1991 Ls 400 Check Engine Light And Other Issues

[willpro]

I have a 1991 Lexus ls 400 with @ 102,000. I am the second owner and bought it from my Father in Law. It has been regularly serviced.

The check engine light is on and has been on for over a year. The car drives great. I have taken it to two different mechanics (Not the Lexus dealer but reputable mechanics that regularly work on foreign cars, including Lexus). Both mechanics state that the computer shows no errors, but can't get it to reset.

I have the original timing belt, but drive the car like a baby. Smooth on the highway only a few miles to work. I have read conflicting reports on the timing belt. If it goes, I will be standed, but no damage to the car and if it goes, I will destroy the engine. Which is it?

Finally, my power steering fluid has a leak. It used to get low every 2 to 3 months, not it is about every 6 to 8 weeks. I have been told it is expensive to repair.

I love the car, but I hate to put $2,000 into it to fix it when I can just get a new car. It is a great car, but I can't see putting alot of money into a 15 year old car. I will probably get a new car in a year.

Thanks for your comments.

[vyhanh]

Hi,

1. Search Forum for interference/non-interference engine. I think 91LS is non-interference ie. if belt breaks, valves won't damage engine.

2. Also search for P/S leaks on forum.

VH

I have a 1991 Lexus ls 400 with @ 102,000. I am the second owner and bought it from my Father in Law. It has been regularly serviced.

The check engine light is on and has been on for over a year. The car drives great. I have taken it to two different mechanics (Not the Lexus dealer but reputable mechanics that regularly work on foreign cars, including Lexus). Both mechanics state that the computer shows no errors, but can't get it to reset.

I have the original timing belt, but drive the car like a baby. Smooth on the highway only a few miles to work. I have read conflicting reports on the timing belt. If it goes, I will be standed, but no damage to the car and if it goes, I will destroy the engine. Which is it?

Finally, my power steering fluid has a leak. It used to get low every 2 to 3 months, not it is about every 6 to 8 weeks. I have been told it is expensive to repair.

I love the car, but I hate to put $2,000 into it to fix it when I can just get a new car. It is a great car, but I can't see putting alot of money into a 15 year old car. I will probably get a new car in a year.

Thanks for your comments.

[jflo]

My timing belt went out on my 91 LS400. First I was told that the engine was shot. $5000 + for a replacement. "No Way". Then I was told they would try a "Leak Down" Test. Turns out the valves were not bent and it could be fixed for $1700. The belt went out at about 170,000 miles. There was a very noticable squal from the front end before it did.

My Power Steering fluid leaks also. Had that estimated and will cost (again) $1700 to fix. I've elected to fill it up every 4 weeks instead.

[nc211]

Who is your mechanic? Gold Finger? For that kind of money, I'd have the car towed to your nearest Lexus dealership and tell them to do the 90k service, where they will flush all the fluids, plugs, filters ect...in addition to replacing your timing belt and water pump for the same amount of money +/-. $1,700 for the power steering issue??? Dude, not seeing that at all!! That's a lot of money to fix a leak, which is probably your pump seal or something like that. For $1,700 you can replace the entire steering component in the car "rack, tie rods, pump etc..." Looks like you're someone's Santa Clause this year. Especially if they first tried to tell you the engine was shot. Either you're dealing with an indi mechanic who is b/s'n you, or you've got a Jr. mechanic at the dealership. If it's the dealership, ask for the senior technician to take over the case.

My timing belt went out on my 91 LS400. First I was told that the engine was shot. $5000 + for a replacement. "No Way". Then I was told they would try a "Leak Down" Test. Turns out the valves were not bent and it could be fixed for $1700. The belt went out at about 170,000 miles. There was a very noticable squal from the front end before it did.

My Power Steering fluid leaks also. Had that estimated and will cost (again) $1700 to fix. I've elected to fill it up every 4 weeks instead.

[jflo]

Thanks nc211

This is a shop I've started using by default. No particular reason. How do you suggest I shop around for the best mechanic to work on my Lexus yet keep prices reasonable? Is it worth it for a Lexus dealership to look at it?

Same mechanic told me I'd need a tune-up soon $500. Is this off the charts also. I feel so abused!

[j.barleycorn]

Bored at work and thought I would join in!

Willpro-

Not knowing the condition of the rest of the car, how much you paid for it, etc, hard to advise. You said it was regularly serviced… does this just mean oil changes?

Assuming you are going to sell it and get another car in a year, for my $ I would not change the timing belt (you have a non-interference engine, so no valve damage would be expected, just stranded/towing/etc) as (in my opinion) it is likely to last another year.

LS400 power steering leaks are renowned for taking out the alternator, too, so it can end up being a sad series of events. I would recommend you research this topic on the LOC and shop for a good deal to get it fixed. It can only help when you sell the car, as there is a good chance the buyer will have looked in LOC before shopping!

For what it is worth, if the rest of the car is in good shape, there are MANY worse things in life than spending a little money every year to keep a first generation LS400 on the road! A fine ride that will last a good long time! ;)

NC211-

Busted a gut on the Gold Finger thang! :P

Jflo-

You are definitely getting hosed on these estimates, including mysterious $500 tune-ups. Best defense is to go in armed with knowledge from LOC! Never agree on a repair that you aren’t somewhat knowledgeable about! It will be worth your time to use the LOC SEARCH function and read-up. At the very least you will have an idea of $$$ for each repair, and be able to know when someone is blowing smoke! Good luck!

[willpro]

Bored at work and thought I would join in!

Willpro-

Not knowing the condition of the rest of the car, how much you paid for it, etc, hard to advise. You said it was regularly serviced… does this just mean oil changes?

Assuming you are going to sell it and get another car in a year, for my $ I would not change the timing belt (you have a non-interference engine, so no valve damage would be expected, just stranded/towing/etc) as (in my opinion) it is likely to last another year.

LS400 power steering leaks are renowned for taking out the alternator, too, so it can end up being a sad series of events. I would recommend you research this topic on the LOC and shop for a good deal to get it fixed. It can only help when you sell the car, as there is a good chance the buyer will have looked in LOC before shopping!

For what it is worth, if the rest of the car is in good shape, there are MANY worse things in life than spending a little money every year to keep a first generation LS400 on the road! A fine ride that will last a good long time! ;)

NC211-

Busted a gut on the Gold Finger thang! :P

Jflo-

You are definitely getting hosed on these estimates, including mysterious $500 tune-ups. Best defense is to go in armed with knowledge from LOC! Never agree on a repair that you aren’t somewhat knowledgeable about! It will be worth your time to use the LOC SEARCH function and read-up. At the very least you will have an idea of $$$ for each repair, and be able to know when someone is blowing smoke! Good luck!

Thanks for the input. The car is in good shape, great for a 14 year old car. I just put in a rebuilt alternator and new tires, brakes, rotors etc. Regular maintanence means mostly oil changes but also whatever else the mechanic thinks I may need. I have put alot of money (tires, alternator and brakes in a 6 month span) into the car over the last couple of years.

I bought it in 98 for 15,000 with 35,000 miles on it.

Is there a risk that the new rebuilt alternator will burn out also? What kind of cost should I expect to fix the power steering leak?

Thanks for your help.

[michjm]

I would find and fix the power steering leak. These cars are notorious for the power steering pump leaking and taking out the alternator, thus compounding your expense to fix it. This happened to the previous owner of my '91 LS and also to another friend's '90 LS.

Before you replace the pump, I would check the fittings on the pressure side hose first. They are a metal to rubber connection and might leak with the age of the car. I believe you can buy this hose for about $120 online.

Another problem with waiting on repairing the power steering leak is that if the leak is increasing, the leak point is getting bigger. Beside the possibility of a complete failure, there is also the possibility that contaminates are getting into the system more easily. If you get moisture and dirt in the rack, it can force the need to replace the whole system, obviously $$$.

Spend the time to get your car in the air and find the leak. If it is an easy fix (ie hose), do it and avoid the hassle of explaining the leak when you try to sell the car. If the problem turns out to be more than you want to fix, you know to sell the car to someone before it gets worse and forces you to repair it.

[92ls forhundo]

hello. I have a 92 ls in which i too had the dissappearing/white smoke on startup/going through a quart of atf a week issue/steering colomn groaning power steering fluid issue. I took it to my mechanic, a guy i really trust and he tried a coupla things and two weeks later the problems persisted. So i took it back to him and per the sound advice on this board had him replace the "AIR CONTROL/IDLE UP" valve located on the bottom of the fluid resovior and it solved the issue!!! its a $70 dollar part and will according to much of this board, solve the issue if the system is not too gone. My mechanic didnt believe me until he saw the result, the loc was right try that And then hunker down and clean that solenoid valve screen.(ample info on the loc for locating and removing that)

[ViperGTS]

I bought my rebuilt power steering pump for $100 from Autozone. Not hard to DYI. The leak will ruin your altenator in time. The timing belt is a little more difficult to do. I did it myself and spent between $300 to $400 dollars on parts that I ordered from online.

I recommend that you stay away from the dealer and mechanics as much as you can. My '90 LS has 201,000 miles and still runs great, but would have cost me a fortune if I had someone else do the work. I've owned it for two years and spent around a $1000 on parts, but saved thousands from staying away from mechanics. Mechanics love sticking it to owners of luxury cars and sports cars, no matter how old. I keep my Viper far from any mechanics.

[kcpth]

If you have time... and r a bit handy... then u can DIY. Just check out... www.lexls.com The site has a lot of good tutorials for u to work on ur car. Not to mention LOC has a tutorial section as well.

Clearing the Check Engine code can b as simple as pulling the EFI Fuse out or the Negative Battery Terminal. Keep it off for a minutes. If you want to check the CHECK ENGINE CODE... then u can do it urself... since it's an OBDI. Use either of the two sites.

http://uktoyotaestimasite.tripod.com/obdcodes.htm#obtaincode

http://www.troublecodes.net/Lexus/

Just get like a 18 Gauge wire... about 4inches will do... then cut off about 1/4 inch off both ends n dont forget to twist each of the ends. I would suggest printing out the picture. Make sure u align the picture with the Diagnostic thing correctly. I wouldn't suggest u jumping the wrong terminals.... i dont know wut would happen... but best not try it :chairshot: . Then just count the blinks. It's pretty simple. Then u can go back n find out wut the trouble code is. If ur not sure what it means... u can do a search on LOC or u can post it... but i think most members will tell u to search before posting.

Yea... u should get that P/S leak checked out. I had to replace my High Pressure Hose. Check where the leak is coming from... by looking at the parking space.

Well good luck... n hopefully u wont have any serious problems wit ur car. B)

N welcome to the club