Need Ignition Coil Wiring Connectors For 1999 Ls400

[dthouston]

Does anyone know of a source for the wiring connectors that attach to the top of the 8 ignition coils in a 1999 LS400? (engine code 1UZ-FE) The '99 has the "coil-on-plug" type of ignition, which has a separate coil for each plug.

All I need are the black plastic connectors (part of the engine wiring harness)... not the ignition coils themselves. And not the entire wiring harness, unless I can get it for a lot less than the $1200 that Lexus parts wants!

The existing connectors are dried-out and cracking after 180K+ miles and 10 years of hot Houston stop-and-go driving. Each time I replace the valve cover gaskets and thus have to disconnect these connectors (just did this for the 2nd time), a few more of the connectors bite the dust.

First the little locking tabs broke off the connectors, so I secured them with cable ties (luckily, there's a convenient place on both the connector and the coil through which once can pass a cable-tie... almost as-if the engineers knew the locking tabs would likely fail).

But now a couple of the connectors are in such bad shape that the place on the connector where I was attaching the cable-tie has broken off! So the connector can work itself loose, and that cylinder then mis-fires.

Even used connectors might be OK - or a used engine wiring harness - as long as they're from a car that hasn't had to endure so many Texas summers.

I've searched Google, eBay and just about everywhere else, and so far haven't found anyone who has these (although I suppose I could buy an entire used engine for around $500... which might not be a bad investment, since it seems this engine is so sturdy that it is becoming a popular "swap" for the street-racer crowd... right up there with the Chevy small-block!)

Thanks,

DT in Houston

[RDM]

It's not just in Texas. I've worked on dozens of LS and SCs over the years and they all have brittle, dried out connectors, it's caused by the soaring underhood heat from these engines. Odds are any salvage yard or parts car will have the same exact problems. You might look at other Toyota models to see if they share connectors and then cut them off a junk car.