My Baby Is Starting To Get Sick!

[1991LS400]

:cries: I just purchased a beautiful 1991 LS 400 a month ago and it did have some noticable defects but I put some money into it and got some things fixed. Upon purchasing this vehicle I had noted to the dealer that it had a transmission cooler line leak, power steering hose leak, a missing radio antenna, worn out LCD screen on the climate control module, broken transmission mount, and very tiny knicks and scratches here and there...not noticable unless you look very closely, but nonetheless, I mentioned them anyway.

So they gave it to me for $2000 INCLUDING a $300 check to fix some of the problems which technically brought the grand total down to $1700 for a overall beautiful pearl white LS 400. It was a great steal. But...

...the problems have started to march in. Please read on. I need everyone's helpful suggestions because I want to go into the shop with some knowledge of what's going on so I can tell my mechanic what to check. I will greatly appreciate all of you. Please read on...

1) I have heard much groaning coming from the steering wheel when I turn it first thing every morning which has led me to the conclusion that I have a rack and pinion leak even though I just replaced the power steering line/hose. My rack and pinion leak was confirmed a few days ago. So now I need a new rack and pinion.

2) When I turn on my car after it has been sitting for a while (overnight) it starts and then I hear something grind, like gears, right before the engine turns on. I am sure I need a new starter because it is usally the starter clutch that makes that grinding sound when a car's starter is beginning to fail. I don't believe it's the flywheel. Could it be?

3) I noticed from a distance my car is SLIGHTLY lopsided towards the drivers side and I filled up all the tires to the appropriate pressure and the driver side is still sagging a little bit. It's very slight and can only be noticed from a distance but what else could this be?

4) My car seems to drive better when the air conditioner is on. If it is off and I am idle (at a stop sign or stop light) I feel vibrations move from my engine, then it goes underneath me, then it feels like it leaves out the back. When I start driving again it goes away. What the heck could this be? My mechanic showed me in person that the engine mounts were good and I have a brand new transmission mount. So it's not those things.

5) My car is usally smooth driving all the way up to 50MPH. When I go 50MPH + it seems like my car drives like the "Little Train That Could." My car starts shaking, my stick shift starts shaking crazy, but it speeds up and maintains speed properly. So what could be causing this vibration at speeds of 50MPH or greater? Remember, I got good mounts for my engine and a brand new transmission mount.

6) When I turn on my air conditioner it works well, however, the two passenger side air vents seem to get cold a lot faster than the driver side vents. When it's a very hot day and I turn on the air conditioner the passenger side starts blowing cool air right away but the driver side seems to blow warm air for a while. Eventually, all vents start blowing good cool air but why does the driver side take longer? Isn't it all the same A/C?

7) Sometimes when idle or even in park I can hear the front belt in my engine really going and my RPM's stay at 1,000. What the heck is going on with that?

I don't know if it's my pulley's that are making all that "WRRRRNG" sound but all I know is that my RPM's sometimes stay at 1,000 while parked or idle.

8) My mechanic said something about spark plugs. What do these babies do for this car and what can happen and what symptoms would a LS 400 have when it's spark plugs go bad?

9) One more thing, where are the spark plugs located? Are they inside the part that has the "V8" and "4.0 L" written on it? You know, where you fill up the engine oil...

THIS CAR HAS TO LAST ME OVER A YEAR FOR MY JOB AND EVERYTHING ELSE. Please guys, I need you all more than anything. This is my first post and I have been reading for months a lot of what you guys talk about and I have seen many brilliant people in here who know what they're talking about. If anyone could please answer my questions with some EXPERIENCE and in numerical order I would more than gladly die for you. Just save Lexi...please............ :cries:

[VMF]

wow thats a pretty big post!

its nice to see a dedication and you described all the problems very well anyway

welcome to the club.

1. the groaning also means that ure either low on the steering fluid or there is air in the system, if yuur rack is leaking slowly then you might live with it for a while and not spend 300$ for rebuilkd or 1300$ for a new rack and just do a bleeding procedure.

2. ppl on the forum told us that your starter might last you another year or 2 even with this sound so if it aint broken, dont fix it.

3. do you have air suspension?

4. at what rpm does this happen?

5. it means that u need a tuneup ASAP!!! andi mean ASAP it mean that one or 2 of ur cylinders either dont work or work very poorly and you need to change ur wires, spark plugs, rotors and rotor cups.

6.i never hear bout this problem but there is a strange logic written in the Ac/heater ECM so if it eventually gets cold everywhere ure all good since it means that ur AC is working perfectly. it might be a software bug just as well.

7. this means that your timing belt pulleys bearings are worn and you might need to change the timing belt and water pump soon. check with your local dealer if there any records of when this job was done if it was and what mileage the car had? what is ur current mileage?

8. he is right, i would recommend doing tune up/timing belt change (if requires) at the same time, it will save u some $.

9. yes, they are located right under that plastic cover which is called timing belt cover and to access them on the other side of the engine you have to remove the air intake assembly.

please provide all the additional info for us then we will take more intelligent guesses of what is going on with ur car.

since u just got the car i would recommend you to flush all ur systems and change all the oils inthe car.

[Grandpa]

Hello Brian and welcome!

Well... spark plugs are what you need for ignition. The spark plug supplies the spark that ignites the air/fuel mixture so that combustion can occur. The spark must happen at just the right moment for things to work properly.

Spark plugs are also easy to change out. but unless you know what your doing, I wouldn't taper with it... I can post a DIY on how to change your spark plugs and wires.

[Grandpa]

Did you buy this car from dealership or was it a private exchange? I would also flush my system too, make sure your coolant isn't a green color because that's bad for your engine. Hrmm... for 1,700... i wonder if i got ripped off for buying my 92 Ls 400 about 4 years ago at 10,000.

[1UZ-FE]

Grandpa: there's been a topic on here recently and i think that you posted in in...or not, not sure. but anyway, green coolant isn't necessarily bad. read or re-read the loooong topic on green vs. red vs. pink vs. whatever other colors they got.

91LS400: make sure that you read or have read the same topic so u'll know what i'm talking about with the coolant. it is very helpful.

topic on coolant

[Grandpa]

Same here. I like the comment. I've done some additional research on this subject. Going Red is best because of silocate which will prevent build-up.

I am withdrawing my previous statement of sticking with Green with Distilled water will do the job.

The Asians use phosphates but no borates and low or no silicates because they say borates may actually add to the aluminum corrosion problem if the coolant is neglected.

That's what I read so, I'm assuming that the green is bad but it may not be..

[chips229]

"When I turn on my air conditioner it works well, however, the two passenger side air vents seem to get cold a lot faster than the driver side vents. When it's a very hot day and I turn on the air conditioner the passenger side starts blowing cool air right away but the driver side seems to blow warm air for a while. Eventually, all vents start blowing good cool air but why does the driver side take longer? Isn't it all the same A/C?"

I had the same problem on my car,the gas was low,so the a/c would work,but i had the same warm air out of some of the vents...you will find that if you shut all the vents....then open anyone of them,you will have cold air...open them all and theres warm from some to start will....Id say that the a/c needs a re gas.

Sounds like your up againist it,good luck mate with the repairs.

[VMF]

Grandpa: there's been a topic on here recently and i think that you posted in in...or not, not sure. but anyway, green coolant isn't necessarily bad. read or re-read the loooong topic on green vs. red vs. pink vs. whatever other colors they got.

91LS400: make sure that you read or have read the same topic so u'll know what i'm talking about with the coolant. it is very helpful.

topic on coolant

no, 1UZFE, green is bad and it shortens life of all the components that are in touch with it. aluminium engines and radiators are not compatible with ethylene glycol based coolants and it will lead to corrosion and deposit of chemicals inside the system so no green, red only!

[CUMan]

I don't really want to get into this never-ending controversy over red vs. green coolant. I suspect that nobody's opinion is going to be changed by anyone else's comments.

I have used green coolant in both of my Lexus vehicles for several years and have never had any problem. In fact, I have used green coolant in numerous Japanese cars, going back to a 1978 Toyota Corona. During the 1980's, I owned several Hondas and put green coolant in them. Some of these may have had cast iron blocks, but I think some of them also had aluminum blocks.

It seems logical to me that if green coolant were so bad for aluminum engines, Lexus would put a warning in their owners' manuals and in their service manuals.

By doing so, they would accomplish two things: (1) they would prevent this possible engine damage from green coolant; and (2) they would enrich themselves by coercing everyone into buying their red coolant. Are these not reasonable assumptions?

[VMF]

well the do have the warning in both user and service manual, i happen to owe 3 volumes of lexus repair manuals and they clearly state and i quote "use a good brand of ethylene glycol based coolant" and "using coolant that includes more then 50% ethylene glycol is recommended" it also states that alcohol type coolant should not be used. even when i went to the pep boys store to get some coolant i asked guys there just out of curiosity to check their system and it clearly stated - RED only.

[CUMan]

That bad, bad green coolant IS ethylene glycol based.

My Lexus service manual does not say: Use only red coolant, not green.

[VMF]

percentage plays the main role there, i would rather stick to what repair manual says. coolant is same price and it takes 30 mins or less to change the coolant so i would rather stick with my green coolant.