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1991 Lexus ES 250 won't start
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shadetreeJack
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Jun 12, 2009, 9:19 AM
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1991 Lexus ES 250 won't start
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1991 Lexus ES 250 Stalled while driving. No Spark. The distributor is a bit difficult to access (the air filter to intake duct goes right over it and has a lot of hoses) so if you have any advise before I start disassembling stuff I would appreciate it.
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Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky
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Jun 12, 2009, 10:08 AM
Post #2 of 21
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Re: 1991 Lexus ES 250 won't start
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You need to first check for injector pulse using a noid light. If you find that you have lost injector pulse also, then yes, I would replace the distributor. If you find that it's only spark that you have lost, then I would suspect the igniter which is under the coil.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.
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Sidom
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Jun 12, 2009, 4:55 PM
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Re: 1991 Lexus ES 250 won't start
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Also if the engine sounds different now that you crank it over, you might what to check the timing belt. Take oil cap off & see if you can see the rockers moving. If not loosen on of the top timing belt covers & pry it back enough to see the cam gear & have some one crank it over to see if it is moving.........
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shadetreeJack
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Jun 12, 2009, 6:17 PM
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Re: 1991 Lexus ES 250 won't start
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Thanks to both of you. I'll do the noid test and the timing chain tests in the morning. I went and bought a Chilton's for guidance and specs. so far I have checked the coil resistance and tried starter fluid in case my spark tester wasn't working and I should be chasing a no fuel problem. anyway my helper left the key on so I am charging it, watching my Redwings lose, and going to bed.
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shadetreeJack
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Jun 13, 2009, 3:21 AM
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Re: 1991 Lexus ES 250 won't start
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Did I say timing CHAIN??? I meant belt - Having a distributor, I thought I had my 'old school' hat on not my 'OLD old school' hat. anyway the rockers aren't visible through the oil fill.. since I have the dist cap off, I observed where the rotor is and bumped the starter a couple times.. no movement to the rotor... so I am moving from Section 2 - Engine Electrical - to Section 3 - Engine and Engine overhaul.. Darn - I am doing this for my wife's coworker - I need to get back to my cars, I have a ball joint on my Bonneville, a heater core in my 98 Camaro, a window switch/wire issue in my Venture .. let alone my 91 Camaro still stalls when I hit the accelerator (Vacuum leak? - I'll see you later on that one in a new post/string) .. my house trim painting, my tool shed roof leaks... maybe losing my job at GM is a good thing, at least until my severance runs out...
Loren Jackson - Jack is my screen/nickname
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Sidom
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Jun 13, 2009, 8:36 AM
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Re: 1991 Lexus ES 250 won't start
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If your rotor isn't turning then you have a stripped/broken timing belt. Time to pop the camgear covers off & take a look. Upside that is a fairly easy belt to do.
Thats tough luck on your job. The whole auto industry is taking a hit right now, I know I don't have to tell you that... The shop I'm in had 10 techs back in the day..... Now we're down to 6 & counting............
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Loren Champlain Sr
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Jun 14, 2009, 10:19 AM
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Re: 1991 Lexus ES 250 won't start
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>>I need to get back to my cars, I have a ball joint on my Bonneville, a heater core in my 98 Camaro, a window switch/wire issue in my Venture .. let alone my 91 Camaro still stalls when I hit the accelerator (Vacuum leak? - I'll see you later on that one in a new post/string) .. my house trim painting, my tool shed roof leaks..<<
And what do you do in your SPARE time?
Loren? Hmmm. Your mom didn't like you, either.
Loren
SW Washington
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shadetreeJack
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Jun 14, 2009, 12:06 PM
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Re: 1991 Lexus ES 250 won't start
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The timing belt is FAIRLY easy. It would be very easy if there was more than 3/4 inch to get a wrench in there to get the cover off. Also, since this car has had an intermittant and impossible to find coolant leak in that general area, I am going to replace the water pump. unfortunately the engine mount has to come out to remove it. AS for th name, Loren, My mother named me after her Grandfather, which made her Grandmother very happy. AS for me, I always related to the song "Boy named Sue"
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shadetreeJack
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Jun 14, 2009, 12:09 PM
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Re: 1991 Lexus ES 250 won't start
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Wait a minute.. Loren Champlain SENIOR??? .. So the cylce didn't end with you...
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Sidom
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Jun 14, 2009, 12:40 PM
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Re: 1991 Lexus ES 250 won't start
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LOL.....you crack me up 
You did verify the belt was stripped/broken?? I would hate to see you tear it down & not be the problem... Take the top bolts off the cover so you can pry it back just enough to see that the belt isn't turning when someone is cranking it over....
If it is then, ya wouldn't be a bad idea to change out the water pump. Once you take the mount off & jack up the motor, it doesn't look as bad. The hydraulic tensioner/backlash adjuster shouldn't have any movement. If you can push the pin in with your thumb, it's trash, replace it. You should have to use a vise to compress it & put a "gernade pin" in it to hold it..... No gernade pin? A small drill bit will work.........
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Loren Champlain Sr
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Jun 14, 2009, 1:24 PM
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Re: 1991 Lexus ES 250 won't start
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"No me fault, mon" I wasn't there when he was born (and I'll never hear the end of it, either). My wife did it. He was supposed to be Michael. I think she did it to him because she was mad at me for not being there? Two of my grandsons have Loren as thier middle names. Poor kids.
Loren
SW Washington
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shadetreeJack
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Jun 14, 2009, 2:27 PM
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Re: 1991 Lexus ES 250 won't start
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Yes, I pryed the cover back yesterday and there was no belt to be seen. after an hour of finessing the rest of the bolts I got the cover off. Two teaspoon sized pieces of belt and a bit of black dust. The Chiltons says to remove the spark plugs - I assume this is so the cams will turn easy for timing. Do you think this is necesssary? The back two are a *&@! to get at.
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shadetreeJack
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Jun 14, 2009, 5:35 PM
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Re: 1991 Lexus ES 250 won't start
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OK here is where I have been stuck for over an hour: The Engine mount. there three pieces: one on the frame, one on the Engine and one inbetween. the one in between has a long bolt and two studs going down into the engine bracket. I have the bolt out and the nuts off the studs. Problem is there is a part of the bracket on the frame that extends into the midlle part and does not let it it go up enough for the studs to clear.. SO I have been trying to remove the bracket bolted to the frame. There are three studs in the frame. one came loose no problem the other two won't budge. I soaked them with PB blaster, left for 40 minutes, came back and hammered away with 650 lt-lbs of torwue from my impact wrench but they won't move at all. OK I have vented, I am going back out there..
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shadetreeJack
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Jun 14, 2009, 6:11 PM
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Re: 1991 Lexus ES 250 won't start
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Well both those nuts came off within 1 minute of trying again.. so now I am fighting the mount bracket on the engine - the water pump in behind it. I got two of the bolts but the last one also goes through the bracket that holds the pwr steering pump and tensions its belt. now those bolts are being tough. a little PB blaster and a break is in order.
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shadetreeJack
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Jun 15, 2009, 5:53 PM
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Re: 1991 Lexus ES 250 won't start
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I got the power steering bolts off and removed the engine mount and water pump. The timing belt is all tangled up inside the lower timing belt cover and the timing pulley on the crank. I have spent about 6 hours trying to get the bolt out of the serpentine belt crank pully - A.K.A. harmonic balancer. I have been down this road before. The impact wrench I had was not powerful enough. The guys in the shop at GM said they had this problme ( at home) and resolved it with a bigger, better wrench so I bought an Ingersol Rand 650-ft lb - that did not do it so I bought a 1500 lb-ft impact wrenc. Now I am still talking about last year when I had to get to the crank sensor on my GM 3800. the bolt came of in 10 seconds. THIS bolt will not budge. I placed a pry bar between the socket and a bolt into the pulley like you are supposed to but it still won't come. I got tired of the pry bar falling so I took a piece of squae tubing, drille/ground hole into anf bolted it into place. now I can sit there and hammer away until the cows come home. nothing...
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Loren Champlain Sr
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Jun 15, 2009, 6:06 PM
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Re: 1991 Lexus ES 250 won't start
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Jack; I'm really hesitant to suggest this as you can damage things by doing this, so take extreme caution.
You can put a breaker bar w/socket onto the bolt and wedge it against the frame. Very quickly, and only just a very quick snap, hit the starter (ignition key). This will almost always break the bolt loose. BUT....it the breaker bar comes loose, or you crank the starter too long, you CAN damage things. So, if you try this, be very careful. I've seen breaker bars end up in the radiator, which is not a good thing. Can ruin your whole day. NOTE: THIS IS NOT A RECOMMENDED
SUGGESTION. SEVERE DAMAGE COULD RESULT. (disclaimer)
Loren
SW Washington
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shadetreeJack
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Jun 15, 2009, 6:29 PM
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Re: 1991 Lexus ES 250 won't start
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I think I will try it. I tried it last year on my Bonneville and it did not work. In fact I tried it a lot. 6 months later I needed a new starter. The starter was only 1 year old. anyway at this point I need to try alternatives. I understand the danger. I did not think this would put more than the huge Impact wrench I am using - it is so big I have it on a floor jack.
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shadetreeJack
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Jun 16, 2009, 2:05 AM
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Re: 1991 Lexus ES 250 won't start
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It worked! I need to trust you, my fellow Loren, and discard logic: I had my doubts since I tried this in the past, it did not work and the 1" impact wrench did work. Logic told me that the monster torque wrench put more lb-ft at the bolt. So I spent an hour making a bar that would hold the pulley while I torqued away. This morning I spent a good hour trying my set-up more before removing it and trying the dangerous method. For safety I tie-wrapped the handle of the breaker bar to a tie rod. The tie wrap kept come off, so I tied the handle with a nylon strap. two clicks.. on the thrird the engine turned over so I figrured the wrench fell of or maybe.. just maybe Woo HOO the bolt is off! The pulley gave me no trouble. I love this point of a project. Once I degrease the engine behind the crank pulley area and get the water pump gasket off, it is all assembly - still have to struggle with the lack of clearance but no problem with loosening. now if I can remember where all the bolts and brackets go AND in which order!
Thanks again, Loren Jackson
(This post was edited by shadetreeJack on Jun 16, 2009, 2:07 AM)
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Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky
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Jun 16, 2009, 2:43 AM
Post #19 of 21
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Re: 1991 Lexus ES 250 won't start
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I have used that method many times. It works great. Just don't get your fingers in the way............LOL
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.
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Loren Champlain Sr
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Jun 16, 2009, 11:46 AM
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Loren; That's great news! With a name like that, anything is possible. LOL. Have a great week.
Loren
SW Washington
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