucky that the sliders were still sliding, however the pistons on the drivers side were reluctant to push back. The car certainly is a OAP type thing, inside and outside very clean and cared for, likely never gone above 50mph or 2k rpm. So it seems to be the original exhaust and the brake discs were very old and weak. The joints, bushes and arms are okay.... but looking pretty darn old. Anyway, wheel balance on all 4 and hope for the best - oh and sort this tyre out too, but if a shame as its got a lot of tread left and matches the other 3 but hey hoo. PS) Anyone selling a second hand Stainless steel (preferably) mid section and back boxes?