925benjie Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 After 2 weeks of off and on working on my wife's car, I finally finished changing the starter. Her '90 LS 400 with over 205,000. miles original starter needed to be replaced so i followed most of the suggestions and recommendations posted on this forum by fellow members and i can tell u they were very informative and helpful. Anyway, after putting everything together and test driving the car last Sunday, i can honestly say that the car runs a lot better since i cleaned every part i removed and replaced all the gaskets with new ones. However, on her way home today, the "check engine" light and "trac off" light came on. Also (not related to the lights on) when the gas pedal is released while driving, the car seems to quickly slow down like stepping on the brake. Any ideas out there will be much appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
90LS400Lexus Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 After 2 weeks of off and on working on my wife's car, I finally finished changing the starter. Her '90 LS 400 with over 205,000. miles original starter needed to be replaced so i followed most of the suggestions and recommendations posted on this forum by fellow members and i can tell u they were very informative and helpful. Anyway, after putting everything together and test driving the car last Sunday, i can honestly say that the car runs a lot better since i cleaned every part i removed and replaced all the gaskets with new ones. However, on her way home today, the "check engine" light and "trac off" light came on. Also (not related to the lights on) when the gas pedal is released while driving, the car seems to quickly slow down like stepping on the brake. Any ideas out there will be much appreciated. The quick slowing sounds like the overdrive is not on or engaging... could be related. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1990LS400 Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 the "check engine" light and "trac off" light came on. Many issues can cause that. A list of diagnostic codes is at http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/intro/codereading.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
925benjie Posted November 5, 2009 Author Share Posted November 5, 2009 the "check engine" light and "trac off" light came on. Many issues can cause that. A list of diagnostic codes is at http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/intro/codereading.html Thanks, will try to do the tutorial this weekend. Hopefully i can figure it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VBdenny Posted November 5, 2009 Share Posted November 5, 2009 I guess the only way to check CEL issues without wasting a lot of time is to hook it up and find the codes. Somewhere along the way you probably disturbed a sensor, or you have a case of coincidence. My vote goes to the first but..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
925benjie Posted November 9, 2009 Author Share Posted November 9, 2009 Since I had time to work on the car this Saturday, I was going to do the tutorial about these CEL and give it a shot. So i popped up the engine hood and recheck all connections just to make sure i did'nt disturbed or miss any when i re-assembled it all back together last week. When i got to the electrical connections, i noticed that the plug in connection to the air mass flow sensor near the air filter housing was not pushed in all the way. So i plugged it in all the way and made sure it click just like most of the electrical plug-ins. I immediately grab the key and started the car and the dash lights are gone!!!!. Turned it off and on again just to be sure and that was it, a loose connection. Man, i thought it will take me all day just to find the trouble codes. THANKS for all the infos and suggestions. Even had time to go to a b-day party. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
90LS400Lexus Posted November 9, 2009 Share Posted November 9, 2009 No wonder so many people dread replacing the starter.... so many times I have seen where someone had changed it, only to have a bundle of other problems afterward. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curiousB Posted November 9, 2009 Share Posted November 9, 2009 No wonder so many people dread replacing the starter.... so many times I have seen where someone had changed it, only to have a bundle of other problems afterward. :( They dread it due to the stupid location of it and the need to do a major disassembly to get to it. Imagine taking the entire intake manifold out to replace one of the more "prone to fail" assemblies under the hood. Almost as clever as burying a water pump behind the timing belt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
90LS400Lexus Posted November 9, 2009 Share Posted November 9, 2009 They dread it due to the stupid location of it and the need to do a major disassembly to get to it. Imagine taking the entire intake manifold out to replace one of the more "prone to fail" assemblies under the hood. Almost as clever as burying a water pump behind the timing belt. I know... its dumb the way its placed... Its no wonder there is such a high chance of other problems since so many things have to come out, etc. They did the same thing I am told on the 4.7L V8 in the Toyota Tundra. The starter went out on my aunts 1990 LS400 when it had around 200K and my uncle paid $1200 to have it replaced. I am not sure if mine is original or not... the car has 224K now and it seems OK, but sometimes that automatic hold feature will sometimes stick in cold weather... just as it did on my old 90 LS400. It did that for at least 50K miles and never got any worse, so I was assuming there was no cause for concern. I guess if one does have to change the starter, it would be a good idea to also change the valve cover gaskets since you are down that low. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcrome04 Posted November 9, 2009 Share Posted November 9, 2009 It's actually a very good place for the starter.. Not from a mechanic's point of view.. but it's made practically silent by it's placement. Listen to other cars start up.. CRANK CRANK VROOOOM. Listen to the LS.. shhhhshhhhh vvvvvrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr B) Plus a starter lasting till 200k is nothing to shake a stick at ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curiousB Posted November 9, 2009 Share Posted November 9, 2009 It's actually a very good place for the starter..Not from a mechanic's point of view.. but it's made practically silent by it's placement. Listen to other cars start up.. CRANK CRANK VROOOOM. Listen to the LS.. shhhhshhhhh vvvvvrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr B) Plus a starter lasting till 200k is nothing to shake a stick at ;) Well it may sound nice but look at it from economics. If we say the average starter life is 8 years and you start the car on average 4 times a day then the starter is good for 11,680 starts. Now if the repair bill for a conventional starter is around $300 then the Lexus premium is +$900 for this optimal location. That is $0.08 per start or $0.31/day for that lovely sound. Still worth it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
90LS400Lexus Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 I would rather hear a loud starter than to have to take half of the engine out to replace. If I was a millionaire, then it would not matter. ;) Thankfully, mine is still fine... for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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