B17what

I plan on a few more serious mods down the road and when I get to that point I'll get to that.

In my personal experience of with cars built in the 90's on up as well as friends and family who have worked on cars for a long time. In line fuel filters very rarely needs replaced. I haven't looked into Toyota when it comes to this but with Honda's, Mitsubishi, bmw, and a few others I've dealt with consider those good for the "life" of the car. About 150k to 200k. Mine hasn't hit 130k yet My tank was very clean and the in tank pre filter off the pump was very clean. Fuel pressure with the old pump was at oem spec. I'll look into Toyotas recommendations. I know all are built different.

I saw this and was going to point this out because mine started to do the same thing now that it's getting warmer. For others with this issue, the best way to check for fuel is to put your ear to the fuel fill hole and have someone put the key to on. If it doesn't whine it's not working. I hit the tank a few times while my buddy tried to start it. Started right up. The pump is getting hot and seizing up. Hitting it got it to loosen up for a bit. It did start running bad about 30 minutes later. But at least I knew what it was. Replaced it and it's been good ever since.

I wish I didn't listen to other people about the fuel pump. Everyone said it was rare for fuel pumps to go out. So I avoided it. I got my 97 with 80k miles on it in late 2015. I've put 40k miles on it. My first problem with it was at 110k miles last fall and everything I read matched up to the ECU. I was hesitant to rebuild it because none of the caps were leaking. But when I did the car ran better then it ever has. The coils, caps, rotors, and plugs where done at the same time. Though not because I was throwing parts at it but more because they had 110k miles on the original equipment. The fuel issue was new the first time it got into the 60's this year. I'm in Indiana. Yay global warming... Got it towed home because I had no idea. Felt like the trans was giving out the way it jerked and shifted. But it started up and ran great again. It wasn't above 50 for awhile. First time it got warm again it did it again. I knew it was getting spark because I had starting fluid with me. So that's when I put me ear to the fuel cap. No whine= no fuel pump. I just want someone to see this post because it's really easy to check for fuel with out pulling spark plugs. The ls400 tank is really close to the fuel cap. So it's very easy to hear it when it's working. Though it's best to have a buddy there turning the key to on (not starting it) since the pump only primes for a few seconds.

I wanted to post up what my problem was for this issue. I have looked all over the Lexus and Toyota forums with no luck for weeks. So I just started testing stuff. When it was warm outside (over 65°f) and the car was driven to the point that it was warmed up the car wouldn't want to start even though it ran perfect before hand until I parked it. I had already rebuilt the ecu last year, replaced the coils, tested the mass air flow sensor as well as the coolant temp sensor, and spark in general. All were good. So while I was stranded 100 miles from home it started to hesitate and the car was bucking. First time in the 70's in a few months. So first issue in a month since it cold all month. We pulled into a gas station and let it sit for awhile while we where there we got a drink out of frustration. We got back to the car an hour later and still no go. I had my buddy get in the driver seat and turn the key to one while I had the fuel cap off with my ear to it. Fuel pump didn't kick on at all. So I took out the cloth/carpet in the trunk to get to the tank. I had him try and start it while I punched the tank next to the pump. It started up just fine. Drove it 50 miles. Died again. Let it sit again. Wouldn't start. Punched the tank again as he started it. Started up again. Definitely the pump. Still really far out though so I called AAA and had it towed. I ordered a aftermarket performance pump (walbro 255) since it was the same price as a oem one. No more issues. Runs fantastic.