gx00850 Posted April 27, 2010 Share Posted April 27, 2010 1998 LS400 w/ 86,500 miles. The car occassionally sputters pretty bad when accelerating from low speeds. I suspect I need to replace the fuel filter (hopefully not a pump). I have typically had this done by the dealership during normal maintenance checks. Can anyone give me the location and any tips on how to change? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ggemigniani Posted April 28, 2010 Share Posted April 28, 2010 Toyota EFI fuel filters never become clogged before 150,000 miles or so unless someone intentionally contaminated the gasoline as a prank. What is the tune up and timing belt change history of the motor? Maybe someone changed the spark plugs and put a set that is not recommended in the owners manual. Maybe one plug was undertorqued or the insulator of one plug became cracked due to using an improper spark plug socket. Maybe one of the ignition coils is going out. I'd bet you have an ignition system issue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killerFatty Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 Deffinetly do more diegnosis before throwing parts at it. I too would suspect an ignition issue. If you haven't had a "Tune up" done(ie. plugs, wires, caps, and rotors) that would be my first guess because a 86,500 miles your about due. Not to mention you will need a timing belt soon if that hasn't been replaced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldskewel Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 Toyota EFI fuel filters never become clogged before 150,000 miles or so unless someone intentionally contaminated the gasoline as a prank. ... It makes a lot of sense to me that something like a fuel filter is difficult to predict the lifetime. Getting bad gas all the time may make it clog in 10k miles (?), good, normal gas all the time can make it last 150k+. (like I said, I don't know, but this is what makes sense to me). The factory spec is replacement every 60k miles. So if I'm planning to wait until it clogs to replace it (mine has only 40k miles so far, and I'm careful about where I get gas; I also already have the part, just don't want to tear into things if I don't need to) ... 1. What symptoms occur when it starts to clog? Power loss at high power? 2. Anything that can damage the engine by waiting too long? 3. Could a clogged filter make the fuel pump any more likely to fail? Regarding the OP's question, I would expect problems throughout the range, but mostly at high power if the filter is starting to clog. I don't know about the '98, but for my '91, fuel filter replacement is a tougher job than on any other car I have owned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gx00850 Posted May 1, 2010 Author Share Posted May 1, 2010 What a pain that was to do, but that was definetely the problem. Replaced it and now the car runs like new. The issue is that my wife drives the car until dead empty every week so every piece of garbage at the bottom of the tank gets sucked through the filter. Thanks for all the input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eatingupblacktop Posted May 2, 2010 Share Posted May 2, 2010 The issue is that my wife drives the car until dead empty every week so every piece of garbage at the bottom of the tank gets sucked through the filter. Exactly right! Top Tier fuel at a busy retailer & 1/4 tank minimum should extend the life of your new filter! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schnitz Posted May 2, 2010 Share Posted May 2, 2010 Glad to hear its back to normal. Can you tell me where the fuel filter is located on your '98? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.