Engine Died

[Musada]

i have a 1990 ls400 and i think the heads are gone and was just wondering how much do you think i could get another engine for?

[steve2006]

What makes you think the heads are gone?What are the symptoms?There are 2 heads on the engine it is unlikely both have failed at the same time unless the engine has over heated very badly.

Please provide some more details,is the engine turning over,is it firing at all.

[Musada]

What makes you think the heads are gone?What are the symptoms?There are 2 heads on the engine it is unlikely both have failed at the same time unless the engine has over heated very badly.

Please provide some more details,is the engine turning over,is it firing at all.

It actually has no problem starting up, but the idle is very low. When in reverse its like it doesn't want to move, but it does. In drive, i can floor it, and nothing really happens, it moves as if i'm trying to drive a stick shift from a dig in 4th gear. After driving it around the corner i noticed smoke coming from behind the engine.

[killerFatty]

It sounds a little like a ignition coil. You definitely need to do more diagnosis. The driver side coil is the most common one to fail. BTW the cheapest place to get an engine is definitely ebay, but the reliability is sketchy at best. Check multiple local salvage yards and parts dealers before choosing a place to buy an engine. But for god's sake do NOT buy an engine before you figure out what your real problem is.

[Musada]

It sounds a little like a ignition coil. You definitely need to do more diagnosis. The driver side coil is the most common one to fail. BTW the cheapest place to get an engine is definitely ebay, but the reliability is sketchy at best. Check multiple local salvage yards and parts dealers before choosing a place to buy an engine. But for god's sake do NOT buy an engine before you figure out what your real problem is.

Is there anyway to test to see if it really is an ignition coil? Didn't know that could cause the engine to shut down like that. Always thought the coil would just cause it not to start. But what about the smoke coming from behind the engine?

[turboomni]

Could that also be the signs of a timing belt that slipped a tooth or 2?

[RDM]

Where from behind the engine? You could easily just have a cracked EGR tube that's allowed exhaust heat to burn up a portion of the transmission harness that runs behind the engine. There's also plenty of lesser issues that can cause engine hesitation, there are two coils which each fire four cylinders, one bad coil would essentially leave you with a four cylinder engine, could also be an igniter is bad and not even signaling the coil, the timing could be off, you could have a bad crank or cam sensor, or a bad mass airflow sensor.

Assuming both cylinder heads are warped due to engine hesitation is like assuming that if you have a cough, you have AIDS. There's far simpler answers to your problems.

[Musada]

I called a local mobile mechanic to come look at it. He drove it around the corner and said the car was misfiring badly.Wwhen he came back it was smoking again. He looked under the car and noticed the exhaust pipes near the engine were so hot they were turning red..HE checked under the hood and found that the wire connected to the ignition coil on the driver side was in 2 pieces. And do the car was only running on 4 cylinders. I understand this would be the cause of the engine failure but what about the exhaust? The exhaust never did that until the engine had failed like that.

He said he'd only charge $40 bucks to put the coil on for me. Does all this sound accurate?

[killerFatty]

If four cylinders are not firing then all that unspent fuel is going into the cats and SUPER heating them. You will destroy them if you keep driving around. The smoke is likely a product of running on four cylinders.

[lexfourcam]

the reason why it's smoking is probably because the gaskets in the exhaust are melting because the temperature is getting so hot. my friends jeep had the installation manual for the gas tank inside of the gas tank! it blocked fuel and caused his car to run lean because it wasn't getting enough gas and his exhaust turned red and it smelled like burning rubber. Good ol' dealerships always have the best mechanics. needless to say when we dropped the gas tank and found that we were in complete disbelief. The coil is most definitely the problem, and that sounds like a bargain to me

[Musada]

Turned out to be the ignition coil after all. Thanx for all your input guys!