Vmf And Everyone Else In Here! Help!

[1991LS400]

:cries: Thank you everyone (especially VMF) for the helpful info. However, I'm hoping that what you suggested will be reliable enough for me in the long run.

VMF, you asked for more info...so here's my best at what I had to say in regards to your reply to my post. Please read (including everyone else)...

>> 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.

Well, my mechanic took me up underneath my vehicle and showed me the leak and I am assuming it is a very slow leak because there's never any leakage that appears on the pavement anywhere I park but if you go up underneath my beautiful Lexi you can see the left side of the rack and pinion is wet with some leakage. However, my fluid CURRENTLY is not low. It was a few days ago but my mechanic put some more p/s fluid in the reservoir and it has pretty much stayed the same since. But it is leaking nonetheless but very, very slowly. It mainly starts groaning first thing in the morning when I start making its first turns for the day. After using the vehicle for the rest of the day, it stops. Any suggestions?

>> 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.

Well, it does it MAINLY also first thing in the morning. Most of the crap that happens to my car is first thing in the morning. Also, how will I know when my starter's really getting crappy? What if it just...dies one morning and I can't get to work. :cries: I did find a rebuilt starter for my '91 LS 400 at AutoZone for $70. No joke. It's the only one they have in stock. Any suggestions again?

>> 3. do you have air suspension?

How would I find this out? And if I did or didn't, what should I take into consideration after finding this out? What's the process to fixing a lopsided LS 400? Is air suspension the only culprit? What else could make my car lean to the driver side like that?

>> 4. at what rpm does this happen (the vibration from the engine throughout the rest of the car)?

Dang, I wish I would have checked. I'll get back to you on this one. But is my car supposed to stay at 1,000 RPM's even when it's idle (stopped at a stop sign or stop light)? When you're still, where should the RPM's be at? And what can cause my engine to stay revved at 1,000 RPM's even though I'm still or parked?

>> 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.

How are you so sure that one or 2 of my cylinders are bad? How come my mechanic didn't mention that at all? And I know I can get spark plugs at AutoZone, but can I also get the wires, rotors, and rotor cups from them as well? Also, what exactly do you mean wires? What kind of wires do I need and what do they do? I'm also confused about the purpose of rotors and rotor cups. What are those too? And would it be hard to change a cylinder or two? What would they have to do?

>> 6.i never hear about 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.

Awesome.

>> 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?

Well, the sound is not from my timing belt. My mechanic said the timing belt was inside the part of the engine that says "V8 4.0L"...the sound is whirring of the pulleys for that long belt in the front that you can actually see. My mechanic said I have two belts and the timing belt is the one you can't see. Is this true? Also, you said changing the water pump. Why? And what does that do?

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

Well, my car is at 240,000K and my mechanic said that for it to still be running this well that the people who owned my car must have taken care of it one way or another. All I can tell you is that there is some sort of a sticker on my engine that says timing belt and what mileage it was changed at. And it said 196,000. My mechanic said the timing belt should be changed about when I hit 250,000K. Is this correct?

>> 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.

I called the Lexus dealership that the vehicle was actually purchased at back in 1991. I asked a mechanic/technician about flushing out my transmission. He recommended not to because if the system had not been flushed in a long time and you flush it all of a sudden he said you can take out the metal friction it needs in the fluid for the gears or something. I have no clue what he was talking about. Do you? My tranny shifts very well for 240,000K. So do you think the past owner of my car did some sort of transmission work for it to be shifting this well at this milieage?

I appreciate everyone's help. I am looking forward to all of your replies including VMF's. Please help. Save Lexi....... :cries:

[Grandpa]

Ok in one of your previous posts...

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.

This would could be due to some bad wheel balance or alignment.

and also >>5

How are you so sure that one or 2 of my cylinders are bad? How come my mechanic didn't mention that at all? And I know I can get spark plugs at AutoZone, but can I also get the wires, rotors, and rotor cups from them as well? Also, what exactly do you mean wires? What kind of wires do I need and what do they do? I'm also confused about the purpose of rotors and rotor cups. What are those too? And would it be hard to change a cylinder or two? What would they have to do?

Wires are ignition wires, you should change these when you change spark plugs... and I'm sure you can get these at AutoZone.. but i go to O'Reily Auto Parts. The job is actually quite easy, but somewhat long because you want to make sure you do it right. The spark plugs are located inside chambers. On your engine, there is the Right Hand side that has the V8 32 Valve 4 CAM or something along that line and if you remove that covering, there would be 4 chambers under it, and under it is where you have the spark plugs. If you are going to wire it.. make sure you disconnect the negative charge and wrap it in some cloth or a towel of some sort. You'll also need some anti-seize compound.

[Grandpa]

Forgot something about the Spark plug wires and plugs... if your going to Autozone.. usually they have a database that have what you'll need, so just ask them that you need some new "Spark Plug Wires and Spark Plugs... and while your taking things apart... you can also clean up the dirt :)

[VMF]

1. if the leak is really slow then it means that there is air in the system and you should try to bleed the system and then leave the cap on the reservoir open overnight. it helps!

2. the thing with rebuild starters is that they are unpredictable and its a lot of work to change it. so its better to let this one die since by the sound u described its the clutch and gears, not the starter itself and the starter in autozone is just 1 piece, without the clutch.

3. do you have a button that says Hi, and LO?

5. i had this problem once and when ci checked plugs 2 of them were not working. actually it all depends on the way it is shaking, if it shakes and like hesitates to speed up then its a ignition problem, otherwise it might be a bad balance, but the thing with LS cars they usually have vibrations related to balance on the 65-80 mph. do the balance and have your mechanic check your ignition system.

6. timing belt is located right behind the accessory belt so you cant really distinguish which one is making noise, if you hear a whining noise at 800-1000 rpm

it means that timing belt is making this noise. you can check the gallery to see where timing belt is located, i posted a few pix when i was changing my timing belt myself. water pump has a bearing as well and there is a chanse that it is going to fail and seize and it will fry the timing belt and you will have to tow your car to your mechanic and till cost you and take time. lexus recommends chaning timing belt every 90k while you can do it at 120k its no biggie. i would not recommend pushing it further since you are increasing the risk. if it was changed at 196k then you are save for another 40-50k but if you have whining noise you should be aware that one of the bearings either int the TB pulleys or in the water pump is going bad.

9

dont flush tranny but flush all other systems like engine coolant, power steering and brakes. check if the fluid in the brakes and power steering is dark and if it is then change it.